Leadership

This week I had an epiphany about the topic of leadership.  Granted, what may be an epiphany for me may not be one for others.  I've always shied away from becoming a leader of others.  I would literally beat myself up because I felt less than, I questioned my reasons why, was it fear?  Perhaps. 

But I got my answer when I was writing an email.  My phrase went something like this.  I don't want to be a leader of many, just a leader of self.  WOW!  The flood gates really opened up on this one!

I am my own worst student!  What a challenge to wake up everyday with the intention to be honest - have integrity and compassion for others (myself included).  This is not an easy task...especially when you're dealing with a bunch of knuckleheads! (yes, me included). 

At the end of the day...so to speak....it is a lead by example situation.  Well shucks!  That is a darn good goal...don't you think?

When you spend a lot of years seeking answers to questions about your life....can the answer come to you just because of a trivial thing such as sending an email?  You betcha!  Why now?....that's my next question.  Where do I go from here?

Concentrating on working on me and my own issues...well that may seem like an easier task....NOT!  These age old idioms - remember this one?...."I am my own worst enemy"....... that's me!

Butt..... (it's my ass speaking again).....No ifs, ands or butts!

My alarm just went off....time to start the day....a new day.....one more thing to be more cognizant of....I am on the path!

A Peaceful, Beautiful Saturday

My day started out sitting in my new plush recliner with my feet up and reading a book.  What a way to start off the weekend.  The book I was reading is called The Companies We Keep by Bob Sigall and his students at Hawaii Pacific University.  This book contains amazingly interesting stories about 450 of Hawaii's best known companies.

What I like about this book is that some of the companies they talk about, like A. L. Kilgo, Zippy's, Theo. H. Davies, Sears, Y. Hata - well darn....I've actually worked there.  Even my high school, Waipahu High School is in this book.  Well shucks!  I feel as though I am a part of Hawaii's historical past!

A. L. Kilgo...I remember Mr. Kilgo gave me a pair of pearl earrings because I had the best muu muu for Aloha Week.  I must admit that it was a mini one at that...I mean the muu...not the earrings.  I remember I was afraid that it was too short.  I was shy back then.

Sears....back then it was the place to work!  I worked in the stationery department and had to quit when I was 5 months pregnant.  That was company policy.

Y. Hata....I actually got a marriage proposal there.....although that Hata boy was just joking....he thought it a good idea for tax reasons....that's a new one huh?

Zippy's....that was a part-time job to make extra money to support my family.  I had fun in that job as a waitress.  I fulfilled one life goal....making hot fudge sundaes and banana splits.  Of course when I made that goal....I was a kid in elementary school.  The nice part about being a waitress is taking home the cash from tips.  As tired as my legs were.....I had fun counting how much tip I made for the day.

Imagine starting off your day reading a great book like that....sitting in a really soft, cushy recliner with a view of the pool outside and remembering the past.  What a way to start the day!  However.... that peaceful feeling was short lived.  The telephone rang and all hell broke loose.....there were things to do, places to go and people to see!  I didn't get back home till way after the sun went down. 

The great thing about this day....I get to start it all over again tomorrow.  I can't wait!

I'm Unfinished!

Every once in a while, I get what I call a message from God.  He communicates with me through my favorite medium.....movies and television.  It happens when I least expect it.  It happens when unknowingly I am mulling something over in my mind that's "cooking on the back burner," so to speak.

The message I got came from the television show called Private Practice.  The scene is a talk that goes on between the characters Violet and Sam.  Violet is reflecting back on her life and she says to Sam...."This is it.  This is who I am.  This is all I get.  Is it enough?  Is it anything?"

Sam thinks for a moment and he is speechless and says that all he can offer her is a hug.  Before they can hug, he tells her....that what he is about to say is not a random thought or a cliche and asks if she wants to hear it.  He says....."You're unfinished....you are a work in progress.  We don't know what tomorrow brings, it could be anything.  The book that is your life is a work in progress.  You won't know the point of the book until it is written."

Hallelujah!.....thank you God.  This is what I needed to hear!  When you realize that there are more years behind you than there are in front of you.....trust me....you think these kinds of thoughts.  But hearing this is like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders.

We think these thoughts about the kind of legacy we will leave our children and grandchildren.  We take stock of our lives and wish we had done more.....but I forgot....the book that is my life is a work in progress!  Who knows what great thing I will create tomorrow or the next day.  Rather than looking behind....I want to look ahead.  I won't know the point of my life until I am with God having a flavored iced tea...wow that just came to me.

There is a song that goes....We've only just begun...to live.

I don't want to focus on what I haven't done....but rather I want to die thinking....what's around the corner?  What great thing is going to happen to me tomorrow....no that is such a victim statement.....rewind....What great thing will I create tomorrow!  Ah....that's better!

Thank you God for this wonderful message!

We Are Freezing Our Buns Off!

For the past couple of days, we have literally been on freeze alert.  The water in the fountain outside my office had to be turned off because the water froze while drizzling down. 

The thing I hate most though is that it gets so cold, you have to contend with dry, flaky skin....rough hands.....extra static in your clothes and last but not least.....you have to wear so much clothes to keep the cold out.

Oh....oh....oh....of course I can't forget that you have to put so much lotion on just so that you won't be itchy in all the wrong places....okay....get your mind out of the gutter.....it's hard to scratch your back is what I meant. 

While I'm sure that some love the cold weather because it means skiing or playing in the snow or building a snowman....but c'mon....the novelty of that goes out the window after you've tried it once....well at least it did for me.

I promised myself that I would stay home over the weekend so that I could rest and relax after the harrowing week I had at work, but I went out and braved the cold in order to listen to a friend who needed to "vent" her anger about her family.  I gave her a hug and she felt better after baring her soul to me.  That's what friends are for.....I know that she came to my rescue whenever I've needed it!

What was great was that after we had brunch at her favorite Pho place, I went out and did a few errands that I have been putting off because I've been so busy.  There is satisfaction in completing a task that has been gnawing at me for weeks now. 

After a few hours of running around, I finally got home and had lunch at 4:00 p.m.  I did some reading and then watched the next 2 episodes of a Korean drama that I've been following.  That was my comfort for the day, feeling snug as a bug in a rug....and watching Korean dramas. 

I've already made my list of things to do tomorrow.  That way I feel as though I've accomplished something and not twittered the day away.  That makes me happy. 

What's on my list for tomorrow?  Making won tons.....it is comfort food that goes great with cold weather.....Won Ton soup with hot mustard.....bring it on!

New Year Resolutions

Why do we do them?  Every year at this time we are guilted into creating promises to ourselves to fix something or other that we presume we are lacking in.  After a few months....lo and behold we have created yet another opportunity to beat ourselves up and cast our resolutions aside.

What torture will we put ourselves through this year?  Is there an alternative....a better way to start the year?  Yes, I think there is!

I did try it one year...I don't know why I didn't keep it up!  Rather than trying to change things in our lives....how about if we try to create something new?

For example....how about if we create opportunities to add something to our lives rather than eliminating what we perceive as faults?

Addition is always easier than subtraction....don't you agree?

I read an article in O Magazine, by Anne Lamott, entitled Feeling Full.  In this article, Lamott talks about how her parents were "in pursuit of the so-called good life."  In short, they wanted to have the best of everything.  In doing so, they missed the opportunity to enjoy being who they are, because they were too busy pursuing perfection.

I can relate to this, because I thought being perfect....well how could that be a mistake?  The perfect wife, the perfect mother....well....I was in for a huge shock when I realized that perfection wasn't the answer. 

At the end of the article, Lamott boiled it down to this....."All I ever wanted since I arrived here on Earth were the things that turned out to be within reach, the same things I needed as a baby - to go from cold to warm, lonely to held, the vessel to the giver, empty to full.  You can change the world with a hot bath, if you sink into it from a place of knowing that you are worth profound care, even when you're dirty and rattled.  Who knew?"

Whenever I read O Magazine, it's like savoring a wonderful dish.  I can't read it in one sitting.  I have so many issues of Oprah's magazine accumulating in a pile.  I just can't rush through it.  I find huge pearls of wisdom every time I read an article.  It becomes a process of letting it run through every fiber of my being.  Oooooo....can you feel it?

So, what am I going to add to my life for the New Year?  I want to SAVOR my life...just as it is.....  I want to relish every morsel.  That's my resolution for this New Year!  I want to enjoy it all....the good with the bad.  I don't want to hide the bad under a rug, or try to be nice and not hurt anyone's feelings by enjoying whatever good comes my way.  I want to find the silver lining, catch the golden ring, fall flat on my face in the mud and be able to laugh about it....Does that make sense?  Weirdly enough....it does to me! 

Happy New Year to you all!   

Favorite Christmas Carols

Do you have some favorite Christmas carols?  I know I do....it's a great time of year.  There are classic ones, hilarious ones, cute ones.....

There are 3 all time favorites that I like......Ave Maria, O Holy Night and Mary Did You Know.....

I hope that I can find them on YouTube....

 

 

Andy Williams does a great rendition of Ave Maria by Schubert.  His vocal style is so sweet and soft....not strained....and very melodious.  I have heard several different versions of this song, but this is my favorite.  Ave Maria means Hail Mary in Latin.

 

O Holy Night....when I hear this song I remember my elementary school days when we practiced singing Christmas carols for our parents.  This was one that we did and there was a student in my class that had a beautiful voice that sang the lead and we all provided back up.  I don't remember the name of my classmate, but it was the first time that I had heard this song..and it was sung so beautifully!

 

 

I know that there is another singer that has a better rendition, I want to say Harry Connick, Jr.....but I could be wrong and alas....YouTube had limited selections.  Josh Groban does a great job singing this song because his voice is just so wonderful....he could sing Baa Baa Black Sheep and make me swoon!

Here is what I believe should be a classic....Clay Aiken sings this song which became a huge hit for him.  The words are so captivating and simple, yet speaks volumes!  Mary Did You Know.....

Now here are some wacky hilarious ones that just stick in your mind....again....I hope that YouTube has captured them....

Yep....Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer is fun to sing...especially if you add the twang in this hillbilly ditty.

Oh...the Hawaiians are not to be outdone....YouTube don't fail me now. 

Frank DeLima is a local comedian.  If you get the chance to see him live....don't miss the opportunity.  He is too funny!  He makes fun out of all the nationalities.  What you just saw is his take on the Filipinos.  When Shirley and I saw him in Hawaii at the Noodle Shop many many years ago, he singled us out because he told us our eyes were so slanted we could see through closed venetian blinds.  We laughed so hard we almost "peed our pants!"   I especially loved his rendition of Tina Turner's Proud Mary.  I couldn't find that one....but I did find another one that you will like Adullah Fataai, a Samoan football player.

Oops....I'm digressing.....back to the work at hand!  Cute Christmas carols.....well there's Alvin and the Chipmunks singing Christmas Time is Here. 

I also liked the Hawaiian pidgin version of the Twelve Days of Christmas.  It is called Numbah One Day of Christmas.....it was written by Ed Kenney, Eaton "Bob" Magoo, Jr., and Gordon Phelps.  Sadly, I couldn't find a good version of this on YouTube, but I can remember the words to the Hawaiian version and not the English version.

Well...I hope that you enjoyed my selections of Christmas carols.  To all of you out there....have a great holiday.  As we Hawaiians say.....Mele Kalikimaka and Hauoli Makahiki Hou....if I haven't screwed it up...it means Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Oops....back up....rewind....there is yet another Christmas carol that I love....it is a duet featuring Bing Crosby and David Bowie.......singing a combination of Little Drummer Boy and Peace on Earth.

Merry Christmas to all....and to all a good night!







 

 

 

 

 



Tis the Season

Someone who has been having a bad few days told me today that there is only nine days left until the end of the world according to the infamous Mayan calendar......what a concept.  I tried to read up on it but it's far more than my brain can handle.

If the world is coming to an end....what would I do?  I don't know that I would do anything different.  I am doing what I am supposed to do.  There isn't a "last wish" that I can honestly say I must do before the end is upon us.  Living everyday at my age is already a blessing.  What more could one ask? 

At work I am surrounded with the "Aloha Spirit".....my company has hired a total of about 5 people from Hawaii.  It is like old home week at the office.  The pidgin English is music to my ears.  If you would have asked me about 20 years ago about speaking pidgin....I would have frowned.  I tried so hard to overcome it....now I find myself embracing it.

My favorite cousin and her family were in town this past weekend.  One can really feel the love when we greet people and give them a hug and a kiss on the cheek.  There is so much Aloha in just the greeting alone.

We ate a lot, laughed a lot....heck....we even went bowling - although liftiing a bowling ball would have really broken this camel's back, because I was suffering from a pain in my back.  Nevertheless, it was fun watching everyone bowl.  After that we went to......wait......can you hear the drum roll????

You guessed it, we went to a buffet dinner.  There were a total of twelve of us.....now the adults got in at half price and the children got in at full price....why?  Because adults can gamble and children can't....so the casino made this rule.  There are actually bean counters that think up these things.

Anyway, I got to eat my daily quota of fresh veggies.....and for dessert....there was Spumoni sorbet!
Wow, my favorite!!!

We had such a great time and they are coming back in March!  I really look forward to their visits!
Needless to say....my dance card was pretty filled up.....and I danced (not literally) the entire weekend away.  I was pooched!

But.....tis the season....right?  Wow I haven't even started my Christmas shopping.....last minute Nellie huh?

I'll have to be creative and get my butt in gear.....Oh WAIT......STOP THE PRESSES!  The world is gonna end 4 days before.....if anyone is left alive after December 21....well then shut my mouth....
Boing.......there you have it....what can be better than to be alive for Christmas!

Let's all get down on our knees and give thanks!  Christmas shopping complete?....check...check!