Dynasty vs. Doormat

I don't know if I'd call the Cards a "Doormat"...but hey, it's catchy.

I've read enough about picks, punishing defense, Kurt Warner, puppies, Polamalu, expert opinions and prop bets to last me well past tomorrow's game. Even Barack weighed in with his pick. So has Kobe. Both Steelers.

President or puppies? I'm torn. Kobe or puppies? Kobe, definitely.

As much as I'm hoping for a Cards win, at this point, all I really want is a good game. Not a blow out. Just an exciting game, cool commercials and a few beers. And a few face masks. Maybe a sack or two. Perhaps a two-point conversion? Personal fouls, anyone?

Actually, more than anything else, all I want is for Andrew Bynum to be better. He and Kobe collided today in the Grizzlies game, resulting in an injury to his right knee. It was painful to watch. As of now, word is that it's a sprain...which will hopefully be confirmed with the MRI test tomorrow.

Today was kind of a disappointing day in sports. Mavs and Spurs won. BJ Penn lost to "I'll fight everyone" GSP. Sigh. However, every cloud has a silver lining. And today's is that the Suns lost. At home. Yesssss.

Propositions, Propositions

Bets, that is.

I was recently educated on these...and apparently, these "prop bets" enable you to bet on just about anything. Really, anything!

Sure, you could bet on aspects of the game like...

- Will Arizona successfully convert at least one fourth down?
Sure why not...it is the Super bowl after all.

- Which will occur first for Kurt Warner? A touchdown pass or interception?
Touchdown please. For the puppies.

- What will be the number of chain measurements? 1? 2? 3? 4?
I hope at least 3. I enjoy the suspense.

- What will be the first penalty of the game?
Hmm...so many to choose from. Face mask is by far my fav penalty...but I'm pretty sure it won't be the first penalty.

But! Why stop there? There's so much more you can bet on!

- Which combo involving American Idol and the Super bowl will win this year?
I'm hoping for Male and Cards...which means it'll most likely be Female and Steelers.

- Who will have more points? Steelers (+1.5) or King James (-1.5) vs. Pistons
I enjoyed the NBA reference. Two of my fav sports in one question.

- What color Gatorade will drench the coach of the winning team?
3-1 odds that it will be yellow

- How many times will John Madden mention food?
Odds say say twice. I like this guy even more.

Speaking of Madden, the NFL 2009 simulation picks the Steelers over the Cardinals, 28-24. On Kevin and Bean this morning, the rep was explaining how this simulation has a 90% success rate...but of course missed the mark last year. You can view a summary of the simulation here.

I know this thing constantly updates with rankings and such, but how could it possibly account for Kurt Warner's motivation to get his kids a puppy? Is it Sunday yet??

The Terrell Owens Project

So this is what happens during the off-season.

I imagine the conversation going something like this:

me: So, now that your Superbowl dreams have been crushed...what are you going to do now?

TO: I'm going to VH1!

Excuse me? As if we haven't heard enough from this guy. He will paired with two of his very best girlfriends/matchmakers/therapists in his quest to find what else? True love... (cough) because apparently, that's what you find on VH1 reality shows.

Supposedly, the show plans to introduce a kinder, softer TO...but I think we've already seen him tear up a time or two.



Here comes my fav part, ahem...and I quote, " ...behind all the braggadocio, emotional histronics, and scuplted physique...there is also a quiet, sensitive and mild-mannered guy..."

Quiet? Sensitive? Mild-mannered? Exactly the qualities every football players should have!

And here I was thinking that there would be at least some practice going on. Practice? Silly me.

Too Late to Apologize

Tooooo laaaaattttteeee....

I mean, that's what I would say if I was Chase Budinger, and I got my face stepped on. Especially if the apology sounded something like this:

My comments are in (...)

“I want to apologize to Chase Budinger for what happened Saturday night. (Oh, this is going to be good.) I never meant to step on him,” (I never meant to make it look like I stepped on him.) Coleman said in a statement issued by the school. “I have never been in an incident like this before, and I have nothing but respect for him as a great player. (So much respect, that I felt the need to step on his face, intentionally.) I love the game too much to do something like that intentionally. (But I did anyway.) I want to say I am sorry from the bottom of my heart,” (Because I guess I should feel a little sorry.) Coleman said. “I know that God knows what is in my heart, but I am hopeful that Chase will understand and forgive.” (But if it were me, I wouldn't be so forgiving.)

Dripping with insincerity, wouldn't you say?

Of course he meant to step on him. Sorry from the bottom of my heart? Please. I present to you Exhibit A.

Come on, Coleman. You can't even do that in football...perhaps UFC.

Speaking of football, the Superbowl is this Sunday!!! Sort of a bittersweet sort of time. On the bright side, it's the Superbowl! But, at the same time, it also marks the end of football season. What the heck am I going to do on Sundays? Surprisingly, the majority of America does not share my excitement. According to a poll on ESPN, which I participated in...

Very high excitement: 19%
High: 22%
Moderate: 35%
Low: 24%

Low?? Seriously? Who are these people? Definitely not the Hawaiians, as they ranked in the "High" category. I'm thinking they're mostly excited for the food at the Superbowl parties...but then again, who isn't?

Check these funny Superbowl shirts:



Haha!



Speaking of Hawaiians, BJ Penn is scheduled to for a fight this weekend against St. Pierre. It's gonna be good. Especially since I'm not a fan of St. Pierre...at all. He's a little to kick-boxerish for my liking. I'm pretty sure there won't be much face-stomping, but it'll still be a good fight.

With my newfound free time (no football on Sunday or evening Laker game), I decided to make the Barefoot Contessa's Strawberry Country Cake. And so glad I did. The cake itself was by far one of the best I've made. I think the addition of sour cream and citrus (lemon and orange) zests had something to do with it. Sour cream goes great in most everything! Cakes, muffins, cookies, mashed potatoes...yummy! This is a layered cake, but since I wasn't serving the whole thing, I used my little fluted cookie cutter to make mini strawberry shortcake napoleons! So yummy and cute and bite size!

They Call Me Mellow Yellow...

Quite rightly.

As if I wasn't sad enough about missing the inaugural festivities, I missed a fab speech given by Rev. Joseph Lowery.

The best part? He's got a sense of humor! The rhyming just adds.

"Lord, in the memory of all the saints who from their labors rest, and in the joy of a new beginning, we ask you to help us work for that day when black will not be asked to get in back, when brown can stick around ... when yellow will be mellow ... when the red man can get ahead, man; and when white will embrace what is right. That all those who do justice and love mercy say Amen."

And I missed it!

There's a Thing Called Toughness...

Which tonight was epitomized by Kobe Bryant!

As you all should know, tonight was this season's very first meeting of the Lakers and Cavaliers. Now, I know I hate a lot of teams...Suns, Spurs, Celtics, Mavs, Queens, just to name a few. But, I can't hate the Cavs. Maybe my dad's love for LeBron is slowly rubbing off on me. But Lebron is undeniably amazing and completely awesome to watch...but I mean, let's be real. He's got nothing on Kobe.

Tonight our hero sustained an early injury to his ring finger on his right hand. Dislocated actually. My heart skipped a beat! But being the man that he is, he just taped it up and played. I mean...what key player sits out a game due to a finger injury, right Tony Romo? Who does that?

As you may have guessed the Lakers came away with the win tonight. I was so happy to see them play a little tougher!



He pouts, too! Cheer up, Kobe!

Page 2

If you haven't gotten on the Cardinals band wagon yet, here is yet another compelling (and heart-warming) reason why your support is necessary.

From an email to ESPN's Bill Simmons:

This e-mail from Richard in Islamabad, Pakistan, arrived Saturday, only I didn't read it until the second quarter of the Cards game (and we won't edit it so you get the full flavor): "I HOPE YOU GET THIS E-MAIL IN TIME. I put big money on the CARDS and you should do the same!!! I just got done reading your column and you said 'If you like the Panthers, you'd better really like them.' That is great but I just read a story where Kurt Warner was talking about his kids and said, 'My wife (Brenda) kind of put words in my mouth and told them if we won the Super Bowl, they could get a puppy.' YOU CANNOT BET AGAINST GOD AND PUPPIES. After I read the last story I put everything on the Cards. I wish I could have told you sooner but I'm in Pakistan and things move a lot slower here ... WE LOVE YOU OVER HERE."

This dude is awesome. The kids need a puppy!

Snow's Out!

Snowboarding, part two was much more successful than snowboarding, part one.

For those of you that weren't lucky enough to witness/be a part of snowboarding part one, it involved me falling down the mountain head first and feet in the air and creating a minor collision with Jeannie. And then continual sliding down the mountain. Slightly traumatizing, but a very efficient way to get down the slope.

But that was soooo 3 years ago.

This past weekend at Mammoth was much improved and without people collisions. Though this is not to say that it was all successful.



Falling is hard work. Especially the getting up part.



I just took a huge tumble a few moments earlier. An actual tumble!

But, cruising on the snow helps you to notice the panoramic view.



You can't really tell due to the clouds, but the sky is so pretty and blue in Mammoth. Reminds me of Maui.

But with a few helpful tips from Chris, things got much better for me in the second part of the day. And I also did benefit from the kindness of strangers. This one random dude gave me a little push when the slope flattened out, and I ran out of momentum. He was waiting for his friends, and was probably tired of seeing me attempt to scoot myself over the edge inch by inch. Literally. Inch by inch.

And of course, would my trip truly be complete if I didn't take an off-snow spill...or two in this case. Slip #1 was on Saturday afternoon on the way to the shuttle. It was just like in the cartoons, to be honest. I was carrying all my stuff and fell backwards and it all flew up in the air, and I was on my butt, hurt and confused. Slip #2 was far more embarrassing as it was on to dinner...and I knew there was ice, which I tried to avoid, but slipped anyway. Fell forward this time. Sigh. My poor wrists and knees are hurten.

When we weren't out playing in the snow, there were cookies to be made. Not by me, however. I was in too much pain. Karen made these wonderful raspberry thumbprints!



On the way back, we stopped at Smokehouse for some beef jerky and honey, and at Schat's Bakkery for lunch and a cookie.



Mmm...Oven roasted turkey sandwich! Cuoie also very generously donated his cookie to me. They know me all too well.

My only regret is that I missed most of the Conference Finals this afternoon. At least I had Yahoo! Sports play-by-play...but it's just so not the same. Through all the lead changes, the Cardinals won (yay)...sorry Kobe. I'm not too thrilled with the Steelers win, but it was expected. Flacco is a rookie QB, and honestly, not all that fabulous. Especially when he says things like, "Troy (Polamalu) was probably just able to read my eyes". This said in regard to the interception return made by Polamalu, which gave the Steelers their final touchdown of the game. Who says stuff like that? "Read my eyes"??? I mean, I know where he's going with this, but this is football, dude.

The Steelers are a self-proclaimed super rough team, with Ward saying that "sometimes guys get hit so hard, you don't know if they're going to get up". And so it was tonight. Ravens' McGahee took a hard helmet-to-helmet hit with a Steeler. He had to been carted off the field, but luckily, he seems to be doing ok. Check it out here.

Tomorrow is MLK Day, but instead of celebrating free at last...I'll be at work. Hmph. But! Perhaps most excitingly, the Lakers and Cavaliers play tomorrow! And I can watch it! I can hardly wait!!!

Lies, Damn Lies and Statistics

Says Ansari.

Followed up by "welcome to the torture chamber". He never skips a beat. The mark of a true professional.

He is by far my favorite teacher of my favorite class, and here's a testament why:

1. He is random...actually, he is the definition of random.



In the top right corner, we have a boomerang. Below that we have a hot dog...or is it a pickle...or a hot dog on a pickle...or is it a ba-na-na?

2. He has a sensitive side.

According to Arif, "if you have a sensitive topic to discuss, please don't discuss it in class. Come to my office hours".

3. He's also a scientist and nutrionist.

According to Arif, people get fat because their body has "more nutrients than genetics can handle".

4. Not to mention a social scientist.

According to Arif, Wal-Mart shoppers are junkies because they shop there 55 times a year.

5. He has an appreciation for interpretive art.



While referencing cloud watching, he draws the above picture. What could it be...a face? Hmm...

Well this is only half the picture...



This is the complete picture. What do you see now? A slice of pizza? Maybe pie? Perhaps cake? Nope! A piece of cut fruit, according to Arif. Of course...why didn't I think of that.

Tonight was one of those rare weeknights when I don't have class and there's a Lakers game on...against the hated Spurs, no less. And it was terrible!!! I am normally not upset with a loss...but this one was just so disgusting and terrible and upsetting at the end. First, Tim Duncan calls a timeout...and he doesn't have the ball! Ah! He gets away with a lot. A lot. Is that what happens when you're old? Second, I have no idea why they called a "foul" on Fisher. That stupid Mason dude totally fell back, and poor Fisher was just trying to scoot away! And it was that lame free throw that gave them the lead. And finally and perhaps most heinous, what the heck was that travel call on Ariza? Seriously? There were 3 Spurs all over him. And! He dribbled!! And not to mention that good-for-nothing Sun Yue played...probably only 5 seconds like the last game, but still...such a lowlight.

Looks like KG may not want to quit his day job anytime soon. This really isn't American Idol material.

1, 2, 3...Martini!!

Says the photographer.

Over the Christmas break, my mom (in spite of my complaining) signed the family up for our very first (and last) family picture taking.

It's not that I totally dislike picture taking (just a little, sometimes), it's more that I really take issue with super-posed and choreographed pictures. What am I going to do with it anyway?

But of course, she won and the family was off to Kaanapali. As suspected, the photographer was cloying cheerful...and she even told me and Nicole not to "get dirty" with the poses!!! Hmm...

Anyway, here are some of the pictures:



I'm not a fan of the matchy-matchy outfits!



The photographer liked my parents better than she liked me and my sister. I can't imagine why...



Wachi Ohana.

Two things. Sorry about the monotonous background...but the ones on the beach were kinda weird, which I suppose would have been more entertaining. And also sorry for the blurriness. The truth is the photographer's website outsmarted me, and I was tired of dealing with it. So of course, it was iPhone to the rescue...which also explains the off-centeredness.

I'm not really sure if I see the difference between these "professional" photos and the ones we stage ourselves.



At Mama's Fish House in Kuau.

I'm pretty shame to admit that I got sucked into watching the season premiere of the Bachelor (thanks a lot, Jeannie). But, the first few episodes are always the most entertaining. This twist this year is that this bachelor has a kid...which unsurprisingly brings out the maternal instincts (real or not) of all the ladies. Out of no where, one of the lovely ladies professes her secret desire to be a 1st grade teacher because it's "the most challenging...but the most rewarding...but challenging". There was of course other craziness to be had: one girl ambushed him in the car due to her lack of QT earlier in the day. His face when he stepped in the car was truly one of panic. I can relate.

But my favorite line of the evening came from Molly, a blonde.

Bachelor: Do you have any talents?
Molly, the blonde: I'm a great kisser!

Hahaha! I'm pretty sure that's not what he meant (maybe, maybe not)...but I suppose that is a talent. She just proclaimed it with such gusto that I couldn't stop laughing.

And that's why I watched...but no more, well...perhaps next week...if there's no Lakers (or any basketball) game on.

A Hui Hou

Pronounced "ah-who-ee-ho"

...or until we meet again.

Today is my last day of bumming it at home. After 3 weeks of Maui, I'm pretty ready to head back to my everyday life, but I'm having a little separation anxiety with the...

1. Weather. Admittedly, the weather hasn't been the greatest due to our wet winter. But, I love how you can still wear shorts in the rain. And the possibility of a rainbow. And not having to bring a jacket everywhere "just in case".

2. Wailuku tap water. I don't know what it is about this straight-from-the-faucet water, but I always look forward to it. I have yet to find out what they put in that Iao Aquifer to make the water so tasty. Or maybe I don't want to know.

3. Ocean. When I first moved to California, not being able to see the ocean everyday was somewhat unnerving to me. So blue and pretty.

4. Pidgin. If there's anything that makes me homesick, it's hearing Hawaii people conversing in pidgin on the mainland. Not that it's the most graceful speaking form (far from it, in fact). But, its simplicity and ease makes me feel all warm and fuzzy.

5. Food. All the food. I don't even know where to start with this...and I don't really want to because I'm really hungry right now, and I can smell my neighbor cooking up some spam for dinner.



Loco Moco. A giant hamburger patty (hamburger steak in Hawaii) with two easy over eggs all bathed in a brown gravy with mushrooms and onions...made a complete meal with 1 scoop rice and 1 scoop mac salad. One of my favs. I usually order this up at Da Kitchen, where it coupled with a health warning...something something high blood pressure, consult your physician.



Chicken Katsu. One of the few things I won't attempt to make at home because I know I can't even come close to this golden brown deliciousness.



And of course the fish. Raw, cooked or both.

6. Roaming wild animals. I love seeing the wild chickens on the side of the road and the cows and goats grazing in open space at the bottom of the hill. For a week, I very much looked forward to seeing my llama out and about. However, that myth has been debunked. He's a goat. I'm crushed.



My chocolate brown llama/goat. More goat than llama. Ok...all goat. Sad.

This was the original sighting that made me believe he was a llama.



Slightly pixelated. But look at those ears! I didn't think goats had such floppy ears.

I decided to celebrate my last day here not at the beach, but instead cracking macadamia nuts at my Uncle Eric's house. He lives in a new development called Wailuku Country Estates, which used to just field and fields of macadamia nut trees. The lots are about 2 acres or so, but the catch is that you have to use some of the land for agricultural purposes. Hence my Uncle's 9 macadamia nut trees, handful of banana and local orange trees, and extensive herb and Manoa lettuce garden.



The mac nut cracking process. My Uncle's in-laws are in town, so his father-in-law helped me. That bowl took us 2 hours to fill...and it's not even full! Figures why they're so pricey.

All that peeling got me hungry, so my Uncle took me out for lunch at Cafe O'Lei.



Maui beef burger. I can't get enough of these. Cows that carry the name "Maui Beef" have been grass fed and allowed to roam and graze, and are only fed grain in their last few months of existence before becoming a yummy hamburger or steak.



Blackened Mahi with fruit relish. Nicole always gets this.

I had a few things to take care of at the State Office...and I saw this sign while waiting.



This was at 9:15am. I won't miss Hawaiian time too terribly.

Covert Op

If not cooking, my dream career would be something stealthy...with the CIA...like my hero, Sydney Bristow in Alias...complete with code names!

But since that's not happening any time soon, I decided to embark on my own covert operation today and explored a new house in the neighborhood.

Hmm...actually, "house" is an understatement...it's more of a huge estate situated at the very top of Wailuku Heights on our little (well, not so little) red dirt patch. It's so high up that you can clearly see it from the bottom of the hill. So of course, I've been curious.

It's somewhat secure as you can see...



Enough to deter the common spy, I'm sure.



Luckily, I am not the common spy. What do we have here? A little opening!

We were welcomed by some very unwelcoming signs.



Hmm...I don't suppose they mean me, too? Oh well.

The driveway was insanely steep.



From what I can tell, this is going to be quite the home.



Taken from the yard. I like how it's all cozied up against the mountains.

Because this house is so high, it has a completely unobstructed view of Maui.



South Maui (Kihei/Wailea). This is my favorite view from my house, too.



Central Maui (Kahului).

And they have such a pretty, landscaped yard. The little rolling hills reminds me of Makawao.



However, it worries me that they built so close to the edge!



Yikes!

Funny...I didn't see any cameras!



Umm...should I have left a note that it's "you're"?

Aloha Oe...

You smell like poi...

By this time tomorrow, Nicole will be back in Northern California, where she will be greeted by 43-degree weather and clouds. But I don't feel too bad for her because she'll be back in 11 weeks for spring break. Hmph.

So to assuage her grief, we ventured to Cliffhouse in Kapalua. It's not a beach as much as it is rocky, but it's extremely picturesque, peaceful and ideal for some amateur snorkeling. For this all day excursion, we loaded up with $30 worth of spam musubi, hot dog musubi and breaded teriyaki bento from Takamiya Market in Happy Valley. Buying bento at Takamiya always brings me back to my Wailuku Elementary field trip days.



Mmm...I love those red Maui hot dog musubis.

Cliffhouse is a little off the beaten path...as you can see.



And dangerous is right! I almost tripped over a cord and slipped on some rocks and suffered an attack from a few rouge tree branches.

But the view from the trail sort of compensates for my scrapes.



So pretty and clear.



At Cliffhouse. Even though you can see the rocks pretty easily, the water is quite deep...at least 10-15 feet would be my guess.

My tube was put to good use today during my mini snorkeling excursion, where I saw lots of colorful fishies, sea urchins...and!!! Hawaii's state fish, the humuhumunukunukuapuaa...humus for short. Puaa means pig in Hawaiian, and supposedly, this little fishy's nose resembles a pig.



Cute, huh?

I found a flat rock to cruise on. And this is what it looked like below.



The rocks were pretty jagged and slippery, which was solved by Nicole's idea of wearing tabi's. Yeah, they were hideous, but we had many jealous stares from onlookers when they saw how fast we scaled the rocks.



Yet, despite our tabi's Nicole still managed to sustain a minor injury to her knee when the current shoved her into Fafa Island. She would.



Fafa "Island" is that giant rock on the right.

And to top it all off, my dad was going through his magazine collection and found this 2003 SI issue featuring Kobe.



But of course, he had to add that Lebron was also mentioned in another article. To which I replied, "Yeah, but who's on the cover? I thought so."

Recently, he's been making headlines. Poor Lebron...getting teased for his crab dribble/travel.