Things I do without thinking

I had to run the wash because Grace forgot to put the clothes in the dryer... But watch did to save water might be to the detriment of my health. I let the water fill up in the sink and quickly looked for  siphon. I was going to cut this old hose in the basement when I came across a vacuum cleaner tube.
I sucked through one side to start the orocess.... But didn't think about the fact that I was sucking dusty air into my lungs. Gross.

Better th waste the water than my health.

Vultures

The mountain is full of deer and vultures. I had thought that the large birds, about have the size of Jonah were eagles. They circle all day and them hide among the trees. These mountains must have been a  place of terror before technology allowed us to build so easily on it and drive right up.

A place of mystery, ghosts, spirituality and crossing over especially on Samaine.


Now?

Kids go play outside by yourselves...lol

Of course not at night though. Mostly the biggest danger us cars....and deer ticks.

Leaves on the mountain

It's pretty here when the leaves fall. Like a New England brisk day painting. Only the weather is him if as Hong Kong right now. It's a bit bizarre.

I think this stage of my life will be monkish...

Oddly I feel the least like a monk than 8 have ever felt.

Work, practice, and art. An introverted life. That is the only way really, when living on the side of a mountain. There are other people here of course. A whole town or city. But everyone somewhat isolated from one another.

I started making a lion head. The frame is made of coat hangers. I tried to start putting paper mage over it too early. I clearly need a mire delicate frame. Well off to do school work for a bit and then maybe some Kung Fu before dinner.

Making a lion head

I have been making a lion head out of hangers recently. And teaching my kids the fighting form. Meanwhile I can't help but question why I am doing any of it. I suppose in my current situation and my current environment, all my Kung Fu practices are trulyreligious in nature. In that they do t really serve a purpose other than to express, distract and destress.

Struck by lightning

There is a Chinese saying... that you should not be too a good a person, or you may be struck by lightning. I think back to Louis Chan's legend of the condos heroes. And how the wife, upon seeing the Jin King in her barn not only spares him, but saves him, bringing disaste on herself and her family.

I don't know exactly where I am going with this, other than that aide and favors can be harmful if carried out incorrectly. Or even if carried out correctly, but perceived wrong. What I am I to do with this information?

When I was a child I lived a cautious and nervous life. We were always afraid of getting kicked out of the section 8 apartment or of certain people finding out where we lived. It took me years to shed some of these fears. Fear if losing face or Ben th possibility of shunning or being a so oak pariah is deeply engrained in some cultures. At some point I started to recklessly cast away these beliefs.

Perhaps it may be time to revisit some of them with new eyes. Or not. I haven't decided.

Any last words...

It has become increasingly troubling to me that I often only learn about how great a person was after they are gone. Like it was a story that should have been told in more detail. Especially as it relates to Chinatown. Perhaps I should start a blog if ONLY post mortem interviews. Stuff people would like to say... after they are dead. And then then post only goes up after they are dead. Perhaps I should just start interviewing people in nursing homes. Or maybe people cab write in...

New Job

I recently started a new job at a law firm. It is exciting to be working in my field once again. Although I am still settling in, I am realizing I can still teach Kung Fu at some point. Not only that... but somehow my work with the Boston Chinatown Blog seems to be gearin up instead of slowing down. Of note is the fight to get the news out about the benefits of data disagregation by working with politicians and organizations across the  country.

I do want to get that Kung Fu teaching gig in though. Paid gig and  physically difficult would be preferable. Could use the 1 hour of a work out after work.

Missing some friends from Boston. Should be back up there soon but might not get a chance to visit really.

The importance of communication

While waiting for the bus today a neighbor walking by smiled, waived and talked to my children. For whatever reason Jonah answered her questions but Noah remained squatting and mentioned that there was a car behind her. She was already aware of this of course. I mentioned to him that not only was it rude not to talk to her, even though she was a "stranger" but how it was very impo grant to make small talk, smile not and make friends with those around you. 

I was the worst at this, and only learned to smile and say Hi when I went to Prep school. Partly because the way Boston was..  Although smiling and creating  small talk would have protected me, while simultaneously being guarded too of course, the approach of the teenage male tends to be more along the lines of, " don't bother me and I won't bother you."

I have found this approach to be flawed of course and regret that nobody was able to explain it to me as a man in my boyhood.

First Day of school

Well I just put my kids on the bus. They'll be fine. I didn't ride the bus until 4th grade.

The driver looked nice.

The other kids looked nice.

When we went to the school everything looked nice.

Apparently there are o that children in the neighborhood so it seems quite possible that my children can have neighborhood playmates. Maybe a childhood seen on stranger things, minus the scary parts.

Well everything will be fine and more than fine. The house is getting clean and there are sections that are like little game rooms and clubhouse. The shoe room is like a little tree house. I can imagine the kids and their friends hanging out in there. We plan to redo the basement. Maybe we can have a punching back down there too.

The main living rooms will be open spaces good for doing homework or Yoga and of course there is the yard.

Sports and boy scouts and that sort of thing is popular here. And there is that Chinese school I can send them to, passing the buck on that responsibility.

Things are good and they will be even better.

Unclogging Feng shui

I seriously think that the hoarding in the house is affecting my body and mind. So I decided even though the situation is temporary, that I am going to slowly clear away stuff that does need to be out, and put it i storage. Also I am not going to sleep in the rooms that are pretty m7ch still being used for storage. Why should I ha e to sleep next to boxes? That was my childhood but it doesn't have to be my adulthood.

Even getting rid of some of the food stuffs that might still be good technically but obviously hasn't been used in years helped with the overall feel of things.

Hemorrhoids and religion

Dude I am too young for this.
But actually this is not the first time I had Hemorrhoids. The first time that was super noticeable was like ten years ago, and I attributed to lifting weights. But thus time it's bad.
Like having to stick the little bullet up your butt now, which was more of an existential experience than one would think.

Humbling us the word. Especially with the knowledge that people gibthrough much more for exams or for fun.

Personally I flashed back to the old way ones temperature was take  and I hated it.

But mostly what I thought about was Buddhism vs. Medieval Christianity.

In  Buddhism one must accept change or suffer.

I should accept that my body is aging (more rapidly than my wife who is older) and understand that this is part of life, this bleeding out of one's butt.

Or I can think that this pain is sent by God to punish and purify me for my sins.

I'm kind of going with the second one here and the sin is obviously not eating enough vegetables and allowing Amah to make me feel bad for drinking water.

And the cute us going to be not prayer so mucha vengeful wrath upon the way of life that caused thus, because like I said I'm too young for this B.S.

All chips and cookies and expired foods are going in the trash. Eventually.

Because there us simply not enough room.

BENEFIBER

Fruits and vegetables.

And I gave to tend to this nastiness, which compared to some people's issues is pretty minor.

But if this hurts that much there is no way I am going to progress to have some ridiculous kind of pain when I am in my 50's.

Nor an I going to be ashamed to face it and even talk blog about it.

And let it be a lesson to my kids to eat their vegetables or suffer the consequences of butt hurting.

But mostly I am wondering, while I squat like an old man in a witch hazel solution, unable to get out of said squat without using my arms and the old lady handle bar on the Jacuzzi, a contraption that was created for adventures with hot naked women, not bleeding but hemorrhoids and pain....

How is THIS who I have become.

I am waiting like Simba for the clouds to part and for My case to scold me royally.

Only Simba's lifestyle at that point was  awesome.  Carefree hakuna matata wanderer. I mean he needs to face responsibility I guess. But he didn't have no hemorrhoids.

Seriously, I am taking this as a sign or some sort of test, but of what?

In any case pain does seem to have a spiritual side effect for me.

Singing

I have been belting out Nam yi Dong ji kerng a) because it works as a self affirmation chant/prayer, and b) it is the most likely song I would perform and you need to practice it, as can be seen by this video where I tried to sing it after doing a form and ended up being a voice cracking mess.

I would also not sing it Karaoke style because my range us different. I fill out my lungs and engage my core using the Opera style lessons Derrick Gay gave me in high school.

It's like Chi Gung really, or rather, simply is.

I have been working on a Jazz version on the piano too. (When playing a lot if Chinese or African American music, one can get a lot done by just hitting the black keys only...ponder that.)

Playing the piano has made me realize how hard it is. I mean even banging simple notes is difficult what with the right and left hand playing simultaneously.
It makes me wonder how the he'll piani players can't just play the Lion Dance drum automatically. I mean one note and one place to hit, unless you count hitting the side or the sticks which are really nothing but flourish.