Year: 2013

Constant Work In Progress

Published by

New year’s resolutions may work for some people, but not for me. I’m always too distracted, too focused, too lazy, too (insert adjective here), to stick with them and I ultimately beat myself up for what I don’t accomplish, which is oftentimes, the entire list. The foolish optimism that courses through me in January is often gone by March and I’m left feeling guilty for not actively fulfilling those promises during the rest of the year. 9 months is too long to feel crappy, so I stopped making resolutions altogether. I’m already critical of myself and didn’t require another opportunity for self-flagellation. For 2014, I don’t aspire to be anybody else. I want to continue being me; the complicated, imperfect, work in progress that I am. I want to continue doing all the enriching things that fulfill me and make me happy. I want to live, love, dance, and laugh hard. Most of all, I want to continue striving toward becoming the best version of myself I can be, and that journey takes a lifetime, …

Two Cents Tuesday Challenge: Wishes

Published by

“What are your wishes for the coming year?” For one of their last prompts of the year, Across the Bored had me thinking about how I could make my wishes come true.  Lately, as I reflect on what is most important in my life, I wish I had a clean bill of health.  Both my parents and I have fallen ill.  Whether due to old age, hereditary traits, or our lifestyle, we each are facing some challenging decisions in the coming year.  I just wish we didn’t have to worry about which path of treatment we need to take. Deciding whether to proceed with an intrusive surgery, or opt to try Chinese Herbal Medicine, or opt to do nothing and ride it out, has been on my mind the past few months.  It seems that during this festive holiday season, I usually am faced with some life changing experiences I never knew I would ever have to face.  I don’t know how much more I can handle without caving in.  I think my stress level has really …

Weekly Photo Challenge: One

Published by

I have seen all but one statue of Kamehameha. The statue in Kapaʻau, Kohala, Hawaiʻi is the most humble, yet most meaningful to me of the collection, since it is situated in Kohala, his birthplace. Kamehameha represents, for some people, ancient Hawaiʻi. The literal translation of his name is “the lonely one” and he is credited to unifying the Hawaiian Islands under one rule, a feat documented as never before attempted or accomplished by a chief prior to him. Kamehameha’s name is synonymous with strength, intelligence, and ambition and he continues to serve as an icon of the Hawaiian spirit. His pose in all of the statues that exist today are the same. He is a strapping man, donning a helmet and cloaked in a yellow cape, while holding a spear. The items represent his status as both a chiefly ruler and an accomplished warrior. Kamehameha was well-versed in ancient traditions and upheld kapu even after unification, yet he was well aware of external influence and the impending onslaught of foreign interests, so he adapted to function in both …

Christmas Decorations

Published by

My mom is the festive person in our family.  She loves Christmas because it gives her a reason to decorate the house.  When we last visited Peru, it was during the Christmas season.  So, she made sure we picked up a nativity scene from the Mercado Indio.  She is very proud to display this nativity scene in the house. My mom always insists that we put up our stockings.  They may not all be the same size or color, but what matters is that we have them all up in the same place.  Near the stockings, my mom also puts up all the Christmas cards we receive from family and friends.  We seem to have a medley of Christmas decorations throughout the house. One tradition we are trying to uphold is to collect at least one new Christmas ornament a year to add to our tree.  When I was a child I made a bunch of ornaments in school, which my mom has kept.  She carefully wraps each one and safely stores them so we …

Share Your World – 2013 Week 45

Published by

What was the most important event in your life last week? Last week involved a series of hospital and doctor visits for my entire family, including me. But, I think the most important one was my dad’s successful recover from his lung biopsy.  The area where they punctured his lung is still tender, but he is in good spirits. Who was your favorite singer or music group in high school? In high school, I loved listening to what ever was playing on the local radio station, KBIG FM.  But, my last year in high school, a few friends and I drove over to the other side of the island – Kailua, Kona, to see Maxi Priest in concert!  That was the highlight of our senior year!  One of my favorite songs from Maxi Priest: Name the foreign countries you’ve been to. I have been very fortunate to have visited a few countries, mainly in South America. Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, China, India, Japan, Greece, Paraguay, Peru, Rapa Nui, Seychelles, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Tanzania, and …

Marathoner? Who Me?

Published by

“Crazy!” That’s what I called my girlfriend when she suggested we do the Honolulu Marathon! “We can WALK it!” she exclaimed! She steered me to a site called “Marathon Walking” which outlined how any level headed person with slight overachieving tendencies can (really) do it! This was January of 2011. We had 11 months! No sweat we said! At that point, walking 2 miles was quite the achievement. Actually, it was finding the TIME to walk even 20 minutes was the big challenge. We were busy! Then, my husband (the manager—you know the type) chimed in and threw down the real gauntlet (we think he was scoffing at us)… he would SPONSOR us through his small business company! Cool! An ACTUAL, like, FOR REAL SPONSOR! He paid our entry fee but then issued this ultimatum: If… during or after the race, we were found on the ground, comatose, we were to immediately remove any association with his company (i.e. t-shirts, caps, tattoos, etc). He surmised the negative publicity was going to hurt his already obscure …

Home for the Holidays

Published by

It has been 19 years since I last celebrated Christmas with my family on Guam. So much time has passed, recalling holiday celebrations from childhood by memory is difficult without visual aids or stories shared by my sister, Melissa. Why, you may ask, has it been so long? That’s a good question. I don’t have any good answers and my excuses are just that – excuses. It’s not that I lack desire or interest in family gatherings, but that poor planning, inflated airfares, work scheduling and the daunting task of finding trustworthy house/dog sitters often hinder off-island trips. Simply put, vacations are expensive and require careful planning. This will be the first year my husband and I will be celebrating the holidays without any family members or friends coming to visit. There has been very little effort in decorating. With Christmas only 10 days away, the task to completing the holiday shopping list is now a priority. While posting the greeting cards this afternoon, memories of bygone holidays began to flood my mind and I couldn’t …

Two Cents Tuesday Challenge: Paths

Published by

Across the Bored, has a 14 day Two Cents Tuesday challenge. The theme this go around is PATHS.  Everyone today seems to be going somewhere in a hurry – “Where do the paths lead in your world?”  While visiting Lili’uoklani Park and Gardens, I found myself standing before a rock path that connected the opposite ends of the pond.  I hesitated for a moment.  I thought to myself as I contemplated going across the rock path how my life was so different last year.  Last year,  I was a carefree and worry-free individual.  Now, I am a mother and part-time caregiver for my elderly parents. The amount of responsibilities that rest on my shoulders have multiplied exponentially.  I never thought I would be where I am today. Caring for another person is exhausting, stressful, and simply nerve wrecking.  Every decision I make could possibly jeopardize the life of my loved ones.  My life has been a mirror of visits to the doctor’s office and hospitals.  While pregnant, I spent a lot of my time gallivanted through the …