Author Archives: mathdreads
No Room for TV
For the first time in a decade, I have a roommate. We moved into a two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment. Now, we have two TVs. Initially, we planned to put her larger TV in the living room and my smaller one in my bedroom. My bedroom must also have an office space since I work from home. … Continue reading
Newfound Flexibility
For the past week, I’ve taken a daily dose of CBD oil along with a dose of an anti-inflammation booster after exercising. At the end of the week, I attended my usual Friday noontime Bikram power hour class and discovered a breakthrough. According to the Bikram dialogue, yogis should only stretch as far as we … Continue reading
Apartment Cleanse
At one point in my life, I changed apartments 9 times in 10 years. That was also over a span of 5 countries. Such an easy way to be adventurous, simply pack up and move. Then I landed in the fertile grounds of Austin. It’s easy to assume that with age and maturity, that I … Continue reading
Bringing Back the Mullet
I started dreads back in ’94. At the time, I was a Peace Corps Volunteer because water was far too precious to waste on perming my hair. This practical approach to the limited amount of freshwater turned out to be a lifelong commitment to dreads. “Commitment” may be the wrong word because that usually implies … Continue reading
2019 Strange Family Reunion
Due to various circumstances in years past, I hadn’t attended the family reunion on my mother’s side in nearly ten years. This year, all the stars aligned and I made it–late, but better than never. Perhaps more accurate, “delayed.” Everything about this vacation back home had me wait past the time I expected something to … Continue reading
Juneteenth 2019
For the 7th year in a row, I reprised my role as newly emancipated slave, Mattie Gilmore. Yet, this was the first time I was positioned near the front of the art exhibit part of the George Washington Carver Museum. I took advantage of my proximity to the Juneteenth blurb on the panel, which hung … Continue reading
DFW Visit
From July 2012 to December 2018, I’ve produced and hosted The Austin Writers Roulette every second Sunday of the month without fail. Starting in 2019, I scheduled the show bimonthly in order to have more time to pursue other creative outlets. And yet, my sister and her husband STILL managed to visit Dallas-Ft Worth on … Continue reading
Not Feeling the Heat
Although I practice hot yoga several times a week, one of the greatest benefits is the mindfulness I’ve gained when outside the hot room. The beautiful thing about life is that one never knows when yoga practice will transform into a life-challenge strategy. A friend invited me to attend a monthly storytelling show at a … Continue reading
Rise of the Middle Manager
In this triple-digit summer heat, some may feel sluggish, gasping for breath in the humidity-filled air, wondering how anyone can logically doubt climate change when every summer seems to be the record-hottest. Even those climate change-denying enthusiasts who hold up a snowball as they willfully mistake “weather” for “climate,” are part of the most insidious … Continue reading
Levels of Happiness
As a call center agent, I’d normally be very aggravated over the low call volume experienced this week. I took Memorial Day Monday off because I’m a good boss to myself. I continued being good to myself by not setting an alarm to sound at 6:15, so I could rush through the morning routine in … Continue reading