American Idol Top 10

I had to take notes again since I wasn't able to use the computer while watching American Idol tonight. And I couldn't find a pad of paper quickly enough. But I found a bunch of used empty envelopes. From convention registrations. Grr, it's convention time again. I'm amazed at how difficult it is for some people to fill out a simple registration form. Wait, that's another post for another day. Anyway, here we go.

Matt Giraud: Okay, I missed his performance last week because I was counting stitches so I made sure to pay attention this week...well, sort of. I paid attention to his vocals but I was busy painting a closet door so I didn't actually watch. Anyway, I initially thought his song choice was really stupid. But then I heard it and I really liked it. He's growing on me. But no itunes purchase.

Kris Allen: Gah, I do not like looking at his mouth. But I liked it. It was fun and different from the original. This was one of the first songs that I've liked from him in quite awhile. itunes purchase.

Scott Macintyre: Okay, I hope he ignores Paula's dumb advice from last week and keeps the piano in. Oh good grief, what in the world is he wearing? Are they dressing him like he's a motown singer? What horrid pants. Oh good, he ignored Paula's dumb advice from last week and he kept the piano. Interesting, the background singers are by the piano this week. Haha, he "moved it closer." Oh good stuff, I love this song and I loved his interpretation even though it was quite different from the original. Hahahaha, Paula's being dumb again. She thought that Randy was agreeing with her even though he obviously wasn't. She actually said, "Oh, you're agreeing?" And Simon tells Paula to "answer the question, answer the question, answer the question, answer the question" at least once a week. Her presentation of crayons and coloring books was funny but it was funny how she pulled it out and managed to avoid answering the question. Anyway, itunes purchase.

Megan Joy: Did she drop the Corkey from her name? Why don't they have it anymore? What in the world in she wearing? She looks like the ocean. Haha, Lance said she looks like she should be on the Love Boat. Yikes, she's really off and parts of it were really shouty. Oh, yes, My Guy would've been better. It's funny how Paula tells these contestants how great they look when she has nothing nice to say about their performance. Aww, she looks like she's going to cry. No itunes purchase.

Anoop Dawg: Was this the same guy who sang My Prerogative? How boring. Did he change the song at all? Yawn. No itunes purchase.

Michael Sarver: Something's weird about this performance? What is it? Yes, the notes were off but something else was weird. Oh, I know. The whole performance! I really liked him during the early auditions but I think it's time for Michael to go. No itunes purchase.

Lil Rounds: Wow, that dress looks like it would be fun to wear. Are they dressing them like motown singers on purpose? Well, her voice doesn't sound like Fantasia's tonight so I like this performance better than her other recent performances but she sounds a little shouty tonight. This was an interesting song choice for her...oh, yeah, I Heard it through the Grapevine would've been way better. No itunes purchase.

Adam Lambert: What the hell is up with his look tonight? He looks like Elvis (the young, good looking one, not the fat one). Haha, maybe he's trying to make up for the creepiness of last week. I thought I knew what kind of performer Adam was but now I'm not so sure. Huh, that was really good. Crap, I really liked his performance. I really didn't like Adam before the Top 13 began and it's really bugging me that I've liked his last three weeks of performances. itunes purchase.

Danny Gokey: Oh, he should've listened to Smokey Robinson. I liked that he danced with the background singers because it was very motowny and he looked like he was having a lot of fun. Overall it was alright but it was not his best performance. No itunes purchase.

Allison Iraheta: I wish they would stop showing the mentor videos right before the performance. I think I would freak out if I had to hear Smokey Robinson worrying about whether or not I was going to forget the lyrics right before I performed. Anyway, Allison was awesome again and I keep forgetting that she's only 16. Why the hell did Paula let Simon draw on her face?!? It's like that Above the Influence commercial that has the kid lying on the couch with marks all over his face, saying that he let people draw on him when he was all high. Oh. Haha. I wonder if Simon realized how appropriately funny his drawing was? Anyway, itunes purchase.

Obsession

Lance woke up early on the first official day of spring vacation to go to Walmart. Why? To get me this!Yup! My most awesome husband went to buy me Twilight early Saturday morning. I am a happy, happy camper. What a fabulous way to begin a much deserved (and anticipated!) break.

My obsession with Twilight first began at the beginning of February. I had been wanting to read the series for awhile but resisted until the day that I read Matt's blog. He's not a big reader but loved the book (and then went out to buy the next three books...) so when he said that he loved them, I knew I had to read them. I do not have anything resembling self-control when it comes to books so I didn't open the book (I borrowed his) until after the holidays. Well, it was all downhill after that. I flew through the book and then sent him an emergency text the night that I finished it, begging for the second book. Even though I was really sick that day, I stopped by his school to pick the book up and was thrilled that Matt, being the saint that he is, had the remaining three books with him. By the end of the night, I had read New Moon and had started reading Eclipse. I forced myself to slow down during Eclipse and Breaking Dawn and managed to drag out both books a bit.

One of the things that I noticed about myself is that I can be a wee bit obsessive when it comes to my interests. And I know this about myself and accept it but even I have to admit that I've really gone off the deep end with this Twilight thing. For awhile all I thought about was Twilight. I woke up and thought "Edward". In the video game that I was playing I named my cows "Bells" and "Alice." My co-worker was working with a kid and he said "push". And I immediately thought, "La Push?" I've read all the books, reread Twilight, reread Breaking Dawn, and reread my favorite parts in New Moon and Eclipse. I'm tempted to completely reread the other two books but I'm trying to wean myself off.

There were many reasons for my (admitted) insanity but I've narrowed it down to three:

1) The series was just awesome. Stephenie Meyer has such a strong voice and you can really tell that she really knows her characters. The fact that it's written in the first person also really puts you in her characters' shoes as well. I can't really describe how fantastic the series is but if you haven't read them, then I strongly suggest that you do.

2) Stephenie Meyer's website. I've never seen such a fantastic website for an author. In addition to FAQs, she's also posted stuff that was left out during editing as well as extra stuff that she's written in addition to the books. She's even posted pictures of the cars that were in the books.

3) I entered the Twilight world when Popo was in the hospital. It was a lot easier (although perhaps a little unhealthier) to immerse myself in the world of Bella and Edward. I thought I would pass the time in the ICU waiting room knitting but I discovered that knitting left too much time for thinking. Playing video games while waiting was also a good distraction, which was a strategy that many of my family members employed (the first night that Popo was in ICU, my cousins, aunties and uncles, and I all played Mario Kart on our DSes).

Now if you excuse me, it's almost 12:30 and time for bed...or some special features on the DVD...or another reading of New Moon...

American Idol Top 11 Rewind

Yes, this post is a few days late. We were to a friend's house for St. Patty's Day dinner Tuesday night so we DVRed American Idol and were too tired to watch it when we came home. So we watched it on Wednesday night, but we were eating dinner while watching so I couldn't blog during the show. So like a dork, I took notes so that I could blog later and compare my assessment of the show with Matt's. I was out again Thursday night so unfortunately my assessment's a little late. Yeah, that was a long and unnecessary explanation. Anyway, here we go!
Michael Sarver: Why would he pick this song? It had so many words in it that it was virtually unintelligible! I'm a speech-language pathologist and I'm used to listening to people who are unintelligible and even I had no idea what he was singing. Additionally, it was like the same note throughout the song so it really didn't show off his talent. I really liked him in the early auditions but not so much now. No itunes purchase.
Allison Iraheta: How old is she again? She carries herself so well that I forget that she's a teenager. Crap, I really wish that I had picked her. I didn't like the song, though, so no itunes purchase.
Kris Allen: Why was his leg shaking the whole time? That's just weird. And what is up with his mouth? Well, he did do much better than last week but still, no itunes purchase.
Lil Rounds: Huh, Carrie Underwood did this song, didn't she? I hope she does better this week because I'm disappointed that she's starting to have the Fantasia tone to her voice. What's up with her look tonight? The hair/dress/jewelry combo makes her look like 40. Okay, she started out with that gross Fantasia-like quality to her voice but she got better near the end. She looked a little uncomfortable, kind of like when Jason Castro had to sing Memory last year. No itunes purhcase.
Adam Lambert: Could his pants BE any tighter? This song wasn't actually all that bad, although disturbing to say the least. It would actually be pretty good on a movie soundtrack for a weird movie like Romeo and Juliet. Good grief, there are probably tons of country singers and fans having a fit right now. No itunes purchase.
Scott Macintyre: Wow, how would you like to hear a video of Randy Travis saying that he didn't know about how well you were gonna do right before you started singing? I really liked his performance, though. Paula's an idiot. I think he's connecting with his audience just fine. What does she want him to do? On the itunes fence, but leaning towards yes.
Alexis Grace: I really liked the song, but she sounded really off in some parts. And she's another one that looks weird tonight. She looks like she belongs in a bar with a cigarette dangling from her lips. Haha, Lance thinks she looks like a Pink Lady from Grease. No itunes purchase.
Danny Gokey: Well, I wasn't thrilled that he chose this song. Everyone who's tried to sing this Carrie song has sucked. Huh, I actually thought it was pretty awesome. Oh, now what did Paula say? Gibberish as usual. itunes purchase.
Anoop Dawg: Oh yeah, Anoop can sing! This was a really smart choice for Anoop. I forgot that he really is able to sing. Hahaha, the way Paula announced that Anoop was "back" made it sound like she really thought that was physically gone. itunes purchase.
Megan Joy Corkey: Wow, her dress really accentuates her "assets", doesn't it? I actually can't stop looking at them swing to and fro. She sounds a little weird, though. Nasal and...something else but I can't put my finger on it. What's with the wiggling? How did she manage to work that in? Ohhh, she's nasal b/c she's sick! Although something else in her singing sounded weird that probably couldn't be attributed to her illness...No itunes purchase.
Matt Giraud: I really wasn't paying attention to this performance b/c I was too busy counting stitches for a hat I'm making. I'm gonna say it was boring since it couldn't capture my attention. Oh, the judges are saying it was the best of the night. Maybe I should rewind...nope, don't care enough to have Lance rewind it. Oh well. No itunes purchase.

And that's the end of my American Idol commentary for this week's show. Overall, country week wasn't as horrendous as I thought it was going to be. A few last thoughts: Paula's getting wackier and don't you think Randy Travis would make a really good action figure? Like if you stuck a cowboy hat on him then he could be like Woody from Toy Story?

30 days

I don't usually post anything too personal on my blog. Even when I got initially got engaged, I didn't really blog about it. I just posted a bunch of bouncing happy faces. Things that touch me too emotionally I generally keep to myself, I guess. Which is why I originally wasn't going to post this. In the end, though, I realized that I couldn't not post it.

My family and I just finished our 30 days of mourning. Popo, who just turned 90 in October, past away on February 9. It was hard. Harder than when we lost Kung Kung because we kind of expected his passing but I don't think anyone expected Popo's. Although she was 90, she was still fairly healthy. She still lived alone and still volunteered at Senior Citizen. And although she would always forget our names (she ran through two or three cousins' names before saying the right one), she was still cognitively sharp. She fell the day before the Chinese New Year and had to be hospitalized but initially seemed not too bad considering her age. She past away two weeks later.

I was lucky enough to live with popo during my first year of grad school. We drove each other absolutely crazy. I studied so much that I didn't relax or sleep as much as she thought I should. I was in my 20s, but she wanted to still take care of me. She wouldn't let me cook. Wait, I take it back. She did let me make won ton soup once (I just had to boil water, throw in the frozen won ton, heat up chicken broth), but that was because she had badly sprained her ankle. Even then she sat in the kitchen to make sure I wasn't going to burn down the house. We eventually compromised. She finally agreed that I would be in charge of washing the dishes.

We are a relatively tight knit family and a large part of that is due to popo. One of her sisters once expressed that she was a little jealous how close my family was. We went to popo's house every week for dinner. We're going to try to continue this tradition. Popo would be disappointed if we didn't.

As is Chinese tradition, my family and I mourned for 30 days. We didn't participate in any celebrations, including my birthday. Truth be told, it was nice to have an excuse to not celebrate it. I just wasn't up to it this year. I feel like I was walking under a cloud but I expected it to get better after the funeral. I avoided anyone not in my family or that I needed to interact with because of work. And when I was at work, I wasn't really there. It's a good thing that I took data while I was testing and doing therapy because I have no idea what happened in those weeks. We were all busy preparing for the funeral, especially since everything was done very traditional, so I thought that maybe the problem was that I hadn't properly mourned. It wasn't. In the week following the funeral, I felt the same. Interestingly enough, now that the 30 days are over, I do feel better. We went to the temple for the ceremony on Wednesday and I feel better. Maybe there's a reason why the Chinese mourn for 30 days.

Anyway, on a lighter note, here's a picture that Joy sent me during this time:She gave me permission to post it on the blog, but I forgot to ask if I could use his real name. Oh well, I don't even use M*Bark's real name here. Anyway, let's call him LB ('Lil Brad) since he looks just like his father. :) Anyway, here's LB in his fish sweater that I knit him for Christmas.

American Idol Top 13

[Note: So I was going to write my first blog back after the dark tomorrow but tonight's American Idol and I thought I'd take a chapter out of Matt's book and bore people with my take on the contestants. It'll be fun to compare our opinions on tonight's performance as I'm sure he'll have a post on it tomorrow. I don't really vote much, though, so I changed his vote/no vote comment to itunes purchase/no itunes purchase because I will probably do that.]

It's Michael Jackson night and I couldn't be more thrilled. It's about time that American Idol has a Michael Jackson night, because, hello, Michael Jackson is music. Lance and I "drafted" our contestants before tonight's show, with each of his picking two people to win. Like a sports draft, I picked first, Lance picked second and third, and then I picked fourth. Even though I really want Danny Gokey to win, I picked Lil Rounds because she will probably go far. Lance got Danny and Anoop Desai and I finished off the draft with Scott Macintyre (though I originally picked lots of other people first).

Yikes, what is up with this stupid introduction and entrance of Ryan and the judges? Dumb. Anyway, here we go:

Lil Rounds: Gah! What a horrible song for her to pick! She sounded like she was shouting throughout the entire song. The judges have compared her to Fantasia in the past but I never understood that comparison. I actually liked Lil Rounds's voice and I hated the shriekiness of Fantasia's. But I finally heard the similarities tonight and all I can say is gah! No itunes purchase.
Scott MacIntyre: I like Scott's voice. I think I've been working with special education kids for too long, though, because I actually look at him and immediately think of him as one of my people. I loved the video they had of him and I loved his performance. Scott and his piano were awesome. I don't remember this Michael song and I didn't like it much. Michael has so many wonderful songs that Scott could have chosen and this wasn't one of them. Once again, Simon was spot on. I'm gonna go look for my album (on a good 'ole audiocassette) at my mom's house because maybe the original sounds better. No itunes purchase.
Danny Gokey: I love Danny Gokey and I've loved him from his first audition. When he began the song, I wanted to cry...because it sounded like crap and I was scared that the rest of his song was going to be crap. I loved his performance tonight and I totally agree with Randy. Simon was right and the dancing was hideous but it was awesome because it totally looked like he was having a blast. On the itunes fence.
Michael Sarver: I actually liked Michael's Sarver's version of this song way better than Michael Jackson's. I'm a Michael Jackson fan but I do think that Michael Sarver's version was less creepy than Michael Jackson's. On the itunes fence.
Jasmine Murray: What do I think of this performance? Um...eh. That's it. Just eh. It was okay but it was boring and she sounded a little off in some parts. I'm surprised that she picked this song, though, because not only does she run the risk of being compared to Michael, but she also runs the risk of being compared to Mariah. What are Randy and Kara saying?!? Guys, she did okay, but it was boring! Oh, wait! Paula's actually saying something constructive and I actually agree with her! And of course Simon is brilliant, as usual. No itunes purchase.
Kris Allen: Well, this is interesting. Remember the Time with an acoustic guitar. Yikes, this whole performance was just weird. The combination of the outfit, the guitar, the song, and the off notes just made for a weird total package. Oh, and Paula just reminded all of us that she's a little wonky with her "adorable sexy" comments. Yeah, I did not like this performance but he is cute. No itunes purchase.
Allison Iraheta: What did she do to her hair? It makes her look older and more polished but there was something appealing about her long hair. I loved her performance! I love her voice and I love how she's all rock. itunes purchase.
Anoop Desai: Only children unite! Yes, Beat It! This should be fun, but why would you pick this if you wanted to show off that you could sing? Plus this is so Michael's song and it's one of those that can't be performed by anyone else unless the artist completely changed the arrangement. Granted, this is the dude who sang My Prerogative last week (though that was totally awesome). Yikes, that was horrible. It was almost painful to watch. He actually made Beat It...well, boring. Oh look, the judges agree with me. No itunes purchase.
Jorge Nunez: What song is this? Is this a Jackson 5 song? And what is up with his creepy smile tonight? Yikes, this was almost as painful as Anoop's. How unfortunate because I really like his voice and I really liked him last week. No itunes purchase.
Megan Corkey: What a hideous dress. What is up with those straps? It looks like someone found their grandma's old doilies in the attic, cut them up, and added them in. Hmm...interesting song choice, let's see how she does...hmm...not bad...not good, either. I like her tone, but it was kind of like watching a performance at the county fair. Ooh, Gordon Ramsay! I think I really like Gordon Ramsay. No itunes purchase.
Adam Lambert: Oh, let's just vote this guy off already. He should just go be in a musical already. Huh, amazing, I actually kind of liked his performance. Well, I liked his performance as long as I didn't have to look at him. I even liked his interpretation of Black or White. I'm surprised to admit it, but, itunes purchase.
Matt Giraud: Wow, Matt is pretty good with his piano. I liked it. Yeah, not much more to say. Ha, Paula's keeping it short, I wonder if the producers told her to hurry the hell up because they're running out of time? Oh, must be because Simon was kind of short too. Or maybe they were like me and thought it was good but don't have too much more to say. No itunes purchase.
Alexis Grace: I don't know if it's this outfit or what, but she looks unhealthy. Like she would really benefit from a good doughnut. She looks way skinnier than she did a few weeks ago. Haha, Lance thinks that her outfit would be complete with a little cotton ball on her butt. Then it would be a playboy bunny outfit. Yeah, not a fan of this performance. No itunes purchase.

Aftermath

Well, the storm is over and we're all still standing. Luckily, it wasn't nearly as bad as we all anticipated so Friday actually turned out to be a pretty good day. We got the day off from work and my house is still standing. The half of one of my backyard trees fell down, but it was actually a good thing because we were starting to cut down that tree since it's ugly, it attracts bees, and it's pushing out our wall.Here's Lance breaking it down the next morning:The one yucky consequence of the storm was that this little guy somehow managed to work his way into our house and up our wall. Of course, I spotted him first and then let Lance deal with him.M*Bark was glad that the storm wasn't as bad as we had anticipated because she doesn't like storms. When it was all over, she passed out with her pillow.

The world is ending

I, along with a good portion of the state, have an unexpected and unprecedented day off. Since the first week back to school after vacation is always hard, this day off is very appreciated. I'd like to thank the storm that is moving through the state.

It seems like we've been having way more emergency-like days and inclement weather in the past three years or so. Let's see, there was the time where it poured for weeks and weeks and then there was the earthquake that shut everything down for a weekend. In 2007, there was another storm that brought high winds with it that knocked down trees (huge ones, too) and knocked out the power and (the best part) shut down a lot of schools. The funny thing about that one was that the day before it happened, my friend from New York was grumbling because the weather was so horrible and she had just been told by us that Hawaii never has "snow days" unless there's a hurricane. And just the other month, it was raining so hard that rain in come through my sky light, parts of the island flooded, and some schools were closed.

So the reason I think the world is ending this time is because during all of these events, this is the first time that the public schools have actually been shut down the day before. Every other time they waited until it was very clear that having classes would be unsafe. Even when Hurricane Iniki hit in 1992, the state waited until that morning to close the schools. In addition to the schools being closed, they actually decided yesterday to also shut down the UH campuses and give all non-essential state and city workers the day off. This is crazy. I don't think its ever happened before, at least not that I can remember. I'm amazed that the state is actually taking precautions early for once.

We put everything outside away and tied down the outside furniture yesterday so all we can do now is huddle under some blankets and enjoy the ride. Thankfully the electricity's up and running.

On the last day of vacation I...

played Animal Crossing played with M*Barkate a yummy lunch from Ninja'sand knitWhy, oh why is it over?!?!?

The scary one

My head hurts, my blood pressure's up, and I am mighty pissed. I just got off the phone after dealing with...guess. MACY'S. Again. Even though my account is closed. WTF. And I need to call them back tomorrow morning because apparently the office that has the authorization to fix their screw up is closed. That is unfortunate because I really don't want to deal with this company yet again, especially since I was so mad this time around that I actually used the phrase, "I shouldn't be screwed over just because you guys f***ed up." Yes, I am ashamed to admit that I used such foul language but I've never been more frustrated nor more furious with one company in my life.

In our relationship, Lance is the more logic/spatial person and I am definitely the more verbal person. But I am also starting to suspect that I am also the scary one. And that maybe Lance thinks that I'm the scary one. I got my first clue a few months ago when we bought something from a local pet shop. When we went home we discovered that a key piece was missing. We went back to the store and Lance told me to "yell at them." I didn't because they quickly apologized and replaced the item but the fact that he told me to yell at them was my first clue. And then last week we got a notice from our mortgage company that was a concern and Lance told me to "get em" (everything was actually fine). And now that I think about it, everytime we have to deal with stupid companies, he tells me to "get em." Hmm. Yes, I think I'm right. He thinks that I'm the scary one.

Macy's better fix their screw up tomorrow.

Missed Blogs

There were many bloggable events the last 2 1/2 months and for the last 2 1/2 months I kept thinking, "Oh, I'm gonna blog about that." Sadly, all I did was think it, not actually do it. So now that 2009's here, I'm gonna clean up some stuff from 2008. I now present the titles for the "Missed Blogs."

1. A new family member









2. Happy Birthday, Popo!









3. A wonderful opportunity and a decision to make...

4. Welcome, new friend









5. Halloween Fun









6. Haircut









7. Yes we can

8. Spending time with an old friend

9. Surprise birthday party









10. I love 2nd Quarter

11. I learned!

12. The sky is falling!

13. The craziness is starting...

14. I didn't sign up for this

15. Thank goodness for vacation

16. Mahjong fun - I wish Brandi lived in Hawaii

17. Merry Christmas but I think I'll skip this one this year

18. Christmas kicked my arse...again









19. 2008 in Review

Wow, I didn't realize that I had 19 blogs taking up space in my head. No wonder I sometimes forget stuff...

Randomness

-Debates are fun. During the last debate, Senator Obama made a lot of interesting points, especially about the federal's involvement in public education. In regards to No Child Left Behind, he said "unfortunately though, they left the money behind for No Child Left Behind." He also said that although he supports local control of the schools, they do need the support of the federal government. The government can't continue with these federal mandates without federal money.

-M*Bark needs a bath. She's lying here next to me on the couch, all calm and unsuspecting. Heh.

-We have a new member in our family. He's green and has a hard shell. He and M*Bark are still getting acquainted.

-I'm hungry. I need to eat lunch.

-My head hurts. I'm home sick today. Pretty good because I haven't been sick since May.

Why I Hate Macy's

Month 1: Receive credit card statement. All looks good and going to Pearlridge so decide to pay bill in store. Tell sales clerk to credit Macy's account.
Month 2: Receive credit card statement. Weird, because no purchase made during the month. Also receive joint Visa statement. Weird, because Visa portion of card is never used. Realize that salesclerk hit the wrong bloody button on the cash register and credited Visa account and not Macy's account. Call credit card company, explain situation, refuse to pay late fees for something that was never late to begin with. Company apologizes and fixes mistake.
Month 3: Receive credit card statement. Weird, because again, no purchase made during the month. Receive threatening letter saying the payment is two months late. Call credit card company, yell at representative. Representative credits account, tries to say still need to pay late fee. Explain again that payment not late, use phrase "absolutely refuse to pay for something that was not late to begin with", voice gets increasingly louder. Company apologizes and fixes mistake. Decide to close account and cut up bloody credit card.
Month 4: Receive credit card statement. Weird, because again, no purchase made during the month and account supposedly closed previous month. Receive threatening letter saying that payment is three months late. Call credit card company, ask to speak to supervisor because starting to feel bad about yelling at so many people. Wait ten minutes to be transferred to supervisor. Supervisor comes on, refuses to listen to explanation of problem, refers repeatedly to a Mrs. Something-Not-My-Name. Finally get a word in edgewise, ask him who he thinks he's talking to. Supervisor explains that the whole problem due to that I have the wrong name on account. Get even madder, tell supervisor that I know my own name and that he's looking at the wrong account. Suggest he shut up for a minute and listen to my problem. Give account number again, wait five minutes. Supervisor credits account, tries to explain that late fee still needs to be paid. Explain again that there's no way in hell that they're getting a late fee for something that was not late. Supervisor agrees. Close account again.

The original charge was less than $50.

Ahhhh....

Ahhhh....

Ahhhh...vacation...I love vacation. I don't know how I'd be able to do my job without the promise of a vacation every three months or so. And I really needed this vacation. The first quarter was rough, with interesting parents, really interesting kids, and no Joy. That last week of school was the worst, but because of my second "job" and not my actual job. We're working hard on this year's convention and a lot of crap happened last week that's really causing us to pause before deciding whether or not we're planning next year's as well. Some other stuff happened last week that elevated my blood pressure a bunch, but everything's calmed down now. Anyway.

We're spending this vacation doing a lot of house stuff. We (and by we I mean Lance) replaced our hideous lights upstairs with new prettier ones, put a motion detector prettier light outside, and is testing out new solar lights for the yard. We also started working on the yard and pulled out most of the plants on the side of the backyard and it already looks a lot better. We were going to make a dirt plot for me to start a vegetable garden, extend and replace the grass area, and put in a little pond for a turtle. Our yard plans got put on hold, however, as we have more pressing stuff to do. We're turning the future kid's room into the yarn/exercise room and the current yarn room into the future kid's room. Sadly, my yarn room is gonna become a yarn/exercise room but now that I'm used to the idea, I'm kinda excited. Lance has this large weight set at his mom's house but it needs to come to our house now hence our new exercise room. I'll post new renovation pictures when the time comes (I think I'm behind on those...).

Oh, and I'm posting the video of my new favorite song. I love Pink and I was excited to hear her new album's being released at the end of October. I love the first single but I'm not purchasing it because I'm waiting for the entire album to be released. Meanwhile, I've been watching/listening to it several times a day. The last week of school I listened to the song over and over and over again.

For the last time

Alright, I thought I was pretty clear but apparently not. Once again, I do NOT care that she is 19 and that she does not have the POLITICAL experience. If I agreed with the difference that she wanted to make or if I felt she would have adequately represented my community's needs, then I would have voted for her, regardless of her age or political experience. I did not vote for her because I did not AGREE with her nor did I feel that she had enough experience WITHIN THE COMMUNITY to know us or what we value. She made that very clear in her public statements. Obviously my community agreed with me because she was not even close to getting enough votes to be elected. Our community is such that taking away THE CHOICE TO WORK is not an idea that would sit well with us. I did not attack HER CHARACTER OR INTEGRITY because I do not know her as a person. However, it does concern me that she makes PUBLIC STATEMENTS implying that gas guzzling vehicles and the environment is important to her and yet she rents GAS GUZZLING SUV LIMOS to campaign. Most politicians will at least wait until they are elected TO SAY ONE THING AND DO ANOTHER. In addition, her remarks concerning public education made it clear that she did not take the time to do her RESEARCH before making her comments. You claim that Resa Tsuneyoshi will have the "ability to listen." Her statements made it clear that she obviously does not since she did not know the community that she wanted to represent. I do not care that you feel that she is a nice person. Yes, I would if I was looking for "boyfriends or friends" but not when I'm looking for a political leader. Anonymous, if you choose to respond, fine, but this is the last time that I will be addressing this issue.

09/19/08 Revisted

Well, it looks like I offended someone with September 19's blog about the election and Resa Tsuneyoshi:
Anonymous said...
at least she took a chance and TRIED to make a difference rather than just blogging and complaining.
Let's clear some things up. This comment implies that I've been complaining about my community and have done nothing about it. 1) I was not complaining nor have I ever complained about my community, 2) I have done more than "complained." By voting, I too made a difference, and 3) I did not say that Resa Tsuneyoshi did not try to make a difference nor did I complain about her trying to do so. I just disagreed with the difference that she wanted to make. Apparently, so did the thousands of voters in her district who chose to vote for someone else.

I find it interesting that I managed to offend this person so much that he/she felt the need to leave an anonymous comment, which is fine because I started this blog with the understanding that I would receive the occasional anonymous comment. Those who choose to run for office also open themselves up to public scrutiny.

Election 2008 and Resa Tsuneyoshi

[Note: I'm back! Sorry for the long absence. No, Dawn and Matt, I'm not telling you why I hate Macy's just yet. I'll post that eventually. Let's just say I no longer have a credit card there.]

Ahh...it's election time. I love election time. I don't know why. I've loved election time from when I was a wee little Kat even though I wasn't old enough to vote. I think the process is fascinating and I really feel that every American citizen over the age of 18 should participate. I used to get into arguments with some of my high school friends over this, as they viewed Election Day as merely a day off of school/work. Sure, Election Day can be a day at the beach. But why not take a few minutes to stop by your local polling place and cast your vote first? And really, as a woman, you owe it to the women who came before you to vote. They weren't given the priviledge of being equal to a man and had to fight for their right to vote.

Anyway, I haven't been paying as much attention to local politics lately and didn't know who I'd choose for my mayoral candidate. Luckily, I managed to catch the televised debate last week. It helped clear a few things up (though I still haven't decided who I'm voting for) but it was way more entertaining than I thought it'd be. I particularly loved the way Mufi Hannemann and Ann Kobayashi regressed to being elementary school students. I think the low point was when they each said that the other one was a meanie and that his/her mommy and daddy were mad. Good times. I don't think I've ever laughed so hard during a debate before.

I know the primary is tomorrow, but if you haven't made up your mind yet the Honolulu Advertier has a Voters' Guide that is very helpful. You can compare the candidates and see where they stand on a various issues. I had no intention of voting for Resa Tsuneyoshi for Senate but had no strong feelings about her in any way. After reading the Voters' Guide, I am extremely glad that she is not running unopposed.
-Reason 1: She's 19. I've been seeing her quite a few mornings with her bloody signs on my way to work and I wondered how she was able to spend so many mornings campaigning. Now I know why. She was on bloody summer vacation as UH wasn't in session. She's a kid. I would actually have no problems with her age if she wasn't so very 19. Her views (and frankly her website) make it painfully obvious that she has very little life experience and doesn't and will not understand the people she's supposed to represent.
-Reason 2: Her answer to this question: What's the No. 1 thing needed to improve Hawai'i public schools?
Hawaii's public schools need a stronger relationship between teachers, parents, and administration. Parents must volunteer in schools, teachers must keep up with current teaching standards, and administration must create a set of standards and continuously enforce the standards. Um, yeah. A part of me thinks, "No sh*t." Another part of me thinks, "Hello, steps are already being taken throughout the school system to implement this." Another part of me thinks, "Have you heard of NCLB and HCPS?" And yet another part of me thinks, "Do you even know what the problem with Hawaii public schools is?"
-Reason 3: Her answer to this question: What steps should the state take to reduce dependence on imported fossil fuel?
--Implementing an even/odd driving schedule according to license plate numbers which limits car on the road. --tax breaks to individuals who utilize public transportation. --additional taxes to individuals who decide to purchase gas-guzzling vehicles. Um, what?!? Do you know who you represent? Do you know where you live and its relation to Honolulu? Are you for real? Oh, and by the way...wasn't that your SUV limo that I was driving next to on my way home from work today? I thought it was...there was an obnoxiously large sign plastered on the side of it with your name on it.
-Reason 4 (and this is a good one): Her answer to this question: What is the No. 1 quality-of-life issue facing Hawai'i, and what would you do about it?
It should be mandatory for one parent to stay home with the children. This parent would be in charge of instilling values and disciplining the children; at the same time, more parents would be available to volunteer in the schools. In return, the parent would receive a tax credit according to the working parent's to offset any loss income. As was my reaction to much of what she said: "Um, what?!?" There are so many things wrong with this statement that I scarcely know where to begin. You want to take away a parent's right to go to work?!? Okay, a) What decade are you living in? What an antiquated way of thinking!, and b) When I become a mother, I will definitely continue to work. Not because I have to (though I do), but because I want to. And quite frankly, I think many members of my community feel the same way. Yes, we value family. However, we also value hard work and you really do not know the people you represent. And you want one parent to be in charge of "instilling values and disciplining the children?" When we have kids, those children will definitely be the product of mom and dad. If one is working all the fricking time, those children will not be the product of mom and dad. That child will be the product of mom or dad. And "the parent will receive a tax credit...to offset any loss income?" Um, that's a pretty big tax credit that will have to be given. As in most families, we each contribute a fairly large portion to our joint income. One person not receiving a paycheck would be a huge financial hardship that no tax credit would lessen that hardship enough that the one parent allowed to work wouldn't have to take a second and a third job. I, like most of my friends, am the product of both a working mom and dad. We all came out fine. We value family and hard work. My parents did not raise me to be a stay at home mom, nor did I work my arse off getting an advanced degree to become one. The same goes for my husband. I have nothing against parents who choose to stay home with their kids. I think it's the right decision for them. It is not a decision that should be imposed upon those of us unwilling and uninterested in doing so.
-Reason 5 (yep, there's more): The fact that I was driving home from work next to a limo SUV with a huge Resa Tsuneyoshi sign on it. I've never had the greater huge to roll down my window and flip someone the bird before (I also resisted the urge to pull over yesterday morning to tell all of this to the girl herself. Yeah, I'm proud of me, too).

Go out and vote tomorrow!

I. Hate. Macy's.

Explanation to come later. I want to finish the San Francisco Series first, but not tonight because I am tired and grouchy and I am obviously in a snit about Macy's.

I think I'm in love...

[Note: I was gonna post this earlier but I didn't want to interrupt my San Francisco Series. However, I'm just so excited that I'm pausing the series to share the happy news.]
A new boy has entered my life. I think I'm in love with him. He's possibly the cutest boy that I've ever met. He's only two days old but already he has won my heart. It's been a hectic week. My best friend went into labor on Tuesday evening and her son arrived on Wednesday morning so Lance and I have been at the hospital a few times this week. But yes, I love him. I came home from the hospital on Wednesday and realized that I didn't just think he was cute but that I loved him. I want to buy him stuff and knit him stuff and teach him stuff and provide him with lots of language opportunities. In fact, I plan to teach him to say, "No, mommy, I think Aunty Kat's right," as soon as possible.

San Francisco Series: Episode 4

On day 4 of our journey, we had another early start and another long drive. This time we drove down to Monterey so that we could go to the Monterey Bay Aquarium.The town of Monterey was a pretty cool place, both literally and figuratively. Because it was by the water, it was freezing cold like San Francisco but I really liked the small town feel of it. I would've liked to have more time there to just walk around and explore but there was no time for that. We were able to check out a store or two by the aquarium and I bought a really cute magnetic dragonfly bookmark. What was neat about Monterey was that you could actually see sea animals without actually having to go the aquarium because these were just hanging out on a rock in the ocean:We also saw some kayakers out there who were just sitting and staring at parts of the ocean at either more seals or perhaps the sea otters that are supposed to be hanging out in the kelp in the bay. Anyway, we loved the aquarium! It was humangous and was by far the best aquarium that I've visited. Sea World in San Diego was awesome, too, but I do not consider that an aquarium. Anyway, so the Monterey Bay Aquarium was packed with awesome exhibits and fabulous water related creatures, including gorgeous jelly fish and fun penguins. I was particularly enthralled by:Really cute and fun otters! I love otters! I stayed and stared a long time at the otters. But it made me a little homesick because they reminded me of M*Bark. Admittedly I had M*Bark on the brain for a good portion of our trip and called my parents more than once a day to check on her. In my defense though, some of those times Lance was actually the one who suggested that we call. Anyway, this was one of the most disgusting exhibits:It's called a fat innkeeper worm and it's found in the mud of the wetlands. This picture looks yucky, but it didn't capture the true disgustingness of the animal. We should've taken a video of it moving because that made it even more icky. Anyway, doesn't it look like a certain male body part? And to add to the awesomeness of the aquarium, they also had a really yummy restaurant there. I had this:

and the best cup of clam chowder that I've ever had. If anyone is traveling to the Bay area, I'd definitely recommend that you visit this aquarium. Not only did they have the coolest exhibits, but they also had fabulous food. It was totally worth the two hour drive from San Francisco.

After the aquarium, we stopped by the Monterey Trader Joe's. I love Trader Joe's and it's definitely one of the places I'd frequent if I lived on the mainland. Too bad there's no plans (well, that I know of anyway) to have one in Hawaii. One of the workers said that he had heard that the owner had looked into opening one, but that it would cost too much money and be too much of a hassle since the closest warehouse is an ocean away.

After Monterey, we drove to Gilroy because the MIL wanted to visit the outlet mall there. The outlet mall was very large and then we picked up dinner from an In-N-Out Burger and ate it on the ride home. Lance and I ate our first In-N-Out burger when we were in Vegas and getting another one while we were in San Francisco was on his list of things to do. I love their burgers and Lance was a happy camper on our long ride back.