My new aussie friend Janine has tagged me for a new meme which, thank god because yesterday I had started to write a whole bummer post about forced child slavery in the chocolate industry by the leading brands. Sigh. The post sounded like a fifteen year old who had just sprouted her politically outraged wings, and though my writing was embarrassing, the sentiment hasn't gone away; which is: The secret and not so secret evils of the world make me want to bash some heads. Anyway, if you're kind of intrigued, this is an old article about the situation that has recently reared its Isn't-This-2006? head. HEAVY SIGH.
So thank god for a meme to save me from imploding because my inner activist frustratingly doesn't know how to emerge gracefully. Yet.
On with the meme, goddamnit!
What Were You Doing Ten Years Ago?
Maya was 9 months old and I had just split from her dad. She and I moved into a cool apartment with high ceilings, good light, a great view and a fair amount of police activity. I arranged my bookshelves and few pieces of art just how I wanted. And every day I would hold up my gorgeous baby girl and kiss the folds of her neck and say, "You and me 'til the wheels fall off, mami."
What Were You Doing One Year Ago?
I had just closed The Business, just given up on gorging myself to death and had just taken a job a Mother's Market. I was a freshly inducted vegan and felt like a baby learning to walk again. Everything had crumbled and fallen away except for Maya, Mina and Husband. And every day I looked at them and thought, "'’Til the wheels fall off, familia."
Five Snacks You Enjoy
* uh, chocolate chip vegan cookies?
* Larabar Pecan Pie bar
* almonds & raisins
* coffee
* And this; the greatest dark (non-slavery) chocolate known to humankind.
Five Songs To Which You Know The Lyrics
* Fly Me to the Moon - I have sung this song to the girls almost every single night since Maya was newly sprouted in the womb.
* Summertime - Janis Joplin version
* Me & Bobby McGee - Janis Joplin version
* Catch a Fire Album, Bob Marley
* My Heart Belongs to Daddy - Eartha Kitt version
Five Things You Would Do If You Were a Millionaire
* Move to Santa Monica
* Write everyday from 9am - 1pm
* Volunteer
* Fuel some activist causes
* Fuel some artistic causes
Five Bad Habits* I day dream about being a millionaire a lot. I day dream about the five glorious things, among many, I would do if that were to happen.
* I don't write enough.
* I can kill any live plant that comes into my house. Ol Brown Thumb they call me. Even my plastic plants look a little sad.
*I think I can make anything. And I can't. "I can make that cute dress!" But I can't sew. "I can make that purse!" Uh, no I can't. This is embarrassing, but I made slip covers for my chair cushions because if anything I have great vision, but because I can't sew I stapled the fabric together. Husband was like, You are NOT stapling that together, are you? I said, "It's like a hand held sewing machine." You have to admit, they do look pretty rad. Well, the one chair does. The other chair is exposing my inability to sew.* I play the lottery religiously.
Five Favorite Things in My Home (I made this part of the meme up. Sorry for editing your meme, Janine!)
* The self portrait at the beginning of this post. I love it in 4 pieces. I love that it's big, about 5'x5'.
*This italian utensil holder. Every time I look at it, my heart leaps and I want to cook voraciously.
*It's hard to see, but this is a translucent peacock vase. I could look at if for hours.
*I brought this vase of oranges back from Paris. I held in a bag filled with newspaper between my feet the entire flight.
*This is a vejigante carnival mask from Ponce, PR. I also flew this home wrapped in newspaper between my feet. It's important to me to put up things in the house that are uniquely Puerto Rican. Especially from regions that are significant to us; Ponce & Patillas. I really love most all cultural art, but when a piece has a connection, the appreciation of it goes beyond beauty and can be profound.
I don't usually tag, but shit, somebody gettin tagged up in here today especially some of my newer friends: Ms. Kathleen, Melinda, la vie and acumamakiki - what up? And slyly I could also tag my homies, you and you, ‘cause yous is list geniuses. Ah hell, any of you reading this consider yourself tagged. And feel free to make up parts of the meme, like I did.
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17 comments:
your doggie is a little darling!
Thank you for tagging me because you know I love me a good list.
HA! Jonathan. Well, them roo's better be tuning their voices because I'm depending on the lottery; this is my solid financial plan for the very near future. Acually, I've always thought of my lottery odds as 50/50. I either win or I don't. Makes me feel better, at least. *More sighing*
Thanks Mary - that's my girl Lupe trying to steal the scene. She has a little sister too named Carmen.
You don't know me, but I followed blog links into here and then ran off with your me-me for my own blog. A bold thief, but polite, I figured at the very least I should say thank you and hello.....HELLO! And now it's late... yawn... and I'm too tired to come back and read more of your posts like I had originally planned, but if the birds haven't eaten the trail of cyber bread crumbs by tomorrow, I shall return.
Love the self-portrait! What talent!
lovin' the MASK! wow...
nice post.
and also...thank you for educating me on the chocolate mess.
damn.
i am already thinking up some kind of lesson to teach the shorties about it. get them involved somehow.
and...sigh...i will accept the meme challenge. there is a foot and a half of freshly fallen snow outside, so today is a perfect day to be tagged. lol
Laume - HHHEEELLLOOOOO.
Kathleen - I was thinking about that too. I tell my kids about this stuff all the time. Btw, by the 2005 deadline to stop child slavery in the Ivory Coast, I believe Hershey's & M&M have cleaned up their acts (reportedly, BUT NOT Cadbury, Nestle or Cagrill) -- but still Hershey and M&M HAD TO BE TOLD to knock it off. What sucks, is that the conscientious chocolate companies (marked "fair trade" just like good coffee companies [hint, Trader Joe's]) are expensive and hard to find. Here's a link to where to buy fair-trade stuff on line:
http://store.gxonlinestore.org/chocolate.html
That slipcover is beyond fabulous. Especially when displayed as the backdrop for a pug.
Thanks for the tag - I'll get right on that... right after we rid our computer of its new evil hard-drive-eating virus. Bastards.
How do you sign up for photo booth Friday?
I heart your art.
And I will delight in this exercise. I'm especially excited about the stuff 'round the house. I think my camera should arrive in a day or two.
Ponce? That's where my Mom's family is from.
The portrait is fantastic, I love that it's in pieces like that. I think I'd be compelled to hang it in different ways just to see it morph into......what?
And that doggie face! I wanna smoosh him/her!
girl, you know I can't resist a good meme. and this one is a GOOD one. I'm in, f'sho. especially digging the 'five favorite things in my home' category... fun! loved the peek at your treasures. your slipcovers look about 7,000 times better than the ones I attempted, ha.
wow, didn't know all that about the chocolate biz. that's horrible. one more reason to make the switch to dagoba (which you totally have me hooked on, by the way).
Where can I find the heart-leaping Italian utensil holder?
I know, I know. Italy. Sigh.
Yes, you should write more - we all should. Your blog is part of that though, right?
Cool art.
oh - and that ten years ago bit - the "you and me 'til the wheels fall off" & neck kisses - wow.
and "move back to Santa Monica" - take me with you!
Come on, Rebel Girl - back to SM we go!
Jonathan - this is why lottery-dreaming is listed on my BAD habits list, 'memeber? (COME ON, ROOS!)
OK - let's go.
I'd prefer if we could get there in some kind of cool time travel machine so it would be, say, SM in the 80s or so.
what do you think?
You mean to my childhood pre 3rd street promanade when it was a row of spanish dollar theaters, 99 cent stores and JCPenny? I'll take it then, I'll take it now all glitz and glam. Palisades Park is exactly the same and so is the Pacific Ocean. And the Whole Foods is DREAMY there.
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