Remembering Mitchell...

Last week my brother's very close friend passed away. Although Mitchell Ige was only in his early 30s, his body just couldn't carry him any longer. So it gave out, and much too quickly, Mitchell was gone. Dean, Reid, John, and all of Mitchell's friends, will have memories of a man who should have had more opportunities for joy in life with the family and friends who loved him.

What's Happening in Seattle

A lot is going on in Seattle this weekend. First off, it's Folk Life. The Halau is performing on Sunday, May 29 at the Seattle Center. The women will be the last halau performing, and instead of doing a kahiko or auwana show, they've decided to go with a Tahitian medley. Exotic, no? It should be a fantastic show. Folk Life goes through the weekend and there are many, many, more performances.

If you're not at Folk Life, you may be at the Scrabble Tournament at the Red Lion in Seattle. For Jessica and Steve (my neighbors), this may be their chance to check out some new (authentic) words. Take notes so that you can win on the home version.

Summer School Blues

Well, it's not quite summer yet, but I am teaching summer school. What a rough way to come back off of sabbatical. Four weeks of intensive courses and I'm on week three. It just doesn't seem to go fast enough. I'm sure my students are thinking the same thing. This week is a grammar course. Next week I'm teaching Reading and Writing. It's been rough.

Dissertation you ask? Haven't seen it in weeks...literally. I'm waiting until the end of summer school in order to work on it. I have a bunch of tapes that need to be translated before I can do more writing, though. A faculty assistant at the school has offered to transcribe them for me. There's no way I could get everything done without her help.

Finally, I have a new hobby. I've decided to take hula lessons here in Seattle. I'm sure the work on the dissertation has influenced my decision, but I'm enjoying it! I'm a beginner but have been slowly picking up on the dances. The halau (hula school) emphasizes both kahiko (traditional) and auwana (modern) hula styles. My legs and hip muscles hurt, but I love the feel of dancing with a group of people. They have Tahitian classes, too, but seriously, I don't think my hips will move that fast.