Kent Ninomiya

Kent Ninomiya - Happy Lunar New Year everyone! All around the world there are celebrations with feasts, fireworks and dancing dragons. It’s a time for Asian families and familes of Asian decent to get together and revel in the new year. It is Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years Day all wrapped into one in asian culture. It’s often called “Chinese New Year,” but this isn’t particularly accurate. While it is widely observed in China, it is also an important holiday for people throughout East Asia and of Asian ancestry all over the world. Believe it or not, there are still people out there who do not realize all Asian people are NOT Chinese. Lunar New Year is also a more accurate term. The holiday usually begins on the first day of the first lunar month. This makes the lunar calendar much more accurate than the Julian calendar. Jokes are often made about the Chinese being backward for celebrating the new year late. In reality the west celebrates the new year early. While the traditional Chinese calendar does not record continuously numbered years, 2008 is considered year 4705. So happy 4705 everyone! Kent Ninomiya

Kent Ninomiya - I’ve been spending a lot of time with my daughter lately. We’re hanging out one-on-one. I’m feeding her, playing dolls, watching princess videos, etc. I noticed that she’s been calling me “Mommy” quite a bit. She’s never done that before so it got me thinking. Remember when you were in kindergarten and you accidentally called the teacher “Mommy?” I imagine it’s because the teacher, who was probably a woman, was in the roll of an adult female authority figure. Since that figure in your life so far was your mother, “Mommy” naturally came out. I know my daugther can tell me and her mother apart. Recently, however, i’ve been doing many things that her mother normally does. So calling me “Mommy” is likely a reaction to her environment, not the person she is talking to. She associates these activities with her mother, so when she requests juice or her doll or a princess video she requests them from “Mommy.” It’s very interesting. Kent Ninomiya

Kent Ninomiya - There’s nothing like a snow day to bring a family together and give you a fabulous work out. It’s like a surprise holiday. That is if you don’t have to work. A lovely 6 inches fell over night prompting the kids to force me out of bed at the crack of dawn. First order of business was to clear the driveway of snow so we could get the car out. That’s a significant work out in itself. I had a good sweat going by the time I cut a path wide enough for our vehicle. All the while the kids romped and played on a miniature hill I created by my digging. Once we could get out the real play and exercise began. We went to the local hill for some serious sledding. There is nothing like the uncontrolled laughter of a family flying out of control down a steep snow covered hill. We think nothing of the vigourous climbs back up the hill for the next run. By the time we called it a day we had hiked miles up a steep slope. We were covered in snow and sweat. We were exhausted and giddy. The best kinds of exercise and happiness are the kinds that you don’t know you are getting. Kent Ninomiya