Reminder

Originally uploaded by Champuru.

I taped a sign to the door, written hastily, to remind me to bring my chilled bottle of water to Karate. Last week, I forgot it at home and ended up having to drink out of the sink in the bathroom. This was the lesser of two evils since the water fountain outside was in dire need of some Liquid Plumber and had lovely green fuzzies growing in the recepticle. I am a horrible germaphobe and the idea of drinking out of a public water fountain is almost enough to make me embrace dehydration.(Think back to your grade school days when those rascally boys used to spit in the spigot. Thus began my aversion to water fountains.) As we began working out and sweating, my body strongly suggested that I get some liquid in there… and NOW. Yes, that’s how I came to drink water out of the bathroom tap for the first time in my life. And hopefully, it will be my last. To ensure this doesn’t happen again: the sign.

After all, tomorrow is a big day. Tomorrow morning, I will endeavor to attain the next level in my study of Shotokan Karate. I spent some time reviewing the kata (forms) tonight, but I am hoping that I won’t experience a similar episode of stage fright like I did on Wednesday. This time, I’ll be employing every muscle besides the one that failed me the other day. This time, there is a good chance of me literally falling flat on my face.

Karate exams are administered as a solo flight. You stand in front of the class, the sensei calls out commands and you perform the technique or kata that he specifies, all of which are in Japanese. I am hoping I can remember all of them. Wish me luck! I’m going to need it.

I will mark this day on my calendar. Today I experienced perhaps one of the most humiliating moments of my life — and I did so before an audience of my peers.

However, in every experience, whether good or bad, there are lessons to be learned. I learned more than my share tonight. Continue Reading »

“When birds fly in the right formation, they need only exert half the effort.
Even in nature, teamwork results in collective laziness.” — Despair.com

Teamwork can be a double-edged sword. When you are fortunate enough to be placed in a group of cooperative, communicative and like-minded individuals, study groups can be a truly wonderful thing. However, the flip side to that is when you find yourself hopelessly stuck with apathetic and unresponsive duds. All it takes is one or two of these freeloaders to completely ruin your college experience, especially when your college puts so much emphasis on the work produced by the “learning team.” Continue Reading »

Norman Kaneshiro is an extremely talented performer, teacher, University lecturer and a wonderful friend of mine. I had the pleasure of briefly studying the art of uta-sanshin under his instruction. (Yes, I’m on hiatus from that, too.) He is so passionate and knowledgeable about the art; if you have an interest in Okinawa or Okinawan music, I highly recommend that you attend this free lecture/demonstration at the University of Hawaii. You will leave inspired and educated about the rich culture of Okinawa.

TITLE: Hearing Uta-Sanshin: An Introduction to Appreciating Okinawa’s Main Musical Artform

TIME: October 14, 2005 (Friday); 4:00 pm to 5:30 pm

PLACE: Tokioka Room, Moore Hall 319 (located across the street from Center for Korean Studies); University of Hawaii at Manoa, 1890 East-West Road

SYNOPSIS: The origins of the Okinawan musical artform of uta-sanshin (song & sanshin) dates back about 500 years. In recent times, the tradition of playing sanshin (a three-stringed snakeskin cordaphone) and singing has become symbolic of the free-spirited nature of the Okinawan people and their island culture. Many people fail to realize, however, that under the simplistic melodies of uta-sanshin lies the heart of a resilient people who have beared centuries of suffering and insult. This lecture will provide an introduction to Okinawan music as a window into the world of Okinawan thought and culture.

Yuko posted a beautifully touching videolog which is actually a photo montage of her observation of Keiro-No-Hi or “Respect for the Aged Day” in Okinawa. What a treasure. Thanks for sharing it with us, Yuko! (Yet another source of inspiration for me to get off my butt and actually start creating more vlogs!)

View it here.

A conversation we had a few minutes ago…

Hubby: What are you doing?

Me: Updating.

Hubby: What are you writing about? School? Work?

Me: School. It’s ruining my life.

Hubby: Wow. So dramatic.

Lately, I’ve been having trouble writing. Could it be that all of my writing is spent on things like technical instructions, e-mail correspondence, and college papers that I have nothing left for my poor, neglected journal? That’s my suspicion, anyway.

Or perhaps it’s lack of energy at the end of the day to put pen to paper, I mean, fingers to keyboard? My brain feels exhausted and completely dry. Creative thoughts are few and far between these days. It appears that the daily grind is sucking the life out of my imagination and starving my Muse.

I keep thinking, once I am done with school I will have more time to do the things I want to do — like read a book for the sheer pleasure of it, aimlessly surf the web, watch TV once in a while, take up Tai Chi, go back to Okinawan dance practice, or maybe just relax? Graduation will not simply be a celebration of the attainment of my degree, it will be the day that I get my life back. Or at least my free time.

Supposedly, 4 more classes… and possibly 2 CLEP exams to take so that I can be done with my bane that is school. I know I shouldn’t have such a negative attitude about school; after all, I realize that it is a privilege that some people only dream of having. I have to keep reminding myself. However, there are times that school simply tests the limits of my patience and sanity. Like right now, when all I can think of is being done.

Did I mention? Group work sucks.