I'm doing 19 things
November painting
2 weeks ago
started November’s painting yesterday… a landscape of mount fuji… looking good so far!!
elcheung's Life List
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1. speak japanese well
4 entries . 6 cheers13 people -
2. live in Paris one day
1 entry1 person -
3. leave notes in library books
1 entry . 3 cheers539 people -
4. complete the 88 temple shikoku pilgrimage
3 cheers17 people -
5. stop rearranging the furniture every month
6 entries . 2 cheers1 person -
6. stop being afraid of heights
3 entries . 2 cheers12 people -
7. restore my eyesight naturally
1 cheer104 people -
8. stop procrastinating
1 entry . 3 cheers26,955 people -
9. learn guitar
2 entries . 1 cheer3,059 people -
10. Learn Hieroglyphics
1 entry . 3 cheers42 people -
11. Learn to surf
4 cheers7,358 people -
12. learn to swim well
6 cheers51 people -
13. do yoga
2 entries . 3 cheers1,644 people -
14. stop swearing
2 entries . 2 cheers812 people -
15. Read Dune
3 entries . 4 cheers17 people -
16. lose my belly flab
2 entries2 people -
17. read war and peace
1 entry . 2 cheers470 people -
18. learn Latin
3 cheers1,880 people -
19. speak German fluently
2 entries . 2 cheers336 people
How I did it
It made me
ecstatic & fulfilled 
How I did it: Every night, after all are asleep, I work on my painting. This one was a completely selfish one in that no one commissioned it... it was something I wanted to explore, the symbolism, the history, the mystery... the occult has always fascinated me and this one is totally completely mine!! Read how I did it…
It made me
...?? ambivalent? 
How I did it: It was a fluke... husband got a job here. But, I think finally after 10 years, I'm starting to adjust. Actually, funny thing was when I was a kid I used to play with a globe and spin and stop it randomly.. one day, I said wherever this stops, one day I will live there. It landed on Hawaii. Talk about fate. Read how I did it…
It made me
lalalala
How I did it: My husband and I had been planning to live in Japan for his sabbatical. He got a grant and we just took the kids. Kids shouldn't stop people from traveling and living... really. We found a "mansion" (it's just an apartment) so we didn't have to pay key money. Signed up our daughter for the local public kindergarten even though she didn't speak a word of Japanese. And my Japanese back then was atrocious... Sti… Read how I did it…
See all "How I Did It" stories...
Recent entries
Untitled
4 weeks ago
trying not to pass on my weirdness to my daughter… I have a very strange relationship with my languages, stemming from when I was very little, my mother used to berate us for speaking Chinese incorrectly. I think she meant well, but it cuts so deeply, even to this day, I feel that I am not truly fluent until I can completely think in a language. So, as for Japanese, when will the day come when I feel good enough? For my daughter, she has a new classmate from Japan and I encouraged her to befriend her. I taught her some simple phrases she could use so she can ease the girl’s transition to a new school. I wish people would be more tolerant of accents and differences in culture… I wish they all wouldn’t be like my mother…
Untitled
4 weeks ago
I think I’m beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel… just put aside time each day, set up a routine for whatever it is and do it and it becomes a habit. ok… so maybe this isn’t a new revelation, but it works so far. I’m just thinking maybe at some point it might get too structured. I like having lots of flexibility in my day… is that so terrible?
