Day One Hundred and Sixty Two: Hip Hop

I really want to learn hip hop dancing.

I learned a little bit of hip hop when I studied dance when I was younger, but not intensively. See, the studio where I practiced was strictly ballet. And then every once in a while, we would have a ‘fun day’ where we would work on some jazz, some hip hop or some gymnastics, etc. Ballet was the focus and everything else was just kind of tossed in there.

I can’t dance ballet very well anymore because of an injury to my knee. But I miss the fluidity and strength that comes with dance. When I watched some hip hop videos online, I noticed that the style, while still technically intensive and very rigorous, was a little easier on the knees and ankles then a strenuous ballet routine.

I’m not the type of person who would really go seeking an instructor in dance or classes at a studio. I have enough in my schedule that showing up once or twice a week somewhere is nearly impossible. Plus, lessons cost money. I’m more of a self-taught person.  

So we’ll see how it goes.

Challenge to my Readers:

Movement for your body is like air for your lungs. Do something, even if it’s something you have never considered trying before. 

Day One Hundred and Sixty One: Arabic

I have always wanted to learn Arabic.

I know a few words already, enough to curse in the language, which probably isn’t exactly conducive to speaking in the country.

When I expressed a want to learn Arabic to someone I knew and they asked me why I wanted to learn a ‘terrorist language.’ Notice how I characterized this person as someone I knew, not a friend, because they are obviously too stupid to be my friend. Arabic is one of the oldest, most beautiful languages in the world, and yet this person instantly dismissed it because of an association with a certain class of people.

I understand that living in a post 9/11 world has made us fearful of the unknown. It is far easier to classify everyone who speaks Arabic or who wears a head scarf as a terrorist. Easier, but certainly wrong.  We can’t fear and hate an entire language or an entire people just because of the actions of a select few. It doesn’t make sense, it doesn’t help us grow and it won’t help us find peace.

But understanding each other will. For me, learning Arabic has everything to do with poetry. I have a terrible fascination with Middle Eastern poetry, so much so that I did my thesis on it and I want to get a PHD studying it. In my mind, peace for the world is when we look at the best in each culture, not at the worst.

Instead of labeling everyone who speaks Arabic terrorists, wouldn’t it be better to label them all poets?

Challenge to my Readers:

I already talked about how everyone should learn at least one, if not more, language other than their native tongue, so I won’t say it again. Instead, I challenge us to think outside the box, to avoid that kneejerk reaction against another person or a new thing and be open to everything.

Day One Hundred and Sixty: Ten things I want to learn

I’ve been having trouble thinking of nice things about myself (not in the depressing, I’m-so-horrible-way but in the haven’t-I-already-done-that? way.) But it occurred to me that one of the biggest things I like about myself is my constant craving for knowledge. Literally constant. I’ll wake up in the middle of the night trying to remember something, find the Wikipedia article and read until four AM. It’s bad.

So I was thinking I could talk about what I want to learn. I have a lot of things I’d like to learn and I know I’m not going to learn them all this year. So even though this is my One Good Year, I can write about the stuff I want to learn in order to keep myself moving forward, keep a log of what I’m passionate about. That way I can go back to it and carry my Good Year forward with me in the future.

Get ready for the “stuff Kachi wants to learn list…”

It’s gonna be a doozy.

Challenge to my Readers:

Keep a list of what you want to learn about. Go back to it, check stuff off. Even if it is as simple as how to change a flat or as complicated as a whole new language, go for it. 

Day One Hundred and Fifty Nine: Dreamer

I am a day dreamer.

The other day I drove past a garage and suddenly I found myself completely immersed in a dream of mine.

Okay, it wasn’t just any garage. It was a building that used to be a garage. It used to be a Grease Monkey and it has these huge, beautiful garage doors and it’s empty and big and perfect. Perfect for my café.

I’ve always wanted my own café/bookstore. Which I know sounds so dripping with hipsterness that it’s practically dripster, but I’ve wanted to run and own a café for as long as I remember. I don’t really know why; no one in my family runs their own business and I’ve never so much as work in a Starbucks, but it is a dream of mine that I like to entertain on occasion.

I have a lot of dreams. Working in a high school. Owning a café. Traveling the world. Being a writer. Someone once told me that in order to make my dreams come true, I should pick one and focus on it. But I’m not sure that’s really a good plan. After all, I spent five years in school to become a teacher and now I’m not sure that’s what I really want to do (gasp!) I focused so hard on that dream that the realities of it hit me too fast and too hard and suddenly I don’t really want anything to do with it.

Someday I’m going to make all my dreams come true. One of them already has; I have a published book and I’m working on a second. I have the man of my dreams playing video games in the same room as me as we speak.

Hell, I’ve even got this awesome blog.

Some dreams do come true.

Challenge to my Readers:

Follow your dreams. As many as you want for as long as you want. Make them come true and let them come to you. Don’t let anyone else tell you how to do it; chances are they haven’t done it yet either. 

Day One Hundred and Fifty Eight: Trustworthy

I am trustworthy.

So the other night I had a wonderful “lets spill are darkest fears and secrets session” with a dear friend of mine. It was both fun and therapeutic, because we’re the kind of people with really inappropriate humor who can laugh at even the really dark stuff. I would never expect that she would spill any of my secrets and I would certainly never spill any of hers.

It feels really good to have that person in my life who I can count on to share my secrets with. And just like I mentioned in my blog about being dependable, if feels good to be that person for someone else. Being trustworthy means that you honor not only the secret itself but also the spirit of that secret. You don’t hint, you don’t brag, you just carry it with you.

When I was in my senior year of high school, I had a pretty big secret. I told a friend of mine at the time and she swore upwards and sideways that she would keep it. I was under the impression that she meant she would keep it forever. Flash forward two years and she let it slip at dinner one night. She didn’t even do it as an accident (it’s not exactly the kind of secret you slip into a casual conversation) she did it out of spitefulness and bitterness over a situation in her own life that I had no control over. I had never been so hurt in my life.

Eventually, we did the whole forgive and forget thing. But I never really forgot, and years later she called me out for being a little guarded around her. I told her it was because I didn’t feel I could trust her after she had betrayed me. Her reaction “Oh, that? Seriously, get over it.”

We’re still friends, but there’s a part of me that won’t ever give myself over to her again like that. What didn’t seem like a big deal to her was a huge deal to me. It wasn’t so much as letting the secret out that bothered me (they all come out eventually) but rather that she had betrayed the spirit of the secret, and therefore our friendship, with her carelessness.

I like to think that I’m good about secrets. The big ones I mean. I know to keep my mouth shut and adjust my morality to lie around things if I need to for a friend. That’s just something you do for the people you love. And yes, lying is bad, but eventually the truth comes out: Would you rather be the bitch who made everything awkward and awful or the person who stuck by your friend no matter what?

Challenge to my Readers:

Some truths aren’t meant to be told. If you know a secret that doesn’t belong to you, shut your mouth and carry it. That’s your burden now. (Unless it’s illegal, or gonna hurt somebody, in which case, tell away.)

Day One Hundred and Fifty Seven: Dependable

I am dependable.

Almost too dependable.

Here’s why: Every time an employee can’t work, every time a cake needs to be done, every time something goes wrong, goes missing, doesn’t look right, who ya’ gonna call? Kachi.

Sometimes I worry that being super dependable means that people like my owners and sometimes my parents and sometimes my friends (you know who you are) will take advantage of me. They know that I’m smart, creative, good at working in a time crunch and that I hate failure. I’m a little like that kid in high school that got stuck with all the work on group projects. Who am I kidding, I was that kid in high school.

But on the other hand, I like being dependable. Everyone needs someone that they can really, truly depend on when the mallet hits the nail. Some days it feels like everyone depends on me, but then I remember how many people I depend on. How often I trust strangers to watch my dog, or my family to look after him when I’m busy. Or when I need to leave the shop in the hands of a new employee. Or trusting my boyfriend to do the laundry, to take care of me and to remind me to take my medicine (Thanks Taylor.)

It seems like a lot of hassle in the moment, but being dependable is an admirable trait. It means that when something goes wrong or when something needs to go right, people look to you. It can be really nice; it can be really hard. It’s a lot of work, but honestly I love it.

Challenge to my Readers:

Whether you are dependable or you depend on someone, celebrate that fact. There is no weakness in asking for help, but there is great strength in giving help to others. Admit that it’s okay to depend on someone; be okay with letting yourself and others down. It’s going to happen at some point, let go and accept it. 

Day One Hundred and Fifty Eight: Dedicated (Mock Trial)

I have been involved with the Mock Trial program at my high school for ten years.

That’s right, ten freaking years.

I didn’t even realize it until I went to our banquet tonight. Ten years ago I was a scrawny little freshman that made the team. I was so young and so eager to learn. Now I meet those students every year and see a little bit of myself in them.

Most people leave high school behind when they graduate. But I’ve stuck with our program for ten whole years, six of them after I graduated. Hell, my mum has been a coach there for ten years, six of them were years after I graduated. She doesn’t even have me as a student in the school as an excuse to keep working there.

I think that sticking with something this long actually shows a lot of dedication. I really hope I get to keep working with these kids and these amazing coaches for many years to come.

One day, I’ll have my own mock trial team.

Challenge to my Readers:

Stay dedicated, even if you aren’t part of the game anymore. Even if you just check in on your team or your old theater program, stay close to what was once important to you.

Day One Hundred and Fifty Seven: Absorbed

I allow myself to be absorbed into books.

So the other night I finished a new book that I had been dying to read. And I cried myself to sleep because the ending was so beautiful and tragic and wonderful. Taylor was asleep and I just kept crying and sobbing over this story.

I don’t know a lot of people who let themselves get so involved in a book. I’ve seen people cry at movies and sporting events, but very rarely have I seen someone cry because of something they’ve read.

Maybe it’s because I’m a writer, but I am the perfect target audience for authors. I react just as expected at ever part of the book, overreact sometimes even. But I love that I can feel so connected to characters and plot without even having an image to go with it.

I hope my readers feel the same.

Challenge to my Readers:

Let yourself get swept away by whatever you’re reading. That’s the only way to really enjoy it.

Day One Hundred and Fifty Six: Easily Amused

I am very easily amused.

Right now I’m in love with Adventure Time, which if you don’t know is a children’s TV show and it is very silly. I used to think it was stupid, but I finally watched it with a five year old and suddenly it all makes sense. Honestly, kids’ shows always make more sense when you watch them with kids.

On that note, Taylor introduced me to a little web-show by the creator of Adventure Time called Bravest Warriors and it is pretty much the funniest thing I have ever seen. It’s a lot of fart and barf humor, which I love in a cartoon. It probably isn’t even that funny, but I am very easily amused.

Laughter is good for the heart and the soul. Sometimes I feel like we let ourselves get stuck up about humor, about what is and isn’t funny. I can get that way too; I hate Adam Sandler movies because I think they’re stupid. But they aren’t any stupider than Adventure Time. If you find something joyful, you should enjoy it.

No matter how silly it is.

Challenge to my Readers:

 Don’t deny yourself a pleasure just because it’s a little bit stupid.

Laugh.

Day One Hundred and Fifty Five: Caretaker (Plants)

I can take care of plants.

This is one of those grown up things they never tell you that you will one day be required to do. And plants are fickle creatures. In some ways, my dog is easier. If he’s hungry, he tells me. If he’s thirsty, he bangs his bowl around. If he’s too cold or hot, he moves.

Plants don’t tell you shit. They just die.

But I have an orchid that I have been taking care of for like, two months now. It is not only still alive, but it still has flowers. It even has buds. It is not just living, it is thriving. Thriving.

And everybody knows that orchids are the hardest plants in the world to take care of. Everybody knows that.

Duh.

Challenge to my Readers:

Plants are a pain in the ass. Adopt a dog.

Day One Hundred and Fifty Four: Boots

I have a mighty fine collection of boots.

Okay, I have like, three pairs. But I love boots. Especially my cowboy boots. I’m from Colorado, it’s standard dress code. There is something comforting about the utility of boots that makes them the perfect shoe for summer or winter. Plus, I have really nice legs, so I look good in boots.

I just really like boots.

Challenge to my Readers:

Buy a good pair, not a cheap pair. It will save you in the long run.

Day One Hundred and Fifty Three: One Good Year

This one took me a while to write.

When I started this blog, I never expected that I would see the things I have seen this year. I started it a little after the shooting in my own state, and then while the wounds were still fresh, I watched the news of the shooting in Newtown came rolling in.

And then I woke up to the news in Boston.

I never thought that while writing a blog, I would be documenting and witnessing some of the most tragic and horrific events in American history. And all I can think about is how close they are to each other. It’s been less than a year since Aurora, under a hundred and fifty days since Newtown. How much life we see lost in so little time. How much horror we bear witness to every day.

And this is just our country. All over the world atrocities like this occur. Some of them in quicker succession than our own. While our country sheds blood and tears and fights among ourselves, other countries battle war, poverty, tyranny, famine and disease. No tragedy is worse any other and being alert to the sufferings of others does not lessen the suffering of our own. We are all one global heart and pain in on place is pain for us all.

I wish we had a year. Maybe next year. I really wish, what I think the world needs, is one good year. One year of cease fire. One year of strength and love instead of hate and pain. Just one year, three hundred and sixty five days of selflessness and honesty. One year where we don’t waste time blaming each other for everything that happens. One year when we work towards the betterment of mankind instead of its destruction. One year when our children walk to school in safety, where our homes and our public spaces are places of joy again. One year of triumph, prosperity and forward motion. One year where pass all the laws that we need to move into a better world. One year when we forgive ourselves and others for mistakes, for evil and for sadness. One year when they only disasters are the ones of nature and we give from our hearts and souls to help the victims. One year when we give way to peace and stop the senseless violence we enact on ourselves and others. One good year.

And when we get that year, I hope someone is writing a blog about it. I hope someone is documenting it. So that thousands of years from now, when our posterity looks back, we can have this one year where everything was good.

But maybe that isn’t the answer. There is always going to be evil in the world. There will always be pain. There will always be sickness, darkness and sin. Maybe everyone needs one good year, and maybe that year can be this year. Maybe this year we can fight back against those who wish to harm us, love our neighbors stronger, open our mind and our hearts to the differences in the world, embrace those in pain and let the dead rest in peace.

When I see tragedy in the news, I can see the people who run towards the danger, towards the bloodshed and towards the helpless. Those people are part of this year. Those people, the ones who stand brave in the face of terror, they are part of the year that we should remember for all the good we have done. My faith in our world is restored with every act of anger and terror, because those who are good will always outnumber those who are not. Those who love outnumber those who hate. Those who seek war are outnumbered by those who give peace.

So this year, or next year, or ten years from now, have one good year. Let it be your good year. Do good in the world when the rest of the world is suffering. Bring joy to those who are sad. Give hope to the hopeless and help to the helpless. Start with one good year, and lead to one good life.

 I am making this year my good year.

When is your good year? 

Day One Hundred and Fifty Two: Care Taker

I am very good at taking care of people.

My best friend/ roommate’s twenty first is coming up here pretty soon, and I have already been tagged as DD and caretaker for the night. While it might bother some people to be known as the non-engager who is there to make sure everyone else is three degrees from sloppy at all times, I don’t mind. In fact, I really like that my friends trust me at their most vulnerable state to help take care of them.

Unfortunately I know a lot of people who don’t have someone they can count on to take care of them. Most of these friends are fine when left to their own devices, but I worry about them when there isn’t someone there to help them. I love that my friends trust me and love me enough to be the person who holds their hands and makes them drink water between cocktails at the bar. I want to be that person for them.

Besides, I can’t drink, so what kind of bitch would I be if I didn’t agree.

Challenge to my Readers:

If you don’t have anyone to help take care of you, you need to be the person who takes care of yourself. Stay safe at bars, know your limits and make a plan beforehand. Program the number for the taxi into your phone and keep your ID on you at all times. It’s common sense, but you would be surprised how often people forget the simple things when they get shwasted. 

Day One Hundred and Fifty One: Push

I try to push myself.

For those of you who don’t know, I have recently started jogging and running as part of my physical therapy for my knee. I busted my knee my senior year of high school and it’s been plaguing me ever since, as knee injuries are wont to do.

I have always detested running. I’m not built for it, I really am not. I’ve always admired people who run for funsies and who do it as a sport because I just can’t do it. Since I have started running, my hatred of it has not decreased at all, but probably multiplied. However, the doctor says it will help me rebuild the muscles and cartilage around my knee. So even though I hate it, I do it.

My puppy helps. Ecco knows exactly how may laps around the lacrosse field I’m supposed to go before I’m allowed to give up. The answer is four, if anyone is wondering. I run badly and I take a long time, I also don’t have proper equipment so I run in jeans and converse all-stars. Yeah, I’m that weirdo, if anyone hanging around the field wondered who that crazy woman was.

But I’m going to keep pushing myself. Why? Because someday I’m going to need my knee fully operational to take my future dogs (possibly children) hiking and camping, chasing after them at the park, etc. I push myself now so that someday I won’t have to.

Challenge to my Readers:

Running isn’t for everyone (it certainly isn’t for me) but exercise is. Whatever it is that gets your heart pumping, whether it’s biking to work or DDR at the mall, do it and do it often. A healthy life is a happy life.

Day One Hundred and Fifty: The Boyfriend

I have the most amazing boyfriend ever.

Every girl says that at some point in time in their life. Sometimes we’ll say it about every guy we’ve ever dated. Not me. No, Taylor is the one guy in my whole life that has made me truly happy. He is the one man that I will love from now until the end of time.

Before ya’ll get high and mighty about how I’m too young to know what love is (I’m twenty four, bitch!) or how college romances never last (five and a half years, yes years, as of today) you should think long and hard about your own relationships. I believe that half the reason people don’t last in love these days is because we give up before it begins.

When I fell in love with Taylor, I fell wholly and truly in love with him. And even if we had lasted five months or a year and we’d broken each other’s hearts and moved far away from each other, it wouldn’t have matter. When you give your all to another person, they will give their all back. I’m not saying you should jump at every Catfish on the internet who wants to see your n00ds. I don’t think you should give your number to every guy/girl that asks out of the sake of desperation. But face the world and love with optimism, and it may surprise you.

Taylor has been the greatest gift in my life. He kept me sane through grad school (no easy feat) and supported me even when I had given up on myself. Every day he showers me with kisses and compliments. We seldom fight, only bicker, but we always know that at the end of the day whatever differences we have are not greater than the love we share.

He is smart and funny and sweet and awkward and brave and good and kind. I could give you a thousand and one examples of him being the nicest guy I’ve ever met, but this is a blog, not a novel. One day I shall pen the ode to Taylor, the millions and trillions of things I love about him. But what you need to know is that he makes me happy, happier than I have ever been when single or with another person.

I can’t pretend to know how love works or why it works. If someone had told me six years ago that I would be in love with a guy who doesn’t read a lot and won’t eat mushrooms or whipped cream and won’t go camping with me, I would have said they were crazy. But everything he is completes a part of me. Everything he does makes me smile, makes me love him more and more with each passing moment.

I’ll probably do a few dozen blogs in ode to my wonderful boyfriend. I would need the whole of the internet to express how much I love him. Our love is infinite, endearing, goofy, cheesy, courageous and unbreakable.

He is my everything.

Challenge to my Readers:

Love. Truly and openly, honestly and fully, love something. Whether it’s a person or music or your family or your pets, love. Open yourself to love and you will be loved in return. 

Day One Hundred and Forty Nine: The Roommate

I have the most awesome roommate in the whole wide world.

I’ve had some…interesting roommates in the past. All of my previous roommates were perfectly nice people, but none of them will reach the awesomeness of Madison.

For one thing, she looks like a mermaid. A f*cking mermaid, people!

I live with a goddamn Disney princess. Who slays zombies….and sometimes dresses like a zombie. I regularly wake up to her singing her actions: “Puttin’ on my makeup!” She drives an Isuzu Hombre with a mustache on the hood!

My  roommate is sassy and beautiful and fabulous. She’s also one of the smartest people I know. She thinks deep thoughts and shares them with us in the apartment. Sometimes we stay up late just talking for hours. She’s a straight A student who is paying for her own college. At her job, she works hard and stays sassy at all times.

I could go on for hours about how cool my roommate is, but honestly I would rather spend time with her than write about her. So I’m gonna go do that, right now.

Yeah!

Challenge to my Readers:

Appreciate your roommates. Living with people can be really hard, especially if your personalities clash. But if you find the things about each other that you love and focus on those things, you’ll find a way to make it work.

Or not. There are some people you just can’t live with.

Day One Hundred and Forty Eight: The Puppy

I have the cutest puppy in the whole wide world.

Ecco is the love of my life (after Taylor, of course.) Honestly, there are some days that the only reason I get out of bed is because of my little boy. Seriously, he is a huge motivation in my life to do things. The only reason I could tell my doctor that I get cardio seven days a week is because Ecco and I take long walks and run together every day.

I think that having a dog has taught me a lot about myself and a lot about how I would be if I had a child. Namely that I am so not ready for a kid. I am obsessive compulsive about my dog, and he’s a dog. I can’t even imagine how crazy control freak I would be with a tiny human.

I love my little baby boy, he is the sweetest thing in my life. He might drive me crazy sometimes, but he has brought me such joy. He’s also is helping my dad recover from cancer by getting him to exercise and keep his blood pressure down. Dogs are the perfect cure for the blues.

Ecco might make me a little crazy, but I love him no matter what.

Challenge to my Readers:

Dogs and puppies are a huge responsibility. Take a lot of time for consideration before you adopt. You can always foster a puppy, too. And remember to adopt from a local shelter!

Day One Hundred and Forty Seven: Shopping

I love to go shopping.

My parents told me that my first words were “want go shopping.” They knew from the start that I was destined to be a little super shopper. I don’t always like to buy things, but I love to look. My mother and I use shopping as a way to bond with each other. Almost every weekend we go out to the mall and just look around. But it really doesn’t matter what store we’re in or what we’re looking at, we mostly use the time as a chance to talk. For some reason, talking with my mum is a lot easier when we’re on the move.

I love to go shopping with my friends, especially when I get to help them pick stuff out. Sometimes I feel like I could be a personal shopper. Other times I realize I would actually have to work with people I don’t like in order to do that, so I figure I’d better not.

Challenge to my Readers:

Shopping is a great way to bond with someone. It’s also a good opportunity to just talk. Relax on the intense bargain hunting and just chat. 

Day One Hundred and Forty Six: Film

I love a good movie.

Honestly, who doesn’t? Taylor and I went and saw From Up on Poppy Hill this last weekend at the Esquire, a place introduced to me by my friend, Victoria. There is something wonderful about sitting and watching a really good film with people you love. And there is truly something special about seeing a movie in a theater like the Esquire, which is both majestic and strangely empty.

I’ve talked before about how I have really good taste in movies (I do.) But I also just love the feeling of being in a theater. Sometimes it isn’t even about what movie is playing, it’s just about the feeling of being in a movie theater and getting to set aside time to focus on a story. When I watch TV and movies at home, I feel like I always have to be doing something while I watch; sewing, knitting, writing, drawing. But at the theater, it’s just me and the movie.

My mum and I have a special passion for going to children’s movies on Sunday for five dollars. We see all the new Disney and Dreamworks movies that way. Even though I’m way too old for her to use as an excuse for seeing movies intended for children, we still go and have a lot of fun.

It’s not just about the film for me, it’s about the place I see it and the people I share it with.

Challenge to my Readers:

Every town has an old theater house or an indie theater house. Take a risk and visit your local low-key, off beat theater to see a film that is truly unique and interesting.

Day One Hundred and Forty Five: Denial

I get a great pleasure out of denying jackasses things that they want.

The other night I had a customer come in well after closing. The only reason they could get in was because I had a couple of customers in the shop still and fire code requires that we keep the front door unlocked when there are people still in the store. Anyway, when she came in with her ugly children in tow, I had already covered the ice cream and closed the register. I told her we were closed and I couldn’t serve her.

“It’s bad business to leave your door open when you’re closed,” was her reply.

Seriously? Seroiusly? That’s your answer? I have to leave the door open, it’s the law, you crazy bitch.

She got all fussy about my door being open but me not being able to serve her and all that other shit. It was more than annoying, it was a new level of jackassery. But it gets better. Apparently the coming in afterhours is a habit for the this woman, because she did it again to me last night.

I got to deny her the ice cream again.

There is a special place in hell for people like this woman. I get to help it along. Too often in the world of customer service, I would be expected to appease this crazy woman. But every once and a while I get to deny people like her things that they want. Why? I don’t know, it’s now salt off my hand when they don’t get what they want. But it certainly makes me feel better.

Sometimes that’s all that is important.

Challenge to my Readers:

I know that being mean is, well…mean. But sometimes mean people deserve just a little bit back.

Day One Hundred and Forty Four: New Music

I have a passion for music.

There is nothing more powerful than a song that really speaks to your soul. You never know where it’s going to come from. I’ve found my musical inspiration from all over the place. Music I never thought I would love is sometimes the stuff that rocks me to the core.

My problem is that I fall in love with a song and then I listen to it so much that I don’t want to hear it anymore. Especially if it comes on the radio. But the nice thing about shuffle on the Ipod is that sometimes I forget about the stuff that I previously loved and find my love again.

Right now I’m in love with We the Kings and New Politics.

Challenge to my Readers:

Check out something new, find new music. Love it.

Day One Hundred and Forty Three

Like chocolate, everyone loves sloths.

They are the cutest freaking things in the entire world. They cling to things upside down and cuddle by hugging. I mean, what’s better than that?

Just for the record, I totally hipstered the internet’s love of sloths. I’ve loved them for years.

There is nothing else to say. Look at that face.

Challenge to my Readers:

Did you know you can adopt a sloth? Also, save the rainforest if you want sloths in the future.

Day One Hundred and Forty Two: Chocolate

Doesn’t everyone love chocolate?

It’s one of the four basic food groups, right up there with donuts, pie and Snickers bars. Chocolate is chemically created in order to make you feel good. God created chocolate because he saw that people were sad and had to deal with things like taxes.

Chocolate is one of those weird food that everyone (almost everyone) loves, but we all have our own way we love it. I like mine in fun shapes. That’s right, the taste doesn’t have to be different, but I like it when it comes shaped in little squares or eggs or little animal shapes. Really good chocolate is one of life’s true pleasures.

My favorite are the chocolate caramels from the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. Those sweet little squares of delight will brighten any bad day. Guaranteed.

Challenge to my Readers:

Chocolate is best when shared. Get a bar and share it with your best friend.

Day One Hundred and Forty One: Green Tea

I love green tea.

A lot of people love green tea. It’s super healthy for you, you feel classy when you drink it and when you order it at Starbucks, the barista thinks you’re smart or something. Seriously, they get all respectful and ask if you jog.

I like my green tea so bitter that it actually burns going down. Crazy, I know, but if you could grind up the leaves and just give them to me in a cup, that would be perfect.

Green tea, yeah, good stuff.

Challenge to my Readers:

I would have never found out how much I love tea if my brother hadn’t introduced it to me. Sometimes you really have to step out of what you know. Try it, you might just like it.

Day One Hundred and Forty: Things I Love

Long time no blog!

Okay, I know I’m super behind, like way more behind than I have ever let myself get before. For the record, I was finishing my novel and the last few days have been an intense adventure in writing. It was very emotional, very exhausting and left me pretty drained on the writing front.

I decided that since I’m so far behind, I want to do a few blogs just talking about the things that make me happy. This blog is about the stuff I’m proud of and the stuff that makes me happy, anything that helps me get through the day. Sometimes the stuff that makes me happy is big stuff, sometimes it’s tiny things. Anyway, my next ten blogs or so will be about happy making for me, so feel free to skip it if you so desire.

But, I’m very happy, so maybe I’ll give away a secret or something.

Challenge to my Readers:

Love the stuff you love, be happy with the things that make you happy. Enjoy life, don’t mourn it.

Day One Hundred and Thirty Nine: Anime

I’m an anime fan.

I’m not Otaku or whatever else they call it and I’m not into the pervy anime, but I really like anime. I know a lot of people who condemn anime because they have the wrong impression of it. I also know a lot of people who think it’s stupid or childish or whatever without ever actually having seen it.

Anime is like any form of entertainment: there is good and there is bad. Just like with all movies, you develop a taste for it. Some people genuinely don’t like it and that’s okay. Early in this blog I did one about how I liked what I liked and I’m not ashamed of that. That is true for how I feel about anime and horror movies and corny spy novels.

The big point is that I love anime because it’s a fascinating art form. More than that, anime is a connection to my brother. When we were in high school, it was about the only thing we had in common. The main reason I even talk to my brother or understand him is because of this one shared interest. True, these days we’ve found a lot more in common, but our mutual love of Japanese cartoons is what created the foundation for us.

I’ve also found a lot of friends in the community because of it. Like any interest or hobby, it creates a following of similar people. I like those people.

Challenge to my Readers:

Don’t knock something until you’ve tried it. Even if you have a bad experience with something and didn’t like it, that doesn’t mean that’s what it is. Try again. And if you still hate it, keep it to yourself and don’t bash people for what they like.

Day One Hundred and Thirty Eight: Two Faced

I try my best to see both sides of the arguments.

So recently my state has become pretty embroiled in this gun control debate. We just passed a pretty big piece of legislation that limits the purchase of high capacity magazines. For some reason this pissed a lot of people off because apparently they think that this is infringing on their second amendment rights. 

The second amendment gives the American people the right to form well-armed militias and keep and bear arms. It doesn’t say it gives “untrained idiots may have not only firepower but the most dangerous and obnoxious firepower possible.”

I have a lot of friends who are super pro-gun. My own family is very pro-second amendment. We’re all hunters and farmers and military in my family. I know how important it is to them to own guns, lots and lots of guns in some cases.

But as an educator, I would feel a lot safer if we had fewer guns out on the street. Guns are like cars in some respects: any idiot who can read can get one and use it. That doesn’t mean that they have any right, or any education regarding guns.

All I’m saying is that guns are great as long as the people holding them aren’t idiots. So, you know, police and military should probably be about the only ones packing.

Yeah.

Challenge to my Readers:

It’s hard sometimes, but often the best way to really win an argument is to understand what the other side is saying. Research, learn, understand.

Day One Hundred and Thirty Seven: Pain

I have a high pain tolerance.

Tonight the cat decided that my hand was a scratching post.

Okay, it wasn’t Boo’s fault. It was Ecco’s fault. See, my puppy decided that Boo needed and wanted puppy kisses. Cats do not need or want puppy kisses. The resulting chaos ended in my hand having three deep scratches. And then with my hand dripping blood everywhere, I had to lure the cat out from under the couch.

I can take a lot of pain. I tore my own knee cap off for god’s sake. I’ve broken bones and sliced off pieces of myself without really getting too upset. The only thing that really bothers me are needles. Because that shit is creepy.

Challenge to my Readers:

Pain is relative. Bite your lip and grin through it, because every time you think you’ve been in more pain than ever before, life throws more your way. Toughen up.