Compassion

http://www.uexpress.com/dearabby/?uc_full_date=20070826

I especially like the second letter and response. I now know that other people give bottled water to homeless people.

Announcement of the Aloha Races & Polynesian Festival

My hula school, Hula Halau 'O Pi'ilani, will be performing from 4:00 - 5:00 at this event on the stage at the Santa Cruz Wharf.

http://www.ci.santa-cruz.ca.us/pr/parksrec/pdfs/07alohaposter.pdf

The event is free! Woo hoo!

34 Things

I now have 34 Things. Woo hoo!

29 things

I started a 43 things page. So far I have 29 things.

my rant of the day

Mo. man burns books as act of protest

A used bookstore owner burns several books "in protest of what he sees as society's diminishing support for the printed word."

Personally, I see this as rather selfish. There are dozens of public libraries in New Orleans and other hurricane damaged areas that are desperate for books to replace the thousands of books that were destroyed. Perhaps some of those books are unwanted by the libraries; however, some might be needed.

Other places that can use books include homeless shelters, shelters for battered women, hospitals, senior centers, shelters for runaway teens, nursing homes and other residential care homes.

My Dad and Step-mom drop off their used magazines at Kaiser Permanente waiting rooms so that folks may have interesting things to read while waiting. Some Kaiser Permanente employees do the same thing. I'm considering doing this also, if I can get myself to part with some of my magazines.

I have two boxes of books in excellent condition that I simply don't need any more. I plan on taking them to three or four used bookstores to see if I can get a bit of cash for them. Whatever I can't sell, I'll donate somewhere. I'd never burn them.

You know you're an urbanite when...

you get excited by seeing more than ten stars in the sky.

there are multiple ways of getting from point a to point b.

your workplace has more employees than some small villages.

on voting day, if you accidentally go to the wrong polling place, it's no big deal, because the correct polling place is only one block away.

there are more cats than people in your neighborhood.

you and some of your neighbors capture feral cats, get them spayed or neutered, then release them to live out their natural lives without producing new cats.

you go out to dinner, you spend more time deciding where to eat than actually going out to eat.

you don't need an alarm clock: you are awakened every morning by the whistles of the school crossing guards and/or construction equipment.

an afternoon of hula and an evening of jazz

Today, my hula halau performed at May Day at the Alameda County Fairgrounds in Pleasanton. Two of my friends came from Oakland and San Francisco to watch me and the others dance. Our halau performed three kahiko dances, one Tahitian aparima, several 'auana dances and one ori Tahiti dance. I danced in one kahiko dance and one 'auana dance.

After the performance, the three of us wandered around the vendor area for a bit, then we went out to dinner. After we said our goodbyes, I drove home.

After resting for a bit, I went to church to see a jazz concert at my church. I'm not very familiar with jazz; however, I certainly enjoyed the concert. The young musicians are very talented.