Astraeus

Duolingo killed my friend streaks. 🥲

😄😄😄😄😄😄😄

I made the mistake of stretching both of my legs while randomly waking up in the middle of the night. Talk about wanting to scream, but can't because I'd be waking up the whole house.

So now I have to deal with both of my legs having Charley horses. 🫠

HE GOT UP 🗣️

I smell the scent of freshly cut grass and the flowering trees are in bloom. The sun is out with a few fluffy clouds and the temperature is mild. Spring is really back. 🥹

Scratch that -- I'm thankful that I got the family to assist me to do this because I was biting more than I could chew today. 🥴

I've been slaving away at the grill and stove all day.

I tried Raising Cane's. 🙁

I know I'll have to make the jump on my own PC, but I don't think I'm quite ready for the jump unfortunately from what I've experienced so far.

Work updated the operating system to Windows 11 and I can't stand my taskbar being at the bottom. 😣

Maybe if I try it with Coke syrup maybe things will be different?

My sister got Saratoga just to try it out and I took a sip and it made me feel like a Victorian child with the way it burned down my throat. 🥴

My duolingo friends really don't play about me. 🥹

Had provolone cheese in my sandwich for lunch and that crap tasted like throw up. It threw me off so bad. 🥴

Having an ocular headache is pretty jarring. I ain't know it could happen like out of the blue and lead to a regular migraine. 😵‍💫

I feel so tired, but I don't wanna go to sleep yet. 🫠

I'll be sleeping when the Lunar Eclipse happens tonight. 😞

I found out how to do Uptown Downtown.

I need to up my cologne collection. I need spring cologne recommendations. 😮‍💨

Last night, I deep conditioned my hair and it was feeling like my scalp was dipped in Dr. Bronner's eucalyptus soap. 🥴

Thanks to those who followed along with my literary works of Black History month! It truly means a lot to me and I hope the works I've provided enlightened or interested you to read more about it. 🥹

Best way to send off this month!

Day 28: A More Perfect Union, by President Barack Obama

Iconic, yet very important speech made by President Obama. It was a speech focused on race relations and a response to his pastor that almost derailed his campaign.

Here it is:
www.npr.org/2008/03/18/8...

a close up of a woman 's face with her eyes closed and her hair in a ponytail . ALT: a close up of a woman 's face with her eyes closed and her hair in a ponytail .

Also, if you're interested in the pieces I was going to pick, I'll just pick two that I was going to share if it was accessible online (mind you, I still have more literary works in the bank, but this month only got a day left in it):

1) Conditions, by Essex Hemphill
2) Exodus, by Kevin Young

This poem delves into being open to mystery. Looking at the bigger picture in terms of the universe, human life is not that very important at all, but we can use our imagination to speculate what might be beyond what we know about the universe.

I went through so many pieces that didn't have a way to read them online, it's insane. 😮‍💨

Day 27: My God, It's Full of Stars, by Tracy K. Smith

Tracy K. Smith is also another poet laureate! Her pen was definitely hot when writing this poem.

Here it is:
www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/55519/...

The reason why this poem is nuanced is because it takes a single subject, the black man, and shines different perspectives on it by using different experiences, interpretations, and viewpoints.

Basically, it takes us through the complex identity of the black man. Hope this helps!

I feel goofy for this, but hear me out.

Day 26: Twenty-Six Ways of Looking at a Blackman, by Raymond Patterson

It was a poem that was inspired by Wallace Stevens' "Thirteen ways of Looking at a Blackbird," which also is very nuanced.

Here it is:
blowingajug.wordpress.com/2009/01/20/t...

YouTube video by PBS NewsHour WATCH: Amanda Gorman reads inauguration poem, 'The Hill We Climb'

If you do want to listen along to it with the provided poem, here you go:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZ05...

With minutes to spare!

Day 25: The Hill We Climb, by Amanda Gorman

Amanda Gorman is the youngest inaugural poet in US history and she did this poem during Joe Biden's inauguration. The sense of unity and togetherness is strong within it!

Here it is:
contentmanager.med.uvm.edu/docs/the_hil...

Four more days -- I gotta make it count.

Day 24: Between the World and Me, by Ta-Nehisi Coates

Very iconic book. It was meant as a letter to his son telling the experiences/realities as a black man in America and the challenges it presents.

Here it is:
iberian-connections.yale.edu/wp-content/u...