AFAAD – Adopted & Fostered Adults of the African Diaspora

John Raible has a post about a new group forming, AFAAD, Adopted & Fostered Adults of the African Diaspora.  The group is for adult adoptees or foster care alums who identify as being of African descent.

New faves

New favorite TV show: Mad Men on AMC.

New favorite CDs: The Reminder by Feist, Sam’s Town by The Killers, and Hey Eugene by Pink Martini

Been kinda out of it…

Eep.  It’s been a while since I wrote anything.  Sorry.  Big reason is that I’ve been unusually busy the past two weeks or so.  This week should be lighter, and I plan on having a nothing weekend to recuperate.  As well as to organize my bills and such.  My checkbook is a mess, and I am long overdue on updating my accounts and switching from MS Money to Moneydance.   Blech.

That, and I really should unpack my stuff.  It’s been over a year since I moved.  Maybe if I unpacked my stuff I’d start to feel like a grown-up.  Or maybe that’s why I haven’t unpacked – I don’t want to grow-up

Coming out… !

A Birth Project has a clip that all transracial adoptees might like, and their a-parents should check it out, too.

Because my “To Read” list isn’t long enough

Multiracial Sky has a post with an interesting list of books about racism and privilege:

A People’s History of the United States: 1492-Present, by Howard Zinn (I’d actually heard of this one, and I think I saw him speak at a graduation ceremony.  I didn’t realize the significance of this book in detailing the Missing In History facts we never learned in school.)

Everyday Acts Against Racism: Raising Children in a Multiracial World, edited by Maureen T. Reddy

Some of My Best Friends: Writings on Interracial Friendships, edited by Emily Bernard

Yet another set of books I need to take a gander at.  Like I need more books to read…  At least I’ve curtailed buying books and check them out at the library first.

BSG webisodes are back

Psst…. Word in the blogosphere is that the Battlestar Galactica webisodes are back!

Will the people with the clipboards please go away?

As I avoided the Save The Children people with clipboards who were trying to engage Boston commuters, tourists, and other assorted pedestrians in some meaningful conversation leading up to a donation or something, I wondered:

Would it be a form of internalized racism if I pretended I didn’t speak English to avoid talking to these people?

Interesting facts day

Here are two blog posts with interesting facts.

The fun post is from Laurie Kendrick: Worthless crap you learn while unemployed

The not-so-fun-and-really-quite-depressing-but-important post is from  Kadnexus: Tests showing how racism affects your body

Battlestar Galactica movie trailer

Oooo…. Look at what my tag surfer found! A trailer for the Battlestar Galactica TV movie!

That Asian hair thing

Does having an Asian hairdresser cut your Asian hair really make a difference?

Several years ago I found out that some Korean adoptees went to Korean hairdressers because we have hair that’s different from white people.  I thought, “Bullshit.”  Seriously, I thought it was some lameass way for KADs to make themselves feel special.  However, I began noticing that some did have coarser, wiry hair.  So I thought, “OK, maybe there is such a thing as Asian hair, but my hair’s not like that.”

Then, last week I had lunch with the Asian co-workers.  For some reason, hair cuts came up.  Both of the co-workers went to a salon in Chinatown because of the “Asian hair thing.”  Yet, neither of them has what I would think was wiry, coarse, hard to manage hair.  But, since I was with two “real” Asians as opposed to the adopted “fake” Asians, I asked if it really did make a difference getting your hair cut by an Asian hairdresser.

Both of them said it did matter.  Unfortunately, there wasn’t enough time to get more details on this.  But, the end result was that I spent the rest of the day paranoid that I had an inadequate haircut, and had been getting inadequate haircuts for 36 years.  I was back in junior high mode, fretting about my hair and whether I was a mega-dork.

I also started to wonder if I should try a haircut at this salon.  The problem, though, is that it’s more expensive than Supercuts   And, I’d feel guilty.  I’ve been going to the same woman for nearly 10 years.  I’d feel like I was betraying her by trying someone new.  Silly, I know, especially since I get my hair cut twice a year.  But us women develop a loyalty to our hairdressers, and I just wouldn’t feel right.