Aw man, I’ve gone and got myself depressed again. I know, I get like this every three months or so with the exception of this summer which saw everyday as down & out day. Bear with me, family.

Back in the spring, deciding not to take the bar exam gave me a brief moment of peace. I had been struggling with how to pay for the costly bar-prep courses and support myself while doing so, but when I reminded myself that I didn’t have to take it right away, I felt some pressure dissolve. There’s no time limit on the bar. Sure, you’d probably rather take it sooner or later so that you’re not too far removed from the subject matter, but otherwise take it 10 years later for all anyone cares.

Anyway, like I said, it was only brief relief. Soon after I got back to the States, folks wanted to know if I was a lawyer. I had to explain that I had a law degree but that I was not, in fact, a lawyer. It’s not as easy as you might think to explain how the bar works or how long it takes to study for it, even how much it costs. People were confused. After a while the questions became annoying and something I tried to avoid. Nearly impossible. Even if I am able to dodge questions (“When are you going to take the bar?” “Do you EVER want to practice?” “Why did you go to law school?”), I can’t escape the constant reminder that I have unfinished business out there. Contrary to what some might think I am NOT content with not taking and passing that exam. My addiction to social media is only exacerbating the problem.

Through Twitter, Facebook, Gchat and whatever else, I am privy to the life updates of many of my law school classmates. Without SM, I wouldn’t know what Joe in California was doing or what Sue in Pennsylvania had going on… but I do. And don’t get me  wrong, I like knowing. That’s why I stay logged into FB. Also, let me take this opportunity to say that I am genuinely, sincerely happy for and proud of all of my friends who have come through school with me and passed the bar. As of late, many folks have had their swearing in ceremonies. I just think that is so freaking cool. I remember when we were all taking 1L courses and now these folks are real life,  certified, licensed attorneys! Sweet. Or more like bittersweet because I’m just disappointed in myself that I am not celebrating with them.

So now I’m weighing whether it’s worth it for me to try to take the 2010 exam. Even one of the deans from law school has contacted me like “what’s going on? How come I don’t have you on the list of folks I need to certify for the bar?” Ugh.

DO I want to practice? Does that even matter though, because there are reasons to have that W under your belt even though you don’t plan to practice at all.
Do I want to take the summer off from my part-time Master’s degree program, pushing back that graduation date?Do I want to pay for it? (I can now, by the way).
Do I want to take on the burden, stress and work of studying for this via iPod (yes) after I finish 8 hours at my full-time gig?

I think I do. Knowing the kind of person I am this is only going to eat at me more and more. Why do I do this to myself?

* facepalm *

Do you know how there are some people, no matter what they generally do, you just won’t get upset with them? I feel that way about Sean PDiddy Combs. I feel that way about Beyonce. I feel that way about Tiger Woods. For now. There’s no telling how this story is going to develop, and it seems to be developing every 12 hours, but right now I really don’t see what the big honking deal is about Tiger Friggin Woods.

Yes. That man cheated on his wife. Can’t say that I’m surprised and no, it is not right. Let me reiterate, it is not right and I do not condone cheating on your spouse no matter who you are and how much money you have. When it comes to Tiger cheating on his wife and the mother of his children, Elin, I think she and their family should be very upset. Should *I* be very upset? Nope. Disappointed? Why?

Tiger Woods is a celebrity, yes. While I’m not one who looks to celebs and athletes as role models, I understand that many people do. Therefore I expect them to live up to that burden as best they can. But come on, humans are going to fall short EVERY TIME. Why are we so surprised that Tiger Woods has the same kind of vices and failings that most of us battle with on the daily?

I had to shake my head for real when I came across Ta-Nehisi’s blog today. I saw he posted an excerpt from the AP. Apparently, “journalists” say that Black people are pissed that Tiger didn’t cheat with any sistahs. Huh? One of the world’s greatest mysteries is not “why are we here” but “will white people EVER know what Black folks think about anything in the entire universe?” I’m no spokesperson for Black people (though I do have a degree in African-American studies which probably qualifies me for something, if only in my mind), but I’m going to take a stab at it and say that we don’t give a fuck.

When Tiger Woods first burst out onto the national scene, we were like, “yo, that’s a Black dude playing golf. Funky fresh!” (no, we didn’t say that last part). He was brown and his dad was clearly a Black man. His mom was Asian… so what. (See Wesley Snipes. Who’s blacker than him?). Even when he came out with that Cablinasian hulabaloo we still said, “whatever, joe. that fool Black,” and continued to cheer for him. Tiger’s victories were our victories even when we didn’t tune in to the Masters or the Opens. When he married a blonde Swedish nanny we were not surprised. Not because we thought he was some sort of self-hating sellout, but because that’s pretty much expected when you grow up around white folks in a sport dominated by white folks. Plus she’s hot (if you’re into that sort of thing). So I ask you, dear readers, why the hell would ANYONE be surprised that he was cheating with 7, 8, or 9 blonde white broads? What would have been a heart-stopper would be Tiger dipping out on Elin with a Jill Marie Jones, Regina Hall or Malinda Williams type (all beautiful, btw). No wonder new media is taking over if this is what J-schools are cranking out these days. Do better AP. Matter of fact, do better all traditional news outlets.

More on the news… I watch every morning as I get ready for work. I may as well turn to TMZ since that is where Fox5, ABC, CBS, etc get their info from. The news is full of speculation. Like Chris Rock said, they’re just making things up, not reporting what happened! I can’t deal. They were reporting this “story” before it was actually a story. They harassed Tiger to make him give a statement when one wasn’t necessary. They’re exploiting what ought to be a private family matter. Dude is losing endorsements. I could go on about those endorsements, but all I’ll say is that Gatorade, Nike, American Express and whoever else cuts him a check might need to check themselves before they riggidy wreck themselves. If wholesome family man is a requirement for an endorsement, they’ll have to pull out of business altogether.

Look yall, I don’t want to hear that Tiger and Elin had a violent relationship. I don’t want to hear that he hurt her emotionally or any other way. Nor her, him. If those things happened, I want the law to get involved where necessary and for use to be spared the rest. Must I know what Tiger says in nasty voicemails to his sidepieces. God no! Maybe I’m missing something, but why is this newsworthy? Why is this an opportunity to comment on how Black Tiger is? Le sigh.

[insert frowny face here]

Elle Woods, Harvard Law Grad. :p

So I recently heard that Harvard Law is no longer going to cover the tuition of aspiring public interest lawyers. If you’ve been a reader of this blog, you know that I graduated from law school. If you’re a close reader, you know that I spent my time in law school focused on public interest law, aka the kind of law that helps people who cannot access the legal system in a proportionate, just and affordable manner. The other side of Big Law and six-figure salaries. Apparently, the recession strikes again. Harvard had been offering scholarships to law students that committed to work in public interest for 5 years after graduation. The program, in existence for less than two years, is kaput. Not only has Harvard succumbed to the economy, but I guess way too many students were taking advantage of it. It’s sad to see a program like this go. My legal education was financed by a similar program.

Temple Law has the Rubin-Presser Scholarship which covers 2 out of the 3 years of tuition for students willing to commit to working in the public interest after graduation. Temple is still offering the scholarship and, as far as I know, they plan to continue. You don’t have to be Alan Greenspan to know that Harvard has a much larger endowment than Temple, but the reason TULaw can offer this scholarship year after year is probably because they only give it to three select students each year. You’d think before cutting the program altogether, Haaaavaaaad would have implemented alternative strategies (offer half tuition, limit the recipients per year, you know… get like Temple).

It’s a shame but I can’t really get TOO boo-hoo for anyone that graduates from Harvard. It sounds mean, even a bit salty, but still. While the work is rewarding, many public interest lawyers are “sacrificing” in one way or another to do the work they believe in. After receiving the same training, spending the same money and taking the same licensing exams as any other attorney, you’ve got to call it a sacrifice to willingly accept a third of the pay and half of the prestige than your peers. Ivy League law grads, however, can afford to work in the public interest, knowing that the institution on their degree gives back some of that prestige (to a certain extent) and may even garner a better salary in some places. They’ll be alright, for sure, but I hate that there’s yet another obstacle inhibiting those who want to be “do-gooders” from going out and saving the world (without going broke in the process).

Sharing this so that interested bloggers may participate.

Dear blogger friends,

You’re invited to take part in a Planned Parenthood Blogger Bee!

On Wednesday, Dec. 2, Planned Parenthood will be holding a National Day of Action to lobby the Senate for health care reform that ensures women’s access to reproductive health care. In order to get the word out as quickly and widely as possible, Planned Parenthood is asking bloggers to write about the National Day of Action and the negative impact that the Stupak amendment would have on health care reform if it is included in the final legislation.

Under the Stupak amendment, millions of women would lose benefits that they currently have and millions more would be prohibited from getting the kind of private sector health care coverage that most women have today. It is imperative that women and their allies make their voices heard, so that they do not become second-class citizens in a newly reformed health care system in the United States. The first step will be to make sure everyone has the tools they need to inform themselves and others about the new health care system under the House-passed bill and the Stupak amendment.

We ask that on Wednesday, Dec. 2, you use the key points (after the jump) to inform your readers and spread the message that we will not accept health care reform that leaves women worse off than before.  To participate, send the name and url of your blog and your Twitter name if you have one, to Constance DeCherney at constance.decherney@ppfa.org by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 1. If you sign up, your blog will be listed and linked on Planned Parenthood’s Action Center and included in a special Planned Parenthood (@PPact) Twitter List.

For more information on health care reform and the Stupak amendment, visit us at http://www.plannedparenthoodaction.org/healthreform.

We need to hear from you! Help us protect women’s access to reproductive health care!

Best,

Christie Petrone
Senior Press Officer – Health Care
Planned Parenthood Federation of America

Key Points for Bloggers:

Check out (and post on your blogs) the Pass Health Care Reform, Stop Stupak video and include these key points in your post.

The Bottom Line

• Essentially the amendment violates the underlying principle of health care reform, as articulated by President Obama, that no one will lose the benefits the currently have.
• Under the Stupak amendment, millions of women would lose benefits that they currently have and millions more would be prohibited from getting the kind of private sector health care coverage that most women have today.
• Millions of women would lose private coverage for abortion services and millions more would be prohibited from buying it even with their own money.
• Women’s access to private coverage for abortion would be severely restricted by health care reform.

The New Health Insurance Exchange

• The new health insurance exchange is intended to provide a new source of affordable, quality coverage for the roughly 46 million uninsured Americans and the millions more whose current coverage is unaffordable or inadequate.
• The House bill is expected to cover 96 percent of all uninsured Americans by offering subsidies for private coverage or the choice of a public plan. Depending on their income level and the final package approved by Congress, individuals would receive subsidies on a sliding scale to purchase private insurance through the exchange.
• Not everyone in the exchange would have subsidized coverage — a significant portion of people (for instance, those currently purchasing in the individual market and those working for small businesses) who would buy insurance in the exchange would not receive any subsidies, also known as affordability credits.

The Stupak Amendment

• The Stupak amendment prohibits any coverage of abortion in the public option and prohibits anyone receiving a federal subsidy from purchasing a health insurance plan that includes abortion. It also prohibits private health insurance plans from offering through the exchange a plan that includes abortion coverage to both subsidized and unsubsidized individuals.
• The Stupak amendment purports to allow women to purchase a separate, single-service “abortion rider,” but abortion riders don’t exist.
• Women are unlikely to think ahead to choose a plan that includes abortion coverage, since they do not plan for unplanned pregnancy.
• Realistically, the actual effect of the Stupak amendment is to ban abortion coverage across the entire exchange, for women with both subsidized and unsubsidized coverage.

Who Would Be Covered in the Exchange?

• Most immediately, the exchange would offer coverage to many of the 17 million women, 18–64, who are uninsured. It would also be a source of coverage for the 5.7 million women who are now purchasing coverage in the individual market.
• In most of these cases, women will lose abortion coverage that they currently have — in the current private insurance market, the majority of health insurance plans include abortion.
• Example: Currently, a self-employed graphic designer or writer, buying coverage from Kaiser Permanente in the individual market, likely has abortion coverage. Under the health reform plan amended by Stupak, she would purchase that same plan from Kaiser Permanente in the exchange, but it would not include abortion coverage because it would be barred. This ban would be in effect even if she were paying the full premium. Similarly, a woman working for a small graphic design firm, who currently has abortion coverage through her company’s plan, would lose it under reform if the company decides to seek more affordable coverage in the exchange.
• Roughly 60 million women, 18–64, get their coverage through their employer or through their spouse’s employer. For some of these women, nothing will change immediately. But if current trends continue in the erosion of employer-sponsored health care, more and more women will be getting their health care through the exchange where abortion coverage is prohibited.

As if you needed another reason to hate child molesters (and you probably don’t).

Black Santa... because you know, why not?

Pervs are now screwing with Christmas! It’s not breaking news or anything, but kids who write letters to Santa may not get an answer from his North Pole address. Instead, it appears that the Claus family is having their mail forwarded to other places this season and will be responding to the naughty and the nice from there.

Operation Santa Claus is a volunteer program that answers needy children’s letters to Santa. Cute, right? Now, I was the kind of kid who didn’t believe in that Santa Claus mess as soon as I was old enough to read One Fish, Two Fish. We had no chimney. White people didn’t really come through my neighborhood. I saw my grandmother wrapping gifts sometimes (though I could never figure out where she hid them). We don’t just let cookies sit out in my family. LOL. Still, I think for kids who still want to believe in that jolly old dude bringing them fun new toys, the program is great.

While the US Postal Service runs the Operation out of many post offices around the country, the popular location was in the small town of North Pole, Alaska for obvious reasons. The town, with a population of just 2,100 folks, has basically built an identity and industry around Christmas. North Pole’s “light posts are curved and striped like candy canes and streets have names such as Kris Kringle Drive and Santa Claus Lane. Volunteers in the letter program even sign the response letters as Santa’s elves and helpers… Huge tourist attractions here include an everything-Christmas store, Santa Claus House, and the post office, where visitors can get a hand-stamped postmark on their postcards and packages if they ask for it.” Those people live Christmas all year round (Groundhog day anyone?).

So why no more North Pole, AK for X-mas? Last year, it was discovered that one of “Santa’s Helpers” was a registered sex offender. This set off a scare that pretty much got the program there shut down after the USPS decided to tighten up the procedures nationwide. That’s commendable, no doubt. You don’t want sex offenders having the names , addresses and wishes of children around the world. I bet Christmas is already a holiday (duh) for pedophiles everywhere, what with all that lap-sitting and such. So no, I can’t blame the postal service for making sure things are in tip top shape. Smartly, they’ve redacted the last names from letters, instead, using numbered codes to match names with addresses.

Two big lumps of coal for yuletide pervs and a big plate of cookies and milk to the folks up in North Pole.

Source: AP

I believe the children are our future. I believe that it’s important to meet people where they are when trying to reach them. I believe we should educate young people about real topics like sex, economics, politics, race and health. So it follows that I should like Dr. Clarke’s “Health Hop Music.” Uh, no.

Dr. John D. Clarke has a series of albums he’s written, produced and performed focusing on educating young people about their health. Relying on studies with conclusions like “the average teen listens to 40 hours of music per week and 10,500 hours of music between the 7th and 12th grade,” and “today, Hip-Hop is the music of choice for many teens and is the ideal genre for capturing their attention,” Dr. Clarke hopes to use hip hop to break through to kids and get them to listen up.

While the doctor’s motives are admirable and his attempt to make good songs not too shabby, I have to say that this is a fail. Take a break from reading right now and head over to the Health Hop page on CD Baby and listen to some clips. See what I mean? No? Read on. 

Playaz Club

It’s all about sexin in the playaz club
They don’t care about protection in the playaz club
Could get the HIV infection in the playaz club
So watch how ya steppin’ in the playaz club
Tipped up on Hennesy, popped up on ecstasy
Walked into the club lookin to get sex for free
Here come Emily this girl in his memory…

Bad Breath and Brown Teeth

Death, bad breath and brown teeth ain’t no joke
If you smoke, stop. Quit. Don’t smoke.
Now we into it I’m in effect with my intellect.
Trapped by a cigarette, it what a kid could get. Trapped by the nicotine…

Look at Me

Dessert meant gettin a laxative or enema
hiding out up in the bathroom pretending to be sick
sometimes she’d overeat and throwup
then take a diuretic so she wouldn’t blow up
with acid from vomiting, teeth were lookin rotten and fingers became scarred, thin with hard skin
wasted to the core she couldn’t take no more they found her passed out on the bathroom floor.
the episode was powerful sorrowful and horrible she never woke up they rushed her to the hospital
she was lookin pitiful…

Look, the whole idea of – kids want to be cool and kids think music is cool, then I should make music if I want kids to think I’m cool- does not work. I remember wondering why I couldn’t remember class lessons when I could remember words from songs I hadn’t heard in ages. I still don’t know why really, but damn it if that shit does NOT crossover. Perhaps it’s the uncoolness inherent in your teacher trying to rap an in-depth analysis of The Heart of Darkness.

Clearly the man is a qualified doctor (John D. Clarke, MD, FAAFP, is a board certified family physician practicing in New York City. He received his B. A. in Sociology and Music from Columbia University and his Medical Degree from The Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City. He completed his residency training at St. Vincents Catholic Medical Centers in New York, where he served as Chief Resident). But just because a smart guy has a good message to a beat doesn’t mean he can sell it. Sorry Dr. Clarke, but I just don’t see your target audience rocking these tracks in their iPod or at the next house party.

Or maybe I’m wrong? You tell me.

I’m pretty disgusted right about now. I was asleep, knocked out due to my sickness and woke up at midnight to find that the House had passed a health care reform bill (HR 3962). Sounds good at first, especially since we have been trying to get SOME form of legislation moving through the process. Unfortunately, this is not what I was hoping for. I get the feeling that most people had/have no idea that today, in what felt like a backdoor sneak move, Representative Bart Stupak put forth an amendment on a Saturday morning to the proposed health care bill. Oh, it got passed, by the way. What is this bill that you probably didn’t know was even being discussed?

“The Stupak/Pitts amendment violates the spirit of health care reform, which is meant to guarantee quality, affordable health care coverage for all. In fact, this amendment would create a two-tiered system that would punish women, particularly those with low and middle incomes, the very people this bill is intended to assist. The majority of private health insurance plans currently offer abortion coverage, and the Stupak/Pitts amendment would result in the elimination of private abortion coverage in the ‘exchange,’ the new insurance market created under health care reform, as well as in the public option, if one is created.

“The Stupak/Pitts amendment would purportedly allow women who want comprehensive reproductive health care coverage to purchase a separate, single-service rider to cover abortion.  But such abortion riders do not exist because women do not plan to have unintended pregnancies or medically complicated pregnancies that require ending the pregnancy.  These so-called ‘abortion riders,’ which would be the only insurance policy through which abortion care could be covered in the ‘exchange,’ are discriminatory and illogical.  Proposing a separate ‘abortion rider’ or ‘single-service plan’ is tantamount to banning abortion coverage since no insurance company would offer such a policy.*

Take some time. Read that again. How ridiculous is that? While folks were on Twitter talking about brunch, football and #threewordsaftersex, anti-choicers were hijacking health care reform and using this opportunity to revolutionize American health care as a stage for their anti-abortion agenda. Dude… not here. Not this fight. SMH. Don’t be mistaken, taking away abortion coverage (in both private insurance plans and the public option) will not deter people from having unprotected sex. It will not result in a significant decline in abortions sought or performed. It will not only hurt the people you think it might hurt.

Abortion is legal. Until Congress passes a law otherwise (that passes Constitutional scrutiny by the Supreme Court), it is legal. I can’t get hype about HCR, and trust me I WANT to be so hype about HCR, when people are trying to use the backdoor to chisel away at my rights. It’s sneaky and I don’t want my government to work that way. Please believe that the NRA folks would not be down for this. You see how they get when someone even breathes gun control. The Second Amendment gets trotted out like it was the 11th Commandment.

I took a Legislation & Public Policy course in law school. I’m currently taking Politics & Policy in my MPA program. Even without those classes, I know some BS okey doke when I see it. Game recognize game, right? This is a CLASSIC example of how you get a piece of legislation to FAIL. Instead of coming out and saying no to HCR (which will make you look bad, for sure), you say yes but also get on board with an amendment that will alienate so many people that it’s sure to bring down the whole house. This is some back to the drawing board shit if I’ve ever seen it, yet so many folks are just happy to have something, I bet they won’t raise a fuss. You are so used to accepting crumbs from the gov’t that you’re not willing to fight for what you believe in. Meanwhile, those that are AGAINST what you believe in are up ALL night, working hard. No, really. They’re up ALL night. Crazy does not sleep. But listen yall, don’t drink the kool aid. This is not the HCR we want. It’s the HCR we’re settling for.

Find out how your representative voted on the Stupak/Pitts Amendment. If they were on board with the amendment and you are not, please call your rep and let them know how poorly they’ve represented you this weekend.

Definitely hit up your Senators. Ball’s in their court now.

*Cecile Richards, President, Planned Parenthood Federation of America
Read the whole statement here.

Looking at my blog and realizing I haven’t posted an entry since October 21st is uber depressing. I want to write something so badly but I think I end up tweeting my ideas in 140 characters instead of fleshing them out here. I’m going to stop doing that so much.

Most recently I’ve been laid up sick. Worn down, snotty, coughing up all kinds of sexy shit. Went to the doctor today after my boss sent me a preemptive “don’t bother coming to work” email and turns out I have a respiratory infection. Gotta hit up these anitbiotics and all will be well. I hope.

Seeing as I’m still sick and will be spending a fun-filled weekend on my sofa, I should be able to write some of the things I’ve been thinking about all week. It always seems to go that when I write my “sorry I haven’t been posting” posts, I follow with like three new entries. So yeah, I’ll be back to business.

But that choker's not cute.

We’re back and it’s over! I missed blogging last week’s episode but when I got around to watching it, it wasn’t THAT exciting to write about anyway. On to the finale…

What are Dwight’s qualifications as the director of a fashion show? He’s telling Sheree to trust him but um, what references is he rolling with? Sheree is the WORST when it comes to hiring help. She can’t hire models, party planners, seamstresses, nobody. For someone who had such a dreadful show last time, you’d think she would be on top of this. How the hell does Sheree have one vision (simple, understated) and she hired Dwight who is thinking “it’s better to oversell than undersell”????? More fur! More accessories! Mmkay.

The Hartwells are getting real and I appreciate that. Ed is truly being responsible saying let’s downsize this crib that costs $200,000 a year and move into our other crib that’s 9 acres. Still a great place to live, I’m sure, but a downgrade from where they are now. Lisa needs to get it together. I know she’s got a lot of things going on, but I’m not so sure she’s bringing in the kind of cheese that’s necessary for the upkeep of the home and everything else the family is spending money on. She wants to be wealthy, but um, it’s not like they’re moving to the poor house! Ed was TOTALLY on point when he said his home was in his family, not in the house. And no Lisa, you can’t build a guest house. You cannot build a gym. You cannot have a circular driveway. By the time you renovate the property with all those extras, it’ll cost damn near the same or more than the home you’re leaving!

The men are dropping gems of wisdom this episode. Greg had a point as well with trying to take this relationship between Nene and her alleged father slowly without jumping into anything. Nene isn’t a celebrity per se, but she is in the public eye and her family is doing rather well. It’s not crazy to think that someone would be popping out of the woodwork to take advantage of her. Even if the guy really is her biological father, that doesn’t mean he wouldn’t screw her over and hurt her feelings. What I can’t cosign, Greg, is straight up saying you won’t support her. Saying let’s be cautious is one thing, but saying forget about it is out of the question.

Why does Kandi talk in the same voice most folks use when they’re impersonating someone who just said something stupid? This ep had Kandi’s mom making peace with AJ, at least enough so that they can be cordial to one another. I’ve never been an AJ fan, but it’s good they got things straight before he died. I bet that might have made her feel bad otherwise.

Oh Kimberly. Please stop telling people you are engaged. You are not engaged. You are also not about to be a star from Tardy for the Party. It’s a joke, a fad, a by-product of reality TV and studio engineering. Did it ever occur to you that Nene was pissed because you tried to break fly and get brand new after being engineered to high hell over a mediocre pop track? No… you think she’s dying to latch on to your success and the millions that one single will bring in. Riiiiight.

But did that have to end up in a physical confrontation between Nene and Kim? The most tragic part of it all is that Bravo didn’t get the footage or if they did, they won’t show us. Hmm, maybe they’ll save it for the reunion. I’m starting to think shit didn’t really go down the way they said because who, in their right mind, chokes or gets choked then stops by for a chat about it? FOR WHAT? Of course nothing got settled and they just screamed at each other (another no no, btw. you don’t let anyone scream on you in your own crib). After not doing anything while Nene allegedly choked her, Kim waits til Nene’s not around to talk about how she’d whoop her ass. Oh please. Stop. I can’t take it. I kind of want to punch Kim in the face on sight and she hasn’t done anything to me except exist and chain smoke.

Oh, and it turned out that Dwight really DID put on a good show. Really, is there going to be a show with just the gay pals from this show? Derrick, Lawrence, Dwight, the dude they met at the hotel and Lisa’s stylist.

Can’t wait for the reunion. Thanks for reading my

Quotes of the episode: “I don’t know, this bitch is stupid.” – Nene on Kim.
“I would rather pluck every toe nail one by one off my toe and stuff ‘em in some sandals walking down the street bloody than to be friends with Kim” (paraphrased from Nene)
“She thinks I owe her an apology. Good think she don’t get paid for thinking.” Kandi on Nene

Today is “Taking it to the Streets” day for Strong Start, an organization dedicated to educating young people about healthy relationships and ending teen dating violence. Eleven organizations in Atlanta,, Austin, Boston, Bridgeport, the Bronx, Idaho, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, Oakland, Providence, and Wichita will be helping spread the message about healthy relationships. According to the website, Start Strong is also encouraging people to join the conversation online – “We are asking for your best thinking, your best advice, your best observations to get this country learning about healthy relationships, how to have them, build them, keep them and ensure that violence and abuse are never tolerated.”

It’s great that Start Strong is doing this work and even greater that they’re taking it to the streets today during Domestic Violence Awareness Month to help people see that teen dating violence is truly related to domestic violence overall. A lot of the time we focus on the negative when trying to create awareness by telling people what they should NOT be doing or by showing them how jacked up their lives and relationships are. This campaign builds off of what many advocates know already and what President Obama said in his official National Domestic Violence month proclamation on Oct. 1:

During this month, we rededicate ourselves to breaking the cycle of violence. By providing young people with education about healthy relationships, and by changing attitudes that support violence, we recognize that domestic violence can be prevented. We must build the capacity of our Nation’s victim service providers to reach and serve those in need. We urge community leaders to raise awareness and bring attention to this quiet crisis. Together, we must ensure that, in America, no victim of domestic violence ever struggles alone.

Even amidst all this positivity, I’m kind of saddened. As a soon-to-be 28 year old woman (Nov 1!), I realize that neither I nor many of my peers know how to articulate the characteristics of a healthy relationship. So few of us have seen them or been in them. If we’re honest with ourselves, we’ll see that this is a true statement. How can we be mentors and teachers to young people starting out? Start Strong’s target audience is 11-14 year old boys and girls. Good, it’s not too early. Clearly we all needed some help learning how to love ourselves and one another in a supportive, encouraging, uplifting and healthy way.  I’m going to keep an eye on this organization and I hope that you do too. Try following Start Strong on Twitter.

Here are ways that YOU can participate ONLINE on October 22nd.  It’s easy and will only take a few minutes of your time:

1. Give Start Strong your relationship feedback. They need to know what you know. Click Here to give your feedback!
2. Post a conversation starter to your Facebook (http://tinyurl.com/yfxr7yl) or Twitter profile. This will have a major impact.
   • For example:
     • (insert name) how do you start strong? Join the conversation http://tinyurl.com/tothestreets
     • (insert name) is on a mission to define a healthy relationship. Join the conversation http://tinyurl.com/tothestreets
     • (insert name) is wondering how do you define a healthy relationship. Tell us how to Start Strong before it ends wrong http://tinyurl.com/tothestreets