Musings on Dance, Food, Geek Stuff
The year was 1992. I was 23 years old, an aimless college grad on my own. I had just spent a year volunteering at a legal aid society in El Paso, Texas, helping refugees apply for political asylum in the United States. It was an eye-opening experience for me, living in a border town, learning…
As I wrote in the previous post, lots of 2024 was spent dealing with external events that impacted my life. Which was a lot. But I also accomplished quite a bit. Published the Definitive History of Yehoodi.com I began 2024 with the release of a 39-page history of the online community Yehoodi.com, a labor of…
At its face, 2024 was not the best year ever. Let’s run down the awfulness: But honestly, despite all of these events – and in some ways because of them – 2024 was still a pretty great year. Let’s break it down. Problems Money Can Solve Someone said “You are fortunate if you have problems…
In 2017, I was completely obsessed with French pastries. If there was a new bakery in town, or a favorite shop had a new seasonal item, my brain just couldn’t let it go. I simply could not sit still knowing there was a delicious pastry only a few minutes from me that I hadn’t tried…
I’ve been thinking about how learning to skate is both a physical and a mental skill. Of course you need to be able to physically move your body in certain ways, and involves a certain amount of strength in your legs, butt and core. But perhaps the harder aspect of skating is building up the…
It only took five months and at least four attempts. But I learned a lot!
Way back in 2017, my friend Aurelia invited Hanah and me to participate in a unique photo shoot in a long abandoned train station in West Oakland. How could we say no? Hanah and I put on our favorite vintage-y outfits and met up with Aurelia in an industrial part of West Oakland I had…
Dr. Rick Hanson is a Buddhist practitioner and lecturer who does a weekly meditation that has been speaking to my condition a lot lately. This latest one is particularly interesting: “The Good News That’s Still True.” Rick shares out this graphic describing what he calls the “Triangle of What Is True.” Each level he describes…
One of my fondest childhood memories was when I was maybe ten or eleven in suburban Pleasanton, California. It must have been autumn, because the leaves had fallen, it had been raining steadily, but it was still pretty warm out. Ken Shimabuku was an acquaintance at my school who seemed like the coolest kid ever….
A skater asked me today how long I had been skating. It’s a question I get a lot from beginners. I understand — you see someone do something that you aspire to, and you wonder how long it will take you to get there. I answered, “About four years… But it isn’t the years, it’s…