Who is Champuru? 
Aloha, I'm Donna, known everywhere on the Internet as "Champuru." I'm a Christian, blissfully wedded to my perfect match (the yang to my yin) of 15 years and a stay-at-home mom to my miracle baby, born in October 2008. Living life in Hawaii, less than 5 miles from my hometown, seeking balance in her pursuit of family, faith, recreation, and rest. Read more on the About page.
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Dot-Com Days
In the days before dot-net.
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Arnold was kind enough to make a special trip to the public library to borrow some books for me to read while I’m recuperating at home for the month. He seems to have his finger on the pulse of my interests, as his selection of books have utterly held me in thrall since I delved into their pages on Monday.
To be honest, reading is a pasttime I thoroughly enjoy, but generally have little time to indulge. Having nothing but time and no place to go certainly creates a rare and precious opportunity for me to lose myself for hours, traveling vicariously to faraway lands and learning more about things that interest me.
I blasted through Snakeskin Shamisen by Naomi Hirahara in little more than a day.
From Publishers Weekly (as published on Amazon.com’s website)
In youth-obsessed Los Angeles, maturity and reticence work in favor of the 70ish gardener Mas Arai, Hirahara’s reluctant hero, as he gets drawn into his highly enjoyable third mystery (after 2005’s Gasa-Gasa Girl). Mas leaves a party held for a friend at a Hawaiian restaurant early, but when the guest of honor turns up dead, Mas has to return to the restaurant to answer questions about anything suspicious he might have observed. A broken shamisen (a stringed instrument similar to a banjo) found at the crime scene, he realizes, indicates that the seeds of the murder were sown in Okinawa during WWII. As a Hiroshima survivor, Mas has his misgivings about examining the past too closely, but his strong sense of right and wrong propels him toward a just resolution. Hirahara’s sharp ear for dialogue and keen sense of place mark this as a superior read, but it’s her intimate view of the Japanese-American community and her wry portrait of the endearing Mas, with his fondness for gambling and Spam, that really make this series stand out. (May)
The familiarity of situations, foods, phrases, and of course, the Okinawan culture appeal to me, making this a fun, quick read. The only thing that peeved me somewhat was how the author chose to phonetically illustrate the Japanese accent of the main character with dialog such as:
“Itsu orai, Tug. I take care. I see youzu later.”
Youzu, Izu, itsu… for some reason makes my hair stand on end.
To her credit, however, the author does a fabulous job weaving some common Japanese words and phrases into the storyline and cleverly explaining their meaning without interrupting the flow of the story to define them. The plot itself is also quite intriguing and also gives readers a glimpse into a bit of Japanese-American history, the ravages of the Battle of Okinawa as well as the bomb in Hiroshima. If you can get past the “youzu, izu, itsu”, then I recommend the book for a nice diversion for a lazy Sunday afternoon.
As stated pointedly on the Friday5.org website, I have no excuse for missing a Friday 5 installation during my 4 weeks of convalescence at home. Not surprisingly, I’m still late, however.
1. What’s something that used to be good but now is lame?
Tapered jeans. Big hair. Spandex pants — on guys.
2. What’s something that used to be lame but now is good?
Bell-bottoms and wide-leg trousers.
3. What’s something you used to feel strongly about, but are now ambivalent about?
As an idealistic teen, I aspired to be a musician — or at least involved in some facet of the music industry. I have since grown up, grown old, and grown jaded. Any semblance of musical inclinations I once possessed have since fallen by the wayside.
4. What’s something you used to feel ambivalent about, but now have strong feelings about?
Being a good wife, daugther, and hopefully someday, mother to my family. I used to be much more career-driven, these days, I’d be much more content as a full-time wife/mom, carting the kiddies off to the school and afterschool activities, spending quality time with the hubs and kiddies at the park, and whipping up fabulous healthy dishes for the family. I’d make an excellent June Cleaver.
5. What’s something you used to dislike but now love?
Japanese and Okinawan culture and cuisine. During my teen years, I did all I could to distance myself from my heritage, convinced myself that Italian food was my favorite and rock’n'roll was king. Since my 20’s, I have been much more in touch with my Okinawan culture and heritage, although have not been as fanatical as I used to be. The passion for my heritage still burns like an ember in my heart, though. Always there.
I don’t know if I’ve been straining myself by getting in and out of the bed on my own or if it’s the lack of painkillers in my bloodstream, but last night, the pain returned in force. Even my innards were sore, where my fallopian tubes used to be.
I relented and downed a 600 mg motrin. It wasn’t long before the pain subsided, a little.
It was enough for me to fall asleep. When I awakened this morning, I was greeted with pain. But, not from the surgery site as you would expect — but my back. I guess lying down for hours upon hours can take its toll on your back, even with a Tempurpedic. I’m trying to avoid taking the motrin as long as possible. We’ll see if I can make it through the day without it.
Perhaps I need to take a stroll around outside for a few minutes. When I was in the hospital, I was taking laps in the hallway. Since I’ve been home, I’ve only been walking from the bedroom to the kitchen, back to the bedroom, to the bathroom, to the den, back to the bedroom, etc. It would be nice to get some fresh air, too.
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