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We Rock….

….climbed on April 27th.

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Bruddah Tim took the Kamehameha Schools EdTech team to Makapu’u for some rock climbing. It was a blast! We had great weather, and the scenery was beautiful!!

The day started off at Jack’s Restaurant in Aina Haina. They’re known for their incredible biscuits. We then met up at Darrin’s condo in Hawai’i Kai. We carpooled and drove down to “Mak’s” (to the parking lot after the Makapu’u lighthouse.) Here is where my adventure begins….

Tim advised us to wear compression shorts underneath our walking shorts. This was to prevent your pics from appearing on failblog.org. Not owning a pair of “tights” like my co-workers, I wore my baseball sliding pants. On top of that, I wore jeans shorts that covered my knees. (I know that this “set-up” sounds like an excuse…. but it’s not.) We then carried the gear and hiked half-way up the mountain. This totally killed me. I was gassed! My legs were shot. Finally, we made it to the face of the mountain. The view was spectacular! I was able to recover, and successfully climb the “beginner’s rock.” It was fun. I was very appreciative of the opportunity to do something like this in such a beautiful place. End of story right? Another “Disney happy ending….”

Nope. Bruddah Darrin, (a world-class triathlete) and Tim , (the most in-shape P.E. teacher in the state) thought it would be cool if our team climbed to the top of the mountain. We were already half-way there…. So we did. The team blitzed to the top. Lynne, Mimi, and Melia (the wahines on the team) led the way. I on the other hand, was running on empty. I dreaded every inch of the way. My pants were too tight! I felt like a running back trying to score with two tacklers hanging onto his legs…. Bruddah Cy was compassionate enough to fake that he was as out-of-shape as I was. He advised me to tie my shoes (I never tie my shoe laces….) That made a huge difference. I then rolled up my pants, and made it to the top. Thank god!

Lunch was great! We went to Sandy’s Beach and had a cook out. As soon as I parked, I peeled off my baseball pants and threw it away in the dumpster. We chomped down on misoyaki chicken, rib-eye steak, and rice. Bruddah Nate and I drank coconut water and Pepsi. All in all, it was a fun, awesome, and an amazing day….

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First Time Blood Donor….

The Blood Bank of Hawai’i held its annual blood drive at the Kamehameha Schools this past week. Here I am laying on a cot in the ‘Akahi Student Center a few moments after donating blood. This was my first time ever. I was highly “encouraged” to donate by my dear friend Suzanne who works for the blood bank. (I had the impression that she was gonna take my blood, either by force or free will.) Here’s what happened….

I started to hydrate from the day before. This was also an excuse to eat more steak and kalbi. I was ready to give blood! I went to ‘Akahi and filled out a bunch of paper work. I also ate a Haole Brownie for good measure. They finally called my name. There were about four other high school students who were already in the room giving blood. The nurse gave me a “squishy ball” to hold and started to draw my blood. Everything was going great…. at first….

I guess the tube wasn’t secured enough, because the weight of it started to pull down. I felt the sting of the needle wiggling inside my vein. I didn’t say a word, because I didn’t want the students to think I was a wimp. The nurse noticed the blood on my arm and quickly called for assistance. A team of a doctor and three nurses quickly arrived (not to help, but to shield me from view.) They pulled the needle out and applied pressure. I bravely responded, “You can try again on my other arm.” The nurse informed me that these blood bags automatically draw a pint of blood when attached. Because they already drew a half-pint, they were not allowed to try again. I was done….

When Susan Boyle was asked how she felt after her Britain’s Got Talent performance, she replied, “Bloody fantastic.” Those are not quite the words that I would use to describe my experience. So here is the big question. Would I ever do this again? Absolutely yes. Donating one pint of blood can help save three lives. What a small price to pay for doing good and helping people. I encourage all of my friends to do the same. And the kalbi’s on me….

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Afternoon Walks….

….with dad will be my fondest memories of him. He used to be able to take walks on his own. He couldn’t after the surgery. I had to go along with him. I couldn’t have known at that time what a huge blessing this would be. We would spend every afternoon together. We would walk to the golf course or to the end of the road near the storage facility. Funny, but we never talked about anything really important. We talked about the weather, the cars in the parking lot at the school, the weeds in the field, nothing really….

What we did do was share the moment and each other’s company. We found that that was the most precious thing….

Click here to view Flickr slide show.

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My Dog Has Fleas….


Got to help my friend Lee pick out a professional quality ukulele today. We ended up in the largest ukulele shop on the island, Ukulele Pua Pua in the Pac Beach Hotel. The neat thing was that we were able to compare top ukulele makes & models side-by-side (A/B testing.) Brands included Kamaka, KoAloha, Kanile’a, G-String, Keli’i, & Ko’olau. My favorite? I was surprised that it wasn’t even close. KoAloha was by far, the best sounding uke in the store. Being a traditionalist, I’ve always been a Kamaka guy. KoAloha had the best tone, volume, balance, and resonance. Here is a link to the KoAloha website. You can get a “factory 2nd” for $200 off of the retail price (or $750 for the absolutely best tenor uke around.) I may pull the trigger on one soon….