Friday, July 30, 2010
ringless in hawaii
as i was posting that last blog i realized that i lost my wedding ring. only took me 6 hours to notice it was gone. its probably in the ocean somewhere.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
explorations
last week kaleb attended kamehameha schools explorations program for kids of hawaiian ancestry going from 5th to 6th grade. every summer hundred of kids take part in this annual event. they stay on campus of 5 days and aren't allowed any contact from parents. everyday is filled with field trips and education and on friday night, the end of their stay they put on this huge show called a ho'ike.
as a non-hawaiian kid growing up in hawaii, the idea of participating in this sort of event didn't even enter my brainium. i sat there before the show started and was kinda tripped out.
anyway kaleb had choke fun and learned lots about his culture. whats fun/weird and i should've expected is that there were so many people we knew who's kids participated. this experience will last their lifetimes... just ask anyone whose ever gone and they'll tell you stories like they happened yesterday.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
lunesta: the (i) wonder drug
its amusing to me how all these new drugs are invented and then marketed on tv. the print ads arent as funny (i'll explain). i love how as the commercial plays and the model/actors seem so carefree and euphoric, the voice-over warns of all the drugs' side-effects and dangers. snl or some other spoof show should do a skit where they promote a fake drug and show all the side-effects happening instead of the "desired" effect.
anyway what was so superduper ridiculous about this commercial is how lunesta took it to another level. lunesta is apparently a sleep aid, by the way. so the model/actors look good and sleepy, the voice-over goes through the laundry list of side-effects and warnings, THEN... in small print at the bottom of the screen... "it is not known how lunesta actually works."
WHAAAAAAAAT!? all this money is spent to create and market this thing and no one knows how it works? is this legal? it seems really illegal. if its not illegal, its really careless... borderline reckless! i suppose a person could throw a bunch of random chemicals together, name it, package it, market it and not worry about law suits as long as there are some disclaimers on there and you tell people you don't know how it works.
anyway what was so superduper ridiculous about this commercial is how lunesta took it to another level. lunesta is apparently a sleep aid, by the way. so the model/actors look good and sleepy, the voice-over goes through the laundry list of side-effects and warnings, THEN... in small print at the bottom of the screen... "it is not known how lunesta actually works."
WHAAAAAAAAT!? all this money is spent to create and market this thing and no one knows how it works? is this legal? it seems really illegal. if its not illegal, its really careless... borderline reckless! i suppose a person could throw a bunch of random chemicals together, name it, package it, market it and not worry about law suits as long as there are some disclaimers on there and you tell people you don't know how it works.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Sunday, July 25, 2010
quote of the day...
"why does seth have different color hair from everyone else?" - kay aka cookie (our new friend from rhode island)
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Saturday, July 17, 2010
on the move
last night a friend (adam) called me and asked if i could help him and his family move house today and/or saturday. i told him i was in and he gave me directions to his house. this morning as i parked my car outside his house another friend (leka) pulled up. soon after we started moving boxes into the uhaul, another friend (jim) showed up.i had no idea who adam had called or who was going to show up, but together we stuffed that uhaul in between wisecracks and jokes and a few waterbreaks.
at some point during the move, i'm not sure exactly when, i took a step back from the situation and... i know what it was! i was thinking about how great it would be if i had my camera so i could post some photos here. anyway as i was imagining a photo op, i realized how odd the picture would look. adam is a hefty hawaiian man in his 40's, leka is a 29 year-old tongan, jim is a white mainlander in his 50's, and i'm me... skinny and asian.
after i got over the oddness, i began to appreciate God. see, we all go to church together. i realized that before i started going to church i was pretty judgemental... i pre-judeged folks based on what was on their outside and was closed off to relationships outside of what i thought was cool. it was pretty shallow. so i would never have met, let alone hang out with these guys, but there we were, busting our butts together and having a blast doing it.
if not for God i would have never had a day like today. a day of servanthood. appreciation for peoples differences and commonalities. good times with good friends. and best of all self-realization and gratitude towards the Creator. hopefully i can post a photo someday... maybe at the house-warming bbq we kept hinting at.
at some point during the move, i'm not sure exactly when, i took a step back from the situation and... i know what it was! i was thinking about how great it would be if i had my camera so i could post some photos here. anyway as i was imagining a photo op, i realized how odd the picture would look. adam is a hefty hawaiian man in his 40's, leka is a 29 year-old tongan, jim is a white mainlander in his 50's, and i'm me... skinny and asian.
after i got over the oddness, i began to appreciate God. see, we all go to church together. i realized that before i started going to church i was pretty judgemental... i pre-judeged folks based on what was on their outside and was closed off to relationships outside of what i thought was cool. it was pretty shallow. so i would never have met, let alone hang out with these guys, but there we were, busting our butts together and having a blast doing it.
if not for God i would have never had a day like today. a day of servanthood. appreciation for peoples differences and commonalities. good times with good friends. and best of all self-realization and gratitude towards the Creator. hopefully i can post a photo someday... maybe at the house-warming bbq we kept hinting at.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
diamond head extras
1&2. 99 stairs: the casualties. junior and christian taking cardio lumps.
3. Leka (juniors dad) either looking for service or taking a picture. he's my only tongan friend.
4. i like clouds
5. rebels.
Saturday, July 10, 2010
ronnie and the bus pass
There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land. Deuteronomy 15:11
last week i went to foodland and saw a middle-aged, blonde woman sitting outside holding a sign which read, "please help. no drugs. no alcohol." on my way out of the store i asked her what kind of help she needed, since her sign was not specific. "just something to eat," she replied. "oh, okay, i'll be right back, i live across the street, my wife is cooking dinner," i said. her eyes lit up.
i packed her food and some snacks and headed back to foodland with jed and kaleb. i took along an invite card to church in case she might be interested and wrote my number on the back in case she needed a ride.
her name was ronnie. she just moved here and was abandoned by her husband. she was staying with a friends place. she went to church (word of life) the day before. she started crying when i gave her the food. i prayed for the food and for her. it was a nice encounter.
yesterday i got a call from ronnie. she found a job as a telemarketer earning $10/hour, but needed help buying a bus pass. a friend was gonna lend her $40 so she needed help with $20 more. i am weary about giving money to strangers, but i liked ronnie. i talked to my wife about it and we agreed that this was a good idea. ronnie said she'd pay me back with her first check, but i didn't want the money back. what ronnie wanted me to do was to meet her in makiki and give her the money. my main concern was that my money went to purchasing an actual bus pass... i didn't want to hand her cash and hope she'd use it the right way. since we weren't at home when she called i told ronnie i'd meet her and her friend at the bus station, where ronnie said the bus passes are only $55. we were making these plans on the fly and it seemed like a waste of time and gas to drive to kalihi when foodland sells bus passes for $60. i called ronnie back and said i'd give her the $20 at foodland, and that i didn't care about the extra $5. she never called back.
that got me to thinking about american idol. i promise there's a connection. i remember one season... i think it was the david archuleta/david cook one. but anyway, they had the fundraiser show where they play the footage of past idol contestants and other celebs going to africa and they ask viewers to donate money. at the end of the show, all the "idols" sang one final song... it was an in-your-face, blatantly obvious chrisitan song. i was perplexed. uncomfortable even. why would an ultra-secular program sing THAT song of all the songs in the world? i believe for the same reason ronnie called me. to appeal to a people in hopes of getting money from them. because not helping the unfortunate may seem un-christian-like, right?
i'm not sure what point i'm trying to make or if there's even a point to make. just my thoughts on recent events in my life and the memories they triggered. be blessed.
last week i went to foodland and saw a middle-aged, blonde woman sitting outside holding a sign which read, "please help. no drugs. no alcohol." on my way out of the store i asked her what kind of help she needed, since her sign was not specific. "just something to eat," she replied. "oh, okay, i'll be right back, i live across the street, my wife is cooking dinner," i said. her eyes lit up.
i packed her food and some snacks and headed back to foodland with jed and kaleb. i took along an invite card to church in case she might be interested and wrote my number on the back in case she needed a ride.
her name was ronnie. she just moved here and was abandoned by her husband. she was staying with a friends place. she went to church (word of life) the day before. she started crying when i gave her the food. i prayed for the food and for her. it was a nice encounter.
yesterday i got a call from ronnie. she found a job as a telemarketer earning $10/hour, but needed help buying a bus pass. a friend was gonna lend her $40 so she needed help with $20 more. i am weary about giving money to strangers, but i liked ronnie. i talked to my wife about it and we agreed that this was a good idea. ronnie said she'd pay me back with her first check, but i didn't want the money back. what ronnie wanted me to do was to meet her in makiki and give her the money. my main concern was that my money went to purchasing an actual bus pass... i didn't want to hand her cash and hope she'd use it the right way. since we weren't at home when she called i told ronnie i'd meet her and her friend at the bus station, where ronnie said the bus passes are only $55. we were making these plans on the fly and it seemed like a waste of time and gas to drive to kalihi when foodland sells bus passes for $60. i called ronnie back and said i'd give her the $20 at foodland, and that i didn't care about the extra $5. she never called back.
that got me to thinking about american idol. i promise there's a connection. i remember one season... i think it was the david archuleta/david cook one. but anyway, they had the fundraiser show where they play the footage of past idol contestants and other celebs going to africa and they ask viewers to donate money. at the end of the show, all the "idols" sang one final song... it was an in-your-face, blatantly obvious chrisitan song. i was perplexed. uncomfortable even. why would an ultra-secular program sing THAT song of all the songs in the world? i believe for the same reason ronnie called me. to appeal to a people in hopes of getting money from them. because not helping the unfortunate may seem un-christian-like, right?
i'm not sure what point i'm trying to make or if there's even a point to make. just my thoughts on recent events in my life and the memories they triggered. be blessed.
Friday, July 9, 2010
reading...
just started reading this book as recommended by my pastor. mind-blowing in its simplicity. although its written from a christian perspective, you don't need to be "saved" to get it. our differences as men and women are fundamental regardless of faith.
if you got 99 problems... read this book.
quote of the day
"i miss my dad. he loves us very much." - kendall buycks (4 years old) on her daddy being in afghanistan.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
arkie kids hike
1. kaleb, junior, christian, phyllis, chrisitna, lily beth
2. leka
3. kaimuki
4. postcard view
5. the boys in the bunker
a few days after the fire station trip, we took some of the older kids hiking up diamond head.
Saturday, July 3, 2010
quote of the day
"jed needs serious spankings. where's the big spanking spoon, i'll hand it to mom." -seth chang (3 years old)
Thursday, July 1, 2010
mccully fire station
kammy and i help run the childrens ministry at our church and she planned a summer field trip for our kids at the mccully fire station. its brand new and just recently opened so they have all the nicest coolest stuff. the firefighters were super funny and great with the kids... all they did was crack jokes and tease each other the whole time.
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