One of the best bdays yet!

Here is a picture tour of one of the most amazing bdays yet! Too bad I couldn't capture the hot springs at night. It was so beautiful that it was better to experience it than to capture it on camera.


Even in the water, they pose, haha =) Imperial House of Waacking (IHOW), LA Chapter: Raquel (above) & Junko (below)


The ladies, minus my cousin, Xochitl, where is she?


On the way...


to the river (only a 2 minute walk from our campsite)




The guys setting up their tents.


Dinner preparation has begun!


There's Xochitl (on the left)! Akiko (middle) and Junko (right). Hey, who jumped into the picture (back)?


B-girl Chef Emiko! She made 3 meals: dinner, breakfast and lunch. It was amazing! Now that's love =)


This was the first course of our dinner...


then came the meat and vegetables (see a few pictures above)...


the rice...


and finally, the curry! (all cooked over a campfire pit, Emiko is really amazing!)


Dinner is served.


Let's eat!


Tsuto and Daigoro came after they had car problems all day and non-stop overheating. They left at 10am and didn't arrive to the campsite until 8pm, thanks to SANO's help. It was only supposed to be a 3 hour drive, so you can do the math and see how much more time they were on the road, getting his car to make it to the campsite. Now, that's love! Tsuto's faded at this point, haha, but I would be too if I were him. =P




The next morning, breakfast is being made...


tuna and umeboshi (sour plum) onigiri (rice balls).


Ritchie, strummin' on his guitar. This is one talented man!


For lunch, we had yakisoba and left over Korean bbq beef. Thanks for helping Emiko, Take!


Thank you all for making my bday memorable, fun, relaxing, and one of the best bdays yet. I love you all! =)

A Life Full of Meaning

For my bday I want:

A life full of meaning
A love where my worth is valued
and my generosity is deeply felt and appreciated.
A day full of happiness.
A night full of memories.
A sunset that brings tears to my eyes.
A sunrise that takes my speech away.
and people that understand that my love is equally as deep for them
as their love is for me.

Thank you all for the bday wishes, thoughts, intentions, energy, and greetings.

Here's to a new decade of new beginnings, positive change, and spiritual growth. =)

All I Do

I woke up this morning with Stevie on my mind. Any morning with Stevie on my mind is a good morning =)

Approaching 30

Today, a friend, had told me that he likes having me as a friend in his life because he sees me as a mature and chill person. Last night, I was told that I'm always smiling. It's interesting to me what people see or perceive as me, and in knowing myself, I know the many sides of Cheryl, so do my close friends. But I also am real about where this "maturity", "chill" characteristic, and "positivity" comes from.

We all make a ton of mistakes throughout our life and the 20s was an era that I have to admit, I'm pretty content with leaving behind. A lot of people are scared of getting older and actually dread it, but I am completely excited and welcoming my 30s. A lot of things seem more calm now to me and I feel like I have more control over many aspects of my life. Don't get me wrong, I still have bouts of insecurity and ego battles, but I feel like I'm starting to make better choices in my life and I've realized how much more disciplined and focused I've become. I've become completely honest and straightforward with people and about almost anything and confrontation used to be one of my biggest fears, but I've actually gotten quite better at it, choosing the right words, at the right time, and sometimes realizing that most battles aren't even worth fighting, or sometimes, I don't have to speak or say anything, and it'll be alright. I do way more observing these days than throwing myself in the fire and testing the waters. I've been burnt and drowned many times as a result of that, and although I'm currently facing my fears, my approach I feel is much more wiser.

I like the person I've become in these past 30 years. I have NO regrets, absolutely none. I have many stories and adventures to tell and write about and many more that I'd like to create and experience still. Every thought and silenced voice/memory, I feel like I've gotten out in the open and off my chest, even within my family and it's made us stronger. There are still some kinks that need to be worked out, but hopefully time will bring me there when it's appropriate. But when I fall, I pick myself up faster. When I bruise or I'm wounded, I let time and good intention help me heal faster. The girl I used to be, I now see reflections of this in some of my younger girlfriends, and now I am the one listening and giving advice. Life is a trip, ain't it?

My choices are guided by past mistakes, some that were repeated, and many that taught me some valuable lessons. My positivity comes from knowing that in a split second, my life can be taken away from me or headed in a completely different direction. My maturity comes from being honest with myself and my abilities, when I am wrong, when I am weak, when I am right, and when I am strong. Honesty is always difficult but it can be our best teacher. My "chillness" comes from so many times when being dramatic bit me back hard in the ass. Sometimes the eyes just get so swollen and exhausted from crying over things that aren't even worth crying about it or getting upset about. I pick my battles more and choose which ones are worth fighting and which ones are not. Instead of running towards something or away from things at full-speed, I find myself gently taking a stroll and embracing every thing that is beautiful and full of life and positive energy. I stop and smell the flowers, I thank people everyday for what they teach me and share with me. I am in love with life and every aspect that makes it worth living.

I am welcoming my 30s and can't wait for the more exciting things that are coming my way. I'm thankful that I have made it thru about a third of my life so far, and can't wait for what the next 30 will bring.

Happy Bday Tsuto!/おめでとうおたんじょおびつとーさん！

The Daily Motivator: Positive Start

THE DAILY MOTIVATOR
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Positive start
+++++++++++++++++++
Start each day the way you wish to live it.

Take positive control of your thoughts, your actions, your feelings and your attitude before some random occurrence ends up
imposing its perspective on you.

Be open to the surprises while also being decisive and focused about what you intend to do.

Get a few nice accomplishments under your belt early on, and set an effective, empowering pace for the whole day.

Right away, find some new thing for which to be thankful.
Your sincere gratitude will shine its light on the best of the day's possibilities.

When you feel a worry coming, move quickly to transform it into creative action.

If it seems that you're beginning to be overwhelmed, focus intently on whatever is most important to you.

While the day is young, decide on some new way that you can make a meaningful difference for others.

Then start taking the steps that will make it happen.

Give yourself some real power and effectiveness by beginning each day in a joyfully decisive and lovingly purposeful way.
And life grows richer with each passing hour.
Ralph Marston

Thank You Onisha & Open House!

Thank you Onisha for the amazing cake. You are one person who's cooking I never turn down. You, Emiko, and Julie, need to have a cook-off. I wanna be a judge ;)

Thank you Open House family for the warm and early bday wishes. I am so happy and proud to be a part of this family and community. House music all night long! I love you guys!

Koizora

I really enjoyed watching this movie this past weekend. If you haven't seen it yet then don't click on this trailer because it gives away most of the good parts of the movie. Although some parts of it was kinda cheesy and cutsy, I really liked the male character because of the way he looked at life. Enjoy!

This is the link with English subtitles:
http://www.mysoju.com/koizora/

Open House Workshop #1: House and Capoeira

Open House is presenting a House and Capoeira workshop on Sep. 20th Sunday.
It is going to be a great opportunity for you to expand your house movements and learn Capoeira to mix into your dance style.

date: Sep. 20th Sunday
Time: 3pm to 5 pm
3pm to 4pm House
4pm to 5pm Capoeira
Place: 511 Molino St. Los Angeles CA 90013 ( where we have practice every Tuesday)
Fee: Single class for $10 and both classes for $15

Please spread the word and bring your friends and family! Let's enjoy Sunday afternoon with the Open House family.

Peace, Love and House
Open house mama,
Emiko

rice bowl haircut

Bring it back Junko, bring it back...haha ;P

Soba dinner with Junko

Thanks for a yummy soba dinner Junko =)

The Road Less Travelled

I was supposed to go out tonight but i chose not too because I wanted to be responsible about my job and making a good impression for my first day at a new school. That wasn't me before. Nothing stopped me. If I wanted to go out or if I wanted to do something, I just did it even though I know I would be tired the next day and hating life for a few hours from lack of sleep, I just did it. But for some reason today, I decided not to and I decided to try something else for a change. I decided to prioritize my work. I decided to handle my responsibilities. I decided to try something different.

I see myself changing right now. It used to be about quantity for me and not quality. I'm not gonna lie, I still have some of those tendencies but I'm starting to prioritize now instead and focus on building on a few things, getting better at a few things instead of believing I can do everything. I used to not take work seriously and now I want to be responsible and try to be a better counselor. I'm finally doing the things that I was scared of doing or that I didn't do because I thought they were difficult and that is in every aspect, in my job, in my hobbies, and within myself. I'm facing my fears, tackling my weaknesses, taking more responsibility of myself, holding myself accountable. I'm throwing out the excuses and doing instead of talking about doing it. I'm transforming internally and externally.

Every time I find myself going thru change, I also find myself losing people because I am not the same person anymore. It's like shedding skin, getting rid of the old to make room for the new. You have to sacrifice and lose some things to gain. That's the pattern of life. To be a better person is always a hard endeavor, but in the end I am the one who controls my happiness.

What a day!

A 45 min. commute to work this morning. I found out I got 3 days at Gardena HS and 2 days at an elementary school in Gardena. Not too bad because I know about those Hawaiian restaurants in Gardena and just the restaurants in general. Really good Japanese food and Peruvian food. For those who know me, you know how I LOVE my food, LoL ;)

I'm just a bit nervous about doing attendance at my first high school tomorrow but at least I get to spend my night dressing in some 90s gear, dancing to some 90s tunes from 9 different djs in Venice, what?!!

Here's a description of the event:

Wed 9th: The Yard, 715 Hampton Ave Venice Beach. 9 DJs, All 90s: PBW, Arabian Prince, Dam-Funk, J.Rocc, Rhettmatic, Rhomes, Mathieu Schreyer + Very Special Guests! Starts at 9:09pm. $9.99. Gift Bags to best dressed in 90s Gear.

Sounds like fun, huh? Hope you can join me dance the work stress away. Gotta be at work at 8am the next day. What da hell though, yea? You only live once =)

Back to life, Back to Reality

I had an amazing summer this year. I'm sad to see it go but in a way I'm looking forward to starting work again today and I feel like I'm focused and more disciplined more than ever.

So, here I am again, back to the grind. With a fresh new perspective on life, love, and like always, my goals. I hope to be successful and learn from my past mistakes on the job. Gotta remember my purpose, and stay grounded. Long car rides and drive time Japanese to keep me company, KCRW/KPFK to keep me aware of what's going on in the world, KDAY to keep me bumpin' to those classic hip hop jams, and good mix cds to help me endure that traffic.

Here I come!

The Perfect Way to Spend My 30th Bday, I mean 21st =P

Yesterday, Emiko, Sano and I scouted around for the perfect campgrounds and hot springs to spend my 21st bday all over again. It took an entire day but it was well worth it and yes, we found our perfect spot in the Sequoia National Forest, next to Kern River, about 3 hours outside of LA.

So here is a preview of where I will be spending my 30th bday, without the dog and the baby, unfortunately.

So save the date, September 25-27, 2 nights and a day and a half. Hope to see you there and yes, those are natural onsens/hot springs next to an amazing river.