Snap Shot

in

imgresI asked my family, friends, and co-workers to on the spot say 3 words they believe best describe me. Below are a few of the results, in no particular order: Intelligent | Protective | Dulce(Sweet) | Driven | Quirky | Logical | Justa(Just) | Feisty | Funny | Caring | Passionate | Adaptable | Stable | Thoughtful | Real | Kind

It's interesting to see what people think of you, and how their relationship with you affects how they see you. Some of these were totally unexpected, others were spot on. I'll be asking a few more folks but this is a good start to understanding what my brand is and the characteristics I should be emphasizing.

Try this exercise with the people you know and see what they say about you. Comment with your results!

My Religion

in

imagesI was raised Christian, specifically Presbyterian. I served as a deacon, and for a time was the Deaconship's secretary and treasurer. I was elected the youth President, Vice President, and Secretary. I taught Vacation Bible School, preached once, an directed the service several times. I even had a short lived music career as a bass guitar player in the church band. It's safe to say I've worn many hats in my spiritual life. Yet, I find there is a disconnect.

Can I be a liberal, feminist, modern, strong woman, and still hold true to my Christian values? Join me as I explore the Bible holistically, taking a look at the history, culture, and philosophy surrounding it.

From Relaxers to Curls

in

Welcome to my natural hair journey. Here’s a quick overview of what I’ve experienced so far. I hope to try new products and styles soon and will be documenting those as well.

The first picture on the left is my hair with a year or so of growth after having permed it for about a decade. I had just washed it. It was rough, I can barely see any curls, and it has the weird triangle vibe going. The side part wasn’t helping either. Definitely damaged.

Top right picture is my hair after going to DevaCurl Salon in SoHo. I cut off most of my treated hair (I wanted to maintain some of my length). Then my stylist did an amazing job washing and styling my hair for about 2 hours, with only DevaCurl products. She even took the time to explain what my hair routine should look like every day to maintain my curls. It was GLORIOUS and worth every penny!

Bottom right picture is my hair a few days after DevaCurl, I washed it with DevaCurl One Condition, left quite a lot in, dried it with a hair diffuser, then added DevaCurl Spray Gel to shape it. This time around I had much more volume and absolutely loved it.

It’s been 2 months since my visit to DevaCurl, and my hair looks a lot healthier, and feels much more moisturized. Now that I’ve got a hang of the cute curly fro I think it’s time to play around with different styles and different products!

If you have any tips/suggestions/questions for me I’d love to hear them, otherwise stay tuned!

Batman Vs. Robin Review: When Daddy Issues meets blades and Batarangs

in

Chamar has pulled me into the comic book world, and I now I love it. Here he is dropping some knowledge. 

chamar-vell:

Hello comic book fans

As we all know, DCU has been making waves with their television shows, upcoming film announcements and especially in their animated films. The latest addition to this list is the Batman Vs. Robin movie that came out today (4/14/15). DC continues with its New 52 storyline, this time focusing on the first story arc of Scott Snyder’s Batman, in which he faces the Court of Owls. This (literally) underground group, comprised of Gotham’s wealthy and elite, have been behind the shaping of Gotham since its founding. However, like most secret groups, they are bent on domination of the city itself; therefore Batman, being Batman, must take down the court while also trying to form a relationship with his new Robin/Biological Son/Heir to the Heir to the Demon Head, a task that ends up also being a struggle for the soul of Damien Wayne.

Taking place a couple months after the events of Son of Batman, we see Batman and Robin trying to work on their dynamic as well as Bruce and Damien tryian to form a father/son relationship. However, being that this is only a few months later, they do indeed bump heads on certain issues mainly the concept of “justice not vengeance.” The tensions completely boil over when Damien takes on a new mentor, the mysterious Talon, who sees himself as the Batman who will take the extra step. It is later revealed that Talon is actually an enforcer and assassin for the Court of Owls and he is trying to recruit Damien to one day take his place. Of course, constantly being treated unfairly by Bruce/Batman as well as by Dick/Nightwing leads Damien to join forces with Talon. However, during their first night out together, Talon orders Damien to kill a small time crime lord. He hesistates leading Talon to truly give up on him unless he can choose between Batman’s philosophies and his own instincts. Batman shows up during this leading to Batman and Robin finally fighting for Damien’s future. If you guessed Batman put the fear of God into his song…you would be so wrong as Damien whupped his butt!! He heads to Talon’s hideout and Talon takes him to the Court of Owls to be inducted but when Robin reveals his identity, not only does every Owl learn of Bruce’s identity, they also order the death of Damien. Talon, the once good soldier, grew fond of Damien and goes on a killing spree killing every owl. Talon goes on to try to take over Gotham leading to the Bat Family, including Alfred with a shotgun, taking out all the other Talons created throughout the years. In the final battle, Talon forces Damien to kill him when he pulls the sai he gave him into his neck after Damien freezes up again. Bruce seeing how distraught his son is finally tells him how proud he is of him but Damien needing his space goes to a monastery in the Himalayas where Bruce had trained himself.

In comparison to the comics, this was a great cinematic adaptaion to the story. They included my favorite lines and my favorite scenese However, I felt that the Court of Owls didn’t get the right amount of plot they deserved. For example, we still don’t know Talon’s real name! In the comic they pretty much decimated Bruce Wayne and Batman. I say this because not only was Bruce’s sanity tested, but so was Batman’s. I felt that if they dove into the story behind the Owls a bit more similar to how they did in the comic, I would’ve been further on the edge of my seat and gripping tighter to my chair, or rather the pole next to my seat on the train car.

What do I give the film you may ask. Four comics up. I wish there was more but honestly, it was just enough to keep this comic fan entertained for its 80 minute run.

Easter Eggs I noticed:

-Nightwing talking to Kory aka Starfire, which was almost pretty much proven thanks to an obscured picture of her hair and skin tone on a cellphone caller ID.

-Bruce’s code after he took away Damien’s sai that he got as a gift from Talon was 1939, deduct that from our year and you get 76 years, most likely it was a way to commemorate the 75 years of Batman

-Last, but certainly not least, the falshback of Thomas Wayne was voiced by none other than Kevin Conroy, the voice of Batman we grew up with during the 90s animated series

El Compañerismo

in

Me hace falta el espíritu de compañerismo. Yo vivo mi vida pensando en como puedo superar en mi trabajo y en mi internado. Horas pasan y lo único que me pasa por la mente son las diligencias que yo tengo que hacer. Sin embargo no llamo a mis amistades, si me invitan a comer siempre estoy ocupada, y si me preguntan por ayuda se la doy pero sin una sonrisa. Para mí no hay opción de compartir con amistades, de prestarle un hombro cuando estén tristes y tambien superarme. No hay suficiente horas en el día para hacer las dos cosas. Y la excusa que me doy es que tengo que superarme para mantener a mis padres, para obtener independencia, y para mantener a mi futura familia. Entonces claro que no tengo tiempo para sentar y dialogar con mi mamá, ni para hablar por teléfono por media hora escuchando los problemas que mis amistades an tenido por los últimos días. Necesito trabajar, y si no estoy trabajando necesito descansar para poder trabajar más. Porque en 10 años cuando se supone que yo este establecida, y no lo estoy, quien me va ayudar? Quien me va a dar la mano?

Pero cuántos se preguntaran cuando yo tenga mi buen trabajo, cuando mis ahorros estén an orden, cuando tenga mi propia casa y todo este a mi gusto, con quien podrá compartir mi felicidad? Quien me cojera el telefono?

Todo en esta vida es un balance. Hasta ahora yo no eh encontrado el balance entre mis negocios y mi vida personal.  Pero entiendo que los dos son sumamente importante y necesario para la felicidad completa.

Death Pt. 2

in

I think about my relationship with my partner now, and it’s absolutely wonderful. I won’t go into the details since I’m not entirely sure how to put it in words. But what comes to mind is, it can’t be this easy, there has to be a catch. And the biggest catch I can think of, is him being taken away from me. 

I’ll admit saying it out loud sounds pretty insane, but the fear is still very real, especially since it can happen at any moment. I’ve tried to imagine how I would handle that situation, how my faith would come into play, how I’d try to move on and what would help me get by the most. This is what I came up with…knowing that I loved him as much as I possibly could, that it was palpable, that he knew exactly how I felt about him, and that I had a positive effect on his life. And I mean this whether his time is tomorrow or 80 years from now. Whether we manage to build a family together or we part ways long before that.

Thinking about this has changed the way I see the relationship. I choose my battles more wisely, I delve into his interests, I accompany him to events even when I’m too tired. I share most if not all my thoughts. Death puts it all into perspective. Every moment is much more precious. 

I’m still terrified, but I’m learning to just enjoy the time we have now, and make sure whichever one of us is left behind, has some great memories to hold onto.

Christians Will Fail You

in

“Christians will fail you, religious leaders will fail you, organizations aren’t perfect, put your faith in God.” - Pastor Medina

I thought that was a great point people need to hear. Your decision to be a believer/Atheist/Agnostic should not be based on the followers of a particular faith, not their words, not their actions, not the organization of the place of worship. If you don’t believe in a higher power, God, or organized religion that’s fine. You have every right to live your life the way you see fit, and you shouldn’t be judged for it. Now, if you’re going to say you don’t like a particular religion I hope you made that decision after you read it’s religious text, and looked into it’s history. Not because you bumped into someone who calls them self a Christian, Buddhist etc. and you didn’t like how they were living their life. 

Ideally our actions, the way we carry our selves, should reflect our religion/spirituality, but we’re not perfect, and that’s rarely the case. 

Recently, I left the church I’ve been attending all my life, for a variety of reasons. Some of which I might share with you at another time. I am now attending a different church. My point? The turmoil going on in my first church didn’t deter me from Christianity. I tried my best to make the most out of a bad situation, to give my part and try to improve the environment, and eventually made the very difficult decision to leave my second family and seek out a place that better suited my spiritual needs. 

My decision was based off of what I know Christianity to be, had I based it on my fellow believers at the time, I’d be sleeping in on Sundays, and missing out on some pretty amazing services, and people at my place of worship now.

Death

in

For as long as I could remember I’ve been preoccupied with death. I shared a bed with my grandmother up until my junior year of HS. On most nights I would put my hand over her chest to make sure she was still breathing. Other times I would silently cry myself to sleep after the thought of her passing away would cross my mind, I still do sometimes. I’ve only had these concerns with my grandma, never with my parents. Maybe it’s been her age, but as I’ve gotten to know her and asked her questions about her life I’ve realized it’s because she understands me the most. We seem to have the same fighting spirit, the same craving for independence and self sufficiency. 

Despite our differences she’s the only woman I believe can truly give me some solid advice, comfort, and support. In a lot of ways she’s my best friend, I don’t think I’m closer to anyone else. Losing her would mean not having a single soul who has experience life AND who understands my angst and confusion. I love my mother deeply but there’s very little I can confide in her with. It’s one of those things I have to work on. 

I’m 23 years old and for at least 18 of those years, I’ve had this preoccupation. And it’s only been about my grandmother, but now someone else has been added to the list…my boyfriend. 

Perspective

in ,

I’ve been working out a few days a week since March 14th. Usually I’d be giving up around now, but I have a feeling this time it’s going to be different. Not only do I have a goal, Spartan Race, but I have a different mindset. Usually I try to be perfect, creating a workout schedule, and sticking to it, making sure every single meal is healthy etc. But the minute I skip a day or have a snickers instead of an apple I give up. I figure everything I’ve done up to that point was ruined by that one bad decision…or 3. Not this time. This time I’m focusing on just doing my best. If I mess up I’ll just get back on track. A scattered work out is better than no workout at all right?! 

Fitness Chronicles

in

The last time I worked out consistently for an extended period of time was 11th grade when I was on my HS tennis team. While I was MVP twice…I now have a mini heart attack if I run a flight of stairs too fast. With that said I’ve signed up for the June 6th Spartan Race!

The race is 3-5 miles, with 20-23 obstacles…on a ski mountain. The average finish time is 80 minutes.

Needless to say I need to train ASAP. I signed up for my very first gym membership at Blink Fitness.

International Women's Day

in

brooklyn-savvy-tv:

womenrockscience:

Happy International Women’s Day everyone. Here we are celebrating lesser known women who have dramatically advanced science and humanity as a whole. 

Sources: UNESCO, Scientific American, The Smithsonian, NLM, Stephan, HoF , NWHM

Looking to celebrate International Women’s Day in NYC? Visit this website for a list of events —> http://www.internationalwomensday.com/esearch.asp?country=223&town=New+York+City#.VPxxIIHD9Ds