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…
Oaks Park Rink in southern Portland is a national treasure — the oldest rink in the America, established in 1905, and the second largest in the country! I had the pleasure of spending the weekend skating on that buttery, gigantic floor for the Rose City Skate Jam. What’s interesting about the rink is not only…
Somehow I have lived this long without ever visiting Portland, Oregon. This is despite being a coffee nerd and a foodie, and it being just a short flight from San Francisco. I remedied that this weekend with a quick trip there for a skate party. (I’ll write more about the party in the next post.)…
We had an unexpected day off at work because of Juneteenth, which I decided to spend going back to the Alameda County Fair, which I haven’t been to for at least two decades. I have fond memories of going to the fair as a young person. But would it live up to the nostalgia after…
This weekend, I got to experience my first national rhythm skate event, Soul Skate Detroit, one of the most popular skate events in the world. Soul Skate has been held over Memorial Day weekend for 17 years! Getting to skate in one of the historic centers of Black skating in America was high on my…
I always remember my dad having this confidence about everything he did, from home maintenance to sports to driving. I don’t really know where he got it from, possibly from his time working at the Clark Air Force Base, his medical training, or just generally how his adopted mom Nana Olin raised him. He never…
Check me out at 3:23! My job here is done.
This weekend I traveled to my first big skate event, the 3rd Anniversary Party at Rock City Rink in Las Vegas. I joined 400+ skaters at a beautiful wood rink on the outskirts of Vegas city. I’ve been wanting to go to Vegas for awhile, and I knew a few Bay Area folks going to…
I don’t tend to set “resolutions” for the New Year, which feels a bit too confining and unrealistic. Instead I do like to set “intentions” to give me direction and motivation. These are more like things I am very interested in and want to explore, but without set quantitative goals or deadlines. So not “I…