Attack of the Baby Shark

Something crazy has happened in the Nation's Capital. No, the 45 has resigned and no, the GOP hasn't found a spine (if it ever had one). What I'm talking about is even more improbable than either of those things.

The Washington Nationals are in the World Series.

I know. It's wild. The only baseball game I ever walked out of was a Washington Nationals game. It was back in 2006 or 2007 when the Nats were still playing at RFK. I was at a game with my dad and brother and the Nats were awful. They were getting stomped on, and it was painful to watch. Not only we they being stomped on, the game was boring, so we left. As my dad said at the time, it was too hot for boring baseball. But we persisted with our love of the Nationals. They're not our "home" team. That would be the Detroit Tigers, but the Nats are our second home team. Over the years, the Nationals have gone from terrible to decent to pretty good to terrible again to the freaking World Series. Like any fan of a sports team that can't seem to get its shit together, Washington fans have been waiting a very long time for this.

I love baseball. I've written about the game several times here on the Island. It's the only sport I really enjoy watching. I used to feel that way about Saints football, but I'm done with the NFL. Not even my beloved Saints can save that horrible organization. I may not be able to spout stats or tell you every fact ever, but I'm loyal and love a good game. I like people watching at games, and Nationals fans are some of the best fan to watch. If I need a stat or to know the intricacies of a rule, I ask my brother. I love baseball, but he looooves baseball. Going to games with him this season, including Game 4 of the NLCS were some of my favorite things I did this year.

There is something so incredibly pure about the Nationals in the World Series. I've watched many a World Series, but I can't say that I've ever been as invested in one like I am this year's series. The Nationals are the perfect team to have in the World Series at this moment. It's not that the game is any different or the Astros aren't deserving, it's that the Nationals make us all, or at least those of us who love baseball, remember why we do. It's so freaking fun to watch.

Here are some of my favorite things about this season of Nationals baseball:

• We are all Baby Sharks. I don't have kids so I didn't know about "Baby Shark" until one of my friends shared it with me last fall. Her daughter was very into the song, and they went as the Family Shark for Halloween. I admit to singing a version of this song to my cat. Never did I ever expect it to be the song of the Washington Nationals. Geraldo Parra changed his walk up song over the summer to "Baby Shark" partially because his daughter loves the song. Since then, he's been on a hitting streak, the team has been on a winning streak, and adults are willing sing this song in public. Watch a version by the organist at the National Cathedral or maybe this version by members of the NSO. Embrace your inner Baby Shark!
• Nationals Fans I know every team thinks their fans are the best fans, but seriously, have you met Captain Obvious? Or how about BeardedNatitude? Or any of the hundreds of delightful humans lighting up my Twitter feed with wholesome pictures of their rally cats, Nats pups, and their adorable children? I can't take the cuteness. Washington City Paper ran a great article this week about the Nats fan community and it made me so happy to see the sheer joy baseball brings to this area. The DC area is a tough place to live; it's intense in a way people who don't live here don't understand. It can be hard to make friends or feel a sense of community. Going to Nats Park is a community. 
• Dugout Dance Parties.  I don't know about you, but seeing professional baseball players dance in the dugout brings a whole new level of fun to the game. The Nationals have been dancing in the dugout since the summer, and it's so pure. Celebrating success and one another is what makes a team a team. I could (and maybe have) watch dugout dance party videos all day. I even own the shirt.
• Juan Soto is 21 Years Old. Juan Soto seems like a really wonderful human being. He's had and amazing season and has been a huge part of the postseason success of the team. NPR did a great story about him and the impact of Latino players on baseball. Did I mention that he turned 21 yesterday on day three of World Series? Fans signed a giant card for him and sang "Happy Birthday." They may not have won last night, but a great way to spend your 21st birthday: doing what you love, with a team and fan base that love you. 
• The team's affection for one another. This was evident long before the postseason began, but in the playoffs and the World Series, it's become even more evident. This team cares about one another and it shows on the field and off. One of my favorite photos from Game Two was the one of Stephen Strasburg being hugged by Geraldo Parra and Anibal Sanchez. Toxic masculinity is rampant in professional sports, but there's something about this team that cuts right through that. They are living their best baseball lives and it shows in every interaction and in every game. 
• Enjoy your job and other's will notice. I work in learning and development, so I've lost count of the number of times I've told people, both at work and in my personal life, to find the thing they love doing and do that always. I think about this whenever I go to a sporting event, a concert, a play - these are people doing the thing and loving every minute of it. I will never know how it feels to play in the World Series, but I do know exactly how it feels to do something I love and enjoy every minute of it. When I watch the Nats, particularly in the postseason, that's what I see. A team doing the thing and loving the job they have. I'm sure the Astros feel the same way, but I don't see it when I watch them play. Maybe my fandom is getting in the way, but I don't care. These guys are the best.
• Washington sports teams rallying for one another...minus one. The bromance between the Washington Nationals and the Capitals (our hockey team for those who don't follow sports or care) is amazing. That's the only word I can use to describe it. The Nats showed up to support the Caps two years ago when they eventually won the Stanley Cup, and the Caps have been here for the Nats. I love seeing hometown teams support one another; it goes back to the idea of community I talked about earlier. Not only are the Caps and Nats fans of one another, but they've also celebrated the WNBA champion team, the Washington Mystics, and the Wizards have been supportive of the Nats postseason. DC United made it to the playoffs this year, and had a great season. All we're missing is the NFL team, but you know, they're not really interested in being supportive of other teams. Oh well, we don't need them or their hateful owner. Support DC sports - I might even a soccer game next season. Who am I?

I don't know if the Nationals are going to win the World Series. I'll be sad if they lose, and I'll be beyond excited if they win. Enjoy the run. Enjoy the series. And then come back out next season. 

Stuff I Love: Glitter Obliteration

I have fond childhood memories of covering my hands in Elmer's Glue and then peeling off the glue once it dried. It was an incredibly satisfying way to pass the time. There's probably a very specific reason this was so satisfying (something to do with the primitive brain, I would guess), but I'm a fairly lazy blogger, so today we'll chalk it up to this: kids like gross stuff. Peeling glue off your hands is part satisfying and part gross.

I thought this memory would transfer to my current state of using multiple types of glue to create my purses for Nyx 2019. I used, at my purse making peak, up to three different types of glue at one time. Glue is messy, so I've spent many days with glue all over my hands. I've been playing a fun game called "Is that dried glue or a cut?" The results are about 50/50 (sequins are sharp). This isn't a review of glue, but I'll say that I'm a fan of E6000, despite its smell, and matte Mod Podge. Mod Podge is the closest to Elmer's one can get. It's what helps make the purses all glittery.

I'm officially done with my purses. I set a goal of making 10 purses this year (we can make up to 20) and I finished my 10th purse on Friday. The only thing left to do is make my purse tags and bag each purse for transport. Oh, and fly to New Orleans, but that won't happen for another week. 

There is not glitter purse class one joins when becoming a Nyx sister. There are some videos online by fellow krewe members and many, many purses for inspiration on the Nyx Purse Tracker. But no class, so most of my experience this year was trial and error. It's also been incredibly fun and creative. It's been one of the more rewarding creative/artistic projects I've done in awhile. Since there aren't a lot of rules and the more glitter the better, it's been challenging in the best way possible. I love all the purses I've created and am already thinking ahead to next year. Before we get there, let's discuss what I've learned about creating a glitter purse.

• Glitter is not created equal. Super fine is best for covering a purse (thin layer of Mod Podge, pour or dip, allow to dry, brush, and repeat if needed). Larger glitter is better for design items and lettering. It took some time to figure out what worked best for each purse, but I'm now the proud owner of 20 different glitter colors. I'm 100% okay with this and will enjoy using all of these colors in the future.
• If you ever need to know how to remove metal/jewelry glue from your hands, let me know. I have a tried and true method that involves an emery board, sea salt scrub, sitting on your bathroom floor cursing metal glue, and a cat staring at you, judging your choices. The cat is the most important part of this formula. 
• PUFFY PAINT! I did not realize my life was missing the magic of puffy paint transfers until this year. I mostly used puffy paint for lettering, but it was a revelation. The way glitter sits on puffy paint and makes it look even more shiny and beautiful, is pure magic. Next year, I want to use puffy paint for shapes and figures. I feel like this will elevate my purses even more. 
• Naming my purses helped me focus on them and treat each one like a special event. Some of the names include "I Call Everybody Darlin'", Nyx Delivers the Stars," "You're the Cat's Meow," and "Glitter Obliteration" (my 11th purse, a bonus purse, inspired by Yayoi Kusuma's Obliteration Room.) 
• The smell of E6000 glue will haunt my dreams, but man does it hold sequins and rhinestones and palm fronds and unicorns like a champ. E6000 forever.
• I know understand why artist Mickalene Thomas uses chopsticks to place rhinestones on her paintings. Rhinestones have a mind of their own, so tweezers were very important. 
• When you need something to hold tiles or rhinestones in place while the E6000 cures (that's a thing with epoxy-adjacent glues like E6000 and Gorilla Glue), a Mr. Bingle coaster is the best item to use. It's New Orleans-y and whimsical, which is basically my new way of living life. 

If you're going to be in New Orleans on February 27, come out and see the Mystic Krewe of Nyx roll along the St. Charles Avenue route. I'll be on Float 11, on the upper level of the tandem, driver's side, position #1. Make me a pretty sign and maybe you'll get one of my fantastic purses.

Enjoy some photos of my purses in various stages of progress. I'm taking next weekend off from the Island to get ready for my trip. I'll have all the details (that I can share) in upcoming posts. Check out Instagram during the parade for photos and videos when I can post! 

Stuff I Love: A short commute

I've developed a habit of making up stories about random people sitting in traffic. Sometimes they do things that inspire the story, like the time I saw two younger guys in a minivan, one was dressed like a soccer dad and the other was definitely Shaggy younger brother. In my mind, they were lab partners who live next door to one another and soccer dad's mom told him he had to be the good guy and drive Shaggy Junior home. Soccer dad was not pleased. Sometimes I see a little boy walking home from school carrying a legit old man briefcase. He's either a spy or a math genius.

I started this game when my commute changed from approximately 15 minutes to anywhere from 40 minutes to eternity. If you've ever driven during rush hour in the greater DMV, you know this is no exaggeration. There was day during my first month at this job where it took 3 hours to get home. There wasn't an accident, just traffic. Lots of it. I live 30 miles from my office. It should not take 3 hours. Something is wrong with the scenario. And yes, I am very aware that I have the ability to move closer to where I work. I don't want to. I like where I live. I like it's proximity to DC and that I can walk to Target (I never do; cat litter is heavy). I may reconsider this when Amazon becomes my new neighbor, but for now I manage my commute with weird stories about my fellow commuters, listening to music loudly (I'm probably in another commuter's story), breaking more than necessary when a people is too close to me, and flipping people off for being awful. These are my commuting coping mechanisms.

I've also fully embraced the ability to work from home once a week (twice a week now if I really need the extra day). I like many things about where I work and love a few things, but this supportive work from home culture is one of the things I adore. Now before I dive into all the things I love about this, let's make a distinction:

• Working from home: the practice of occasionally working from a home-based location (glitter and sequin strewn kitchen table for me). My "home office" is my actual physical office because I'm located there the majority of the work week.
• Remote working: the practice of working from a home-based location for more than three days per week. My manager is a remote employee; she's not based in the DMV and works from home all five days per week. 

I worked for my previous employer for almost 11 years. In that time, I only worked from home when the weather was too bad to drive or I was sick, but not sick enough to take the day off. I would usually take late night meetings from home too. We had a work from home policy, but I always felt like I wasn't allowed to use it because I lived close to the office. Even on days when the snow was really bad, people would roll their eyes when I worked from home...from the safety of their own homes, of course. This is why I was apprehensive to take my work from home day where I am now, even though pretty much everyone on the team takes a day and it's normal and accepted. 

My apprehension is gone. I love my work from home day. My regular day is Thursday. I settled on Thursday through a very scientific process of rating my commute home for my first four months in my job. Mondays and Fridays are lovely; government workers can telecommute on those days so traffic is more manageable. I have a lot of Wednesday meetings in which I need to be in person, so I rule out Wednesdays. It came down to Tuesday and Thursday. Tuesdays seemed too early in the week for me, but the final event that made me choose Thursdays was the random day it took 3 hours to get home for no reason. After that day, I paid closer attention to my Thursday commutes, and it was always the worst on my drive home. Thursday wins. 

And it's perfect. It's later in the week, so I don't have as many meetings. I try to schedule meetings for the days I'm in the office and use Thursday as a project work/research/writing day. This doesn't always work, but I try really hard to make it so. Editing content, creating new content for the programs I manage, writing for various people, takes a lot of focus. That focus can be easily broken in the office. If my team in the Philippines needs to meet at 7 am my time, it's easier to do it on Thursdays because I'm at home and I don't have to worry about traffic and whether I'll make it on time. It makes for a relaxing and productive work day. I thought I would miss being around people, one of the things I enjoy about working in an office, but I find having one day with no one around is great for my productivity. My hours are normally 7:30-4:30, and on my work from home days, I will sometimes work a little later because I can get things started for dinner, and then go back and finish something I was working on. It's awesome. 

It's also the day where I feel I get more done than other days, both professionally and personally. Work from home days have produced a few of my best presentations (since taking this job), an article I'm super proud of (for someone else), and several brainstorming sessions, which resulted in new projects or approaches to doing things we do all the time. I also completed the leadership program I was enrolled in last year, and have recently started drafting ideas for articles for some periodicals in my field. This is the power of uninterrupted time. 

On a day where I go into the office, I get home between 5:30-6, which is the same time as when I was commuting only 15-20 minutes. The big difference is that I get up much earlier now than I did then; I have a 40 minute drive (approximately) every morning, so I need to be up and out by 6:40 at the latest. So I go to bed by 9:30, which means I only have 3 hours at night to accomplish things like making dinner, hanging out with the cat, laundry, grocery shopping, and whatever else I need to get done. And before anyone is like "you're single, you don't even know what tired is," I get it. I don't have kids or a spouse, but married or single people with children don't own the market on being tired and having shit to do. We need to stop comparing our lives in these ways. It makes everyone grumpy.

I don't feel rushed when I "get home" with cooking dinner, so I'm able to actually make something that's good and relatively good for me. I use my lunch break to run errands, which I sometimes do at the office, but it's easier when I'm closer to home. If Keely needs to get a pet-icure (they make me call it that when I make the appointment), I can take him on my work from home day. All of my doctors are closer to my house than to work, so I also try to schedule my own appointments on these days, again over lunch, so I don't have to take PTO to go to the doctor or go on a weekend. Sometimes, I even sleep in until 6 am on my work from home day and it's glorious. I feel well-rested and ready to be my best at work. 

Have I talked about how great it is to be around Keely all day? He is a grumpy, old man (who isn't old; he's 2) who doesn't want attention. And then he does want attention...while I'm conducting a team meeting. 

This was one of my first work from home days after I adopted him and he looks like he wants to be part of the team. My team members thought this was hilarious, especially when he meowed a few times during the conversation. His second favorite "the human is here all day" past time, is trying to jump on the counters when I'm on the phone and making a horrible noise when he can't do it. It's awesome, especially when you're on a call with a member of leadership and they can hear the unfortunate meow in the background, despite the fact that I was wearing headphones. 

Most days, Keely lays in his bed or near my feet when I'm home. Last Thursday, he was on my feet all day and would occasionally make funny faces at me. This was a rare work from home day where I had calls from 7-11 am with little break. He was doing his cat job, and providing humor and levity in a stressful day. 

Such a weirdo. This particular face made me giggle for a good 15 minutes, silently since I was still on a call. 

I have fully embraced working from home. I never thought I would. I've always enjoyed the hustle and bustle of being in my place of work; there's energy and other people. There's a dynamic in office environments, particularly when you work with interesting and talented people (which I do), that's super satisfying. Finding that environment makes me want to work better and be better. Working from home one or two days a week doesn't change that. In fact, it's made me think differently about my time in the office. I work hard to schedule the rest of my week so I can have a focused work day on my work from home day. I think about the tasks I need to do in the office, like working on tasks that involve data review or major editing, because I have two screens at the office and those are easier to accomplish with a larger monitor. I manage two leadership programs, so I schedule our in-person sessions mostly on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, which I've read are the best days for in-person training. It took me some time to get it right, but I finally did. 

Stuff I Love Month continues with a final look at all that glitters in the purse world as we get closer to my first ride in a Mardi Gras parade! Next week, we'll look at some of the finished glitter purses and I'll share the inspiration behind the designs. It's going to be so sparkly.

Stuff I Love: With a Thousand Sweet Kisses

I spent the summer of 1996, the summer before my senior year in high school, sitting in the theatre office in my high school, planning the upcoming season (I was in my second season as Business Manager), hanging out with my friends, and listening to the original cast recording of RENT on repeat. I'm surprised we didn't wear the CDs out (it's a two CD soundtrack) given the amount of times we listened to it. Something about the musical and the story of its creator, Jonathan Larson, completely captivated me and my friends. What did suburban white girls (mostly) have in common with the hip, cool characters of Larson's East Village? Quite literally nothing. I hadn't even been to New York when we started listening to the soundtrack. I didn't know anyone who was a junkie, although I knew kids in my high school who did drugs. I didn't drink in high school, and I was the mom of my friend group at 17. Which is cool I guess. It usually translated into always having easily accessible snacks for the group and making sure everyone made curfew.

But I knew every word to every song. I could sing the show in my sleep (and still can). Before the days of instant access to everything, I bought every magazine and paper I could find that had any information about the cast and Larson. Larson died the day before the off-Broadway opening of RENT, which only makes the show even more beloved. My parents bought me tickets to see the show on Broadway as a graduation present (we saw most of the original cast), and yes, I did sit next to my mom during the song "Contact." My parents knew what they were getting themselves into when they bought those tickets.

RENT is a lot of things: it's a modern day La Boheme, it's the precursor to many of the modern rock musicals, it's one of the most beloved musicals of all time, it's revolutionary. It makes you laugh and cry, often within the same song. It's about love and community and inclusion. It gave a face to the parallel epidemics of HIV/AIDS and crack and the impact both had on generations of young people. It's about art and politics and being your authentic self and creating.

I might not have had any life experiences in common with the characters in RENT, but I was young and believed that I could do anything. I was at the point in my life where I was about to head off to college and become whoever it was I was supposed to be. I was going to fall in love and create great art. I was going to have my "one song glory" like Roger (although it wouldn't be a song since I don't sing and can't play any instruments, but you get my point). I would find my tribe. Pick a song in the show and there's at least one lyric, maybe more, that speaks to my soul. It's that sort of show.

To say I was surprised that a live version of RENT was going to be on Fox last weekend would be an understatement. I had zero idea this was coming. I'm sure there was an announcement, but since I rarely watch network television anymore, I probably missed it. I'm ambivalent about these live musical broadcasts networks seem to believe we want. On one hand, my musical theatre nerd self gets so excited about a musical. I mean, I used to borrow cast albums (on vinyl) from the library and make up my own dance routines. I love musicals. On the other hand, these experiences almost never go right. The productions The Wiz and Hairspray have been the most successful of the fully staged productions, and Jesus Christ Superstar was an amazing concert/musical production. I've set the bar super low for these productions so I'm not disappointed, just like my Grandma K taught me.

I didn't hate RENT, but I didn't love it either. I DVR-ed it because I can't stay up past 9 pm on a school night. And it wasn't like I was missing an actual live broadcast. Because of a cast member's injury (more on this in a moment), only the last 15 minutes were live. The rest of the broadcast was from the recorded dress rehearsal the night before. The sound was terrible, but it's never good on these shows. The live studio audience was too loud (not a concert, y'all) and the cast, overall, was underwhelming. The set was impressive and cool, appropriate for a live broadcast, but was too overwhelming for this production. I really loved Roger's first pair of pants. No joke, not only do I want to see Brennin Hunt wear them again, I'd like a pair for myself. That's how good these pants are. Brennin Hunt was my favorite of the cast. He's definitely a Roger for 2019. Vanessa Hudgens was pretty good, better in "Take Me or Leave Me" than in "Over the Moon." Valentina was really pretty. I admit to fast forwarding through a lot of the recording. I skipped to my favorite songs, watched the awkwardness that was "Contact" on broadcast tv, and cried during "I'll Cover You - Reprise" because I will always cry during that song.

The lesson we learned from RENT Live! is to have an understudy. Hunt seriously injured his foot during the dress rehearsal. Rather than have a backup option of another actor, the production went forward with the recorded version until the last 15 minutes of the show. The climax of the show is staged in a way that Roger (Hunt) can sit pretty much the whole time, so that's what he did. And it was fine. The show ended, the curtain came back up on the original Broadway cast and "Seasons of Love" played as God and Jonathan Larson intended. Adam Pascal, the original Roger, and Jesse L. Martin, the original Collins, have gotten even hotter with age. I wish Adam had decided to jump in and play Roger; that would have been some amazing live theatre. If not Adam, what about one of the guys in the chorus? Trust me, they've all wanted to be Roger since they were 17. The last 15 minutes of the show, the actual live part, was the best part. It showed what this production could have been.

The next morning, I did what any RENT fan would do and listened to the original cast recording in my car on my drive to and from work. I sang along, because I always sing along, and I listened to the show as adult me, not 17 year old me who was in love with Adam Pascal. I still get chills during the certain songs and I laugh at Anthony Rapp and Idina Menzel. Wilson Jermaine Heredia's Angel will always be the heart of this show. What I was struck by on this listening and the "live" production, was the realization that the thing that Benny wanted, CyberArts, is now a thing that artists and tech people do all the time. Collaborative/multipurpose art spaces are super popular. Co-working spaces are a great example of people from all sorts of career fields working in a shared space, often stumbling into new ideas and creative endeavors. When I was younger, I loved Taye Diggs (I mean, come on), but disliked Benny. He was the villain, he was the living embodiment of Allison's comment from The Breakfast Club "when you grow up your heart dies." I still don't love Benny, but the original idea that Benny and his former roommate had, is now the norm. I have to wonder if Jonathan Larson was writing this show today, what would be the CyberArts of today? What would be the thing that took the heart out of art and creativity and innovation and revolution? I don't know, but I've been thinking about this all week, while humming random songs from the soundtrack.

And that's what makes watching the "live" production valuable. In addition to having an opportunity to watch a show about love, diversity, inclusion, community, and creativity on broadcast tv during prime time, I revisited one of the formative artistic creations of my youth and am thinking about it in a different way. At 17, I wasn't a fully formed human yet, and I had no idea what I'd be or do in my life. I'm not sure I'm fully formed human at 39, but I do know who I am and what I value. Listening to RENT makes me realize a lot of those things can be found in the songs and characters of this show. And that, is the power of art.

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The Detroit Project, Part One: Erin Has a Vision, Part Two

NBC's crafting competition show, Making It, recently completed its first season. The show, in the great tradition of The Great British Baking Show, is an incredibly polite competition show, pitting crafters, craft bloggers, and interior decorators against one another. Patches are awarded to the winning crafter in each round, and they get to hang out with Amy Poehler and Nick Offerman. They all seem to really like one another and help one another out. Despite being a long-form commercial for Etsy, the show was fun to watch and was both calming, because everyone was so darn nice to one another, and inspiring. I want my own makers shed! I want to make really fun light fixtures out of reclaimed wood and my imagination! I want Nick Offerman to think I'm creative! Be my friend, Amy Poehler!

Since last summer, I've been on a creative journey of sorts, finding inspiration from my friends in our monthly Wine & Crafts gatherings, working on a craftivist project, and experimenting with random materials like using cassette tape ribbon in place of embroidery thread. I've always enjoying making things, and the more ambitious the project the better. I enjoy a challenge; that's why I made a purse out of Legos and occasionally make my own gummy bears. Figuring stuff out is half the fun of creative projects. At its heart creativity is problem-solving. I do love to problem solve.

Once I started working with the cassette tape, I started to think about more ways to broaden my project scope. I love a lot of the irreverent, political, and feminist patterns out there today, but I wanted to start creating my own patterns. If a random person on Etsy can do it, I'm pretty certain I can too. I've started small, with patterns for badges and key chains. And I was slightly more ambitious with my Ziggy Stardust inspired piece for my aunt. Lettering is a pain in the ass, especially when you use cassette tape ribbon for cursive script. Regardless, these smaller projects were the starting point to something grander.

My family is from Detroit. Both of my parents were born and raised in the city. They probably would have stayed in Michigan had my father not joined the Army. We moved from Dearborn, a suburb of Detroit, when I was four years old. I'm the only member of my immediate family who didn't grow up in Michigan. My brother went back for college, and lived in the apartment upstairs from the house our mother grew up in. For me, Detroit has always been a place I love fiercely, but have no real context for beyond the houses my parents grew up in (which my grandparents lived in until their deaths), my aunt's house in Corktown, Tiger Stadium, houses of relatives outside of the city that I recall from visits, and landmarks that are significant to us, but may not be to others (Lafayette Coney Island, Belle Isle, Dearborn Music, original location, and Pewabic Pottery).

I started to wonder what I could to create to explore my love of Detroit, my family history in the city, and discover a sense of home. That's another thing I think about often: where is home? I grew up all over the US, spending most of my time in New Orleans and Northern Virginia, two places that could not be more different from one another. At one point in my life, I considered New Orleans home, and to some degree, still feel very deeply connected to the city. I've never considered any part of Northern Virginia home, except for the fact that my family lives here. For me, I don't see NOVA as the place I'll live forever. Actually, that idea horrifies me a little bit since all I can think of is an endless loop of driving on 66 and hating everyone. This is not to say I don't have delightful childhood/teenage memories of NOVA and enjoy my adult existence here (to some degree), but it's not home.

I also want a big project to take up my time. What could be bigger than depicting the city of your birth? (Okay, okay, I was born in Southfield, MI, but you get my point.) With my Detroit Project, I want to tell the story of my family in Detroit via the places that were and are significant to us. The plan is to include landmarks as well, places that people need to know about and shaped the city of Detroit. I don't know what all of those places are yet, but I'll figure it out as I go. And yes, I'm aware that other artists already depict cities, but that's fine. My interpretation is not their interpretation. That's the fun of art.

So that's the idea, but now it's all about how to accomplish this whole thing. I identified a few places to start:

• My parents' childhood homes
• Tiger Stadium
• My aunt's house
• The Detroit Skyline
• the train station (Ford Motors has recently bought the station and is restoring it)
• Holy Redeemer Church (where my parents went to high school)
• Lafayette Coney Island
• Hamtramck Disney Land

I want to design each pattern myself. I've been baby-stepping my way to drawing patterns, using some of the set design knowledge from my college days to help me figure out basic shapes and that I can, in fact, make lines work together to form shapes and buildings. I bought a pattern from Etsy recently so I can practice buildings (yes, it's Detroit-themed). I need to visit to take photos so I'm working from my own images. I also plan to go through all the photos in my parents' basement to see if there's anything I can use there too. My brother took a few photos of places for me on his recent visit; the houses both do and don't look the same.  

I've decided to start with Tiger Stadium and make something for my brother. Tiger Stadium will always be my favorite baseball stadium. It was torn down years ago, and the space is now a community baseball field (which is great to see). When we were kids, we'd sit in the bleacher seats to watch games and do the Chicken Dance at some point in the game. I have a lot of fond memories of that stadium and my brother has even more (he worked there when he was in college too). Next week, I'm attending Stitch & Pitch at Nats Park here in DC, a random attempt to get crafters to come watch baseball. I have no idea if this is going to work. I'm basing the design on the original blueprints of the stadium and incorporating a few additional elements to enhance the vintage feel.

Next week, I'll share the process for creating the pattern and what it's like to embroider at a baseball game. That's a sentence I never thought I'd write, but here we are. Over the course of the next year, I'll share various projects from the Detroit Project, as well as unveiling my Badass Herstory project contribution. Here's hoping I can pull this off and make some cool pieces about a city I love very much.

Next week: We adventure to Nationals Park to experience Stitch & Pitch. I'll share my Detroit Tigers themed piece for my brother, and we'll discuss whether or not embroidering at a baseball game is a good idea.

Stuff I Love: Wine & Crafts

A few weeks back, I took a Gallup Strengths coaching workshop for work. I use the assessment in one of the programs I manage at work and took the workshop to help deepen my knowledge of strengths-based development so I can expand what we're doing with the assessment in the programs. One of the activities we did was an exercise focused on what we value and how those values are evident in our top strengths. The top value for me? Creativity. I worked with my partner to discuss creativity in my work and personal life and it was the sort of satisfying conversation that always seems to happen at these types of workshops. I always get all excited about the way I'm going to bring the knowledge back, both professionally and personally. Then go back to my life and forget everything and question my life choices and ennui settles in and I'm like, "What happened?"

Thankfully, that didn't happen this time. I haven't completely figured out what I want to do with the assessment in my programs, but I haven't lost that feeling I got when talking with my coaching practice partner about creativity. If anything, I've spent more time thinking about this since the workshop thinking about creativity and bringing that more into my life than I've thought of anything else. Creativity is a skill and a talent. It's focused on using imagination to create and solve things. People often mistake creativity for artistic talent; the two aren't the same. You can be creative and not artistic and you can be artistic and not be creative. Artists who are also creative are probably better artists, but the two are not synonymous. Creativity is about problem solving and thinking differently about the way things are done. It can manifest in art and crafts, but it doesn't have to.

I have some artistic talent; I can sew, embroider, write, and paint. Remember that time I made a Lego purse? I'm not a great painter and never will be, but I enjoy the process and the feeling of painting. I enjoy embroidery more, so I tend to stick with it when I want to have both a creative and artistic outlet. There's something truly magical about bringing a new project into the world. I'm mostly self-taught when it comes to embroidery and I'm constantly impressed by what I'm able to create with a few stitches and some fun patterns. Since the Women's March last year, there's been a flood of feminist embroidery and cross-stitch patterns on the market. There's something very therapeutic about stabbing fabric over and over again and have it become a "Nasty Woman" wall hanging or a "Girl Power" patch. It's also a nice connection back to our feminist and suffragist foremothers, who used crafts, sewing and needlework in particular, to hand make signs and sashes in the early suffrage and equality movements.

Back in the spring, when I was laid off and felt terrible about life, my friends did an excellent job of helping me stay positive and focused on doing fun things so I wouldn't drown in the pool of horrible that a job search often becomes. One April afternoon, Emily came over to watch movies and hang out. She brought a crochet project she was working on with her (she was making me a Franken-blanket, her specialty). I had a cross-stitch project I was working on. We sat on my couch, drank wine, and watched the mini-series version of IT and sewed and crocheted the afternoon away. Anita came by later in the afternoon, bringing her own cross-stitch project with her. As we all sat and worked and talked, we decided to start a monthly crafting/project day. Wine and Crafts Day was born. We've met once a month since September. Hosting duties rotate among the group and we've added a few additional people into the mix. There's no requirement of having to know how to do any type of craft or art project; we've all informally agreed to teach people new skills if they want to learn.

My first Zakka embroidery project.

It's been a great way for me to bring my friend groups together and be around a group of women who laugh and create and have fun. It's nice to not have an agenda; so much of all of our lives are based on agendas and to-do lists and calendars. I'm a planner, but even I can't deal with being scheduled to death. I know scheduling is a necessary thing, but I have a dream of one day not living by my calendar. We even got Anita hooked on Stranger Things and Chief Hopper; she was not disappointed.

In addition to being able to focus on various embroidery projects, I've also rediscovered my love of hosting gatherings. I don't know when I stopped having dinner parties, but I'd forgotten how much fun it is to plan the food and set everything up in a welcoming way. This isn't nearly as involved as a dinner party, but it's nice to have an excuse to try out fondue recipes (happening today) or bake a new recipe or roll out an old favorite. I spend a lot of time by myself, which is both good for me (and my introverted nature), but also something I need to occasionally remember not to do. There is such as thing as spending too much time alone. I don't spend time during our monthly gatherings writing, but I know that each one has helped me get back into my novel and given me the much needed kick in the pants to finish it and put it out in the world. Soon, friends, soon.

It's almost time for the group to gather and get started on our projects and eat some fondue. I'm not sure the cheese fondue is going to be good, but there's always chocolate fondue to save the day!

Today's project - another Zakka project. This one is going to be framed and hung in my living room.

Coming in March: It's Women's History Month! Whatever will we talk about for an entire month dedicated to women and their achievements? Check it out all month long!

Stuff I Love: Cats choose us; we don’t own them*

I miss Pumpkin.

For regular visitors to the Island, this isn't a shocking statement. Some days, it hits me harder than others. She used to sit with me on Saturday mornings when I was writing my Island posts. Her two favorite places to sit were on my lap so I'd have to type over her and sitting behind my laptop so she could steal its warmth. When she would sit behind the laptop, she would occasionally look over the laptop as if to say, "Are you done doing whatever it is you're doing, human? I'm feeling ignored." Then she would proceed to smack at my hand when I tried to pet her. It was an awesome cycle to live in. Every now and then, I'd read sections of whatever I was working on to her, you know, for her opinion. I developed a sliding scale with her reactions: if she moved or made a noise, what I read was on the right track. If she continued napping, I was boring her. If she went into another room, maybe I needed to rewrite it all entirely. Pumpkin was a fierce critic.

She was also a source of inspiration, shade, and humor for my writing. Pumpkin inspired my short stories about a cat named Pickles and of course, was the inspiration for six "Answer Your Cat's Questions Day" posts. And who can forget that time she lived in an Ikea bag for a week? Pumpkin-centric posts are some of my most read. Y'all really enjoyed her; I appreciate that every day.

Since she passed in August, I've been on the receiving end of a lot of advice about adopting another cat. One person told me I should wait a month for every year Pumpkin was with me before adopting a new cat. Pumpkin lived with me for 16 years so that means I would adopt a cat in December of 2019. Someone else told me that I've already waited too long. Apparently, I should have adopted a cat two weeks after she died. This seemed cruel and somewhat bizarre to me. Even more people say I seem "lonely" and need to get another cat so I have "someone" at home. I have to wonder with this last group if they'd decided a new cat is my only future since they've stopped encouraging me to try online dating again. If you can't find a man, get a new pet? I don't know if that really works.

I appreciate all the concern, I really do. Being a pet mom was something at which I excelled. Cats, while not easy, are my speed of pet. I always tell people what I love about cats generally and Pumpkin specifically, was the balance of aloofness and neediness inherent in their personalities. Cats know their boundaries for social interactions. Don't want to someone petting you? Hiss and smack their hand away. Not feeling social interactions at all? Hide under the bed or in a weird location like in a tote bag at the back of a closet. (Real thing that happened - it took me two hours to find her.) Need some love in your life? Jump into your human's lap and make it impossible for them to get up. Cats are basically introverts trapped in the bodies of circus performers.

Finding a pet isn't easy. To paraphrase Cher Horowitz, looking for a pet is like trying to find meaning in a Pauly Shore movie. It's challenging, elusive, and you have to wade through a lot of meaningless dialogue before you get to a winner. I have some parameters of my own, like not wanting to adopt an older cat, that make the search more narrow, especially this time of year. Cats are hard, given their propensity for looking like they'd cut you in the parking lot if you walked too close to them. Cats have a lot of personality, but their personalities don't work for everyone. I saw Pumpkin's photo in the newspaper and knew that I was supposed to be her human. I went to the shelter the next day and she was there, waiting for me. It was fate or kismet or whatever you want to think. I've started looking for a new cat friend, but none of the pictures have propelled me out of my house to meet the little dears in person. Are they adorable? Absolutely, but none of them are my cat. Even the one shelter who named their cats after Gilmore Girls characters didn't get me out of the house. No one is going to adopt a cat named Dean, by the way (#TeamLogan). I'll know when I find the cat that belongs with me.

Until that time, I'll coo over adorable little pals over on the Fairfax County Animal Shelter Instagram account and keep a running list of possible cat names. I'm partial to Waffle, Olive, Agnes, Cheese, and Chester right now; food and old fashion names seem to be my thing these days.



*Quote from Kristin Cast, author of the House of Night YA series (I've never read her books, but love this quote.)

Stuff I Love/Lazy Movie Weekend: New Steps, New Steps, New Steps!

I miss Blockbuster. I don't mean this in a "woe is me, things were so much better in the 1990s" sort of way, although we could argue that the 1990s were a magical time. I say this exact phrase during one of the tours at the museum, seconds before talking about the fashion disaster known as the "whale-tail" and calling myself a feminist killjoy. I love volunteering.

No, I miss Blockbuster for the browsing. Yes, I know I can browse titles on Netflix or On Demand, but it's not the same as browsing the aisles at the video store. Going to Blockbuster (or Hollywood Video or any of the other video store chains that existed) was about the browsing. Sure, I might come in with a plan to rent The Breakfast Club and Sixteen Candles for the millionth time this month, but I'd always leave with at least one unexpected item in my movie pile. Something about the cover of a video would catch my eye or maybe it'd be an employee pick (there as always an employee pick section) or some other special category like "Indie Comedies Featuring a 70s Icon" or "Movies with a Girl Gang." Oddly specific categories are my jam. The more odd and specific you can be with telling me why I might enjoy a movie tells me you're paying attention and maybe stalking me online (I'm looking at you, Netflix).

It's because of Blockbuster that I watched Party Girl, most of Quentin Taratino's movies before I was able to see them in the theatre, and it's how I "discovered" today's Lazy Movie Weekend entry, Strictly Ballroom.

Think about the 1990s in terms of the movies: independent movies were the thing everyone wanted to watch, people beyond Hollywood starting paying attention to film festivals, delightful ensemble movies were popping up left and right, foreign films moved outside of the art house, and weird was cool in movies. Like the music of the time, there was something for everyone and most of it was really amazing. This was my peak movie time; I watched movies all the time and went to the movies as much as I could. I don't know what was going on in Australia at this time, but there was a very specific interest in Australian movies in the mid-late 1990s. In quick succession, you had Strictly Ballroom, Muriel's Wedding, Cosi, Shine, The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, The Piano, The Sum of Us, Sirens, and Flirting. We introduced to Russell Crowe, Nicole Kidman, Rachel Griffiths, and Toni Collette. Australia seemed like the weirdest and most magical place.

Strictly Ballroom was my Australia gateway movie (yes, that's a thing). It led me to Muriel's Wedding and Cosi and the rest is history. It let me believe that despite my aversion to his version of Romeo + Juliet, I could still get behind a Baz Luhrmann movie. Strictly Ballroom is the first movie in his "Red Curtain Trilogy" and it's my favorite of the three. It's odd and funny and heartwarming and I love it. It's now streaming on Netflix, which is awesome. I've watched it twice since I found this out, and it was magical both times. So, grab some popcorn and maybe a glass of wine, and let's rumba our way through Strictly Ballroom.

• Hey, there's that red curtain. It pops up throughout the whole movie. 
• Baz Luhrmann wrote Strictly Ballroom as a stage play. It debuted in 1984 and was based on his experience participating in ballroom dancing competitions. 
•  Based on the opening sequence of this movie alone, ballroom dancing seems like the weirdest, but funnest world to inhabit. Everything's so sparkly and pretty, if not a little over the top. The personalities are big and brassy. I feel like I missed out on some fun.
• The movie is sort of set up like a documentary at first. We meet the key players and they're all talking about a controversy we haven't yet seen - Scott Hastings, the coolest ballroom dancer ever, using non-federation steps. The nightmare!
• Scott, played by Paul Mecurio, is every leading man of this era, trying to channel cool guy-ness and edginess while ballroom dancing. Like you do.
• That yellow sequin jumpsuit is life! It is something else. I hate a deep V-neck collar on a dude, but this takes things to a whole new level.
• Let's all take a moment to bask in the glory of every single suit Les Kendall appears in during this movie. They're pastel or shiny in a way that no one else could ever pull off.
• 
• Scott's mom, Shirley (played by Pat Thomson), is the greatest stage mom of Australian cinema. "Did I fail him as a mother?" - such delivery. I love every moment is on screen. Sadly, Thomson died before the film was released.
•  A new realization I had during this version of the movie was that Barry Fife (Bill Hunter), the president of the dance federation, is the Donald Trump of the fake Australian competitive ballroom dancing world. From the hair to the shady dealings to his manner towards women, Fife and Trump are the same. Hunter seems to play all Australian bad guys during this period and he's so good. Seriously though, I had a hard time watching him as I made this comparison. 
• The bangs! We need to pause and talk about everyone's bangs in this movie. I used to tease and spray my bangs within an inch of their life too, but these women take it to a whole new level. There's sequins and it all matches whatever they're wearing. Exactly how much hairspray was used during the making of this movie?
• I still don't know what the Bogo Pogo is, even though I've seen this movie a ton. I know it's supposed to be a dance step, but in my heart, it's a really great 90s era Australian synth pop band.
• "You've got a light in you, boy. Let it shine." Just hold onto this phrase if you ever need a pick up for yourself. Also, foreshadowing.
• Liz (Gia Carides) and Scott matching clothing even off the dance floor is a thing of weird beauty. 
•  Scott's sister, Kylie, and her dance partner, Luke, are the greatest. Netflix recommended a documentary to me called Baby Ballroom and I may need to watch it for Kylie. Is competitive ballroom dancing something you're born into or can anyone sign their kid up for this? I wonder.
•  Doug, Scott's dad, is basically a dad joke wrapped in a delightful human being. I love him so much, including his socks and shorts ensembles. 
• And then we meet Fran, the oddball of the dancing studio. She is so awkward and lovely. 
• Paul Mecurio was one of the trained dancers cast in the movie, although he was a ballet dancer and had to go through six weeks of ballroom training for the role of Scott. Tara Morice, who played Fran in the stage play, almost didn't get cast because she didn't have a background in dance. The guy that plays her dad and Tina Sparkle were some of the other professional dancers cast.
• Fun fact: Morice also sang the version of "Time After Time" featured on the soundtrack.
• "Ken owns Spa-a-Rama." This is basically what I think of whenever anyone brags about something horrible that they do, but that they're super proud of without knowing it's horrible. It's all in Liz's delivery.
• And then Fran takes off her glasses and is beautiful and dances better than anyone else in the movie. Or something.
• I can't stress enough how wonderful Doug is. Just watch him dance on the roof of the building and tell me he's not amazing. I will fight you on this. 
• Tina freaking Sparkle. She is so much to handle. The fruit, the name, the bangs. She so much, but also incredibly normal within the world of this movie.
• I can't apply eye makeup very well since I can't really see without my glasses, but I have to say, Shirley's eye makeup in this movie is horrifying. It's what would happen if a teenage girl and a new drag queen both learning to apply makeup got together and helped one another. Too much.
• The "Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps" sequence is my favorite part of this entire movie. It's so beautiful and makes me want to learn to ballroom dance. Fun fact: Doris Day requested a private screening of the film because of the use of this song. She loved the movie (apparently).
• The eye contact in ballroom dancing is what keeps me from ever wanting to dance (that and the fact that I'm an awkward dancer). It's so intense to watch.
• And then everyone gangs up on poor Fran and sends her back home with no partner. 
• "What is so wrong with the way I dance?" Nothing, Scott. Nothing.
• Scott picked the wrong dance with Fran's family. His paso doble was a joke. Fran's dad and grandma show him what's what and it is awesome. The paso doble mimics the movements of bull fighting, which you can see very plainly. It was created in France in the 1930s, and is widely associated with Spanish and Portuguese dance.
• Of course, this also means Scott finds his heart and love of dance. And gets a shiny gold jacket (which was the most expensive costume and took six weeks to make).
• "Nothing terrible is going to happen." Shirley, don't say things like that.
• So many lies. So much shadiness. I'm telling you, Barry Fife is Donald Trump. It's so obvious to me now.
• And then Scott and Fran fall in love through the magic of dance. As couples do.
• The flashback sequence! It's a delight in its campiness. Apparently, it was supposed to be more realistic, but the budget wasn't there so it was easier and less costly to create a weird, fever dream version of the 1967 competition. Sure. I believe you.
• The Pan Pacific Finals. Tina is with Ken, Liz and Scott are set to dance together again, and Fran is back in beginners where she belongs. Until Doug shouts, "We lived our lives in fear!" and Scott gets his shit together.
• What is Liz wearing? It's like what would happen if a dominatrix and a space pilot had a very yellow costume baby. I have no words for this outfit.
• And then Scott flies out onto the dance floor and he and Fran dance the greatest paso doble anyone has ever seen, with and without music. It is magical and heals everyone's soul and sets the Australian competitive ballroom dancing world on fire. Yes, I just wrote that sentence.
• The "Love Is in the Air" plays and the red curtain closes. 

Do yourself a favor and spend this weekend with the gang from Strictly Ballroom. Then watch Muriel's Wedding, Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, and Cosi. You'll thank me for it later. It's not exactly browsing at the Blockbuster, but it's close enough.

Scott & Fran image
Yellow jumpsuit 
Scott & Fran 2

Stuff I Love: Weather Forecasting Rodents

It's finally February! January lasted about 700 years so let's all breath a sigh of relief for the end of that mess. The end of January also means it's time for my annual February tradition: Stuff I Love! I guess you argue this entire blog is about stuff I love, but in February I focus on special things I love.

I love random holidays. Give me a food themed holiday or a holiday that celebrates being nice to people and my day is made. February includes one of the greatest animal themed random holidays ever - Groundhog Day. If you don't know about Groundhog Day, I'll give you a quick overview. Groundhog Day was first celebrated in the US within German immigrant communities in Pennsylvania. The first recorded celebration was February 2, 1840. It's derived from German traditions where groundhogs and badgers were used as weather predicting animals (as one does). If the groundhog sees his shadow when he emerges from his hole, we'll have six more weeks of winter and Phil goes back in his hole to go back to napping for six more weeks. If doesn't see his shadow, spring will arrive early.

The Punxsutawney, PA has become the hub of Groundhog Day activity. The first Punxsutawney celebration was in 1886. According to the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club website, their resident groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil, is the only true weather forecasting groundhog. The town celebrates in a huge way and it sounds amazing. I have never visited, but it's a future winter trip.

I don't know when my fascination with Groundhog Day began, but I love it. I don't celebrate Valentine's Day, despite my very successful turn as the first "E" in my third grade Valentine's Day concert, and I'm not a huge fan of Christmas. As winter holidays go, Groundhog Day is my more my speed. Ultimately, it's about a surly rodent who holds the weight of the winter forecast on his tiny shoulders. Little dude just wants to continue sleeping for the rest of February, but no, we need him to tell us whether we have to suffer through more of winter. Punxsutawney Phil is all of us on a bitter cold morning; we'd rather stay under the covers rather than walking to the gym in 19 degree weather. I feel you, Phil.

The 1993 gem of a movie Groundhog Day also plays a role in my love of this holiday. If you haven't seen the movie, do yourself a favor and check it out this year. AMC usually runs a marathon every year (which is funny). Bill Murray stars as Phil Connors, a weatherman who travels with his crew to Punxsutawney to cover the festivities. Phil is a jerk to everyone and has zero interest in rodent-based weather forecasting. Phil finds himself caught in a time loop, where he relives Groundhog Day over and over. He spends the bulk of the movie doing everything from learning new things like how to play the piano, committing crimes, saving people, being nice to his cameraman, Chris Elliott, and falling in love with his producer, played by Andie MacDowell. The time loop keeps going until Phil learns a lesson because that's the way movies work. One of the greatest scenes in the movie is when weatherman Phil kidnaps Punxsutawney Phil and they drive angry. It's magical.

I hit peak Groundhog Day love in 2011 when my wonderful mom sent me a Groundhog Day care package. I was living in California at the time and my mom found all sorts of goodies for me to enjoy. The box included Punxsutawney Phil postcards, a DVD about the magical day, chocolate, and the pièce de résistance, a groundhog cookie cutter. My mom gets me...or indulges my weirdness. I'll let you decide which. The cookie cutter led to my creation of a new Groundhog Day tradition, baking groundhog cookies.

My first batch:

Who doesn't love jaunty scarves and bow ties on weather forecasting rodents? Then there was the year I made top hats:

Edible paper still tastes like paper. Adorable, but still paper.

This year, I decided to go all out for the big day. I made Groundhog Day cards and sent them to my friends and family. People have been enjoying them which makes me happy. A little whimsy in the mail never hurt anyone. Surprisingly (or maybe not), there are a ton of groundhog stamps available online. I'm not the only one who loves this little guy.

I also continued my tradition of making the cookies. I'm almost eight months into my new job and I haven't really done much baking for work. I admit I haven't felt like baking all that much in the last few months, but my croissant class last week was an inspiration. I'm not going to bake something every week, but I feel like I have my baking groove back. Hopefully, my new co-workers enjoy whimsy in their day and eating delicious cookies shaped like weather forecasting rodents. 

Here's hoping that Punxsutawney Phil doesn't see his shadow and we get an early spring. It's the least Phil can do for us.

Movie meme

Rise Up! Rock Out!

Back in November, I shared a snippet of conversations I was having with friends and acquaintances who were struggling to make sense of the election and the outcome and the world we were immediately plunged into because of it. I'm not magical so I'm wasn't immune to the same feelings my friends were feeling BUT I felt like I had a strategy in place for moving forward when the election was "done." I would ask my friend "What have you done? What are you willing to do next?" not because I wanted them to feel guilty but because I wanted them to think about how to be part of change in a way that would work for them. And maybe, by being a bit more in the world, the crippling sense of doom would go away bit by bit. That was the plan.

For me, being a "good" citizen is important. I've always believed that being socially and politically active is the point; that's how I define a good citizen. We're supposed to protest and vote and get involved in our communities. We're supposed to care about one another and this country and question our leaders. The Women's March was a powerful reminder of that as have been the countless protests and other movements that have happened since November. Social change isn't easy especially when you're covering ground you should NOT have to repeat but all of these steps are necessary so we don't end up 50 years (or more) in the past.

What's challenging is getting lost in the muck of all of these ideas and the rhetoric and the ridiculousness of a commander in chief who tweets like a teen jacked up on Mountain Dew with equally poor grammar. It's hard sometimes to find the good in the world. I know this. That's why I planned for it (because sometimes I'm a little too Type-A for my own good) and decided to commit myself to more coming off of the natural high the Women's March. I vowed to be more active within my local government (which I am doing in many ways) and to look for a local organization to either donate time or money to (or both). That's how I found Girls Rock! DC.

Celebrating its 10th Anniversary this year, Girls Rock! DC is a summer camp for girls, trans, and non-binary youth which focuses on music, music education, and social justice. The original rock camp was founded in Portland, OR and has spread around the US and the world, with rock camps in most major US cities and in countries like Japan, the UK, and Sweden. During camp week, campers take music classes, learn music history, and form a band. The bands write music together, create their band name, their aesthetic, and a song to be performed at the end of camp Showcase. They also have the opportunity to take workshops on a variety of topics and learn from one another and the camp staff.

Girls Rock! DC (GR!DC) was founded in 2007 by a group of area musicians, teachers, and community organizers to focus on the idea of building community while also rocking out. I heard about Girls Rock! DC from a volunteer at the museum. She and I were discussing getting more involved in local organizations and she mentioned GR!DC. She'd recently gone to a showcase for their adult program, We Rock!, and had thought of me because of my love of rock music and education programs (I'm always surprised by my qualifiers amongst people who know me). I did a little research, saw that they had a call out of for volunteers, and contacted the group. I did a volunteer interview, talked with a member of their leadership team via email about working on the communications team, and showed up at the first training. And then I was hooked completely.

It's rare to walk into a room of people so dedicated to something that you immediately have to tell someone else they need to be involved in this group but that is exactly what happened when I went to my first training (I texted Anita and then made her get up early to come to the showcase). It was awesome to see so many people coming together to make this camp happen. Listening to the various leadership team members talk about the program, the mission, the campers was inspiring. It's a lot of work but it makes a difference for the campers who participate. Many are experiencing not only camp for the first time, but playing a musical instrument for the first time. The camp is very representative of the area, with campers coming from all quadrants of DC, Maryland, and Virginia. It's a supportive, open, and creative space. Girls very rarely get that.

I didn't get to spend the week at camp since I started my new job (this will be remedied next summer) but I did get to spend time working on the showcase program and helping with set up at camp and at the showcase venue, the 9:30 Club. Did I not mention that? The camp showcase is at the 9:30 Club. I know, it's wild. The other volunteers I work with are awesome; I have never met a cooler, more welcoming group of humans in my life. I wasn't sure if my more Type-A personality would work within the group but it seemed to be okay at least for what I was working on throughout the last few weeks. The few campers I got to meet, primarily the members of the Youth Leadership team, were fun to talk to and hear from as they shared their camp experience.

And then there was the showcase. These bands and DJ crews (there were two crews this year) have one week to write and rehearse their song. Many of the campers are learning music for the first time and they range in age from 8-18. What they created for showcase was amazing; the songs were from the heart, timely, and full of spirit and resistance. It was breathtakingly beautiful.

Here are a few samples:
from "Freedom and Justice" by Awesome Jamz-P.O.M.S
Yo, my freedom is everything, everything to me
I might even sing in it in four harmony
I got my sisters by my side
You know that they down to ride
They call me up, and they say "hey!"
We fighting for freedom and justice everyday

from Unknown Dawn's song
Don't give up 
Believe in yourself
Change what you want to change
Don't be bothered by anyone else
Try your hardest and love yourself

There was also a song called "Triggered" by Close Open Doors with a chorus that offered the suggestion of being calm and counting to nine to handle a very serious topic that happens all the time. The band handled it with humor and seriousness all at the same time. There was a lot of poetry and defiance wrapped into these songs. One of my favorite songs was from one of the younger band groups, Galaxy Starzz. It was a dreamy nugget of a song and it was about being you who are and making friends and being stars. The DJ crews were also impressive; it added a great vibe to the showcase and they were really supportive of one another on stage.

At the end of the showcase, all the campers, past and present, and the volunteers come on stage to sing the Girls Rock! DC anthem. Here's my favorite verse from the song:

Now I know I can do anything
I can DJ or play drums or sing
Come on, everyone, get up and dance
Cos the future of rock is in our hands!

Groups like Girls Rock! DC give me hope for the future. I'm excited to continue being part of this organization throughout the year and waiting anxiously for camp 2018. Until then, let's all continue to rise up and rock out!

 Photos by me