Love Laugh & Organize

I tend to create dramatic changes in my life during:

1) High stressful times

2) The beginning and end to a relationship that I am romantically involved with

3) Insecurities are exposed

4) Burnout

Throughout these times I have created a blog, started a handwritten journal, smoked on and off, gone vegetarian for a couple of months, grown out my hair for over a year three times, listened to new music, and many more things I can discuss later. I did all these because I wanted to focus on a positive change in my life rather than what I was currently going through. All of these were failed attempts, even the blog. The purpose for this blog was a way to channel my emotions and feelings because of what I was going through. After I got over what I was going through, I stopped posting. I now use this blog as an avenue to have people read my thoughts without interruption, which is a better use of my time.

We are all human beings that convince ourselves into having drastic changes in our life. Creating new ways to communicate or developing new personal changes are ways to force us to believe that progress has been made. It is a way to comfort why we, for a quick moment, remove ourselves from what is going on.

I am guilty of both convincing myself about these changes and convincing others that this is the way to recovery for their issue. Whether I decided to go on a road trip to get away from the worries of work, or try to convince a friend to take a cruise to get her mind off of an old love, neither of those will change the way I ultimately felt about the situation. We have to realize that these are phases we muster to cope and feel better about ourselves. It is only a way to cope with your problem(s) instead of actually starting something new and sustaining that change.

I will use the example of starting a blog to prove my point. Many of my friends have started blogs. Their typical opening post goes something like this, “Im starting a blog, don’t know what I am going to put on it but I thought this was a good idea. Great way to post my thoughts/music/poems/videos! So excited!”. And I am sure they get comments from friends close to them supporting their efforts. But after a couple of months and a couple of posts….the desire and passion for writing in the blog goes out the window, just like my passion to be a vegetarian. After that, you go back to your slump of feeling disempowered and questioning your will and self worth. The only difference now is that you have one more item to add to your list of things that are incomplete: you blog. The one thing you felt good about is just more evidence to your Self deprivation.

Been there. Done that.

My message to that one person who is seeking some change or solution: Go ahead and start your blog or new workout routine, but in the situation where it falls short of your expectations, realize that it failed because it was not the right avenue for you. Put your efforts elsewhere. Focus on what you got and what makes you comfortable instead of changing something that doesn’t need to change. It is all about the process, not the end goal.

Find new places to venture where you live. Enjoy the new friendships that are flourishing in front of you. Rekindle old bff’s who used to hear you out in the middle of the night when you had gossip or needed someone to tell you that you were right. We all have different ways to deal with our issues. The road to feeling better is not by focusing on the solution or the end goal, it is about the process.

Enjoy the car ride, and who cares if the destination is not what you expected.

Still wants to go on that cruise,

-DM

Have you ever had an internal struggle between the freedom to be an independent individual and wanting to be emotionally and physically dependant? This has been a recurring theme in my life. Whether it’s my older cousins and college friends giving the “I don’t need a man” speech that touches on Latino men’s machismo and objectification of women, my hesitation to move away from my immediate family to go to college/DC, or juggling time and energy between the passion of social justice and the person I am romantically invested in.

I want to be free.

I want to be liberated and not be boggled down by self oppression and my own objectification. I do not want to have the guilt that arises when I choose to spend time with my partner instead of organizing. I do not want to have the self judgment when I decide to remove myself from anything relating to social justice and spend time with my close family to listen to their apathetic approach to civic engagement. I want to relax and take a drive to an undisclosed destination without having pending thoughts of the work that must be done to get a movement off the ground. I want to remember the happiness of my childhood without feeling trapped on my commercialized addiction to Disney and action figures.

I want to be free.

I know I am not the only one. There are many people who talk about these issues, especially when it comes to being in a relationship. The question that always comes up is, “Can I be truly call myself an independent individual if I make myself physically and emotionally vulnerable to someone else?”. After experiencing many situations like this (not just on a romantical level) and thinking a lot about it this weekend, I have found the answer: LOVE.

As corny as that sounds, it truly is the reason why we do the work that we do while at the same time caring so much for people. I realized I have been battling two different types of love my whole life; never really putting both of them together. The love to progress and social justice, while very abstract, manifests itself into the love and energy I spend with loved ones. I should not be questioning my relationships with people I care about because of the work that I do. I should be using their energy and support to continue to fight for issues and ideas I am passionate about.

Being Independent does not mean being alone.

Having a support system will only make you stronger. Being afraid to love because of how it might open you up physically and emotionally is something we all have to work on, including myself. No one wants to be hurt. No one wants to experience a broken heart or being betrayed by someone you invested time and energy in. The same can be said for broader issues we fight for. The hurt and heartbreak that comes from a failed campaign can disinvest the most power leaders. The tears and physical sacrifices made to fight for what is right can often lead to questioning our own worth. These feelings cause emotional breakdown; the last thing I want to be dealing with right now.

But regardless of the dangers of hurt, heartbreak and betrayal, we must not be afraid to try.



Loving life,

-DM

“Why do you love me?”

This question has been asked to me in the beginning and end of every relationship I have been in. I always have a problem answering this question, not because I do not know the answer, but because I can never find the right words to answer the question. I consider myself a person who is not shy to speak or express my mind. I do not consider myself socially awkward and I try to make sure people have fun when in a group setting. Yet I tend to fuck up with questions like the one posted above. This is just one of those small things about me that I realize gets on the nerves of loved ones.

The main reason why I even started my blog in the beginning was to have an avenue to express myself about personal and abstract issues. This also goes with why I started writing. I wanted to use a creative avenue where I can express myself; using art to take away the awkwardness I feel in normal conversation. I felt like it has helped me express myself, but I need something else to make this process faster.

I have been known to be good on my feet with conversations and debates. I can talk about any issue presented to me or try to convince people with words. In high school, I realized it is not about how much knowledge you know on a subject, but rather, it’s about being able to use that information to prove a point (Which is why “Thank You For Smoking” is one of my favorite movies!). This realization has taken me into a life of organizing. Organizing not just on issues I care about, but organizing my friends to go to a bar, or organizing my co workers to go to a Happy Hour, organizing a football game with local contacts, organizing my roommates to play wii, drink more than they should, attempt things they probably shouldn’t, and the list goes on.

This sometimes gets in the way of having a sincere conversation where any small smirk makes people thinking I am plotting something, or that I have cruel intentions for my motives. It also gets difficult when someone I care about (my boo’s, immediate family, and best friends) assume I am fucking with them when I am really not. For those of you who have felt this way: Sorry.

I sometimes wish I can express myself through other means when I can’t find the right words, or better yet, have someone else do sound effects to my thoughts! I wish I had a group like Floetry to perform my thinking process every time I can’t find the words to people’s questions.

The next time someone asks me, “Do you think about me when I am not there?” this video is my answer:






Fantasizing about you,

-DM

I want to dive into the conversation of the objectification of people while at work jobs, more specifically, in the service industry. The people that work at restaurants, fast food places, coffee shops, cleaning services, super markets, nightshift janitors, receptionist, post office, and any other place where people provide a service for you to go about your day. I recently read a blog post about someone making a server feel uncomfortable at their job. Here is a link to the post I read.

After reading this post, it made me realize how we go about our day in our own little world. Never thinking about the interactions that we have with other people or how our words and attitude may affect someone else’s job performance and just plain comfort level in the workplace. I have seen this play out many times throughout my life. People get angry at the Latino behind the counter at Subway because they accidently put mayo on their sandwich, talking down to the Latina employee at Chipotle because she didn’t put enough lettuce on your burrito bowl, snapping your fingers and demanding your check from the Ethiopian woman at a restaurant, calling the owner of a cleaners “china-man” because he an Asian man, rudely rejecting a drink from the waitress because they put regular coke instead of diet in your rum and coke, not tipping the server because he did not bring your check when you asked for even though he has half the restaurant to serve, feeling like you can say obscene things to the woman making you your coffee just to make yourself feel better about yourself, and the list goes on and on.

We dehumanize people who have these jobs because we assume their sole purpose in their job is to give us what we want. In many cases, this dehumanization comes from racial profiling. An example of this is someone assuming that the Latin behind the counter will get your order wrong because they don’t speak English well or ignoring the Asian man at the gym folding towels because he probably doesn’t speak English.

We treat people in the service industry however the fuck we want. The result? For the person ordering the sandwich: they end up with a happy belly from the sandwich they ate and ignoring the way they treated the South Asian woman that made their sandwich. For the South Asian woman you raised your voice to because she put ranch instead of honey mustard in your sandwich: she will carry that frustration and hurt with her throughout the whole day even after she sits waiting on the corner of 16th and L for the S bus at midnight to take her to her home where her kids are waiting for their mother.

I hope by reading the blog post I linked and reading my blog post that you will change the way you interact with people. It hurts me to see that the older Latina woman you gave attitude at the CVS is the same women I see waiting for the 42 bus when I leave the bar on a Saturday night. Do not treat people like shit just because you are having a bad day.

By the way, ever example I used in this blog are real examples that I have witness during my time here in DC. These stories happen every day. They have families, emotions, hardships just like you do. Let's not keep this workforce in the shadows while we fight our own struggles.


Thinking about labor movements,
-DM

Here is how I spent two hours of my Friday last week:

This all started last week when I and DA went to a legislative conference for an organization that I shall leave nameless. We went to a panel entitled, “IOU (I Owe Univeristy): Higher Education Funding in the current Economic Climate”. This panel was going to discuss the problems with student debt as well as provide solutions to the problem. This panel was specifically targeting a specific ethnic group while at the same time providing information about racial and ethnic backgrounds represented in higher education (but please take that with a grain of salt because they did not disaggregate the data for Asian American-Pacific islander and Latino students). They mentioned California a couple of times. They mentioned current day facts without at all talking about why this is happening or what policies were instituted years ago to make sure that there is an educational gap for low income and students of color. For example, you cannot state that schools with predominantly African American and Latino students in California lack the investment in college attendance because of lack of resources when there have been policies like prop. 13 that have made sure those low income students will never get the same funding and educational resources to continue their education. I was starting to get dis invested from the presentation.

At this point in the session, I figured it was just going to be a presentation on data that people already knew instead of actually hitting on the issues of why these disparities in education have happened and how we can overcome them. Halfway through this panel, I was thinking about how this was probably a waste of time for me to come to…….until HE came up to present.

Up next was this one dude who worked for an organization that does policy research. During his opening speech, he said something that not only made me FURIOUS, but also made me realize why I was so bothered by the panelist. Here is what he said, “I am glad that **** brought us panelist together. Even though we all work for different organizations or government agencies, I am glad to call all these people my friend. Three of the four of us actually used to work for the same company called Salle Mae before moving to where we are now”……..SALLIE MAE!! Yes, that’s right, Sallie Mae. The same private loan lender that is one of the main reason why students are in debt in the first place! Aside from also mentioning facts by previous presenters, he suggested students need to start taking initiative in finding resources to fund their education such as private grants and donors.

The last panelist was supposed to talk about how students can deal with the debt, but 20% of her whole presentation was about student loan debt, and rest of the time was ALL ABOUT HER. She talked about her new book coming out, how she has ran for office, how she has ran campaigns to educate students, how her life was growing up in California, how it was going to Howard University 20 years ago. I hate it when people use a public forum about a serious issue for self promotion. She then talks about the work she did with Sallie Mae. She said that she used to have Sallie Mae programmed in her phone and she would always tell her family members to program Sallie Mae’s phone number into their cell phones because it was “another source of financial aid”. She went to talk about how to deal with student debt and how students have to stop wasting money the moment they get it. She said students need to stop spending money on fancy clothes and cell phones and start thinking about our education and students need to actually make an effort to learn about the money out there. I just do not understand how someone can talk about the problems of student debt in the same presentation where she is asking everyone to program Sallie Mae into their phones. She is perpetuating the problem while at the same time taking away any responsibility from private lenders and putting the blame on students .She ended her speech by saying this, “I am going to leave you with valuable advice that will help you in the future, ’Yesterday is a canceled check, tomorrow is a promissory note, and today is cash, spend wisely’”. What in the world does that supposed to mean?!? If I even wanted her advice, I would have wanted a call to action or at least a website so I can learn more about student debt, but instead she just gave a quote! Currently, there is the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act that will go through the Senate. This is probably one of the biggest legislation that will help students in a very long time. For the panel to not mention this legislation is a missed opportunity. We need to make sure that policies like this one pass so that our education systems steer away from privatization.
Ok, so aside from me being very aggravated, I realized how we need a shift in the way we see policy, especially at conference that are supposed to help students of color and low income students. We need to start focusing on how to keep Universities, school systems, and private lenders accountable to the need of students instead of focusing on legislation that alleviates some of the problems that are created by these institutions. Throughout that whole presentation, not once did they talk about any current or future policies that can help students. Using a space that brings together so many people to just simply address a problem is not the best way to use that time. We should not be dependent on private lenders and private donations to deal with the huge budget cuts our schools are facing and the increasing student fees that are affecting students across the country. We should be focusing on equality and equity of an education. Telling students they are financially irresponsible and lack the resources to go to college is wrong. There are so many social barriers that must be broken in order to make sure that everyone has the same opportunities to go to college.

Students are not to be blamed for the economic downfall of higher education. I am glad that students continue to make their voices heard; whether it was the thousands of UC students who walked out last week, the hundreds of Arizona students who rallied last year or other demonstrations across the country, students are making their voice heard.

Call your representative, write a letter, write an Op-ed, tell your friends, tell your family, do whatever you can to make your voice heard to make sure that students are not used as the scapegoats while the real cause of the problems we are having continue to profit.



Signing my monthly student loan payment check,

-DM

This post is not to talk about my views on this Health care debate. If you want to know where I stand on this whole issue, check out this video:





I know people have different views on this whole health care debate. What gets me is the people who link this issue with other social issues. I saw the VA townhall that Senator Mark Wanrer was holding on television today. People had stickers that read "Guns save Lives". People in the crowd demanded Warner to make sure that no funding from the health care bill go to helping or conducting adoptions, stop helping communist agendas pass through our United States Congress, and the most tangential of them all, the comments they made on President Obama.

I woman said, "In all my life, I have seen 11 people hold the oval office, and for the first time, I feel like the person holding that office currently is not a patriot. How can we have somebody who does not believe in American values shaping our Health Care system". When I first heard this, I was FURIOUS at the fact that this woman used the Health Care townhall as a way to channel her personal ignorance on our President. When she finished, the majority of the crowd cheered, which also bothered me.

The problem is not about speaking her mind about the President, it was about the implications in her statement and the reasoning of her judgment. When a white conservative woman is questioning our President's commitment to this country, I can not help but connected back to race and the way people feel about a person of color having the highest elected position in this country. Questioning his patriotism goes beyond question his nationality and commitment to this country. The most ludicrous argument that people use is saying that they want their country back. WTF?!? Your country back? Where did it go? Who took it away? Are you claiming Obama took your country away? If that is the case, is this country not his also? What will it take for you to get your country back?

Questioning his patriotism goes beyond this health care reform. During the campaign, people were throwing everything at him to attempt to smear him and make the mass population taint him as something other than a true American. People attempted to say that he was not born on American land, he was tied to terrorist, picture him as a Muslim terrorist, question his religion and ties to religious leaders, questioning his "blackness", smear him as an ultra liberal just because he was a person of color, and many more myths and lies that paraded around multiple news sources.

No other President in the United States has dealt with these accusations. One reason is because for the first time in American history, the leader of this country does not represent the privileged population in this country. Because of this, people feel it is free game to accuse him of malicious networks and ill intentions towards this country just so people can affirm their discomfort. The fact a small majority want him to fail and will do EVERYTHING they can to see it happen disturbs me. Are they trying to prove that he is not a capable leader? What does that mean for me as a person of color? Will people think I took their country away if I ever get to where Obama is? Will I fail before I ever get a chance?

People are using the Health Care debate to attack a human being. To link Obama to Hitler, communism, and any other historically outside force that has threatened the essence of this country is wrong. People are using Town Halls and media outlets to taint his image and exude a leader who will take this country into the shit hole.

To be completely honest, I also do not see Obama as a savior of the United States. His political views are very different than mine and I think he is too centralist and should use this politically opportunity to tackle issues that may not even be able to be brought to the table. But I do not question him as a human being just because we do not agree politically.

So my message to all the townhallers and noisemakers on this health care debate: Just because you feel you are morally right does NOT mean you are going to win. Making the loudest noise will not mean people will pay attention to you more. Bring some ideas to the table instead of tactics that will get us no where as a country. Don't like his policies? Vote someone into office who's policies you do like.....but be prepared for a fight.

How do I see health care playing out in the next couple of months? I do not know, but I would want the discussion to be around HEALTH CARE and not about Obama.



A true Patriot,
-DM

I first heard this song coming back from my first bridges retreat fall 2005. It swarmed throughout the whole bay area and put it on the map in regards to hip hop music.

This song reminds me of every party, club, dance, campus event throughout college. It played everywhere and it never got boring. we would all get hyphy, do dumb, and show our thizz face everywhere we go!

I chose this remix specifically because it reminds me of a party bus that DD organized when we graduated. He made a cd and this song was on it. Every time I hear this version of the song, it reminds me of that crazy night!






ghostriding the whip,

-DM

This song is a remake of the original song by Fleetwood mac. I chose this song with the smashing pumpkins because I first heard this song with them. I remember when I first moved to Berkeley and had to say goodbye to my parents and my brother, who was 3 years old at the time, I went into my empty dorm room to wait for my other two roommates. The only thing that went through my head was whether or not I made the right decision in leaving everything I knew to come to school.

This song came on and caused me to really think about what I was doing and how I am really afraid of changing. I started listening to music and this song came up on my itunes and it totally conceptualized my life into realizing that this is just a change I have to do. It made it a little easier to ease my emotions every time the vision of my brother crying in the backseat as my parents drove off the underhill parking next to my dorm came into my head. After I heard the song three times, I knew I made the right choice. I then started to watch a DVD in my computer and that was when DD walked in and my college life started.






still afraid of changes,

-DM

This song was a smash hit. Haha this song also reminds me of summer of 2006 when it came out and NV was ALL ABOUT IT. He practiced making his hips stop lying everyday. This culminated in a Shakira concert in oakland. It was amazing. She is an amazing performer and entertainer. This song brings memories of good music and days of seeing NV turn into a giddie little kid when she first got on stage!







Shaking my hips,

-DM

This song is off the Batman soundtrack. My cousin SM LOVED this song and would always play it. It got to the point where the music video overshadowed the movie. Haha I remember this was a song she made me memorize to "help me do better in school" by "improving my memory". Silly me believed her and she tested me every other day haha. Here is to tricking the younger children in the family!






Kissed by a rose,

-DM

This song is hilarious. The lyrics are funny and fun. This song has many memories but one that sticks out to me was when this song came on during a trip to UCSA Congress in 2007. DJ, myself and other people were in the car when this song came out and I started to sing it. I told DJ that by the end of my term, she would be fluent in Spanish. We had a funny conversation about it. I have to say that when I graduated, she was not fluent, but it was to think that she would!








poniendome hyper,

-DM

Haha, so when I first heard this song, I found it really intense. So intense that I would mock that "smacking" in the song. It was funny how I enjoyed this song so much and everyone around me would laugh because they remembered how stupid I would act when it came one. Regardless, it reminds me of the good times LB, MD, and JE and myself had in those random Costco trips, east oakland taco trucks, and clubs in SF.








Smacking it all on the floor,

-DM

This song is known as the theme song to the television show "O.C.". Now, I never watched the show (seriously). But I remember my freshman year in college, ERRRone on my dorm floor was into this show. I remember I can find everyone sitting in RS's room watching them. My roomate, DD, would also be hooked on it and would BLAST that song almost every morning. At first it was annoying, but because he played it so much, it started being a soundtrack to the crazy shit we would do in the dorms like play pranks on people, annoy stupid ass floormates, and many more stupid shit.






california how i miss you,

-DM

Here is another good song. This one takes me back to times when my older cousins would blast this throughout our house. This song was actually the first song that I payed attention to (mainly because at first "one headlight" didn't make sense). I remember we would blast this throughout the house as we cleaned up. Our moms would be annoyed because they didn't like the blasting music but they were happy because that would be the only way we would clean :)






with one headlight,

-DM

This is actually the first song I heard off his 808's and heartbreaks album. I have to admit, I didn't like it at first. But after listening to it more and more, i grew to love the song.

This songs reminds me of our Chicago Thankgiving roadtrip. I bought the album in Joliet, Illinois and every time I here this song, it brings back memories of that trip. This song is also special because I remember having long conversations with ER and how we both relate to this song because of the heartbreaks we have gone through, or the heartbreaks we administered. I will forever think about the connection ER and the rest of the crew shared during every heart to heart, cig break, late night venting, or drunken conversation.

It reminds me of the feeling I get every time someone has hurt me or every time I know I have hurt someone. Of the confusion people go through as they still try to love while knowing it will hurt.





so heartless,

-DM

I enjoy this song very much. This is one of my top two The Roots songs, but the one that reminds me of a very special memory.

Summer of 2006, I went to visit a friend in Salinas CA and then we headed to Monterrey bay. It was about four of us on this trip. I do not remember ever laughing so much during a roadtrip. We went to a couple places out there in Salinas and then enjoyed a long hot summer day in the bay watching the animals and the sights of the ocean. I remember this song was on repeat because every in the car LOVED this song!
The best part about this trip is when we were leaving Salinas and my friend’s dad gave me a CRATE of strawberries! I had at least a fourth of the crate on the drive back by myself!

Here is to the Roots and for giving me this song to BLAST up and down the California!






Pushing my seed,
-DM

Today's song is Imagine by john Lennon. This has been one of those songs that when it comes on, I stop what everything I am doing and just start really listening to what Lennon has to say. Specifically, the line, "You may say I am a dreamer, but I am not the only one" reminds me of all the friends and struggles I go through.

Today however, I went to the DREAM ACT mock graduation action at the capitol. It was amazing. As people poured their heart out, cheered, rallied, and cried, all I thought about was this song. Here is the song:






Dreaming,

-DM

So last year when I was a student, I was helping organize UCSA’s Student Congress at Berkeley. I would hold weekly meetings with people to talk about what we had to do on our part to make sure we can help and support the UCSA staff as much as possible.
I would start EVERY meeting by listening to this song. My reasoning was because this was an amazing song! Everytime I hear this song, it reminds me of those meetings, and the whole summer of 2008 in general. I felt this was a good song to start off the list since I am working on a new Congress this year




Just touched down in London town,

-DM

So as you may or may not know, USSA’s National Student Congress is coming up! As a staff member who is working on making sure that this Conference turns out amazing, I am just excited to be a part of it and see all the amazing students choose the national campaigns!
As of today, there are 29 days left for the National Student Congress! As a fun and interesting way to countdown until this amazing event, I am choosing one song per day that I either really like or it brings up very fond memories. It is not a list from worst to best songs, but rather, an amazing lineup of memories, beats, and lyrical ventures into the music I listen to as I work on this conference! Think of it as Dannyoso's Soundtrack to Congress!

Music is a right,

-DM

Today is Father's Day! I just want to say that I have been blessed and privileged to have someone like my father in my life. He is by far the most important man in my life.

He has taught me so much about patience, work ethic, and the importance of reaching for the stars while staying grounded. I have learned so much from him.

Here is one of the songs i think about on Father's Day and on his birthday.




stuntin like my daddy,

-DM

Yeah, I know. I haven't written here in a while. But hopefully this makes up for it:

Yesterday, cjl showed me this really cool video of a choir of kids who sing popular songs. I was having a pretty intense week at work but seeing these kids sing their hearts out really soothed my soul and i started to remember my childhood. Mad props to these kids and to their music instructor (who looks like a hot ass mess btw). Here is one of my favorite songs they sing. Enjoy!



Just Dancing,

-DM

I Support the DREAM Act. Today on CNN, one of the topic of discussion was the DREAM Act. They had an undocumented student talk about his experience on being in higher education and the struggles he had.

After, someone from HACU and someone from FAIR debated the issue. Personally, I thought the guy from FAIR used the same anti immigrant rhetoric of "them immigrants taking our job and our slots in college". BULLSHIT!

If you support the DREAM Act, please get involved and help the passage of this important legislation that will help immigrants from across the world that have the grades and skills to get into elite institutions of higher education. Visit dreamactivist.org to find out how to get involved. Their are many organizations across the country that believe that Education is a Right and students who qualify and have the grades to get into college have an opportunity to do so. Some of these organizations are the United States Student Association, National Immigration Law Center, and National Council of la Raza....just to name a few.

Check out the video:


Matias on CNN - DREAMAct2009.com from Dream Activist on Vimeo.

DREAMing on a better world,

-DM

Growing up I loved reading poetry. Most of the stuff I read was writing over a hundred years ago and dealt with topics of love, death, family, and nationalism. It helped me think about the world I lived in and how their message translates (very vaguely) into current times.

One thing that I felt these poems lacked was its connection with me and my identity. The idea of writing my own poetry and coming up with my own history and poetic legacy was in college with a spoken word class I took. It not only taught me the ins and outs of poetry writing and performance, but it opened my eyes to all the current writers that are writing about the same topics, just relating it more towards current times and current struggles. I grew to love many Bar Area poets and performers and was torn because they were so good yet went without mention amongst mainstrean literature and entertainment.

Because of this, I like to highlight performers and the amazing topics they talk about. I can spend all night on youtube and other media outlets watching and listening to amazing performers. Unfortunately, Def Poetry Jam is one of the very few outlets where these performances are documented.

When I listen to poetry, I try to first understand what it is trying to tell me, and secondly, how it relates and affects me. There are many performances that I love, but very few leave me stunned and breathless. I was left speechless after listening to Daniel Beatty's performance of "Knock Knock". It is about the relationship of a kid and his father and how life experience and life lessons have affected the family.

It really got to me because it not only deals with the issue of injustice and institutional racism, but also how a family deals with the affects of injustice and racism. It reminds me a lot about my family and my many family members and friends who are in this same situation.

Below are two performances. The first one is "Knock Knock" and the second is another one entitled "Duality Duel"(another amazing performance).

Check it out:

Knock Knock


Duality Duel



knocking on the door,

-DM

So today once I got off of work and walked outside, I realized not only was it not dark out, but there was no thunder, rain, mist, clouds! Only a spec of clouds amongst the sea of blue skies and rays of sunlight! I loved it so much, i decided to walk home. For those of you familiar with DC, I walked from the Farragut North Metro stop area to the Petworth/Georgia Ave. Metro Stop area. I knew the sun was going to set within the hour so I figured I would enjoy the sunlight instead of being stuck in a metro the whole ride home. I even stopped by to get some ice cream!

This was such a calming and relaxed walk for me. I have noticed that the east coast feels like I am on a race racing against time to go to work, eat lunch, do all the task before the day is done, get home, check mail and other social networks, go to sleep etc etc etc. Walking really slowed this down and reminded me when my mother and I would walk to the store on weekends to get the weekly groceries, walking home from school as my friends and I would take hours to walk a couple of blocks, or walking around Berkeley as I soaked up the sun when I found out my class was canceled.

I have been told I should buy a camera and take pictures of places I go and people I see. I never did. I decided to document my walk home from work. Nothing fancy. As I was taking pictures, I realized how blessed I am to live in such a cool place. I really take for granted the history and landmarks of the places I have lived simply because I am there all the time.

Check out these pics:





Walking it out,

-DM

This past weekend, I spent it in the Bay. I would touch on this more, but I think my roommate did a good job at covering our experience on his blog. One thing I do want to say is that I saw so many people that I love and I am also happy to be in town during special events and parties! I did want to see more people but I weekend is not enough! I plan to head out again and I will let other know. Sorry if we didnt get to kick it this weekend!

One very significant thing that happened this weekend was that I started listening to a song NON STOP. Its called "Amazing" By Kanye West off his latest album "808's and Heartbreaks". It really exemplifies how I felt this weekend.

Yes, this is a song about how someone is so amazing....to the point of seeming "cocky" or "full of themselves". But let's be real, sometimes this is what we need to keep us going or to reassure ourselves of what we do. If I do not think I am Amazing, I won't believe anyone when they congratulate or complement me. It keeps me going and keeps me positive. If you do not agree with me....maybe you should reaffirm yourself and what you do. Love yourself before you attempt to love others! Here is the song I am talking about:




Simply Amazing,
-DM

This weekend, my friend was supposed to meet me up at U street to go eat some Peruvian food. He told me he was running late so I decided to go into a Rite Aid to pass the time. I figured browsing through the hallmark cards would be an entertaining way to pass the time.

I started reading the funny cards first and moved on to the love and birthday cards. As I read each card, I tried to think of people that I can give the cards to. Of course I was not going to send any cards, I just wanted to connect the card to someone in my life.

Out of all the cards, one stood out to me. In the front it stated, "Into every life, a rain must fall" with a picture of dark clouds and rain. And in the inside it said, "So, think of me as your Umbrella" and it had a kid in the middle of the rain covered by an umbrella with the sun slightly popping out of the dark clouds. I have to admit, the first thing I thought about was the Rihanna song, "Umbrella" haha.

For some strange reason, that card made me really happy. I know it is just a generic card and no one meant it to go to me, but for some strange reason, I liked it a lot. I started to think of the people that would be holding that umbrella for me....and who I would be holding that umbrella for. For about 5 minutes I felt as if time stood still as I daydreamed about friendships and umbrellas. I was in hallmark messaging heaven. Afterward, it put me in a happier state of mind.

I am glad my friend took longer than expected because I would not have ventured into Rite Aid and read that message. Funny how the most random things can change your attitude.

Afterward, I had some amazing Peruvian food and went about my weekend :)




Holding an umbrella for you,

-DM

Ever since I stepped foot in DC, there is not a day I go without seeing someone with some type of Obama merchandise. Buttons, shirt, sweater, beanie, backpack, handbag, and yes, even shoes and sandals! At first I was super excited because I felt the energy and excitement in DC. So many people wore their merchandise with pride.

It was an amazing sight! But ever since Inauguration Day, it started getting a little salty. Buttons for $5 dollars, shirts for $30, picture frames for $50, magnets for $6, stickers for $3! The scariest part about it was that people were buying these by the dozen! There was no price on the satisfaction of having Obama's name and/or face somewhere on your body....and sadly, street vendors knew that.

I understand the significance of being there and having a button that says "I Was There". That is a moment I would want to share 40 or 60 years from now with the younger kids in my family. But now, April 14th, people still wearing all the obama gear everywhere I go. I do not know whether they still have this sense of pride....or if they just wear it because they spent so much money on it months ago.

I trust Obama as president, but not enough to spend so much money. If all those people that spent all that money dedicated an hour per dollar spent door knocking or phonebanking, their contribution to Obama would of gone DIRECTLY to Obama instead of someone who is trying to make money off of him. Those hours would of also been more valuable than any button with the picture of Obama and MLK Jr. on it.


I guess I can't complain since i do live in DC. I am glad people feel ownership of the executive branch on our government since that has not happened in years. But no matter how amazing of a job Obama does, there will be street vendors and store owners with dollars signs in their heads trying to milk your last prideful dollar.....sigh....


waiting for 2012 election,

-DM

Since Easter Sunday and Good Friday are right around the corner, it is that time when I reflect on my own religious affiliations and why I have not been a better catholic. I also always get into a discussion with myself about what it means to be religious and the point of religion. I always come up with the same answer: Hope.

We are born into this world, we live our life, and then die. To know that you live your life to the fullest only to have it come to a halting stop scares even the toughest people. Religion give people hope. Hope that living a good life will result into eternal happiness, Hope that treating people with respect is an investment to pay for admission into heaven.

This is also a time when I question my religion. Whether or not there is really Hope in this world, "Will i have a happy family? Will I be on my deathbed without regrets? Did I really make the best with the time I had?" Also, questions such as, "Whats the point of hoping for a better world when the world we live in is so fucked up? Praying can only go so far when racism still infests our society. Where is God/Hope when my loved ones died?"

These questions arise from the absence of Hope. People, including myself, want to see, feel, and know that Hope exist as a real and tangible life goal as opposed to an abstract way of life.

In honor of the religious events and existence of colonized oppression, I found this spoken word piece that exemplifies some of the internal struggles I deal with when it comes to religion and colonized oppression. Enjoy




Looking in the mirror,

-DM

Yes!

I finally moved all my virtual belongings and moved on over to blogspot! This is the OFFICIAL first post on blogspot. The previous postings were some of my favorite posts from my previous blog, danny_oso.livejournal.com. Feel free to check out the blog, or the postings below!

So I start writing just as the trees begin to blossom and the tempature begins to escalate! Spring is here! Spring is not only a time for leaves to grow and bodies of water to thaw out, it is a time to come out of the cold state of mind that winter trapped us in and begin to free ourselves from shortened days and heavy coats!

Spring is also a symbolic interpretation of starting over. Still having the roots and values as always, but branching out and blossoming into the next step in our lives. A time to try new things, taste different spices, learn new games, and meet new friends.

It is also a time to drink Mimosas on sunday afternoons and getting out of work when the sun is still out!

Let's see what is in store for me this Spring!!



Spring cleaning,

-DM