My response to the natural disaster happening right now.
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I just visited Perth for the first time last week. It was pretty great. I got to meet some of Tom’s family and friends, including their dog, Riley.
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When I first told my friends that I had taken up aikido again, the major response was more or less, “Wow, cool! You’ll be able to really hurt people.”
Uh…
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Bellow is a collection of articles I’ve read this month that are related to saving the environment and sustainability. (Except for the LEGO article, but I found that before I started making these collections.
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This is just a super short post about the holiday my boyfriend and I went on this past week.
We visited my favourite Italian restaurant on Philip Island, and explored the old quarantine facility at Portsea.
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On 27/5/2019 I started my first official class at a new dojo. The last time I practiced was sometime in 2014.
I was never graded in aikido before, and very frustrated because I couldn’t perform a roll. Hopefully my new sensei can help me achieve this action.
Anyway, returning to the mat was, no kidding, like being a baby deer on ice. And this is not just because I’m rusty – but because this dojo is much more physically demanding than the one I was at before. But this is okay actually, because I believe the physical activity is doing me some good.
One thing that prompted me to return to training was all the sitting down I was doing.
Up until recently, I spent all day sitting down at a desk (occasionally using the standing feature or taking a break to play table tennis). Then I sit down all evening to watch Netflix, YouTube, or to play a video game.
Now I look forward to spending my evenings doing physical activity, because it’s doing me some good.
I did a good deed for an elderly man on Tuesday. But I’m not just here to brag about this.
He was confused and barely spoke English. I helped him find his way to the train replacement bus, and get off at the right stop, and he was extremely grateful for this simple act.
Because on first glance, the old man looked like he was mentally ill. He was wearing strange clothes, had a limp, and called me “missy”. So creepy, right? But I knew from his face, accent, and attire that he was recently from Vietnam and genuinely confused.
I never know what words to use around foreign people, so I nod, smile, and said “you’re welcome”. I waved and said “good luck” as he got off the bus, and he stopped and waved when the bus took off.
When I got off the bus at my stop, a young man (18-19-ish) approached me and said he saw what I did, and really appreciated it. I said, “You saw how grateful he was. Imagine how many people snobbed him off today.”
So, think how many people must have ignored him, because on first glance he looked like a weirdo. He reacted to me as if he won a prize. I didn’t think anyone noticed what I did, so I was surprised when I received thanks from another stranger.
Out of hundreds of people he encountered today, was I the only one who smiled? Let alone step up to help?
Despite having grown up around cliquish Vietnamese kids, the older ones seem like nice, genuine people.
Okay, I think I’ll end my rant there.
I’ve been nominated by Karin for the Liebster Award. And it’s about bloody time I responded to this! I don’t think my responses to the questions are all that great, but I thought I’d give this a try.
Liebster Award Rules:
- Thank the person who nominated you with a link back to his/her blog.
- Answer the questions given to you by the nominator.
- Nominate (and notify) other bloggers for the award that have fewer than 500 followers.
- Create 11 questions (or less) for your nominees.
- Let the nominees know that they have been nominated by going to their blog and notifying them.
- Display the Liebster Award logo on your page.
- List these rules on your post.
Karin’s Questions
Do you have any middle names?
Nope.
What’s your favourite Disney movie of all time? (I assume everyone has seen at least one Disney movie in their lives)
The Emperor’s New Groove
If you could have any pet you want, what would it be and what would you name it?
A dragon would be great; I’d probably call it Smaug. but I guess if we want to be realistic, I’d want a Shiba Inu and/or a black cat.
What does your living room look like? (Bonus points for pictures!)
I don’t really have one. :/
Best monsters: werewolves, vampires, or zombies?
Werewolves! Because vampires and zombies are too overrated.
Do you enjoy playing (video/computer) games? What types of games do you like the most?
I like FPSs, but I also play a fair amount of Minecraft.
If you could be a fictional character for one day, who would you be and why?
Probably Smaug. Because who wouldn’t want to be a dragon?
Can you tell us about the best birthday you’ve ever had so far?
Probably that one where I went bowling and had a chocolate pancake for dinner. I can’t forget having a chocolate pancake for dinner.
Where would you go if you could be instantly teleported anywhere in the world right now?
I honestly can’t think of a great answer to this question. I have plenty of vague, open-ended ideas of places I want to live, and countries I’d like to visit, but I can’t really nail down any specific location I’d like to be in. For instance, I’m keen to visit New Zealand, Japan, and (Karin’s country) Sweden.
I’m Nominating…
My Questions
- If you had to choose, would you prefer a vacation in very hot or very cold location? (You can’t pick “warm”.)
- Which is best: Pudding, jelly (jello) or frozen yoghurt?
- If you had a superhero power, what would it be?
- What one thing does the world need more of?
- What one thing does the world need less of?
- What is the last thing or person you took a photo of?
- Google’s new logo, love it or hate it?
- If you could be on TV for any reason, what would that be?
- If you could be granted infinite amounts of one food, resource or material, what would that be?
- What is the most recent song that played on your radio or device?
- If you were given $5000 to donate to a charity, who would you give it to? (You can only pick one.)
Okay, done! Phew!
Don’t feel like you have to answer this if you don’t want to. And if you’re not nominated, but want to answer the questions feel free!
Me: Um… Are you in Fukushima!?
Blaine: Yeah… Work in an hour.
Me: Tell Godzilla, Louise said hi.
Blaine: He hates me currently when i took his sushi
Me: You must have a big appetite, to eat Godzilla’s food portions!
Blaine: I was hungry… I also shared it
Me: With whom?
Blaine: About 1/4 of shibuyas population.
Can you imagine a world where we had no struggles or war? Have you considered that your need to get even is just a manifestation of how you feel about yourself? If we can calm the rage within our own hearts, perhaps we can inspire others to do so.
“Holding on to anger is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die.” – Buddha
Being peaceful is not about being passive, or being a loser. The truly peaceful warrior decides there is no winning or losing to be done.
It’s inevitable, INEVITABLE, that people will always do things we don’t like. People will always say things we don’t like. People will never conform to the expectation that you have in your mind.
I’m sorry. That’s the way it is. No matter how well-meaning you think you are, no matter how right you think you are, other people are NOT the same. They can be similar, but they will never have the same mind as you.
But if you can accept this with grace, rather than push against it, you will find that the world IS like you. We all want to be loved right? Why do we pursue hate and anger, when we know it doesn’t feel good?
