gigi-hawaii

David used to smoke cigarettes and marijuana constantly when he was single. Then, he met me, and I forced him to quit his filthy habit. With every ounce of will power, that’s precisely what he did.

I told him to do what my father did to quit smoking: Chew gum and suck on cough drops.

So, instead of reaching for a pack of cigarettes in his shirt pocket, David reached for a pack of gum or cough drops. It worked!

I just thought I’d share this advice with you. Pass it on to people you know who are addicted to smoking.

There’s nothing better than kicking the habit and breathing clean air.

Yesterday, we got in our car and drove on the H-3 Freeway on our way to Kaneohe on the Windward side of Oahu:

This is the tunnel to the Windward side:

And, voila, this is what we saw on the Windward side. Beautiful Kaneohe Bay. Feast your eyes on this:

***

Then, we drove to verdant Hoomaluhia Botanical Garden:

***

This is the Art Gallery at the Garden. We were there to view the 11th Annual Miniature Art Show. There were more than 100 paintings:

Paul Nagano was the juror. He is an 85 year old artist, who was the Art Director of the Pucker Gallery in Boston, MA for 22 years.

Best in Show. “Resting Honu” by Esperance Rakotonirina:

First Place. “Metamorphosis” by John Cross:

Honorable Mention. “Papaya” by Carol D’Angelo:

Honorable Mention. “Sunset Storm” by Karen Sewell:

Honorable Mention. “Calm or Chaotic, Life is Great” by Frances Wong:

Here are other paintings that appealed to me.

“Moilili Gateway” by Frances Wong:

“Sumo During Covid-19” by Jimmy Dan:

“Sweet Temptations” by Suzanne McCrary:

“Laysan Albatross at Kaena” by Jessica Orfe:

***

The Association of Hawaii Artists put on this show. There is so much talent in Hawaii.

It was a nice outing for us. It got us out of the house, and we experienced the beauty of Kaneohe Bay and Hoomaluhia Botanical Garden. Not to mention lots of fine art in miniature.

Awesome!

David is a modern dude with modern ears. I’m an old lady with old ears.

David enjoys modern music. He loves the jukebox music of “And Juliet” and “Moulin Rouge,” two Broadway musicals being performed right now in New York.

“And Juliet” features the music of The Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears and other artists, whereas “Moulin Rouge” features the music of Elton John, Lady Gaga and others:

David also enjoys “The Voice” and “American Idol” on TV. He loves the modern pop and country music featured on those shows:

***

As for me, I’m in a time warp. I don’t know why I am so resistant to change. It really bothers me to listen to modern pop music. It drives me nuts!

I prefer old Broadway musicals and classical symphonic music. What can I say? I am just a little old lady, who enjoys old music.

I find ecstasy in the symphony:

But, I also like Frank Sinatra and Count Basie:

***

How do David and I manage to get along? Quite well, actually.

David is a music major. He appreciates all music. Go ahead and pick his brain. He knows so much about music.

For instance, we were listening to a classical anthology on the stereo recently. David said: “That’s an aria from ‘Pagliacci.’ Enrico Caruso sang it 150 times at the Met. Caruso died of pleurisy. He was my mother’s favorite tenor.”

Who knew, huh?

Yesterday, I invited my sisters, Nedra and Sylvia, to my home for lunch. We got together to celebrate Sylvia’s 73rd birthday. Yes, she is a Scorpio, a November baby. Before retirement, Sylvia was a successful realtor and vegan restauranteur. Her husband died of cancer in 2015, but she socializes frequently with her family and friends, so she isn’t lonely. She is well liked by everyone and is truly a kind and generous person. She is such a sweetheart!

I dressed my table in pink. Those are carnations in the vase:

This is my buffet. I made a spicy Thai shrimp curry and jasmine rice. The aroma was heavenly:

I also made butter flake crescent rolls and a veggie salad:

This is the birthday cake that Nedra brought. A delicious Japanese cheese cake from Panya Bistro:

She also brought slices of tiramisu, mango mousse cake, and a brownie from Panya Bistro:

Here we are. Nedra is camera shy, so she took the photo:

This is Sylvia blowing out the candles:

It was a lovely get together. I love to socialize with my sisters.

Happy Birthday, Sylvia!

I have been watching Korean dramas on Netflix. Sometimes, I stop midway and take a break, but I always return to the series and finish the story. Korean dramas are quite interesting. I prefer the ones with no overt sex scenes or gun and knife violence. David likes “Squid Game,” but it is far too violent for my taste. I prefer PG type of movies.

***

“Extraordinary Attorney Woo” was truly riveting. It’s about an autistic 27 year old female attorney, who has a photographic memory and can recite case law in an amazing way. She has an incisive legal mind. She is somebody to admire and respect.

And, yet, there is pathos. Woo is autistic, after all, and because of her condition, she has a hard time relating to people. A paralegal in her law firm is in love with her, and Woo hesitantly responds to their first kiss. It’s pure love. What will happen next? The series ends on that note.

As for me, I am not autistic, but there is nothing extraordinary about me, either. I was a legal assistant for twenty years before retiring. I did not have Woo’s incisive legal mind, which is why I was only an assistant and not an attorney.

***

Now, I am watching “Hometown Cha Cha Cha.” It’s about a dentist from Seoul, who opens her clinic in a fishing village in the south. There’s some adjustment to rural life on her part. It doesn’t help that someone from her past shows up, and suddenly there is a romantic triangle, involving the dentist, that guy from her past, and another guy, who grew up in the village. This is a rom-com, alright. Haha.

***

I truly enjoy Korean dramas. David has been tolerant of my fixation. He takes a nap or does errands. Then, when he returns, the TV reverts to sports and reality shows, his favorite type of entertainment.

Ah, well, such is life.

I was using Chrome on my desktop computer recently when my computer was hacked. This is the second time in a year this has happened to me. Man, I am getting so annoyed by these no damn good scumbags, who demand that I call their so-called “Microsoft Hotline” to fix the problem. Of course, they want a ransom! Instead, I just shut down the computer. An hour or so later, I logged on again, and it was clear. Somehow, Webroot had managed to get rid of that hacker. I could type with no problem.

It seems to me there are criminals everywhere. Recently, a 16 year old boy in Hawaii was arrested for murdering another teen. His reason for fatally shooting the other teen was that the other teen refused to shake his hand to settle a dispute. How stupid! So, now this 16 year old will be tried as an adult, and if convicted, he will face life in prison. Good luck fending off inmates, who will try to rape him. Serves him right. And he is only 16.

Crime does not pay. You don’t need a high IQ to know that. Those stupid criminals with their evil mindset. How awful to go to prison and have no personal freedom, eat prison food, and socialize with other criminals. Ugh. No thank you.

Choose good over evil. Why is that so hard?

And, for Pete’s sake, stop hacking my computer!

I have hired and fired a number of yardmen and house cleaners over the past four years, always for good reasons.

I recently fired Nolie, my third yardman, because he installed inferior weed block for a very high price. The weed block was not commercial grade and tore easily, leading to weed growth. So, I fired Nolie for being so dishonest. I now have a fourth yardman. Djay charges less and seems good enough for now.

Boy, I go through yardmen like there’s no end in sight. But, it’s so easy to find yardmen in Hawaii. There’s always somebody willing to take over. These are usually Filipino immigrants, who are conversant in English.

***

Then, I fired Dianna, my first house cleaner, after two months on the job. She was part Hawaiian, who didn’t show up on schedule. Very erratic worker.

I now have Rachel, who charges a little more, but there are two cleaners instead of one. She is a Black woman, who is trying to build a thriving business in Hawaii. So far so good. Her crew is efficient, thorough and quiet.

***

I know this post makes me sound like Her Majesty, the Queen of Hawaii, hiring and firing people at will. But, honestly, all I want is someone, who is decent and honest.

I have poly arthralgia, and David has balance issues. What can we do?

This is the Hyatt Regency Maui, where many displaced Lahaina residents have been staying.

***

The situation in Lahaina, Maui is still bleak for those residents, who lost their homes in the wildfires on August 8. They have been staying in resort hotels, their lodging paid for by the Red Cross and FEMA.

However, Governor Green and the Mayor of Maui now want to evict these residents and open the resorts to tourists. This will stimulate the local economy and put people back to work so that they can earn a living.

Meanwhile, where will the homeless go? Their homes were burned down, for Pete’s sake. It’s such a sad situation for these people.

If something like that happened to me and David and we lost our home, we would probably fly to Las Vegas, Nevada and live with our younger daughter, Lisa. She lives alone with her two dogs in a 3 bedroom 2 bath house. She could easily accommodate us, though I imagine it might be inconvenient for her.

Lisa and her two dogs:

Oh, how I love Hawaii! I have such a great life here. I love the peace and the Aloha spirit. So, if we were forced to vacate our place in Hawaii, it would just break my heart.

Hope that never happens to us.

In 2006, I got involved with the Warrior Beat blog, which was hosted by sports reporter, Stephen Tsai. It was a lively blog, consisting of fans interested in University of Hawaii football. I was an active participant and made many online friends. These blog friends were called “Tsai-kos.”

That period lasted from 2006-2012. Then, with the change of coaches and the failure of the football team to have a winning season, things got sour. The Warrior Beat blog is no longer active.

But, during its hey day, the Warrior Beat brought so many people from all walks of life together. We attended parties at Murphy’s, Ryan’s Grill, and the Stan Sheriff Center as well as tailgates at Richardson Field prior to football games at Aloha Stadium. It was so much fun!

I even invited a bunch of Tsai-kos to my home in January 2008. This happened after the Sugar Bowl, when the Hawaii team was beaten handily by Georgia in New Orleans. Some of my guests actually attended that game. I provided the food, and we played the Wie, competing for cash prizes. It was fun! That was a memorable party.

Here are highlights of two of the Warrior Beat parties that David and I attended.

***

First Anniversary Warrior Beat party at Murphy’s Bar and Grill (July 2007):

Blog host, Stephen Tsai (yellow shirt):

UH Athletics Director, Jim Donovan (center):

Assistant coach, Jeff Reinebold (seated left), and sports commentator, Jim Leahey (right):

U.S. Representative, Mark Takai:

***

Second Anniversary Warrior Beat party at the Stan Sheriff Center (July 2008):

Blog host, Stephen Tsai, and reporter, Esme Infante:

UH Head Coach, Greg McMackin (third from left), and David (second from left):

UH Athletics Director Jim Donovan and his wife:

UH Chancellor Virginia Hinshaw:

U.S. Representative Mark Takai presented a certificate to Stephen Tsai, recognizing the 2nd anniversary of the inception of the Warrior Beat. This certificate was a joint resolution by the House and the Senate. Quite an honor for Stephen Tsai:

There was music:

Performing the Haka (a Hawaiian warrior dance):

UH football trophies, marking a stellar 2007 season:

WAC Championship Ring (worn by me temporarily):

***

I’ll never forget the Warrior Beat Tsai-kos. The fun we had as supporters and fans of the University of Hawaii football team is something I shall always remember. Head Coach June Jones was so charismatic, and Quarterback Colt Brennan led the 2007 team to the Sugar Bowl. It was an unforgettable season.

Yes, those were the days. It is now November 2023. The football team has a new head coach, Timmy Chang, who was once an outstanding quarterback for the team under coach June Jones. This is Chang’s second season as UH Head Coach, and he is doing very poorly. It looks like another losing season.

Oh, well, it’s only football.

This image of Hawaii is from National Geographic.

***

The days are getting shorter with sunrise at 6:30 am and sunset at 6:00 pm. But, boy, it’s still hot and humid with temperatures in the mid 80s. Typical October weather in Hawaii. However, there is no smog here. The air quality is excellent.

We had two Mitsubishi split air conditioners installed in two bedrooms. It’s a relief to have much quieter, cooler air flow in those bedrooms. The third bedroom still has a regular window unit, but it’s rarely used, so we decided not to replace it. We swear by Mitsubishi. It has been proven to be the quietest and most efficient split a/c in the world.

I’m getting over the flu and don’t cough that much anymore. The worst is over. I had a pedicure on Wednesday and a haircut yesterday. I’m gradually coming back to life.

Did you know that Hawaii has the highest longevity rate in the United States? People in Hawaii live longer and healthier lives here than people in the other 49 states. It’s due to our environment, genetics and lifestyle. On the other hand, Mississippi has the lowest life expectancy.

And so it goes in Hawaii.