Flashin'...Lights

So they have something here never I've seen before. It's a traffic light that pretty much means "everybody can go." As in, from all directions, all at the same damn time. It's a flashing yellow, something I wasn't familiar with before moving to Doha. There's green, which of course means go, red, which should mean stop and this flashing yellow thing which apparently means "you crazy kids get in there and mix it the fuck up." This light only exists at the roundabouts, which is better than the intersections, I guess. You can just imagine the free-for-all induced by this.  With an impatient "me-first" culture, more cars on the road then necessary, and the horrendous driving that is so common here, the flashing yellow, which was probably meant to be a courteous agreement between drivers when the country was a bit more quaint, now seems like an experiment in "let's confuse, anger and injure the ex-pat." The best strategy when approaching the flashing yellow? Fearlessness. Don't hesitate or overthink, just do as the Rom.., er, I mean the Qataris do, and eat that light the hell up. If you come out of the roundabout with you and your car intact, you've done a good job. Go have a sheesha and relax your nerves.

"Let It Rock" - How And When I Get Zen On That @ss

So, let me please share this with you. How my experience as a black male here is intertwined with aspects of my health journey. Health, right, is not just food, exercise, doctor visits, skin care, etc. It's also the relationships, time management, spiritual practices and such.

So, I notice that I never know how I'm going to be treated when it comes to customer service in the increasingly elitist Arab country I live in. I often see the person providing it (more often than not a Filipino, but sometimes African, south/southeast Asian or Arab) fall over themselves in submission to the white or Arab before me, then treat me with anything from curt indifference to terse politeness. Reasons can be many but this isn't about that. As a health practitioner, I look to stay in balance in all aspects of my life, so aside from eating and working out, I have to apply varying degrees of effort in dealing with social interactions. Unfortunately, as a black man, I have to expend much greater energy, than say, a white mom, when it comes to my everyday interactions. I may have to ask for service when they don't. I may have to hold back my anger or frustration and do something else with it so it doesn't become self-harming where a white man wouldn't have to ever worry about that. I may have to do more convincing and proving when explaining why I'm a good fit to tutor a kid, even in comparison to a way less experienced young white girl straight out of college. I may have to check on my maintenance request multiple times because building staff doesn't see my requests as pressing as they see the request that came from the Arab family.


Hopefully, like anything else in life, the energy I have to constantly devote to these things makes me stronger. This morning I made some requests that were answered, but not with the same attention to detail as the person before me (or the average person in my fancy schmancy building) received. Sometimes I think the staff wonders how I'm able to live here, particularly because I don't work during the day. I want to say "Hey, I live here, so obviously I'm living here under valid and legal circumstances. I'm not squatting."

I'm from New York, I'm used to customer device being a roll of the dice. It's different here though. The city runs on it, and many jobs depend on it because there is a seemingly inexhaustible supply of service workers who have the opportunity to make more money here, willing to step into another's position, even with the horrors that the jobs can entail. Is it right? Of course not. That's the society. The society is also rigidly stratified and I float somewhere on the outside. On any given day, my place depends on whether I'm perceived as American or African, professional or blue collar, young and single or a family man, can I be put into a neat stereotype or am I something unexpected.

So when I'm rushed along while being serviced, or given an attitude or not afforded the same level of service as one of the other groups I mentioned, I have to choose my reaction carefully. The angry and negative reactions I've chosen over time just build up negative energy within me. Instead, I have to go to a better place, spiritually. It's a work in progress. Trying to understand why a receptionist or store clerk thinks they can treat me like I'm at the bottom of the totem pole doesn't work all the time. I'm not always ok with having to "go in" or prove through my speech, credentials or extended interaction that I'm someone to be respected either. It's also not always enough to remember that "The black man is god, we are all powerful, they hate us because they love us, I have knowledge of self so nothing can phase me, yada yada."

Sometimes I want to lash out. But I don't. You can't let things in the world make you who you're not, force you to do something that isn't a good look for you. I'm a nice guy, I just am. I'm direct, clear and assertive, but I'm nice. Sometimes I'm a bit vengeful, admittedly. I don't want to intimidate and scare people into treating me correctly, even though doing so would be easy. That doesn't feel good. You can't let the world make you into a crappier version of yourself. If you're a good dude and the girls around you seem to want "bad boys," let it rock, it'll even out for you. But becoming a bad boy will be a bad look for your soul. If you're a reserved person, and it seems like the loud, obnoxious people are getting what they want, let them rock. You don't like those people, don't become one. Your way can work too.


When I'm faced with uneven treatment here, sometimes I just have to learn to let it rock. That's my zen statement. Letting it rock is not easily defined. It's not simply letting it go, overlooking it, or understanding what it is. It's more like "being like the water." Water is all-powerful and all-submissive at the same time. Water doesn't fight against, but it's also constantly imposing it's will and serving it's purpose in the most natural way it can. You may be able to manipulate and take advantage of it, but it reigns (rains) over you from the inside out. It's in control of itself, therefore in control of all around it. Those descriptions of water is what letting it rock feels like. It's not an easy thing, but it's a part of my health practice that is simultaneously unique to certain situations and applicable to any.

The 6'3", fit, blond white guy in the suit who checks all the "respectability" boxes doesn't have to ever be concerned with learning to let it rock within the same circumstances that I do. But he'll have his instances as well. It's just that, I have to devote myself to this spiritual practice in a different manner than most. No one said balancing a healthy body, mind and soul would be easy. If they did, they lie!

Driving, Tanning, Yoga and The Black People Meeting

Year 2 has been so different from Year 1, it’s like I’m living a new life. An expected feature of my life this year is that it seems like I spend most of my time…driving. Yes, driving. Driving in Doha is precarious at best, suicidal at worst. Traffic laws seem non-existent, if they do exist, they are rarely followed, even seldomly enforced. What’s a brother to do? “When in Rome”-style driving? Well, you have to adopt the local customs to an extent. There are certain things I do here that I’d never do back home, but if you aren’t willing to cut people off, squeeze into tight spaces and speed when necessary, it seems to me like you won’t last very long as a motorist. At the very least, you’ll never be able to drive comfortably. As a New Yorker, I can navigate these troubling waters with a high degree of skill, but that doesn’t mean I enjoy it. I’ve already gotent my first accident out of the way. This is what happened:

Traffic is a nightmare, of course. It’s a little city with a lot of cars and not enough roads to accommodate them. Everyone here wants to get everywhere as fast as possible at the expense of everybody. I’ve just gotten used to using roundabouts, and they are already switching up the game, closing a very crucial roundabout and re-routing cars to points unknown on the way to work and other places. Hilarity ensues:

A great thing about living in a place that is always sunny and rarely cold is that you can always unwind by taking in fresh air. On days momma said would be “like this,” we like to head down to the pool where the pale and not-so-pale (amazing how many olive-skinned Arabs seek the sun) squeeze into the tiniest slivers of sun, on the squash court, in the corner of the building, wherever, just to get a tan. I realized that being tanned-by-God, I could never understand their pain; I don’t judge, but I do reserve the right to be amused by a white girl using a sliver of sun not much bigger than her body to get a little color. Either way, laying outside writing, reading and or annoying my wife is something I didn’t really get to experience last year. It’s much appreciated.

Promise we're actually happy about it.

I’m doing 30-Day Yoga because I no longer want the title of “World’s Least Flexible Man:”

Think we’re going to Redbull Flugtag Qatar next week.

Tutoring is coming along sloooowly. We’re just not at the point where parents are panicking (report card time), but it’s coming. Also, teachers seem to be loading up on students themselves, and probably passing kids along to teachers who are at the school, leaving precious few left over for me. That’ll change soon. I just need two more families. I might have to show up and do a little soliciting. I might stand in front of the school hustling my services like drug dealers back home.

“Yo…ayo…come here right quick. Real quick tho. Yo, check it out – I got that math, literacy, science and social studies. Might could even get you a little p.e. My stuff is good, I got the best stuff. Guarantee your DRA score goes up CRAZY high. And I got the good price. How much they chargin’ you now? Whaaat? My dude, listen, I could beat that AND I got my own whip. Kind of. Don’t sleep. This is my number. Holla at me if you want that real spike on your report card tho. Them other tutors got garbage, my stuff is pure...And by the way, I don’t use this kinda grammar while I’m working; this is my solicitation speech.”

Of course, baby is on the way. This apartment is so baby-unfriendly it aint funny. BUT, we, the parents are very baby-friendly.

So, we met some black people this year. One I met through an artist friend back home. She is very cool. Sadly, she is gone as of this blog post, because she was working for a maniac. I had my issues with my school, but they at least they weren’t maniacs. I think she would have had a much better experience if she worked for the school I did. Her colleague is still here, a black English girl. And we also have become acquainted with a principal at another school here. A few weeks back, they all came over and we had some drinks, a swim, all that. It was pretty damn cool. It was like a black people meeting. We set the agenda for all black activities going forward in Doha. A coupla weeks later we had a party in our house, and we invited a reggae band from Barbados I met through a friend back home (who ironically, isn’t black – what, do you think I only like to be around black people? Shame on you for being somewhat right. Kidding. Somewhat. No really, I like a balance. I don’t like to be around “too many of us or too many of them,” as my man Staff Ace once said.) There were up to TEN black people in the house at one time, sweartogod. We shared the agenda with them and now black people activities are starting to be carried out in different places around Doha.

Not having a support system is really sucking. I think we stay here no more than two more years, but who knows, maybe the baby becomes school age in Doha. Doubt it, but I’ve doubted MANY things I shouldn’t have. No I haven’t, I was being humble. Usually when I doubt something, it’s doubtworthy and I'm eventually proven right for having doubts..

Starting class today! Online health coaching program. My goal is to get my health coaching business into effect for 2015, or even late 2014. In the meantime, upward and onward. 

Y’all be cool like how y’all be cool.

To My Mom, Via My Unborn Child

I have been thinking a great deal about your grandma lately, who of course, is far, far away. I miss her a lot. Your grandma is an incredibly interesting person and you will come to know this over time. She was very, very young when I was born, 14 years old, and my father was much older. Furthermore, he did not help grandma to raise me. And we were quite poor. She once told me that it was so cold inside of our apartment when I was a baby that icicles formed on the inside of the windows, and she stayed awake nights, with me held close to her wrapped inside of blankets during the winter because she feared that I would freeze. Our neighborhood had considerable crime. I’m sure if she had the choices I have, she would have chosen to raise me somewhere quieter, safer. I love her for not giving up even though we had it pretty rough. It’s because she didn’t that I have the chance to raise you in a far better place than I was raised. She often told me that her peers expected me to grow up and become something far less than I have. They thought I might grow up to be involved in illegal activities or just nothing at all. But grandma was extremely determined to make sure I turned out well, putting all of her young self into my development. As a child, I blossomed very early because of this, starting school before age 3, because grandma told a story to get me into a headstart program. I don’t condone telling stories, but I know that grandma did it because she knew it was the only way that my potential could be brought out. She read to me from the time I was in the crib, and somehow, this led to me being literate at a very young age. She was also very protective and open with me from very young. Her being so young herself had a lot to do with that. Later on, grandma and I would go through some really difficult times, but when I think about her nowadays, these are the things I think about. I am many times more comfortable than she was when she had me, I have your mommy to help me, as well as your aunts, uncles and countless supportive friends, yet I still get nervous about raising you. How must she have felt? Sometimes I think she doesn’t quite believe how remarkable she is. Maybe I should call her to let her know.

The 10 Things I "Do All Day"

People always ask me all condescendingly "So what do you do all day?" First of all, my wife gets home at 3pm, so it's certainly not "all day." Secondly, no one asked me that when I was teaching, and trust me, they ain't know (or care about) what the hell I was doing. Thirdly, when you phrase it like that, you're revealing something about what YOU think I do all day. Do you think my GRAND SCHEME was to travel 7000 miles to live/work, and give my employers hell until they allowed me outta my contract so I could do nothing all day under sharia law?? I mean, sure, it worked out pretty damn well, but not even STAR-mutha-effin'-POWER could've PLANNED it that way. 

So here it goes, my top 10 answers to that question:

10. I wait in the lobby for people to get on the elevator and I get in with them. I watch what floor they press, then I jump out and try to beat them to their floor running up the stairs. That's how I stay in shape.

9. Obviously, I spend A LOTTA time tanning by the pool.

8. ANYTHING besides, you know, preparing and planning for this BABY that'll be coming outta my wife in about 6 months.

7. I walk around The Pearl making note of people with clear, smooth and vibrant skin. Their faces tend to make the best masks.

6. I eat Nutella and beat off at every :15 and :45. Spoon in one hand, myself in the other.

5. I promote the WWE app. And Tout. I Tout.

4. I send my wife picture messages of penis lineups and demand that she prove her love and fidelity by identifying which is mine. If she gets it wrong, I show up to the campus, barge in her office, and pull it out screaming "This is ALL I ask of you, and you can't do that for me???!!! Huh?! You can't just pick my penis out of a...I love you, I'm sorry, I love you, I just...I got too much time on my hands and I...*sigh*"

3. Lunches. Brunches. Interviews by the pool.

2. Constantly re-working and fine-tuning my "exit plan." Hope I never need it, but c'mon, it IS the Middle East, no?

1. I DON'T walk around sounding like a narrow-minded hater, wondering what on GOD'S GREEN EARTH could someone do with their day besides the same 9-5/7-3/10-6 that everyone else does.

Here's a hint: I do ALL THE OTHER SH-T, the MILLIONS OF THINGS, we never get a chance to do because we are usually stuck trying to figure out a way out of our jobs or hoping we last to retirement. There's more to do outside of work than there ever could be inside of it. 

What Do I Think Of Success?

Success man. Sometimes you can succeed, unequivocally, and it still isn't treated like success. You can see that mess with the heads of people who have a history of success and being praised. Like when the public has previously set a standard that a star has accepted, and then the star does something that could/should be viewed as successful, but is a little different from what s/he previously did, and is painted as something more akin to failure by the media (Kanye?). It seems to mess with them. They have to defend themselves: "I thought it was a great film; you guys didn't catch the undertones of mockery of socialism that we did in a cheeky way" or "The album may not have done 2 mil but I had unique live instrumentation and I sang for the first time; and it still did 600,000 which is pretty damn good by any measure." 

I feel that Jay-Z has been going through this for a while, and it's actually defining this stage of his career. On "Success" from "American Gangster," he lays it all out for you:

"I use to give a fuck, now I give a fuck less
What do I think of success? It sucks
Too much stress, I guess I blew up quick
'Cause friends I grew up with
See me as a premie, but I'm not and my nuts big..."

His friends don't see him as he sees himself. To them, he's still a premature kid, instead of a full grown man with a set of full grown man nuts.

"I don't know what the fuss is, my career is illustrious
My rep is impeccable, I'm not to be fucked with..."

He doesn't understand why they even doubt him. Look what he's done. It's obvious that he's a force. Isn't it?

"I'm way to important to be talking about extorting

Asking me for a portion is like asking for a coffin
Broad daylight I'll off your on switch
You're not to bright, goodnight, long kiss
"Bye bye" my reply, blah, blah

Blast burner then pass burner to Tye-Tye
Finish my breakfast, why?
I got an appetite for destruction and you're a small fry
Now where was I?

Well, it case it isn't, he reminds you why it should be. You shouldn't need reminding. And maybe he shouldn't care. But he does. He cares about how you perceive his success.




I've been there. I've found myself on some "Ok, well I didn't become a lawyer or an engineer or all those things they thought might happen when I was in gifted programs and all that as a youth. I did, however, get 2 college degrees, a very competitive fellowship, train teachers in prestigious programs, and move overseas, perform and distribute my own music and become pretty knowledgeable about many aspects of health and change my body inside and out, all at pretty young age. Who wouldn't take that?" It was my way of trying to convince the world to recognize that I'm still successful by most standards, just in a different way. It really just showed my insecurity and inability to define my own success.

You wanna know how success works sometimes?

Miami Heat star Dwyane Wade had an amazing season last season. 21/5/5, well over 52% shooting, 2 steals in 34 minutes wasn't the first option on offense. Go ahead and look, not many players have put together that season. Most would kill for it. But now, it's pretty much consensus that Harden is superior. And he's over 30 so he's over the hill. And of course he's overshadowed because plays with the King. But numbers-wise and the fact that his team won a title, how many players had a comparable season? Lebron, Kobe, Durant, Harden...? His season should be marveled at, and he was injured and had bad stretches. And he still put that season together. He could go up to nearly every athlete in major professional American team sports and say "By statistical comparison and accomplishment, I was a better player than you were last season." Not more than 10-15 guys in the NBA, NFL NHL and MLB can say that he was wrong. But his story last year was "Still very good, but declining second banana whose decline may mean premature end to dynasty." Granted, those were the overdramatic stories but they were out there in great numbers.

Now, I'm not saying any of this affects Dwyane adversely. On the contrary, I believe he knows his legacy and is very comfortable with it. I'm just using his situation because it's a good example of what could make a weaker person start to crumble. He's being judged against his past and future. They say we live in a world of "What have you done for me lately?" But that's not always true. He had a terrific season and won a title. That's what he's done lately. And that's why you have to set your own standards, nice and high, and don't let the judgment of others mean a lot to you. Because it won't always be accurate. You don't want someone else telling your story incorrectly and having the world react to you in a way that lowers your opinion of yourself. Sometimes people will spotlight everything that doesn't make you great and ignore all of the measurements that show your success. So you have to always make sure to define it for yourself. On the other hand, you can't assume that your view of how people perceive you is accurate. Sometimes you are your own undoing. You can find yourself feeling like "They don't recognise how great I am" when in actuality, they do, and it's YOU who has set an impossible standard (Kobe? Who has set a very high standard that was maybe never his own, but MJ's?). I've been there as well. So let me offer this caveat: Define your own success, be flexible and recognize that the definition can change and only YOU can work to YOUR fullest potential.

Something Had To Give With This Oatmeal

Sad Jack :(

Happy Jack :)

Turned on TV this a.m. like: "Corny romance movie; change channel." Minutes later I'm like: "I promised myself I wouldn't cry! *sniffle*"
Then I found myself sitting here MAD happy for Jack Nicholson. I didn't know she was gonna come back while he was sad on the bridge! I was touched.

Damn I'm getting old. And soft. In all the right places, I guess. 

I've had an irrational fear of oatmeal for too long. Something about the texture and the weird taste and the way it looks like melted rug sitting there in the bowl. But I know it can be a good weapon as far as me fighting belly fat, getting my fiber, calories and good carbs up. I'd tried it in different ways the last few months, and though some recipes turned out edible, none were GOOD. And I know I won't keep eating it if it's not good. I'm thankful for the "put some almonds/fruit/cinnamon" tips, but none made oatmeal tasty. What I didn't know is that there were other things I could be doing with the dry oats, that don't make them change to that soupy texture that grosses me out. Even though my wife has made delicious oatmeal cookies, I totally didn't consider the option of baking my oatmeal. Then I saw a recipe for "no bake oatmeal peanut butter cookies." I put that in my pocket and made a note to try that sometime. It was especially appealing because it's made in the microwave and not the oven, and half of the appeal of instant oats is...how instant they are. So a few days ago, I set about looking for a similar recipe because I couldn't find that one, and I came across this one from www.fitnessmagazine.com. I chose this one because it was the only one with the right combination of requiring ingredients I have, not taking too long to make and looking tasty and doable. I tried it and and lo and behold - they are delicious. I need to experiment with different amounts of ingredients (used way less sugar the second time I made them) but all in all, I'm very happy with the results. A good, quick fun breakfast meal. I used white sugar instead, coffee extract, and flaxseeds instead of chia seeds (no cocoa powder or coconut flakes). If you do this, I doubt you need the sugar at all, but see what works for ya. Mine looked a little different but taste great just the same. Of course, I was open after that, haha. So I tried this no bake oatmeal peanut butter cookie recipe (damn I'm lazy; ironic because I started this blog stating that I never considered "baking" my oatmeal - guess I still don't haha! No, but I promise I will try to "bake" recipes as well.) Yo. Dude. These are my favorite anythings in the world right now, I swear to you. They taste so good I want to hit someone out of pure joy. Like, if joy could be expressed through violence, I would have to do that after eating these. I changed a coupla things, like substituting chocolate whey protein for cocoa powder and using cinnamon sugar. My wife made the good suggestion that I should put them in the oven after to make them even firmer, more like a cookie, instead of the breakfast bar-like consistency both of these treats ended up having. I think that can be achieved with different microwave timing and ingredient ratios, however. Either way, these are great options for an on-the-go lifestyle. I know this isn't new, but it's new to me!

Left: Blueberry Banana Oat Cakes;
Right: Oatmeal Peanut Butter "cookies" 

 

No Bake Oatmeal Cookies    

10

PREP TIME

20

TOTAL TIME

6

INGREDIENTS

INGREDIENTS

• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa
• 2 tablespoons fat free milk
• 2 tablespoons Peter Pan® Crunchy Peanut Butter
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup quick-cooking rolled oats

NUTRITION INFORMATION*

Serving Size	6 servings (1 cookie each)
Calories	100

View complete nutrition information

DIRECTIONS

1. Stir together sugar, cocoa and milk in 4-cup glass measure or medium microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on HIGH 1 to 1-1/4 minutes or until boiling, stirring once.
2. Stir in peanut butter and vanilla until blended. Stir in oats until combined. Drop by spoonfuls onto a waxed paper-lined plate to make 6 cookies. Cool in freezer 10 minutes before serving.

Blueberry Banana Oat Cakes

Ingredients
1 ripe banana, mashed
1/2 cup dry oats
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup blueberries (frozen or fresh)
Dash of vanilla extract (optional)
1 tablespoon chia seeds (optional)
1 tablespoon coconut flakes (optional)
2 tablespoon cocoa powder (optional, for a chocolate banana cake)

Directions
1. Mash the banana.
2. Add everything else except the blueberries and stir.
3. Gently fold in the blueberries.
4. Spray a clean bowl with cooking spray and put the batter in it.
5. Microwave for 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 minutes.
6. Allow to cool for a couple of minutes before serving.

When I got married 5 years ago, I promised my wife I would cook more. It was an easy promise to keep if my intention was only to stick to the letter of the promise and not necessarily the spirit of it. I pretty much never cooked, so by the time I'd completed three meals, I was able to say I was a man of my word. But of course, I knew that I'd make a much better husband if I had the ability to cook the food as well as I ate it. For various reasons over the years, none important enough to justify being a non-cooking bum, I've been a non-cooking bum. Now with a healthy lifestyle and the fresh new palette that comes along with it, I know that it's imperative that I learn how to cook the dishes that will be better for the inside of our bodies. Plus it's nice to be able to have an aromatic dinner awaiting my wife after a hard day at work. It's not too hard to take an hour out of my day a few times a week to whip up something. I'm a lot more confident cooking by myself and learning from the mistakes that led to some disastrous cooking attempts in the past. Trial and error is a great teacher and I'm coming along at a nice, steady pace. Being meticulous about what I put into my body has given me a nice little skill for adjusting ingredients based on portion size and how certain nutrients interact that I didn't know I'd have. I'm no Chef Boy-Star-P, but I'm actually enjoying cooking, and I look forward to being adventurous in making some healthy and tasty food, and not always having to go to a restaurant or supermarket for the convenience of certain dishes. These are a couple of dishes I made this week; on the left is a shrimp/scallop recipe I found online, which I customized a little bit, using jerk seasoning, a little curry, and sautéed onions and bell peppers. I ate it with some quinoa and it came out good as hell. I learned some things about the different rates in which the veggies cook, and how sauteeing them brings out the flavor in a way that you don't even have to go crazy with the seasonings. This emboldened my to try a vegetarian dish - zucchini, onions, peppers with basil and garlic in tomato sauce with wheat penne pasta. I still had some shrimp left over though, so I decided to add those. Again, I customized the recipe a little to fit what I had in the house, and again, it came out great! I've caught the bug. No, I don't always expect to be this successful, but to know that I can put together the kind of meal my body responds to that I enjoy as much as a restaurant meal (not to mention, being fully aware of all of the ingredients) gives me a sense of pride, relief and accomplishment. Plus, it's mutually beneficial for me and my wife. Win-win.

This is me writing this blog in Java U Cafe by my old crib on Al Saad. Sometimes it gets so annoying being stared at all the time. Sometimes I just want to turn around and say, "Black dudes do regular shit sometimes too. Like buy a way-too-sweet rasberry smoothie and a water, to go with the tuna, crackers and trail mix we snuck in just so we can use fee-wifi."

They have these here. Sometimes I want to eat all of these. And then I don't. But I want to.

We finally have curtains, by the way.

Not At Work, But On The Job

Just went into panic mode about the fact that I'm working for myself this year, haha.

You know the story if you've been following the blog, so I won't fully repeat it, but since I've removed all the posts related to what took me from hopeful, first-time-international-educator-with-positive-expectations-and-an-open-mind to disenchanted-but-not-discouraged, former teacher/tutor-for-hire/soon-to-be health coach/personal trainer, I'll give you the quick recap:

The school my wife and I were hired to teach at and I didn't see pupil-to-pupil for a variety of reasons, so over the course of 3 or 4 contentious months, we negotiated a situation in which I'd take a leave-of-absence while my wife assumes a new position at the school. I no longer work for them, she does, but I'm still under their sponsorship, so I can't (and wouldn't) work elsewhere. I've chosen to pursue my health, writing and artistic passions while supporting myself by contracting out my tutoring services (because the ability to teach my ass off didn't cease to exist just because I resigned from being a teacher; I'm trying my hand at cutting out the middle man). There were many posts dedicated to the struggles I experienced over the past year, but I removed them because I felt like I had strayed from the original purpose of the blog, which was to focus on my unique experience as one of the few black American males here in Doha. The blog underwent a change in design and mood to reflect the shift back to it's original purpose.

While caught in the throes of panic, I decided to call the family I worked with last school year and arrange to start tutoring after next week. It's sometimes downright scary to know that whatever you earn will be completely dependent upon your own hard work but it's a good fear and that's how I want it. It'll be a good 6 weeks before the money starts coming in but I've grown to learn that when you handle your business with prudence, smarts and integrity, the money takes care of itself. In the meantime, I'm still working out if/when I'll start this online health certification program. I'm leaning towards it while also very much considering becoming a certified personal trainer, hoping to offer my services to former colleagues and whoever else might want/need my services. I'm making sure to eat well, exercise, rest and take care of the house during the day (I'm like a house husband and it's not bad work if you can get it, haha). I've spent the past week improving my online presence because I'm going to need it to be solid as I reach out to different creatives in the Doha community, which won't be easy. I'd like to get into a hip-hop scene of some form or another, so we'll see. I may not be going to work every day anymore, but trust me, I'm on the job.