It's a long weekend and I'm actually not planning on traveling. I'm staying put--cleaning house, packing for a move, budgeting for said move, brunching, watching Netflix, ordering textbooks, faux loccing, and prepping for the semester.
I usually do a volunteer service project for King Day, but this year I decided to volunteer more consistently with the Pratt Library--so I signed up to be an official Volunteer. Y'all know libraries have a special place in my heart and Pratt has so many great programs. I'm excited to help out.
I installed my own faux locs over the holiday break and I absolutely loved them! I used Nap85's lightweight/flexible loc technique and it worked really well. I did have to make sure to braid the extensions far enough and tight enough, for them not to slip. Otherwise, the whole loc would unravel--yes, that happened to a few of mine! Another thing, the key to maintaining an absolutely ridiculous amount of moisture was twisting my hair with a blend of flax seed gel and whipped shea. Instead of boiling the flax seeds in plain water though, I used the herbal hair tea from Chagrin Valley as a base. OMG! Even after 5 weeks under kanekalon, my hair was soft and moisturized and smelled minty--I also oiled my scalp regularly with hemp seed oil/olive oil/coconut oil + a few drops of peppermint essential oil + eucalyptus oil. Maintenance was so easy that after I took them out this week, I decided I wanted them back! I'm giving myself a henna treatment as I type, then I'll roller set with Curlformers. I'll rock that look for church tomorrow, then I'll twist and loc. I'll probably repeat that every 5 weeks until my birthday, and the end of the semester, in April :)
I'm moving. Again. I hate moving, but my new place is an adorable little loft in my favorite Baltimore neighborhood. It's tiny, but it has hardwood floors, exposed beams and walls, a patio, and the best thing--a pretty kitchen. It fits me perfectly. I'm excited about living the loft life for the next year or so, and I'm almost certain I'll be hiring movers to take care of my things this time around.
My Netflix has been stuck on Star Trek: Next Generation. I love the show, especially Geordi's character--it's really hard to find black men in strong character roles in today's TV. Also, on my watchlist, The Fall and all its creepiness. Of course, I'm anxiously waiting for House of Cards to drop next month.
I started an Information Visualization MOOC this week--it's free if you're interested! It's offered by the Computing and Informatics faculty at Indiana University, and because I'm interested in the program there, I thought it would be a great opportunity to experience the kind of thing I might get into. I'm really enjoying it so far and I love that the second half of the course is dedicated to teaming up for a real-world project. My mission for the next year is to build an impressive portfolio, so I especially appreciate these types of opportunities.
That leads nicely to my next point--classes are starting! Again, I'm focusing on polishing the techniques I've spent the past year learning and really upping the impressiveness of my deliverables. And, I'm on the hunt for scholarships because, why not?
And work. I'm planning to spend way less time in the library and more time in the classroom and in faculty offices and getting in my students' way. I think they need to see me more and I want to become a better teacher :) Also, I need to learn to publish, so I'm trying to get training to make that happen.
I'm currently loving head massages and salsa dancing. All the tingles <3 I've had lots of time for reading and audiobooking --in my queue this week:
Hugs and kisses peeps,
Bethany
I usually do a volunteer service project for King Day, but this year I decided to volunteer more consistently with the Pratt Library--so I signed up to be an official Volunteer. Y'all know libraries have a special place in my heart and Pratt has so many great programs. I'm excited to help out.
I installed my own faux locs over the holiday break and I absolutely loved them! I used Nap85's lightweight/flexible loc technique and it worked really well. I did have to make sure to braid the extensions far enough and tight enough, for them not to slip. Otherwise, the whole loc would unravel--yes, that happened to a few of mine! Another thing, the key to maintaining an absolutely ridiculous amount of moisture was twisting my hair with a blend of flax seed gel and whipped shea. Instead of boiling the flax seeds in plain water though, I used the herbal hair tea from Chagrin Valley as a base. OMG! Even after 5 weeks under kanekalon, my hair was soft and moisturized and smelled minty--I also oiled my scalp regularly with hemp seed oil/olive oil/coconut oil + a few drops of peppermint essential oil + eucalyptus oil. Maintenance was so easy that after I took them out this week, I decided I wanted them back! I'm giving myself a henna treatment as I type, then I'll roller set with Curlformers. I'll rock that look for church tomorrow, then I'll twist and loc. I'll probably repeat that every 5 weeks until my birthday, and the end of the semester, in April :)
I'm moving. Again. I hate moving, but my new place is an adorable little loft in my favorite Baltimore neighborhood. It's tiny, but it has hardwood floors, exposed beams and walls, a patio, and the best thing--a pretty kitchen. It fits me perfectly. I'm excited about living the loft life for the next year or so, and I'm almost certain I'll be hiring movers to take care of my things this time around.
My Netflix has been stuck on Star Trek: Next Generation. I love the show, especially Geordi's character--it's really hard to find black men in strong character roles in today's TV. Also, on my watchlist, The Fall and all its creepiness. Of course, I'm anxiously waiting for House of Cards to drop next month.
I started an Information Visualization MOOC this week--it's free if you're interested! It's offered by the Computing and Informatics faculty at Indiana University, and because I'm interested in the program there, I thought it would be a great opportunity to experience the kind of thing I might get into. I'm really enjoying it so far and I love that the second half of the course is dedicated to teaming up for a real-world project. My mission for the next year is to build an impressive portfolio, so I especially appreciate these types of opportunities.
That leads nicely to my next point--classes are starting! Again, I'm focusing on polishing the techniques I've spent the past year learning and really upping the impressiveness of my deliverables. And, I'm on the hunt for scholarships because, why not?
And work. I'm planning to spend way less time in the library and more time in the classroom and in faculty offices and getting in my students' way. I think they need to see me more and I want to become a better teacher :) Also, I need to learn to publish, so I'm trying to get training to make that happen.
I'm currently loving head massages and salsa dancing. All the tingles <3 I've had lots of time for reading and audiobooking --in my queue this week:
- Warbound: Book 3 of the Grimnoir Chronicles: I do fantasy :)
- Women Don't Ask: Negotiation and the Gender Divide--one of the reasons I want to spend more time teaching and observing teachers this semester is to negotiate myself into leading an actual course while working on my PhD, not just TAing or researching. Negotiation is key.
- The Ancient Black Hebrews and Arabs--the summary and Amazon reviews sold me on it.
Hugs and kisses peeps,
Bethany
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