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November 2002
November 30- Long Weekend!
Yesterday, I cleaned house. Did dishes, cleaned the kitchen counters, the toaster oven, the sink, reorganized the Tupperware cupboards, did laundry, paid bills. Tony made the most delicious turkey soup with the carcass from Mom's turkey. It had corn, green beans, rice, yummy. I asked him to write the recipe so that I could post it on the website. He said, "You saw me do it. Just add salt, pepper, garlic, onions, rice, frozen corn and green beans." Oh. Okaayy. Last night, we went to see "Real Women Have Curves" with Laura and Hector at the Laemmle's Monica Fourplex. It was a great movie. Glad we went, because as we were walking out of the theater, Tony noticed that they had changed the marquee.
Today, we drove out to Riverside for my step-grandmother-in-law Marie's 90th birthday lunch (Tony's stepfather Don's mother). We got to meet some of Don's relatives for the first time at the Mission Inn. Don's mom is a great great grandmother now.
We saw two rainbows and a beautiful sunset on the way home. Tony & I have been playing Boggle for the past few days, the funnest part of my weekend! Playing games with my hubby in a clean house. Doesn't get much better than that.
November 27- Giving Thanks
Tomorrow is Thanksgiving. I'm going to my mom's and Tony is going with his dad to Riverside to his dad's cousin Marlene's house. Auntie Aiko and Uncle Chi, who I visited twice, are down from Moses Lake, Washington. My big secret about Thanksgiving is that I don't really eat turkey. I can make a whole meal out of potatoes, stuffing and gravy, but I try to hide it by adding a little yam, cranberries and extra salad. Mike says I'm a starch freak, it reminds him how I only eat bagels so that I can eat cream cheese. When I was younger people would say, "Do you want some fries to go with that ketchup?" I am a condiment freak.
Tonight, I made orange jello with mandarin oranges, just like grandma used to make that I will bring tomorrow. Mom makes just about everything else. So, I'm thankful for a husband who I love so much, my growing family (two nephews now!), a career that I love, the freedom to choose my life's path, and knowing that there's nothing material that I really need. I'm so lucky.
November 26- Churasan means beautiful
For the last 6 months or so, I've been hooked on a Japanese soap opera with subtitles, Churasan. I finally broke down and learned how to program my VCR after 5 years of living in our house for the days when I carpool with Tony. It's a real coming of age story about Eri Kohagura, an young Okinawan woman who moves to Tokyo to follow her dreams. It's a corny love story, sappy and hilarious. It's on 15 minutes a day, Monday - Thursday at 7:30 am. From what I can tell, the storyline continues for about a year and always has a female central character. It is almost over and I am really going to miss it and the silly Japanese TV commercials. Does anyone watch this show? Let me know, I'd love to talk about it with you!
November 25- Dust in the Wind
I remember in 8th grade, my English teacher Mrs. Boronkay brought in music by the Beatles and Kansas to teach about poetry. "Dust in the Wind" was one of the current day songs she brought in. I love that song. If I hear it on the radio, I turn the sound all the way up and sing to my heart's content. That's the song I was thinking about today. It was so windy! Nona, Erica and I decided to walk to Luna Sol Cafe for a delicious veggie lunch. It's at least a mile away, if not more. We walked down Wilshire, took a right at MacArthur Park and left at 6th Street. On the way back to the office, the wind was so strong, dust, leaves and trash were swirling about like mini-tornados. Not a good day for contact lenses wearers. I feel dust and grit in my hair and ears. Yuck. (Oh hey, Erin Brockovich is on tv tonight. I love this movie.)
As I was driving home from work tonight I heard a show on NPR talking about some new or proposed Library Total Information Act and the New Homeland Security thing Bush signed today. The Library act or whatever it's called will allow the govt to monitor your medical records, video rentals, ATM purchases, library books, etc. The woman on the radio cautioned how our civil liberties are being taken away and that there will be no one monitoring how it is done. These are frightening times. Reminds me of the Bob Dylan song, "Blowin' in the Wind." "How many years can some people exist, before they're allowed to be free? Yes, 'n' how many times can a man turn his head, pretending he just doesn't see? The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind, the answer is blowin' in the wind."
November 24- Issei for a Day
Yesterday Tony & I got up at 3:00 am to go to Visual Communications to be part of "Stand Up for Justice" a docudrama produced by VC and NCRR about the life of Ralph Lazo, a Chicano teenager who went to camp (see Nov 6 below). I was one of about 60 extras, dressed in 40s clothes out at the Fillmore train station. We were JAs at the train station leaving for Manzanar. The trippiest part was seeing my Sansei friends wearing the "period" clothing, and transforming into their Issei grandparents for the day. The remnants of my 40s hairstyle and makeup are at right. Tony helped with setup and breakdown and we videotaped some interviews with the extras. It was fun to see the process of a movie being made. Not a Hollywood movie, but a community-based film on a nonprofit budget. I signed up to help with fundraising as we need to raise money for post-production. We forgot the digital camera, but there were lots of cameras around so I'll try to upload some photos soon.
November 17- Breaking the Fast
Yesterday I went to the All Camp Summit at the Bonaventure. Got to see friends from up in the Bay, like Dana and Jerry, plus other cool people from Nosei, who are doing some pretty good work up there. Afterwards, Tony & I went to the Breaking of the Fast at Senshin. It was a terrific event, bringing together the Japanese, Buddhist and Muslim American communities during Ramadan. Sponsored by the NCRR 911 Committee and Muslim Public Affairs Council, there was Buddhist chanting, reading of the Koran, lots of great food, Muslim children's chorus, and taiko. Afterwards we went back to the Bonaventure to catch the tail end of the reception hosted by the Rec Center Coalition and visit with friends. Although I was exhausted by the end, it was a pretty great day.
November 16- Peruvian Delight
A pretty relaxed week, compared to previous weeks, ie., no grants due this week. Did some catch up work at the office, carpooled and took the bus 3 days. Had our bi-monthly dinner with Lisa, baby Kai and Lily at Don Felix Peruvian Restaurant on Wednesday, then back again last night with Tony. Wednesday I had the Camarone Picante which is shrimp in spicy peanut sauce and milk. Last night I had the Saltado de Pescado, which is salty fish with onions, tomatoes and soggy fries. Yummy. Both times we had the Calamare appetizer which is a full meal, with purple onions, lettuce and tomatos piled high with that spicy green sauce.
November 9- Waiting to exhale
Wow am I pooped. I had such a sporadic week and I feel a little out of sorts. Three days I worked 11+ hours, three days I woke up early and carpooled with Tony then took the bus, and two days I worked partial days. It's going to be a busy weekend. Tomorrow is Tony's niece Danika's 11th bday and my brother Darin's b-day. We'll get to see my new nephew, Kyle. Today, we're going to my favorite exboyfriend George's wedding in Laguna Beach. Congrats George & Liz! So happy to see George finally tie the knot.
Last night, Mike, Laura, Tony & I went to a taping of "That 70s Show." It was fun to see a sitcom taping. The last one I saw was "Benson," a long, long time ago. Afterwards we went to Miceli's on Caheunga for a late dinner, then back to Mike 'n Laura's for dessert. Mike made this amazing oreo cookie crust, ice cream cake with frozen raspberry and belgian chocolate topping for my birthday. It was kinda like a modified mudpie and almost totally organic. Laura made potato salad, yum. I think I might have it for breakfast.
Thursday night was a workshop for our Boyle Heights residency, it was pretty good. I've been enjoying going to the workshops, hearing other people's stories about Boyle Heights, and even recalling my own memories. Nobuko and Dan are really great workshop facilitators. Wednesday night I went to Burke Williams with Lily, and we got massages. Very relaxing. My favorite moment is always that moment when you lie face down on the table and exhale and wonder how long it's been since you truly relaxed and just exhaled.
November 8 - To Blog or Not to Blog
Lately I've been discovering that there is a whole community on the internet that I didn't really know existed. Some people live their lives on the internet and pour out their souls in their blogs. I just recently learned that a blogger is someone who keeps a regular online journal, a web log, hence the word blog, for short. Like PegPower, a young Asian newlywed with a one year old daughter who posts a daily pix of her daughter. It's great for her family, friends and internet friends to keep updated with her that way. Then there's Yambiguity, a Sansei widower who is raising his 5 year old son, posts weekly photos and funny kid stories. I kind of stumble into the honesty of these people's lives and get hooked. It inspires me to share more of my community work, write more detail, and more often about what goes on in my own life. On the other hand, who has the time? What with working so much, being involved in so many community, trying to live a healthy life and spend time with my hubby, it could get a bit overwhelming. Then there's the issue of how much do you reveal? How much of your personal life do you want strangers, the govt, or even the people close to you, to know about your life? What do you say, what do you hold back? Is anyone even reading? (If so, let me know by signing the guest book.) It reminds me of something I heard recently: We always knew big brother was watching, but who knew that people would put webcams in their homes and broadcast their lives to the world wide web. Well, as you can see, I guess I'm bloggin.
November 6 - Do you wanna be in pictures?
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Last weekend was the Manzanar Committee fundraiser. Surprisingly, it went well, given that we were kinda disorganized. Asian Persuasion did a concert at Reikai's Kitchen. They were so awesome. I really enjoyed our emcee, Rodney Kageyama. I've never worked with him before and he was hilarious. I stage managed, gave an update about the After Dark program and did a plug for the Ralph Lazo film. Ralph Lazo was a Chicano teenager from Boyle Heights who voluntarily went to Manzanar during WW2 to be with his friends. NCRR and VC is making a docu-drama about his life and are looking for extras for the train scene on November 23rd. If you have always wanted to be in a movie or would like to kind of experience what JAs went through in 1942 when they went to camp, this is your chance. As a 38 year old, I will be able to imagine my grandma who was about 43 when she went to camp. Only she had 5 kids and a husband who had been taken away because he was a Tenrikyo minister. They still need extras, so if you're interested, email ralphlazo@yahoo.com or call Jan Yen at VC (213) 680-4462. The only thing is that the call time is 4am in Little Tokyo for costume fittings. Come join Tony & I as an extra on 11/23 and click to the NCRR Ralph Lazo page for details.
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November 1 - New Nephew Kyle!
Congrats to Saori and Darin on the birth of their new baby Kyle Minoru Kuida, born October 30th. Yeah! He's pretty cute. They went into the hospital at 6am, and he was born at 10:52 am. It was pretty exciting. Check out photos of the new baby from our new digital camera.
Also updated Tony's childhood photos. I love the one on the skateboard.
Jan-June 2002 | July-September 2002 | October 2002 | November 2002
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