Day Eight- unpacking a brain

Here's a picture I took of the clouds over New York as we descended on Monday.

You know that moment when you decide there is SOMETHING in your closet you really need, and in order to find it you must disassemble your barely operational organization system (oh, that might just be me!)... so you do, because you must, and in doing so... yes, you may find that ONE thing, but you also are now surrounded by a BUNCH of stuff that you had forgotten that you needed as well and now require your immediate attention to place or decipher just so you can recreate some semblance of balance?

Ok, so that's how my brain is right now, and it is only day one (really).
Its always so funny to me that I forget how messy and problematic IDEAS can be.
THIS IS GOING TO BE A LONG CONFERENCE. I do like all the people here, though. I've met school starters, parents, students, thinkers, writers, and other teachers... and all of them are VITAL and THRIVING in experiments all over the world. One person I met is Elana who has ties to both LW and G-ville, so we have mutual friends... triple cool (you know you're on the right path when...).

I also am dealing with A LOT of guilt about leaving G-Star. It is something I hoped this conference would alleviate, but so far it has only made the feeling worse. I resort to hip hop lyrics, here Talib Kwali "I tried to fit it in the same rhyme, but realized I can't be everything to everyone at the same time." (Everything Man, from EarDrum-an album I highly recommend).

Tomorrow all the workshops and discussions start, so I need SLEEP!

Day Seven- where am I again?

Ok, so I'm not in Albany, really- I'm in Troy, NY. It is REALLY small. I just arrived today for the Alternative Education Resource Organization Conference, and I'll be here for nearly a week.

While I was in NYC for two days I did get to spend a lot of lovely time with Kate, and some time with Kerry Downey and Melissa Norton. LOVE! I didn't take many pictures-my camera battery died- and there are a few places I REALLY want to go in NYC that I didn't get the chance to... but I'll be returning for a week after I leave here, so it's all good.

Gil whisked me through mid morning traffic to Penn station, and caught a fare from there! The train ride up was easy and very lush. Leftover Burmese food hit the spot, and I even napped a bit. I watched a deer watching us.

I have two little items with me from lovely former students- one of Stef's necklaces and a compass (I've used it a few times) from Mary Kathryn- thanks!

I'm sure I'll have more to say after some sleep and a bunch of workshops in the next few days.

Day Four- More to hoop for!

Here's a taste of our hoop jam at the drum circle on St Petersburg beach earlier today... for more pictures, visit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/27935981@N06/
(there are three pages of photos, just from Sunday!)








Thanks again to all of you for the wonderful energy we've shared! I can't wait to attend each of your hoop classes!
Peace and love to you all!

Day Three-HoopGirl Hoop Dance Teacher Certification

Are we having fun or what?!?!
Abby of HoolaMonsters (http://www.hoolamonsters.com, top photo) made it possible for Christabel of Hoopgirl to bring her teacher certification program to Tampa, FL and WE ARE SOOOO GRATEFUL! This is Christabel's first training on the east coast EVER. I have been having a ridiculously good time, alongside a really joyful, loving group of Florida hoopers. I believe this might be the beginning of a dedicated statewide hooping community, and its about time! Tomorrow is the last day of the training, and I look forward to seeing press and web-presence from all my fellow hooping experts... Morgan, Lauren, Danielle (561-represent!!!), Christine, Joe, Jodie, Abby, Leandra, Gina, and Jessica- it has been a supreme pleasure to hoop with you. Thanks Christabel for all the hooptastic fun and truly inspiring experience. Hoopgirl.com, players!

While in St Pete I had a chance to return to the State Theatre for a Toubab Krewe show. I ended up hearing a band called the Bird Street Players (check 'em out on myspace) who really rocked out... until, in the middle of the second song, the power just kind of cut out in one of the amps, or something, I don't know because I don't know shit about sound... anyway, the band stopped playing, started to confer with the staff, and... well, apparently the power had dropped by about half what was necessary for the show. Candles came out, for crying out loud. Well, I did get to hear an acoustic jam (an hour later) from Bird Street and then Toubab Krewe, and WOW. And then, back to Rahb's to sleep.

Monday I fly to New York, so find me there!!!

Day one- the adventure begins.

June 19, 2008
Sleep did not come easy last night, but it did come.

Elliot gave me a crazy fun lift to the train station today, and Dawn happily came along. The wait for the train was mediated by a conversation about (of all things) globalization with a very persistent Jehovah’s Witness (is there any other kind?). When the train finally arrived, 20 minutes late, I found myself sitting next to two Delray friends- Eve & David, on their way to some strange job assignment at Tropicana Field… something about Fantasy Baseball. It was great to have Eve chat my ear off on the way, REALLY GREAT (I’m not being facetious!).

The train ride from West Palm Beach to Tampa was LOVELY- green-green-green scenery punctuated by cows and strange warehouse districts in minor towns under fluffy, water-ripe clouds across the state. Epiphany- giant piles of scrap metal are beautiful. Thank you.

Rahb greeted me in typical Rahb fashion- I wandered through the crowd until I found a young man sitting quietly on a bench examining some text or another, and that was him! It had been so long I almost didn’t recognize him. Off to the pad, and after a delicious (mostly raw) vegan meal at Grass Root, here I am, calmly typing a letter to no one in particular while conversationally entertaining the thought of emotional relationships to software. Ah, I have missed my old friends.

Can't Sleep-Last night before lift off

I kind of knew this would happen- the spontaneous energy rush that engulfed me the moment I hit the bed to contemplate the entirety of this moment. This is my last night in Lake Worth before the first of a multi-legged trip. I'm petrified and elated and exhausted and buzzed... I've always felt that my muse has bad timing, now I have proof: amidst the dancing to/fro the fridge (for last bite of precious saved cookie), the poem-bits whizzing round my brain, the drum beats in my chest cavity, I admit that I feel more than a little insane.

Here's hoping a little dribble of writing will calm me down so I can sleep. I'd love to make this an all-nighter, but I'm not 23 anymore (or 25, or 27) and even I can't justify dusk-til-dawn-art-binging at a time like this. Friday will be the first of three 8-hour days of hoop training intensives. I need to rest this body of mine! I did tweak my knee somehow on Monday or Monday night, and have been trying to take it easy, after all. Plus I've decided to take TWO shoulder bags instead of just one, and have thus weighed myself down in a way I wasn't anticipating.

Rahb will meet me at the train station in Tampa. I love Google Maps (don't you?)- I could probably WALK from the train station to his house, but I doubt it would be a very pleasant walk... it's about 2-3 miles, with luggage. I was originally going to rent a car, but then I remembered: oh yeah, I HATE driving a car these days (duh, I sold mine!), why bother? Amtrak it is- they have this Florida Rail Pass ($249) for a year's worth of travel between Florida destinations. Gainesville? Orlando? Tampa? Tallahassee? Jax? Even Sarasota. Pretty incredible, actually.

I am REALLY sad, too.
I've been casting about for a REASON to stay. To say- 'forget it! I'm comfortable, I'm happy, and I'm staying!'
This is not to say that my friends aren't wonderful, that the school isn't wonderful, but... these are not REASONS- they're people, and I'm not afraid of losing them. There is really NO REASON for me to be here now, and many reasons to GO GO GO! And that's a very sobering realization.

I had a beautiful day working with my mother today. It was a rare and wonderful experience, and deserved acknowledgement. My mom rocks.

I'll leave off with a silly picture Kate and I took of ourselves in front of a bunch of people in front of the giant Christmas tree @ Rockefeller Center in December. So long, and thanks for all the fish.

A message to you from the New York Historical Society

It is nice to think that we once worried about our own collective memory. Then again, this was before the era of compulsory schooling! Nowadays, nearly 5 nationwide polls a year demonstrate a sort of collective amnesia regarding the more salient moments of our nation's past (lets not even TALK about the rest of the world). To what do we owe our dunce cap? Could it be that we have stripped the mystery, the puzzle of history from our curriculum? So many students reportedly hate history because 'it is just a collection of facts and dates'. That is how THEY SEE IT- the view from the ground, so to speak. How could we expect them to see it any differently in the era of standards-based regurgitation? Why have we stripped the soul from knowledge?

In Flux

Well, the classroom is almost cleaned out- one mre hour and one more trip to the storage unit is all it will take. I feel like a nearly deflated balloon- not exactly heavy, but a lot less bouyant. Living at Bahm's for the time being, being that my house literally has a POISON sign on the outside. Friday dance party feels a million years away.

Today is Rahb's birthday, which means tomorrow (i think) is Terisa's. Gemini geniuses, both.

Just signed up for the Hip Hop and Spoken Word Teachers Institute in Madison- really wanted to go last year, going to make it happen FOR REAL this year. Planned and budgetted into August, still need to book one workshop and 4-6 plane/train tickets!

This is not goodbye...

Thanks to all who had the luxury of being able to attend the party last night @ Soma, hope you had a great time 'cause I surely did! All that great art...is now on our dining room table! Great moments are indeed EVERYWHERE, and the hoops are now officially AT SOMA (and available anytime they are open- spontaneous hoop jam, anyone?).

Please email me if I can to add you to my address book...

The Paid Dues tour visited Ft Lauderdale, and we visited it ourselves last night post party. Club Cinema in Pompano is an excellent venue, but I have even less tolerance for cigarette smoke than EVER BEFORE (can I get an 'amen'?). We missed Solillaquists of Sound, but caught Blackalicious- strikes and gutters. The crowd was pretty cool, but also small: is this just a trough in the So FLa underground hip hop scene, or is it bad promotion? Clare and I were able to get a ride home with some fun folk- thanks fun folk!

So now that's done, here comes the easy part. I'm in flux for the next 1.5 weeks: I'll spend a dash of time @ school, a pinch of time @ home, a sprinkle of time @ Soma and Les Beans... here and there. I've been trying to convince someone to go with me to Universal Studios sometime this or next week, not because I particularly LOVE it, but because we get that free Florida educator pass, and it seems a shame to let it go to waste! If you are looking for me, perhaps you'll find me. I'm still trying to do interviews with individuals about their experiences with homeschooling or other educational alternatives... if you are interested in a conversation about this PLEASE CONTACT ME!

Bess is coming to town to put on a Co-Lab workshop with the Community Foundation of Broward County next week!

I think early next week I'll start cleaning and packing for the final time. Seems inefficient to start now, though it IS on my mind a lot lately- how many skirts should I bring? What about jackets/hoodies: is one enough? until July? What if I don't have time to switch out my wardrobe that ONE DAY I return in July? Hmmm...is this a question of logistics, spatial dynamics, aesthetics, or personal preference? Oh dear. What a quintessentially human moment- packing a bag, archeology in reverse.

GOING AWAY PARTY @ Soma!

Come say goodbye!
Saturday June 7, 6-9 pm

G-Star Graduates, 2008

It was such a pleasure sitting in the audience during graduation, applauding the ceremony and acknowledging the years of hard work produced by these students. More than any thing else, I applauded their potential. This class has SO MUCH talent. I did cry during the event, but not as much as I did last year, and luckily Miss Watson was there, and got the much deserved acknowledgment for her dedication and general awesomeness during the time she spent with this class.

Miss y'all! See you randomly as the world turns!