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  • Kimberly Hula 11:55 am on June 20, 2012 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: dreams, family therapy, graduate education, langston hughes   

    Ante Up Academia 

    Recently I’ve exchanged emails with a faraway friend who had a dream – a big one.  She readied herself; prepped and did diligence to see it to reality.  She steeled herself against potential rejection and devised plans of action and at the moment of – the I-put-all-on-bets-on-this-horse wrist-clencher of a moment – she got what she wanted.

    You were expecting bad news, weren’t you?

    So she celebrated and grew anxious for new adventures to come, but, on account of many of lifes obstacles, she had to hold off.  It was a tough decision (grueling, really) but it was a decision that needed to be made.

    Why am I re-hashing sad stories, you ask?  Well, I’m not.  The upside to this is that our heroine has opportunity to chase her dream again, just after sometime.  While it’s never ideal to put your dreams in forebearance, it’s also not an open-and-shut case.  They are there for the pursuing, lest you not forget about them.

    This got me to thinking of dreams I’ve long deferred.  Namely THE dream I’ve let slide, on account of many things: fear, other budding dreams, convenience, terror.  Because I’d sooner explain the day away in prose, here’s a good summation:

    What happens to a dream deferred? (More …)

     

  • Kimberly Hula 11:28 am on June 19, 2012 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: instagram, photoadaymay, ,   

    Take a Shot at It 

     “Your first 10,000 photographs are your worst.”
    ― Henri Cartier-Bresson

     

    Day 12: Something that makes you happy (Conglomerative Craning)

    By now most anyone that knows me understands that if given the option I’d rather write it out.  Meaning, I’ll defer to text over talk; email over skype; personal readings over public readings.  I’m a slave to my own introversion and while it’s something I’m working on (see: year of adventures makes me uncomfortable), it’s also something I’ve come to recognize in myself.

    All told, this has served me well.  I’ve convinced myself that I like writing and then I write.  I pretty much shun all the other lovely art forms out there because, well, they are intimidating and beyond my realm of comprehension and ability.  Would if I could write and illustrate and pontificate and prepare as others can, but I can’t.  I dead-end with the pen and that’s that.

    Well, maybe not.  This week (month) had me follow

    Day 28: The weather today (Sunny, says Hiro)

    ing the lead of a dear old friend, Ms. Myndi.  Now a new mother, mama Myndi has the Midas touch for making anything (and I mean anything) into a beautiful something.  Of late I’ve been a fan of her photography.  Even more, I noticed that she took part in a ‘photo-a-day campaign’ via Instagram.  This charge had her produce a photograph a day, in accordance with whatever the list decreed.  The results were lovely, often unexpected and always so Myndi.  So I thought to live life through the eyes of the photog and give this game a go. 

    It’s not nearly as easy as it seems.  First off, composition is everything.  That said, composition really is everything.  There is SO MUCH to photograph.  There are infinite stores of color and light and people and places in this world.  There is so much matter that might perfectly depict, “A word I love” (Day 10) or, simply, “fun” (Day 4).  How does Myndi do this?  How does anyone do this?  I thought to find out. (More …)

     

  • Kimberly Hula 10:25 am on June 19, 2012 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: Promising Pals, volunteer,   

    The “Write” Stuff 

    “With writing, we get second chances” – Jonathan Safran Foer

    Kids say the darndest things, don’t they?  You might think, and they are quite darn, but kids also have an amazing propensity to say all the things we adult sometimes keep ourselves from saying.  They are compact truth seekers – perpetual ‘why’ yowlers, who keep us on our toes and remind us of the people we once were (which in turn, speaks to who we’ve become).  So while they may not speak in polysyllabics, the ‘stuff’ of their speech should be heeded.  And heed I will.

    I volunteered at a local Boston Public School, The Timility, in a campaign called, “Promising Pals”.  The premise is simple: volunteers (typically professional graduate students and adults in the community) will pair up with an assigned student and exchange letters throughout the year.  At the end of the academic year the volunteers will convene for a school assembly and breakfast with their long-time ‘pal’. 

    Me & Mr. Musse hamming it up

    It’s such a sweet concept.  The assembly: sweeter (but more on that shortly).

    You can request a student, but I had no gender or age preference and rolled the dice.  Lucky roll as I received a letter crafted in fine penmanship from Mr. Musse.  He was a seventh grade student with a love – a FERVENT LOVE – of math.  What luck!  A studious student!  Someone who would appreciate the intent and philosophical push of this campaign.  He employed good grammar!  He showed ambition in education!  Everything was as I’d otherwise request, with one some caveat.

    Mr. Musse hated writing.

    This is a great blow to a writer.  (More …)

     

  • Kimberly Hula 11:47 am on May 12, 2012 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: basil, cilantro, gardening, grandmother, herbs, oregano   

    It’s Not Easy Being Green 

    This year has already wrought so many changes, and I’m only in the early stages of 2012 adventure!  We’ve moved, starting squirreling (nay, elephanting) away money for our impending wedding, returned to school, and more!  It’s been chaotic, but thankfully we can retreat to a place with simple serenity; our cute little barn house on Walnut Terrace.

    We are mere renters but Hiro and I attend to our space like new homeowners.  Never have we had the luxury of space, of grass, of shed and neighbors all to ourselves!  Perhaps in preparation of one day being real-time home owners and because the worst of the winter gracefully passed, I dedicated my next adventure to gardening.

    Let me tell you, it’s not easy being green.  My grandparents were ardent groundskeepers.  Their lawn was the envy of the surrounding Chicago neighborhood and they maintained a vegetable patch that rivaled anything you’d see in Better Homes & Gardens.  It’s one of my greatest regrets, not learning the delicious art of it all.  Now that they’ve passed there is no one left to try to maintain their legacy.  What remains of my family, in way of botany, is suburban lawns and some perennial flowers near front doors.  It seems a shame, to let all that our patriarchs built dry up, so here’s my attempt to water the seeds of newfound family tradition.

    I have to start simply.  In part because I began this at the tail-end of the winter frost, but mostly because I have NO IDEA what I’m doing.  I’ve begged the internet for advice only to find that my remedial starting point is so far below what most gardeners consider beginner that reading alone won’t suffice.  I needed to start small and understand the basics, so I’ve begun with herbs. (More …)

     

  • Kimberly Hula 11:07 am on May 11, 2012 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: assimilation, biking, cycling, san diego, tour   

    The Sum of SoCal 

    I have nothing against assimilation.  I think being in Rome is as good a time as any to try your best Roman, and this is an attitude I’ve adopted to travel.  It’s easy for me as I like to please people and worry that I’ll make a right fool of myself but try as I might, the best laid plans go all kinds of awry.

    So it was in Japan when I tried serving Green Tea only to splinter the bamboo stirrer in everyone’s cup; or my embarrassing inability to NOT use the words “lovely”, “bullocks” and “right-o” when speaking to anyone with a British accent.  I make attempts, and my trip to sunny San Diego is no exception.

    What is inherent to Californians?  Those clever celebrity-dense ad campaigns would suggest sun and able-bodied fun.  I grew up in the land-locked US.  My family didn’t jet-ski or engage in bouts of sand volleyball.  We were efficient travelers.  We used up all our time riding every ride imaginable in Disney World.  The idea of sun-soaked leisure is new to me.

    (More …)

     

  • Kimberly Hula 1:27 pm on May 10, 2012 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: consultation, fiction, ,   

    All Good Things Are Belated in the Retelling 

    It feels fortunate to admit that I’ve been lazy in posting.  Only because THINGS ARE HAPPENING!  The things in point deal with writing and the momentum built from this campaign so I haven’t much excuse, but I am terribly excited to detail my major life changes as I attempt to catch up!  My calculations show I’m 10 adventures behind in documentation.  So, without further ado – the start of my campaign to be better organized and due diligence to Club 52:

    This week found me grumpy, uncertain and in something of an existential plight.  I’ve always been a big advocate of the notion that inspiration lies within, but some days find my optimistic mind-store closed and I try to compensate with the next best thing: drawing inspiration from others.  This is a slippery slope.  Too often I mistake credit with competition.  That’s to say, I look at someone like my dear friend Emmie whose right arm might as well be a paint brush for all the beauty that her mere handwriting produces and think, “Emmie does what she loves.  She has it all figured out.”  And even though I’m truly awed by and happy for her, I allow my own insecurities to consume me.  Enough for me to change the tempo and begin to think, “Why am I not creating?  What do I do?”  And on particularly murky days, an insipid, “Is there anything special to me?”

    This is the self-talk we’d sooner caste off.  It helps no one to be so dour, and on this week, when I felt my mind race with sharp scissors, I decided to try and do something about it.

    I thought simply, “What do Iwant to do?”

    I answered, quickly, “Write a book.”

    (More …)

     

  • Kimberly Hula 4:01 pm on March 13, 2012 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: hosting, superbowl 2012   

    Three Cheers for the Agitator! 

    I come from an NBA family.  Or rather, I come from a city of NBA-fame that demands fanfare from all it’s inhabitants.  So much so that as a young girl I used to hoist 6’ foot cardboard cutouts of Horace Grant, Scotty Pippen and BJ Armstrong on the balcony of my aunt’s suburban condo with my sister in tow holding signs that read, “Honk for a 3-Peat!”.  We did this gleefully for every playoff game.

    But my sports fanaticism ended there.  Save watching some golf or tennis when I want to nap I don’t really dedicate my time to any one sport or team.  And I especially don’t make any attempt to watch football.

    What’s so wrong with football you ask?  Well, nothing and everything.  Football has always seemed evasive to me.  Because I never feigned to understand the rules, the rules appear foolishly complex when I try to make sense of them.  The basics I get, but it seems there’s always some reason to stop the game, yet never stop the clock.  It’s maddening!

    All told, however, people LOVE it.  My Northeast kinsmen especially so.  And considering my current city of residence’s team, the Boston Patriots, were Superbowl contenders, I thought I’d study up. (More …)

     

    • Lori Bennett 6:04 pm on March 14, 2012 Permalink

      Don’t let any of your football friends see this! It’s the New England Patriots. LOL.

    • Kimberly Hula 10:36 am on March 15, 2012 Permalink

      There is SO MUCH to learn. Thanks Lori! :)

  • Kimberly Hula 2:25 pm on March 5, 2012 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: DIY, save the date, vintage handkerchief, wedding   

    Take a Craft at It 

    In one way is my family split evenly: fiscal responsibility.  That’s to say, I’ve none.  My sister keeps company with me here, while my mother and brother are artful misers who really know how to save.  So it came as a great surprise when I landed a temporary job in campaign finance in the summer of 2008. 

    Somehow, since then, I haven’t been able to do anything other than fiscally plan.

    I’m a financial administrator at MIT.  My job asks that I maintain financial portfolios.  Before then I was maintaining the books at Loyola.  Earlier than that, for Betsy Markey for Congress.  So, following the great tide of life, I am keeping in theme with my upcoming nuptials.

    As Hiro and I have to assume most of the fiscal burden of a wedding we are trying to do so in the most creatively frugal ways possible!  Thankfully, we settled on partying in a barn.  Barn décor is minimal, at best, so we needn’t fret over silken linens and rental forks.  However to really keep in theme (and I love a good theme) I have decided to do almost everything by hand.

    It’s a wild adventure in DIY madness! (More …)

     

  • Kimberly Hula 11:48 am on February 25, 2012 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: brookline, okasan, sea to you sushi, sushi   

    Puma Paw & Acts of In-Law Appeasement 

    My last visit to Japan also served as my first meet-and-greet with my to be in-laws.  Despite a nerve-wracked red eye flight that had me in tears for fear of not being able to impress them the trip went over smoothly.  My okasan (mother) was cordial, hospital and ALL ENERGY.  She effortlessly showed me all the sights of their hometown Kamakura while simultaneously planning me a robust birthday celebration and cooking every meal.

    I think of meals as three a day.  Like a story there’s a beginning, middle and end.  However, were I to follow this metaphor in my own cooking each meal would hold it’s own and have a stamp of importance on it.  As such, I’m a sloppy chef and cook to consume, whereas my okasan is the real deal.  She cooks to create.   Create happiness.  Create satiety.  She does this to make those she serves happy and seeing the eager stampede to the dining table every time we were called to sit down, I can attest to her good-great-best work.

    She’s a powerhouse, and, although we have a burgeoning and lovely relationship, I’d do anything to make her proud.  So here, in Boston, in the safe confines of my own test kitchen, I’ve been making active efforts to become better versed.  So when the opportunity arose to enroll in a sushi making lesson, I immediately signed up.

    Thankfully so did dear pals Moira and Courtney, and the three of us made way for Sea to You Sushi in Brookline, MA for a 2 hour hands-on course in the delicate art of sushi-rolling. (More …)

     

  • Kimberly Hula 10:10 am on February 24, 2012 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , snowboarding, stowe, VT   

    Black Diamond Chicken Wings 

    I don’t understand why the North East is so insistent on snow sports.  When I moved to Boston it seemed everyone inherent to here, was mad for winter athletics.  I hail from the land-locked Midwest and haven’t any interest in such tom-foolery.  Snow serves two very purposeful functions for me: lovely curb appeal and days off.  I have no staked interest in anything else.

    But I’m also biased.  Last year I tried my feet at snowboarding.  My lovely fiancé is a sportsman and loves the thrill of the ice race.  He’s been an avid and dedicated skier most his life and thought to try snowboarding on a company outing last year.  At the time I was still trying to impress him so I tagged along, hopeful.  (More …)

     

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