It's Finally Friiiiiiidayyyyyyy!

This week seems to have taken a toll on me. I'm more than utterly exhausted. My body feels as if I could sleep for a full week just to recover from this week. Thus, I am headed to bed already. I will report more on what the week was like and how my Friday visit with Mom fared.

Topics on My Mind

The week was a bit chaotic. First of all, one of the teachers in our department has been re-assigned to a different grade level due to an illness. As for myself, I don't agree with the reassignment but I don't know every detail of the situation. However, I do know that if I were the person in question and I had seen all of my belongings from my room in the hallway, I would have blown a fuse! But, then again, I do hope that that person in question has been informed of the decision that was made.

I don't agree with doing things like that. I saw that happen with my grandmother when she went on a trip with some relatives. When she came back home, her belongings had been taken (stolen is the best word) by people she knew and that caused her to get ill.They said it was Dementia/Alzheimer's. I say that it was the traumatic experience of having everything snatched away from her that did it. No one should EVER go through something as horrible as that! Besides, we all die without our possessions.

I saw someone at the store this afternoon, and she mentioned my biological father. Now, one thing that gets me in a mood is any mention of that man. I do not like myself when I react to the conversation. So, I've caught myself many times making faces when people mention him to me. I don't like him. I don't want anything to do with him. He's not part of my life and no longer do I wish him to be. End of story. Yet, it's an ongoing battle. I guess that is one of the drawbacks of living in a small town.

Anyhow, today was a day full of so much, and I am thrilled to be home. I need to relax a bit, but I really REALLY need to get some paperwork done. So that's going to take precedence over relaxation. But, once I've gotten my papers completed, then I'm going to sneak in a few chapters of the book I'm currently reading. It's called "The Secret Life of Bees" by Sue Monk Kidd. So far, I am enjoying it!

Link to the Last Lecture

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo

Upcoming Events

Last night I attended class. How I missed yoga/bellydance class! I hadn't been in class for two weeks....the first time due to being ill and the second because of Open House. We are currently working on being more snake-like. A better word for it is "sinuous movement" (or serpentine).

In a few weeks, our class will be participating in a show with a Gothic theme. The troupe is also going to Planterville to perform at the Renaissance Festival. I wish that I could go! However, I am working that day so I won't be able to. Maybe next year.

Upcoming Events

Last night I attended class. How I missed yoga/bellydance class! I hadn't been in class for two weeks....the first time due to being ill and the second because of Open House. We are currently working on being more snake-like. A better word for it is "sinuous movement" (or serpentine).

In a few weeks, our class will be participating in a show with a Gothic theme. The troupe is also going to Planterville to perform at the Renaissance Festival. I wish that I could go! However, I am working that day so I won't be able to. Maybe next year.

Work and a Wedding

Busy day to start off an even busier week. Our workload is insane, yet we were even asked to take upon another task of grading someone else's paperwork since grades were due today. To this request, I (and a few others) objected. I'm sorry. I refuse to do something that someone else should have done. Grrrr. Anyway, life goes on...

Today my sister Linda tied the knot with her boyfriend, Albert. They had a quiet ceremony, and they intend to have a church ceremony sometime next year. I can't wait!! Congrats Linda and Albert!!

Weddings always make me think back to the day I married Leigh. It's a wonderful memory that will remain alive in my heart. Love is such a blessing!

Kabul Beauty School

I know that this entry should be in the "Book Reviews" section, and I'll include one in there as well. But this book provoked so much strong emotion in me that I felt something should be stated about it. The title of the book is Kabul Beauty School, and the author is Deborah Rodgriguez. It deals with Deborah leaving Michigan to visit Afghanistan as a relief worker. She's a hairdresser and finds herself feeling not as useful as the other relief workers in her group (who are all doctors,nurses,etc...) However, that soon changes when she discovers fellow relief workers who are in dire need of getting a haircut,pedicure, manicure,etc. This, along with the realization that beauty salons were banned by the Taliban, causes a chain of events to result. She opened up the Kabul Beauty School (with the help of donations by Paul Mitchell's company as well as many others). This school empowers women to learn professional skills to flourish in life---rather than remain a prisoner in their own homes. What provoked me so much in this book was the idea that the majority of women in this area are not revered. Instead, they are persecuted for being female. Their marriages are arranged, which isn't too bad, unless the man turns out to be abusive or extremely old. Then that's just plain horrid! Women are imprisoned for being raped, fighting back against abusive husbands, or for being abandoned by a husband!

Now I do know that not ALL men in Afghanistan mistreat women. Deborah Rodriguez (the author) married an Afghan native, and they are living happily together.And I'm sure that there are many more examples of happy couples in this country. But, in this book, the ratio of good relationships to bad relationships was staggering!

I kept trying to place myself in the shoes of the women in this story, and I found myself wanting to cause an uprising because I couldn't even fathom such a situation! Imagine not being able to enjoy the town market in the daytime unless you wear a burqa (and even then you'd very few, if any women!) Imagine not being able to laugh out loud with a group of your girlfriends in a beauty salon because it might draw attention from outside sources! Imagine not being allowed to be walking in town after 3:30! Imagine having your child taken away from you just because you are divorcing an abusive husband!

That lack of freedom makes me shudder. However, the women who have experienced these conditions are strong individuals because they've seen or lived through traumatic events, yet the are resilient. They rise above it all in their own way, and they are to be commended for that. I do hope that the Kabul Beauty School continues to empower their students with knowledge and compassion.