On-Going items

Yesterday I wrote about things I accomplished on my list.
Today the topic is things that are on-going and their progress.

 #9 Put all my change into a jar until the end of this project - I haven't really been doing this, but I haven't really not been doing this. What I mean to say is that while I'm not actively putting change into a jar, I do sometimes put change I find into a jar. The rest of it doesn't get spent (well, I keep a few quarters for parking meters and for food at the petting zoo). (picture of parking meter taken by Julie Michele during my photo-shoot with her for the Iliveheresf.blogspot.com feature she did on me.)

The point is, I'm not using my change all the time. Its destiny is the change-jar, not my pocket, save for of course the few quarters I reserve for purposes listed above.

#14 update my progress on this project at least once a week on this blog - truth be told I haven't been doing this. I thought I would have something to say every week about this, but I don't so why write "this week I didn't do anything"?

#25 call or email all my friends and family on their birthdays - (Sorry Anton, your birthday was yesterday and I forgot it, I can't remember the last time I forgot it. True, I hardly ever remember the date, but I always remember it's "some time around now".) I've forgotten a few people. I'm sorry. I've been pretty good about this one, though.

#29 Compliment someone every day - I think I do this every day from telling someone their hair looks nice, to telling them something they do makes me giggle or smile. At the very least, I complement someone every day - hubby and I are going on 15 together (12.5 yrs married) at the end of December. I'll use the complementing as my fallback to complimenting because hardly anybody ever gets those two correct.

#44 put $1 in the change jar every time I bite or pick my nails so bad they bleed - I haven't been doing this, but thankfully I've been curbing my nail-biting habits. My Little Miss has the best nails. She never picks at them and they are always long and pretty (but frequently filled with crud and I have to remind her to clean out her nails - she found a toothbrush in the hall closet from the pack of toothbrushes I bought for her slumber party in case any kid forgot their brush. We got totally grossed out when we found out that Little Miss's nail brush was also doing duty as Little Mister's toothbrush. Problem solved, but ew.)


Next up - Things I'm not going to do and/or Things I've modified.

Update on My List

I've been thinking about my list lately. By sometime in mid-August 2010 I'm supposed to have a number of things done. 50.5 things, to be exact.

I've done 17 of my 50.5 things. Some items are still on-going, some I haven't even attempted, some of them I've kind of slacked off on and some, I realize now, are just fancy. I'm never going to do them.

Let's break it down ---

Today's post ---

Things I've done --
#3. At least one meal a day will comprise only raw food for one month during the week, not on weekends - This one was stupid. I did it for about 2 weeks and got bored.
#4. I will climb the coit tower stairs every day for 3 weeks excluding weekends - slam dunk.
#7. I will not cut my hair until at least october 25, 2009 - I have long stringy hair now
#8. practice hula for at least 1/2 hr every day until October 23, 2009 - that didn't happen all the time but I did listen to hawaiian music every day (she said from the 8th row at the ho'ike nui)
#10. finish the blanked I'm making for my mom - I finished it and gave it to her for Mother's Day
#11. croched a blanket for rose and Darin's baby - I did but I wasn't happy with the blanket so I never gave it to them
#13. Take Little Mister camping - on our way to Idaho over the summer we camped there and back.
#15. give hubby control of the remote, without complaint, for an entire week - done, it wasn't that bad
#22. Try dolmas again - did that and reallly really hated them
#26. Make a Cherry Pie - did that, not the best Cherry Pie ever but Hubby 1/2 of it for breakfast so it couldn't have been that bad.
#32. sell a case of melemacs - selling one case was easy.
#35. ride one of those bikes with the 4 seats down JFK on a Sunday in SF - did that on Mother's Day
#38. walk the barbary coast trail - we did this. we had a good time but we didn't do the audio tour so it was just a long walk.
#41. lay flowers on emperor norton's grave - done
#43. take Little Miss to a Festa - did that on July 3
#46. let my hair grow out long enough so I can see my natural color - done, icky color
#49. ride the Giant Dipper with Little Miss - done on July 3.

Next post about the List - On-going items.

School - Hawaiian and Wine, but not Hawaiian Wine.

Life is getting busier but that's OK. My sister J says that if you need help with getting something done ask someone who is busy because busy people know how to get stuff done.

Courtesy of my employer I'm enrolled in the WSET Level 2 Intermediate Certificate in Wines and Spirits. I'm pretty excited about it. Classes start tomorrow. A few cool things about it. #1 - work is paying for it, #2 - the classes occur during business hours so I get paid to go and #3 - it gives me more wine knowledge and opens the door up to being able to take more classes about wine. Think of it, one day I'll have an MW (master of wine) at the end of my name -- not, but the classes are still fantastic and a great opportunity and quite possibly it'll get me out of my current position at work. Not that I don't like my job, because I do, and I like my bosses a lot. They treat me well. It's just that I have more inside of me than "really-freaking-great admin". It would be nice not to be an admin.

Also, if you remember my last blog, my Kumu suggested na haumana of his class take Hawaiian language lessons. I've enrolled in the Ahapunaleo Niuolahiki language courses. I'll start with level 1 and see where it takes me. I think I'll do OK. I have always found it easy to remember words and phrases, a lot easier than remembering dance moves, that's for sure.

I'll be blogging about both. I'm excited about the prospect of writing my first blog in Hawaiian. OOH, better yet, my first blog about wine in Hawaiian - just don't make me drink Hawaiian wine, icky.

Busy Andrea.

Teachers don’t correct you unless they think there is value in it, at least that’s what I’m choosing to believe in this case.

I have referred to it before. I knew it would happen again. It happened last week. Hula just got a little bit harder. At class last week, Kumu spent most of the class going over fundamentals. Were we sinking into `aiha`a low enough? Were we placing our feet flat on the ground for hela? Did our knees pop out just the right amount, in the right direction and at the right time when we did `uwehe? Were our hips moving correctly as we practiced our `ami? And lastly, the `oniu. The move I have not mastered. I knew it wasn’t perfect, but I didn’t know it needed that much work. Kumu corrected me. (He not only corrected me, he came up behind me, put his hands on my hips and moved them to the beat of the drum in the hopes that I would catch on and be able to do it myself. I’m not pleased that I don’t do a good ‘oniu, but am confident that I will soon. I’ve been practicing and practicing.) `Oniu is such a great move. When I become the master of the `oniu my hula dancing will totally benefit.
Another thing Kumu did was talk to us about learning the Hawaiian language. He said that there is a growing wave of halaus in Hawai`i where the haumana speak Hawaiian. Kumu is going to be incorporating more and more Hawaiian into the class in instruction and in general conversation. I can see his point on this one. We recite Hawaiian words, sing songs in Hawaiian. We know words here and there, but to put it all together, to know the meaning of the phrases, and not just the meaning of certain words will definitely make us better dancers. I know I can use all the help I can get. (Speaking of help . . . .There’s a woman from the Thursday class named N. One night after practice for the show she came up to me and told me that she could tell by looking at my face how much I love hula and how hard I’m trying but there were a few simple things I could do, a few things I should be mindful of that would improve my dancing. I took her advice. After the show at the Palace of Fine Arts she came up to me and told me what I great job I did. I told her thank you and it was because it was her advice that helped me. She graciously said that it wasn’t her advice. She just handed me some tools, it was up to me to use them. Sound familiar?)
So, now that classes have once again, officially gotten a little bit harder, a little bit more involved. Our kuleana has gotten stronger. (Kuleana is the principle that one has the responsibility, the right, the obligation and the privilege to do something or take care of something. In hula, it is my kuleana to dance to the best of my ability, always try harder, go to class every week, practice, learn and respect what I’m taught.)
I wonder who will decide that this particular building block in our hula education is the straw that broke the camel’s back? I don’t want anyone to leave. I love my hula brothers and sisters. As hula gets harder and harder and more is expected of us it is going to get harder and harder so see people leave. I know it will happen. I’m just not looking forward to it. The longer we dance together the more we become one in our dancing; sort of like putting a drops of water into a glass. The droplets disappear and come together as something bigger.

You Belong in the Zoo . . . . .and the Zoo Belongs to You

Yesterday the Littles Miss and Mister and I walked to the zoo. While there we engaged in one of our favorite activities, watching the squirrels rummage through the strollers parked next to the petting zoo and then watching the owners of the strollers freak out and act surprised. There are signs telling one to hide their food. There are squirrels everywhere. How could one not know that their stroller could be invaded? We've seen squirrels eat chips, kettlecorn, suck on sippie cup spouts; I've even seen a squirrel tear apart a tampon.
Best part of going to the zoo.

Booger-head Boyfriend.

Yesterday I told Little Miss the story of my first boyfriend --

I was about 4 years old. I went to Sunday School at St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Long Beach. We went every Sunday, rain or shine until I was in the 3rd grade. Then we started going to Bethany (every sunday, rain or shine). Anyhow, when I was 4 my boyfriend was named Rocky and he was in my Sunday School class. Our teacher was named Peggy and she had big ankles and her slip was usually slipping down an inch or two below the length of her dress. Rocky had a little bit of a speech impediment and called her Piggy.

One day during Circle Time we were all standing in a circle (hence the name) and holding hands and singing "Jesus loves the little Children. All the Children of the World. Red and Yellow, Black and White, they are precious in his site. Jesus loves the little Children of the World" You know the song. Well, maybe you don't but anyways, right in the beginning of the second verse "Jesus died for all the Children . . . .", Rocky wiped his nose on my arm. I kept trying to position my arm so that he would wipe his nose on his arm but he wouldn't budge. On my arm his boogers went. That was the end of him.

I don't remember seeing him at church or sunday school very much after that. I think I avoided him. Other people's boogers are super gross.