Real gangstas make hood holidays

Gramps still prayin' workin on my nerves man...
Like, "Son you gotta get your soul clean...
Before they blow them horns like Coltrane..."
But still I cry tears of a hustler
Wipe tears from my mother, pull out beers for her brothers...
That's above us, make beds for the babies
Tuck kids under covers, buy cribs for their mothers
Sh!t I'll probably be wylin' with their fathers
Tell Ms. Robert, tell Enijah that I'm ridin' for her father
That's like my brother, like same mother different father
-Beanie Sigel, What We Do

Pretty worn out tonight. Still trying to figure out if today went as well as I think it did or if is just a figment of my imagination. We had mad kids show up today and they came deep like a mutha. Some even came more than an hour early. It also became quite clear that more than a few of them thought they were gonna be getting paid for their attendance. Yeah right, B. That got addressed with the quickness. But all in all, it seemed to go pretty well. We willl definitely have to limit the attendance next time so that the numbers are more manageable. As for the sessions, there was a tremendous amount of interest in the Web Design and IT Support tracks, while web development had minimal interest. But of course, since there were a good 40 people who showed up without pre-registering, that had the good fortune of not being able to choose their track. Default, duke. But man oh man, it was a truly hectic day. And it sounds like - for the most part - the students were receptive and appreciative of our efforts and I am similarly appreciative of their interest in our program, but also for showing up that early in the morning two days after Christmas during their holiday vacation. It takes serious discipline for that. The kids were pleasant. Our team was pretty on-point in terms of being organized and collaborative. My wake-up call/nudge was timely. The weather was straight. The food was enough. The instructors were good. Let's keep this streak going.

As for the Beans verse, that is one of my favorite ROC songs. Everytime I hear that song, my head bobs at a feverishly frenetic pace and my neck snaps and convulses with mosquito-like grace. I had about 40 Kanye West instrumentals playing as background music during our downtime and it seemd to work well.

And still we grind from the bottom.
Just to make it to the bottom

Some cliches get beat into the ground to no end. The more things change, the more they stay the same. That's one of those oft-repeated phrases that seem to apply to all kinds of situations. But the grinding aspect is so appropos and ironic at times. I heard and read some things thta stuck with me throuhg tonight and the grinding analogy was the most fitting way to put them all together. We strive for success and shoot for the stars, only to continue the cylce. It's kinda like the business buzzword of process improvement; constantly trying to improve our personal, mental, physical, and spiritual output and efficiency and productivity all while aspiring to happiness. It's a delicate balance that sometimes crushes our spirits, causes feelinsg to get hurt, wears you down, bears a heavy burden on your shoulders, or uplifts you. But if it doesn't matter to you, then it definitely doesn't matter, right? Ah hell, time to start pondering those new year's resolutions so 2006 is not as hectic and topsy-turvy as year as 2005 has been. But it is a starting point. Gotta grind from somewhere.