BHSO Week 60!

So last September, my friend Ayako and I started walking the Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook.  It is roughly 320 steps (or something in that neighborhood) up a steep hill about a mile from my house and on a clear day, has a 360 degree view, including the Pacific Ocean.  There are switchback trails, if you don't want to do the steps, which are uneven, and some are steep.

Me and A at the top

At first we went a few weeks in a row, we didn't have any plans or goals to make this a weekly thing, it was just kind of a fun thing to do.  I had been taking Maiya, but maybe only once every few months.  Saori, my sister in law said something becomes a habit after 12 or 20 something times.  So at first, we were kind of working towards a habit.  Weeks turned into months.  Seasons changed, and suddenly we were at 20 weeks, then 30.  And we kept going.  Our "guideline" was that we had to find one hour between the two of us every weekend (somewhere between Friday and Monday.  Some weeks were easier than others, but we usually went on Saturday or Sunday mornings.    I did enjoy seeing the physical changes to the hillside.  Definitely Spring was my favorite season, although those weeks were harder on me because of allergies.  Enjoyed clear sunny days, and the occasional beautiful sunsets.

A and M near the bottom of the steps

I knew we were really committed the first time we walked it in the rain, once it was raining pretty hard and we were the only ones there.  A third option is to walk up the road, which is steep, but much easier.  Or the time when it was Spring Forward and we went at 7am.   Or when we went after dark.  Or last week when we went at 6am on a weekday morning.  

A couple months ago, in September, we hit our one year anniversary.  What an accomplishment.  Maiya joined us on maybe 1/3 to 1/2 of them. She tended to go more in the warm sunny days, when we didn't go to early, or when we went in afternoons or evenings.  She prefers taking the street up, but she always kicks my butt on the steps, having to wait for me at every level.

Me and Maiya in our "peace hoodies"
in memory of Trayvon Martin

Anyways, a nice thing that has happened, is that even though it's never easy for me, I am breathing better, and I no longer need the inhaler as I did when we started this weekly walk.

It's also been nice to have a consistent walking buddy in Ayako.  Although we had lost touch for a few years, that hour each week has been a nice time to reconnect.  If it wasn't for her checking in every week about setting the time, I would have never done this on my own.

So, this past week was Year 2, Week 8, or 60 weeks.  And that feels good.

Peace.  Out.
NaBloPoMo12 #3

Year of the Dragon, that's me!

Year of the Dragon, that's Me!

Year of the Dragon:  Notice the growing out first-time cellophaned, but fading red hair and the grey roots poking out?  See the tiny wrinkles?  Actually, my eyes are open.  I am literally (I can't say literally without thinking of Rob Lowe on Parks and Recreation, a show I am enjoying nightly on Netflix at the moment) serious that my eyes are open in this picture.  Anyways, I am getting a Metro TAP card for the train/bus pass and I needed a picture.  I think that me, Maiya and several coworkers tried to take pictures of me, dozens over the last few days for me to submit, and they all turned out goofy.  This one, has got to be the goofiest, and no, this one won't be on the train pass.

Anyways, as usual, I digress, again.  It is Year of the Dragon, and no, sweet and naive of you to guess that I am 36, but yes, as of today, I am 48 years old.  When I talk about childhood friends, then we start saying, "oh yeah, we've been friends for 40 something years."  Anyways, I'm in much better health than I was at 46 (Blog Post Forty-sicks!) and for that I am extremely grateful.  Grateful to my dear friend Victor Shibata, who passed away earlier this year, who helped me with health and energy issues ranging from fertility to asthma and many other ailments over the last 15 years or so.  I miss you Victor.

Picture taken with the Iha's, a Cuban Japanese family we visited in Cuba in 2001
 (me far left, Tony seated, and Victor far right)

So on my birthday, one of my "wishes" and my "hopes," is that I can stay healthy and be lucky enough to keep watching my beautiful, funny, spunky, smart kid grow up.

Peace, out.
NaBloPoMo12 #2

It's time for NaBloPoMo 2012 again

So, I'm thinking about doing NaBloPoMo, posting daily in the month of November, something I've done the last five years or so, with some success, except for last year, where I only made it halfway through the month.  I was a pretty regular blogger until FB came along and reduced my writing to photo uploads and Twitter-like status updates.  Anyways, for the last week, I have been trying to do monthly updates to catch up on 2012.  I've made it through January, Feburary, and Maiya's 7th birthday, so I guess I'll have that to do.  Anyways, I'm kind of babbling, so I'll just close with a photo.

Maiya and I have been doing puzzles lately which we got from Auntie Keiko.  When we visited her this summer after picking up Maiya from her Buddhist summer camp, we stopped by Keiko's house and did puzzles with her.  They are so addicting.  This one is the first one we did, and was a 500 piece puzzle, pretty easy.  We bought a 750 piece kids puzzle, which was quite fun, and then I did a 1000 piece Kincaid puzzle, which was not easy at all, and took quite a bit of time and many late nights.  I think I like that even though they're tough to do, all the pieces will eventually fit together, which I like. Since there's a lot of chaos and gasa gasa in my life, I find puzzles oddly comforting and relaxing.

Peace. Out.
NaBloPoMo12 #1

February 2012 Update

February was a busy month.  I participated in a march and rally around LAUSD Headquarters supporting Adult Education and calling against the closing of 30 Adult Education sites with 300,000 adult learners, including the mommies in our Family Literacy program who attend 68 hours a month of English classes, parenting classes and parent/child literacy activities with their preschool children.  We were among 1,000 others that day. Furlough days continued for Maiya, and we were thrilled that my cousin Jackie came and brought her grandbaby Harper over to visit and have lunch.

Also this month, I started volunteering with Meghan Sahli-Wells' campaign for City Council, attending fundraisers, helping on a phone bank, walking precincts, assembling and putting up lawn signs in the neighborhood with Maiya, writing a support letter that was published in 3 or 4 news blogs, and making some new friends.  After losing by 32 votes in 2010 on an eco-friendly campaign I could get behind, I had decided if she ever ran again, I would volunteer for her campaign.

New York Knick Jeremy Lin hit the big time, and we got the last Linsanity t-shirt at the mall (a gift for Kevin's bday), which the kids celebrated at the gymnastics center, where I tried to pull some old tricks on the equipment, reliving my old gymnastics glory days #FAIL.

LTSC Family Literacy supports ADULT EDUCATION at LAUSD Headquarters

Cousin Jackie and Baby Harper visit on Maiya's Furlough Day

Supporting Meghan Sahli-Wells for City Council!

Superstars #6 has the ball!  Playing against WLA boys

Linsanity goes full force in February!

Maiya & Eve

Kevin's 7th Birthday at the Gymnastics Center

Peace Out... that's February 2012
#activism #baby #bball #birthday #cousins #literacy #monthlyupdate
(Posted 10/27/12)

Maiya's 7th Bday Mottainai Party

We celebrated Maiya's 7th Bday Party again at the park by our house.  Seems like every year gets bigger, this year about 75 people came, having invited the basketball team, friends from school, old preschool friends, and extensions of family.  I'm thinking that this might be the last year of a party of this size.  Big as it was, we still managed to do a fairly green low-waste party.  Plastic utensils and reusable party chopsticks go in the bucket, Grandpa Larry's coffee mugs, no single-use drink containers, cloth tablecloths, recycled paper plates, hot pots for tea and coffee.  I'm always amazed at how little trash is in the trash can at the end of the day.  The main thing we take home to recycle is the 1/2 gallon juice and 2 liter bottle sodas.

 During arts and crafts time, the kids made Tenegui towels... which they later needed for learning the Mottainai dance from Auntie Nobuko, who came and did a little obon dance workshop, teaching the kids the dance.  It was a lot of fun to watch the kids and parents joining in.

 Then afterwards, we went back home and celebrated Grandpa's birthday at our house.  The kids always bring out the yogurt cups every time they come over.  We just can't get rid of them.

Until next bday, peace out!

(Posted on: 10/25/12)

Santa Barbara Overnighter for MLK Day

More backblogging... on the Kuida-Osumi family trip to Santa Barbara for Martin Luther King Jr Weekend.  How much playtime and activism can one family fit into a one night trip?  Lots!

$1 Tacos in Carpinteria

Santa Barbara Zoo

50 degrees outside in January, but the motel has a pool!

How Mom dresses at the pool when it's cold outside

March on State Street for MLK Day 

Marching with Daddy

What do we want? Justice! When do we want it? Now! 

March ended at the Arlington Theater 

Stearns Wharf, Santa Barbara

Funny faces at the Aquarium on the pier

Ooh jellyfish!

Kuida-Osumi Mini-Vacation

MLK Sand Art

Peace. Out.

Backblogging January 2012

We'll ignore the fact that it's the middle of October 2012, and that I never finished last year's November NaBloPoMo which was supposed to backblog 2011.  So I still need to catch up on June-December for 2011. I may never get there.  Or, these dates might look a little funky.  Anyways, here are some photos from January 2012, Maiya's last month of being 6 years old.

Maiya took over 100 pictures on this day of her animals.  Each one has a name, age and gender assigned to it. 

One of Maiya's vintage art projects with Daddy.
Making pizza out of cardboard.

Maiya took some Saturday Karate classes to prep
for her Yellow Belt test at Jewish Workman's Center .

Maiya has been here before... for 2005 Jewish Seder (her 3 month bday).

Took Maiya to JANM for their Oshogatsu Festival.
Here we made handprints with our wishes for 2012.

Musubi Making Contest at JANM

Grandma with Grandkids on her 74th Bday

Celebrating Grandma Machi, Kevin and Uncle Shag's Birthday.

 ** Still to come for January 2012, our trip to Santa Barbara for MLK weekend.

Happy New Year 2012

Kuida-Osumi's at Christmas 2011

Our 2011 holiday card - 2 CicLAvia's, cucumber from our garden, Manzanar & soccer 

Happy New Year 2012 - Osechi plate from Ayako H.