crabs, appalachia, bubbles, and pants.

Friday, I spent some time with these guys.


And Saturday with this guy.

And Sunday with these guys.


All good times, but nothing as exciting as my growing pile of clothes that don't fit.

celebration walk

Today, at PLACE@Prescott, an amazing little school in West Oakland, the entire student body took a Celebration Walk around their campus. The kindergarten students held little flags they colored with the UFW symbol. Older students carried posters they made and essays they wrote about farmworkers and grapes and freedom. All of the students chanted "Yes We Can" and "Si Se Puede". This Friday afternoon activity was the culmination of a week of study to honor the memory and legacy of two important leaders born in this season - Marcus A. Foster and Cesar Chavez. It was an honor to cheer on these eager scholars as they continue the work of our ancestors.

I took a made-it-through-another-week celebration walk of my own after work - around Lake Merritt. The construction is pretty massive, but I'm looking forward to being able to get up close to the water again. Three day weekend!!

strugglin

Today started with another first-thing phone chat with Carolina, house phone to house phone. I'm lucky to have friends who are thoughtful and smart and humble.

Next, an email from David that made me simultaneously fired up and heart-full and weepy. I'm lucky to have friends who are honest and reach out and take big risks (and encourage me to, too).

At work, I made some big strides at one of my elementary schools and felt really proud when the Principal trusted his own (new) wisdom about how to engage his school community in an effective way. I'm lucky to have a job where I get to feel peoples' hard work for kids and be a strategic thinker and laugh really really hard.

At the next school, I helped my 8th grade history teacher reformat something in Excel and earned an invitation to his retirement party. Another man, who had screamed at me and other staff members two weeks ago shook my hand hello and I almost fainted from surprise (no head lacerations!). I'm lucky to have a job where I can represent positive change in a notoriously frustrating system and support people who fight every day to make sure Oakland kids know there is more to life than murder.

I came back to my office to a flower arrangement from a Principal I helped yesterday. I'm lucky to have a job where I can help people look good and get some acknowledgment in return.

Jess called and we caught up on the whereabouts of the Korean taco truck and using the ten commandments to modify the behavior of elementary school students (aaah!). I'm lucky to have friends who can make me laugh and make my stomach grumble.

Josh and Sara and David made me feel better on the internet. I'm lucky to have friends with quick access to really really cute kids.

My next door neighbors (ages 5 and 6) were playing on my front steps and teaching each other important life lessons about getting angry and protecting your stuff from the urban miners in the neighborhood. I'm lucky to have a house, especially one in the middle of this Magnolia family.

I did more sit-ups than I usually do at the gym. This had nothing to do with luck.

I'm probably forgetting a bunch of things. Not bad for a day that I was pretty sure was going to make me lose it.

preparing

i'm looking forward to spring break. thanks, target.

drinks

Long week. Jeannie martini at Z Cafe helps. Continuing in my effort to put black pepper in all of my drinks.

sneaky squirrel

Venice has a sneaky squirrel too.

i don't hate LA

So it's winter, but you wouldn't know it from the weather in Venice. I had a great weekend with my buddies in the southland, almost enough to keep me floating through another crazy day at work. Next time I need korean taco truck, canals, bikes, pinkberry, big laughs, iphone navigation, beach sandwiches, and a vigorous milk scrub, I'll be hopping in my car and using my 3/4 tank of gas for good.

Only thing missing was a hug from my macalester-twin - Shana, I'm comin' back!

sweetness

Like many parts of my life right now, this little jar is simultaneously my tiny pleasure and a frustrating pain. I saw it on the shelf and got excited - who doesn't love honeycomb? My mom had two honeycomb candles that I always loved to smell... what a treat to have that smell IN my honey! What it doesn't say on that cute little label is that honeycomb is essentially wax, but in tiny flakey form held together by the sticky honey. Don't try to take a chunk of honeycomb and put it in your tea. You'll end up with a nice layer of white wax over the surface, making it a little difficult to get to the perfect honey-y goodness underneath.

It's been a week of trying to dig through the wax surface to get to the perfect honey-y goodness. The sweetness is slowly showing itself, but not without a lot of prodding and coaxing. Each little waxy flake is a reminder that there will be rough spots in this life and all of them count for something.

That was hella new age. Eh.