Today’s walk included several songs in a row that were fighting songs. As in, don’t stop fighting. As in “You Can’t Win ‘Em All, But You Gotta Win All of the Right Ones.” And, you know, in order to win the right ones…you gotta keep fighting. Maybe a better example would be:
Or my old standby pep talk song:
Anyway, you get the drift. I believe we have emerged, victorious. Yay!
(I knew we would, but it’s still nice to celebrate that we have.)
I’m celebrating by dying my hair and earnestly working on drawings for my zine. And FINALLY getting that tattoo that I’ve been wanting to get but have never been able to justify the expense of. Fuck it. It’s expensive. I can’t justify it. Well, I can, actually…it’s justified because it will be awesome, and it will remind me of my strength. And all of the strength it has taken to get here.
I’m slowly pulling things back together. I have another week of a weird work schedule, and after that I feel like I’ll be able to really participate in all of the things I enjoy participating in again. Slowly, and with priority. I’m already starting to read more…trying to take walks or dance every night. Really haven’t been seeing friends as much as I’d like, but I’m also feeling kind of introvertedy lately, so that hasn’t really bothered me. Working really hard to make sure we have at least SOME family time carved out so we don’t all lose touch with each other. These are the things I am prioritizing.
I’d like to keep participating in actions against ALEC and TPP, for sure…but probably not leading or organizing. What I’d really like to focus my energy on is housing justice. It was going to be what I focused on this year, but then I got laid off. And everything kind of got all weird. And then the state of Texas went to war over my uterus, and I kind of had to stand and fight that one. I’d like to get back to figuring out how I can be helpful in achieving truly affordable housing in Austin, and how we can ensure the protection of people who are being exploited or abused by apartment managers. That’s what I’d truly love to spend my activist energy on.
I don’t feel adequately educated to speak in any depth on Syria. I’m against all war, so I’m sort of working backwards from there. It would take a LOT of convincing to get me to support ANY war. Which makes it easy to oppose war, but is also kind of a cop-out. I still need to educate myself. I’m working on it. Slowly.
The master plan being: Don’t worry. Don’t waste your time. And I didn’t.
Instead, I made a conscious effort to relax with breakfast and reading on the porch every day.
Today’s reading material
And long walks – taking time to witness the life cycle of a pomegranate
Life Cycle of a Pomegranate, Pt. 1
Life Cycle of a Pomegranate, Pt. 2
And irony.
Sanctuary?
And Texas.
We Don’t Dial 911
And then, just as I was heading out the door for a meeting, the phone rang. It was The Job. I mean, not THE JOB OF A LIFETIME, but the job I’d been hoping for. Because it pays enough, and demands little, and has growth potential…if that’s what I want to do. And, frankly, I’ve had jobtopia. It was quite a coup there for a good run. I feel like I’ve had excellent job karma thus far, and I can find a way to enjoy just about any kind of work.
But it sure is nice to have it. Guaranteed. With a month to relax and REALLY enjoy before the training begins.
*Bliss*
I think I’ve done it. I think I’ve pulled off another coup.
Now I can focus on art, activism, and Education Never Ends. And maybe a nice mama retreat road trip for good measure, while I have the time.
And breathing. And walking. And being mindful of the life cycle of the pomegranate.
And listening to lots and lots of Nick Cave. Particularly Abbatoir Blues/Lyre of Orpheus, like these gems:
And now…the news:
Haven’t gathered many links today, but I have some saved up…
Remember the Trans-Pacific Partnership?
The Trans-Pacific Partnership is a circumvention of government. Its draft statement is not a product of the deliberation of U.S. legislators or apparently legislators in other countries, but of the Obama administration and representatives of deliberating nations and roughly 600 corporations. The talks are held multiple times a year and always in secrecy. Helicopters hover overhead while paramilitary teams patrol the conference grounds and a near-total media blackout ensures little is learned by anyone outside. As U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, the chair of the congressional committee that is supposed to have jurisdiction over the TPP, said in a statement to Congress:
“The majority of Congress is being kept in the dark as to the substance of the TPP negotiations, while representatives of U.S. corporations—like Halliburton, Chevron, PhaRMA, Comcast and the Motion Picture Association of America—are being consulted and made privy to details of the agreement.”
If ratified, what would the agreement do? Much in the favor of big business. Signatory nations, including Australia, Brunei, Chile, Canada, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam would agree to give “multinational corporations unprecedented rights to demand taxpayer compensation for policies they think will undermine their expected future profits straight from the treasuries of participating nations,” journalist Nile Bowie explains in CounterPunch. “It would push the agenda of Big PhaRMA in the developing world to impose longer monopoly controls on drugs, drastically limiting access to affordable generic medications that people depend on. The TPP would undermine food safety by limiting labeling and forcing countries like the United States to import food that fails to meet its national safety standards, in addition to banning Buy America or Buy Local preferences.” http://www.truthdig.com/eartotheground/item/the_trans-pacific_partnership_more_power_for_the_global_on_percent_20130405/
TPP has been criticised for being negotiated in secret with no drafts of the text being released to the public. In August last year, the Australian Labor Government and Opposition joined forces in parliament to vote down a motion by two Greens senators to disclose the full draft text.
White people who are confronted with their white privilege and the white supremacist acts they perpetuate have been known to cry, “You’re being a reverse-racist!” That is completely true: people of color have the power and control to create, perpetuate, and maintain brutal systematic reverse-racism that oppresses white people every day. As such, we have created this handy list on how to continue this oppression. http://blackgirldangerous.org/new-blog/2012/11/27/9csnr2cmsrexpoxro1f16csj18zgcy
UnrulyMom.Com 