I had the opportunity to lead another mini-workshop on how to cypher at the skating rink recently. Which was an opportunity to think more about what a cypher is and how to explain that to a newcomer. I’m getting pretty good at describing the basics — that a cypher is a tradition practiced in many…
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An Amazing and Exhausting Week of Birthday Festivities!
When I turned 50, I thought I couldn’t outdo myself in birthday celebration organizing. After all, that year, I threw an epic dance party for 50 of my favorite people in the world, complete with a buffet meal, a custom cake from Goldilock’s bakery, a DJ, entertainment, and a trivia contest. It was a huge…
I Hiked the SF Crosstown Trail!
One of my San Francisco bucket list activities was to hike the SF Crosstown Trail. This urban hike meanders through a dozen incredible neighborhoods, hitting up hidden parks, gardens, stairways, lookout points, two lakes, and more. Doing the hike was particularly important to me when I was diagnosed in February with tendinitis and minor arthritis…
“For this World” by Walter Rauschenbusch
A member of my Quaker Meeting, Stephanie Rauschenbusch, shared this wonderful poem written by her grandfather Stephanie Rauschenbusch in 1957. It very much speaks to my condition. O God, we thank thee for this universe, our great home; for its vastness and its riches, and for the manifoldness of the life which teams upon it…
My First K-Pop Concert: BlackPink in Bay Area!
I guess I’m a Blink now. On Tuesday I went to the sold-out BlackPink concert at Giants Stadium along with 30,000 other Blinks (BlackPink fans) of all ages. I was a little nervous since I was going basically alone (I had friends there, but in a different section of the stadium.) And I had some…
Say My Name, Say My Name
How I went from “Ricky” to “Rich” to “Rik” and now “Riki.” I was leading a workshop on analyzing media for teachers in June and needed a piece of media for the participants to unpack together. And somehow I came across this ad by Procter & Gamble. It was perfect! So many interesting production choices…
Riki’s Top Six Experiences in Japan
It’s really hard to boil down two weeks in Japan into a few faves. But in the interest of brevity, here’s my top six experiences I had in the Land of the Rising Sun: NOTE: This doesn’t include all my Tokyo Disney adventures. Here’s a Google Map list of other places I hit up, for…
My Friend Amy (poem)
My friend AmyWears ballet slippers on the streetAdopts every child she meetsPuts salad dressing on her riceWould rather be called obnoxious than niceIs always flatBrokeSleeps like a narcoleptic catSmokesWrites poetry nobody ever seesAnd the rest you’d never believe. rik panganibanoctober 1992
Accidentally Learning to Sail
It’s the Summer of 1997 or 1998. I’m in Silver Bay, New York for the annual retreat of New York Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends. Basically it’s adult summer camp for Quakers in New York. That’s as exciting as it sounds, complete with lots of meditation, reading, quiet conversation, and contemplative walks…
Incredible Time at 2-Raw Spring Skate Jam
Last Saturday, I participated in the “2-Raw Spring Skate Jam,” my first weekend-long rhythm skate party. It was held at the Sunrise Rollerland rink in north Sacramento. It was an amazing event and I’m so glad I got to be there. It’s been a little under two years since I started quad skating, so I…