I enjoy poetry, spoken word, movies, making music, singing, dancing, photography, kissing my husband, baby, and my friends,(out tha gutter-come on) being as happy as I can be, and talking/writing about life, injustices, love, lost love, current issues, past issues, pain, and spirit.

eTc., eTc.,~ being a mother~ performing arts~ history~ reading~ writing~ music~ photography~ poetry~ teaching~ learning~ challenges~ dancing~ people~ watching movies~ laughing~ loving~ growing~ GoTTa £°Vë îT O® £ëهVë îT

~knowledge is long and life is short and he who does not know, does not live~


Every time I speak to you, you make me feel stupid. Mostly, because I find I AM stupid not only WHEN I talk to you, but FOR talking to you in the first place, when I know how you're going to make me feel.


The Dalai Lama ~ My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness



Mahatma Ghandi ~ An eye for an eye would only end up in making the whole world blind



Samuel Johnson ~ What we hope ever to do with ease, we must learn first to do with diligence



Henry Ward Beecher ~ Greatness lies not in being strong, but in the right use of strength



Goethe ~ Talent develops in quiet places, character in the full current of human life



Paul Simon ~ Tell me why, why won't you love me for who I am, where I am?

Cause that's not the way this world is baby

this is how I love you, baby

this is how I love you



Oscar Wilde ~ Education is an admirable thing, but from time to time, anything worth knowing

cannot be taught, it can be learned, but not taught.

Ordinary riches can be stolen: real riches cannot

In your soul are infinitely precious things

that cannot be taken from you



My Dad ~ Hang in there when the going gets tough. Remember - If you're hard on

yourself, life will be easy on you. If you're easy on yourself, life will be

hard on you



Anais Nin ~ There were always in me, two women at least, one woman desperate and

bewildered, who felt she was drowning and another who would leap into a scene

as upon a stage, conceal her true emotions because they were weaknesses

helplessness, despair,and present to the world only a smile-

an eagerness, curiosity, enthusiasm, interest.



Abraham Lincoln ~ I never had a policy; I have just tried to do my very best each and every day.



George Bernard Shaw ~ We don't stop playing because we grow old;

we grow old because we stop playing



Jim Morrison ~ I'm kind of hooked on the game of art and literature;

my heroes are artists and writers



Booker T. Washington ~ Success is to be measured not so much by the position

that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome



Edgar Allen Poe ~ Years of love can be forgotten in the hatred of a minute.



MLK 1963 ~ Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy- Now is the

time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit

paths of racial justice- Now is the time-



JFK 1963 ~ We are confronted with primarily a moral issue. It is as old as the

scriptures, and it is clear as the American constitution. The heart of the

question is whether all Americans are to be afforded equal rights and equal

opportunities. Are we to say to the world-and much more importantly- to each

other, that this is the land of the free?...Now the time has come for this nation

to fufill this promise-



Proverb ~ Knowledge is like a garden: if it is not cultivated, it cannot be harvested.



Unknown ~ A vision without a task is but a dream, a task without a vision is

drudgery, a vision and a task is the hope of the world.



Proverb ~ Zen is like looking for the spectacles that are sitting on your nose.



Unknown ~ Why are you trying so hard to fit in, when you were born to stand out?



Proverb ~ Writing will be your companion through the darkest and brightest days

of your life-if that is what you want-It exposes pain and guilt and the greatest joy

It is your own assessment of who you are. You should write as much

as you can and as much as you want to. It will be something to turn to.



Tariq ~ It's the simplicity of your complexity that's the catalyst of my infatuation



Proverb ~ Yesterday's failures are today's seeds That must be diligently planted

to be able to abundantly harvest Tomorrow's success.



Unknown ~ Would I had phrases that are not known, utterances that are strange,

in new language that has not been used, free from repetition, not an utterance

which has grown stale, which men of old have spoken.



Proverb ~ Words without ideas are like sails without wind.



Proverb ~ A wise man changes his mind, a fool never.



Unknown ~ The highest form of wisdom is kindness.



Proverb ~ A single conversation across the table with a wise man is worth a

month's study of books.



Unknown ~ Only the strong will survive-that which does not kill you will only make you stronger



Unknown ~ God will only give you what you can handle, you just have to choose to cope



MLK 1963 ~ I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the

difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply

rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise

up and live out the true meaning of its creed; ‘We hold these truths to be

self-evident, that all men are created equal'...I have a dream that one day on

the red hills of Georgia, sons of former slaves and the sons of former

slave-owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood. I

have a dream that one day, even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering

with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be

transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice...I have a dream that my four

children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the

color of their skin, but by the content of their character...I have a dream that

one day down in Alabama with its vicious racists, with its governor having his

lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification, one day right

there in Alabama, little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands

with the little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers. I have a

dream today...Let freedom ring...and when we let it ring from every village and

every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that

day when all of God’s children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles,

Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of

the old Negro spiritual: Free at last, free at last. Thank God almighty, we are

free at last...

Quotes I've enjoyed when I came across them on other pages~

Pleasure is terrifying because it breaks down boundaries between people.
-Erica Jong, Fear of Flying

Without struggle, there is no progress.
-Frederick Douglass

I'm a word man. See, there's this theory about the nature of tragedy,
that Aristotle didn't mean catharsis for the audience but a purgation
of emotions for the actors them- selves. The audience is just a witness
to the event taking place on stage.
-Jim Morrison

There is nothing stronger in the world than gentleness.
-Unknown

Insults should be written in the sand, and praises carved in stone.
-Arab proverb

The heights by great men reached and kept Were not attained by sudden flight, But they, while their companions slept, Were toiling upward in the night.
-Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Heaven never helps the men who will not act.
-Sophocles

Up to a point a man's life is shaped by environment, heredity, and movements and changes in the world about him. Then there comes a time when it lies within his grasp to shape the clay of his life into the sort of thing he wishes to be. Only the weak blame parents, their race, their times, lack of good fortune, or the quirks of fate. Everyone has it within his power to say, ''This I am today; that I will be tomorrow.''
-Louis L'Amour

Many of life's failures are people who did not reconize how close they were to success when they gave up.
-Unknown

Staying angry with you is how I protect myself from you. Refusing to forgive you is not only how I punish you: it is also how I keep you from getting close enough to hurt me again, and nine times out of ten it works - only there is a serious side effect. It is called bitterness, and it can do terrible things to the human body and soul.
-Barbara Brown Taylor

Don't go through life, grow through life.
-Unknown

Do not keep the alabaster box of your friendship sealed up until your friends are dead. Fill their lives with sweetness. Speak approving, cheering words while their ears can hear them, and while their hearts can be thrilled and made happier. The kind of things you mean to say when they are gone, say before they go.
-George W. Childs

A dreamer is one who can only find his way by moonlight, and his punishment is that he sees the dawn before the rest of the world.
-Oscar Wilde

The poet is like the prince of the clouds, who rides out the tempest and laughs at the archer. But when he is exiled on the ground, amidst the clamour, his giant's wings prevent him from walking.
-Baudelaire

Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else -Unknown

Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in side-ways, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming: WOW...WHAT A RIDE!!
-Unknown

I don't walk around trying to be what I'm not. I don't waste my time trying to get what you've got. I work at pleasing me, cuz I can't please you. And that's why I do what I do. My soul flies free like a willow tree.
-Erykah Badu

The happiest people are those who think the most interesting thoughts.
Those who decide to use leisure as a means of mental development, who love good music, good books, good pictures, good company, good conversation, are the happiest people in the world. And they are not only happy in themselves, they are the cause of happiness in others.
-William Lyon Phelps

I have witnessed the softening of the hardest of hearts by a simple smile.
Goldie Hawn

In the sweetness of friendship let there be laughter, for in the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed.
-James Allen

Being a full time mother is one of the highest salaried jobs…since the payment is pure love.”
-Mildred B. Vincent

When the power of love overcomes
the love of power the world will
know peace.
-Jimi Hendrix

Zits are beauty marks.
- Kurt Cobain

A true friend walks in when the rest of the world walks out
-Unknown

I have a right to my anger, and I don't want anybody telling me I shouldn't be, that it's not nice to be, and that something's wrong with me because I get angry.
-Maxine Waters
.
Never go to bed mad. Stay up and fight.
-Phyllis Diller

A lot of Christian conservatives are whining about how they don't want to live in a country that allows gay marriages. Well, guess what, you don't have to live in a country that legalizes gay marriages. If you don't like living in a free country, you can just shut up, pack up and get out.
-Unknown

Death be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so;
For those whom thou think'st thou dost overthrow
Die not, poor death, nor yet canst thou kill me.
From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be,
Much pleasure, then from thee much more must flow,
And soonest our best men with thee do go,
Rest of their bones, and souls' delivery.
Thou art slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men,
And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell,
And poppy, or charms can make us sleep as well,
And better than thy stroke; why swell'st thou then?
One short sleep past, we wake eternally,
And death shall be no more; death, thou shalt die.
...the fog is rising.
-Last words of Emily Dickinson

All we see and all we seem, is but a dream within a dream.
-Edgar Allen Poe

It was like a bird of rarest-spun heaven metal or like silvery wine flowing in a spaceship, gravity all nonsense now. As I slooshied, I knew such lovely pictures!
-Alex, A Clockwork Orange

I do not take drugs, I am drugs.
-salvador dali

You cannot be lonely if you like the person you're alone with
-Wayne Dyer

Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious book. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders. Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations. But after observations and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conductive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it.
-Buddha, The Enlightened One

“Speaking the Truth in times of universal deceit is a revolutionary act.”
— George Orwell

“Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent.”
—Issac Asimov


“Great spirits have always found violent opposition from mediocre minds. The latter cannot understand it when a man does not thoughtlessly submit to hereditary prejudices but honestly and courageously uses his intelligence.”
— Albert Einstein

“The citizen who sees his society’s democratic clothes being worn out and does not cry it out, is not a patriot, but a traitor.”
— Mark Twain


We will not build a peaceful world by following a negative path. It is not enough to say we must not wage war. It is necessary to love peace and sacrifice for it. We must concentrate not merely on the negative expulsion of war but on the positive affirmation of peace. We must see that peace represents a sweeter music, a cosmic melody, that is far superior to the discords of war. Somehow, we must transform the dynamics of the world power struggle from the negative nuclear arms race, which no one can win, to a positive contest to harness humanity's creative genius for the purpose of making peace and prosperity a reality for all the nations of the world. In short, we must shift the arms race into a peace race. If we have a will - and determination - to mount such a peace offensive, we will unlock hitherto tightly sealed doors of hope and transform our imminent cosmic elegy into a psalm of creative fulfillment.

Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968)

''Life well spent is long.''
--Leonardo Da Vinci

A man who stands for nothing will fall for anything.''

''We are nonviolent with people who are nonviolent with us.''

''Don't be in a hurry to condemn because he doesn't do what you do or think as you think or as fast. There was a time when you didn't know what you know today.''

''My alma mater was books, a good library... I could spend the rest of my life reading, just satisfying my curiosity.''

''Stumbling is not falling.''

''There is no better than adversity. Every defeat, every heartbreak, every loss, contains its own seed, its own lesson on how to improve your performance next time.''

“They put your mind right in a bag, and take it wherever they want.”

''We didn't land on Plymouth Rock, Plymouth Rock landed on us.''

''Concerning nonviolence, it is criminal to teach a man not to defend himself when he is the constant victim of brutal attacks.''

''A race of people is like an individual man; until it uses its own talent, takes pride in its own history, expresses its own culture, affirms its own selfhood, it can never fulfill itself.''

''I for one believe that if you give people a thorough understanding of what confronts them and the basic causes that produce it, they'll create their own program, and when the people create a program, you get action.''

''If you're not ready to die for it, put the word 'freedom' out of your vocabulary.''

''I feel like a man who has been asleep somewhat and under someone else's control. I feel that what I'm thinking and saying is now for myself. Before it was for and by the guidance of Elijah Muhammad. Now I think with my own mind, sir!''

''The thing that you have to understand about those of us in the Black Muslim movement was that all of us believed 100 percent in the divinity of Elijah Muhammad. We believed in him. We actually believed that God, in Detroit by the way, that God had taught him and all of that. I always believed that he believed in himself. And I was shocked when I found out that he himself didn't believe it.''

''I believe that there will ultimately be a clash between the oppressed and those that do the oppressing. I believe that there will be a clash between those who want freedom, justice and equality for everyone and those who want to continue the systems of exploitation.''

''It is a time for martyrs now, and if I am to be one, it will be for the cause of brotherhood. That's the only thing that can save this country.''
-- February 19, 1965 (2 days before he was murdered by Nation of Islam followers)

''Without education, you're not going anywhere in this world.''

''...I shall never rest until I have undone the harm I did to so many well-meaning, innocent Negroes who through my own evangelistic zeal now believe in him even more fanatically and more blindly than I did.''
-- on those he encouraged to follow Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad

''When a person places the proper value on freedom, there is nothing under the sun that he will not do to acquire that freedom. Whenever you hear a man saying he wants freedom, but in the next breath he is going to tell you what he won't do to get it, or what he doesn't believe in doing in order to get it, he doesn't believe in freedom. A man who believes in freedom will do anything under the sun to acquire . . . or preserve his freedom.''

''You don't have to be a man to fight for freedom. All you have to do is to be an intelligent human being.''

''Dr. King wants the same thing I want. Freedom.''

''I want Dr. King to know that I didn't come to Selma to make his job difficult. I really did come thinking I could make it easier. If the white people realize what the alternative is, perhaps they will be more willing to hear Dr. King.''
-- in a conversation with Mrs. Coretta Scott King.

''I am not a racist. I am against every form of racism and segregation, every form of discrimination. I believe in human beings, and that all human beings should be respected as such, regardless of their color.'' -Malcom X

''The common goal of 22 million Afro-Americans is respect as human beings, the God-given right to be a human being. Our common goal is to obtain the human rights that America has been denying us. We can never get civil rights in America until our human rights are first restored. We will never be recognized as citizens there until we are first recognized as humans.''
-- ''Racism: the Cancer that is Destroying America,'' in Egyptian Gazette (Aug. 25 1964).

''You can’t separate peace from freedom because no one can be at peace unless he has his freedom.''
-- ''Prospects for Freedom in 1965,'' speech, Jan. 7 1965, New York City (published in Malcolm X Speaks, ch. 12, 1965).

''The Negro revolution is controlled by foxy white liberals, by the Government itself. But the Black Revolution is controlled only by God.''
-- Speech, Dec. 1, 1963, New York City.

''I believe in the brotherhood of man, all men, but I don’t believe in brotherhood with anybody who doesn’t want brotherhood with me. I believe in treating people right, but I’m not going to waste my time trying to treat somebody right who doesn’t know how to return the treatment.''
-- Speech, Dec. 12 1964, New York City.

''There is nothing in our book, the Koran, that teaches us to suffer peacefully. Our religion teaches us to be intelligent. Be peaceful, be courteous, obey the law, respect everyone; but if someone puts his hand on you, send him to the cemetery. That’s a good religion.''
-- ''Message to the Grass Roots,'' speech, Nov. 1963, Detroit (published in Malcolm X Speaks, ch. 1, 1965).


''If violence is wrong in America, violence is wrong abroad. If it is wrong to be violent defending black women and black children and black babies and black men, then it is wrong for America to draft us, and make us violent abroad in defense of her. And if it is right for America to draft us, and teach us how to be violent in defense of her, then it is right for you and me to do whatever is necessary to defend our own people right here in this country.''
-- Speech, Nov. 1963, New York City-Also Malcom X

''Better to do something imperfectly than to do nothing flawlessly.''
--Robert Schuller

''Hope is a waking dream.''
--Aristotle


Nationalism is our form of incest, is our idolatry, is our insanity. ''Patriotism'' is its cult. It should hardly be necessary to say, that by ''patriotism'' I mean that attitude which puts the own nation above humanity, above the principles of truth and justice; not the loving interest in one's own nation, which is the concern with the nation's spiritual as much as with its material welfare --never with its power over other nations. Just as love for one individual which excludes the love for others is not love, love for one's country which is not part of one's love for humanity is not love, but idolatrous worship.
Author: Erich Fromm 1900-1980, American Psychologist

''You know that being an American is more than a
matter of where you or your parents came from.
It is a belief that all men are created free and
equal and that everyone deserves an even break.
It is a respect for the dignity of men and women
without reguard to race, creed, or color.
That is our creed.''
Harry S.Truman 10-26-1948


The Republicans believe that the power of
government should be used first of all to
help the rich and the privileged in the
country. With them, property, wealth, comes
first. The Democrats believe that the power
of government should be used to give the
common man more protection and a chance to
make a living. With us the people come first.
'A Government as Good As Its People'
pg 163 Harry S.Truman

''When even one American - who has done nothing wrong --
is forced by fear to shut his mind and close his mouth,
then all of Americans are in peril.''
Harry S.Truman

Republicans approve of the American farmer,
but they are willing to help him go broke.
They stand four-square for the American home--
but not for housing. They are strong for labor--
but they are stronger for restricting labor's
rights. They favor minimum wage--the smaller the
minimum wage the better. They endorse educational
opportunity for all--but they won't spend
money for teachers or for schools. They think
modern medical care and hospitals are fine--
for people who can afford them. They consider
electrical power a great blessing--but only when
the private power companies get their rake-off.
They think American standard of living is a fine
thing--so long as it doesn't spread to all the
people. And they admire of Government of the
United States so much that they would like to
buy it.
Harry S. Truman

Cleanliness and order are not matters of instinct; they are matters of education, and like most great things, you must cultivate a taste for them.
-Benjamin Disraeli

Poetry is the art of uniting pleasure with truth.
Samuel Johnson

Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness. Kindness in giving creates love.
Lao Tzu

...Langston asked if we knew what happens to a dream deferred...

...Sometimes people don't know who you are, because you don't wanna show 'em...
Sometimes you wanna let 'em know, and all you wanna do is open their eyes and broaden their perspective but you know they're so gripped in the stereotypes they embrace and nurture that it's easier to let them continue to rot in their own ignorance... and somethin about that just ain't right

It's not pierced because it's way too sensitive and it gets kissed on occasion and likes it. :-) Hee hee. My baby also frequently pokes it and says beebunnun mama, and if that doesn't drum up those sexy fantansies than I don't know what will! Hah

yeah, so it's me Rachel, the trigger finger behind that blinding light at Ray's over there by the stage some nights. I like taking pictures. Some of you who've known me all my life may be familiar with that :-) I also like to read and write poetry. I'm mainly a bartender, but due to my five year old kid, I've been a stay-at-home mommy, however, I'm going back to bartending regularly soon. As long as I've been bartending you'd think I'd enjoy a drink every now and again, but I've actually been completely sober for 9 years and running. Not a drop of alcohol, or any of the other mind altering substances I used to favor. People often mistake me for someone who's on something, but that's just my craziness bleeding through. I like to hug people. If you're afraid, you might want to cringe and run away. Here's a pre-emptive apology. Sorry. Yeah, that was heartfelt. Hah. I come from a strict, stifling background, and now I just wanna do things that don't involve any form of suppression. I like talkin shit, kickin ass and takin names. I also like to kiss people, in a platonic and affectionate way. I like addressing people as honey, darlin, and baby-not as a come on- it's not my fault, it comes natural -I'm just a love pusher :-) I like telling people how gorgeous they are. I say I love you at random intervals, I'm like the drunk bud light 'I love you man' guy. Except for the obvious outer appearance difference. I don't care if I sound too girly, mushy, or idiotic to you. I like being me. I like play fighting, but I'll break up a real fight in a heartbeat. I like to not get my ass beat in the mosh when I'm tryina take pictures, but, inevitably, it happens anyway. I'd like to thank the thoughtful and gallant men of the golden lion mosh pit who go out of their way to protect me from getting hurt. Good lookin out guys, you got my back all the time, you know I'm so fond of y'all, and I appreciate your services very much. Also, I like people who get behind the mic, that stands to reason, since I like hearing music/lyrics, so naturally, listening to people vocalizing makes me happy and, often times, inspired. Actually, I like any type of stage performance. It takes a lot of guts to get up and perform something you created to sometimey unreceptive audiences. I like screaming, balls to the wall live stage music, and I also like rap/r&b/spoken word. Also, I would dance on stage if I so desired, and if I weren't so busy takin pics, with or without any encouragement. What? So? If you can't booty dance, how much fun could your life possibly be? Hah. But seriously, I think everyone should give themselves a sweaty dance off every once in awhile. It's good for you. I read it somewhere. yeah really. Oh, and also I enjoy writing my own very witty and amusing rap songs. Okay, so maybe the only person I amuse with them is myself, but I'm okay with that. Imagine that. I had two sweet pit bulls that I loved, and I had to have them sent away because I had neighbors that lied and acted like threatened bitches when they have 3 rotts themselves and yet found themselves callin the police repeatedly. Ugh. I used to hate animals that were pets. shh, it was a long time ago. Eventually, I decided I didn't like how pet prejudiced I was. I now have a few reptiles and other creatures. It can be high maintenance, but when you have a five year old boy who digs that stuff, and when you see his face light up with love as he delicately cares for his lizards and turtles it's pretty delicious. I like how it's a sideways way of him learning responsibility. He may be partially why I changed. I didn't want pets until after I had my baby. In fact, I was never even going to bring a child into this world, but now that I have, though unplanned for, it's been amazing. Naturally, my whole world is changed for the best. I used to love the smell of dirt in the air after rainfall. I no longer have a sense of smell, I lost it in a car wreck 10 years ago. People never remember that I can't smell and always ask me to smell things. Sometimes I fake it for strangers in stores. With personal friends I just have to give 'em a crazy look, like do you know who you're talkin to? It's me, remember? Then they remember. I have an unbelievably perfect husband. Everyone tells me how lucky I am. I know it already. I am obsessive about a ton of things. I'm pretty germphobic and freak out on people for touching my food, but yet, I can touch their food. Hey, I KNOW my hands are clean, if they weren't, I wouldn't touch your food. I dig big Jackie O glasses, always have. They're so old hollywood starlet-ish. I love pretty makeup. I won't deny dressing up like a boy occasionally, or that I like to sing elvis songs at the lowest register possible as if I were the king himself. I'm attempting to be a healthnut, but despite that, I can never get enough chocolate in my gut. I have terrible skin, and sometimes wonder if that's a factor, but I'll never accept the myth, even if they proved it scientifically true. Perfect combination:chocolate and nuts. Touch my chocolate and die, or at least expect a fork in a phalange. I am faithfully, devotedly, in love with my husband, a musical genius and hardworking provider, for the last ten years, yes thank you, it's been marvelous, but I'm also totally in love with several of my insanely wonderful friends, and some people I don't actually know including jim morrison, nicholas cage, llcoolj, joaquin phoenix, layne staley, and the list goes on for awhile. Maybe I'll finish it out later, but I don't really feel like putting all the people I have obsessive love and desire in my heart for all over the page right now. It's pretty cool that my husband understands me and freely lets me be me without being a freak about the dumb shit. I hate rumor bullshit, and I hate drama, but somehow, I always wind up in some shit. I talk too much. I know, you're surprised, aren'tcha? I like to sneak away from my sweetheart/monster of a son, to go listen to music and take pics at RGL even though it's always a fight cause he never wants me to leave him behind. Maybe if I got paid big bucks from Dustin, (like Kenz, Ky, John, Ricky, and Chad) I might show up on time for the shows, hah, yeah I said big bucks... I know, that's pretty funny.... I like people who are intelligent and creative, and not always drunk. I like to laugh and be with people who aren't on huge ego trips. I like to try and help people, but my advice isn't always the greatest. I love it when I have intense dreams. Sometimes I feel like I live a double life. I used to like to escape into distant realms in books, but haven't had much time to read lately. I play too much on the computer. No, I do not look up porn, or have cyber sex with strange, anonymous, horny typists. That strikes me as a huge waste of time. That said, to each his own, I just don't choose to chase pleasures that way. I don't like it when people say things to deliberately hurt people's feelings or belittle someone who is different than they are. That kinda shit makes me go nuts. Hmm, maybe the old adage applies, and I am what I eat a lot of [nuts] :-) I'm a vegetarian, and I make no apologies, nor do I expect any of you beastly carnivorous meat eaters -lmao- to tell me why I should eat what you like, but I don't give a shit if you eat it. Just don't wave a bloody steak in my face, you know who you are, you bastard. ugh. Lately I've been noticing how sometimes people take advantage of good natured, helpful sorts, and when it happens more than once or twice, it's pretty telling of what kind of integrity you possess and the character you're made of. Don't think you're getting away with anything, people around you aren't blind and as time goes on they take stock of what you do to people on a regular basis. I am steadfast in my devotion to my friends, and I try to live my life making small contributions along the way to them and those around me, rather than focusing on my own selfish agenda, even though it goes against my self-serving nature, like it does for everyone. It's easy for me to lay around the house and do nothing, but I try to fight off my own indulgences by getting up and doing something for someone every once in awhile. I value the people around me. I recognize good qualities. I also recognize negative qualities, particularly my own. I know I talk inappropriately in front of my child at times, and I always feel like a moron for doing it, but cursing as colorful punctuation is one of my favorite vices. I like speaking freely and candidly, so censoring myself is difficult at times, however, I currently try to opt for other words when in the company of children. Sometimes temper gets the best of me though. On occasion, I avoid issues rather than hassling with dealing with things, may not be a perfect system, but I make it work for me, however imperfectly, I guess. People have told me that I'm overbearing. Who'da thunk it? I like to take my own pictures, shit, I'm the only one who knows how to get the angle that doesn't show off my double chin :-)Vanity/Insecurity/Vanity Hah. I wish I was a little bit thinner, but then, when I was skinny I didn't have much for boobs, now that I've had a baby and put on weight, I like the extra cleavage... catch 22, I know, also a bit stupid of me to favor a less fit version of myself. But that's all facetious bullshit. I like to think I'm not too judgmental, but, contradictory to my self-righteous crap ideals, when I'm bartending I sometimes find myself disgusted with people in general, and I wanna go home and crawl in bed to hide from the whole rotten world. I like to conserve and recycle. My house is messy a lot of the time. I try to keep up with it, but my son is very busy. I think racism, sexism, and terrorism are markers of ignorance and miseducation. I've been raped. I think a man who is so self serving and sick will not easily attain any peace or happiness in life. I've watched people not believe me because they didn't want to think that someone they knew was capable of that. I'm a democrat, I guess, but I don't like the negative connotations that surround political ties. I am open minded and liberal, but I also don't like the stereotypical generalized 'weak' connotations associated with being so. I don't like the judicial system, the uninsured masses, the war, or our president, but I like America, I like freedom, and I realize that not everything is going to be perfect and currently, at least, we're stuck with what we've got, and have to make the best of it until things change. I support gay marriage. I am against the war. Although I'd never want to personally abort a baby, I understand certain extenuating circumstances, and I am 100% pro-choice. Also, I believe there are natural cures to many common diseases that the insurance/medicine industry along with the government prevent the general public from gaining access to. I have major allergies and I don't like not being rich enough to live in an allergen-free home. I wish I could afford to go back to school. I wish I qualified for grants. I wish I had more skills than I have. I keep trying to work on that. I wish I could figure out a plausible way that I could make money working on my computer, staying at home with my son. I've looked into some things, but they are either pyramid schemes, and/or they involve you trying to talk up everyone you see on the street to get them to buy something from you. That type of dogged salesmanship gives me the creeps. There are a lot of scams made to look like great opportunities out there, and I like it when news people do investigative reporting to expose cons. I come from a work hard/play hard mindset, I like to earn money honestly, and I try not to take too many of the good things in life for granted. I suppose I could ramble on like this for quite some time, but this is a pretty good summation of me and the things I think about.

Also, I am love full and yet, love hungry. My words are love text laced with past misery. I shine as bright as the sun spreading warmth and comfort when I'm not hiding down in a hole with a rock on my head. I am hard as my beliefs and hard as my experiences made me while I exist in a soft malleable clay state waiting to be reshaped as the days of my life flow by. I am logic symbiotically woven with unharnessed emotion. I am down to earth checkered with sky high visions. I represent all the colors in the rainbow but, in knowing me, you'd mainly see a mauve-ish marigold aura. I am real as I front contentment and happiness. I spit flames mixed with nitrous even if it makes no sense. Like a cliché, I, the unoriginal beauty queen, stand for world peace, feed the children, and save the trees and animals. I have dreams of war and awaken to the sad realization that somewhere those nightmares are coming true for someone. I strive to be aware, but am cognizant that I'm entrapped, residing in a vale of ignorance that slowly peels back in layers before my misty eyes. I have been reading voraciously since age 4 and writing short stories since age 5. I was awarded the young authors first place honor for whatever grade I was in during 4 out of the 6 years in elementary school. The first story that I can remember with any clarity is one about an angel named Angelica (hah) who flew around from cloud to cloud looking down on earth and swooping in to fix various perilous situations. I always loved mythical tales and stories of more faith than fact when I was young. Now I tend to write with reality in mind and mystery floating behind. In junior high school, like an idiot, I sadly became more interested in being a lil rebel than I was in doing any homework or attending classes so I let a lot of educational potential slide by like water under a bridge. I dropped out of high school at 14 but wound up attending college at age 16 with a full credit load on the merit of my G.E.D. scores. I was getting A's and working hard until I experienced a trauma at a frat house, and from there I began to fall apart and started using drugs to avoid dealing with feelings. Fortunately, this stage in my life did not last forever and I finally broke free of my addictions. One day as I was bartending on a slow night I started jotting down some little Dr. Seuss type rhymes, you know, baby steps :-) and eventually my poetic ambition blossomed. It piqued when I stumbled across the Speak Your Mind Def Jam page in the fall of 2002 and was challenged and inspired by many of the talented writers who posted there. I wrote at first of love, and then to cleanse my soul of hate. I soon grew to enjoy and appreciate the masterful words of other poets, I was inspired by their unique artistic abilities and the similarities in feelings we, in the human condition, share. They've become a second family to me. I had some poetry published in a couple anthologies, but it was selections I would not have chosen and am not entirely thrilled with. Alas, I am long winded, and the contests always request poetry that is only twenty lines or less, so my smaller (less impressive ones, in my eyes) pieces were the ones published. I've always loved words and music together. (<-- 'The ONLY international language' Andy Wood, love rock awaits you..) I used to play piano and make up silly songs when I was younger, now I just love to listen to the sounds that a voice is capable of, carrying words straight from one heart into the minds and hearts of many others. Right now, the focus of my world is teaching my son everything I can think of and trying to use my spare time to read and write poetry and prose that means something and challenges my capacity to come up with something new.

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(¸.·´ (¸.·' ¤ RaCheLieCheLe

I love writing and I find such joy reading other writers work. There is so much talent in this world and I want to take in all I can absorb so thank you postpoems for this outlet to display poetry! I love it!

Hi Everyone!!
My name is Rachel, but you can call me what you want :-) I am a stay at home mother with a 3 year old son. The pride and joy of my life, D'Angelo. This is basically my personal diary, I am experimenting on it, so please excuse the cheese... I'm just barely learning web design and such... I am writer, a photographer, and I consider myself a singer, heh heh heh, you, on the other hand, may not... I've been in love with music and lyrics all my life... I love bits and pieces of every type of music genre in existence... my prevailing favorite is music with a lot of soul and emotion that comes across in the voice. I love rap and hip hop, but, to another degree, I also love punk and metal. I enjoy certain country and blues selections, I love doo wop and swing. I try to let all the varied styles influence my writing, so if you read my poetry you will find pieces ranging from inspirational, loving, and spiritual to hateful, vengeful, or morbid pieces. You will find selections of silly, shallow poems, lengthy-wordy pieces, miscellaneous pieces, slang pieces, or overtly sexual pieces. I enjoy going outside of socially acceptable parameters in some of my poetry and I apologize if you read anything that offends your sensibilities or moral beliefs. I believe in exploring all portions of my thoughts and feelings, even if that means I might be writing something that isn't a poem I would necessarily serve up to a church official, I still choose to write it.... I am working slowly on a novel about a woman's experiences of rape, and varying ways of coping with, and living with the aftereffects. I am an avid photographer, and I enjoy altering and enhancing graphics and photos to create an image that is unique and eyecatching. I could add more, but this is starting to bore me, so if you're even reading this far, thank you for coming by my page, I hope you enjoy your visit~