Sunday, September 13, 2009

‘Innovation’

I’m gonna make a video and name it ‘Innovation’. I’m gonna (as opposed to 'going to' because this fits well with what we are expected to do in the financial crisis AND is about the level of readiness that I am prepared to respond to this issue) dedicate it right up front to the Punehou (the High School that Barrack and my sister went to) kid. Why am I so nonchalant with the President of the USA? There are a couple of reasons.
1-Because he has stated that he wants us to be ‘Innovative’, if we are ever going to pull ourselves out of this financial mess AND to set the story straight, WHAT INNOVATION REALLY MEANS IS: ‘We stole all of yo money and now u are going 2 have 2 B realllll cleaver and figure a way to get some mo (SO WE CAN STILL THAT TO!
Now having said that, I will also tell you that I was 15 and 18 when the two Kennedy’s were assassinated and I walked away from politics until I heard Barrack. I even listened to his audio book. I registered to vote for him for the first time in my life. I would do it in a flash again and again and again! But I will not be so naive as to be lead down a blind street with a street sign for what it ain’t!
2- I’m from Kailua, Hawaii and I have this much respect for Punehou students. (Good thing for you that this part ain’t on the video).

And Barrack, you had better stop ‘owning’ things that you didn’t make. You don’t even own the house you live in!

It starts today and I will post it to my blog for anyone who wants to see it. I’m going to be on the road so I will have to do this as time allows. Bear with me. I am leaving East Bay today and going to Dana Point (LA) to the Surfer Magazine head quarts.

What is it about? It is about: Having my hours cut to a minimum wage rate and being up against it! Can you relate?

I came up with an idea. I work for a company in East Bay (SF area) and I now have a full time job back and if I am going to get this idea off the ground this is what it is going to take…. Well, there is no alternative is there?

So check on my Blog every so often and I will do my best to follow up with this.

Friday, September 11, 2009

I'm working! I'm working!



Brittany left, Tara right. Managers at Freeline Surf Shop, Surf City USA Santa Cruz.
Tara told me the following:
"We used Pau Pilau Biological Wetsuit Cleaner for the first time on our wetsuit rentals to test it. We have a large
shaded drying room with big fans at the rear of our shop.
The next morning when we came in and
opened the shop we immediately realized that we had forgotten to turn
on the fans to dry the wetsuits the night before. It was quiet. We literally
panicked. When we had forgotten to turn on the fans before the whole
shop stunk and we had to rewash the wetsuits. But as we rushed into
the Wetsuit drying room it was absolutely fresh! Fresh as a Daisy! We could not believe
it. It was then that we remembered that we had used Pau Pilau the day
before. Pau Pilua was sitting on the counter next to the soaking tub. Smiling! 'No worries Sheila! I'm here. No back side of a dead dog here anymore!'
We daringly picked up the booties on the rack and they were clean! They are never
clean! Now they are!"

Any shop can call.
831 476-2950. Tara or Brittany

That's right Surf hers and Surf hims Freeline sales Pau Pilau. Keeps your wetsuit limber and odor free. Juz like taking a new suit off the shelf! Pau Pilau: "Never pull a stinky Wetsuit on your body again!"

Greg, the Manager of Tait's Log Shop in Pacifica: "Our Wetsuits smell like Wetsuits!" 650 738-5664

Carl at Nor Cal: 650 748 9283

At Half Moon Bay: Half Moon Bay Board Shop and Cowboys Surf Shop.

I am traveling South from Santa Cruz. I got 350 Surf, Scuba and other Water Sport shops to introduce Pau Pilau to over the next three weeks. Sept 12 --->

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Opii!

I met Natalia on Cyprus. Natalia, as her name might suggest is Russian. At the time I was living in Haifa, Israel. I grew up in Hawaii. My childhood upbringing introduced me to Hawaiian foods which I immediately fell in love with. Only Ono (delicious)!
This included a delicacy called Opii. Every time I left Hawaii to different parts of the world, as soon as I could get back to Hawaii, it was to a Hawaiian restaurant first. Thank God they get Hawaiian food here in the Bay area were we now live. In my refrig right now I get poi, Lau lau, Poki, kalua pig, Hey! Sorry if I make you hungry (I know some of my Hawaiian friends read this). Gene at Takahashi Market, ‘the Hasigawa General Store of the Bay area’ and I are on first name basis. He even put my Pau Pilau on his shelf for sale. Just like Hasigawa General Store in Hana! Little bit of everyting.

Any way to my great surprise, I mean really, totally unexpected, Natalia and I on Cyprus are strolling along this rocky beach. Suddenly out of the corner of my eye I spook one Opii! I could not believe it. Really! I ran down to it and inspecting it. Took my keys out of my pocket and popped that bugga off the rock. Sure enough! One Opii!

Now up to this point, here was the situation with me and Natalia. I mean she knew I was from Hawaii. That I grew up in Hawaii. But in her eyes she only saw one typical looking Haole Kane) (white guy). I can speak Haole Kane but you put me in with jus one Hawaiian and I’m off brah!

So as I was saying, Shee! Only throw me off! She sees me take off down the rocks. I crouch down and am picking something off the rocks. Next thing, I am calling out to her, ‘Hey Nat, look! Opii! Really! You like?’ as I pop it into my mouth.

There I am popping these big Opii, only choke, so many! off and eating one afta da other!
Ono! It had been almost 9 months since I had Opii! Gift from God! Yummy, yummy!

But this whole time, Natalia has not moved! She is like froze! Not moving. I finally come back to my senses and look at her. “These Opii are delicious. You got to try one!”
She is not moving.

Finally she dares to come down and look at one Opii close up. Then she looks at me. She looks at me the same way she was looking at the Opii. It isn’t good!

I try to appease her. “Hey, in Hawaii this is a rare delicacy. Opii is such a popular pu pu (snack or side dish) that only get very few left.”

This did not amuse her.

She scrunches up her face and walks away.

I’ll be there in a few minutes.

Our relationship some one survived this incident. And would you believe it? She now eats Opii lomi lomi (slightly boiled Opii, raw onions, diced tomatoes chill). She loves Poki, sashimi, Poi! She really likes Poi and poki! Who wouldn’t!

Only Ono!

Sunday, September 6, 2009

Auntie Jane's Pet Pig

Auntie Jane lived in Kaupo. I hope she still does. Her husband and son worked at the Kaupo Ranch. She drove down to the Kaupo road each afternoon to sale her home made ice cream and lunches to tourist from her Lunch Wagon.

I had moved from Maui in 1999 after having lived there since 1982. For the last several years before I moved I owned a motorcycle of which I rode out around Hana and Kaupo weekly. It was my get away for a day. No phones. I would leave early, just after 7 and take the whole day, just for myself. Drop down from Haiku to the Hana Hwy and roll out toward Hana. Usually before any road traffic to speak of.

Sunny rainy, it did not make any difference unless it was really a storm, I was off on my bike. Just me.

There are so many places around the back side of Hana that are of another world. I can’t go into them here as to do so would take a life time and if you really want to know about them, Please do them for yourself.

But this story is all about Auntie Janes Pet Pig.

Geeez!

I do not know if it was the first time I saw the picture or not but it certainly would get your attention. Not that it was any sorta picture that was large. It must have been taken with a Kodak Instamatic or the like. Just a 4 by 4. But it was there scotch taped to the inside of the window on her Lunch Wagon where you would place your order: pork burger, coffee and her home made ice cream. The photograph was of her standing out in the grass –probably her lawn and next to her was this animal. This very healthy wild boar as I told you. It’s back up to her waist. But it was not how tall it stood off the ground. It was the size of this animals head and its husks that literally grabbed all of your attention. You would almost stop looking at this photograph and it would suddenly dawn on you that the person in the picture was Jane and she was in the lunch wagon fixin your food and you were standing in the yard, a similar yard as in the picture and you would start to wonder, ‘Juz were is dis animal?’ Here about?

“Hey Jane! I have a question. Where is this boar that is in the picture with you?”

“Well, that is an interesting story. I ‘ll share it with you while we eat.”

“I’d like to hear about it. He isn’t going to join us is he?”

She’d laugh.

‘Well, is he?’

“Don’t worry!”

Yeah, well, ‘Don’t worry’, in Hawaiian meant, ‘keep your eyes open!’

I’d look around the yard for any tail tail signs.

Jane would call out and say, ‘Well here ya go.’ She’d set your meal in front of you on the table and sit down across from you with her cup of coffee. The mountain above us and the breathtaking Kaupo Gap.

‘So you were going to tell me about that boar.”

“Oh yeah! Well, my husband and son hunt and they would go out at dusk and wait for boars to come out of the bush at dusk. They shot that boar’s Mom that you see in the picture. When they went over to pick it up they discovered that she had a keiki with her. The one that you see in that picture. Well they couldn’t just leave it there. So they put it in the back of their pickup and drove home with it. I raised it. As it grew up it had a fondness to me like a baby to its Mom. It became my pet. But it also became kind of a custodian for me as well. It would have nothing to do with my husband or son. So we kept it in a pin. My husband and son would go off to work the ranch in the morning and I might go out and do the laundry or some gardening and let the boar out. He would grub around the yard.

Well he got as big as you see in that picture. I feed him well.

One day my husband and son left and I was out hanging laundry in the back of the house. The boar was out in the yard. My husband had come back to the house for something that he forgot. He walked through the gate toward the house and suddenly stopped head in his tracks.

The boar had him in his sights. My husband had two choices. The front door of our house or over the fence. He choose the front window. He came out the front door with one of his guns. That was the end of my pet pig.”

“Wow”

“How do you like him? Is he good?”

A Cup and A Spoon

Backpacking

A cup and a spoon

Don’t they go together?

I am sure that most people have a favorite cup. A spoon? Maybe not, but maybe. Definitely a favorite cup. I have had several favorite cups. I think that it has been the microwave that has ended their structural integrity. One day they just broke. Sometimes not pleasantly.

But this is not about microwaves. This is about a cup and spoon and backpacking. We had bought on purpose metal cups for our trip. For metal cups they were nice. A pleasant flower design. Backpacks can be subject to much more ware and tear and general abuse than your normal traveling gear.

I am writing this not on my behalf but on my better half. It is a point of contention that seems to have bridged pleasantries to general abuse in some sort of a tug of war, like ware and tear on raw nerves.

Okay, I made a mistake! The result is that I never pack my backpack again! Ever! Wouldn’t it be the perfect place for a spoon? Inside the cup? That way you would not have to, you know, look for either when you needed them. They were together. We marched to the jingle jangle, clink clank, bing bang, accompaniment of my spoon inside my cup on our first day of a very long, 16 hour day. But this day did not end without the divorce of one spoon and one cup. The only time from that first day of togetherness forward that the spoon and cup see each other is in the peaceful quietness in some bungalow or other rented room for the night as they sit on some table – apart! My spouse has made sure that they are never heard from again! I do not pack my backpack.