Public Spark

Happy 4th of July! Independence day is commonly associated with fireworks, parades, barbecues, carnivals and picnics. Usually I spend independence day with family and friends, enjoying a barbecue. Sometimes we would climb up to the rooftop to watch fireworks.

Here are some interesting statistics (U.S. Census Bureau)

• On this day in 1776, the Declaration of Independence was approved by the Continental Congress, setting the 13 colonies on the road to freedom as a sovereign nation.

• The nation’s population on this July Fourth is 304 million.

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Myspace Comments

1. Giving a short phone call

   In this day and age, where time is of the essence even 5 minutes tends to be treasure. Therefore, the value of talking with your dad for 5 minutes is much appreciated.

2. Sending email-ecards..glitter!

   Benefits of modern day technology: Email! It can be done at work (secretly-wink wink-) Now in addition to regular email or ecards, you can buff it up with various text such as one of my favorite.. mytextgraphics, (as used above) which offers many choices of text generators from glitter text to even father’s day text. They were even recently featured in the Wall Street Journal as a competitive text generator site.

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In commemoration of one of the Father’s days (I say this because I try to think of Father’s day as everyday):

One of my dad’s greatest advice is that when you have too many choices, particularly in regards to searching for a career, it’s okay not to have the perfect job on your first try. What is most important is to do what you think is right at the time, pour your heart into it and then you will begin to see your passion.

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Last Memorial Day weekend, we visited the USS Arizona Memorial in Honolulu, Hawaii. The USS Arizona is the final resting place for many of the ship’s 1,177 crewmen who lost their lives on December 7, 1941. When we arrived at the park, we were first led into an indoor theater to watch a video on the history of Pearl Harbor. Then the doors opened to the outdoor dock, where we rode a boat to the Memorial. We noticed the locations of where the other ships were once docked. Then we saw the 184 foot long white memorial structure, spanning what was once the mid-portion of the sunken battleship. I immediately recognized the tranquil and peaceful atmosphere. I was immersed into self-reflection, thinking of my ancestors and of all the lives that were lost in the Pearl Harbor attack. When you reach the shrine room, you see that the names of those killed on the Arizona are engraved on the marble wall. The place overflows with serenity.

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I thought it would be interesting to interview my mom’s thoughts about being a mom on this day. However, my mom found it difficult to answer my questions, which included what are the good things about being a mom, the down side and advice for future moms. She said it was too hard to summarize and said that everything about being a mom was great.

I don’t know what it must feel like to be a mom. I can only assume the wonder and challenges of being with someone that resembles a part of you who evolves from a dependent stage to an independent individual.

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March 3 of every year is Girl’s day in the Japanese culture and May 5th of every year is boy’s day, also known as Children’s Day. It used to be called Tango no sekku (meaning feast of the banners). On girl’s day the doll’s are displayed, but on Children’s day the carp-shaped Koinobori flags are displayed, as pictured below.

My family never had boys so we didn’t celebrate much of this. However, it was an excuse for us to eat Kashiwa mochi (which are mochi rice cakes wrapped in Kashiwa (oak) leaves.

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Although I was born and raised in America, my parents have kept me in touch with my Japanese culture. One of the Japanese holidays we celebrate is Hinamatsuri (Girl’s day), also known as momo-no-sekku (festival of peach blossoms) on March 3rd. There are several components to this festival.

• Display

  Before March 3rd, we put out a display of dolls called the Hina Ningyo on red platforms, as pictured below. The two dolls on the top platforms are replicas of the ancient emperor and empress. On the lower platforms are the subordinates. There are many different kinds of displays and this is just one style. Legend has it that if it this display is not put away after March 3rd, the single daughter can never get married.

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Valentines day can hold very different meanings for everyone. Wikipedia has an interesting entry on the history of Valentine’s Day.

For me, it has changed over the years. When I was a child, it was a fun holiday where I would hand out cards and candy to my friends. It was a day where I gave my parents a hand-made “I love you card.” As I got older, it was no longer the cute cards, but more the dating scene or couples scene. I was single for a long time, so I spent Valentines day wishing my friends and family happy v-day. I thought that it would be a more significant deal once I started dating.

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Happy 2008 everyone! Hope this year will be filled with much happiness and prosperity for you. How do you start off the first day of 2008?
These are ways that I kick off the new year.

• Japanese style:

  I enjoy helping my parents prepare the osechi ryori (new years food). This is comprised of many ingredients, each symbolizing good health, good harvest, happiness, and nature. My job mostly entails packing them in a jubako (which is a 3 layered lacquered box)- as pictured here:

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Hope all of my readers are enjoying the last day of 2007. As I countdown to 2008, there are several things that I do to welcome the new year.

1. Refection

   New Year’s Eve is a good time for me to reflect upon the past year. If I were to sum up 2007 in one word, it would be “transition.” The transitional events included my graduation, Hawaiian traveling adventure, attending several friends’ weddings and starting Public Spark. If you were to sum up your year, what has it been like?

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