The glowing red numbers on the clock read 2:11 am. I awakened feeling nauseated. I went to the bathroom and sat on the commode and started feeling lightheaded, my hands had an odd sensation, like every ounce of blood had drained from them, and I had a hard time breathing. Worried that I might pass out or worse, I walked back into the bedroom and tapped Hubby’s foot which was sticking out from under the blankets. As you can imagine, he was startled when I told him that I wasn’t feeling well and he asked me if I needed to go to the emergency room. Continue Reading »

Ryukyu Glass

Originally uploaded by Champuru.

Mahealani had the awesome opportunity to spend 10 weeks in Okinawa in conjunction with her research in the field of Marine Biology for her Master’s program. During her time abroad, she was able to meet her relatives, participate in a few eisa/obon festivals, and experience a typhoon. She came back with some nifty souvenirs, including a beautiful yellow okeiko gi (practice kimono), a purse and obi (kimono sash/belt) made of minsa (a weaving textile of Yaeyama), and a housewarming gift for me.

When I opened the box, I was touched to see this delicate Ryukyu Glass lamp, wrapped carefully in bubble wrap and padded with generous amounts of crumpled paper. I had always wanted something made of Ryukyu Glass, but never made the effort to transport something so fragile across the international date line. Not only was the lamp itself beautiful, but knowing the care and effort that it took to bring it back home makes it all the more special. It will be a cherished piece in our new home.

Ippe nifee deebiru, Mahealani.

Masked Dancers

Originally uploaded by Champuru.

A group of friends came together on short notice to enjoy the last bon dance of the season on Saturday night at the Hawaii Okinawa Center in Waipio. We assembled late, but was able to enjoy a good portion of the festivities.

Of course, Joyce, Mahealani and I did the bulk of the dancing, but the guys managed to keep themselves entertained and their stomachs satisfied.

Even more serendipitious was discovering that Wade was in town for his niece’s birthday party. It was nice that he was able to make some time in his short trip to join us at the bon dance.

The summer seems so fleeting and it’s hard to imagine that bon dance season in Hawaii is now officially over.

To view photos from this bon dance and others from 2005, visit my Flickr “Obon 2005″ gallery.

I’ve been pondering aging quite a bit lately.

Mom has been tolerating her chemotherapy well. Thus far, she has not suffered any chemo-induced nausea; although it has been noted that her blood count was low on a few visits which prevented her from receiving the treatment. Normally, they will postpone her IV another week so that her blood count can return to a more desirable level before administering another treatment. Also, her feet and ankles have been swollen. She will be going for an ultrasound next week to ensure that it is not caused by blood clots.

Although Mom looks great and I can barely believe that she’s undergoing cancer treatment, these two developments do concern me. After all, Mom will be 74 next month and I can only imagine the havoc that cancer and chemotherapy can wreak upon the body.

Being the only child, it’s extremely difficult for me to come to grips with the fact that my parents are aging. Continue Reading »

Now tell me again how the gas cap was supposed to help Hawaii’s gas prices stay “low”?

We’re #1 again. That is, #1 for the most expensive gas prices in the nation. (According to AAA’s daily fuel gauge report.)

Sometimes it’s not good to be #1. Average prices in Honolulu today: $3.50/gallon. (Neighbor islands are already looking at prices above $4.00/gallon.)

Movie Ticket

Originally uploaded by Champuru.

It ended up that I worked at home for the last couple of hours of my shift today. Mom called my cell phone to tell me that they were at the grocery store and their car was stalled. I promptly left the office to rescue them with 18-foot jumper cables in my trunk and a good battery under my hood. To make a long story short, Hubby showed up and helped me jumpstart the car without incident. Dad’s car started and all’s well that ends well.

So, instead of driving back to the office to work 2 hours only to enjoy the travails of Friday rush hour traffic on the way back, I opted to take advantage of my VPN connection and work from home.

4:30 is quitting time, so I closed my laptop and Hubby and I headed to the theaters to beat the Friday night crowd. Continue Reading »

Need to find cheap gas in Hawaii? Okay, so the word “cheap” is relative these days.

I just discovered this link Hawaii Gas Prices, thanks to a thifty co-worker.

So far, I’m still more concerned with convenience and a reasonable wait time than saving a couple of bucks. I drove by the Costco gas station the other day and was horrified by the lines, so I promptly drove through the congested parking lot and headed to the nearest Shell station. The difference was $2.91 (Costco) versus $3.19 (Shell) which is $0.28/gallon. If I had wanted to wait in that crazy line for 45-minutes, I could’ve saved a whopping $1.90. Honestly, my time is worth more than $1.90.

Hopefully, the difference won’t be more marked in the future. After all, my need for convenience does have a breaking point. Let’s hope we won’t be seeing $5.00/gallon anytime in the near future.