One year plus..Happy Holla days!

I'm sure you've noticed the hiatus around these parts lately...* looks around, sees no one*... Well I have!

I'll sum up my last year by saying federal government fellowship and baby rearing. There..nuff said? I hope so. I'm living in Albuquerque,NM now and experiencing the interesting life of Southwesterners...not a whole lot different from the South in general, and I'll be using this blog to describe my daily occurrences in detail.


Look out beautiful people- I'm back~!

What an Idiot!!!

SO sad...
While Americans think that John Mccain has some sense, I've known all along that he is a dimwit. To support my point, I'll refer to his complete ignorance on HIV issues- something key for any presidential candidate.


In March of 07, on a so-called "Straight-talk Express" he was asked about HIV and whether condoms can prevent the spread of the disease. The babbling idiot had this to say....

The bus had been rolling for a half-hour and McCain was holding court on everything from Iraq to college basketball. ("Who woulda thought? VCU," he exclaimed upon boarding.) And then someone asked about public funding for contraception in Africa to prevent the spread of AIDS.

"I'm sure I've taken a position on it in the past," he stammered as he looked to his communications director. "I'm sure I'm opposed to government funding."

Sensing a vulnerable moment, reporters kept the questions coming. What about sex education in the schools? Should it mention contraceptives? Or only abstinence, like President Bush wants?

"I think I support the president's present policy," he said, tentatively.

More questions: Do condoms stop sexually transmitted disease?

A long pause.

A stern look.

"I've never gotten into these issues or thought much about them," he said, almost crying uncle. "Obviously, we all want to stop the spread of AIDS. Everybody wants to do that. What's the most viable way of doing that?"

Well? The reporters asked?

In a last ditch attempt to rescue himself, McCain told an aide to go get a briefing paper prepared by Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn, a doctor, who he said has been advising him on "these issues." But the aide couldn't find the briefing paper. "We've lost it," McCain mumbled.

"Whether I support government funding for them or not, I don't know," McCain said about contraceptives. He then said he'd look into it for the reporters, who finally let him off the hook and moved onto other subjects again.


Ummm... hello????? There are some serious crickets in this man's head. Thank you for being a POW but I believe mentally- John Mccain has not recovered from those years. Do us a favor old man- retire, sit this one out...the presidential race is for people who ACTUALLY KNOW somthing about this county and real issues....

geesh.....

The Real Weapons of Mass Destruction

Since George W. never found any WMD, it seems as though the real WMD, rape, may be getting a little time on the international agenda.

Rape, mass rape, brutalization and scarring of women's gentalia and reproductive systems as an act of terrorism is not a new tool of war!However,because of pandering and buck-passing, it is only now getting much needed international attention. In the case of the Congo, a entire hospital has formed in response to the need for repair of women's internal organs after these vicious and horrendous attacks. These unimaginable situations are not only happening in Congo, but in Darfur and other areas where genocide and decades of civil war are playing out.

Soldiers seeking to divide and conquer, terrorize and just plain destroy communities do so by seeking out women,most times girls to violate in the name of war. Why the lack of media attention, you ask? Some international aid organizations deem this as solely a criminal issue while others stick it under the human rights umbrella( which often keeps other orgs far away from it)allowing no one to take real responsibility for demanding results to protect the innocents of war.


Here's an excerpt on the purpose of Panzi Hospital in South Kivu,Congo....


The gynecologists at the GRHP have been practicing in the province for 25 years. A new pathology has emerged as a result of the war: genitourinary fistula secondary to sexual violence. These acts are committed not by known persons within the survivors circle, but by perpetrators from outside. The aim is the destruction of the community within which she lives. Once committed the survivor, her husband, children and extended family become traumatized and humiliated as well as members of the community. It aims to ruin relationships thus promoting dysfunctional family units. The Christian values that normally exist strongly within the Congolese communities have been lost as a result of the atrocities. As well our research has been limited by focusing on the medical statistics with no mention of the psychological trauma experienced by these women.

One such story involves a young woman and her aunt coming from the field in Baraka, a village in the south of South Kivu. Upon reaching the river, they were intercepted by seven solders who forced them to carry each of them on their back in order to cross the river. After carrying the soldiers the young lady was forced to have sexual intercourse with each soldier. The last soldier inserted the point of a gun within her vagina and shot a bullet causing destruction of her vagina, bladder, rectum and buttocks. She was taken to a medical center in Baraka, from where she was transferred to GRHP by the ICRC. She underwent six surgical procedures before being transferred to Addis Ababa for further treatment.

This triggered an outcry from our institution. Our denouncement of sexual violence towards the population has been heard by Doctors without Borders, Amnesty International, and Human Rights Watch. Observers from these organizations have been dispatched to these villages and after a report from Human Rights Watch our issue has been heard by the international community. We have been fortunate to receive donations and investments by many organizations and hospitals. Experts in psychological war have also become involved in attempts to put an end to the practice of abusing women as an instrument of war. Since 2002, humanitarian efforts have intensified and the international community sensitized to the issue, making our cause a globally recognized issue.


The hospital is carrying a major torch in the rehabilitaion of survivors of these despicable attacks.In addition to psychological counseling (often with husbands)survivors are trained in sewing, soap making and other livelihood skills to enable them to reintegrate into society with a newfound/restored sense of worth.


So after all that- what's a lady/girl/man/boy to do? Read more here- www.igwg.org for info on gender-related violence. You can also ensure that your senator supports Foreign Relations Committee's plan for rejevenating the State Department's Gender efforts including a unified "Office of Women's Global Initiatives"

Retourner et Ecrire.....

Hey You!

*crickets chirping*

Well even if there is no one listening- I thought it important to come back to the blog world. At least for a minute anyway. Thanks Silvia!!! ( Why is it that someone else always has to inspire me to come back to my own blog?????) I guess the truest answer is that I've been trying to live life more and be in the moment- which often times cancels out time to stop and right about it. But hey look at me now!!!! I'm flying on this thing.....

I suppose I should use this "return" blog as a reintroduction/update piece. Maaaaannnn, where do I begin? Since it would be in neither of our interests to recap everything that has happened since Sept. 07 I'll fast-forward to today and give you a list of things currently on my plate.

1. Sahana!!!- Yay she is one now and getting so big, rather just being big. She walks and tries to talk a bit too.

2. I'm in Bham with my sweetie pie. I've been out of DC since about a week before Xmas 07 and its been great being away from that great stresser of a living situation! That entire scenario was threatening my chi in a major way. So, ummm glad to say that it's done for!!!

3.Fellowships- Since I left DC I took the first month or so recouping and figuring out the next path in life. I interviewed for two really prestigious fellowships in the last month ( one just yesterday) and Inshallah I'll be off maximizing one of those opportunities in the Fall.

4. Bicycles, Cameras, and Sewing Machines- Ummmm..errr...my new hobbies.. Did I mention I can even make shoes?????

5. Books- My Ladygirlfriends and I are in a uber-hip bookclub just blocks from my house that has also kept my days in Bham filled with some degree of intellectual dialogue.

6. Manuscripts, Manuscripts and Manuscripts- I just have to get two of these published while I'm on Sabbatical- Did I mention that that's what I'm calling this time off????

So there you have it- the past 5 months of my life in a nutshell. In my next post, I'll try to either elaborate on the above enumerated list or go on to something completely random.

peace.....

today....today....today

***RAnDoM BlaBBerInG BeLoW******************

Phew, it's hard work working huh? Since I'm back in the job zone, your gurl is in dire need of some extra zzzzzz's. Where do I get these from is the question. There is a saying that fat people say there are too many hours in the day, while skinnies say not enough- and if that is true, I must be skinny as hell!
Seriously I need about 32 hours to get everything done at work, play with Sahana, cook dinner, have some me time, and take a killer ass nap. Awww, the life......I think I'm just fishing around in my brain, preparing for the next wave in life. On one hand it's pretty frustrating having so many things to do, on the other,it's cool just to sit and chill......Like I'm doing now.... Having a glass of wine contemplating whether to sleep with my bambina or getting to work.......Work is always better with good wine, but so is sleep....if only I had those extra 8 hours I could do both.....

Damn you deadlines!!!!!!

Random neighborhood observations.......

I've been meaning to blog about the random crazy cookie cow shit I was greeted with when I return to DC. Some how,err I don't know child rearing has put my attention elsewhere. But now that the youngun's sleep and I just returned from a whimsical sidewalk journey up my block, I figure what better time than now to write it all up.

I guess I should preface this rant with the fact that my experience in DC can only be compared to where I've lived before , i.e. my other normal and abnormal living situations. My spots in Alabama and Georgia, hell even living in Ghana were freaking penthouses compared to the rat hole spot I'm chillin in now. My apartment isn't crap, what makes this city living a challenge are the following: the crackheads that hang out on the corner next to the bank, the countless "big booty bent over" fliers that I have to step over on my way to the train, or the smell of boiling piss when I try take a shortcut through the alley to get to the train.

Even when I lived in the projects, I didn't encounter as much tomfoolery. I mean who wants to buy a damn 10 pack of cheap ass toothbrushes from a man with his pants held up by a rope? I sure as hell don't.

Who wants to buy a pair of size seven pleather boots from a lady with no visible teeth? I sure as hell don't want none of that........ Did I neglect to mention that this is all within a block of my front door. My lovely front door to my lovely apartment with my lovely mother and daughter posted up inside......


Really, I'm just ranting cause funny things aren't as funny as they used to be. I know that things like this happen in any city, but when the people you would share a laugh about it with are miles away.....it just ain't the same......So I guess these damn crazies are only helping me to make my decision to catch out of this wigged out c-i-t-y....... *Sigh*

Now I really suck raw eggs....

I gotsta apologize my peopolians.... It's been a long time. It's been 3 months and 3 weeks to be exact.And I'm not jsut saying that cause I'm handy with the mathematics. I know this cause that's how old my daughter is and looks like I went into labor shortly after writing that post.

My, my,my how things DO change. To describe my situation now, um, I'll have to call it taking a long-lasting chill pill. Yeah! That's it I've been trying to come up with some cool way to to describe my recent hiatus from all things non-infant. So, while this blog could be come all things infant, I decided to post all those things on my other page..... http://the-usual-plus-child.blogspot.com

As for this page,I'm back to my sometimes critical analysis of random shit happening around me.I'm back from maternity leave with a beautiful baby with a beautiful existence, so yeah i;m ready to step back in the saddle. But slow, though. Like I said, that chill pill is longlasting ( at least one of them is foolproof :))

I'm posting like a crazy crackhead this month- I think I'll do a marathon of random shit that you'll be happy or half-interested to read. Let the turtle games begin!!!!!


Oh yeah- that's my sweetie pie...