Tree House?

A likely story.

You may recall a previous entry regarding my trespassing adventure through the unimaginably large home in Wailuku Heights.

Apparently, this is big news on little Maui.

Yesterday, The Maui News (We're BIG on Maui...and yes, that's really their slogan) reported that the owners of this home/mansion/estate and now supposed tree farm...will be using their home to grow Koai'a trees.

Really.




300 of these...in 20 years!

I'm sure the fact that their land being agriculturally zoned as absolutely nothing to do with it. Hmm...

I have actually never heard of the Koai'a, but it seems to be the cousin of the ever popular Koa. Sort of like the Matt Dillon and his brother...who's name escapes me at the moment.

Why Koai'a as opposed to any other plant/tree out there? Who knows.

Common uses for Koai'a include: fishing lures, spears, digging sticks and tapa (cloth) beaters. All useful stuff. I needed a new digging stick anyway.

I just can't believe these people desecrated our little red dirt patch (for the record, everyone was attached to it...not just me) for trees! Of all things! I can't even eat those! The mountain is already full of them! What really gets me is that they probably destroyed a whole family of said trees in the construction of their home. The irony.

Here's another view of the home/future arboretum.

My thoughts are that they're going to be farming more than Koai'a...if you know what I'm saying.

Why Lakers, WHY???

Sniffles.

Why can't the Lakers win at Portland? Why? Is that so much to ask? Too much to ask?

I mean, fine. Lose! But keep it to single digits!

Sniffles.

And to make matters worse, Trevor Ariza was issued a flagrant II, for a non-flagrant II violation, I might add. Sure, it was a hard foul, but he was going for the ball. I would've been ok with a flagrant I, perhaps. Rudy Fernandez did fall pretty bad, and had me pretty concerned. This was no Paul Pierce style collapse. I hope he's ok.

Anyway, this is just the start of their roadtrip. Next Houston, then San Antonio. I hope they got all their losing and drama over and done with at tonight's game.

Sniffles.

Just Call Me Christmas Cake

Thank goodness I don't live in Japan. Although...the sushi just might make up for it.

While at UCI, my Japanese teacher informed us of the concept of "Christmas Cake" in Japan. Apparently, in Japan, eating Christmas Cake is a tradition...like a turkey on Thanksgiving.



Here's the thing about Christmas Cake: You only eat it on Christmas, the 25th. Obviously. And anything leftovers on the 26th, are just that, leftovers. The stuff no one wants anymore because I guess everyone's over this cake come the next day. Now here's the best part. Single 26-year-old girls in Japan are referred to as "Christmas Cake"...or leftovers, if you will. I happen to like leftovers. But not everyone does, I suppose. Oh well. It is what it is.

Anyway, as you may have guessed today is/was my 26th birthday. I don't feel old per say...but I know that I actually am old. I'm not sure which is preferable. With the exception of this whole spring forward business, today was a pretty cruise day for me.



Brunch with Jeannie at Plum's Cafe. Seeing as how my life is slipping away, I decided to branch out and try something new. I usually get the Belgian waffle, but today, I went with the shirred eggs. These baked eggs are so yummy cause the yolks are still runny and is topped with a Parmesan cream...all atop a toasted crusty bread.

And for dinner, we ventured to this sushi place called Fat Fish in K-Town...everyone fat canceled my original plan for Afghani food. As much as I enjoyed seeing everyone/eating sushi, I really enjoyed the car ride over. We chose to exit the 101 early...off 4th because the traffic was hurten. And we drove through downtown, which was pretty exciting for me. I especially enjoyed the famous, or infamous, Rampart area, which I have never seen before.

But my fav moment today came from who else, but my own mom. She sent me a card...in which she wrote, and I quote: "The perfect card for the perfect daughter." I'm touched. Weepy almost. How bout you, Nicole?

And now, a confession. A few weeks ago, in a moment of weakness, I bought this:



What is it? $150 firming and anti-wrinkle cream, that's what it is. I know, I know. I'm ridiculous. But age does strange things to your mind.

To further complicate matters, I just realized I'm going to be 27 next year. I wonder what the Japanese call 27-year olds?

Clippers Highlight

Now there's something you don't see everyday.

And no, that's not a typo. I really meant highlight, not lowlight.

Unlike most of the population, I caught a little of the Clippers/Grizzlies game last night. Which, by the way, was woefully empty. Like more empty than full. And that's too bad because everyone missed this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=naM_ax5UJHM

and this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNpYhV-c0mk

The second one was a few days earlier. But I assume last night's performance was a result of practice.

Now, if only they won...

Trash Talking

I'm allllll about trash talking.

Especially as it relates to sports. Especially as it relates to basketball. And apparently, so does Shaq.

This fool talks so much trash that it puts me to shame. And quite honestly, I'm not this mean. At least I'm defending the Lakers. Working for the greater good. Shaq, is just well...kind of a jerk. But is this really news?

Exhibit A

To Chris Bosh in regard to a comment Bosh made about some rule bending in a recent game:

"I heard what Chris Bosh said, and that's strong words coming from the RuPaul of big men," O'Neal told the Arizona Republic on Sunday. "I'm going to do the same thing (in their next meeting) I did before - make him quit. Make 'em quit and complain. It's what I do".

RuPaul?? For real?

Now, I may be a little biased here because I happen to like Chris Bosh. He's a pretty funny guy. And I like him better than Shaq. Ok...I like most people better than Shaq (excluding Steve Nash and Paul Pierce)...but still. RuPaul??



You be the judge.

Exhibit B

To Dwight Howard, and Shaq not ready to relinquish the Superman title:

"I got four [titles]," O'Neal said, "and your man [Howard] got none."

Please. I'm glad you can count to 4, Shaq. Really, I am. And let's be real. There's no way you could've worn that super tight jersey like Howard did during the All-Stars.

And finally, my favorite, and hopefully your's too...

Exhibit C

To Stan Van Gundy, Orlando Magic coach in regard to Shaq flopping:

*Please note, Shaq always trash talks floppers*

“Flopping is playing like that your whole career,” O’Neal said. “I was trying to take a charge, trying to get a call. Yeah, it probably was a flop, but flopping is wrong. Flopping would describe his coaching.”

Hmm...

But wait! There's more.

“I’m not going to sit around and let nobodies take shots at me,” O’Neal said. “He is a nobody to me. If he thinks he can get a little press conference and take shots at me like I’m not take one back, he has another thing coming. … I tried to take a charge. The rules say when a guy comes into your chest and you fall, it’s an offensive foul. That’s all I tried to do. I fell. I didn’t complain.”

A nobody? Because just a reminder...you're not Superman anymore.

Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me. Actually, it's supposed to be, "but words hurt!" But this is basketball where such things are welcomed.

Happy Girls' Day!

Yes, it's a legit holiday/festival. Well, a Japanese one, that is.

Every year on March 3, local Hawaiians celebrate Girls' Day aka Hinamatsuri, or Doll Festival. Why not Japan? Well, once upon a time there was a Girls' Day and a Boys' Day (May 5). However, some years ago, Girl's Day and Boy's were combined into Childrens' Day, also on May 5. I was slightly disappointed as I enjoyed the segregation.

So perhaps your next question is: What does one do on Girls' Day?

Well, some fancy Japanese people have a complete doll set (hina=doll in Japanese), which they display. The Wachi Ohana are not said fancy Japanese people. We have dolls, but not the set as pictured below.

It's pretty massive. Takes up too much real estate.

My sister and I each have a doll that we got from our Grandma, so they're pretty old, but we're not talking Antiques Roadshow.

Looks kinda like this...but not as fancy. And mine is chubbier. Of course.

Girls' Day is also an excuse to eat mochi, but since that doesn't seem so popular here, I just made cookies for everyone. In elementary school, our teachers used to make the boys put up the girls' chairs at the end of the day. I never got on board with this. I can put my own chair up thankyouverymuch.

To be honest, I'm not really sure what goes on for Boys' Day, but I do know that you fly these koi outside your house. You have 1 koi/boy...and the little koi are for the kiddies.

I know you're probably thinking this is all so silly. Dolls? Fish? Cookies? But just wait until 3/14. It gets better.

Snowboarding, Part 3

It's been said that third time's the charm.

Hmm...I'd say that's about half true. My third run for snowboarding was a disaster! Long story short. I took Jeannie out at the knees and we tumbled down the top of Mammoth. And this time, although I was better than my other two times (slightly), I still managed to do a good share of tumbling and face-planting. And I look like Rudolph...as in the reindeer. More on that later.

Last Sunday, the Fab 5 took a trip up to Big Bear, not to be confused with Hungry Bear. It was my first trip there, so I was pretty excited/apprehensive. Excited because I've never been, but apprehensive because the tumbling experience was still fresh in my memory. I'm convinced that the most complicated part about snowboarding (besides not falling every 3 mins) is getting of the lift. There's just so many things to remember! And they all seem so counterintuitive. All I wanted to do was walk/hobble off, but you need to slide on your board. And trust me, that is easier said than done. Let's just say I only successfully exited the lift once. I sort of hobbled off a handful of other times and just straight fell off the rest of the time.

Other than that, I was feeling a little more confident this time, so I wasn't as slow-pokey per usual. But still slow. And I still fell. A lot. Hmph. And of course, what would a snowboarding trip be without another life-threatening (ok...not life-threatening, but slightly traumatizing) experience?

This time, I crash landed off the side and into an embankment, just a foot or so away from a tree. So I'm stuck there and confused...and then I see Mike. And I start to feel a little better until...

me: Miiikkkeee!!
Mike: (seeing me off the side and near trees...still snowboarding) I don't have my camera!
me: What do I do???
Mike: (still snowboarding, farther away now) Huh?? I dunno!
me: Huh???
Mike: (still snowboarding...soon to be out of view) Uhhh...

So at this point, I decide to see if I can wiggle my way up. No luck. Board is very slippery. So I have to un-buckle and climb out. Small kine shame. I imagine Survivorman would do the same.

Other than that, it was pretty fun. Even though I was a snowball practice target. And I forgot to sunscreen my nose...so now I look like Rudolph the Red-Nose Reindeer. Sigh.

After snowboarding, Mike insisted that we try his fav spot for carne asada fries in Riverside. I was skeptical at first because I believed carne asada fries to be a San Diego speciality...but! these were so yummy! They were everything you would want carne asada fries to be: crispy thin fries, lots and lots of carne asada and cheese and guacamole and sour cream. Sooo good! Steve also ordered the sope, which I think of as a Mexican pizza. There's meat, cheese, veggies and beans all resting on a crisp tortilla. In this case, the tortilla was thick and homemade. The texture of the homemade tortilla was amazing. Nice and crunchy on the outside.



Carne Asada Fries at Los Jilertos in Riverside. What a deal for $6.99!

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Car Update:

My car is fixed! Yay! What an ordeal.

me: You "fixed" my car a couple weeks ago...but it seems to be leaking transmission fluid. I can't even measure it, so it's pretty low. I think you guys didn't screw the cap on good.

Car dude: Oh ok. We'll check it out.
me: (30 mins later) So what's going on?
Car dude: (consulting with other car dudes) Umm...ok, so your cap is gone.
me: Huh??
Car dude: Yeah, we uhh...didn't screw it on, so it fell off. So we need to find you a new one.
me: (thinking...how could there still be fluid if the cap is gone...) Uhhh...ok

(1 hour later)

Car dude: Sooo...we can't find the part...but good news! We found your cap!
me: Excuse me? According to you, it fell off.
Car dude: Oh. Well... we found it. I mean, it was always there. It was just covered in oil...
me: What??

Yeah, I'm fixing my own car.