Oahu, HI

Dave and I recently got back from a trip to Oahu with our good friends and former neighbo(u)rs, the Widemans. We found an incredible deal on TravelZoo and ventured to the island of Oahu for four days and three nights. On Monday, we arrived at the Honolulu Airport and rented a Nissan Versa (like Hiro Nakamura on Heroes). So glad we did. This little car got us everywhere.

The first night, we took the H1-E highway escorted by our good friend and former neighbor, Manu, who happens to be an Oahuan native, and drove to Kona Brewing only to find it closed for a company party. Manu suggested Zippy's as an alternative and it was great. One thing we quickly learned is that Hawaiians love their portuguese sausage, spam, eggs and rice. We then checked in at the Castle Ocean Resort Waikiki.



Tuesday's meals consisted of McDonald's local specials, Haupia pie, Helena's (kalua pig, poi, ahi poke, laulau, pipikaula short ribs), Waiola shave ice, and Kona Brewing pizza, salad and beer. All so delectable! We went to the USS Arizona Memorial and spent some time at Waikiki beach, but mostly we just ate all day.





Wednesday, we had breakfast at The Original Pancake House, lunch at Giovanni's Shrimp Truck, and dinner at Puka Dog. After breakfast, we headed to Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve for some snorkeling action and made a day of "roadtripping" around the Windward coast to the North Shore and back to Waikiki.






Our final morning, breakfast at Leonard's Bakery for their malasadas (portuguese donuts) and pão doces, and a fish jun lunch packed to go from Yummy Korean BBQ.



Before we left for Oahu, Ben forwarded an email of suggested things to do in Hawaii. At first glance, we thought, this was just a list of places to eat. We soon learned during our trip that this is what Hawaiian people love to do. Eat! Their eclectic mix of people and food from around the world has made Hawaiian food what it is.

For example, the portuguese sausage, traditionally called linguiça is found everywhere. The Portuguese sugar plantation workers, unlike the Japanese and Chinese who came as single men, came to Hawaii in families. They were offered land, although considered to be at the bottom of the haole hierarchy, and citizenship when Hawaii became US Territory. As Manu explained over lunch at Helena's, haole literally means "breathless" because the first Caucasians that came to Hawaii did not share in the Hawaiian kiss, or honi. It was used derogatorily. The Portuguese immigrants contributed much to the culture. We namely got to experience the sausage, malasadas, pão doces and even the ukulele was adapted from a Portuguese instrument called the braguinha (from Madeira) or cavaquinho (from mainland Portugal).

Listen to your mom

Dave and I ventured back "home" to Vancouver this week. "Home" is a relative word now... The moment we arrived back in Pasadena, I felt more at home than I did in Vancouver. But I digress. It was my one and only niece's first birthday. I'm amazed at my sister who's a mother of three kids. She is literally a full-time mom, since my brother-in-law works from 6am to 9pm during the week and also works Saturday. My sister and I, four years apart, were never that close growing up. We fought right up until the day she got married. Yet, she's pretty much the closest friend I have now.

Parting with her family in Canada, I can't help but tell the kids to listen to their mom. Growing up, I always remember hearing people telling me to listen to my mom. This time it hit a different chord. Sure, it's a great way to tell kids to behave but when I said it to my niece and nephews, it meant: I love your mom a lot... please, be nice to her.

Thoughts at the steering wheel

In the last month, I've been in two accidents. The first as a passenger with my sister, brother-in-law, niece and nephews. I saw it coming as we rear-ended a car on the I-5 heading north. Both airbags were activated and the car was totaled. Luckily, no one was injured but the accident definitely left a dent in our psyche. The next morning, Elliott, my 5 year old nephew, unexpectedly burst out into tears at the breakfast table remembering the trauma of the accident. It's interesting... that with any other sort of trauma, you would avoid whatever activity that led to it for some time... but with driving, you're back on the road almost immediately whether it may be as a driver or passenger without much time to process it.

A couple weeks after this accident, once again, I was in a car accident. Except this time Dave and I were rear-ended on the 210-W heading to work. Again, not much time to process it. Ever since these two accidents, I have been on edge whenever I see brake lights or when we change lanes. I had a dream a couple nights ago that we were spinning on the highway and a bus T-boned us.

I want to have something profound to say about the fleeting nature of life and about the need to seize the day! But.. mostly, I just want to say... wear your seat belt.

Americans for a night!

Last Saturday, Dave performed at Uncle Reds Pizzeria in Bellflower. Suzanne and Danny Gallego, whom we met through Cornerstone, have been inviting us to try their delicious pizza for ages and finally they suckered us in by asking Dave to perform at their Uncle Red's Acoustic Brew. BTW, their pizza lived up to the wait. The musicians got free pizza and beer for their groupies!!

My cousin, Grace, performed with him for a couple songs and invited her family. I'm so glad my uncle and aunt got to see him perform. Come to think of it, I don't think anyone in my family has seen him perform live (except for Tim who opened for him at the Jameson Brown gig). Uncle Peter exclaimed, "We get to drink beer and eat pizza like real Americans!"

Dave did wonderfully. He was witty, charming and very talented. He's been recording songs for his new EP at home, DIY (do-it-yourself) style and I think the quality of his recordings has improved drastically, not to mention his stage manner too. I'm glad to see him so happy doing what he does. And I'm glad my family got to see what he does too... American style!

My Grandfather's wisdom

Dave and I had the day off yesterday... and with some dilemma as to where we should go on a day trip, we decided to head to Orange County to have lunch with Grandpa and Grandma. While Dave and Grandpa talked about their family histories, I helped Grandma go through her meds and medical history and made a little pocket list for them to carry around. Apparently, she was admitted in January for an angiogram. I had no idea! So much for their RN granddaughter.

We then spent the afternoon with Grace, my cousin, in Huntington Beach... Lena, my other cousin, joined us for dinner at Tokyo Table and we ended our evening chatting at Grace's house with the family and Danny. We shared stories of our times with Grandpa.

Uncle Peter gave us a story of when they had just moved to California. Peter had finished junior college and was working, helping out with their landscaping business, making nearly $5000 a month. Pretty good for the 70's. He remembers Grandpa advising him to save up for a year and make a down payment on a house, or even two. Grandpa had run many businesses in Korea and knew it was a great time in the housing market to invest. At the time, Peter thought it was such a ridiculous idea... but now when he thinks back, it could have potentially been one of the best moves he may have made in his lifetime if he had. Grandpa was a wise man.

I then said to Uncle Peter, if we follow the logic that Grandpa is a wise man, then the advice he gives now must be even more valuable since he has lived the bulk of his life. Looking back to our lunch with him, I remember all he kept repeating to Dave and me was to hurry and have children. "Nothing is more important than having children and expanding your family."

Thoughts at the kitchen sink

What an interesting culture and generation I live in. In which, at times, I unconsciously and passively participate in. Society tells us to go to school for higher education to have higher paying salaries so that we can pay back what we couldn't pay for in the first place. We need to buy a house we can't afford, borrow money to do it, and spend our lives paying it off.

I would hate the day when my job wasn't something I enjoyed but became just a means to pay off what I've borrowed.

Congrats to John & Michelle

It's been a busy couple months with John & Michelle's wedding on September 24th and my sister's family visiting. We also moved to our back house and, of course, school and work. To add onto the madness, we booked a flight to Hawaii in December with our good friends Ben, Meredith and Anika.

I'm excited!