Special Events
Coronavirus Yoga Challenge
My yoga studio was one of the last nonessential businesses to shut down. As a matter of fact, they made several accommodations prior to the city’s demand that nonessential businesses shut down. They sanitized surfaces such as door handles and counters more often. We stopped exhaling through our mouths. They marked the floor so we … Continue reading
Backpack Full of Cash Panel Discussion
The League of Women Voters’ latest sponsored documentary was “Backpack Full of Cash.” Even though I no longer teach, I still support public schools. This particular documentary essentially showed how big business has made an enormous effort to privatize education through charters and kill public schools. After the documentary, there was a panelist discussion, where … Continue reading
If These Walls Could Talk
As part of my MLK weekend celebration, I visited the Neill-Cochran House Museum. Here’s how I know I’m not a journalist: of all the pictures I took on the inside of this house museum, I took nary a picture of the outside of the museum. Throughout the museum, there were porcelain art pieces. Had I … Continue reading
Mad Hatter BD Party
This is how I know I’m fostering my circle of friends well: one of them planned a Mad Hatter party for her 40th birthday. Not only did I dash into my closet, which is half costumes, to retrieve my Mad Hatter attire, but I rummaged through my boxes of creative fodder to Mad Hatterly wrap … Continue reading
Surprised Visit
After 7 years of producing my monthly spoken word and storytelling show, The Austin Writers Roulette, I was ready to call it quits. Yet, Austin’s unofficial mayor of poetry sweet talked and flattered me into producing it for an 8th year. I split the difference and made this year bimonthly, thinking I may continue for … Continue reading
Chicks with Clicks
When one of my friends confessed to having a gun phobia, other friends and I rallied to support her. Only one of us had actually grown up around guns since her stepfather had taught her how to hunt since age 8. The rest of us just believed, since we were all very cerebral academics, that … Continue reading
Fallfest 2019
I recycled my Princess Leia costume for the company White Out party that many people kept referring to as the “White Only” party. I didn’t bother correcting anyone or pointing out the double entendre since I’d driven nearly 4 hours and had a hot second to check into my room, shower and change into costume. … Continue reading
Seven Squared Birthday
I only send a group email itinerary to celebrate my birthday when my new age ends in a “0” or “5,” so turning 49 was a low-key celebration, where I texted a few friends for fish and chips at an English-styled restaurant. We enjoyed dinner so much, that we took no pictures. We managed to … Continue reading
Out-of-Town Literary Night
Months ago, a friend of mine invited me to participate in a literary event, which included submitting several pieces to a juried magazine. As usual, I’d been juggling a lot of other things at the time and looked for several reasons to decline since participation involved an overnight trip. After he sent me a copy … Continue reading
2019 Cap City Black Film Festival
Almost by fluke, I found out about the 7th Capital City Black Film Festival. First thought that crossed my mind, “Why haven’t I’ve heard about this before now?” The second thought was to find out whether I could volunteer for this. Yes and no, but ultimately yes. Once I checked out the website, I discovered … Continue reading