Monday, April 28, 2008
Monday, April 21, 2008
Sometimes I feel like a wordless mouth...
(so here's to a few words i love spoke/wrote by some great people i know...or want to):
Equal, fair and decent political representation is our birthright. Take ownership.
--Raquel Wilson, founder of dopeswan.com
i'll do my darius-lovehall-up-the-stairs-creep just to share something beautiful with you. it's my pleasure to court you.
--Akoben, poet and much more, romancallus.blogspot.com
history is like a clock it tells a people where they are,
where they have been and where they should go. History in relationship to
the people is like the relationship of a mother to a child.
--Vernon Mitchell, historian and PhD candidate
i hope paris is stinky with the stench of freedom and life and exploration. from what you write, smells like it is.
--Joy Marie Conway, my soulfunksister and singer and Master's candidate
more to come...i'm just celebrating the angels who lift me up everyday
love and light
Equal, fair and decent political representation is our birthright. Take ownership.
--Raquel Wilson, founder of dopeswan.com
i'll do my darius-lovehall-up-the-stairs-creep just to share something beautiful with you. it's my pleasure to court you.
--Akoben, poet and much more, romancallus.blogspot.com
history is like a clock it tells a people where they are,
where they have been and where they should go. History in relationship to
the people is like the relationship of a mother to a child.
--Vernon Mitchell, historian and PhD candidate
i hope paris is stinky with the stench of freedom and life and exploration. from what you write, smells like it is.
--Joy Marie Conway, my soulfunksister and singer and Master's candidate
more to come...i'm just celebrating the angels who lift me up everyday
love and light
i wanna come home
I found out i have days and days off of work--i should be practicing, but i'm struggling trying to pull together my list of songs to record (if i can even get my musicians together...who won't email me back!!!)
i feel like i'm playing a waiting game and it isn't even fun...
BUT this game: http://www.freerice.com
which i bet lots of you have already heard of, is GREAT
i'm gonna try to get back on the positive kick-i just need to get out of the house
which i could do if i put on shoes and leave
but where to go???
(yes, i do sometimes complain about things that are withIN my control)
hope you can love me still and deal with it :)
i feel like i'm playing a waiting game and it isn't even fun...
BUT this game: http://www.freerice.com
which i bet lots of you have already heard of, is GREAT
i'm gonna try to get back on the positive kick-i just need to get out of the house
which i could do if i put on shoes and leave
but where to go???
(yes, i do sometimes complain about things that are withIN my control)
hope you can love me still and deal with it :)
Sunday, April 20, 2008
what are you doing in your life?
...well actually i'm focusing on writing songs right now, getting ready to record some standards during my last few days here in france, then getting ready (mentally prepped) to come back to the states and duke it out with anyone who would tell me "you can't" or any variation therein
...trying to get my money right, after an absolutely amazing trip to the south of France (nice, monaco, and a little italy...not to be confused with nyc's little italy)
...enjoying my few days off from work, since the little girl (Mery) and her grandmother both went to Martinique (where their family is from) to be present for the funeral of Aimé Césaire, since they're close family friends--yes...WOW
...waking up to sunny mornings, ready but still sleepy-eyed while giving thanks to God for another chance
...missing my friends and family, but getting excited about coming back, 'cause there really is no place like home
...working (every now and then) to update my myspace page, which doesn't have much updated info on it, other than pics. check it out: http://www.myspace.com/arinmayamusic
...loving me and life, 'cause "this ain't no dress rehearsal!"
...trying to get my money right, after an absolutely amazing trip to the south of France (nice, monaco, and a little italy...not to be confused with nyc's little italy)
...enjoying my few days off from work, since the little girl (Mery) and her grandmother both went to Martinique (where their family is from) to be present for the funeral of Aimé Césaire, since they're close family friends--yes...WOW
...waking up to sunny mornings, ready but still sleepy-eyed while giving thanks to God for another chance
...missing my friends and family, but getting excited about coming back, 'cause there really is no place like home
...working (every now and then) to update my myspace page, which doesn't have much updated info on it, other than pics. check it out: http://www.myspace.com/arinmayamusic
...loving me and life, 'cause "this ain't no dress rehearsal!"
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Why does silence feel so good?
Sometimes it's a good thing to reflect...and sometimes it's great to shout and give praise where it's due...
Ok, now that I've gotten that out of my system, I have to give a very special shout out to a new (or old depending on how you qualify association) friend who is pursuing music along the same veins as I am. Both she and I are singers who have been hiding our God given talents for so long.
And now it's time for us to shine.
Her name is Kristen Rogers and she's got a new blog: bathroomfreestyle.blogger.com
Self-promotion is the best promotion.
And I have to share a brief part of a message I just sent to Kristen:
OMG--i used to work in publicity and realized it didn't make sense for me to promote other people's stuff when i could be promoting myself--but then i never DID it...i have so many things to be thankful for and so many things i want everybody to know
i will admit it often comes out scatterbrained when i say things of myself
i'm still hiding lots behind my silences...
i gotta figure this thing out
just to begin (since there's no time like the present):
1-i LOVE to sing, can't help myself really and must make it (after praising God) the biggest part of me
2-i also love to knit and crochet, had a trunk show at my house last season and am still working on creating accessories that bring the funk to wonderful people like you
3-i'm a poet (arinmaya.blogspot.com) and finished (in January) editing my 1st poetry book (and am in need of a publisher) called: This Is My [Love] Story, This Is My Song
OK, that's enuf for now, but more on all those fronts in the near future
Why not let myself be a few of my favorite things?
if i don't tell my story, who will?
obviously i need to work on my game face as i sing/begin to...but it's coming, it's coming
lovelove and goodness
Ok, now that I've gotten that out of my system, I have to give a very special shout out to a new (or old depending on how you qualify association) friend who is pursuing music along the same veins as I am. Both she and I are singers who have been hiding our God given talents for so long.
And now it's time for us to shine.
Her name is Kristen Rogers and she's got a new blog: bathroomfreestyle.blogger.com
Self-promotion is the best promotion.
And I have to share a brief part of a message I just sent to Kristen:
OMG--i used to work in publicity and realized it didn't make sense for me to promote other people's stuff when i could be promoting myself--but then i never DID it...i have so many things to be thankful for and so many things i want everybody to know
i will admit it often comes out scatterbrained when i say things of myself
i'm still hiding lots behind my silences...
i gotta figure this thing out
just to begin (since there's no time like the present):
1-i LOVE to sing, can't help myself really and must make it (after praising God) the biggest part of me
2-i also love to knit and crochet, had a trunk show at my house last season and am still working on creating accessories that bring the funk to wonderful people like you
3-i'm a poet (arinmaya.blogspot.com) and finished (in January) editing my 1st poetry book (and am in need of a publisher) called: This Is My [Love] Story, This Is My Song
OK, that's enuf for now, but more on all those fronts in the near future
Why not let myself be a few of my favorite things?
if i don't tell my story, who will?
obviously i need to work on my game face as i sing/begin to...but it's coming, it's coming
lovelove and goodness
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Saturday, March 15, 2008
C'est cool AND What's it really like...?
How cool is it that my blog got tagged?
A friend through many friends, Tiasha Stevens from Chicago, who I believe just recently joined the blog community, mentioned my blog in HER blog...how sweet!
...and now, the topic for today:
as i was sitting on the RER A (a commuter train, similar to the Metra in Chicago--taken lots by me and other cool kids who commuted during junior high and high school--shout out Whitney Young Ackies and the track team, FloPitt this is for you) train tonight and feeling a little bit weirded out, I thought to myself, in all my ranting and raving about RANDOM paris stuff, I feel like i've given no real sense of what it's really like to be here
i think that's got a lot to do with my first few weeks having been spent in a slight awed state...then when i was getting settled i was dealing with home drama...prayed on it, gave it to God, let it go...got re-settled and am now kind of used to it
i have a different voice now and can better speak to Paris as i speak to life regularly (for anyone who was around before there was an "Aris of Paris" (shoutout to Rev. Otis Moss III of TUCC...stay strong Trinitarians. Uncle Pops my heart is always with you))
the point?
what is it actually LIKE to be here?
well it's definitely a different country, as evidenced by the whole language barrier (which, by the way, i'll admit to speaking a helluva lot of ENGLISH lately)
it works, sorry, i'm american--BUT, I can conduct conversations in French and do not advocate for stupidity/ignorance when visiting different countries!
tonight i'll say this for "being here"...
in Paris there are a lot of RULES/regles (reg-luhs)
i think i must have gotten it from my Beauty & the Beast love affair I had with the movie and soundtrack, but it always seemed to me that Paris was "provencial" which is another reason why I still often marvel at the size of this city. It's pretty darn big. The metro goes about anywhere. Think NYC train system but not burroughs, just everything in one big blob, though very pretty and gorgeously designed architecture, etc.
But, I go back to "rules"
It's annoying--and it's more a feeling that you know somebody somewhere is trying to control you in some weird way JUST because they're used to things being whatever way they usually are.
For instance, I got a ticket yesterday on the tram, which is like an electric trolley. It's been around for a little while (1 year, though it took 3 years to build supposedly) and the RATP (train) police asked to see my ticket...they do a lot of "control" stuff here, which feels like you're constantly being audited. And I don't mean just certain people--it's EVERYBODY.
So they asked to see it and i showed them the card I use which does not have MY picture on it, but my roommate's picture because the card takes too long to come in the mail and i didn't know it was problem. Turns out it is and I had to pay 40 euro, which if anybody's paying attention to the SINKING DOLLAR is about $60...or it was yesterday.
That they even came up to me, and everybody else on the tram asking to see the tickets signifies somebody all up in my bizness. Maybe I'm over-reacting, but I was also slightly put off when last night I tried to buy wine and was told at the register, after having already selected, with approval from my new friend Michelle (after we spent an amazing 2.5 hours at the Georges Pompidou Center library!), a great bottle of red wine. I think it was a--okay I don't remember, but it wasn't Bordeaux, it was 2005 and it was only 3,02 euro (and no, the comma isn't a mistake. they write it just like that)...and yes you really can get good bottled wine here for the equivalent of $5 (which is one of the few things i don't complain about...what i DO complain about is having to buy wine in glasses at music shows/bars that cost MORE than a good bottle--often 6,50 euro!)
i digress...
I had the wine in hand and what do they tell me at the register? "Oh, sorry, we can't sell you wine after 9pm"
Now, I know there are certain states (CT for instance) that still have blue laws. I do not live in CT, so I have never had to deal with such condemnations of FREEDOM to support economy!
Now granted, my wine disappointment had much to do with the fact that I'd felt robbed from earlier in the day when the stupid RATP idiots made me pay 40 euro, but ultimately i just felt like my day (and the day previous) called for wine. I felt brutally rebuffed (Clueless, circa 199?) and complained for at least 38 minutes. It's some law that they can't sell after 21:00 hours.
UGH!!!
rules, laws, everywhere...
and don't forget to say "merci, au revoir" as you leave each store. Not a bad thing, but a small (polite-ish) adjustment.
But at the end of the day, I suppose it's one of those "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" situations.
And I, for one, am still not convinced that Paris is for me. But I am here now--telling you what it's really like :)
(and yes, i suppose in a way this is--at least for this brief fleeting moment--the return of the long blog by ArinMaya--enjoy!)
A friend through many friends, Tiasha Stevens from Chicago, who I believe just recently joined the blog community, mentioned my blog in HER blog...how sweet!
...and now, the topic for today:
as i was sitting on the RER A (a commuter train, similar to the Metra in Chicago--taken lots by me and other cool kids who commuted during junior high and high school--shout out Whitney Young Ackies and the track team, FloPitt this is for you) train tonight and feeling a little bit weirded out, I thought to myself, in all my ranting and raving about RANDOM paris stuff, I feel like i've given no real sense of what it's really like to be here
i think that's got a lot to do with my first few weeks having been spent in a slight awed state...then when i was getting settled i was dealing with home drama...prayed on it, gave it to God, let it go...got re-settled and am now kind of used to it
i have a different voice now and can better speak to Paris as i speak to life regularly (for anyone who was around before there was an "Aris of Paris" (shoutout to Rev. Otis Moss III of TUCC...stay strong Trinitarians. Uncle Pops my heart is always with you))
the point?
what is it actually LIKE to be here?
well it's definitely a different country, as evidenced by the whole language barrier (which, by the way, i'll admit to speaking a helluva lot of ENGLISH lately)
it works, sorry, i'm american--BUT, I can conduct conversations in French and do not advocate for stupidity/ignorance when visiting different countries!
tonight i'll say this for "being here"...
in Paris there are a lot of RULES/regles (reg-luhs)
i think i must have gotten it from my Beauty & the Beast love affair I had with the movie and soundtrack, but it always seemed to me that Paris was "provencial" which is another reason why I still often marvel at the size of this city. It's pretty darn big. The metro goes about anywhere. Think NYC train system but not burroughs, just everything in one big blob, though very pretty and gorgeously designed architecture, etc.
But, I go back to "rules"
It's annoying--and it's more a feeling that you know somebody somewhere is trying to control you in some weird way JUST because they're used to things being whatever way they usually are.
For instance, I got a ticket yesterday on the tram, which is like an electric trolley. It's been around for a little while (1 year, though it took 3 years to build supposedly) and the RATP (train) police asked to see my ticket...they do a lot of "control" stuff here, which feels like you're constantly being audited. And I don't mean just certain people--it's EVERYBODY.
So they asked to see it and i showed them the card I use which does not have MY picture on it, but my roommate's picture because the card takes too long to come in the mail and i didn't know it was problem. Turns out it is and I had to pay 40 euro, which if anybody's paying attention to the SINKING DOLLAR is about $60...or it was yesterday.
That they even came up to me, and everybody else on the tram asking to see the tickets signifies somebody all up in my bizness. Maybe I'm over-reacting, but I was also slightly put off when last night I tried to buy wine and was told at the register, after having already selected, with approval from my new friend Michelle (after we spent an amazing 2.5 hours at the Georges Pompidou Center library!), a great bottle of red wine. I think it was a--okay I don't remember, but it wasn't Bordeaux, it was 2005 and it was only 3,02 euro (and no, the comma isn't a mistake. they write it just like that)...and yes you really can get good bottled wine here for the equivalent of $5 (which is one of the few things i don't complain about...what i DO complain about is having to buy wine in glasses at music shows/bars that cost MORE than a good bottle--often 6,50 euro!)
i digress...
I had the wine in hand and what do they tell me at the register? "Oh, sorry, we can't sell you wine after 9pm"
Now, I know there are certain states (CT for instance) that still have blue laws. I do not live in CT, so I have never had to deal with such condemnations of FREEDOM to support economy!
Now granted, my wine disappointment had much to do with the fact that I'd felt robbed from earlier in the day when the stupid RATP idiots made me pay 40 euro, but ultimately i just felt like my day (and the day previous) called for wine. I felt brutally rebuffed (Clueless, circa 199?) and complained for at least 38 minutes. It's some law that they can't sell after 21:00 hours.
UGH!!!
rules, laws, everywhere...
and don't forget to say "merci, au revoir" as you leave each store. Not a bad thing, but a small (polite-ish) adjustment.
But at the end of the day, I suppose it's one of those "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" situations.
And I, for one, am still not convinced that Paris is for me. But I am here now--telling you what it's really like :)
(and yes, i suppose in a way this is--at least for this brief fleeting moment--the return of the long blog by ArinMaya--enjoy!)
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