Mostly Melissa: 2009

Prayers for the Children

9:46 AM

This poem has always made me tear up or cry. As we move into the New Year, remember the children whose names you do not know, whose stories are often forgotten, who teeter on the edge of existing and not, who need you so much. Today. This year. Dedicate yourself to a cause greater than you. I guarantee you won't have to go...

2009

Year in Review

6:21 AM

The inauguration of the first Black President of the United States of America.Still powerful. Still OUR victory. ...

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Youth Movement Records

9:05 PM

A nonprofit youth development organization in Oakland teaching young people all they need to know to run a record label: from free style, to recording, producing, performing, legal issues, marketing, creating a business plan - you name it. Youth Movement Records gives young people a voice, an outlet, a family in a world of chaos. Check it out.So, visit their website - Youth...

Does Anybody Know That You're a Christian?

8:00 PM

The video that sparked it. Does Anybody Know You're a Christian?God is awesome. I don't know why I was on facebook or why I noticed the video post. Clicking on it was out of character let alone watching the entire video. But I watched and it floored me. I'm so glad I shared and Rosetta saw it. I didn't even know she was...

Bless the Lord

7:39 PM

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me bless His holy name.Sometimes I have to remind myself.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOa8LKeT98k&feature=related ...

Brandon Young

9:26 PM

In broad daylight.I don't understand, how can you shoot someone, somebody's child, and get away in broad daylight.I didn't even know this kid but my computer is getting wet as I sit here bawling my eyes out.He was so close to finishing. He was a senior getting ready to apply for colleges and some group of heartless, talentless, emotional bastards killed him. I...

Pass It On: Help a Stranger

6:30 AM

A nice person on the B30 shuttle paid for a couple's fare because all they had was a $20, they were tourists and couldn't find anyone to make change. They kept trying to get his email address to paypal him the $6 when they returned home (based on their accents they were a LONG way from home) but he said, "No thanks, have...

Pass It On: The Dying Art of Thank You Notes

10:18 AM

These days, some old habits are fading. Saying "please" and "excuse me," giving up your seat for an old person or a pregnant lady, letting people off the elevator before fighting your way in. I'm pretty good about these but I read an article that make me think for a little bit. What about the "Thank You's?" Hand-written thank you notes will never...

avon

10:46 AM

My newest venture. As you know, I foresee myself combining various tasks/jobs I like into my dream career. Support me by purchasing at my online store and get FREE SHIPPING. ;-) This special won't last, so get ready for the holidays now. Visit the shop at: http://www.youravon.com/mjohnson2796M. ...

Poetry how I love thee...

6:02 AM

Communicationby Nikki Giovanniif music is the universal languagethink of me as one whole noteif science has the most perfect languagejust think of me as Mc2since mathmatics can speak to the infinitepicture me as 1 to the first powerwhat i mean is one dayi'm gonna grab your loveand you'll be satisfied ...

Shine a Light!

7:53 PM

3 small businesses have a chance at $100K from American Express. Voting ends Friday, Oct 16.1.Happy Baby - Social enterprise providing organic food for babies and proceeds feed kids in Africa2 Beacon Paint - a local hardware store committed to local schools and3. Sacred Wind, a telecomm co. connecting Navajo people with broadband and telephone in New Mexico.Happy Voting! ...

goal

New Idea!

8:30 AM

So I spoke to some students at JobCorps yesterday and now I'm thinking of ways to combine years of random learning into a workshop. Telling them things like:How to create your personal mission statementThe importance of an elevator pitchAnd so on...Maybe this can be my new hustle! I love sharing the tidbits I've gathered from countless guest speakers, internships, self-help books and conferences.What...

Labor Day - Uncovered

9:13 PM

I thought I knew the meaning of Labor Day - guess not.During the Industrial Revolution, American workers (including kids) were expected to work nearly 12 hour days, seven days a week. In 1893, Pullman, Illinois, a small company town that employed workers to build railway cars, was in the midst of some really hard times. George Pullman, an industrial engineer and inventor who...

Games That Give

6:57 AM

In your spare time (who really has that nowadays) peruse Games that Give, an online game site that donates money to up to 16 charities when you play. Games include Sudoku, Gems and Word Search among others so give it a whirl!So far donations are going to DoSomething, the American Heart Association, Feeding America (Formerly America's Second Harvest) and others. ...

great business ideas

Site o' the Week: Big Bright Bulb

6:00 AM

Big Bright Bulb - Ideas & tools for tiny businesses with tinier budgetsOne word - genius. Check it out. Have a biz idea you're dying to get out? Tell me about it. ...

Learn a Lil' History

6:32 AM

Cleveland's Negro League baseball team, The Cleveland Buckeyes was the 1st major baseball team to integrate when they brought on a white pitcher in 1946.Sam Jethroe of the Cleveland Buckeyes joined the Boston Braves in 1950 at the age of 32. He is hailed as the oldest person to win Rookie of the Year. To date, no one has broken his record.Read up...

NP Power 50

7:11 AM

The list is out! The Nonprofit Times has listed the 50 Most Powerful and Influential People in Nonprofits. Have a look here: The Nonprofit Times Power & Influence 2009I just learned about The Harlem Children's Zone (via a HBS case I did in Marketing class) so I was glad to see its director, Geoffrey Canada made the list.So did Robert Egger, of DC Central...

book

Recommended Read: Three Cups of Tea

6:56 AM

See, sometimes judging a book by its cover is cool. :-) Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson is my pick o' the month. I haven't finished it but the cover caught me and I'm glad it did. Mortenson takes you on a journey (no, really) he began in 1993 while hiking the 2nd largest mountain in the world. He got lost, some villagers...

Daily Inspiration: When You Fall

6:37 AM

I have loved this song for a long time. Its a great pick me up and reminder that God is 1. Always in control2. Just a prayer awayEnjoy![Verse 1:]When you fall There are angels there To catch you when you fall There's a saviour who Can hear you when you call When you fall When you cry and you cannot Figure out the reasons why Know that weeping only endures For a night When...

2 More Steps

6:15 AM

My classmate and former co-worker is hiking the Appalachian Trail, a 2,178 mile stretch from Maine to Georgia. She started on 7/8/09 and will finish in December. In honor of her huge trek she and her travel companion created a site, 2 more steps. They're giving up a lot to travel this trail and fulfill a goal so they are asking you (and...

Friday Funny: 11 Guys You Will Always Find on the Court

7:25 AM

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Site O' the Week: Mint.com

6:22 AM

Need help managing your finances? Look no further than Mint.com. Ms. K.B. taught me about this site this summer. You can create a budget, save for retirement, pay off debt and dreaded student loans all on the same user-friendly site. No need to be a financial guru to understand the money-ese its written so anyone can understand, and even better, actually utilize the...

Quote of the Day

7:39 AM

"When you are sitting right on the edge of something daring and scary and creative and powerful and perhaps wonderful... and you blink and take a step back. That's the moment. The moment between you and remarkable. Most people blink. Most people get stuck. All the hard work and preparation and daring and luck is nothing compared with the ability to not blink." Seth...

Questions to Ponder

7:18 AM

I am seriously asking myself these 2 questions as I craft my personal mission statement:What would you do if you were not afraid? What would you do if you knew you could not fail?So, Blogosphere, what would you do? ...

camp

Camp Reflections

9:17 AM

Camp ended Friday and I couldn't be happier. Parents came to the awards reception and were blown away by how much their children had learned in just 7 weeks. It felt good to hear heartfelt thanks from moms, dads, aunts and guardians who appreciated how much we loved their child while he/she was in our care. In that light, I can definitely say...

camp

Weds. July 22

9:08 AM

21 Days down!! Camp is more than half over and I am very enthused. Its been a good summer, but I am ready for it to be over. I went from having no children to being responsible for 20-30 kids ages 9 - 12. Its definitely been a growing experience. I'll come back and share some lessons from my summer. So far, be...

Name That Photo

9:20 PM

My nephews...gotta love 'em.Let's see your catchy captions for this photo. ...

My Inspiration from Mlle Mitchell. Enjoy.

7:27 PM

Again When you've successfully accomplished something once, you know you can do it again. So do it again.It required a lot of work the first time. Yet you rose to the occasion, did that work, and created something of value.It will take more work to do it again. And this time you have the opportunity to accomplish even more.You know without a doubt that...

Cleveland Ideas

8:46 AM

OMG! I was born to make a website like this! http://www.clevelandideas.com/Its all about ideas to improve Cleveland. People suggest ideas and anyone, after registering, can join in. Its an online brainstroming session creating great ideas. I should make one about DC ideas or youth or something about which I care! Several times I've said "If I could, I would be a professional problem solver." Not...

website of the day

PledgeBank

10:39 AM

Melissa's Cool Site of the Week. So you want to make some kind of change but you want it to be bigger than you. You go to PledgeBank and pledge to take an action but only if others join you. This is a great way to build a support system, positively social pressure your friends and multiply the magnitude of your commitment. Check it...

website of the day

Website o' The Week: Wize.com

9:33 AM

So we made a big purchase this weekend of an air purifier to help me breathe more easily. We searched through a few websites and read through the popular reviews to see which product would work the best. Then, I stumbled upon wize.com.[Enter Eureka moment here]If you are thinking of buying something big like a new camera, hepa filter, fancy vacuum - whatever,...

Playground Swings

11:44 PM

So I was at the playground today with my nephews. Walking around. Policing. Dancing on the periphery of fun, as usual. Then the kids decided to go over to the swings. I situated them and pushed for a while until the younger one became bored. He left and there was a vacant seat, so I sat down. The older one and I sat...

Things to Do on My Day Off

12:57 PM

Well, everyday is my day off now that I'm unemployed but I digress. Here are 2 fun things to do to pass the time!Learn Something.Academic Earth provides video lectures from Ivy-League professors on everything from economics to entrepreneurship, anatomy to physics.What did I watch? How to Find Your Passion & Pursue it.Go Somewhere.Well, not really. Stay right at your computer. Travel, instead, through...

80's

I miss the 80's!

12:14 AM

I was just reading an article that referenced Hasbro's Gloworm TM and I wanted to take a commercial to say how much I miss being a kid in the 80's/early 90's. Man, do you remember these?I have a feeling this is the beginning of a throwback. Stay tuned... ...

Humpday Break: Father Involvement

6:33 AM

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Not Watching TV

10:16 AM

So I don't watch any tv that's still on for the most part. My fave shows like Will and Grace, Golden Girls, Frasier, etc are all on DVD so I can watch them online or on my laptop at my leisure.This was the worst invention ever.I am just now realizing how much time I waste watching tv or even being distracted by it...

Economy

3:23 PM

You know we're in a slump when thrist store sales sag. Yikes...Sales Slow at Charity Thrift Stores What are you doing to save money/spend less right now? Or are you changing anything? Leave me a comment, let me know! ...

Busy

4:56 PM

A busy day in Dhaka.Just here thinking about the speed of life. Rush to get to work. Rush to school. Pick the kids up, homework, visit this person, return that. Always busy. I've been unemployed for 2 weeks now and I must say, I enjoy the break. Yes, I am concerned that I may run out of money but I'm not homeless (Thanks,...

President Barack Obama

11:50 PM

On the 8,414th day of my life, Mr. Barack Hussein Obama became the 44th president of these United States of America. I have lived history. ...

Bright Colors of Bangladesh

6:10 PM

Fabric store. Cool, huh?(And I'm pretty sure he thought I liked him because I took this picture like 3 times. Sorry guy, you're like 12.)These women are at a BRAC Microfinance weekly meeting to turn in their money. Of course, when people saw our bus pull up they all came to check us out. ...

Bangladesh in Photos. Overview Part 1.

5:24 PM

Just a few photos. I'm still gathering my thoughts and what not.Picture near our hotel in Bogra, Bangladesh...I think. This lady was at Mahasthangarh, a partially unearthed ancient city in ruins. She's selling some kind of meat and puffed rice (it was way better than Rice Krispies.Quick pic in front of the replicated Nobel Prize Stage.Mother and child.I took over 400 photos so...

I'm Baaaacck!

9:25 AM

Thanks again to all who contributed to and supported me in my travels. I have safely returned to the US of A and am trying to have pictures uploaded and this blog updated this weekend. In the meantime, we got a little press! Article in Bangladeshi Newspaper. Enjoy and come back soon! Thanks again to all who contributed to and supported me in...