As the founder of User Voice, a charity led and staffed by former homeless addicts, says: “If your money funds the final hit, accept that the person would rather be dead. If your act of kindness makes him wake up the next morning and decide to change his life, that’s nice but not your business either.”
Personality-wise I’m a lot like my father was. I’m curious, intelligent, a good conversationalist, a story teller. I possess the same capacity he had for placing his emotions to one side in order to deal with what was in front of him. I can be extremely pragmatic. I’m not terribly sentimental. Like him I’m impatient and have no tolerance for stupidity. I’m also quick to anger (although unlike him I cool off very quickly). My father was a very outgoing, extremely charming man and I am more introverted. Everyone seemed to gravitate around him in social situations whereas I am fine being on the sidelines. But we bonded over our love of music, art, books and movies. He was also quite creative and artistic although he never pursued it. I was rebellious like he was, and headstrong, hated anyone telling me what to do. In my younger years we butted heads a lot. Like him I was fearless, adventurous, and invincible. Those who knew him best saw his imprint in me. As my aunt, his sister used to laughingly say when he would gripe about the latest thing I did, “I grew up with someone just like that!” I think it horrified him to have a girl child like him. Had I been another son I think he would have gone a lot easier on me.
I have less in common with my mom but I inherited her playful humour and youthful outlook on life. Her inner child is very much alive and dancing. She’s a social butterfly and I prefer to stay home. We both love animals, it’s a definite soft spot for her. She is highly emotional and tends to function less on logic, which is challenging for me. She tends to be very unfiltered, whereas I keep a lot inside. She is often impulsive, something I’ve learnt to curb in myself. She’s always been quite open minded and often shocked me with the things she’d say when I was younger. We’re both independent minded women with fighting spirits. Generally, our differences are far greater than the things we share.
Physically I have my father’s height and his face (with the exception of my very full pouting lips, his were thin). I have the same long stride. The same athleticism. But I have my mother’s fingers and toes, flat feet, the same generous calves. I have a mix of their hair and their complexions. Of the three of us I resemble them both the most. My siblings look very little like either of them. When I was growing up I looked so much like him that people who didn’t know I was his daughter would stop and ask me if I was related to him. As I’ve grown older my features have changed somewhat and more people see some resemblance to my mother now.
As a West Indian it’s always a little shocking when you hear someone say they’ve never left their country. But then you have to remember that when you live in places like the States that are so gigantic, it’s actually pretty understandable. We live on a tiny island. To go elsewhere we have no choice but to get on a plane and fly. I think West Indians are some of the most adventurous, well travelled people I know as a consequence. We are always wanting to experience something bigger and different from the often stifling smallness we live in. I don’t think people who live on large land masses often appreciate what a luxury it is to be able to get in a car and drive for days, weeks, months even and always see something new. It is something I really envy and miss about living abroad. Large places feel like freedom to me.
Ooooh boy! The first thing that came to mind was an all expenses paid first class winter vacation in Paris. It is always been my dream to spend a Christmas in Paris, with the money to truly enjoy it. And of course it has to snow.
I could go on and list all the practical things I could wish for as well cause god knows, but what would be the fun in that? This is fantasy and it was the first thing that popped in my head. Yay great ask!
God I don’t think there’s really anything they’d be surprised to know… I’ve been on this site a long time I’ve pretty much discussed everything. But I’ll try to scrounge up some stuff.
1. My love of art came from the illustrations in my story books. I loved books before I even knew how to read. I’d make up stories about what was happening in the pictures. My parents really fed our love of books when we were children and the beautiful and vivid illustrations in my books inspired me to draw. In fact my secret dream job was always to be a children’s book illustrator.
2. I have a loud speaking voice. It’s not something I can help and I’m self conscious about it. My voice just carries. I hate it.
3. I also have a very loud laugh. I am not self conscious about it at all and it’s something I happen to like a lot about myself and so do other people for the most part.
4. I am generally a very impatient person, but when I have to explain or teach something I have endless reservoirs of patience.
5. I am often surprised by the kinds of thoughts that pass through my head and not in a good way. Sometimes I see or read something and the immediate reactionary response in my head horrifies me. I don’t think it makes me a bad person, but rather it shows me that the conditioning and programming I’ve been subjected to over the course of my life is still alive and kicking underneath the surface regardless of how differently I think and feel in my heart.
straight boys are weak and pathetic, queer girls walk into the ladies changing room and see ten women naked, do they stare? do they say something inappropriate? do they make them uncomfortable? no because they have the common fucking sense to recognise when a situation is sexual and that people deserve the most basic level of respect to not be harassed, yet here we are banning shorts and low cut tops in school because straight boys are weak and pathetic
okay i made this post this morning and it has since had eighty two thousand notes, it’s been featured on reddit, facebook, twitter i’ve been sent multiple death threats and messages that i don’t even want to describe
and i have to apologise
i’ve seen the error of my ways
straight boys are not ’weak and pathetic’
straight boys are weak, pathetic and fucking annoying
I will reblog this every time I see it posted
I will too.
Don’t lose a woman that has seen your flaws and still loves you.
I’m putting my rings in order for this Saturday. We’ll be at Bits and Pieces this Saturday with these beauties and many more! .
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#Sundara #sundarajewelry #forher #rings #artisanjewelry #jewelry #artjewelry #customjewelry #uniquejewelry #handmadejewelry #handmade #abstract #gemstones #rawgemstones #semipreciousgemstone #caribbean #trinidad #buylocal #tandt
So the reason for Halloween and All Saints is the Celtic festival of Samhain that marks the end of the harvest season, usually Oct. 31-Nov. 1. The Celts believed that the veil between the living and the dead thinned at this time and we were easily able to communicate across the two worlds.
The Catholic Church chose November 1 as All Saints to honor the sainted and martyred and November 2 as All Souls to honour the dead and thus transformed the pagan festival to a religious one.
Now I was raised Catholic but don’t follow any religion so I didn’t know this until I was older. And I don’t know if any of this even applies given that we don’t follow the same seasons as the Celts. But I distinctly remember two years ago on the night of November 1 having a very vivid dream about my father. It felt more like a visitation than a dream, that went on all night long, and his presence stayed with me for days after. I remember it because it was the night after Halloween and I knew to door was supposed to be open then.
It didn’t happen last year but I am hoping that it may happen again this year. I still encounter him every so often in my dreams and he is no longer sick or frail. He’s usually just kind of there, really, chilling. But sometimes we have long conversations and he gives me advice. I’d really like one of those now, where we sit on the porch and talk over rum and cokes. I miss him. Here’s hoping.
I woke up tired this morning and mentally exhausted.
I had some errands to run today and came home, had lunch, and took care of dyeing my roots and gave myself a pedicure.
The biggest market of the year is coming up on Saturday and I’ve been working like mad to create extra stock. My studio is in disarray and I don’t want to be in there today.
I think I’ll go now and put some order to it and finish up some pieces so I won’t have that hanging over my head. I’ll have tomorrow to make whatever other things I want to and Friday I’m going to check out the space and get my things in order for Saturday morning. It’s going to be really hectic. Chris is helping me for the first half of the morning and another friend for the second as he has class from noon. I can’t do it alone.
I’ll be really happy when it’s over. I’ve been preparing for it for months. At least this time I know what to expect. Last year was my first time and it was insanity. Fingers crossed that my sales are at least as good as last year. Cause last year was excellent.
I finally got my phone screen fixed (again). I feel like I was half blind and now I can see. I can finally ready my e-books again.
The place where the phone repair guy works is this mall in Woodbrook, a previously residential area that is being taken over by businesses. I asked him what the rent was and I was really surprised how reasonable it was. He told me there are even cheaper units in the building.
A retail space is the obvious next step for my business and something I’ve been dreaming about for years. I never really looked into it because I thought it was out of my reach.
I pay a little less than half the rent for the cheapest place every month for tables at markets. That gives me four days a month. If I had a store open 5 or 6 days a week it would be more than worthwhile provided I could drive my customers there. And seeing as the number one question I get asked is where my shop is, maybe it’s time to consider it.
I know it’s something I’d have to really think about. I’d want to go in with someone else, and I have someone in mind. There’d be a lot of details to work out. But for the first time I feel like this is do-able. My mind is churning. This could happen.
With everything that has happened to you, you can either feel sorry for yourself or treat what has happened as a gift. Everything is either an opportunity to grow or an obstacle to keep you from growing. You get to choose.
Depression is something that doesn’t just go away. It’s just there … and you deal with it … and you stay out of situations that are going to trigger it.
I found a ceramic moka pot at my mom’s house that looks something like this but bigger and a lot more attractive. I’m pretty sure it was my grandmother’s. It’s missing the funnel so I bought one on Amazon… I’m hoping it’s the right size. I’m gonna ask her for it. Out of the three kids, I’m really the only one who has any love for antiques and my mom collects them so she’s pretty much told me I can have anything I want where that’s concerned. I can’t wait to use it once I get it up and running.
People have a hard time letting go of their suffering. Out of a fear of the unknown, they prefer suffering that is familiar.
RepostBy @secretforesttreasures: “I made some more resin studs yesterday… these have a tiny rose petal in each. The ear posts are sterling sliver. They’ll be available this Saturday at Bits and Pieces! .
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#Sundara #secretforesttreasures #resin #forher #resinjewelry #art jewelry #organic #uniquejewelry #customjewelry #artisanjewelry #rosepetal #stud #studearrings #handmadejewelry #handmade #abstract #nature #wood #ecoresin #floral #plants #TT #petals #trinidadandtobago #tandt #caribbean #trinidad #buylocal” — view on Instagram https://scontent.cdninstagram.com/t51.2885-15/sh0.08/e35/23099189_137863033634917_8425748566483402752_n.jpg
I removed my post because my gif wasn’t giffing. Anyway what I was saying was I was supremely happy to have guava jam on toast for breakfast this morning. It was besssss
I completely forgot that I read this article from Gawker in 2015 about Kevin Spacey being “”boundary-challenged”” and a bunch of anonymous people confessing that Kevin Spacey “demanded sex” from all the young men on the House of Cards set
I was trying to find this earlier but it was buried under all the new shit and him grossly conflating his sexuality and using it as a shield against him being a predator
“It was a tsunami. In April of ’82 there was an article in the New York Times about a new gay cancer, and everyone thought ‘oh well.’ I was in my twenties. I wasn’t worried about a thing. But then every week you started to hear about somebody becoming ill. My boss was one of the first. He was a famous florist. He went into the hospital on Thanksgiving and was dead by Easter. I lost most of my friends. A lot of the first men to die were privileged. They were closeted, corporate white men. During the day they were bankers but at night they’d hit the leather clubs and bars. But they learned their privilege didn’t matter after they got sick. They were just ‘gay.’ We had to fight for AIDS to be recognized by the government. We joined together with people of color, and junkies, and prostitutes. It was a beautiful thing, really. Our feminist lesbian sisters taught us how to protest because they’d been doing it for decades. They showed us how to organize meetings, and bring people together, and force the government to the table—things we’d never had to think about as white men.”
i agree. i even cook with it. it makes an amazing sauce
I don’t see much of anybody these days—I feel rather funny with other people—even those whom I care for. While one’s heart is being transformed into a little world, one wants to be alone.
Kahlil Gibran, in a letter to Mary Haskell, from Beloved Prophet: The Love Letters of Kahlil Gibran and Mary Haskell, and her private journal (via luthienne)
Some women are
lost in the fire.
Some women are
built from it.
Even if it’s a bad idea, even if it seems improbable, or amateurish, or overly complicated; even if it’s only half fleshed out and you don’t know how you’re going to finish, or it’s a medium you have never worked with before.
You never know where it’s going to lead until you try, and I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised at how often you’ll come out the other side with something you’re proud of. Even if you don’t, I promise you’ll learn something valuable for next time.
Eventually, somewhere along the line, you may discover a talent or a passion you never realized you had. Only by making things can you discover your identity as an artist.
This is so true. Remember that no one starts off being a great artist. It takes time. But starting is the first step toward getting better at it.
There are several different brands on the market, but this one is the original and the only one I swear by. I finally remembered to buy a jar for @casaofjules2 (and one for myself too of course). I will be mailing this baby out to you tomorrow!
The guy who packed my groceries today put my cupcakes on top of my eggs.
He knows precious cargo when he sees it
It is always important to know when something has reached its end. Closing circles, shutting doors, finishing chapters, it doesn’t matter what we call it; what matters is to leave in the past those moments in life that are over.
Mugshot of John Wojtowicz who was sentenced to 20 years in prison for robbing a bank in order to fund his partners sex change. August 23rd 1972, New York
also when they made dog day afternoon and bought the rights to his story he used the money to help fund edens surgery so he ended up able to help after all (after serving six years in prison for the heist)
other great facts:
– he based his bank robbery plan off The Godfather and Al Pacino ended up playing him and John Cazale played his accomplice – referred to himself as ‘the gay Babe Ruth’ – when he got out of jail he applied for a job as a security guard at the same bank with a T-shirt that said ‘I robbed this bank’ and put Al Pacino down as a reference – the robbery attempt was broadcast on TV and a crowd of LGBTQ activists came to cheer him on
no lol it’s a guy we call syphilis. long story short my friend got it from him and we could never seem to call him (privately) by his name after that and it pretty much spread (no pun intended) to everyone we knew who knew him and now it’s to the point where whenever I see him I never think of him by his name. so it’s an accomplishment for me to actually call him that.
The DJ at the market is playing what can only be described as hollywood’s version of what Caribbean music sounds like.
It s the Weekend at Bernie’s soundtrack, The Little Mermaid. Cruise ship background music. Instead of using steelpans they use xylophones or something equally inauthentic.
There is no where in the Caribbean that music sounds like that and I find it offensive and the fact that this guy has been playing it for the past hour is making me want to scream.
Hi lovelies, happy Saturday! We’re at the Green Market today! Lots of local crafts, food and a wonderful farmer’s market in the lush valley of Santa Cruz 🍃come join us! @greenmarketsantacruz
As for the empathy going both ways – yes. I think part of my own stress in past public situations with V was because I am the type of person who never wants to bother anyone…and here was my kid, being loud and crying etc, and it was just mortifying. (The one time I cringe thinking if was on a plane, so I had no escape.) But a lot of parents do not care!! It shocks me that they don’t, but yeah…people need to be more considerate dammit lol
Honestly the number one thing I get from parents who really care about their parenting is that there’s a lot of guilt involved. And that’s gotta be really tough to deal with because it’s not something that anything in life ever prepares you for… and probably we should do a better job of addressing that… we take prenatal classes why not parenting classes? And that guilt I think is what causes a lot of parents to feel super defensive. Because like every other aspect of adulthood, nobody really knows what the fuck they’re doing and they think everyone else does. It’s a vicious cycle. We all could learn to be a little kinder to each other.
I don’t make many pieces in silver but I have these lovely silver druzy necklaces available for Bits and Pieces on November 4th.
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#Sundara #sundarajewelry #forher #artisanjewelry #jewelry #artjewelry #customjewelry #uniquejewelry #handmadejewelry #handmade #abstract #gemstones #sterlingsilver #druzy #necklaces #semipreciousgemstone #caribbean #trinidad #buylocal #t&t
RepostBy @secretforesttreasures: “All set, a new batch of terrarium pendants. I’ll have these available tomorrow at the Green Market in Santa Cruz along with lots more! .
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#Sundara #secretforesttreasures #resin #forher #resinjewelry #art jewelry #organic #uniquejewelry #customjewelry #artisanjewelry #terrarium #pendants #sea #ocean #handmadejewelry #handmade #abstract #nature #wood #ecoresin #floral #plants #TT #petals #trinidadandtobago #tandt #caribbean #trinidad #buylocal” (via #InstaRepost @AppsKottage)
Agreed. I think the title of the article was misleading/kinda clickbait because really what she meant to say was “parenting can sometimes be hard, we mess up with our kids in public sometimes, try to be kind.” But that doesn’t make an article go viral 😉
lol that’s very true. I think for me I feel like there’s a level of condescension toward people who don’t have children in the idea of “you can’t possibly know how hard this is so you don’t get to have an opinion” and I find that very insulting. I have a lot of understanding for how hard it is, its the primary reason I didn’t do it myself! And I have a lot of empathy and compassion for parents. As you said, the judgement usually is toward parents who aren’t actually doing any parenting. But I’m also a human being and I can find myself getting annoyed by a child that won’t stop crying. Nobody’s judging anyone for that. But it’s irritating as fuck! So I’d also like parents to understand that we’re not judging you all the time but sometimes we are also tired, and stressed out too. Empathy goes both ways.
@millerflintstone – referring to the scarymommy blog that’s making the rounds ‘So when my daughter was having an inconsolable meltdown at the public pool the other day, it wasn’t because she was exhausted, had a cold, snuck too many cookies behind my back’.
For those of you who are into meditation, I highly recommend the Live Awake series. The most extensive collection I’ve found is on soundcloud, here’s the link: https://soundcloud.com/liveawakepodcast
You can find some on your Insight Timer app. I have gotten some amazing results through these guided meditations.
cannot sleep because I had a ten minute nap at 8 o’clock
nice one tash
Go and love someone exactly as they are. And then watch how quickly they transform into the greatest, truest version of themselves. When one feels seen and appreciated in their own essence, one is instantly empowered.
and by the way, if you want to keep emphasizing how hard it is to be a parent, stop asking us when we’re gonna have kids. you know damn well why we don’t want to have kids.
I think the thing that a lot of people forget is that just because someone is not a parent, it doesn’t mean they are completely removed from the reality of what it is to deal with children.
Most of us who are adults and choose to be childless do, to some extent, have children in our lives. Our friends have kids, we have nieces and nephews, neighbours, whatever. And no matter how small our interactions might be with these kids, we’re not completely ignorant or oblivious of the fact that children have meltdowns, will cry at inappropriate times, get irritable and tired and sometimes just wail for attention.
We fucking get that. That’s not the issue. The issue is when you brought your three year old to a violin concerto at 8 in the evening and they had a crying fit in the theater because it’s clearly past their bedtime (this fucking happened to me the other day ok). I’m not judging your KID. I’m judging YOU, for your shitty judgement and lack of foresight and refusal to accept that maybe there’s just some things you have to miss out on because guess what you have kids! I don’t have kids and even I know that kids need a regular bedtime and at three you’re likely way past it at that hour of the night.
We judge you when your kid tears up the place and you keep yelling, “Timmy staaaahp,” lamely but do nothing to stop him. We judge you when you leave your child unattended and expect the other adults in the room to pick up the slack of watching your kid. And you want to know how we can judge you? Cause we all had fucking parents. And some of us had parents who were really crappy at parenting and we fucking knew it then and we know it now. We’re not stupid and we have some experience.
So yeah I’m not gonna blame you when your toddler has a meltdown because you didn’t allow him to eat a Lego and stick a quarter up his nose. I will never blame your kid for being a kid. But when you’re being a shitty parent you’ll get some looks. And give me some credit for knowing the difference.
I remember being a kid and having monumentally shitty parents and I’m still in therapy because if it. So I’m going to have all the opinions I want.
Oh lord, go ahead and judge me. I judge myself. ¯_(ツ)_/¯
So unless I’m president I can’t judge how he’s doing at his job then. Unless I’ve been a professional actor I can’t decide an actor’s performance is shit. I basically can’t hold anyone to any kind of standard unless I’ve done their job then, is that it? Fuck off with that shit. I’ve been a kid. I had parents. I can judge all I fucking want.
My mom was packing up to fly back to California and she told me she was taking a bunch of cheddar cheese in her suitcase. Apparently my niece loves the cheddar cheese we get here. I thought about it for a sec and shrugged.
To be honest the States is seriously weak in the cheese department. Trinidad is lacking too, compared to say, Venezuela as it was when I lived there, but I find in general the offerings in the general U.S. supermarkets are surprisingly really poor. The cheese is so plasticy. We get most of ours from Ireland and New Zealand so that might be why. But seriously y’all need to step up your game.
Bass Reeves was so dedicated to the law, he even arrested his own son Bennie for the murder of his wife. Bennie was sentenced to life in prison. With over 3000 arrests, 14 kills, went his entire 32 year career in law enforcement without being shot once.
He was assigned to bring in the notorious female outlaw Belle Starr. Once she got wind who was after her she turned herself into the federal court.
Reeves was one of a few Marshalls who would venture into Indian territory *oklahoma*. After the age of 67 he retired in 1907. He enjoyed his short lived retirement as a police officer in Muskogee Oklahoma, his assigned beat had 0 crime reported until he died at the age of 71 of Bright’s disease.
He was one of the true gun slingers of the west.
I would expect nothing less from a man with such a magnificent mustache
I love the story of Bass Reeves!
One of his famous tactics was, if he was captured or in danger by a criminal he was hunting down, he would ask them to read a letter from his wife before they killed him. He used their distraction to free himself and get the upper hand.
He was also a freed slave. George Reeves, his owner and reason for his surname, took Bass with him to fight in the Civil War. However, George became violently angry after Bass beat him at a card game, and Bass was forced to fight him (or kill, on some accounts) in self defense.
After running away and entering Native American territory, Bass learned how to speak the languages of the ‘Five Civilized Tribes’ (Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Muskogee, Seminole). This part of his life is where he mastered marksmanship. He got married and had a family after the Emancipation Proclamation was declared, and then later became a Marshal, going on the adventures listed above (and many more… Another famous criminal that Bass captured was Bob Dozier.)
He was the very first black US Marshal. May we never forget him, as history would suffer to lose such an outstanding figure.
i can’t believe all the people losing their shit over this post are the same people who make ‘triggered’ jokes.
Here’s the thing.
If you at all monitor your language based on your audience—avoiding curse words in front of kids, using bigger words in front of your boss—you obviously care about the impression your words give people.
Do you avoid talking about the attractive sex after your bestie’s breakup? Congratulations, friend, you’re being a decent human being.
Your friend wishes you call them Charlie instead of Charlotte. It’s just a nickname. Would you say “No, your birth certificate says Charlotte so I’m calling you Charlotte?”
Your co-worker tells you that he gets extremely uncomfortable when you clap him on the shoulder, due to a creepy uncle who did the same thing. Do you make a point to clap him on the shoulder every time you see him?
It is really not that difficult to be “politically correct.” It does not mean that you must eliminate all opinions completely, it merely means—at a basic level—that you should attempt to be aware of your audience and how your words and actions affect them.
Don’t call it being “PC,” if you must. Call it being “aware and empathetic.” Being a human with decency and respect for other people, cultures, and experiences.
soulsistrin 