Clumsy Hula

Hello!

It's been a while! We moved, had our anniversary (one year down!), and are back into the throes of work and school.

In between exhaustion - breathing problems did not disappear with the vog, rudely enough - and keeping busy with life, I haven't come up with a single topic that seemed interesting enough for a blog. (Or, I should say, that seemed interesting to other people and not just me complaining. I can write a lot about traffic patterns and the worst places to drive at night in flash-flood-level rain. FYI, it's Kalihi.)

I also feel a bit hesitant to write about hurricanes before the season is over. Stay tuned!

I've started hula classes again recently.

I joined this halau (they graciously accepted me!) on the advice of a friend who also dances and loves hula. It was one of those things that wasn't a suggestion. He said go, and I went. This halau is very traditional, and is more about telling the story correctly than having perfect choreography.

As a workaholic and general overachiever, I have a really hard time with this.

There's a wonderful 'olelo no'eau that comes to mind: "'A'ole pau ka 'ike i ka halau ho'okahi." All knowledge is not learned at one school. This can be applied to more than just halau hula, but I've been taking to heart as I struggle to unlearn and relearn basically everything.

Another 'olelo no'eau about hula: "Pali ke kua, mahina ke alo." Back like the cliff, face like the moon. The explanation I received is that your body is strong, but your face is beautiful. Hula is hard, but it should look easy.

With enough practice, I thought, I would be fine. I would be fine except for one rule: feet have to point straight.

I'm knock-kneed. This does not affect just the knees. My legs zig-zag so much they look like an X. If I touch my knees together, there are still a few inches between my feet - unless I bend my knees, which is how I got away with it before: strategic leg maneuvers to avoid kicking myself in the ankles. (I even managed Tahitian in Hilo, but in California had to dance with my feet together and was subsequently kicked out of every Tahitian performance ever. Tahitian's a bit much, anyway.)

I'm also slightly double jointed, which means that my knees aren't ever NOT bent. If I extend them fully, they actually start to bend backwards. This is severely creepy, and also terrible for things like joints and tendons. I was told to bend my knees in my last class. No, not like that.

Lastly, I have nine toes. (I'm basically an alien.) My main complaint has always been that I can't wear slippers, but I've noticed it throws off my balance, too. Just slightly. Just enough to tip the carefully aligned hula feet out of whack. I haven't fallen in this halau yet, but it's a matter of time.

It's pretty ridiculous.

Will this stop me from doing hula? Absolutely not, even if I have to spend eternity glaring at my feet in a mirror. I'm having a great time. I hope to continue for many years.

A hui hou!

On Books vs. Movies

There are two kinds of people in the world: book people and movie people.

I am very much a book person.

I don't think I'm alone, but it's hard to tell.

I am also one of those grouchy people who insist that the books are better and watch the movies under protest. There are so many good books that suffered from really horrible movies.

There are, to be fair, movies that are wonderful in their own right. Lord of the Rings is a great example. Different from the books, but still awesome.

I just finished reading Chocolat, the book I chose for the reading challenge category "a book you've never read made into a movie you've seen". I love the movie. I didn't like the book.

I wasn't terribly surprised, as the main reason I liked the movie was its artistic choices, acting, attention to detail, and casting. None of those were in the book, and I found it very grating. (It doesn't help that I'm not a pagan.)

So there you have it. Very rarely, a movie will beat a book.

Marvel movies, on the other hand, are different. I appreciate the lighter touches the Marvel movies usually get, as I am visually sensitive and have a really difficult time reading the more graphic side of graphic novels, and I have neither the time nor energy to invest in several decades of character development. Sorry, Captain America. (I do like reading Spiderman, which seems to have terrible luck as movies - maybe it's connected?)

We're going to see Black Panther when it comes out next week, which should be good!

A hui hou!

Coffee!

I recently had a bout of stomach problems (it's sad that I can't tell if I've gotten food poisoning or just accidentally ate something I shouldn't have), which resulted in a sudden and abrupt detox of coffee.

Swinging between early AM classes and closing shifts has gotten a little easier, but I was, for a while, pretty much living on coffee, to the point of choosing coffee over food.

Given the fact that I am not supposed to drink much coffee (too much acid, and no milk to help!), and I prefer it extremely strong, it was a REALLY BAD IDEA.

Aside from the caffeine headache, I have gotten back into my normal habit of tea in the morning, saving coffee for the real reason I drink it: because I LIKE it!

I drink dark roast, because it has the strongest flavor and the least acid. (None of your silly blonde roast, Starbucks, I like my coffee to taste like coffee.) My sister in law got me a coffee grinder AND french press for Christmas, so with a bit of trial and error, I am finally able to make my extra special coffee... from Ka'u!

Ka'u is a region on the southern side of the Big Island (Kona, for comparison, is on the west side), and has been up and coming in their coffee production! I first had Ka'u coffee while at school in Hilo, but now you can buy it at the Target in Ala Moana. (I don't, because it's Ala Moana pricing, as well.)

The coffee I have now is Hokulele: https://www.hokulelecoffee.com/

I got it at the farmer's market in Hilo while there for my wedding, so it's extra special. (I didn't realize it was whole bean, and thus hoarded it until the arrival of my coffee grinder, because I am too absent-minded to remember to get my own.) According to the website, the dark roast is called New Moon Dark, but mine is unlabeled except with the farm name.

I don't consider myself a coffee expert, so I'm not sure how Ka'u coffee compares to Kona/Arabica/single origin from Indonesia/whatever coffee out there, but it tastes pretty good. I'm curious, but I'm trying to drink LESS coffee.

If you've tried some, let me know what you think!

Hitorikiri no Book Club: The Story of Land and Sea

My husband loves his coworkers.

He works at Barnes & Noble, which is pretty awesome (despite the minimum wage......), and we've made a friend in one of his coworkers, an English major who loves books as much as we do.

She invited me to participate in a year-long Reading Challenge, the gist of which is reading 40 books in a year that fit into particular categories. Details are here: https://www.popsugar.com/entertainment/Reading-Challenge-2018-44138581

I have finished one book, and expect to get to about 12. Setting the bar low. (I'm pretty sure my husband and I spend more time with our coworkers than each other, aside from sleeping, which there is never enough of.)

My first book was:

The Story of Land and Sea, by Katy Simpson Smith.

I don't know quite what to say about it. I picked it because it was languishing on my shelf about eye level from my bed, it had the word "sea" in it, and I originally bought it on clearance and felt guilty about spending money on a book I hadn't yet read.

It's set in the 1700's, just after - and during - the Revolutionary War, which I found very interesting, as I haven't read many novels in that era that weren't focused on Important People or Important Events (hello, endless books about Alexander Hamilton). The war was a faint background for the real story about normal people, full of drama and tragedy. It was a good book, and well written, I think, but so, so depressing. It left me with a vague impression of what it was trying to say, but also confusion - who IS this story about??

I will say that it knocked out the "about death or grief" category in the challenge.

My next book is Chocolat: "Made into a movie you've seen". Quite the change. I analyzed the movie Chocolat for a college class, so I'm enjoying reading the original.

Anyone have any future recommendations? :-)

A hui hou!

Happy New Year!

It's 2018, and I finally remembered that I had a blog. Some of the intense things of 2017 have died down (getting married, husband moving in, death in the family), and I am excited for what the new year holds!

As long as it's not another missile warning.

Things I am doing at the moment:

-Planning a late wedding reception for family: Our wedding was last-minute for serious reasons, which was good, as we were able to celebrate with ALL of our immediate family, and I am terrible at planning. We are planning a visit home to celebrate with the rest of my family. (And possibly a flood of cousins on the husband's side)

-Adventuring in cooking with allergies: husband developed an intolerance for eggs, our go-to food, and I am experimenting with cutting out inflammatory and/or acidic foods and not nearly passing out from a protein deficiency. On the bright side, I can drink more coffee!

-Volunteering: I volunteer at an animal rescue, and recently passed my one-year mark! Although I don't have much time, I love being able to care for the animals and share my farm skills (goats and chickens), which many of our volunteers don't have. We have been struggling with some behavioral and handling issues in the animals, but things are looking up!

-One month exercise challenge: As a teacher, I sit for most of my day. Even as a singing teacher, I tower over my students, and sitting helps me be at their level. I had a lot of stiffness and pain in my hip, and exercising has helped a lot.

-Continuing in my hula halau: my halau's style is incredibly different from what I was used to while I was dancing and performing in California. We are learning a beautiful slow 'auana song, and I'm slowly starting to remember my hula sisters' names!

-Trying to speak more Hawaiian: for the obvious hula reasons, but also because my housemate teaches at a Hawaiian charter school and is trying to learn herself. And because I can.

-Studying Japanese: I am awaiting the results of my JLPT N2 test that I took in December. 2 is the second-highest level, with a focus on business and formal language, none of which I use very often in my current job. I loved studying, but we'll see if it was enough for me to pass. Meanwhile, I am continuing to study and keep ahead of my super-smart students!

-2018 Reading Challenge: As the husband works for a bookstore, books are accumulating in our house faster than we can read them. My friend (and his coworker), a literature major, invited me to join her in a 40-book reading challenge for the whole year. So far, husband is beating me, because he cheats.


That's way more than I realized! We are definitely keeping busy!

Hau'oli Makahiki Hou!

Hitorikiri no Book Club: The Farthest Shore

Aloha!

I have FINALLY finished a book for the first time in months (aside from textbooks, work-related materials, and the odd comic). I have a slight abrasion on my eye -- again, but this time caught before it was devastatingly painful -- and decided if I was going to stare at something, paper was a better choice than a screen.

That and I am tired and procrastinating.

I have just finished The Farthest Shore, which is Book 3 in the Earthsea series by Ursula K. LeGuin.

Upon looking for a photo, I found it interesting that the vast majority of them involve dragons, when most of the book takes place on a boat. Dragons are more exciting, I suppose.

I only came across the series by watching Tales of Earthsea, a movie by Studio Ghibli (the same who made Totoro, Spirited Away, Ponyo, etc.), which combined the stories of The Farthest Shore and Tehanu, Book Four. Having seen the movie, much of the suspense was lost, but it was interesting to see the similarities and differences. The movie was much fluffier.

I have read the first two books, A Wizard of Earthsea and The Tombs of Atuan, and loved them both. This book was much the same. They tend to be slow paced, but never boring. I REALLY like LeGuin's style of writing, whether it be dialogue or descriptions. It sort of feels like I can enjoy each chapter for what it is rather than racing to find out what happens next (especially since I mostly knew what was going to happen), and as someone who reads a ton of mysteries, it's very refreshing.

I don't yet own the next book in the series, but I do have a whole stack of books I bought on sale waiting to be read. Maybe I'll finish one by the end of the year...

Read any good books lately? I would love to hear about it!

A hui hou!

Farmer's Market!

Aloha!

It managed to be a month since my last post. May was especially busy, partly due to the fact that I am now engaged!

It's also spring, which means allergies. It's nearly summer, which also means allergies. The vog hasn't been as bad, but I have no idea what to expect when our most distinguishable season is hurricane season. Which is also coming up. I have the vague superiority of living on a hill, but I work in an area notorious for flooding.

I have been trying to eat healthier this past week (Fiance's birthday left me with 3/4 of a cake that was eaten in a far too short amount of time), so that means heading to the farmer's market! I bought my usual group of vegetables and decided to wander. I ended up with this:

That would be my normal boring vegetables, a jar of kimchi that ACTUALLY TASTES GOOD, and pa'i'ai!! Pa'i'ai is pounded kalo, or taro, before it's mixed with water to make poi. In theory, you make poi with it. I am lazy and have mostly eaten it in chunks straight from the bag.

The kimchi came from a artisan-type booth at the market that has meats, honey, cheesecake, etc. This time they had both the yummy kimchi AND some really good pickled beets. Most store-bought kimchi I've tried tastes like water and/or salt with some spicy added in, but this one isn't lava-hot like most homemade kinds, and it made a fantastic noodle bowl. I'm not much for fancy expensive food at my farmer's market, but I'm definitely coming back.

The pa'i'ai came with a stamp card, which is dangerous.

Judging by the few trees in my neighborhood, it will be mango season soon! Stay runed!

A hui hou!