Author Archives: mathdreads
Passaporte Brasil
One of my favorite upscale grocery stores that has weekly live music groups and performances also sponsors a weeklong special, featuring foods from a particular country. In the past, they’ve had the spotlight on France and Argentina. This year, they highlighted Brazil. I sacrificed a yoga workout in order to rehearse on Monday and Tuesday for the … Continue reading
Black & Brown Don’t Mess Around
I got up extra early on Tuesday morning in order to get to school and knock out some work that had magically collected . As I drove along, watching out for the fools in the morning traffic, I listened to the latest details of the attack during the Boston Marathon. The reporter had just read a … Continue reading
The Art of Volunteering
Once again, the wonderful city of Austin has not let me down! I signed up to volunteer for an annual art show as a “floater,” which I prayed would not find me in the blazing Southern sun carrying a bunch of heavy shit. I got so lucky. The volunteer ahead of me was placed in … Continue reading
Standardized Testing Hell
From an academic standpoint, this past week was pretty much devoid of academic rigor, thanks to the latest round of standardized testing. The normal school schedule was drastically changed in order to accomodate the freshmen and sophomores taking the writing portion of the STAAR. The students who weren’t testing, participated in either a TAKS camp … Continue reading
A Twist on a Childhood Game
As much as I looked forward to hanging with my fellow capoeiristas at a birthday barbeque, I did not anticipate the sheer joy of witnessing a group of adults playing a game from my childhood. Now, when I was a kid, I remember being somewhat entertained by most games. The more energetic, the better. Yet as … Continue reading
Marching Band Madness
One thing I love about Austin is that there’s seemingly a festival or three every week. This past Saturday, I actually caught one, which caters to marching bands. Although there were many local marching bands, some came as far away as Louisiana. I’d signed up to volunteer for four hours, explaining to people about local … Continue reading
Drinking in Church
“Drinking in church, but not on a Sunday. I’ll truly find salvation come some day.” I wrote those preceding words to a poem that I’m currently working on. Like all poems that I write, the spirit must truly move me to complete the task. Usually it’s more like spirited emotions that need to be vented in a … Continue reading
The Beauty of a Ruler
I previously envisioned that I would have my 9-part painting all sketched out and ready to paint by spring break. Ha! I’ve got only one-third of it sketched out, but technically, I have to redo the last part since it needs to be more centered. Nonetheless, I enjoy getting more sketching practice since that’ll make the actual … Continue reading
Happily Ever After
Looking back over my life, I realize that my “happily ever after” began the day I was born. How fortunate was I to be born into a family where my parents loved each other and had practiced caring for children already in the form of my two older sisters. Despite the socialized and hormonal growing … Continue reading
Education Is a Right, Not Just for the Rich & White!
On Saturday, February 23rd, I woke up much earlier than I intended to because of my excitement to march in the Save Texas Schools event. So much of what makes teaching my high school science students a challenge occurs in the Capitol. Although there a multitude of issues surrounding public education, what I looked forward … Continue reading