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Sequoia.

be

1/26/2019

1 Comment

 
Picture
to that stillness 

that silence that 

looked and tasted sweet

that amplified itself in every 

leaf shaking their past away  

across the lake

back to that pause

back to that sigh 

back to that space

in between tree trunks 

and lake bottoms 

between then and now 

between now and there

I go back 

I can always go back
1 Comment

weather for the indifferent: episode 3

1/22/2019

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These blog posts are for the weather deniers who never check the weather before walking outside. Luckily, meteorology is one of my muses and my co-workers supported my condensed weather updates for NYC so much, I decided to share them. You're welcome. ​

​I hope everybody stayed warm on Monday because...
that was a mess...
But you knew it was coming so I'm sure you were in better shape than most! 
I know some of y'all are asking...
What happened to the snow?
What happened to the "storm"? 

via GIPHY

WHAT HAPPENED WAS... temperature won this fight. Because of the high temperatures from the south, we received rain, no snow. The winds were still furious and in some parts snow did make an appearance... But all in all, the temperature saved us... until Monday of course. I was so tempted to email you all when the Winter Storm Watch turned into a Winter Storm Advisory. That is when I knew the storm was not going to pack the same punch. For the record, there are 3 levels for winter storms notices issued by the National Weather Service (NWS). Here are my translations:

Winter Storm Advisory: I ADVISE that you look at the weather when you're free, just in case 
Winter Storm Watch: Please check the weather because it might affect you in the next 48 hours 
Winter Storm Warning: The storm is coming!! Get your sh*t together and buckle up kids!!  

The NWS has very specific criteria for when these are issued, which can be problematic when conditions don't exactly add up. But if you saw a Winter Storm Watch be demoted to a Winter Storm Advisory this past weekend, you could guess that Winter Storm Harper wasn't coming for NYC with her A game.
Moral of the Story:
Weather will continue to be a mysterious process
to those who continue to not pay attention. 

via GIPHY

But What About This Week? 

The good news: It will heat up this week! the forecast calls for a high of mid-50's on Thursday! Although, we will get some rain from Winter Storm Indra. 

The bad news: The arctic air will be back and with that comes chances of snow or a disgusting mix of snow and rain, so don't get too comfortable with the higher temperatures because come this weekend...

More good news: The winds are not going to be nearly as brutal as they were Monday... for now.... 

That's all I got! Will update you when I know more! Have a great day! 

via GIPHY


This condensed weather report is informed by my constant research of weather  updates, trends, and news on the Weather Channel. I am only a meteorologist in spirit. Check with the Weather Channel or your local weatherperson (my favorite is Pix11's Byron Miranda) if you want to double check my work.

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WEATHER FOR THE indifferent: episode 2

1/18/2019

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These blog posts are for the weather deniers who never check the weather before walking outside. Luckily, meteorology is one of my muses and my co-workers supported my condensed weather updates for NYC so much, I decided to share them. You're welcome.   

Winter Storm Harper: It's Now a Game of Chance 

via GIPHY

And what I mean by that is now we have to pay close attention to the temperature to help determine how much snow we are going to get. That first storm passed over us with just a few flakes. Winter Storm Harper will be coming in Saturday late afternoon/evening and will be bringing around 6 hours of snow (maybe more). But when will it turn to rain is the main question meteorologists are trying to predict. Let's look at the models (via Pix11 News): 
  1. RPM Model: 3-6 inches snow 
  2. European Model: More rain than snow (2-4 inches snow) 
  3. NAM Model: More raining than snow (1-2 inches snow)
  4. Canadian Model: More Rain than snow (1-2 inches snow) 

This also depends on the winds and which direction they're shifting. If wind comes from the south: high temperatures and more rain. If winds come from the north: lower temperatures and more snow. It's all a gamble right now. The weather is going to do what the weather is going to do. 

via GIPHY

Moral of the story:  This is not the time to look at your weather app real quick for the weekend and pretend you know what's coming because anything can happen. 
Be vigilante and you won't be caught slippin' (pun intended). 


​This condensed weather report is informed by me always researching weather  updates, trends, and news on the Weather Channel. I am only a meteorologist in spirit. Check with the Weather Channel or your local weatherperson (my favorite is Pix11's Byron Miranda) if you want to double check my work.

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Weather for the indifferent: Episode 1

1/16/2019

2 Comments

 
These blog posts are for the weather deniers who never check the weather before walking outside. Luckily, meteorology is one of my muses and my co-workers supported my condensed weather updates for NYC so much, I decided to share them. You're welcome.    

Precipitation is Coming! 

via GIPHY

1. Two Storms headed our way

Yes, two. I already know what you're asking: Snow or rain? It is hard to predict. I would prepare for both. The first storm, is going to be relatively quick in its travel, coming in late evening Thursday into Friday. Expect a mix of both snow and rain for your commute Friday morning. 

Storm #2 has a name, Harper, and comes to us all the way from the West Coast traveling cross-country with an abundance of snow, ice, and traffic jams! Harper will be with us Saturday afternoon through Sunday with a mixture of snow and rain. But once we hit Sunday night... 

via GIPHY

2. The Polar Vortex Awakens...

For those of you who don't care to know but are going to know anyway... The Polar Vortex is a cone of low pressure over the North Pole that traps the arctic air where it is most appreciated... over the North Pole... Unfortunately for all of us, that vortex broke and that arctic air is leaking out and coming right for us, which is why the Sunday night low will be a whopping 7 degrees. Monday? The high will be 18 degrees. That is without the windchill. With the windchill, we are looking at temperatures possibly in the negatives. But do not fret, the arctic blast will pass and we will be back to normal cold by Tuesday (hopefully). 
Moral of the story: 
Now is the time to dress accordingly. 
These temperatures are nothing to mess with. 
If you got the gear, wear it!. If you don't, get some! 

via GIPHY


This condensed weather report is informed by me always researching weather  updates, trends, and news on the Weather Channel. I am only a meteorologist in spirit. Check with the Weather Channel or your local weatherperson (my favorite is Pix11's Byron Miranda) if you want to double check my work.

2 Comments

Bird box: Fear will not win in 2019

1/10/2019

6 Comments

 

via GIPHY

Some movies reach beyond your need to escape, rest, or just zone out. Some movies tap into something personal, making you pay attention, sit up, and check in with yourself. It’s unexpected and almost intrusive. You’re in a movie theatre or at home and all of a sudden you are hit with a realization regarding yourself or your humanity that you forgot in the hustle and bustle of the days, months, or years. Movies (and art) like this create space for you that you had no idea you needed, and you become shocked by the vulnerability. Movies only sometimes surprise me like this. Moana was the last movie that had me in a theater with tears in my eyes because I too am a raging volcano earth-quaking for a more gentle approach to what it means to be a (Black) woman in this world (I know I wasn’t the only one!).

Netflix’s Bird Box, based off of the book by Josh Malerman, was another surprise. What drew me to watch it was the memes on Instagram I didn’t get and my two favorite things: psychological thrillers and apocalypse movies. That is all I expected to engage with when it started. However, once it was over, I found myself sitting in an inspiring comfort with an affirmation that fear doesn’t have to win this year.

Say what you will about the writing, acting, or the fact that Machine Gun Kelly and his boo are never mentioned again after stealing the car, Bird Box encapsulates FEAR in its most elusive form:​


  1. An entity that you cannot see or verify, but you can feel
  2. Once you engage with it, it seems impossible to imagine anything else but your worst fears coming to life
  3. When you give in to fear, you lose all will to even try to live outside of it
  4. Once you decide that you are NOT going to be afraid, fear is right there in your ear trying to convince you that your courage means nothing and fear is the better and safer option

If that is not a perfect personification of fear at its worst! And I’ve known that formless entity for a while now. It snuck up on me when I changed jobs a few years ago. I locked eyes with Fear and my days hazily passed over me with all the failure that was sure to ensue because I dared to dream of a life in New York City where I was thriving in my mission to create sustainable change in education through art. Some days, in my bed, in the dark, and unemployed, I was convinced that in a matter of minutes I was going to be homeless and on the street. No one-I mean NO ONE could convince me otherwise. I was a zombie like the rest of them. Just like in Bird Box. Hypnotized by the fear. And Sometimes fear wins. The entity completely consumes us or our loved ones and we are out of reach. Bird Box wasted no time reminding me how that felt. However, at the same moment, the movie personified what it looks like when you tell fear to STFU. Malorie (Sandra Bullock) in the forest with the entity closing in and the voices begging her to look, while her children are separated from her. She yells: You will not take my children.

That is the mood I want to bring into 2019. 

Fear is not going to take anything dear and precious from me this year. Fear is not going to convince me that my world is over if I take one more step. Although I may not be able to eradicate fear indefinitely, I can enhance my voice to confirm my truth (some call it faith, love, God, the Divine, etc.), which is not based in fear. I will be able to see what is on the other side of fear this year. It has been my experience that when I make decisions and walk forward in spite of fear, I am met with something that enhances my life and purpose beyond my expectation, which is the exact opposite of what fear convinces us is going to happen.  

Like I said, I was just trying to watch a movie about the end of the world and understand what all the memes were about. I was not trying to be inspired to confront my fears this year and be fearless. But that is what happened. Hence, this year I will keep the blindfold on when fear tries to convince me to not move forward in my career, love, goals, and dreams. I will not keep my mouth shut when claiming what is for me. I will listen to my intuition and the voice I know is connected to my truth. I will nourish that voice so that it is louder than the entity and I will keep goin. I do not expect to always be invincible in the face of fear, but rather empowered to live and thrive despite it.
​
Make no mistake, there is a lot that one could be afraid of going into 2019, especially as a person of color or a member of any other marginalized community forced to convince the world of your humanity. Be warned, the entity can take the form of a country trying to suffocate us; trying to convince us that there is no hope and nothing we can do; trying to distract us with pursuits of the absolute right and righteous way to pursue a just world, instead of forging that world for ourselves. Fear will try to convince us to wait our turn, to believe in fear itself to keep us safe in the interim and pretend we are comfortable the way things are now. I think I speak for all of us when I say: 

Fear, you can STFU.  


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    Author

    Tayllor Johnson currently resides in New York City where she has begun her journey into Poet. Passion. Period. In between those learning moments, she sometimes has just enough time to jot a few lines... 

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