Pink!

The Blind Leading The Blind:

So, this Saturday i spent my time at the West campus of our local junior college. I had been asked about a month ago if i was available to work that day, teaching kung fu and self defense to blind kids and i was like, sure, why not?

We had about 12 kids in our room, each with varying degrees of sight or in the case of a couple of kids, had lost both their sight and their hearing. We did the whole gamut; warm up, punches and kicks and then we really focused on self defense. My main parts were the stretching and then the verbal defense. My goal was to get them used to raising their voice so they would be heard. I've found that a lot of young girls and even women are afraid to raise their voice - even if they're in an emergency situation. Something to do with society's belief that women are supposed to be soft spoken and never raise their voice - but that's an entirely different soap box for an entirely different day...

During the break we sat around, munching on fruit, talking about what their favorite movies were, whether or not they read in braille, what their favorite foods were and, the most interesting to me, what their favorite colour was. Every single one of those kids had a favorite colour. One young lady, who was born completely blind i believe, said her favourite colour was red. How does she experience red? Some of them said that they don't watch movies per se but they do listen to them, which i can understand and another - the girl whose favourite colour is red - said that she's read all the Harry Potter books (except the newest one) in braille. Dude.

I think my favorite part was when i escorted them to the restroom and overheard them in there:

A1: "What are we doing?"

A2: "I don't know."

A1: "Where's the towel dispenser?"

A2: "Go foward and a little to your left."

A1: "Man, it's like the blind leading the blind in here..."

A2: "Ha! That's cause it is!" and they just busted out laughing.

We talked to the director of the program and she wants us to do more with her; here in town, and then several out of town gigs too. This time, when asked if i was interested i didn't say "sure, why not?" i jumped at the chance.

Well Worth It:

The Auntie was racing to get us all back to shore because i told her i was feeling "sick".

It was all a ploy to get her back to shore by a certain time so that we could usher her home to shower and change for her surprise partay.

Heh!

Blue Eyed Daughter showing me the little crawfish she found in the lake.

She wanted me to take a picture of the crawfish, but,

for some reason my camera only wanted to focus on her...go figure!

Party Prep:

A & D

I used to babysit for, well, both of them actually.

This trip seemed to be a reunion of the majority of the kids i used to babysit back in the day.

Making me feel, hm, a little old?

Damn.

Paradisical:

The view from the back end of the boat in the middle of the lake.

Cairns:

To guide us on our journey...to fun!

Create by the one, the only, Blue Eyed Daughter.

Did I Mention The Dancing?

Friday night at the partay.

My auntie.

Our friend Dave.

Music.

Sun Salute:

This is the view that greeted me as i walked out onto the patio to do a little yoga Thursday morning.

Our vacation was good - a whirlwind but good. I got to see a lot of people i hadn't seen in a very long time and meet a few that i'd only heard about. Oh! and the dancing? There was so much dancing!

I Fell In Love All Over Again:

Pretty Damn Cool:

Allstar:

Palm:

Summery Blossoms

I don't know what this flower is but it was growing along the Rivewalk in San Antonio

He's looking at YOU:

Sluggish Monday:

One morning, in Seattle, while doing a little fu, i met this awesome little slug.

I named him Enrique.

The Monniker?

It comes from:

just the cutest nephew in the world, that's all.

Of Peace and Kittens:

Behold the mighty SS Peace Kitten!

The Peace Kitten saved my life and let me tell you how:

After an onslaught of supercrapitude surrounding my P.O.S. car, i went home wanting to do nothing but curl up in a ball and hide from the world.

But rather than succumb to the temptation that is the down comforter, the Peace Kitten and i participated in the Gutter Regata. It was the flash-flood of '07 on Smuts Drive but that didn't stop us from trying to manouver our way through the driving rain, down the gutter towards Pinkerton all in the hopes of beating out the Seagull; professionally sailed by one Blue Eyed Daughter.

No one really knows who won - as i have been known to cheat from time to time - but by the end of the race we were both drenched in rain and laughter; the woes of the day swirling down the drain with the rest of the street debris.

Peace Kitten Ahoy!

Stop the Ride. I Want Off:

So karma has been playing games with me lately and she's worn me out. One minute i'm getting zinged with an unexpected 12 hour layover in LA only to have it turn into an awesome reunion with a friend that i haven't seen in 10 or 12 years. One minute my car is lurching forward like it has the dry heaves and the next minute i find an auto shop that can fix it right then*. It seems as though every time something bad or unfortunate happens and i start to wonder what i could have done karmically speaking to warrant the crapiness, something fabulous happens to magically ease my pain. A test in patience? Faith perhaps? A psychic lesson on how to deep breathe myself through any situation?

I don't know. I am realizing now that maybe i shouldn't have eaten that last burrito cause this ride is making me a little nauseous now.

*-it turns out that it was "fixed" for a week and i have had continuous car problems ever since & this particular shop isn't answering the phone - but! i may have found a new car...

Diggin' Some Depp:

Superb!tch: