My Day with the Literary Babies

I stayed with my literary babies all day today. The school had a celebration, called "Book-IT" which is a celebration of students reading and increasing their literary skills. Students received book and literary awards, trophies, and most importantly, were able to be apart of the program. Parents of the students, grandmothers, and other relatives were on hand to see the program as it unfolded this afternoon at 1pm. Before then, I taught my first graders this morning. They wrote voice poems.

Samples from class:

My voice is cool.
My cat's voice.
My dog's voice.
My mom's voice.
My cousin's voice.
My puppy.
My uncle's voice.
~~ D'Andre M.

I like my mom's voice.
I like my dad's voice.
I like my voice.
I like my auntie's voice.
~ Pilshae B.

I love to talk.
I love to speak.
To Jarod and my other cousins,
sisters and brothers.
~ Jalen P.

My spirits voice is about to catch on fire.
And I can not do anything about it.
My voice might be a bad thing in me
because my spirit's voice is on fire too.
~ Malik L.

The amazing thing about today's class was the sixteen line poems by two students. They consistently write long poems which tells me that they read and write a lot at home. I got a chance to meet some of the parents of the students. I showed some of them the work I have been able to do with students. Malik's father was very surprised about the deepness of his son's thoughts. I invited parent's to drop in my class. I would love for them to see what I do with the kids. It's amazing though, I normally run out of time in the class. I realize, students are really connecting with me. I got a lot of hugs from the kids. Especially the girls. I think it's important that I be who I am, a strong black woman, unafraid of being who she is. I love working with the kids, to hear their thoughts, and see such progression in my short time with them. I have four to six weeks left on my contract and will be finished at this particular school by June 11th. I will be sad to leave.

Because of the love, the committment of the student work, even with some of my hard headed seventh graders, it's a fresh breath of air to hear voices - young voices that are begging to be heard, even in the midst of behavioral issues. These kids shine~and they inspire me.

Mocha Sistah

Isn't it funny...listen up?

When God sends a message, you better listen. So, today I was on my way home and stopped by my favorite Walgreens, to pick up a few snacks and just browse. Anyway, I saw a sister with this beautiful head of hair, and I thought it was my missing poetic sister, Pia, and God would have it that it was miss poetic. As we hugged and caught up on old times, she asked me what I was doing and I told her the usual mocha chatter. She asked me why "you haven't blown up yet." I laughed and told her my time was coming. We talked about a whole bunch of things, and she dropped a nugget in my head. She had shared that she was going to apply a while back to the Community Colleges in Chicago to teach poetry or writing. She said, "You need to do that Mocha>" and I thought about it. I wondered why I never thought of it. Then I started to muse on the fact that half of my poetry friends are Adjunct Professors. I just been teaching so long in schools that I never thought of that as my next level.

Now, the last time I saw Pia was 2 summers ago, as she transitioned to a Corporate Job, and left my Summer Poetry Workshop.

It's funny how God brought her into my space to drop a little something for me to muse on. I don't believe God did this to bring just a smile to my face, but to keep me focused on other opportunities for me to look as I transition deeper into my life as a freelancer artist/consultant.

A year ago when I joined the Black Poetry Cafe, I had several fellow poets in the Chicago area asking me when I would be teaching for adults. Once again, I was so busy that i never followed up with the stream of thought that was brought into me. Last summer, I had an idea to work with adults but I never pushed it. AGain, I was lost in my transition from my last regular working situation that I never even thought of it again.

But God pushes it in my face, again. Umm, wake up and smell the coffee, Mocha was what I thought today when I spoke with my fellow literary sister. I listened this time. When I got home I sent my resume to the CCC for consideration for Adjunct Positons and we'll see what will happen. In the meantime, I will keep a pushing.

Isn't it funny how things keep coming back? Do you think it's a just a happenance? Or that it was fate? Or a bigger plan? You choose.

I just know the divine is always on the case and sometimes, we need to stop, be still and listen.

~ Mocha Sistah

Mocha's Taste of Chicago

I love to eat and cook sometimes, but when I'm not wanting to actually cook, I can just go down the street and find something great to eat. South Shore is my community nestled near the Lake Shore and in the middle of the South East side of the city.

A few of my favorites are:

1) Soul Vegetarian - Expensive but Good!
2) Cafe Trinidad - Excellent Curry Chicken, Sorrell and Callaloo
3) Harold's Chicken - Cheap and good chicken.
4) Baba's - best icy beverages...fast service~
5) Subway - Great Healthy Alternative
6) Turkey Burger Place (can't remember name); thirty minute wait for the best fresh turkey burger ever
7) L & G's - Cheap family dining: last time I saw Jesse Jackson Jr...

New places for me to adventure

1) 5 Loaves - Has been opened for 2 years, heard its good
2) Soul Xpress ~ Southern Cuisine

My Chitown Favorites not in South Shore:

1) BJ Markets
2) Garrett's popcorn
3) Italian Ice place on Taylor street
4) Dixie Kitchen
5) Redfish
6) Olive Garden
7) Dustie's
8) Ribs and Bibs
9) Leona's
10) Crate Barrell

Of course when I'm not eating out, I can throw down a little sumthing like red beans and rice, veggie lasagna, chicken and noodles, baked salmon with veggies or whatever. When i'm not teaching, I cook a lot more so I am looking forward to my off season so I can enjoy the summer and of course, act like a human being without a whole bunch of time spent teaching, reading poems, and typing reports. I'll be able to relax and enjoy my culinary delights. And in between bites, I will hit the gym, walk for 2 hours, or plug in my Taebo tape...

If you ever come, here, let me know and I'll take to you something for your culinary delight. Happy eating~

Mocha Sistah

Melt Down on a Friday

Let's keep it real, one of my nicknames is "straight-no-chaser mocha" and I guess today I lived up to it. I been dealing with disrespectful students, and people who think they can "treat" me. Yesterday, I had to assert myself in class with a student who thought he could run my time. I basically asked the teacher to remove the said student, because 1) he was taking up poetry time with his drama overtures 2) he was not contributing to the learning experience 3) I have no time to waste time in my class on non-class activities. The fifth grade class, was in no better shape, as many of the students have behavioral issues and when they are "hyped up", it's like a trip and a half. When ever the teacher steps out, I have to over assert myself. I had students roaming the room, acting like fools, picking on other students, and generally, wasting valuable class time. Now, my options are one, to BLOW UP, 2) Lecture them (yeah right) or 3) refocus them and quickly. Now, I usually don't let it get out of hand, but when it's as chaotic as the last two days, all I can do is grin and bear it, joke while in class, and focus on the ones who are writing. Back to today's dilemma. I been dealing with a very unprofessional affilation with a client who basically owes me...money. I melted down. Couldn't take it no more. Pulled out my "no straight chaser" mocha who will not be nice, who will get her justICE NOW. I had to act a fool, and as a result, I got the situation resolved. My question is why you got to act like evil to get things resolved. Why? And why must we (black folks who we do business with and you know who I'm talking about) think we can treat folks any kind of way?

It's ridiculous. When someone is working for you, hard. The least you can do is Pay them, and communicate with them. Treat them well. The same goes for clients. I try to finish projects on time, and communicate when I can't.

I melted down with the particular situation because no communications were coming from the client. No emails. No phone calls. Missed calls. Most importantly, a missing check. Basically, I'm the sweetest person ever, but if you can't at least communicate with me, it drives me up the wall. There are too many ways to say what you need to say and be professional about it. I am self-employed and many of my freelance jobs, take care of my compensation. It drives me up the wall when I have to seek out the client. It is very disrespectful to play with someone's time and energy.

PAY to play. You can't get anything in this life for free. That's basically the bottom line. Even though I did melt down, I did speak with the client, didn't apologize for the melt down, they apologized for the communication issue and are resolving the current issue.

Attitude is re-adjusted. Angel wings clipped back on and crown shining. Can't be an angel all the time, I just know I won't allow any one to play with me, my talents, or my $$$. Let's keep it real, if you don't go to bat for yourself, who will?

Tips before melting down:

Try to think before you speak.
Five minutes of silence required before you email or call someone.
Try to speak with a third party who can listen with out judging you.
Try to communicate with the other party.
If that doesn't work, then work out in your "head" what you
want to address; then speak directly with the other party
and try to work it out.

Tips after the meltdown:

Don't bring it up again.
Start off with a new slate.
Walk, Pray, or Sing it out...

Good luck and have a great weekend,
Mocha Sistah

Breathing...Easy

I went to my mailbox this afternoon, awaiting a very important check. So imagine my surprise when I noticed the dollar amount was not right. Instead of getting my attitude all bent out of shape, I dug in my work timesheets, to make sure I did send it, then I double, tripled checked the email to make sure I did send my work reports. And I had. But my employer made a slight error. I called in and asked if they could check their records. I guess, because i was nice, or maybe that I'm an organized freak, or maybe coz folks just love me, that, my check was cut, and they apologized. No attitude adjustment required. It's funny how if you take a situation and don't over analyze it, and just let the universe flow around you, that things have a way of taking care of themselves. On top of that check situation, I got an email about my status with American Idol Underground, stating, my track, "Misinterpretations" was ranked very high - 19 out of 89. I'm like what? That's mad crazy. The rest of my day went very well. I had classes with my baby poets this morning, and well, I had a great time. They wrote Praise Poems. From Praise God poems to Praise "Michael Jordan" poems. It was a very nice day, and I can't complain. It was a good day....and I'm breathing easy. Another blessing, is that I just got the title of Publicist, for a new client, Boogie Nite, a Chicago producer on the move. He's got six clients under his roster so I feel very blessed with this new consulting hat I'm putting on. Anyway, I am hoping you too are breathing easy, this day.

Good Hair, Good Friday

It's a blessing today. I feel great. I hope you do too. I have been asked about my hair situation and it's growing longer and longer. My hair is currently interlocked because well, i have a fine grade of hair (curly stuff - basically we have indian somewhere on both sides of my family tree and I inherited it). Anyway, Shavon, my stylist says my hair is locking fine. I'm using some hair moisturizer, locking gel, water, and spend about 15 minutes a day massaging my hair and locks. It feels great~

I think this is a little over month and as you see my hair is really growing.

Anyway, hope your day and weekend goes well. Enjoy the Easter Blessings, church services, eating out with the family or whatever celebrations you are participating in. Be blessed and talk with you next week.

~ Mocha Sistah

Spring Employment Tips: Part I

Spring Employment Tips, or better yet, tips to help those Self-Employed Writers/Literary Artists get ready for Summer. If you are like me and you actually depend on income from schools during the school year, you know that summer is fastly approaching. For me, it will be the week of June 13th. Fortunately for me, I do have one program that I will be working with throughout the summer, thru August, along with freelance writing, and consulting projects that will help me push through two months of none-school related months. So, what is one to do?

UPDATE RESUMES
Go through your current resume. Add skills, have someone other than yourself, update the resume. Have different resumes for different skills: Administrative, Performance, Publishing/Writing, etc. Make sure to have an updated reference list in case you do apply for positions that will require an reference.

ONLINE JOB BANKS/NETWORKING
Networking, works. Use all resources available to you. Call your artist friends for job leads, even those in different cities. Touch base with other writers in your online writing groups. Use Craiglist (city - Chicago, or whichever city you are living in). Post a resume on job-specific sites - NPO.net (for non-profit jobs), or Monster.com (Career Builder, etcetera). Network with former employers, or former co-workers. This is how I have gotten many of my part-time jobs. 80% of my consulting jobs have been from industry-specific colleagues.

THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX
You have to think about things that you normally wouldn't. Depending on which schedule you want to work, your approach should be consistent with that schedule. Don't look for a full-time job if you aren't interested in that. Why waste an employer's time? There are plenty of job opportunities that are flexible. Theatre clerks, sales positions, community-based positions, freelance writing positions - editors, typesetters, consultants, etc. Multiply your income by dividing your time into different skills with different time slots. Yes, it's a lot of work, but you need to set a budget for your summer NOW. If you want to have money for July, August and September, then get out your bills and construct a liveable budget. What can you live with and without?

LITERARY EVENTS
With your summer budget and part time jobs, you need to figure out which events you plan to go on during the summer time. How much money are you willing to spend? Which ones are very important to attend? Make a monthly calendar and figure out how much hotel, airfare, and book sales or possible stipends attached to each venue. Do you need to travel out of your state necessarily? Are there any close events that provide exposure? Check out local events, radio stations, and online writer groups. Figure out if you can simply do a couple of booksignings at local libraries and book stores. Also check out local reading groups to host you. Figure in the cost of postcards, online website fees, and business cards and of course your books.

BALANCE IS KEY
Balance your work with your literary needs and see what it totals to. Don't forget to put a little time for yourself between all the needs and wants. Try to save money - at least 1/2 of what you need now, if not all by the Summer month of June to be ready for July - September. Actually you should have 3 months of your regular salary saved, but if not, at least your minimal amount needed to survive. But I rather see you thrive, not survive.

Be creative and go for it. Got any good tips, share them in the comment section. Thanks!

~ Mocha Sistah

Where were you ten years ago?

Do you remember how you felt, what you were doing, what you were eating, who you were dating, ten years ago? What styles did you wear? What were your favorite televison shows? Can you remember. I was thinking this morning about growth and change. As a creative being, I definitely don't remember my favorite shows, but I do recall being in a relationship over ten years ago. Me? Yes, I was in a long term relationship, and thought maybe I'd be married by age 28 but it didn't happen. I am not sad about it, I just think it's interesting to do a "go-back" check because I realize the person who I used to be is gone. My twenties were a period of time where I didn't feel comfortable in myself, had no self-realizations like I do now. I was working but not with any type of value in my life at the time. I used to live on the North Side of the City and wasn't as close with my family during that period in my life. I was just beginning my poetic journey and didn't even have a natural style. I had some perms that burned out my hair as I recall. But I loved living where I lived and I really wanted my relationship to work out but it didn't. I didn't cook for myself unless my boyfriend was with me. I liked being at home a lot more. I didn't use my voice or speak up for myself as much. I had a hard time in confronting people on issues. But as my own journey with my significant other came to a screeching halt, I began to break outside of that shell. At the end of that period of my life I began to search inside of me for my self-worth, love, and acceptance. It was more important for me to love me, to honor and cherish me. To be true to myself.

If you could change one thing about your self in the last ten years what would it be? for me, nothing. I think everything that happened, had to. I had to get burned by love, learn to let go, embrace my own Queendom. Create the positive being you know see through a series of changes. It was at age 28 that I began to question me being an enabler, and confronted my father about his absence in my life. I think those were important steps of change. I am glad I started to do my own self retreats. Take care of myself better and travel. As a young woman, I'd always be waiting for life to occur and I learned it's okay to rush life along too. So when I began to travel out of the city and country, I saw a bright bold world. I learned that it's okay to get outside your comfort zone. What's holding you back from living outside your comfort zone today? And are you willing to keep yourself at bay or live today? Because you know there's a difference between living and merely existing. Just think about it.

~ Mocha Sistah