Fashionably (I hope) late to the party…

“blog”…just the sound of the word was unappealing to me when I first heard it several years ago.  It sounded like something you stepped in on the sidewalk and couldn’t quite get completely off your shoe.  I didn’t want any part of it.

So why am I here?  One reason:  Anna Brindley.  This woman is an amazing, creative, spiritual soul-sister to me.  I connected with her instantly, years ago, at a trade show in Atlanta.  She worked in our NYC office, I in Dallas.  After she herself moved to Dallas about a year later, she introduced me to yoga, which became a life’s passion for me.  She became my pottery buddy; and I looked forward to every Saturday with her, the two of us playing with mud like little kids. On a NYC business trip in 2004,  I took a long, long walk with her one late, summer night from 14th St all the way up to the Upper East Side.  She relayed her experiences of having lived in Manhattan to me; and by the time we reached 86th St, I had made up my mind to move to New York City.

Manhattan became a complete inspiration to me when I moved here from Dallas 6 months later.  I started to write about my experiences in the city: it’s fascinating people and it’s amazing cultural offerings.  I began writing about my world travels in an effort to share my experiences with those I would have loved to have taken with me.  Living daily amid this buzzing mass of humanity, I began pondering life: it’s poignancy and exhilaration.  All the while, Anna and I maintained a long-distance connection of minds; and as I started to write, she urged me to start a blog.  I, meanwhile, resisted.  In time, those gentle, friendly reminders and encouragements from her soon became, “Am I going to have to kick your ass to make you start a blog?”, and “Why don’t I just create your blog for you and copy-and-paste your writings into the blog on your behalf?”.  I knew she was right.  (She always is!)

About a month ago, I rediscovered, in a stack of great writings and articles I had been collecting, a quote by Roger Ebert: “You will never finish unless you begin.  The muse visits during the act of writing, not before.”  So, while on a business trip to Miami this week, I re-quoted Mr. Ebert to Anna one bright morning on the beach; and when the quote stunned her as much as it had stunned me, the “blog thing” clicked.  I had lunch with Anna 2 days later; and as soon as we finished our meal, she grabs my arm and says, “Let’s go create your blog!”  I didn’t resist this time; and less than 15 minutes later, “Voila!” – kananimahelona.com was born.  Whodathunk it would take months just to get me to this place?  But, I’m thankful I’m here…and I’m glad to have been given someone like Anna to guide me here.

In its infancy, the blog isn’t yet how I imagine it.  Ideas are swirling about in my head like a mad beehive.  I would like it to be more visually appealing; and I will post several of my past writings just to give it some ‘bulk” and to push me forward.  Bear with me as I develop it and figure out what it will be, what its purpose is.  (Hmmmm…that sounds a little too much like a description of my own life these days!)

I guess art DOES imitate life!

-Kanani