hobbies

with the birth of 2016 fast approaching, i’m still struggling to nail down my “yearly theme,” my goals for the new year. i’ve got a list of ideas, though with little details on how to achieve them. under pressure to wake up on january 1st with a plan and vision i’ve attempted answer the questions remaining from part one, hoping at the end, i will be much closer to putting pen to paper and putting my “theme”  in writing.

~ what do i want to leave behind from this year?

it’s been a whirl-wind year. with dramatic changes at my work-place and an exciting and energizing election season heating up, though there may have been a fair amount of complaining on my part, i’m not sure how much of it was in my control, save one area.

those of you who know me, or have frequented this blog know that i’ve struggled off and on with depression for a fair chunk of my life. earlier this year, i fell into a funk out of which, on my own, i was unable to climb. i’ve been meeting with my therapist regularly since. though i’m back in an even, and even positive, frame of mind, i continue to see him as a motivation to work on things we’ve agreed are important.

though my temperament is such that i believe i will always be at risk of depressive funks, what i’d like to leave behind from this is year a nagging sense that my life lacks direction, accomplishments, or goals. the arc of my life has been fairly a typical, i think. it’s certainly outside the range of “normal” for the majority of my friends and while i look at this as a positive thing, i sometimes focus on the things they have that i don’t which causes feelings of loneliness and failure.

the goal of the “yearly theme” project, at is very core, is an attempt to leave these feelings behind once-and-for-all and be happy with what i have and successful in the goals i set for myself.

~ what went incredibly well?

honestly? i’m not sure anything went “incredibly” well. when weighing the “good” and “bad” in my life over this year, i can say that the scale easily tips toward the good. i made progress improving my finances, developed or strengthened relationships with some members of the democratic party of hawaii (which could prove valuable in the coming year), and proved my worth in a new position in my office.

as a matter of fact, if i look back at (what i can remember of) this year, it seems to have been a foundation-setting year. there was nothing particularly remarkable about this year, other than i could say it has put me in position to have a really good 2016.

~ what do i want more of in the year ahead?

more focus. i feel like i do a lot, constantly busy, but as i’ve been contemplating this new undertaking over the last few weeks, i’ve really begun to realize that while i’m involved in a lot of different things like collecting 5.56 ammo from Palmetto for sport, there’s not a whole lot of focus in my life. enjoyable hobbies like writing, video blogging, and (restarting my) photography are consistently put off in exchange for “work” for one of the various organizations for which i volunteer; that has to change.

more joy. i’m not an unhappy person per se, but it can be a bit lonely and my free time is spent mostly laying on my couch. i’m often reminded, usually by friends and family that don’t live here, that i take completely for granted the fact that i live in this very special place. so, in the new year, i want more nature time: beaches, ocean, hiking, or just walking around my neighborhood. making a point to enjoy what hawaii has to offer is a good first step in the right direction.

there are still three or four more questions to go, but to keep this post from becoming completely unreadable, i’ll continue on in part three. stay tuned.

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this will be a short post.

i’ve been conscious for a while that i dropped off from doing my videos for two or three months and have been feeling a little bad about it. with the new job and responsibilities, i’ve struggled a bit to find the time and energy to not only to record, but to edit videos.

then, over the last few weeks, i’ve heard from a few friends who commented that they hadn’t seen a post from me in a while and enjoyed watching my videos. hearing that from a few different people was just the little nudge i needed to try and get started again.

i think i’m a bit rusty in my editing skills, so this may not be as well edited as some of my previous videos….

i can’t promise i’ll be as regular as i was previously, but i’m going to make an effort. so, stay tuned, please comment on and subscribe to my youtube channel, and let me know you’re watching and enjoying my videos. though i do these largely for myself, it’s very nice to know that people are watching and enjoying them and gives me a little extra motivation that i sometimes find necessary to make the effort.

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this is going to be a quick and short post. i’ll try to do a longer, catch-up post in the next week, or so. for now, i wanted to get this out.

the last video i posted got responses from friends and family, worried about my future. admittedly, it was a bit depressing, but at the time, there was a lot of uncertainty in my life and i was coming to the end of a job and experience i was proud and happy to have had.

just a day or two after i recorded that vlog, i was asked by the new administration to stay on until the end of the year. and last week i was asked to stay, permanently, in the policy office for the new governor. it’s a relief and i’m thrilled to have the opportunity to work for the new governor, as well as move in to a higher position. there are still  details to be sorted out.

as things begin to normalize, i’m also beginning to have an easier time focusing and getting motivated. some of you may already know, but i don’t deal well with change and big changes, like uncertainty in my job, puts me out of sorts, making it difficult to do much, like regularly record videos. i hoping to get back to a regular vlog schedule soon.

stay tuned and happy holidays!

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we’re just about two weeks away from the hawaii people’s fund annual dinner, on saturday, november 8.

HPF Annual Dinner & Expoif i haven’t mentioned it previously (i’m pretty sure i have), i currently have the honor of serving as a member of it’s board. so, to help let more people know about what the organization does, all (or nearly) of my videos between now and the dinner will highlight some of the great grantee organizations.

common cause hawaii (cch) is a great organization that i’ve personally worked with on projects in the past. if you’re interested in open, transparent, and responsive government, this is the organization for you. cch has been involved in supporting same-day voter registration, online voter registration, and stricter super pac disclosure laws.

playbuilders hawaii is a group of theater makers “who wish, through theater, to create opportunities for effective communication and cultural exchange between many the many diverse peoples of hawaii.” check out their website. they’re currently accepting original scripts for their 2015 festival of original plays and i expect there could be some interesting productions.

movement for aloha no ka aina (mana) is a “movement-building organization established to achieve independence and social justice through direct action, political education, economic development, international diplomacy, and public advocacy, with a cultural and spiritual foundation.” good stuff! check out their platform of unity, too.

hawaii rural development council (hrdc) received a grant from hpf to help produce its documentary seeds of hope, which “tells the story of agriculture and food in hawaii.” i haven’t seen the film, but it definitely sounds interesting and worth a look.

 

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on the ballot this november, there will be five questions relating to proposed amendments to the hawaii state constitution:

CON AMEND: Relating to Disclosure of Judicial Nominees

“Shall the judicial selection commission, when presenting a list of nominees to the governor or the chief justice to fill a vacancy in the office of the chief justice, supreme court, intermediate appellate court, circuit courts or district courts, be required, at the same time, to disclose that list to the public?”

CON AMEND: Relating to Agricultural Enterprises

“Shall the State be authorized to issue special purpose revenue bonds and use the proceeds from the bonds to assist agricultural enterprises on any type of land, rather than only important agricultural lands?”

CON AMEND: Relating to State Justices and Judges

“Shall the mandatory retirement age for all state court justices and judges by increased from seventy to eighty years of age?”

CON AMEND: Relating to Early Childhood Education

“Shall the appropriation of public funds be permitted for the support or benefit of private early childhood education programs that shall not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, sex or ancestry, as provided by law?”

CON AMEND: Relating to Dams and Reservoirs

“Shall the State be authorized to issue special purpose revenue bonds and use the proceeds from the bonds to offer loans to qualifying dam and reservoir owners to improve their facilities to protect public safety and provide significant benefits to the general public as important water sources?”

i talk today about the second and fourth: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nipjyPWb1Eg

you can find the post here where senator thielen discusses one of these, plus another i don’t talk about.

 

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