Puki's World

Live 'n Raw: The 30-Day Experiment

I have been so busy finishing this project for my amazing documentary class over the last two months that I have barely had time to write. Now it is finished and up on the web! Check it out!

Live 'n Raw

Can a college student survive on a 100% raw vegan diet? My short documentary film follows two extremely lively and enthusiastic pre-med students at Maharishi University, Antwan and Yahya, through a month of their experiment on a 100% raw vegan diet. The story of their experiences, both challenges and benefits, shows if and how it is possible for a college student to survive going raw. 

For more information on raw food check out my short interview clips on topics such as "what is raw food?" "common detox symptoms" and "benefits of raw food" that are posted on my youtube channel.

The documentary class was an incredible experience. I learned a ton, had a blast and gained a lot of confidence in my skills as a filmmaker. The teacher was awesome and hilarious, my classmates were totally inspiring, and it is really fulfilling to have a finished product that I am proud of. I am excited to share what I learned about raw food with the world. :)

Much love, 

Puki

Too Much Fun!

Is that possible? No, I do not believe it is possible to have too much fun, but it certainly does make it hard to focu on academics. One question I often get from people who visit MUM is, "What on earth is there to do in a tiny town in the middle of the cornfields?" My response is always, "Finding things to do is never the problem. Finding time to do all of the things I want to do is the biggest challenge."

This week has been a never-ending series of potlucks, birthday parties, performances, meetings, and playing in the sunshine with wonderful friends. I was totally impressed with the annual Variety Show that the extremely talented and creative MUM students put on for the community. It took place at the new Sondheim Civic Center in town last Wednesday. Our brilliant students danced, sung, played music, recited poetry, and put on a spectacular show for a packed audience. That was one highlight of an extraordinarily full week.

On Thursday, the Global Student Council hosted the annual Faculty Appreciation Awards to recognize all of our wonderful faculty members and honor a few outstanding ones. It turned out to be an extremely uplifiting and heart-felt celebration that left everyone feeling inspired and grateful to be part of this community. I had the great joy of presenting an award to our awesome student activities team, Eero and Rianna, for their hard work ensuring that we all have a blast during our time here. Their moto is, "We have a serious responsibility to throw seriously awesome parties!" Thanks to this dynamic duo, the fun shows no signs of slowing down as we launch into the most epic Student Celebration Week ever!

Each day of the week has a different dress-up theme, tastey treats at lunch, fun activities and epic adventures. I am most excited about Horrible Clashing Monday, where we all dress up in the most hideous combinations of patterns, colors and styles we can imagine and sing kareoke at lunch time in the dining hall. Some other highlights include a giant inflatable castle on Superhero Day, a glow-in-the-dark capture the flag game on Pirates vs. Ninjas day, and a rollerskating party on Flower Power Love Fest Day! Just to name a few... Who's excited? I most definitely am!

All Possibilities

Yesterday my good friend and teacher made the comment, "I always love hearing about your plans because you really embody the idea that life is a field of all possibilities." Its true, it seems like every day or week I have a new life plan. Not because I am flaky (or maybe I am) but because I get so excited and inspired by whatever new idea comes up each day or moment. The latest plan is to go to South America and play with my sister in Peru and Ecuador for a few weeks right after I graduate at the end of June and then who knows... Perhaps go on a course to become a TM teacher? Perhaps move to paradise aka. Vilcabamba, Ecuador? Perhaps go spend some time volunteering in South Africa? As my friend put it...all possibilities.

Last weekend I went to the Tree of Life Rejuvenation Center in Patagonia Arizona to visit my dear friend Courtney and film some interviews for the short documentary I am working on about raw food. Specifically--how is it possible for a college student to survive on a raw food diet? The project is going great and I got a lot of fabulous interviews with young raw food enthusiasts at the Tree of Life. I also had a fantastic weekend enjoying the sunshine, hiking in nature, eating delicious raw food, meeting amazing people and getting some much needed rest. I came back to my wonderful MUM bubble feeling refreshed and re-focused on my documentary project, but also inspired to spend more time in nature. Which is what I am about to go do right now--bike ride on the beautiful trails around town.

Enjoy!

Did That All Really Happen?

After an incredible weekend in NYC, that I can only describe as totally surreal, I am back to my lovely homeland in the cornfields of Iowa. When people ask me how the concert was, all I can say is, "mind blowing! I am still wondering if that all really happened..."

I spent all day Saturday sitting around Radio City Music Hall listening to one after another rehearsal of the ridiculously amazing musicians that were performing in the concert that night. Occasionally I would be summoned to run an errand or make some copies or deliver food to camera men, but for the most part I got to chill and enjoy the preparation for the historic event that was to come. That evening, after scarfing down a quick dinner in the labyrinth of Radio City, I did a quick costume change and took my seat for the epic concert that was about to begin. I spent the first few songs in my ticketed seat in the 3rd mezzanine, which was actually quite cool because I could see and feel the whole scope of everything below. A few songs into the show, I had to take my shift as the Production Assistant in the video truck. That meant I stood in the video trailer outside in case anyone should need anything, which they didn't during my post. It was awesome to see the inside perspective and all of the different camera angles and the high energy director bouncing around and shouting out which shots to cut to on the big screens. When my 45 minute shift was over, I migrated inside and watched from the side aisles of the orchestra section, where all of the talent seemed to gather when they were not onstage performing themselves. After intermission I managed to slip into an empty seat next to my friends in the front few rows and had a total blast rocking out as the concert climaxed with the historic moment as two remaining Beatles reunited onstage. The music was phenomenal, the energy was incredible, and the whole evening was just insanely awesome in every way!

Being the magical manifester that I am, I managed to make my way into the after party at the Four Seasons around the corner. It was actually a really strangely bizarre mix of people, but I had a great time catching up with some of my dear friends from around the world that were in town for the concert. All in all it was an amazing evening, but I keep wondering, was I really there? Apparently I was, because my friend Alessandra just sent me this picture that was taken of us at the after party, in which we just discovered Bill O'Reilly was in the background. Ha!

Adventures in New York City

It's spring break in my magical MUM bubble and I have ventured out into the big wide world of NYC for some massive adventures. While typical college students are partying it up in Cancun, I am roaming the streets of Manhattan eating ridiculously delicious raw food, catching up with old friends and helping get ready for the historic "Change Begins Within" benefit concert for the David Lynch Foundation that is happening this Saturday. The concert is at Radio City Music Hall and is headlined by Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Donovan, Eddie Vedder, Sheryl Crow and a ton of other amazing musicians. You may be wondering how on earth did a little college girl from the cornfields of Iowa end up in the midst of this all? In fact, I'm wondering that myself. I spent last summer working with David Lynch Foundation Television, an online television station that recently launched and in David's own words is "celebrating consciousness, creativity and bliss." Now I am here with the crew helping out however I can. So far my responsibilities have included running around the city delivering gift boxes to the performers at insanely amazing hotels, being a PA for the main event producer, making copies, ordering food, and picking up a guitar from Paul McCartney's office for him to sign. So far the highlight was when I got to sit in on the shoot of Paul McCartney being interviewed by David Lynch! Anyway, time for bed but I'm sure tomorrow will only bring more adventures as the concert rapidly approaches. I'll keep you posted. 

MUM Chat Room

Last Thursday evening I was part of a group of 40-50 students, faculty and administrators whose lives and educational experiences were changed by coming together in the student lounge simply for the purpose of chatting. In this current age of e-mail, twitter, facebook, blogs, and text messages, it is becoming increasingly rare for people to sit down face-to-face and have real discussions. The MUM Chat Room played on this idea that we are all so wrapped up in the virtual communication world that we don’t often connect on a personal level. We wanted to bring people together to have personal conversations about who we are, why we are at this university, what our best educational experiences have been and really build the foundation for a more open dialog and stronger campus community.

The evening was led by the student liaisons, my buddies Andrew and Robbie, who facilitated a discussion using a tool called Appreciative Inquiry. Students, faculty and administrators all paired up with someone they did not know and interviewed them about what brought them to this university and what their peak experience in education has been. It was an amazing evening of lively discussion, deep connection and inpiration. At the end of the evening every person in the room had a huge smile on his or her face and several people stood up to share their experiences. People expressed an overwhelming appreciation for the university and the opportunity to come together and truly connect. The energy in the room was totally positive, uplifting and inspiring. The Executive Vice President of the university approached us afterwards and said that this was the peak experience of all his years in education. The whole evening reminded me of how much I love this place—the people, the community, the energy—and left me feeling totally grateful for the chance to be part of such an incredible university/family.

I'm Alive!

There is no time of year so magical to me as the beginning of spring. The last couple of weeks have brought sunshine, 70 degree weather, and an overwhelming feeling that I am alive again. I always forget how totally dead the winter is until springtime rolls around. That is the beauty of it though, without the dead of winter I would definitely not appreciate the burst of life that spring brings nearly as much. I have spent the last several days biking, walking, making delicious raw food, spending time with friends and just soaking up life. Nothing seems extremely important to me right now except for being and enjoying. Is it Senioritis? Springtimitis? Or just the nature of this transformational time in the world consciousness and unstable state of existence? Who knows, but also who really cares? I am currently in the mode of living my two life mottos: 1. If it's not fun, why do it? 2. It will be what it is. "It" being life.

I found out yesterday that I did not get the World Traveler Internship that I applied for. Everyone is consoling me and advising me to not be too sad. The truth is that I am actually really happy about it. Simply applying was a great experience and now I can get on with planning my own summer adventures rather than hanging out in a state of limbo to hear if I got the gig. I'm thinking to head down to South America and meet my sister who has been studying abroad in Ecuador all semester. I have always wanted to study Spanish, so here is my chance! Adventures here I come! It's been a while since I have embarked on any major excursion and my inner adventuress is getting a little restless. So for the next 3.5 months I can focus that energy on planning a ridicuously amazing adventure to South America!

Life is good! :)

Where the heck can I live?

A lot of people have been asking me lately if there are any off-campus living options in Fairfield. They say in exasperation "I have searched on Craigslist and there is nothing. I Googled it and there is nothing. Are there any places for students to rent in this town?" The answer is YES! Plenty of students live off-campus. Unfortunately, we do not (yet) have a presence on Craigslist, but I recently found out that MUM has a housing message board! I just wanted to share that information with you all, because I know it is a big question when thinking to move to the middle-of-nowhere, Iowa. Where the heck am I going to live?!?

That being said, I do recommend living on campus for at least the first semester because there is definitely a bonding experience that you miss out on if you are not living in the dorms with all of your classmates. I lived on campus for most of my first year and definitely would not change that experience if I had a chance to do it over. But I am totally happy to be living off-campus now, mainly because making my own food is essential to my survival and sanity. I love to create delicious (mostly raw food) concoctions! Food is my art form these days.

There seems to be a raw food craze sweeping the campus, which I think is totally awesome! Last weekend I coordinated a raw food meal with the Slow Food Sunday club. About 20 students gathered in the Sustainable Living Department kitchen to create, devour and enjoy some rockin' awesome raw pizzas, salad (with greens from the student greenhouse), chia pudding and raw chocolate pudding. It was super fantastic and I am hosting another raw food potluck tonight to celebrate some of my friends birthdays. Life is good in the cornfields. :)

Student Activities Photos

I will admit that I have been seriously slacking on posting student events photos in recent months. I've been busy enjoying them so much that I have failed to document them. Luckily our rocking awesome Student Activities department is on top of it. Check out their blog and photo albums to get a flavor of all the super fun events we have here at MUM. http://stuact.blogspot.com

Spontaneous Dance Party

I never cease to be seriously mind blown and inspired by the enormous talent of my fellow students here at MUM. Every second Friday of the month brings an opportunity for it all to burst out on the stage at an open mic night. This month was undoubtedly the best one that I have attended in my three years here. The amazing performers brought a truly vibrant energy to the room through their incredible voices, beautiful words of poetry, genius films, and hilarious comedy. Joy was bubbling in the air and by the end it erupted into a spontaneous dance party. Fantastic is all I have to say!

Pure Transcendence

I never cease to be blown away by the incredible creativity and awesomeness of my fellow students here at Maharishi University. The latest example of this creative genius can be seen in the hilarious rap video that my buddies Mike and Leon made last block in our video production class. They wrote and recorded a song about our university and town called "Pure Transcendence" and then created a ridiculously amazing music video. A lot of it includes inside jokes and references that you might not understand until you live in this town, but I think you will find it entertaining nonetheless. Check it out!

Macaroon Magic

After a long day of sitting alone in a windowless room for endless hours logging and capturing footage  all I needed was fresh air, great company, and some really ridiculously good food. Don't get me wrong, capturing this footage is exactly what I want to be doing, it is just a tedious, focused, and lonely process. At the end of the afternoon I was just about to resign and plow through another tape when my buddy, Ram, called me up and said, "You are coming to hang out with me right now!" I gathered my scattered belongings, abandoned my little cave in the digital media lab, and met him at my house to concoct the magical raw/vegan coconut macaroons that made my day...and several other people's day as well.

Now, I have had multitudes of devoted fans of my delightful creations approach me for the recipe, but as much as I would love to share it with them, the reality is that it will never happen. Not because I don't want to share it, but because my recipe does not exist. There is just something special that happens when I have a party in my kitchen with the coconut and cardamom and dates and food processor. Even when Ram was there making them with me yesterday, he still has no clue how to make the magic happen, even with my personal guidance. That being said, I will do my best to impart the knowledge to you:

Ingredients:
A food processor full of coconut flakes
A few dates chopped up into small pieces so they don't destroy your food processor
2 giant spoonfuls of the best honey in the world from my great uncle's farm in Nebraska
As much coconut oil as I could hack out of the jar (it was solidified due to cool temperatures)
1 dash of salt (brings out the flavor!)
All the cardamom left in the jar
All the vanilla left in the jar (time to go shopping!)
Enough rose water to make you swoon with delight
I think that's all
Oh yeah, the key ingredient, a TON OF LOVE!

Directions:
Blend ingredients in food processor for a few minutes until it sticks together nicely. Taste to make sure its not poisonous. Adjust to suit your taste. Taste again to make sure it is absolutely divinely delicious. Taste once more, just to make sure. Maybe taste it one last time, just to be 100% certain. Roll into approximately 1.23 inch balls. Devour. Enjoy! Spread the love!!!

Check Out My AWESOME Video

I am applying for the world's coolest internship this summer--the STA World Traveler Internship. When I win, STA Travel will send me on an amazing trip all over the world to share my experiences through videos, blogs, and podcasts. I will communicate the importance of travel and experiencing other cultures to fellow students. The moment this internship entered my radar, I knew that I was going to be doing it this summer.

Part of the application process involves creating a video showing why they should choose me for the internship--I can make a travel video, I have lots of travel experience, I am outgoing and adventurous, and I am awesome (that is one of the qualifications). The genius marketing scheme is that part of the judging is based on how many hits/comments/ratings each video gets. That is why I need YOU!

Please check out my video (and some of the competition if you feel inclined) and leave me some feedback on how mine is the awesomest of the awesome.

So far viewers have reported:
"They would be insane not to pick you"
"I totally loved it and laughed out loud"
"I did some "research" and watched some of the other applicants videos. Yours is awesomer!!!!"

Enjoy!

This video is approved by the Institute of Awesomology

Alarmingly Ambitious

After returning from my latest adventure at 2:30 am, I woke up with an alarmingly ambitious enthusiasm for the day. I immediately made a cup of tea and sat down to write an extensive to-do list of all the mundane and/or exciting things I want to accomplish today. But alas, by the time I checked my overflowing email inbox, meditated, and got dressed for the day, it was lunch time and my stomach was growling. (Even though I did eat an enormous dinner the previous evening, while stranded in the Minneapolis Airport for 6 hours, just because I had nothing better to do and they have an amazing organic restaurant there.) Anyway, since I had no food in the house (don't worry--getting groceries is one of the things on my to-do list) I headed over to campus to get a quick meal at the dining hall, which turned into an hour long lunch/chat/catch up session with all of my awesome friends. By the time that was over, I lost all motivation for accomplishing my massive task list for the day and have ended up here in the digital media lab (my video production classroom for the last month) putting some finishing touches on my video project. Check for a youtube link soon!

But back to my adventure--it was AMAZING. I went with two other studetns and our assistant teacher to Connecticut to shoot footage for a docutmentary. Here is the synopsis we put together:

"We want to make a film that follows a group of girls attending an inner-city high school in Hartford, CT. These girls' experiences with a simple stress-relief technique have brought them together to form a girls' group called the Mariposa Club - the uniting focus of this short film. We wish to document a group of girls who have come together to celebrate the inner and outer transformations that are taking place in their lives through the practice of TM and having fun together."

It was an incredible experience to be part of these girls' lives for a few days. They truly opened up and shared their hearts with us, and I am now inspired that this film has the potential to be something totally powerful and amazing. I can't wait to see how it all unfolds. Here are a couple photos from the shoot.

Adventures Just Keep Coming

As usual, whenever I think am settled in one location, or class, or routine, or whatever...life throws me an adventure just to keep things exciting. The latest of my neverending series of adventures begins at 7am tomorrow, when I embark for the Moline Airport to fly off to Connecticut for the week to shoot footage for a documentary about a group of girls in an inner city high school who have come together to celebrate their inner and outer transformations through practicing Transcendental Meditation and having fun together. The whole project came up super spontanesously and everything worked out extremely quickly for me and two other girls from my video production class to do this project. It will be an incredible, hands-on, real life experience doing exactly what I want to do with my life (well one of the many things I want to do with my life.) I am realizing through this class that  I absolutely LOVE video production and editing. Especially editing, which is an excellent outlet for my perfectionist tendencies. Ideally, I would love to combine this newfound love of video with my other passions--travelling and changing the world--to travel and make documentaries about people/groups/ideas that are transforming the world. And somehow make a living doing so...but I have no doubt that will happen if I follow my dreams.

Tools for building a better world--Check out this Video

As I was making dinner this evening I clicked on a random TED.com video to entertain and inform me during the mundane daily task of feeding myself. (If you don't know about TED.com...well, now you do) Little did I know that this video would be World Changing! Since changing the world is something that I am passionate about, along with most of my fellow students here at Maharishi University, this video was super inspiring and informative. Check it out.

Whirlwind of Adventure

When people hear that I am from Iowa, they frequently ask what the heck there is to do in a tiny town in the middle of the cornfields. I am constantly amazed by the plentitude of awesome adventures and projects that I manage to attract into my life. In fact there are always so many things I want to get involved in that the challenge is not finding things to do, but finding time to do everything. It hit me yesterday how many millions of things I have going on right now—all of which I am totally excited about.

For example, in addition to class, which is pretty time consuming itself, I am the Global Student Council (GSC) President and we are working on numerous initiatives—improving the web resources for current students, reforming student senate to be more productive and fun, organizing the Sleep Challenge (yes, a 10 day challenge to see who can get the most sleep)—just to name a few.

And that is just with GSC.  I am also helping to coordinate the Midwest Real Food Summit, which we are hosting here at Maharishi University in March. Next week I am going to Hartford, Connecticut for five days to shoot some footage for a documentary project I am working on in my video production class. I just found out about this amazingly MIND BLOWING conference in Washington D.C next month called Powershift and I am trying to organize a group of my fellow students to attend. Over 10,000 students from all over the country will gather in the Nation’s capitol to “reclaim and repower our future.” And again, this is just to name a few of myriad of adventures going on in Puki-World.

In the midst of what seems to be a crazy storm of adventures, my goal for this year is to stay balanced, grounded and present so that I can enjoy each moment to the fullest. In the past I have had the tendency to get caught up in the whirlwind and start running around like a chicken with my head cut off. So far, my mission has been successful and life is rockin’ awesome!

Philosophical Musings on Motivation

A couple days ago I had a superb conversation with an amazing group of friends about the fascinating topic of motivation. What motivates us personally? As a group? Topics of our musings included intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, reward and punishment, passion and curiosity, the nature of time…and beyond! So why am I telling you this? Just because it is an interesting thing to think about. What motivates YOU?

Here are my insights into what motivates me:

1. Passion—if I’m not passionate about something there is no way I will be motivated to follow through with it. This means learning to say no to projects, ideas, activities that my heart is not 100% in
.
2. Fulfillment of accomplishing something—whether its just crossing something off that never ending to-do list, completing a creative project or, finishing a book I have been wanting to read, that tangible feeling of accomplishing something keeps me wanting to do more!

3. Seeing the fruits of my actions—receiving feedback that my actions have had a positive impact on my life, a friend, my community or the world.

Just for Fun

I started a video production class this week, which is a ton of fun. I have been receiving a lot of reminders from the universe lately about how much I LOVE to work on creative projects. It is a huge fulfillment for me to have a thought, create a vision, play in the creative realm, and come out with a finished product. I think I might enjoy this so much since I tend to do a lot of intagible management and communication facilitating kind of stuff and I find it way more fulfilling to have a concrete project that I can show for myself. Anyway, it's been an extremely fun week playing with bluescreen and video editing. Perhaps I will post some of my creations soon! So far I have been creating a little video with the theme "The World is My Family" for a class assignment. I bluescreened myself dancing on the backdrop of photos I have taken around the world. It has been a blast!

Recent Discoveries

Since I have had a little bit more free time over on my hands winter break I have taken up browsing this magical world called the internet as a leisurely pastime. My most recent discovery today was "My Inspiration Lounge," which seems like a supersweet information hub for pretty much everything that I am interested in. Check it out!

"I want to because..."

In a conversation with my sister over a cup of tea at our favorite hangout, Revelations Cafe, an interesting thought came up. Or should I say a revelation? Now, this is not terribly unusual for an interesting thought to come up in a conversation over a cup of tea at Revelations, but this particular idea resonated with me for some reason. It is just a simple shift in how to think about any given situation in life, particularly the less desirable ones.  Rather than thinking “I HAVE to…(do the dishes, write this paper, clean the bathroom).” Simply shift that thought to “I want to because…” I want to do the dishes because then they will be clean when I want to use them tomorrow. I want to write this paper because it will help improve my writing skills and be free to do whatever else it is I want to do when I finish. I want to clean the bathroom because it feels nicer when it’s not nasty and dirty. Suddenly life becomes more exciting and fun, or at least less dreadful.

I discussed this idea with another friend over lunch at Revelations today, and he responded, “So basically it’s just a nice way to lie to your self.” But I think it is more than that if you do it sincerely. It is truly changing an attitude and paradigm to enjoy and get the most out of every situation in life no matter now mundane or dreaded. Those are my thoughts for the day. Enjoy!

Reclaiming Gay

What better way to bring in the New Year than to spend a few hours chilling…well actually roasting in a sauna with an awesome group of people? That is how I spent New Years Day. After about 2 hours of sweating, singing, talking and sweating some more our sauna chat became a little bit delirious. Somewhere in the conversation we decided that 2009 was the year to reclaim the word “gay” in its original meaning: “having or showing a merry, lively mood.” (According to the first definition of the word on dictionary.com) So if you feel inclined to be part of our initiative bring back gay—be merry!

Consumer-fest and Time Elves

I hope you all had a truly marvelous consumer-fest (aka Christmas), or hopefully you celebrate Hanukah or Kwanza or something slightly less consumerified. I had a lovely time making the rounds to all of our usual potlucks with my family and friends. Every year my aunt an uncle kick off the holiday with an epic white elephant game on Christmas Eve. After this year my twin sister and I were banned from all future games for manipulating the gift-swap with our sneaky collusion. We worked the system and ended up with the presents that we desired before anyone ever caught on to what we were doing. That’s the joy of being a college student among aging baby boomers. Oh and twin telepathy helps as well.

The winter vacation seems to be passing alarmingly quickly. My latest epiphany about this reality is that there are “time elves” that steal all of our time. They do it stealthily in small chunks so we don’t notice what they are up to, those little rascals. But it all adds up and suddenly all of our time has disappeared, an experience with which I am sure you are familiar. Well, wonder no further at this mysterious occurrence. The time elves are off partying it up on your time in a tropical paradise. Just thought you might want to know the truth about this serious situation. 

My Name: A humor column I wrote for class

1987 was a highly eventful year. Aretha Franklin became the first woman to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The New York Giants defeated the Denver Broncos, 39-20, in Super Bowl XXI to win the NFL Championship for the first time since 1956. U.S. President Ronald Reagan underwent prostate surgery, causing speculation about his physical fitness to continue in office. Professional cyclist and reigning Tour de France winner Greg LeMond was accidentally shot while turkey hunting. But the world failed to acknowledge that the most significant event of 1987 was the birth of twin girls in the tiny Midwestern town and alter universe of Fairfield, Iowa.
    In this parallel universe, the year 1987 was not marked by the significant events of pop culture, sports, or politics, but by the introduction of “Jyotish sounds.” It was all the rage among the many mothers of Fairfield—the hot-off-the press knowledge that specific sounds based on the astrological chart of their newborn child, if included in the baby’s name, would undoubtedly produce auspicious, harmonious and superhuman powers for the child. As a result of this fad, my peers were given names like Tegan, Tace, Mogen, Mitra, Dariana and Bagambrini, which was fabulous for me because then I fit right in with my name—Puki.
    “Is that your real name?” is the most frequently asked of the onslaught of questions I usually get upon introducing myself.
“Well, technically no, but I call it my given nickname. Do you want the long explanation or the short one?” is my typical response.
So here’s the story. At the moment of our birth, Jyotish charts were immediately created for my twin sister and I so that our parents could jump on the bandwagon of producing super-human-awesome-magical babies with the new technology of Jyotish sounds. My sound was “Poo.” My sister’s was “Poo.” What the hell are you going to call twin girls whose names are to start with the sound Poo? The search for our names became a community event. Rumors rapidly flew through the community that the first person to come up with two acceptable “Poo” names was to win the soul of one of the super babies as a reward for their efforts. Names flooded in from every corner of the town. And the winner was…drumroll…. Pushana and Pulani, or Pushani and Pulana. I don’t actually remember which of these my name was to be, thanks to my fanatically religious Lutheran grandmother, who saved us from the dreadful fate of becoming the “push and pull twins.”
When they called my savior of a grandmother in Arizona to inform her that her new granddaughters were to be named Pushani and Pulana, there was dead silence on the other end of the line.
    “Okay, I guess we’ll reconsider,” my exasperated parents concluded. And the search resumed. Eventually, some random person—to this day I do not know who— determined my fate. My unknown name giver informed my parents that “Puki” means second born daughter in Malaysian, and since I was the second born of twin girls, I was known as Puki from that moment on.
    I have serious doubts about the validity of my mysterious name giver’s source, but I have never told my dear parents that. The reason for this looming question about the truth of my name’s meaning is that every time I have casually tried to research the subject, all I have been able to find is that Puki is a Malaysian slang term for female genitalia. And not infrequently have I received messages from strangers on MySpace kindly informing me that my name means “pussy” in their language. Thanks for checking your sources mom and dad.
I ended up as the only one of the pair with a “Poo” name. I guess they figured that if one of us had the sound, we would both hear it often enough to have the magical superpower effects. And it seems to fit my personality. I do love the name; it gives me character. But two things I have learned from my name are: 1. Always check your sources and 2. If I ever go to Malaysia, I will go by my “real name,” Donielle.

Just Kidding! I'm Back.

Last block I took a class called “Writing the Personal Memoir,” during which I had several earth-shattering realizations:

1.    I love to write—especially about the amazing adventures I always seem to have.
2.    I have an extremely interesting life story, which I realized when I stepped back and looked at it from an outside perspective, as does every single person in the world.
3.    Going through the self-reflective writing process was very valuable for figuring out what the heck I want to do with my life.
4.    Someday, if I ever have time, I would love to write a memoir.

I thoroughly enjoyed writing the humor column style. I will post the short piece I wrote about my name. I also loved reading excerpts of various memoirs and studying the different styles and voices and techniques. Writing is a powerful means of communication that I want to continue to explore and gain a greater mastery of.

Anyway…all of these and many other factors led me to the conclusion that I want to continue writing my blog. Actually, it is mainly for my dad, who was sad when I stopped writing because that is how he kept up with what was going on in my life. So here I am. Back in action.