The things I learned this week…

Time is of the essence, so keep a damn schedule:
I looked at my calendar and it is a mess – literally! All these damn post-its, papers, and whatnot. All this stuff I need to do… ay yi yi! Thank goodness it’s stuff I actually LOVE!

I’m a mad woman on the road:
On Wednesday, I went from Oakland (from my nice comfy bed), to Berkeley (to pick up my boss and colleague for a conference), to Sacramento (where the conference was), to San Francisco (to get my education on), then finally home to Oakland (to go to bed). Thank goodness my E. Honda holds up and I had an ass load of good CDs to tie me over.

That I’m a driving masochist/Let others do the driving some times:
I nearly did the same the following day. On the way back, my boss offered to drive and said that I should just chill and fall asleep in the back – funny thing is that I can’t fall asleep in cars, especially when someone else is driving MY car. My boss is an awesome driver no doubt, but I still think we have that internal ownership mechanism that causes us to worry and panic when someone else takes control of what we create or own. I felt myself hitting the “imaginary brake” like my bro and mom have mastered ever so well. I guess having my boss was a trade off those since she let me joy ride, I mean barrow her wheels once… hehe.

Hanging around innovators definitely rubs off:
This conference in Sacto was put together by our funders and was a way for us to see all the amazing things people in our field are doing across Cali… which is some really cool, innovating, and life altering stuff! There was one youth team promoting health with spoken word, rap, and singing – so talented and impactful. It’s funny to finally meet those folks you constantly call for technical assistance (i.e. How did that shit work? How can we incorporate it here? – well, not like that, but you get my point) face to face. Again, good and powerful stuff.

Education is FUNdamental!:
At the conference, I was taking all these notes – not just for my work, but also jotting down things that will help me in my entire educational process – whether academic or experiential. Indeed, everything is a learning experience.

It’s hard to teach people the difference between schooling AND education:
This is too long to explain for here. I will some other day. To start, can you all venture to guess what the difference(s) are? They’re no right or wrong answers – except if you disagree with me, then yours are all wrong…muhahaha!

Dance is life:
My homies Mylene and JB joined me on Friday for the kick off of National Dance week in Downtown Oakland – in case you didn’t know there are free dance classes all around the Bay from now until May 1, so check some out if ya can! Mylene and I are on a team to do a training on how dance helps you cope with emotional aspect personal loss (i.e. death, divorce, a break up, etc.). It’s amazing how the best dancers or the people that are really amazing in whatever they do have gone through so much pain and hurt.

Capitol security guards can easily be pervs:
My boss and colleague and I went into the capitol building to snoop around and whatnot, and my damn boots set off the security check point bells and whistles. So I had to raise my pant legs to show I wasn’t concealing any weapons. I think he just wanted to see my sexy legs. I can imagine “Miss, I think your underwire set off the alarm. We have to investigate.” Such an opportunity to be an overt perv. How many have taken advantage… hmm…

Tell a story:
At the conference, we had a speaker talk about the importance of story telling in our field – how that aids in conveying what you need to the communities you seek to or are already serving. That it’s important to lead with a combination of head (logical information), heart (emotional), and hands (collaborative). If you are too heavy in one area, you may stand to lose many. He also talked about how stories frame our identity – he said to jot down the ten stories you often tell others about yourself, which he said will be therapeutic. Again, too long to start here, but some other day.

You never stop missing the people you love:
I miss my grandma. It’s ironic that three songs – “I Wish” by R. Kelly and “Missing You” by P-Diddy and Faith – had me nearly bawling in my car. *sigh* but she and her siblings are the catalyst for why I do what I do, so that makes my heart feel good.

At least you always have “family”:
Yesterday, we had a little get together in honor of my sister – for her 22nd b-day. A time to reminisce, have good food, dance, and just enjoy one another. I really missed those times, and I’m glad we are able to do them again.