Hubs, Shari and I decided to join our church at the 4th of July celebration and fireworks show at Sills Field in Schofield Barracks today. We had a nice time relaxing, eating and watching the fireworks show at the end of the evening. I will have a vlog entry to share, but not tonight since tomorrow is a work day for me. It’s already 45 minutes past my bedtime. Boo.
In the meantime, here are a couple of photos from the day… (and a bunch more on Flickr)
More drugs in preparation for my journey toward in vitro fertilization… Today, I took my first dose of Clomid, a fertility drug.
As Hubby and I were having dinner, I read the Patient Prescription Information sheet indicating the possible side effects which include fun things like stomach upset, bloating, abdominal/pelvic fullness, flushing (”hot flashes”), breast tenderness, headaches, or dizziness. Knowing my propensity for being a hypochondriac, Hubby stopped me right after I read “hot flashes” and remarked, “you better stop reading or else you might think you’re having all of those side effects.”
“Yeah, I’m starting to feel hot already,” I said.
Oh, maybe that was all that Sriracha sauce I was having with my chicken.
Saturday night means time for obon for the champuru bon dance posse. This week, the posse attended the Honpa Hongwanji bon dance on Pali Highway in Honolulu. Although Honpa Hongwanji is one of the bigger, more popular sites, this was the first time I visited their bon dance. Rod was kind enough to provide some reconnaissance for us in terms of parking instructions and general information about the bon dance. As a bonafide non-townie, I was not familiar with the area, so thankfully Rod was very detailed in his explanation of where to park and how to get across Pali Highway (without getting killed by speeding cars) via the underground tunnel. Despite arriving extremely early, the YBA lot was already full, but we were able to find parking along the street in the residential area, testing my mad parallel parking skillz (not).
Some random thoughts about Honpa Hongwanji’s bon dance:
* The “Bon boutique” had antique kimono and hapi coats for sale for awesome prices. Ryan S. was able to score a nice black hapi coat for $5. (There was a small tear in it, but for $5, I’m sure he can stand to do a little hand stitching to repair it.)
* Also for sale were homemade jams/jellies and the well-known Hongwanji cookbooks. As any old school local mom will tell you, the Hongwanji cookbooks are the best for local-style recipes!
* The selection of food at Honpa was excellent! Just to name a few: curry bowl, BBQ stick, hot dog, fried noodles, andagi, chilled cantaloupe and watermelon, and my favorite corn on the cob!
* Crowded, but not overly so. There was still room in the bon dance circle to move without feeling claustrophobic.
* Learned a new version of the Fukushima Ondo tonight with the towel! (By the way, if you intend to do the Japanese dances, it’s a good idea to buy — or bring — a towel.)
* Yes, they feature Okinawan dancing — but only one set.
* Overall: Love it!
Here are some scenes from the bon dance…
Honpa Hongawanji (Honolulu, Hawaii)
Thanks for the info on the bon dance, Rod! You da man!
Dad and Shari display Honpa Hongwanji’s bon dance towel
At work, one of my duties is to co-produce a monthly television show on `Olelo Community TV for our company. My role in the show is to take care of all of the technical aspects: videography, editing and running the laptop for the in-studio PowerPoint. Although I do my own videologs on my personal site, I have never felt the urge or desire to step in front of the camera for work. However, on Friday, our normal host, the Communications & Public Affairs guy lost his voice and with less than 24-hours notice, I was thrust in front of the camera to host the show.
Luckily, he gave me a script and I didn’t have to interact too much with the in-studio guest. The stint mostly entailed introducing the video features and narrating over a slideshow of photos from recent events. It was nerve-wracking, to say the least, but I survived. Would I do it again? Maybe — if I could have more than one day to prepare myself. But I must admit, as much as a ham that I am, I still prefer to be behind the scenes. In the hours leading up to the taping, I was so nervous that I managed to give myself a tension headache which I had to expel with a dose of Excedrin before my appearance.
And, just for the record: what they say about the camera adding 10 lbs. simply isn’t true. It’s 20.
A 30-something Christian girl, blissfully wedded to her perfect match (the yang to her yin) of 14 years. A new mom to her miracle baby, born on October 4, 2008. Living life in Hawaii, less than 5 miles from her hometown, a slave to her mortgage payment, but seeking balance in her pursuit of family, faith, recreation, and rest.
"Champuru" is an Okinawan stir fry dish, literally meaning a "mixture." In a figurative sense, it's similar to what locals would call "chop suey." A whole bunch of stuff, tossed in, mixed up to create a unique flavor. She selected this pseudonym years ago, mainly to relate to her Okinawan culture, but also felt that it was an appropriate way to describe her appreciation of many different cultures and interests.
A 30-something Christian girl, blissfully wedded to her perfect match (the yang to her yin) of 14 years. A new mom to her miracle baby, born on October 4, 2008. Living life in Hawaii, less than 5 miles from her hometown, a slave to her mortgage payment, but seeking balance in her pursuit of family, faith, recreation, and rest.
