observations, humor, nonsense
What books have taught me (an incomplete list): // The Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell – the comfort of solitude // D’Aulaires’ Book of Greek Myths taught me that I could love a book so much that I refused to return it to the library // A book on French cooking taught…
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“Is anybody awake? I’ve got to go to the porta potty.” Kari confessed. We were seniors in college, doing archaeological fieldwork at the Canyons of the Ancients National Monument in Southwest Colorado. “Oh, you’ve got to be kidding.” Sara rolled over. “What time is it?” Kari and Sara were my best friends and our tent…
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What are the five best books I’ve read paired with a song? Glad you asked. Challenge accepted. In no particular order (thanks to Jeremy for recommending the first two books), but this was not an easy list because I’ve read many wonderful books. I tried though to think about books that really impressed me. …
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I am a giant tending to my plants on my apartment deck. Sometimes I start the morning by giving my plant children a stern look over. Is everyone okay? Who’s thirsty? I pick up dead or dying leaves. It’s important to make sure your little forest doesn’t have any fires. During this ritual I noticed…
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It was American Thanksgiving, and like many other years, I was far from home. I was living in Eugene, Oregon, working part-time at a non-profit ISP, training to be a Waldorf teacher, and living in a house with a divorcee, Jo, who seemed angry at the world. Her best friend, who also was one of…
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Take me back to Hawaii On Anania Circle Where you could feel the light, laughter, and sun Bouncing off the black pavement, On many afternoon. After long school days We played in the parks, Climbed the walls, trees, and dug into the ground. Across Kamehameha Highway In the enclosure As we wished In the warmth…
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Dear Dangerous Kitchen, We had a lot of laughs, didn’t we? Who would have thought that a song would describe my childhood kitchen? Sure, maybe a heartbreak, a rekindled romance, or a perfect summer’s day, but a kitchen? At this point in my life, I’ve seen a fair share of kitchens, messy, minimalist, modern, but…
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// When I thought of today’s prompt, this photo came to mind. Angkor Wat was much more impressive than I expected, and I deliberately stayed away from looking at photos of the park before visiting because I wanted it to be a new experience. Has anyone else done this with a major tourist attraction?…
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I know I’ve lived in Thailand too long when the first image that comes to mind when I hear the word ‘joke’ is the rice porridge dish that makes for a great breakfast here. You can add a soft boiled egg, green onions, soy sauce, and other bits like ground pork for a sustaining meal.…
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March was a f***ing dickhead, is what it was. Now, to be fair, it started off innocently enough. Oh sure, we were in the middle of a worldwide pandemic, but March is when COVID-19 gained the kind of speed and tenacity that woke up the Western world. It was also when I went to the…
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Once upon a time, there was a king and a queen who desperately wanted a child. It seemed like an eternity, but then one perfect day, the queen became pregnant. During the height of her term, she craved a particular kind of vegetable that happened to be growing in their neighbor’s yard. (Do kings…
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Hiya! I’m back again for another Changing Seasons photo challenge, hosted by Su. How is everybody? I hope the month of love treated you right! For most of February I wasn’t myself because I lost the momentum that I had in January. I’m also fairly certain I’m pre-menopausal (fun!), so I can’t be sure how…
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Welcome back for another monthly recap/photo challenge, thanks to Su. I hope this post finds you well. January was an unusual month because I traveled, got to spend time with old friends, and enjoyed a better work-life balance. Although, I’m hoping to commit to the latter for the rest of the year. Rayong…
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Not only are we more politically divided than ever, we are in regards to our diets as well. There’s the Keto Diet (high fat, low carbs), the Dubrow Diet (intermittent fasting), the Carnivore/Paleo Diet (meat only, or mostly meat), the Mediterranean Diet (healthy fats and whole grains), the Flexitarian (mostly veg, with meat when you…
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What a year, eh? Holy cannoli, I don’t want to do that again. I’m recapping the 2019 year of blog posts, and looking back through photos from a decade of living abroad. Whoa. January 2019 started off with taking a look at my relationship with money. I’m proud that I posted it, cause, you…
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What a month. What a year. 2019 was a hard working year, and December was no exception. The first half of the month was all about finishing up work, getting our scholarship kids graduated, and wishing the holiday break would hurry up and get here already. But now that I’m in the middle of my…
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This month I’ve decided I’m celebrating 10 years of consistent blogging which coincides with how many years I’ve lived abroad. Technically, I should have made a fuss in late August, but like so many milestones, I forgot. My first post was called Ground Control. I reflect on how often I have to look at the…
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I am left-handed. Although, my younger brother was originally left-handed, he was corrected in grade school. He likes to joke that he’s been robbed of his true self as a result. But since he ended up in the U.S. military, I think that being right-handed served him better. It turns out that being left-handed makes…
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Hello, lovelies! It’s another month of participating in Su’s “The Changing Seasons” photo challenge. Head over to her blog for the details.
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Believe it or not ‘why is it so hard for Asians to love themselves’ was a search term that I found on my blog one morning. I’m usually amused or curious what folks are looking for, and I don’t make it a habit to turn them into blog posts (see exception), but this one piqued…
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Hello again! I’m back for another monthly photo recap hosted by Su at Zimmerbitch. Click on over for the guidelines.
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After July, August felt like I had something to prove. I plowed into teaching and writing projects as if all my New Year’s Resolutions depended on only this month. So, naturally, I got sick. It’s okay, I’ll live… (*flings herself on to the bed face down, and starts howling*)
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Hello all y’all! I’m participating in The Changing Seasons Challenge which is basically a monthly recap that I heard about through Sarah, who got it from Su.
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In 1991 Spike Lee released ‘Jungle Fever’, a movie about an interracial couple. When it came out, it was making the news, but I only remember it because my brother looked at me and said, “What’s the big deal?” I shrugged, “I have no idea.” Fast forward to 2019, he sent me a New York…
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Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything. ― Plato Darren is doing a 30 songs in 30 days music challenge which he got from clever Sarah, and they inspired me to do it!
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Hey, people who travel with their bed pillow. You look insane. – Jim Gaffigan Is everyone on holiday but me? Even though my vacation is later this month, I’m still burning with jealousy at everyone else’s Instagram feed. I’m convinced everyone’s loaded with unlimited cash – and having a great time. *sobs into monogram handkerchief*
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“What happens when people open their hearts? They get better.” ― Haruki Murakami, Norwegian Wood I’ve wanted to start a newsletter for some time (and podcast while I’m at it), but I didn’t know what to share. I’ve also contemplated starting another blog and even to find other sites where I can talk about everyday…
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There’s a debate regarding what education is for: is it to prepare students for work or is it to stimulate the soul? But one of the key components I feel is missing is that we go to school to learn to get along with others. We, then, continue to play nice when we enter the…
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It was my junior or senior year in high school when I fell in love with poetry. I think like a lot of people I had a preconceived idea of what poetry was and I had decided it wasn’t for me. Since English was my first class of the day, I used to put on…
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Okay, okay, maybe domestic goddess is too strong a term, but I do enjoy cooking, keeping a clean house, and staying at home. When it’s cold out, I’ve been known to pick up my crochet needles. I can build a fire to warm up a winter home. I love to bake. (I miss baking! Thai…
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I’m definitely a morning person and by that I mean I’m more productive in the daytime. I used to wake up with the Hawaiian sun shining through my bedroom window. (Doesn’t that sound like something out of a Disney cartoon!) I didn’t own an alarm clock until I moved to the Mainland (or Continental…
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Every day is a journey, and the journey itself is home. – Matsuo Basho I’ve done a lot of moving in my life in attempt to discover where I belong. I’ve moved from Portland, Oregon, down to Chico, California, then further still to Oceanside, California. And when we were fed up with the West Coast,…
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It’s been years since I wrote a painful-but-true Valentine’s Day post, so I thought I’d dust off the ‘ol corners of the brain, and pull out the EMBARRASSING MOMENTS file for your stupid holiday pleasure. Enjoy.
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Many years ago, I was chatting with an old college friend and he confided that he always felt like one of the keys to a perfect life was eluding him. “What do you mean?” I said.
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Life, the Universe, and Lani 
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