How does the saying go – if you do the same thing you’ve always done, expect the same result? So, here’s to doing something different, putting my goals out there and holding myself accountable.

So, here they are. I am putting them out there! I am going to (in no particular order):

• relocate to Atlanta
• get a motorcycle license
• get a SCUBA basic and rescue license
• be more intentional about living healthy
• apply for and get accepted to a writers retreat
• meet my birth father
• learn Spanish
• pursue a PhD

Relocate to Atlanta

So, this isn’t a surprise to anyone since I have been talking about this move for a few months now Well….actually, that isn’t exactly true. I have actually been talking about moving to Atlanta for years now. But, it’s just been that, talk! No action! I am excited to say that I have actually set a plan in motion to get me there in February 2011. Pray for me and the weather, cause I am not driving a UHaul in a situation like last winter’s hot mess!!

Love Atl skyline but will miss Philly's!

I love Atlanta. I love the energy and the warm weather, and love the people I have meet over the years who are from Atlanta. A HUGE plus – some of my closest friends live in Atlanta. The energy definitely suites me and my personality. My parents lived there for more than 10 years. So, the specific move date rests on (1) the weather and (2) securing housing ….so if anyone has housing contacts in Atlanta, let me know. I am looking for a duplex, end of row townhouse or single standing home with a fenced yard (the Samsonator would surely appreciate it), hard wood floors, 2 bdroom/2bath plus den (KI Consulting really needs an office), within the perimeter, access to Marta. Some areas that I am interested in are: East Point, Decatur, some areas of Capital View, Grant Park, Inman Park, Kirkwood, Edgewood, and Oakhurst. I may be interested in a roommate, but not a stranger. So, it has to be a friend of a friend at the very least! I am not asking for much, right?!

The big question is, how am I going to get plugged in? Well, I have a plan for that too. I have spent the last couple of weeks re-connecting with Atlantans that I have met over the years at conferences, workshops, on the train, plane and bus. You know me, I talk to pretty much anyone who will talk back!  I want to thank everyone in advance for playing connector and introducing me to folks! I have also carved out a list of organizations that I want to get involved with. I know how I can get (Monica can attest to this) , so I am limiting my involvement to three organizations to pursue Board participation with. Right now I have a list of 17, so I have some work cut out for me. Make me stick to three people!!

Motorcycle License

Kathrin's Chrome Fund is taking donations...please and thank you!

I have wanted to learn how to ride a motorcycle for….well, as long as I can remember. It’s all my cousin’s fault. Many years ago while visiting family in what was then East Germany, my cousin second cousin – he is my mother’s cousin) took me for a ride on his crotch rocket and I was hooked, a little scared, but totally hooked!

So, when I go to transfer my PA drivers license to GA next spring, I am also applying for am MP class license on the spot. NO excuses!  Within 30 days of obtaining my MP license, I will find and enroll in a motorcycle driving and safety class. Note to my biker friends in Atlanta (you know who you are): I may (highly likely) hit you up for some lessons. Please and thank you! :-)

Intentional Health

This is complicated. I’ve struggled with my weight for as long as I can remember. I really despise how my understanding of self-worth is so heavily influenced by to the size of my curves.  I want to feel healthier and starting with what I choose to put into my body is a great place to start. While I hate exercising, I have to admit that the byproducts are definitely worth it – I come up with some of my best ideas when I am walking.

So, as of today, I am:

• going to be kind to myself
• exercise at least 30 minutes three times a week (I really dislike exercising, but paying for salsa classes like I used to do is out of the question right now)
• cut out all processed sugars
• eat 4 smaller meals each day with more vegetables and fruit

That's gonna me be....

S.C.U.B.A. License

I am going to see if I can talk my sister into going on this adventure with me. We don’t nearly talk enough or spend as much time together as I would like. I think a lot of that has to do with how different we are. We really don’t have a lot in common and a lot of times I am not sure really what to talk to her about. So, I hope this is something that we can both do together to start creating things that we do have in common.

I found a relatively inexpensive Diving School in Fernandina Beach. Basic and Rescue Diver are $250 each plus equipment rental.  There is a volunteer rescue diving team near Atlanta that I want to learn more about and possibly join, but I need to re-new my First Aid and CPR certifications first (….and yet my license). My parents used to dive a lot and my dad was actually part of a rescue diving team in Michigan or Germany…..we had the VW Bus, so it must have been Germany. Anyway, I always wanted to learn how to dive and, well now I am going to do it.

Writers Retreats

I have put off writing for far too long. I haven’t put my hands the three (very rough) chapters of my memoir in over a year. I need to get back to daily dedicated quite time for writing.  As of today, no more wishing, hoping, praying (well maybe some praying).  I am setting aside two hours every morning – no facebook, no twitter, no phone. Just me, my thoughts and a new notebook (the paper kind). Yeah, I am going old school! In order to do that, I have to get to bed at a more descent hour. No more tinkering around at midnight.

I need to touch with the ever-amazing Heidi Durrow to talk about which retreats may be a good fit for me since I don’t necessarily write fiction (although I have in the past). I haven’t fleshed this goal as much as I need to. I do know that I want to attend a retreat Fall 2011 and another Spring 2012.

Speaking of Heidi, I will be attending the Mixed Roots Film and Literary Festival in 2011! I am committing to it and committing to submit a piece that I have been working.

Meet my Birth Father

Now, this is a can of worms. Most of you know the saga. It’s complicated and messy. We first located him about two years (in October). Thank you Henriette and GBCS!! We only talk when I make an effort. I’ve talked to his brother more than I have talked to him. I used to talk to my half-brother on a somewhat regular basis, but he ended up spending some time in jail, got divorced from his wife and ended up moving out of Florida. His phone numbers are disconnected and his emails bounce back.

He lives in Daytona Beach, Florida. Apparently I have quite a bit of extended family down there on his side. I am not sure what this meeting will look like, or how I am going to approach it with him. I’ve thought about sending him an email recently. The last time we talked was before my move to Albany. I also have a few friends down there, people I haven’t seen in several years.  So, next summer it’s off to Daytona.

Learning Spanish

It may seem somewhat superficial, but I didn’t have the privilege (or many opportunity is a better word) to grow up with a connection to my Latin heritage. In the past I have reflected on what it means to be a Latina and how, for those of us not raised in a particular culture, are still able to be connected in ways that honors our heritage. Language is such a powerful component of culture. Developing my ability to communicate in Spanish is as important to me as communicating in English or German. Rosetta Stone, here I come!

Yes, please! I want THAT one!

Ph.D. Here I Come!

By the time I graduated Villanova 2006, I was feeling academic burn-out full force. I had spent the last 8 years working full time while maintaining a full academic load. During my last three terms at Nova I also maintained an assistantship. I wanted nothing to do with any thing remotely academic for almost half a year. I was perfectly content reading gossip mags and Reality TV.

That lasted about six months. I began to miss some of the major components of grad school. I missed my cohorts and professors. Sure, I could waltz into Dr. Keita or Dr. Abugidieri’s office at any time, but it’s different now. Both of them had such a profound impact of shaping the ways and which I reexamined and reconstructed the agency of various actors in imagining and constructing the “new world”. I miss seminars. Clearly I have completely lost it. I used to hate seminars, especially during times I developed love/hate relationship with weekly readings. Gayle can attest to this and my many ranting’s about a certain professor’s tract on Algeria. Thank GOD for library copies! I even miss writing papers. Sick, right? Well, what I really miss is the research, the exploration. The writing, not so much. I miss intellectual discourse. While I have some fabulously brilliant friends (Adam Hymans and Ryan Wittle come to mind), I don’t get the opportunity to do so on a regular basis.

First I need to decide what area of study I am going to pursue. Given my academic background, I have several options:

• History with a concentration African diaspora, gender
• Public Policy with a focus on urban policy
• Public Administration with a concentration nonprofit management or community/global leadership
• Applied Anthropology

Don’t get me wrong, I love anthropology and linguistics, but I am having a harder time conceptualizing how I can translate a Ph.D. in either of them into what I am doing now and something that will actually strengthen my ability to move my freelance practice forward.

In conclusion….

Hold me accountable people!

What are some of the things you have been putting off but want to pursue, experience or accomplish? There’s no time like the present. Join me and we can hold each other accountable!

I didn’t blog much this summer. There was a lot of….yeah, you guessed it, change. I am no longer at NSC. I no longer have my place in Center City West. I moved to Lake George. I moved back to Philadelphia. I was engaged. I am no longer engaged. I started my own consulting firm – KI Consulting. I am moving to Atlanta  in 2011. See, I told you, change has been the constant in my life this summer.

So, clearly I am splitting content. I will focus on book and documentary reviews, political and cultural commentary, call to actions and all the industry information on KI Consulting Blog. TDP is strictly personal. No shop talk.

To say that a lot transpired this summer would be an understatement. Most of it is neither here nor there at this point. While it always takes two to tango, I recognize that I can only take responsibility for my part in it, learn from my mistakes and move on. I don’t own other peoples’ baggage.  Nothing can come from rehashing any of it, so I won’t even go down that road.  I am still digesting many aspects of what transpired. Perhaps at some point I will put more concrete thoughts down on what I learned from it all.  Until then, I’ll continue to take care of myself, rebuild my life, and put a lot of energy into the spectacular people I feel very blessed to call family and friends. Building the business is also eating up a good chunk of my time. I have a few clients who are extremely passionate about being the change they want to see in their communities.

I am really excited about the months ahead of me. Moving to Atlanta is at the top of that list. While I am going to miss Philadelphia, especially the close relationships that I have built over the last decade here, it’s time to move on. It’s time to step out of my comfort zone and try some new things, meet new people, and explore. So, more than anything, this blog serves as my attempt to chronicle my new story.

I look forward to sharing this journey with you and hope that you will share a bit of yours with me. All I ask is that you be kind and thoughtful with your words.

I have also put a lot of thought into setting new goals, things I want to experience and accomplish. Discussion coming soon….

- Peace Out