jonettevalenciano.com

Where I try to fend off wine-tipsiness and just write. (Sorry, love. The wine was starting to go bad, and I just had half a glass. Love you.)

Hello, fellow space-wanderers. It's been a while, and while there's a way-belated new-year's post percolating backstage, I want to take this time to just write and tell you about what's been up with me lately.

Ready? Let's start.

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Poet Sarah Kay performs her poems B and Hiroshima, and talks about growing up, letting Life paint her poetry, and writing ten things you know to be true.

You must have seen that black bar across my header up there. What that all about? This is why that bar is there.

PROTECT IP / SOPA Breaks The Internet from Fight for the Future on Vimeo.

(Prepare yourselves, good people. This one's a doozy.)

Dear Ma,

First off, Happy holidays to you and Tito Tom!

November and December have been pretty hectic, dizzying and even exhausting. The last two weeks have seen me juggling fourteen to fifteen mentally- and endurance-challenging lessons all-day everyday non-stop. I'm just glad most of my learners have decided to take a break for the holidays themselves and concentrate on relaxing so I can relax too! It makes me very thankful that I have a happy place I can come home to at the end of every shift.

So, on to a few happy points for sharing.

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Thanks to thatfriendlyblackguy's post, here are a few points I'd like to write down to get a load off my chest. I'll write whatever fundamental hits me at the time, so no chronology here. Just thoughts.

1) Forgive and let go -- because humans can do really stupid things that hurt others, and it's part of their being human. Forgive anyway; they sometimes can't help themselves, and might not know any better. That doesn't mean you need to carry that load around with you all your life. Growing will be doubly difficult to do with all that weight on you.

1.1 Everyone is human -- even you. Humans fart, get petty or jealous, and are susceptible to doing terrible things when angry, frustrated, and so on. Humans are also capable of creating beautiful and moving art, climbing to dizzying heights of knowledge and philosophy, standing up for what is true and just, and being very loving. Like it or not, this terrible and magnificent melange is in you. Own it. Be responsible for it.

2) Change yourself, because change is good for you. This will also entail that you learn from previous decisions. This can mean changing certain attitudes you had, or taking on new measures to protect yourself, or becoming more selective of people you spend time with.

3) You are in control. You don't always have to respond in kind to whatever bullshit, ass-hattery, whininess or passive aggression is thrown your way. You can always choose to ignore it, and walk away. This also means you are in control of your emotions, and you are responsible for your decisions.

4) Without action, you aren't going anywhere. High time you started fleshing out those story ideas. And stop moping, Jonette; you're not making dresses that way. And Persist. Persist, persist, persist.

5) Take care of this moment. You are right where you need to be right now, and learn whatever lesson you can from the situation.