continuing to remember nannaboo

on friday during a steady downpour, more than 200 people representing all facets of the different groups of dc residents gathered where nannaboo died to publicly announce that "enough is enough!"

we will gather again on friday to celebrate her life.

wmata - because your time is important only to you

in an effort to shorten my travel distance and minimize the number of steps i needed to take today, i decided to get off the train at ny ave and catch the 90 bus cross town to the 30 bus. that was at 6:55. it's now 7:22 and there's no bus in sight. clearly the transportation gods have conspired with the exercise gods and are sending me a message.
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what i said at church today

instead of a sermon at church today, a few of us were asked to share our thoughts on faith and education. this is what i had to say ...

true confessions - adam sent me an email asking if i would participate in today's service and ... i ignored it. now before you begin to "boo" me - i ignored it because i didn't attend a christian college. just the opposite - i went to the most expensive university in the united states ... a place where it seemed the only religion was the doctrine of self-absorption and message of basking in the glory of excess. i wish i could say that it was THAT experience that pushed me into a career of public service, but i'm not sure that it did. yet ANOTHER reason to ignore adam's email. it wasn't until adam cornered me after last week's service and explained to me that it wasn't really as much about attending a christian college as it was about how my faith has influenced my ongoing education and career decisions. THAT i can do!

my faith, my strong commitment to equality of opportunity for all people and the directive in luke 12:48 - from everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked - have directed my path. living by those principles, i've transitioned from an inner city special education teacher to a state-level special education policy maker and finally to a federal-level special education policy maker. however, even as i move forward in my career and become more and more removed from kids with disabilities in classrooms, i never forget how it all started and for whom i work with and on behalf of. with that i leave you with the last paragraph of my purpose statement from my grad school application -

i do this for willie who entered my class unable to read in the 6th grade, but left reading at the 2nd grade level only three years later. i do this for kaylor who was so shy that she never uttered a word, but three years later we had to set an IEP goal to get her to be quiet. i do this for marcus who would bang his head so violently against the wall that he would end up bloodied and disoriented requiring medical attention, but is now attending college and living independently. and i do this for noah who, even as he spiraled into a more and more delusional and isolated space resisting any human interaction, would still smile when i asked him to dance.

you'll not be forgotten nannaboo

devastating news came just a few minutes ago when we were told that our good friend and neighbor (and frequent fodder for flipflop fed posts), nanna boo was stabbed and killed yesterday afternoon in broad daylight. the worst part is that it seems the only reason for the attack was that nannaboo chose to live and open an honest life. you see, nannaboo was born joshua mack, but knew from an early age that she wasn't meant to be a "he." apparently someone in the vicinity of 3rd and q st, nw didn't like the way that nannaboo lived her life and decided to violently end that live with a stab of the knife to the jugular in the middle of the afternoon.

nannaboo was a hysterically funny person. she had a love for life and those around her - and she knew that god loved her too. while the mainstream media focuses on the "joshua" aspect, i will focus on nannaboo. i'll miss nannaboo - the way she would lean out the window and say hello, the smile that she always had on her face and the smile that she always put on mine.

i leave you all with my favorite picture of her ...

the whole world's catching on

even the ny times had keyed in to crystal chappell.

cankle free

i've struggled with my weight my entire life - even as a high school uber athlete. but, regardless of the size of my waist and thighs, i've always had skinny ankles. that's right - no cankles for me! turns out that ankles like mine are all the rage! take that skinny girls!!

lesbians are just gay**!

last night we headed to the birchmere with some friends to see the queer queens of comedy - an all lesbian comedy review. these women were crazy funny. if you like comedy - really funny observations on life - you should check out poppy champlin, julie goldman and vickie shaw.

**i refer you to definitions 1a and 1b

common never looked so good

i wonder if ms. givhan will approve?

looking common? more power to you michelle!

not sure if any other news outlets have picked up this story from earlier in the week, but it's all the talk around washington. what's the big deal? why michelle obama had the audacity to wear shorts when deplaning air force one after returning from a family trip to the grand canyon. (this is in direct contrast to the time she went to serve lunch at a homeless shelter wearing $500 sneakers.) can you believe! in 2009, when most other people fail to comb their hair and routinely wear pajamas when flying, our first lady decided to be appropriately comfortable. robin givhan's article from the post ended by saying something to the effect that by trying to be average, she ended up looking common. news flash ms. givhan - michelle obama is the first lady, not the queen, and the last time i checked she was just an attorney and mom from chicago whose husband just happened to be elected president.

my new favorite line

who the fuck would get in a fight with lou ferrigno?

i wish that i had something to say

i've had such an excellent time blogging lately. it's fun to just start typing and see what comes out. but, i'm not at all motivated tonight. i wish that i had something really funny to say or even just something to say. alas, i'm completely engaged in watching "i love you man" and there will be no blogging tonight.

what did YOU learn at the conference?

i learned how chickens have sex!

another day ...

... another $50.63 an hour. i'm thinking that life ain't so bad.

caster semenya

true confession time - i've always been a little uneasy with the "t" in lgbt (for those not familiar with this particular acronym, "lgbt" stands for "lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender."). "l" "g" and "b" all go together because they're all about sexual orientation. but, the "t" is about gender identity. and while i get sexual orientation, i have a difficult time wrapping my brain around the idea of being trans or even gender ambiguous. that some context behind my comments that follow; that is, i didn't think that i would have such a visceral reaction to the story that emerged today ...

today a young woman (18) from south africa, caster semenya, blew away the competition in the 800m at the world championships in berlin. but, instead of doing the round of celebratory interviews she was whisked away for gender identity testing. apparently, her competition was pissed that she made them look flat out slow and decided to cry foul. semenya is definitely gender ambiguous - i'll give them that. she's big. she's muscular. she's even a little bit hairy. she's faster - way faster - than the rest of the women. but, it smacks of a little phobia to say that just because of these factors she might not be a woman.

the african national congress said it best -

"we condemn the motives of those who have made it their business to question her gender due to her physique and running style. such comments can only serve to portray women as being weak."

of course i'll go camping!

never been much for camping - that was until i read this. pre-pitched tents, wireless access, and even a butler? bring on the "glamping!"

i don't do macaroni and cheese

i was having one of those afternoons and then a colleague told me this story -

a while back he stopped in a restaurant on the way home. he told the man at the counter that he wanted "fish, greens and macaroni and cheese." the guy called the order down the line. my colleague stopped at the first server - the guy put a piece of fish on his plate and pushed the plate to the woman next to him. that server put a scoop of greens on the plate. she then pushed the plate to the next station, but just as she did, the woman staffing the next set of serving bowls left and went to the back. the plate just sat. finally my colleague asked the woman scooping greens to put some macaroni and cheese on his plate so he could pay and eat. the woman quickly replied - "i don't do macaroni and cheese." then the fun really started!

it ended with my colleague telling the greens queen that she really needed to show initiative or she was going to be scooping greens for the rest of her life. finally the manager intervened. the greens scooper reminded him that she doesn't do macaroni and cheese. instead of just putting the food on his plate, the manager called for the other server who informed him that she went to the back because she needed a break!

my colleague left with no food, but a great line - i don't do macaroni and cheese!

can't even live on 300k? yeah ... still no sympathy

a while back a i wrote about a piece in the ny times about how some former wall streeters were finding it difficult to live on half a million dollars a year. their plight evoked not an ounce of sympathy. now the washington post offers a profile of a poor divorcee who's finding it difficult to maintain her $2.4 million house, $40,000 nanny, and 3 children on $300,000 a year. so pathetic that we should even be subjected to this "news" and remind me why we're supposed to feel bad for this woman?

apparently it tastes like salt

kristin just came back from the neighbor's house with a packet of ...

really don't have anything to say about this 'cause, you know, don't have a lot of experience with that flavor. but, after looking at the ingredients - and the 1230 mg of sodium per serving! - i would venture to guess that too much will impair your taste buds and make your ankles swell. yet another reason to stick with my preferred flavor ...

at least they know it's a berry

are there really people that can't tell a raspberry from a blackberry?

my back in the day song

i LOVE this song! bet ya this guy is totally benefiting from that mcdonald's commercial.

farewell mrs. shriver

i like to say that life is about making memories. a few of my fondest memories are from my college years and it was during that time that i had the opportunity to get to know eunice kennedy shriver. what started as an internship at the kennedy foundation and the dc office of best buddies evolved into running errands and doing odd jobs for mrs. shriver during my junior and senior years. i'm not going to lie - she wasn't the easiest of people. (to give you an idea - mr. shriver had the same assistant, jeannie, for almost his entire career; whereas mrs. shriver went through at least 5 personal assistants in the 2 1/2 years that i was around!) she was very particular and demanded the most of people - just like she did of herself - but, for whatever reason, we clicked and got along famously. she inspired me with her commitment to people with disabilities and encouraged me to pursue a career in the field of special education - because i was oh so well prepared with my degree in international affairs! but, in the end, she was right - you follow your passion and everything else will work out.

farewell mrs. shriver, farewell

in a facebook posting?

apparently sarah palin is hoping to influence domestic policy from her facebook page. yep, the fancy pageant walker is back in the policy debate declaring in a facebook post that health care reform would bring about "death panels" - bureaucrats sitting around deciding who is worthy to live (and will receive appropriate treatment) and who's better off dead (sorry, no treatment for you!).

i could go on and on about the ridiculousness of this assertion, but andrew sullivan said it so much better! my final comment - keep the posts to what you had for dinner.

the anacostia is liquid shit ...

... regardless of the side on which you live. and that's why, as always, i take offense when reporters use the easy-out phrase "wrong side of the anacostia" to describe the neighborhood of a person who may not have had the same opportunities as someone from the east side of the potomac.

that's what happened in this piece about a kid from southeast dc - a recent high school graduate from an intact family on his way to the university of arizona with a stop along the way as a summer intern at the white house. all i can say is why???

why this random phrase in the middle of an otherwise straightforward piece about a district kid who's getting the chance of a lifetime - irrespective of his address? is it so that all the rest of us will say - oh okay, i get it - he's special because he's from one of those neighborhoods?

so frustrating!

here's the happy news

antonio dixon makes me want to be a redskins fan

where's the HAPPY news?

have you noticed how depressing the news is? foreclosures, death, debt, war, sickness, despair - these are the times in which we live ... believe me, i get it. but, would it be SO bad to publish or air a happy story now and again. good, no GREAT, things happen every day in this world and yet we rarely hear about them - unless of course they're somehow related to foreclosures, death, debt, sickness, despair. let's break that trend.

the news of the day - THE HAPPY VERSION

my neighbor gave us a big piece of melon just because.
14 people donated kidneys at georgetown medical center - just because
my summer intern sent me the nicest card
a baby giraffe was born at the la zoo
two journalists were released from confinement in north korea
my two favorite teenagers are leaving for disney world on a once in a lifetime trip

now add to the list!

the power of oxygen

oxygen has played a significant role in my life over the past few months. taking in oxygen through deep breaths and the breath of god has made all the difference in my physical and mental health and the oxygenated stain-fighting power of ...


... has made just as much of a difference in my laundry and on my shower walls. you see - my absence from the flipflopfed o'sphere is attributed to many things - lack of oxygen, lack of motivation, lack of sleep and an over-abundance of mildew on my shower walls. that was until today. i have no idea what makes this stuff work, but a nice thick paste left to dry on the grout stripped away all of my problems.

so now i'm back breathing better.