totally me

BYE!

I am taking a break from this blog for a bit. 

I am heading to Central America for a few months and will be over here while I am gone. 

Keep in touch!

~ Malika

hope

last night i sat crying as i was watched and listened to Barack Obama.   how could you not?   he is inspiring, energetic, genuine and evokes hope. 

it is exciting to think that he actually could be our next president.  he could be the face, the voice of this country.  i get giggly just thinking about it. 

he gave his speech on the 45th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr's March on Washington and the day before the 3rd anniversary of Katrina.  he was anchored in between two events that show how connected and disconnected we can be as a nation. 

i am filled with thought, determination and energy.  i keep wishing i could vote today.  i guess our time will come soon enough...but what an exciting time to be here and be able to participate. 

how does one spend her last week of work?

why at the beach of course!

i am off to teach 8th and 9th grade girls at summer camp.   teaching them is almost like being at summer camp myself.  we sing songs, climb trees, eat hot dogs and enjoy the summer sun. 

the next time i write i will be unemployed, and hopefully feeling like i made the right decision.

red

as seen in Seattle

One of the things I love about living in a place like Seattle is all the remarkable community members I am surrounded by. 

A few months ago I was heading to my car after sharing a meal with a friend and we encountered two people - one man who was 70+ and a much younger man -  walking around Capitol Hill taping up these posters. 

I have seen him a few other times since then taping up various other statements. 

Regardless of how I ultimately feel about what his posters say...right on! 

wow!

this is historic!

can't wait for November! 

uncovering treasures

i'm feeling a bit like i have one foot on land...and the other off someplace.  maybe on this boat, maybe in a 5th grade classroom...maybe someplace i have not yet been. 

my house is a mess.  there are boxes everywhere. 

every drawer i open brings a new surprise - an old picture, item from a costume, awful cd.  my house feels kind of like a treasure chest and i get caught up reading old cards when i ought to be throwing towels in a box and packing my dishes. 

i figure it wil all get done by Sunday morning so why stress out about it.  

i had forgotten how exhausting moving was.  lugging boxes up the stairs...but even more so stumbling upon those old letters and letting yourself get pulled back into the memory...thank god the memories are inside me and not attached to things and homes.

and she's off...almost!

i'm moving! it's been a long time coming...but here it comes.

3 days and counting...

$225

kicking back at Shorty's after a yard sale in 90 degree weather. 

time for a party

yummy rum drinks in Panachel, Guatemala

i'm throwing my last party at the Shelby House tonight.  i've been living here for 4 years (WOW!) and it has great, but time to move on.  i'm looking forward to seeing lots of familiar faces, and a few new ones, costumed up and ready to dance. 

i move in 3 weeks...and leave my job in 12.   i am slowing preparing for a number of MAJOR life changes - moving, leaving my job of 6+ years, traveling in Central America for a few months, applying to the Peace Corps.  these next few months have much in store for me.  i am trying to get ready for all of the emotions i will be experiencing but it's not easy.  i think i'll be ready for the loss and the gain of transition...but i'm not really gonna know what it's like till i am in the midst of it. 

tonight i will enjoy being surrounded by creative, loving, fun friends. 

** i may be taking a break from this thing as i begin to "transition."  that said i will resume when my travels begin so you know where on earth Molly P is!**