2NE1

A more "real" post later, but when I grow up I wanna be them.  The swagg is irresistible. 

Fierce.

SERIOUSLY,

what. the. fuck.

This incident at the Cracker Barrel is infuriating and so ridiculous.  

I can't believe we still live in a world like this.  With people like this.  If you can even call them people.  

At least Colbert gets it.  (I really wanted to embed it, but it wouldn't work for some reason.) 

Credit to Race Wire.  

Geez Louise, this America we live in....people like Beck and Limbaugh need to just kick the bucket already.  Lily Allen has the right idea.

Oh where, oh where....

Seriously, where has the past month and a half gone??  Almost 2 months now.

It seems like just yesterday I came back from that trip with Aya, and as it is, August just came and went.  Now September too!

It just dawned on me today, as I got out of the shower, that September is almost over, and it's totally tripping me out.  Like where have I been the past 60 days!?

Almost...like my very own Rip Van Winkle experience, but way way less time.  

Mini concert at Brigham Young University this Friday, so lots (kinda) of preparations for that this week.  It's all Mormon-ed out there, so that might be interesting, performing in Kahuku and repping the fully clothed, no sugar consuming, no alcohol or drug participating, super straightedge community.  These people, as Andy says, "walk the talk."  

Lately I've had these fleeting daydreams about, instead of becoming a lawyer, moving to Japan and becoming one of a growing number of female traditional Japanese musicians.  Like doing nagauta and playing hogaku, noh, or kabuki music.  Yeah, totally unrealistic for LA loving, non-fluent, HI chillin me, but after Hogaku and fue practice today, I was totally just like wow.  I could see myself dedicating my life to playing music like this.  In a way, so much deeper than kumi daiko.

  

It's nice to trick myself into thinking I can do that every so often.  

Maybe there's a way to be a traditional Japanese music playing, practicing attorney.  

That's a good one, right?

I think I'm just real sad this all has to come to an end and I don't see how it'll continue in LA.  But home is home, and there you have it.

One chapter done at that point, the next chapter to begin.

As a subject change, can't wait to see Michael Moore's Love Story.  Just saw him on Colbert and it looks like it's something to anticipate!

Also, going tomorrow to see the Hawai'i showing of "A Song for Ourselves," the Chris Iijima film.  The Endos knew him personally!  They're seriously like local community celebs when it comes to knowing all the big activists of the 60s to the 80s.  Protests, rallies, pilgrimages, newspaper articles and all.  Amazing.  Anyway, that should be exciting.

Speaking of exciting, Kelsey coming in October!  Yay!  Makes me think about how much I'm anticipating my next big trip.  It's like SEA was just the beginning. (right Aya?? haha)

 

Life's Trampolines

Good things (and good people) come at unexpected times.

Traveling to Hilo tomorrow for a performance that I hope goes well, since it's a precursor to next week's mini-concert performance.  If I suck tomorrow, chances are I'll suck next week too.  So with enough work, I'm just crossing my fingers and hoping.

Next week will be busy, so I'll find out then if it'll be a blessing or a curse.  Work starts again, I plan on going to kendo practice a little more consistently, plus taiko as usual and then some.  

This month is going by so fast.  Once September is over, it'll be one month down and five more to go!  Aahhh!

Late night and MJ

A couple of nights later, and my previous long post seems a little harsh.  I'm aware it could've been construed as offensive to people who do work for those causes everyday of their lives for many many years, and I hope it wasn't taken as something negative that way.  I was just venting about the badgering thoughts that have been my only friend as of late, these restless several days.  But it's true, isn't it?  It's tiring.  And I think Hawai'i life has been wearing on me.  Well, I mean, just politically.

Yet another reason to yearn for LA.

I totally miss my family and friends, and as great as people are here, it's not the same.  The truth is, I've been feeling kind of alone lately.  Strange.

Had Hogaku tonight, and that was almost great, except it had to be cut short, unfortunately.  Unforeseen circumstances.

Watching Oprah now, and it's an episode where she recalls, with commentary, her very first interview (THE very first interview) with MJ back in something like 1993.  His innocence and gentleness are remarkable.  The alarm just went off in the middle of their interview.

Anyhow, he was dating Brooke Shields at the time.  So interesting.

There really was a mystery about him - the way he talks about his life, his childhood, his music, his love life, everything.  He's just very likeable, in this interview.  Though, he seems lonely.  And sad, too.  

On another note, there are some incredibly strange things happening on this computer.  It's doing weird things, like my cursor disappears, or like the other day, it started freaking out and when I shut it to make it stop, it wouldn't turn it back on.  I had to pull out the battery and restart it.

My cursor isn't showing as I type this up now.  Frustrating.

One restarted computer later, I'm back now.

Taiko will be interesting at the very least, the next few weeks - prepping for a mini concert next Friday, going to Hilo this Saturday to perform, going to Maui in a few weeks - at least there's stuff to look forward to from a performance standpoint.  Also I'm going to try and get as much fue training as I can the next 6 months, while I can.

Lots of thoughts lately about my impending future.  And after an exciting email exchange with Megatron, it's left me with a lot of thoughts about my politics, law school, and where I'll end up in say, 5 to 8 years.  Really.

Had a great few days, so hope it only gets better.  Work starts next week too, maybe the kids will brighten up my mood.

Back to Oprah and MJ.

EDIT - He just danced for Oprah and I think I had a huge orgasm.

 

Homesick.

Yeah, like one year too late.  

Hoping it'll pass.

Idle

Yes, back in Honolulu now, and all is well, but somehow, things feel different.

Maybe it was just the month away - a month of hometime, a month of intensely awesome traveling with Aya to Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam, and even Korea briefly - but I feel unsettled, a tad.  Like being back here isn't where I'm supposed to be right now.

It is only 6 months, and I know that from a taiko standpoint it's what I need, but I think staying out here too long is leaving me feeling unfulfilled.

Granted, I haven't had work for the past week and don't even know yet when work will start, so I've been sitting on my ass trying to 1) relax, 2) not get fat, and 3) feel useful.  Yeah, I do need to enjoy the chill time while I can because law school will destroy me, but even that is way far off.  I think I'm just becoming restless with all this free time.  That, and laziness is a bitch.

I mean, it's my one handicap I think, from being incredibly productive right now.  So I guess in that sense, the fact that I feel this way is just my fault, you know?

Anyway, I'm just complaining and whining I know, so I've just got to try to stay focused and get done as much as possible while I'm here.  That writeup project on JA community women included.  I've really got to get CRACKING on that, and it's so hard to stay motivated.  So hard to stay on my shit, foreal.

Instead I've been occupying my time with tv, korean pop music, and just way too much useless fluff.  My brain is going to become mush.  My body too.  Well, maybe, though thank god for taiko or I'd be like, dead right now.

This post is such a rambly one.  But I won't apologize for it, because it is what it is.

I'll just get back up and do my shit. haha.  So dumb.

But really, to get more specific, I'm relating things like eating a bag of Hurricane popcorn to life.  I sat on the couch watching one of countless programs I've watched on tv the past week, and thought to myself:

A bag of hurricane popcorn.  I avoided all that kaki mochi because I didn't think it would taste good.  Then fast forward to the bottom of the bag, and I accidently threw some kaki mochi in my mouth with all that popcorn.  Lo and behold, it tasted amazing.  But by the time I realized it, there wasn't enough popcorn to go with the kaki mochi.  So goes life.

I was so proud of myself because it was the most profound thing I'd done all day.  Ridiculous.

That and I think of things like how my progressive politics are becoming more and more difficult to reconcile with not just Hawaii life, but all the stuff I see everywhere in life, from tv, to everyday conversations.  Healthcare, misogynistic comments on facebook and mtv and everyday life, racial slurs slapped on every local joke, unrealistic media portrayals of "beautiful" women, and I dunno.  It drives me crazy sometimes.  Like does everything I believe in become totally useless??  

Everyone knows what the problem is.  But who can actually change it?  Sure, the work is incremental, but even then, where does that take us?  We know what we need and what we want - at least I do - but in the end, we still don't see the kind of change that really needs to happen.  Instead there are compromises and negotiations, or maybe no action at all. 

Sigh.

All this time off obviously isn't very healthy for my optimism about social issues.  At my core, I know, the work is important, some effort is better than none at all, blah blah etc etc.  I'm just saying.  It's fucking tiring being Progressive.

I think I just need some what are they - endorphins?  And go exercise and have a banana, the happy fruit.  :)

Finally home

Well at least, for a little while.

The trip to Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam with Aya was amazing.  Things I brought home from my trip other than the obvious:

- a new obsession with 2PM, the new KPop group

- terrible jetlag

- a brand new playlist from all the nights of Southeast Asian MTV versions

- a new appreciation for LA and home

- the newest issue of Rolling Stone about the Beatles' breakup, as well as an enlightening article on the Democrats' and Obama's work (or lack thereof) on healthcare reform

I think more importantly is what I didn't bring home: bedbugs.  At least so far so good.

It's late and I should be sleeping, so more updates soon to come on the trip and all.  I'm really glad we did it, and frankly impressed that we were so productive, especially having been on our own for most of it.

My last few days in LA before it's back to Honolulu to live out my last 6 months there.  It'll be a crucial time!