Surprise! To Be Continued...

There have been a lot of surprises lately. I’ll try to recapitulate what has happened in the past two weeks. I would have blogged about it during the tumultuous experiences, but my attitude wasn’t fantastic and it would have shown through my writing. Didn’t want my readers to think I was a non-cussing heathenous, mal-attitudinal, person.

My time line is skewed. A few weeks ago, I was waitlisted for Costa Rica. I was planning on going with one of my best friends from Murray. It was going to be her first Study Abroad trip and I hadn’t ever been to Costa Rica. Well, I got an email back saying that I was waitlisted because I missed a set of application forms and they were late. Alas.

I emailed Mexico’s director wondering if I could do an internship there, but I chose not to do that because I had already done the program there. Wise words of my Mother.

Then I emailed the Study Abroad director and he said that there might be room in Argentina. I told him the only way I’d be able to justify this would be if I could get graduate elective credit. According to the website, they didn’t offer it. But it was worth a shot.

I told him that I was interested last week around the 23^rd of March. He emailed me back at 10:30 saying that he would check. My mom and I prayed about it and surrendered up to the Ultimate Franklin Covey DayPlanner Jesus. If it was meant to be, I would be going.

So! The next day @ about 1 pm, he emails me back and says that I got the LAST SPOT on the trip! AND the trip would leave from NASHVILLE!!!!! Which is an hour away, not 4 hours where Louisville is. AND THEN, I am officially signed up for a Cultural Geography class. I was telling Jesus when I was in underground how cool it would be if I could take another geography class. Look what He did!!!

I am officially going to the land of the really big statue on the hill that you see on the Discovery Channel, the land of beef (where it’s really what’s for dinner), and tango music/dancing. I’ll let you know how the dancing goes.

Surprise! No Costa Rica.
Surprise! Yes to Argentina.
Surprise! Graduation in May 2011
Surprise! Almond milk is amazing.
Surprise! Jesus is more amazinger than almond milk.
Surprise! I’m still black.

That’s all for now.

JLP

Why My Mother Needs Another Allotment of Awesome Points

For years, my mom ironed. I would go take a nap on some days, wake up, make dinner, and watch a TV show and she would still be ironing. She’d have a pile and a look of contentedness on her brow as she served her family and the world by ironing. She would magically transform wrinkly cloths into masterpieces WITH creases.

So yesterday, I was sitting on my dorm bed (which I will be sitting on until May 2011, but that’s going to be explained in my next blog entry) and a Voice from Above told me I needed to iron. I didn’t listen for about 20 minutes, then I slowly arose from my throne and pillow and picked out 4 pairs of pants and 1 shirt for this week’s professional attire that I would be donning. As my iron heated, I found my starch and unfolded the ironing board. I went really slow so I could psych myself into the ironing process. Yay for chores!!!...??

I successfully ironed my first pair of pants. Second. Third…. Fourth. Then I needed to quit. I had a flashback of my mom with 20 shirts and 10 pants with that contemplative look on her brow.

“I must…I must…I must…continue.”

About ½ way through my first shirt and last item to iron, my starch-applying right-index finger started speaking to my brain telling my cranium that it was no longer interested in spraying starch. My abs were sore from swaying back and forth, back and forth with the gliding of the iron. My ears were sore from listening to the starch burn itself into the straightness of my pants. My feet hurt. My back hurt. My eyes even hurt.

Although my pants and shirt experience was EPIC success, I am quite grateful that I am not required to do this job to eat.

So…with all that being said. Thanks Mom!

JLP

Thought #2 and #2.5 from Life Plan: I'm On a Boat

*This is my Hermano (Brother) John. I do not condone this video, but it is quite entertaining.

2) Life Plans create tension as a result of the war between flexibility and rigidity. I am not trying to say that not planning is going to get you to greatness. I’m a strong advocate for having a planned out map of where you’re going. However one bad idea would be the mindset of “My Way or the HIGHWAY!” and ulcers and heart attacks usually ensue in these type people.

One of my favorite “books” is a road atlas—because it shows you exactly how to get anywhere within the limitation of state lines and the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean. Technically you could take the mathematical route to get where you want to go REALLY fast which would—according to some old white guy—be the straightest line. However, there was some unknown soul long ago who took note of the terrain and chose based on his experience and care for the road traveler to pave a road where it would be safest, most beneficial, and most logical. That’s why through mountainous areas, the road is curvy and you have to drive slowly. Someone said that’s the safest way to cross the terrain. How not-smart, callous, and egotistical it would be for someone to throw away the map and believe that he/she is way smarter than the surveyor without ever being in the area. The “my idea trumps all” is a great way to “done get dead right real quick!” Nobody makes it very far without at least considering and respecting an already made road as the wisest choice. How unwise it is for me to try to force my plans—be a trailblazer through unknown, and unsafe terrain when the Life Surveyor (aka Jesus just in case you haven’t figured that out yet) has already made a road for me to walk on through challenging life areas.

2.5) Another thought on Thought #2. When my brother went on the family cruise, he propagated a hit song called “I’m On a Boat” by Lonely Planet and T. Pain. This quite vulgar but censored song was a song about nothing. Three guys on a boat. That’s it.

I was at church last Sunday and this song popped in my head when the preacher was talking about Paul being “On a Boat”. Now of course, T. Pain was probably not on the boat in his day, nor did they make t-shirts that show how cool it is to be “On a Boat”. Paul’s primary means of transportation was on a boat that went through hell on high water but eventually got Paul to his purpose—which was to show Caesar the truth of Jesus and how to start a relationship with God. One thing I learned yesterday was that I have to:

1: Get on the Boat. I have to realize that my life is made of purpose and is worth sacrificing the stability of land and do something daring.

2: Enjoy the ride. Paul’s boat probably made him wonder if the destination was/is really worth the stomach ache and the crazy waves—a Nor’easter storm of epic proportion. He knew when he got on the boat that it wouldn’t be comfortable, but he kept the end in mind and coped with the agony of the waves.

3: Accomplish the End Goal. Paul didn’t ever forget about his meeting with Caesar. He survived the boat ride and he was able to achieve his calling.

Being the Pauls of the world is never easy, but it is most definitely possible. I think that my boat road will take me places that I would never have expected, never would have dreamed of, never would have planned for, and never thought would be able to prepare me for my destiny. But lo and behold! In just a few years, I will be able to say: “If it wasn’t for my crazy boat ride, I would have still be on shore staring at my long lost and unattained destiny with Caesar!”

For more info: See Acts 27.

Thought #1: The Little Circle O-Thing--EPIC Fail

Well, I have a confession to make. I did as I promised in the blog entry before last. I sat down with a blank piece of paper and a book underneath it. I scribbled a little circle O-thing in the corner—just to make sure my pen was working. I inhaled. I exhaled. Repeated the breathing process again. Rolled my eyes. Sighed. Then got something to eat. That was the end of that.

So my goal of completing a Life Plan was definitely deemed Epic Fail. But through this whole process I figured out a few things. This blog entry is dedicated to the First thing I realized about my Life Plan...

1) My life exists to serve. When I was thinking about moving to DC to get a condo, a window box garden, life supply of organic food at Whole Foods, standing reservation at Starbucks every morning, and a posh job somewhere as an entry-level clerk at some place fun, I realized one huge, monumental no-no I was about to commit! This seemingly brilliant plan is rooted in two things: ME and MY PERSONHOOD. Although my job would be very outward-focused (I would be changing lives and livelihoods, right?), never have I or did I mention serving others as a reason for going to DC. I was interested in making my life as amazing on the outside as possible—so that people would think that I’m cool and chic and hip. So Jesus asked me when I was writing my Life Plan, “Where exactly in the Bible is your agenda located?” My answer to Him was what I wrote on my paper. Nada nothing. *Alas.

Phenomenal Woman--That's Me!

I shudder to think that my words and Maya Angelou's are written with such close proximity, but nonetheless. This is one of my favorite poems by her because it shows who/what women are--they are Phenomenal. You can't be an inspiration to anyone until you are an inspiration to yourself FIRST! It's a prerequisite.

Phenomenal Woman

Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.
I'm not cute or built to suit a fashion model's size
But when I start to tell them,
They think I'm telling lies.
I say,
It's in the reach of my arms
The span of my hips,
The stride of my step,
The curl of my lips.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

I walk into a room
Just as cool as you please,
And to a man,
The fellows stand or
Fall down on their knees.
Then they swarm around me,
A hive of honey bees.
I say,
It's the fire in my eyes,
And the flash of my teeth,
The swing in my waist,
And the joy in my feet.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

Men themselves have wondered
What they see in me.
They try so much
But they can't touch
My inner mystery.
When I try to show them
They say they still can't see.
I say,
It's in the arch of my back,
The sun of my smile,
The ride of my breasts,
The grace of my style.
I'm a woman

Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

Now you understand
Just why my head's not bowed.
I don't shout or jump about
Or have to talk real loud.
When you see me passing
It ought to make you proud.
I say,
It's in the click of my heels,
The bend of my hair,
the palm of my hand,
The need of my care,
'Cause I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/phenomenal-woman/

A Poem I Wrote

I'm not one to write poems--at least I thought I wasn't. But I was daydreaming in class and found putting words together quite therapeutic and fun. This poem I wrote a couple years ago as I was riding in a car through the Kentucky woods. I dedicated it to my Great-Grandmother, Edith Toussaint, who turned 100 last week.

If They Struggled Not

I drive past where people used to run

Run not for medals

Run not for pleasure

Escape danger hope

People

Those people

Black people

My people

Individuals ran through the beautiful scenery

That I see now

If they never ran I would never have seen

If they never feared I would never have dreamed

If they never dared I would never have studied

If they never hoped I would never have stood

Did they ever think that at the end of these woods

Lived a young girl

Creating her own legacy in 2008?

Unnamed stepping stones

For the good of a whole race and way of life

Unnamed faces

Blazed the forest trail

for thinkers

Doers

Finders

Lovers

Mothers

Of now and tomorrow

Knowledge of past is not the end of my journey

Just cuz I know what they did don' mean nuthin!

I take their speed

Agility

Purpose

Their torch

I press on

Daring

Praying

Hoping

Fearing

Their cries beckon me

To remember and never ever forget.

What a travesty,

A waste of history if I don't acknowledge

Thank

Hope

And follow their whispers

Recorded by the trees they passed

"Dream,

Make me proud.

Hope with poise,

Run!"

Til later...

Obama's Health Insurance Gift Certificates, Short/Long-Term Plans

Last question! I had to, for my class, devise short and long-term activities to help me achieve my goal of greatness from my Self-Help book by Kyser. Here's what I came up with:

1: This weekend, I am going to sit and write out a Life Plan. So many things in my life—plans for Summer 2010 and Life after December—are in the air. I need to write all the things I’m thinking about down on paper so I don’t forget the little ones, “minimalize” the important ones, and make a big deal out of things that aren’t big deals. I don’t have degrees where I can say “I’m going to medical school, therefore I will be a doctor”. With an Organizational Communication degree, I can go into literally any field and do something. Such decisions! As for long term, I would like to see how far my Life Plan can take me. I don’t want to totally stick to it because I might miss a great, unexpected twist in life because it wasn’t on my Life Plan. However, having it on paper will be helpful in taming all of my lofty ideas.

2: 1) I have an appointment to meet with a woman professor who has been recommended to me for quite some time now. I think she will have some insight and she will be helping me with my cover letter so I can finally apply for internships for this summer. Long term, I am hoping for at least 3 people in my life that are willing to impart their wisdom to me. I don’t want to just pick any one person and I also have to realize that they have to grow too—therefore I must not put them on a pedestal.

3: I already have a budget in place and I was actually under-budget (spent less money than planned) in January which is a good thing! I was really proud of myself. A short-term goal with this one is to see how much I spent for February and compare the numbers to January. I should also figure out which health insurance plan I’ll need—this is when I think that Barack Obama needs to give out gift certificates at the Health Insurance Store so that I don’t have to pay premiums for a year. Alas… As for a long-term goal, I need to research how much life costs. I have no idea of the expenses associated with living on my own in a non-school environment. I don’t want to be totally surprised by these expenses because of my unrealistic ideas.

And finally for real--the last question!

What are concrete accountability measures to indicate you are making progress in carrying out implementation?

I think that a checklist will give me lots of accountability. I will also be blogging about my progress. I do want to read about this transitional stage of life when I get old and senile and 30. I also have my Mom who is such a great asset and keeps me on my toes. My main thing I need to focus on emotionally during this stage is staying calm and letting what happens happen. No reason to get overly paranoid about things I can’t help. Mailing applications takes time—so sitting next to the mail box waiting for responses from internship opportunities is not a wise use of sanity or time. My mind must stay occupied. Just like in the movie My Life, I have to let go on the roller coaster of life and enjoy the ride. Woohooo!!!!!!!

3 Things I Learned From My "Self-Helping Ourselves" Book

So this assignment, I have to list three things I can do as a result of my book by Chaz Kyser called Embracing the Real Work: The Black Woman's Guide to Life After College. I will be tracking in future blogs my progress on these three things. I think I will actually add a fourth...an extra treat to my Bloggers!

The first thing I need to do is to come up with a Life Plan. As I find all these “fun” things to do, I often get distracted with my true purpose. Lots of things are good ideas, but what is my great idea? And how do I get to my great idea? Of course, I should keep my options open, but it is far too late in the game to “wanna be a lawyer, firefighter, and a doctor” like we all said when we were knee-high to a grasshopper.

The second thing that I need to do is find a Career Mentor—or a Life Mentor. I need to find people to surround me who are where I want to be. This idea follows the purposes found in shadowing or interning. Seeking out people who have another angle on my great idea will alleviate most or all of my unreasonable expectations about the field, give me a road map to get to my great idea, and encourage me as I walk on that path to get to my great idea. Then, Kyser said to make sure that you give your Career/Life Mentor updates on your progress—you don’t want to be an advice moocher.

Thirdly, I need to practice budgeting now. I disagree with 50 Cent. I won't be abiding by his new hit "Baby By Me" which says "...Have a baby by me, Baby, be a milllionaire." I agree with my friend Andre "Skinny" Foster here at Murray State when as his status de Facebook, he said the lyrics should actually be "Have a baby by me, Baby, Be on WELFARE!!" I did sin and should prolly go to confession for skimming over his very heathenous lyrics so I wouldn't recommend anyone to skim over them. Trust me...it's bad. I do wonder how many ladies are thinking that they'll actually get his alimony check if they let him do Verse 1 and Verse 2 of his song on them. Alas! This pop culture is CRAZINESS! But I digress...

Since money has a magical chemical characteristic called disappearing, it’s quite important to at least have an idea of where it went. My mom is queen of this. She can balance her checkbook to the penny—if I’m within $50 and not in the red, it’s EPIC success. I don’t think this is a good idea when I am on my own. Since I have a miniscule amount of dinero now, it should be a lot easier to manage the amount and get the principles of wise money saving, spending, and tracking.

FOURTHLY, I have to be willing to be an entry-leveler. I can't expect to have a dream job or summer internship without digging through the trenches of monotony. I have to suck it up, grab the salts, and walk through the mud. Mud is thick too--and really messy, but necessary to build bricks. (Deep thought!) So although paper-filing, running errands, and other various office work duties may seem like it's conflicting with my dream of greatness, I gotta pay my dues and keep hope alive for my job of being in charge of people and having someone/subordinate/intern go get my Venti London Fog with decaf chai, soy, and sugar-free hazelnut from Starbucks because A: I don't have to, B: "I don't want to, and C: I served my time getting my bosses drinks.

Self-Helping Ourselves

So readers...

I know this seems like a cop-out, but I am copying my assignment answers for this blog. Why you ask? Because I like my answers. :) This is for my Developing Human Potential Class. We are supposed to be self-helping ourselves through the reading and reflecting on a self-help book. I'm also reading 3 other books (at least I'm supposed to be...). I am--believe it or not--getting off FaceBook to do my homework! Yay me! So here goes...

I chose the book Embracing the Real Work: The Black Woman’s Guide to Life After College by Chaz Kyser because this book is precisely where I am in life. I’ve been in school for the past 18 years and am not about to embark on a new journey—where there are no textbooks and no professors. I’m not a smoker, working on getting skinny, relatively calm most days, non-menopausal…it took a while to figure out where my self needed help. When I looked on Amazon, this book appeared with a light from above, and I knew it would be perfect! I may not be a smoker or a habitual liar, but I am PETRIFIED of my future—specifically my future beginning in 10 months…

I think by my being proactive—which is the first step in Covey’s book—is paramount in beginning a self-help process. You have to buy the book, actually OPEN it, and at least skim it, consider doing something that it says before it a self-help book will do you any good. I’ve survived all of those steps and am liking how I see myself in my future as a result of this book. Secondly, I have to Begin with the End in Mind” which is Habit 2. Here, I practice looking beyond my next step, whether that step be physical, mental, spiritual, etc., and look towards my future where it really counts. After looking there, I have to come up with a plan to get to the end destination—this destination is a successful 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd career.

In this 2^nd book, Unlimited Power by Anthony Robbins, it says that “[An] attribute great leaders and achievers have in common is that they operate from the belief that they create their world…” I’m not sure how wholly I believe in this ideology, but I do know for a fact that if I perceive myself as a victim in all circumstances, then I will always be 2 steps behind success and freedom from chains of subordination. SO, that means that I must take control over my world and learn to take precedence over my situations—good ones and bad ones.

In the 3^rd book, Top Performance: How to Develop in Excellence in Yourself and Others, Zig Ziglar talks a lot about how to be a leader in life. One thing I like from this book is the question: Why should anyone want to follow you (me)? My life is creating a social footprint in society. People should look back and know that I was here. That I did great things. Not-so-great things. In order to influence people, you have to be influential—one of those “DUH” things… So how does this question have anything to do with my self-help book? Lots. People should see me as an example and want to be like me—not all of me. But there has to be something in my life that is worth emulating and taking to heart—otherwise, what’s the point? So in my self-help pursuit, I am fixing a part of my life that will one day be worth emulating.