Twenty twelve so far has been about engaging new connections and skills. There have been two main threads in the past six weeks.
Connection Thread #1: Skating & Hooping
Just before the new year, Tod and I went skating at a newly opened skate arena at Tokyo Dome. It was such fun that we made a standing date and we own multiple pairs of inline skates, having found an unbeatable bargain. One Friday afternoon I decided to skate without Tod and that is when I met the Yokosuka Sushi Rollers, a roller derby team from the US Naval base outside Tokyo. They invited me to perform a halftime hula-hoop show at their bout last weekend and that is where I met Steve, a ref who can juggle while skating and who invited me to participate in his school’s “Multiple Intelligences” day in May. Here’s a video that I made on Monday of me trying to skate and hula-hoop at the same time.
Connection Thread #2: Laughing & Playing
I took the plunge about a month ago and joined a weekly improv workshop. It’s something I’ve had on my “want to try” list for more than a year. Last night, I participated in my first improv performance. I was dreadful, but I learned a lot by getting up on stage and failing. I’ve met a lot of interesting people in the workshops and l made a connection to a musician and music teacher, Huw Lloyd, so now I am taking ukulele lessons. Both improv and ukulele are absolutely delightful, flexing areas of my brain that haven’t been worked in a long time. Tod and I are playing music together, as much as my limited skills allow, and it is heartwarming to have a new connection in our old relationship.
