A friend of mine was ranting about how someone had told him, he thought he was better than others and I interrupted and said “You are better than others” he disagreed with me and I argued that the world is full of a lot of people and limited time.   The people I choose to let in my life better be awesome or why waste my precious moments?  My friends are better than the average person, and I enjoy their company way better than I do the average person, that is why they are my friends.  Who wouldn’t want to embrace the black nerd?  Who wouldn’t want to embrace nerds in general?   Why is it brilliance and creativity is supposed to be foreign or new for black folk?  Or why does the idea exist that as the non-dominant group we reject nerds?  I sure as hell don’t.  Like it is a bad thing to be around, smart, creative, individuals who wrap themselves in the vivid colors of life.

I encourage you to seek out creative, brilliant, loving, inspiring people, and I promise to do the same.  Here are a few good places to start I think:

Read It:

We Are Respectable Negroes:  “He is also a resplendent purveyor of negro wisdom and collector of Black wit. Holder of the sacred chalice of the Ghetto Nerds. A believer in Black Pragmatism and the glories of the Black Freedom Struggle.”

Listen to it:
Roosevelt Franklin Something’s Gotta Give:  “The sing-a-long chorus of “S N M” sums up Roosevelt Franklin’s/conundrum: ‘Smart nigger music/that’s how they label it/like we should be ashamed for saying it/cuz the radio stations they ain’t playin it but I don’t care man, I’m a stay makin’ it.’ “

Watch it:

Comics Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele  Comedy sketch about being black nerds

SIDE NOTE:    yes i recognize only one black female nerd getting mentioned here…but that is a whole other post… please remember the black man got the right to vote long before women did in this country…so yeah i am keeping today’s post very heavily male dominated.

hi thanks for sending pictures of the garden and being willing to take
care of it. nice to see ana in the garden.

i see some mustard greens that are purple and green. i think they are
still edible. they are spicy. i also see some kale and collard greens
with yellow flowers. try eating them first.

but then almost all of the plants in the garden are annual plants so
you can take them out and plant something else in the space.
there might be some herbs that are perennial. you can save those.
perhaps some rosemary is alive.
you can plant all kinds of stuff; peas, greens, beans, etc.

i recommend using some compost from the pile right next to the current
compost bin before planting new plants. i think there is a small mound
of composted food scraps and leaves from the previous batch.

also you can take out weed from around the two pawpaw trees and put
about 2-3 inches of compost.
diluted urine is a good fertilizer. i usually add 5 times as much
water as urine. do not pour it over the things you eat raw. you can
read about it more there is a book called liquid gold.

i highly recommend mixing a bunch of strips of newspaper or shredded
paper to your food scrap bucket before emptying it to the compost
pile.
it helps decomposition and keeps odor out.
i use wood shavings from the school to mix with the food scraps here.
they work great too.

more pictures on flickr.

While walking home from the gym last night I saw this advertisement:

I did check out the website and the “events and specials” seem to be discounts on alcohol at two bars, the “Irish” one and the “Mexican” one (Kildare’s and Made Mex).  Which to me is personally interesting because an Irish friend visiting the US called me a couple days ago and asked what this Cinco de Mayo thing was all about.  I told her it was an annoying holiday only celebrated in the US.  I compared it to St. Paddy’s but the difference being in Ireland people have actually heard of St Patrick’s day.

My Mexican aunt who first witnessed cinco de mayo a few years ago, asked me why all the college students were sitting in their yards drinking beers while wearing sombreros.  How would you answer that one?   Anyway, back to the advertisement,  I am offended by it but am having difficulty articulating why, and was hoping my readers could help me out.  On a positive note, it is less offensive than the “spicy” one the North Market had a few years ago:

So here is the thing, he’d never asked if I eat meat. In general I don’t eat meat—there is no good reason for it.  It is unhealthy and frequently, at least in this country, toxic.  If when given a vegetarian or meat option, I’ll almost always choose the vegetarian.  When given a vegan or vegetarian option, I’ll sometimes choose the vegan.   I’m a big fan of dairy (again unhealthy and frequently toxic) and yet I make the informed personal decision to eat things that are good or bad for me.   I also occasionally drink alcohol. Ideally I’d always choose a carrot juice over a beer, or a beet smoothie over red wine but sometimes I want some wine or a beer.

I don’t let food get in the way of life. It is easier for me to go through life and not be defined or restricted by the food I eat or don’t eat.  That said, I get super defensive and angry when people rip into vegetarians or vegans. To the point where I don’t make logical arguments; I just call them “stupid heads” and walk away in frustration at their stupid heads.

Anyway, almost equally as annoying as the philistinism of some meat eaters is the hubris of  some herbivores. Like our server at Native Foods, who after I had said I wasn’t a vegetarian suggested that a “first timer” like me probably shouldn’t have the vegetarian burger because it had seitan and tempeh.  WTF?  Dude, I am an elitist privileged pseudo-white girl who is having dinner at  a vegan restaurant in Wicker Park AND you just heard me explain to my friend that although I grew up with vegan family members and a vegetarian mother, I rebelled.   Come on dude, really, you think I can handle some tempeh?  Bite me.

That said, as much as I dislike titles, I’m hoping to lead a vegan lifestyle this summer while training for triathlons and while the fresh local produce is abundant.

My unsolicited advice to all of you is, live and eat in ways that cause minimal damage to yourself and others—I promise to try and follow my own advice too.

I’ll start that morning at 8am with the Capital City 1/2 Marathon.  I’ve run this race before with great encouragement from friends who stayed with me at me super super slow pace.    The first time I ran it I came in just under 3 hours and ran it with my friend Yony, who was so bored with my slow jogging that he ran backwards and around obstacles to make it more fun for himself.  This time I’m hoping to come in around 2hrs 15 minutes.  Maybe that doesn’t seem like a big difference, but for me that is a lot.  Especially since running is my worst event.   (My last 1/2 marathon I set a personal record of 2 hours and 24 minutes, but that was mostly thanks to Sean and Nathan AKA Juan, who kept me motivated and help set a great pace.)

waiting for our wave, Sean, Nathan aka Juan, Elenamary

After the run, I am going to get to the North Market as fast as I can for the Market to Market bike ride.  Not sure exactly how to get there from the run so I’m up for suggestions.  In previous races, the run has ended near the start so I’ve been able to bike to the start line and get back home from the finish line.  How I am going to do this when the start and finish line at the Capital City Marathon are four miles apart?  What should I do?  How are other people getting to and out of the run?

The Market to Market ride starts at the North Market and goes along the Olentangy Path to the Hills Market, for a ride of 13 miles each way.  I love this bike path especially the area that passes Antrim Park, and have been riding it at least once a week since the weather has gotten better.   So the ride should hopefully be pretty pleasant and easy, I am hoping of maintaining a very slow pace of 12-15 miles.  I imagine I won’t ride all the way back to the North Market upon my return, and will end up stopping at the RPAC.   At the RPAC I will do the third event of my personal Columbus triathlon, where I will sit in a hot tub and soak my sore legs.  Who wants to join me for my personal triathlon/mini tour of Columbus?

Jess, Elenamary, Steph and Yony, triathlon friends.

The only exception to those who devalue their relationships are the ones who loudly proclaim that the deceased was someone only they knew. At one funeral I attended, a young girl stood up, wearing a slinky dress  she claimed she had worn on their last date, and speaking to those in attendance said “I was the last person to have sex with him. I was closer to him than any of you.” I smiled to myself, and recalled in my head the stories of disconnect he’d felt with that lady friend, but I felt happy for her. While her timing IMHO was inappropriate, she still was honoring him in the best way she knew how, and fully appreciating their relationship. She wasn’t the closest to him, and she didn’t necessarily know him better than any of us, but she knew him in ways not all of us did. I respected her for holding onto that part of her relationship.

We all know people in our own unique situations, in ways that no one else does, our friendships are not duplicated
and cannot be. Who I am to my mother is different than who I am to my father. Who I am to my friend Vu is different than who I am to Adlet or Juan or McPocho or El Oso. I am not necessarily closer to one over the other, it is just that my relationships differ with each of them. Each of them is a part of my life in a special way that the others no nothing about.

Adlet called me tonight and we spoke for awhile, with great ease which made me laugh when I hung up and noted the time.
It made me laugh because we leave people awestruck in how fluidly we are able to communicate.  We communicate so proficiently, in his fourth language (in which he is not fluent) that others are left wondering how we did it.  He is a part of my life, few know of, and even less can appreciate.

What I am getting at is love your friends as completely when you have them as when you don’t. It should never be greater before for after, but equally respected, and appreciated.