I pretty much am my hair

kindergarten
5th or 6th grade
freshman/junior




India Arie - I Am Not My Hair



Well, okay, I'm not really my (covered up gray) hair. But today I am my teeth, my chipped front one that is. I'm taking a "vanity day", which is actually using up a sick day, so that I can go and wait at dentist Dr. Tom's office with high hopes that he can squeeze me in for a quick fix. Somehow I broke off a part of my tooth and it's been driving me crazy since Friday night. I pointed out the huge, gaping, crevice to a number of people over the weekend and then again at work yesterday. Every single person did that old line of "oh, it's not that bad; I wouldn't have even noticed it if you hadn't pointed it out." How anyone can not notice the fragment of enamel that is obviously missing from my coffee-stained pearly whites is beyond me. Maybe they were all just being nice. And since I appreciate nice, I guess I'll just leave it at that.

Have you heard the new song by India Arie called "I am not my hair"? If not, you can listen to a snippet by clicking on the link above. Here is a bit of her lyrics:

"Little girl with the press and curl
Age eight I got a Jheri curl
Thirteen I got a relaxer
I was a source of so much laughter
fifteen when it all broke off
Eighteen and went all natural
February two thousand and two
I went and did
What I had to do
Because it was time to change my life
To become the women that I am inside
Ninety-seven dreadlocks all gone
I looked in the mirror
For the first time and saw that HEY....

[Chorus]
I am not my hair
I am not this skin
I am not your expectations no no
I am not my hair
I am not this skin
I am a soul that lives within"

I think if I were to write a song, it would be called "I am not my glasses". Going through my old photos to find snapshots for this blog has been fun but boy have I had some funky spectacle lenses...I'll save that photo montage for another day - the pre-adult hair styles were enough for me today...

Up or Down?

Personally, I prefer it down when not in use, the toilet seat AND lid that is. And now it’s become a necessity in our home since our cat, Rumi, likes to get his morning gulp of water from the bathroom sink by jumping from the toilet to the vanity. I’m pretty sure his furry 20 pounds would swiftly sink to the bottom of the bowl if he were to miss the fact that the seat, or even just the lid, had accidentally been left in the upright position.

I’ve never understood why toilet seats and lids get left up in the first place? Please, if you have any insight on this, do share. What’s the big deal; you do your business and you close the lid, simple as that. Why do commodes even have lids if they weren’t meant to be closed?

Now I understand that people with dogs might leave the lid up for a different, perhaps legitimate, reason. A dog drinking out of the toilet is gross to me, but never having owned a dog, I can’t say that I wouldn’t give in and allow it if that’s what my sweet little puppy doggie wanted. Heck, I’m letting the dang cat drink from the bathroom sink faucet so who am I to talk about what’s gross.

I don’t watch a ton of television, but when it is on, I’m likely to end my channel surfing when I find a home improvement type show, usually something on HGTV. By the way, did I ever mention that my youngest sister’s house was featured on an episode of "Restore America"? She was interviewed, as were my parents, and I have it on tape if anyone ever wants to come over for some popcorn and a private viewing. Anyway, I had been noticing recently that when bathrooms are being filmed for television, the toilet seat and lids are always closed. Then, just as I got ready to write this, I saw a toilet with the lid up! It was on that HGTV show called "National Open House" where realtors in three different cities show you what you can get for $150,000 all the way up to $1 million. I can't recall now which city they were in but it was a young couple with no kids and a dog. Hmmm...now we're back to that dog topic again. I better get the "scoop" on a number of things before I let Doc. B. even think about getting us a puppy...

Speaking of toilets, have you ever had someone you didn't know come into your home and "use" your bathroom? We have. No, it wasn't some homeless person from off the street. They generally make use of any number of Porta-Johns that are scattered about the neighborhood due to the constant renovations. In fact, pretty much every Saturday morning, there is a bicycle parked at the outhouse across the street. Hey, being regular is important and when you gotta go, you gotta go. And that leads me back to my original point, strangers using your toilet when they gotta go. Ever since our house was renovated, we've had people asking to come in and see the work. Normally I just love it when that happens and am thrilled to share the great job our contractors pulled off. Well, one couple tracked down our phone number after seeing a magazine article about the work that Small Carpenters at Large did on our home. The couple only lived about a half mile away and they were fixing up their kitchen. They were particularly interested in seeing our kitchen cabinets, so we arranged for them to stop by on a Saturday morning. Right about the time they were due to show up, we see a couple with a CHILD AND A BABY STROLLER walking up to the house. They never said anything about their ADD, ADHD, not yet Ritalin-laced, six year old Indigo Child, let alone a baby. I faked a smile and invited them in for the tour. Finally, after the six year old had put his hands all over one two many things, including the last straw, the dad became a mind reader and decided to take the kids out to the front porch while the mother finished looking at the kitchen. So, while we're standing there admiring the craftsmanship, the mother puts her hand on her stomach and says, "oh my, I must have eaten something at breakfast that didn't agree with me; could I use your bathroom". Well, what was I going to say - "no, go across the street and use that Porta John"? Needless to say, the home tour ended shortly after she emerged from the restroom reporting that she was feeling much better.

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for doing business with Doc. B. and me. As you prepare yourselves for flushing, please also remember to return your toilet seat and lid to the downright position. Flotation devices sold separately (okay, this last part was my inner ten year old boy coming out to play - too much talk of children I guess).

Primary Voter Guilt

From the title of today’s entry, you might think that I did not vote in the Georgia Primary today. Actually, I did vote, but my guilt is coming from how I treated the little old lady who was checking my identification at the precinct. But I’ll get to that in a moment.

Doc. B. and I started the morning by getting on the Georgia Equality Project website so that we could get advice on who should get our votes. We were surprised to discover that the recommendation was to vote in every category except governor. The idea was to make our voices heard by skipping the vote for governor, whether you are republican or democrat. By showing that there were multiple votes cast for others on the ballot, but not for governor, the hope was that this would show them that they can’t just take our votes for granted. The three frontrunners (the republican incumbent and the two democratic challengers) have basically the same stance on "our" issues, so this was touted as a way to initiate a response from, and subsequent conversation with, the winner.

I should also let you know that there has been a big concern here in Georgia about a proposed picture ID requirement in order to vote. From my days back at the local community action agency, I know how difficult it is to even get a voter registration card for a low income or elderly person let alone get them an ID card with a picture on it. If they don’t drive, why on earth would they need a photo identification card that costs them cash money? At least the voter registration card itself is free and the registration forms can be hand-delivered to a person’s home. For voting in Georgia, the bottom line has always been that if you have registered to vote, all you have to do on Election Day is to show any one of 17 different forms of identification (listed below). There is no requirement for a photo though some of the forms of identification happen to include a photo.

So we made our way to the neighborhood Baptist church to vote. Does anyone else find irony in that? Just so you know, this is a cool Baptist church that withdrew from the Southern Baptist Convention. Anyway, when I got to the point in the voting process where I had to produce identification, I glanced down at the rather long list of acceptable items that was taped to the desk in front of me and that had been printed using a font so large that a legally blind person was likely able to read it. On a whim, with no planning whatsoever, I decided to present my United States Government issued picture ID card. When I handed it to the polling worker, she said "what’s this?" I said, "It’s my government ID; it’s number four on the list, right here" and I pointed right to it. She said, "but it doesn’t have your address on it". I said, "I don't think passports have addresses on them. Many of the items on this list don’t have addresses on them." She seemed flustered so I reached into my pocket and handed her my driver’s license. She seemed relieved. I felt bad for giving her a hard time. And to make it worse, as I was handing her my drivers license, she kept saying "your're so right, you're so right", just like I'm sure she was trained to do. But can you even imagine what would have happened if I had decided to present, say, my Georgia License to carry a pistol (number seven on the list below) or even better, a certified copy of court records showing I had undergone a sex change (lucky number 13 below)?

*NOTE: just for the record, I have neither of these latter two items – they were just being used as examples.

So now we wait. I've gone to my evening yoga class and am ready to sit up and watch the voting results. Or better still, perhaps I'll just go on to bed and read about it in the morning...

Direct from the Georgia Secretary of State Website
“Voting on Election Day
When you arrive at your polling place, you will complete a voter's certificate which asks for your name and residence address. You will then present the certificate and proper identification to the poll officials who will verify that you are a registered voter in that precinct by checking the voters list for that precinct. Voters are required to present identification at their polling place prior to casting their ballot. Proper identification shall consist of any one of the following:
(1) A valid Georgia driver's license;
(2) A valid identification card issued by a branch, department, agency, or entity of the State of Georgia, any other state, or the United States authorized by law to issue personal identification;
(3) A valid United States passport;
(4) A valid employee identification card containing a photograph of the elector and issued by any branch, department, agency, or entity of the United States government, this state, or any county, municipality, board, authority, or other entity of this state;
(5) A valid employee identification card containing a photograph of the elector and issued by any employer of the elector in the ordinary course of such employer’s business;
(6) A valid student identification card containing a photograph of the elector from any public or private college, university, or postgraduate technical or professional school located within the State of Georgia;
(7) A valid Georgia license to carry a pistol or revolver;
(8) A valid pilot's license issued by the Federal Aviation Administration or other authorized agency of the United States;
(9) A valid United States military identification card;
(10) A certified copy of the elector's birth certificate;
(11) A valid social security card;
(12) Certified naturalization documentation;
(13) A certified copy of court records showing adoption, name, or sex change;
(14) A current utility bill, or a legible copy thereof, showing the name and address of the elector;
(15) A bank statement, or a legible copy thereof, showing the name and address of the elector;
(16) A government check or paycheck, or a legible copy thereof, showing the name and address of the elector; or
(17) A government document, or a legible copy thereof, showing the name and address of the elector.
If an elector is unable to produce any of the items of identification listed, he or she shall sign a statement under oath swearing or affirming that he or she is the person identified on the elector's voter certificate.”

Top Four

The other day during lunch, my co-workers and I were sidetracked by that standard "been out drinking too much" game of "who's on your top 5 list?". Since it was a work day we weren't drinking of course, but the game surfaced nonetheless. For those of you not familiar with the rules, you make up a wish list of famous people for whom you'd drop everything. And since the liklihood of that happening is less than your chances of winning the lottery, there's no harm in this game. The people that make your list are there because you think they're attractive, you admire them for some reason or you just plain think they're cool. The list can change daily and it can only include people with celebrity status. For example, you can't put your best friend's husband on your top five list, that just wouldn't be right. Well, unless your name is Denise Richards and your best friend is Heather Locklear, whose husband is Richie Sambora. Wait a minute, I'm not sure how this game works if all parties involved are already celebrities?

I'll call mine the top four list because I can usually come up with at least 2 men and 2 women who would be on it. While my list members are generally in no particular order, I always put Sela Ward at the top. And Tom Cruise is almost always on my list even if he did put foot prints on Oprah's couch and name his first born "Suri". After all, what's not to love about a man who slid into every young girl's living room, in his underwear, to the tune of Bob Segar's "Old Time Rock and Roll". And then of course there was that seen he had with Rebecca de Mornay on the Chicago EL in which we were all introduced to Tangerine Dream's "Love on a Real Train", but I won't digress.

As for Sela Ward, I've always thought she was classy ever since she played "Teddy" on the television show "Sisters". She'll pop up on a show every so often and I was pleased to see her with a recurring role on one of my new favorite dramas, "House". Synchronicitously, when I was looking for photos of Sela to place on the blog, I read her bio and discovered she has the same birthday as my dad, lucky 7/11. All the more reason to put her in the number one spot.

The rest of my list changes regularly. Today, it's Ashley Judd and J.D. Fortune. Ashley is of course the sister of Wynonna and the daughter of Naomi. I just loved her in "The Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood" and she pops up on my list frequently. A newcomer to my list is J.D. Fortune. He is the new lead singer for the band "INXS" and he won this role on a reality television show - how cool is that. But he's got an awesome voice and I'm hooked on his song "Afterglow" right now - so that's why he's on the list at this moment.

Who's on your list?

No Crying in Baseball

David Beckham crying?









One of my favorite lines from a movie comes from "A League of Their Own" when Tom Hanks' character says to one of the female baseball players "Are you crying? Are you crying? There's no crying in baseball!"

But there is crying in soccer. The World Cup has been cause for tears.

Today is the final game of the World Cup. Host country, Germany, closed out the event with a third place finish and today, Italy takes on France to determine who is the best soccer team in the world. Unlike American baseball's "World Series", soccer's World Cup is actually country vs. country. But have any of my numerous readers watched any of the World Cup games? My guess is probably not. Soccer just isn't as popular in the U.S. as it is around the world. I've only watched some of the games and that's because our friends, Mr. and Mrs. T., are really into it. Mrs. T. and I work together and several times over the past few weeks, she has rounded up a bunch of her co-workers to join her at CNN's Jock's and Jill's for lunch-time soccer games. It was fun, but thank goodness the World Cup ends today. My gut has clearly been overstuffed with nachos, chicken wings and buffalo bites.

I'm curious as to why soccer hasn't gained huge popularity here in the U.S. yet? I don't know about you , but I see those soccer ball stickers on Caravan after Voyager after Odyssey on a daily basis. Soccer moms with minivans have become ubiquitous vehicles on the Atlanta area roads. But still, soccer is not as big as football, baseball and basketball. Shoot, even breakfast at Wimbledon this morning will probably draw more viewers than the World Cup finals.

Here's my theory. I think we American's like action. When a World Cup soccer game can end in a zero to zero tie - what's exciting about that? No one has even scored and the game is over? That makes no sense to us competative Americans who at least want a sudden death to the finish. We want high scoring games with a clear winner when it's all said and done. And we don't want crying unless it's tears of joy. We only want to see wet eyes when the trophy is being held high above the MVP's head and he's thanking God for making it all possible.