Well folks... interesting day today. On my way to work and for some reason there was lots of traffic, lots of police around my house - no idea why. As I entered the interstate, there were more police and what appeared to be rush hour traffic - but at 1130AM? Crazy! Anyway, it turned out to be a funeral procession. Then as I pulled into the parking center garage at work, set the e-brake, and turned off the car and noticed the car was still moving! Sometimes, my e-brake is loose especially if I park on hills. But this was flat parking and I couldn't figure out why the car was still moving - and the vehicles around me were also moving. Only lasted a few seconds. Didn't think anything of it.
Went to work and everyone was running out the doors, talking all animatedly. Still couldn't figure it out until I saw the television in the office. Earthquake. Hmmm. That wasn't so scary - kinda cool. Luckily, no one got hurt. The epi-center was alittle over an hour drive away. 5.4 magnitude.
So this has been the second earthquake for me while in SoCal. The first one was last fall when I had roommates. It had woken me up but I thought my roommates' cat kicked me. I think that one was 2.5 magnitude or something like that.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Sunday, July 13, 2008
bike night
Been having a great time riding around SoCal on my bike. Took a few pics. Ended up going to a bike night at a local restaurant.
West Hollywood
Malibu in the early morning. No people on the beach yet!
Bike night at Ricky & Ronnie's (a 50's themed restaurant). About 100 bikes showed.
One of the bikes at bike night - skull air filter on a 100 year anniversary road king.
Lots of towns next to each other. Went above to a hill to take a pic of refinery row - there are 6 oil refineries.
Ride out to Hell's Kitchen off of Highway 74.
Weekends are generally my ride day. There's getting to be lots of new bikers on the road due to the cost of fuel. Now instead of crazy automobile drivers, there are more crazy motorcyclists on the road.
West Hollywood
Malibu in the early morning. No people on the beach yet!
Bike night at Ricky & Ronnie's (a 50's themed restaurant). About 100 bikes showed.
One of the bikes at bike night - skull air filter on a 100 year anniversary road king.
Lots of towns next to each other. Went above to a hill to take a pic of refinery row - there are 6 oil refineries.
Ride out to Hell's Kitchen off of Highway 74.
Weekends are generally my ride day. There's getting to be lots of new bikers on the road due to the cost of fuel. Now instead of crazy automobile drivers, there are more crazy motorcyclists on the road.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
working lots
Been working an insomniac/ work-alcoholics dream. Still working as a courier and have been putting in 18-20 hour days. Just have enough time to go home shower, nap and return to do the same thing over and over. It's a good thing the vehicle is comfy since I spend so much time in it! On Saturdays, I'm usually on-call so even though I would love to sleep in I don't have the chance since I usually get called in. Sundays are strictly my day off... need at least one to go hang with friends and especially go for a bike ride.
The riding around here is very different than I'm used to which is riding for pure enjoyment purposes - enjoy the people your with, the ride, nice scenery, etc. People around here are always rushed and you have to drive extremely aggressive or crash. It just amazes me how many people drive in the middle of two lanes, cut you off then slam on their brakes all the while honking at you because you almost collide with them.
When I first got here, I read in the paper and heard on the news about biker accidents - people just fall off their bikes. Now, I'm thinking a gust of wind pops you off the bike but literally people fall off and have been run over by tailgaiters. Or drivers aim for you and I have no idea why. But crazy drivers here have been making me really cautious especially since the posted speed limit is 65mph but the flow of traffic is going 80-90mph. Yup, crazy! Whew!
The riding around here is very different than I'm used to which is riding for pure enjoyment purposes - enjoy the people your with, the ride, nice scenery, etc. People around here are always rushed and you have to drive extremely aggressive or crash. It just amazes me how many people drive in the middle of two lanes, cut you off then slam on their brakes all the while honking at you because you almost collide with them.
When I first got here, I read in the paper and heard on the news about biker accidents - people just fall off their bikes. Now, I'm thinking a gust of wind pops you off the bike but literally people fall off and have been run over by tailgaiters. Or drivers aim for you and I have no idea why. But crazy drivers here have been making me really cautious especially since the posted speed limit is 65mph but the flow of traffic is going 80-90mph. Yup, crazy! Whew!
Friday, June 13, 2008
Weekend Ride
Time is flying by so quickly. I thought I had written an update about that ride. Apparently not. So the ride was last Sunday. I just figured it out... I typed it up but forgot to publish it.
What a quick weekend! Arrived back in LA on Friday and met up with a friend early Saturday to go for a ride around the canyons. Sunday was the ride for diabetes – Rip’s BAD Ride. I thought it would be only a ride but come to find out, there were vendors and entertainment too. Spent almost the whole day there checking out other bikes, chrome bike parts and accessories, clothing and of course food. I went with some friends and this was their first biker event. We also got VIP passes since we had earned so much in donations. As a VIP, we received a denim vest with the Rip’s BAD Ride logo, t-shirt, sweatshirt, better parking spot (in the shade!) and BBQ. Thanks to those that contributed and making this possible!
This is a Boss Hoss. Whew! Such a nice bike...
Overall, I think I put on about 250 more miles on the bike. The rest of this month is booked as far as weekend rides. I seem to forget that I’m a distance rider - I like riding to far places so 100 miles here or there doesn’t seem like much… more like a breath of fresh air. In the meantime, I met another biker. Chatting with her I found out we starting riding around the same time – back in 2000. I was telling her I don’t ride very much since I travel a lot and my bike is in storage for a majority of the time. But when I do ride, it’s to distant places or an all day ride. For other bikes my age, I really should have double or triple the amount of miles on it so mine is still in real good shape with abit more than 22,000 miles. It was funny that she did a double take when I mentioned the miles. I know, I said… small amount. Then with a half grin, she said for 8 years old her bike only has 5,700 miles. Wow, that’s more like a dust collector! (Sometimes thoughts just slip out of my mouth).
Friday, June 06, 2008
mini roadtrip
Went on a mini roadtrip. Oh what fun and more stories! Had to go home and get my bike so what better way to move it, than to just ride it down to LA? So I flew to Washington on Tuesday and began my roadtrip Wednesday afternoon. Of course, I should have planned on a full day home to visit the parents but that thought really didn't occur to me when I was planning this trip. All I thought was I had to take the least amount of days off from work.
I had a late start and left in the afternoon rather than the morning. It was a really good thing, I had planned an 8 hour leg versus the first day to be 12 hours. Leaving at 1 pm, I had projected I would get to my hotel room around 9. I forgot about the highway construction which added a few more hours onto my already tardiness. I really wanted to arrive in the day time - I knew the mountains would be cold as soon as the sun set. How cold, I just didn't know. Plus, I didn't want it to rain, snow or hail since most of my roadtrips tend to attract these elements. In May, it snowed and hailed while I traveled this route via car. I planned on going the exact route since during the car ride, I completed a recon of the area and wrote down the roads I needed to take as well as refuel stations. I broke the trip down into 3 days - first day 8 hours, second day 8 hours and the third day with 5 hours.
Anyway, after the road construction and high winds, it took me about 2 1/2 hours to get the the first town. (Under normal conditions, it would only take 75 minutes)... plus it took half my tank of gas. I really had to find a better way to load my bags since it was causing alot of wind drag and causing horrible fuel economy. If it continued, I knew I wouldn't be able to make some of these distances since there are not any gas stations along certain points along this journey. I was seriously tempted to turn back and spend the night at the parents house. The only thing stopping me was the construction - I didn't want to sit through it a second time around. Anyhow, I had hotel reservations that were not flexible. I did call though to tell them it would be an extremely late check-in, perhaps 11pm.
The day was quite nice - dry roads, cloud covering... nice ride. Oh! It was also a time to road test some new items. During that last roadtrip from Texas to Washington my luggage bags didn't make it... so I got new ones. The old set were made of leather and when full extremely heavy. Whew! I know I grew some muscles on that trip carrying everything up and downstairs at various hotels along the way home. I had seen some new luggage bags with wheels and thought it was a fantastic idea. Normal people suitcases but compact enough to fit on a bike. So that is the one I got for this trip. It's sooo cool! You just roll it around to where ever you go - well, you know how wheeled luggage works so I won't explain. Really convenient.
Then my other new article was leather pants. I've been wearing chaps in the past and they work great all except a certain area on the body where it doesn't cover... and that part gets cold too. Or in other instances when it rains, everything is dry except that one area - yup, the groin area... last time I went to visit a friend whom thought I wet my pants. How embarrassing. So these leather pants work great! I really like it a lot.
I had my map holder too. I got it on my last roadtrip and it came in really handy. It's a clear plastic folder with four magnets on each corner. It sticks on the gas tank so you can insert a map or directions in the pouch and be able to reference it while riding instead of having to stop each time for further guidance or like in my past, put the directions in my helmet and have it fly out. I thought it was a great invention whomever made it. I thought I was all high-speed with this cool gadget too... until other bikers passed me and had a GPS system hooked up to their bike.
But on with the story... I went along my planned route and had some really great views - mountains, rivers, couple deer, birds, etc. It started getting alittle cold in the early evening then after the sun went down, it was downright freezing! The temperatures were in the low 50's but on a bike with the windchill factor, it's approximately 20 degrees less. I started going faster and faster. Surprisingly, I didn't see any police which made me even go faster. I thought the faster I got there, the faster I could warm up inside my room but whew! It was cold. My new mantra was 80 more miles... I can do this... I've been colder (as my teeth started chattering). Somehow, in the cold I miscalculated my mileage and the fuel stations. I forgot... small towns close early. I had to bypass several fuel stations since it was late (only 7pm!) and really thought I was going to run out of gas. 60 more miles to go... My previous fuel record was 127 miles so I knew I could last a bit longer but had to slow down to conserve on gas (then my hands and whole body started shivering). 40 more miles... it really was cold out. I could see my breath on my helmet face shield. More mantra... it's cold, but I've been colder (and in all actuality I have but I had a passenger and a full tank of gas). Finally, I saw a gas station as my bike hit 133 miles, in the red zone... and they were out of premium. 10 more miles to town with no idea where the hotel was. I didn't know if the regular gas would ruin my tank so I only got alittle bit - enough to get me into town to find an open gas station with premium. It took me a few minutes to get back on the bike... inside of the refuel station was nice and warm and by then I was shivering really really bad. So bad, I didn't know if I could make it the last 10 miles... so close but still so far and soooo cold and I already had on all my layers of clothing I brought with me. Finally made it to the hotel room around 930pm and sat in front of the heater for a few hours.
Needless to say, I slept good that night with the heater cranked on high.
Day 2
I left Kalamath Falls, Oregon and planned on staying in Gilroy, California for the night. The weather was suppose to be real nice although still cold - high 50's/ low 60's. There was frost on my bike and bundled up in everything I had when I left. During the ride, I kept having to stop to remove an article of clothing - it was hot out! I still had on a jacket but had to wear it since there wasn't any more storage space anywhere on the bike. Left around 9 and arrived at 530pm. Great day for a ride. Met up with some friends.
Pic of my bike - road ready... this was taken in Oregon during Day 2 ride. This is the only pic for my whole road trip.
Day 3
So this was the final day of my ride. Left Gilroy around 11 and arrived home at 430pm. Whew! I forgot it was Friday and rush hour traffic begins at noon. Still made it in good time though with dry roads and hot weather. I was really happy I got to ride on Pacheco Pass - it's a really great bike road with lots of curves. You can't help but to go fast.
I got to Tejon Pass, which is almost an hour away from Los Angeles, in the hills when I saw several fire trucks. I admit I was rubbernecking. Lots of semi-trucks on the road and I was just searching for a semi blazing with a smoke bellowing engine and fiery shrapnel all over the place but was disappointed. I did see several overheated cars on the road side (but that's normal). There were at least a dozen fire trucks on both sides of the highway. I kept looking side to side, left to right, right to left... nothing. Then for some reason I looked up. Oh... fire. The whole hillside was on fire! There were some spots that were charred black, other spots with smoldering smoke but lots of fire. Holy smokes! Now normally, I don't like driving fast on grooved pavement but after seeing fire, I laid down some rubber and took off. Scary... fire was just a few feet above the highway... all over! So I guess that wasn't LA smog but rather lots of smoke.
Lane splitting is legal in California. It's when motorcyclists ride in between the lanes. I did this a few times before when I lived in San Francisco and stuck in rush hour traffic. I stopped because my mirror hit an SUV mirror as I was driving between an SUV and another vehicle. Never did that again my whole time in SF.
I had thought this particular interstate had a carpool section the whole way home. Carpool is great since there is very little traffic in this lane. Everything was great until it ran out into regular traffic for about a 20 mile stretch. My choice was to remain in the stop and go traffic or lane split. So I thought it would be okay to lanesplit as traffic was moving... the California Highway Patrol motorcycle cops do it all the time and they have bigger bikes. There was another biker that was zipping long so I followed him and my stress level went up 110%. For the most part, people realize there is a biker and scoot over a tad. Drivers of big trucks, utility vehicles are nice enough to move over. I thought I came close several times to several cars but the cars that tried to block me from passing were the hybird/ electric car drivers. They would shift all the way to the line so I wasn't able to pass although I'd just move to the next lane. Finally, I came upon a bus... do I lane split with a bus and several large SUV's? The bus was taking up alot of space... I chickened out several times and this was only 10 miles into it. There was another biker lane splitting too right behind me. I ended up going into the next lane. That biker chickened out too and kept following me. After 20 miles, my nerves were fried and finally the carpool lane opened up again. Whew!
So now I'm home. The bike has enjoyed a bath and a nice wax job. It's road ready for tomorrow's ride... and on Sunday.
I had a late start and left in the afternoon rather than the morning. It was a really good thing, I had planned an 8 hour leg versus the first day to be 12 hours. Leaving at 1 pm, I had projected I would get to my hotel room around 9. I forgot about the highway construction which added a few more hours onto my already tardiness. I really wanted to arrive in the day time - I knew the mountains would be cold as soon as the sun set. How cold, I just didn't know. Plus, I didn't want it to rain, snow or hail since most of my roadtrips tend to attract these elements. In May, it snowed and hailed while I traveled this route via car. I planned on going the exact route since during the car ride, I completed a recon of the area and wrote down the roads I needed to take as well as refuel stations. I broke the trip down into 3 days - first day 8 hours, second day 8 hours and the third day with 5 hours.
Anyway, after the road construction and high winds, it took me about 2 1/2 hours to get the the first town. (Under normal conditions, it would only take 75 minutes)... plus it took half my tank of gas. I really had to find a better way to load my bags since it was causing alot of wind drag and causing horrible fuel economy. If it continued, I knew I wouldn't be able to make some of these distances since there are not any gas stations along certain points along this journey. I was seriously tempted to turn back and spend the night at the parents house. The only thing stopping me was the construction - I didn't want to sit through it a second time around. Anyhow, I had hotel reservations that were not flexible. I did call though to tell them it would be an extremely late check-in, perhaps 11pm.
The day was quite nice - dry roads, cloud covering... nice ride. Oh! It was also a time to road test some new items. During that last roadtrip from Texas to Washington my luggage bags didn't make it... so I got new ones. The old set were made of leather and when full extremely heavy. Whew! I know I grew some muscles on that trip carrying everything up and downstairs at various hotels along the way home. I had seen some new luggage bags with wheels and thought it was a fantastic idea. Normal people suitcases but compact enough to fit on a bike. So that is the one I got for this trip. It's sooo cool! You just roll it around to where ever you go - well, you know how wheeled luggage works so I won't explain. Really convenient.
Then my other new article was leather pants. I've been wearing chaps in the past and they work great all except a certain area on the body where it doesn't cover... and that part gets cold too. Or in other instances when it rains, everything is dry except that one area - yup, the groin area... last time I went to visit a friend whom thought I wet my pants. How embarrassing. So these leather pants work great! I really like it a lot.
I had my map holder too. I got it on my last roadtrip and it came in really handy. It's a clear plastic folder with four magnets on each corner. It sticks on the gas tank so you can insert a map or directions in the pouch and be able to reference it while riding instead of having to stop each time for further guidance or like in my past, put the directions in my helmet and have it fly out. I thought it was a great invention whomever made it. I thought I was all high-speed with this cool gadget too... until other bikers passed me and had a GPS system hooked up to their bike.
But on with the story... I went along my planned route and had some really great views - mountains, rivers, couple deer, birds, etc. It started getting alittle cold in the early evening then after the sun went down, it was downright freezing! The temperatures were in the low 50's but on a bike with the windchill factor, it's approximately 20 degrees less. I started going faster and faster. Surprisingly, I didn't see any police which made me even go faster. I thought the faster I got there, the faster I could warm up inside my room but whew! It was cold. My new mantra was 80 more miles... I can do this... I've been colder (as my teeth started chattering). Somehow, in the cold I miscalculated my mileage and the fuel stations. I forgot... small towns close early. I had to bypass several fuel stations since it was late (only 7pm!) and really thought I was going to run out of gas. 60 more miles to go... My previous fuel record was 127 miles so I knew I could last a bit longer but had to slow down to conserve on gas (then my hands and whole body started shivering). 40 more miles... it really was cold out. I could see my breath on my helmet face shield. More mantra... it's cold, but I've been colder (and in all actuality I have but I had a passenger and a full tank of gas). Finally, I saw a gas station as my bike hit 133 miles, in the red zone... and they were out of premium. 10 more miles to town with no idea where the hotel was. I didn't know if the regular gas would ruin my tank so I only got alittle bit - enough to get me into town to find an open gas station with premium. It took me a few minutes to get back on the bike... inside of the refuel station was nice and warm and by then I was shivering really really bad. So bad, I didn't know if I could make it the last 10 miles... so close but still so far and soooo cold and I already had on all my layers of clothing I brought with me. Finally made it to the hotel room around 930pm and sat in front of the heater for a few hours.
Needless to say, I slept good that night with the heater cranked on high.
Day 2
I left Kalamath Falls, Oregon and planned on staying in Gilroy, California for the night. The weather was suppose to be real nice although still cold - high 50's/ low 60's. There was frost on my bike and bundled up in everything I had when I left. During the ride, I kept having to stop to remove an article of clothing - it was hot out! I still had on a jacket but had to wear it since there wasn't any more storage space anywhere on the bike. Left around 9 and arrived at 530pm. Great day for a ride. Met up with some friends.
Pic of my bike - road ready... this was taken in Oregon during Day 2 ride. This is the only pic for my whole road trip.
Day 3
So this was the final day of my ride. Left Gilroy around 11 and arrived home at 430pm. Whew! I forgot it was Friday and rush hour traffic begins at noon. Still made it in good time though with dry roads and hot weather. I was really happy I got to ride on Pacheco Pass - it's a really great bike road with lots of curves. You can't help but to go fast.
I got to Tejon Pass, which is almost an hour away from Los Angeles, in the hills when I saw several fire trucks. I admit I was rubbernecking. Lots of semi-trucks on the road and I was just searching for a semi blazing with a smoke bellowing engine and fiery shrapnel all over the place but was disappointed. I did see several overheated cars on the road side (but that's normal). There were at least a dozen fire trucks on both sides of the highway. I kept looking side to side, left to right, right to left... nothing. Then for some reason I looked up. Oh... fire. The whole hillside was on fire! There were some spots that were charred black, other spots with smoldering smoke but lots of fire. Holy smokes! Now normally, I don't like driving fast on grooved pavement but after seeing fire, I laid down some rubber and took off. Scary... fire was just a few feet above the highway... all over! So I guess that wasn't LA smog but rather lots of smoke.
Lane splitting is legal in California. It's when motorcyclists ride in between the lanes. I did this a few times before when I lived in San Francisco and stuck in rush hour traffic. I stopped because my mirror hit an SUV mirror as I was driving between an SUV and another vehicle. Never did that again my whole time in SF.
I had thought this particular interstate had a carpool section the whole way home. Carpool is great since there is very little traffic in this lane. Everything was great until it ran out into regular traffic for about a 20 mile stretch. My choice was to remain in the stop and go traffic or lane split. So I thought it would be okay to lanesplit as traffic was moving... the California Highway Patrol motorcycle cops do it all the time and they have bigger bikes. There was another biker that was zipping long so I followed him and my stress level went up 110%. For the most part, people realize there is a biker and scoot over a tad. Drivers of big trucks, utility vehicles are nice enough to move over. I thought I came close several times to several cars but the cars that tried to block me from passing were the hybird/ electric car drivers. They would shift all the way to the line so I wasn't able to pass although I'd just move to the next lane. Finally, I came upon a bus... do I lane split with a bus and several large SUV's? The bus was taking up alot of space... I chickened out several times and this was only 10 miles into it. There was another biker lane splitting too right behind me. I ended up going into the next lane. That biker chickened out too and kept following me. After 20 miles, my nerves were fried and finally the carpool lane opened up again. Whew!
So now I'm home. The bike has enjoyed a bath and a nice wax job. It's road ready for tomorrow's ride... and on Sunday.
Monday, May 19, 2008
SoCal update
Now that I've been in SoCal for a few weeks, I think things are going okay. A friend of mine told me about an apartment nearby that was coming available. In the meantime, I crashed at a different friends house and began my training for work. I'm taking a break from the culinary world to try something totally different. I'm not sure how long of a break I'll be taking but it's kinda nice not working in the restaurant industry and having my evenings off to hangout with friends.
I did get my own apartment. It's huge (to me)! My friend and now neighbor keeps insisting I get a roommate since it's a 2 bedroom but I think I really like having my own place. It's quiet. Well, kind of. When I first moved in I thought there were some really noisy children living nearby. But it was daytime and there really was a kids birthday party going on next door. But 5 hours later, some kid sounded like they were being tortured and the birthday party was over... come to find out it's a parrot that likes to make noise - lots of noise.
There's a train too. The tracks are in the street in front. My friend had insisted the tracks were no longer used. Her family has been living there for 4 years and she hasn't heard the train in 3 years... hasn't seen it either. But in 2 hours, 5 trains passed by and they stop right in front of the apartment for about 10 minutes. But I think I'm getting used to it and hopefully I'll be at work when they do pass by in the future.
So I'm totally moved in. I just have to go back home to pick up my bike. ROADTRIP! I'm so excited about it. I'll be flying up there the beginning of June and riding it down. Then the day after I return, I'm going on a group ride (my previous blog about the diabetes ride). What fun! There are so many different rides and things to do around here. I doubt I'll have enough time to do everything but wow... so far this place is great.
I did get my own apartment. It's huge (to me)! My friend and now neighbor keeps insisting I get a roommate since it's a 2 bedroom but I think I really like having my own place. It's quiet. Well, kind of. When I first moved in I thought there were some really noisy children living nearby. But it was daytime and there really was a kids birthday party going on next door. But 5 hours later, some kid sounded like they were being tortured and the birthday party was over... come to find out it's a parrot that likes to make noise - lots of noise.
There's a train too. The tracks are in the street in front. My friend had insisted the tracks were no longer used. Her family has been living there for 4 years and she hasn't heard the train in 3 years... hasn't seen it either. But in 2 hours, 5 trains passed by and they stop right in front of the apartment for about 10 minutes. But I think I'm getting used to it and hopefully I'll be at work when they do pass by in the future.
So I'm totally moved in. I just have to go back home to pick up my bike. ROADTRIP! I'm so excited about it. I'll be flying up there the beginning of June and riding it down. Then the day after I return, I'm going on a group ride (my previous blog about the diabetes ride). What fun! There are so many different rides and things to do around here. I doubt I'll have enough time to do everything but wow... so far this place is great.
Thursday, May 08, 2008
Rip's BAD Ride
Planning on a bike ride next month - it's a ride for diabetes. I'm really excited about it since I haven't ridden with a group in a long while... just mostly solo. Anyway, this little blurp advertising is the website for our fundraising. Thanks y'all for your support.
+BAD.jpg)
Support Me in Rip’s B.A.D. Ride!
This year I will join hundreds of motorcyclists throughout the area as a participant of Rip’s B.A.D. Ride against diabetes. This fund-raising ride and festival supports the research, education and advocacy initiatives of the American Diabetes Association. Your donation will benefit the research, education and advocacy programs of the American Diabetes Association. No matter how small or large, your generous gift will help improve the lives of the more than 20 million Americans who suffer from diabetes, in the hope that future generations can live in a world without this disease. I am proud that each mile I ride, every dollar I raise will be used in the fight to prevent and cure diabetes and to improve the lives of all people affected by diabetes.
Thank you for making a generous contribution to this cause that is so important to me! Together, we can all make a difference! The link is: http://main.diabetes.org/site/TR/BADRide/BADRide55106?px=4170463&pg=personal&fr_id=5220&et=WG7-HnrwPvd2ou_Bi4-5OQ..&s_tafId=176113
About Rip’s B.A.D. Ride
The B.A.D Ride was started in Southern California by Rip Rose, a biker and photojournalist for "Easyriders," who wanted to bring the biker nation together in the fight against diabetes. Today, that dream is a reality. The caravans of riders will converge at our final festival site.Are you interested in joining me and the ADA in the fight against diabetes?
+BAD.jpg)
Support Me in Rip’s B.A.D. Ride!
This year I will join hundreds of motorcyclists throughout the area as a participant of Rip’s B.A.D. Ride against diabetes. This fund-raising ride and festival supports the research, education and advocacy initiatives of the American Diabetes Association. Your donation will benefit the research, education and advocacy programs of the American Diabetes Association. No matter how small or large, your generous gift will help improve the lives of the more than 20 million Americans who suffer from diabetes, in the hope that future generations can live in a world without this disease. I am proud that each mile I ride, every dollar I raise will be used in the fight to prevent and cure diabetes and to improve the lives of all people affected by diabetes.
Thank you for making a generous contribution to this cause that is so important to me! Together, we can all make a difference! The link is: http://main.diabetes.org/site/TR/BADRide/BADRide55106?px=4170463&pg=personal&fr_id=5220&et=WG7-HnrwPvd2ou_Bi4-5OQ..&s_tafId=176113
About Rip’s B.A.D. RideThe B.A.D Ride was started in Southern California by Rip Rose, a biker and photojournalist for "Easyriders," who wanted to bring the biker nation together in the fight against diabetes. Today, that dream is a reality. The caravans of riders will converge at our final festival site.Are you interested in joining me and the ADA in the fight against diabetes?
Friday, May 02, 2008
OC
I've moved back to SoCal. Took a few days to drive. Arrived yesterday afternoon.
In Washington - took a short cut. The road went on forever.
Mt. Shasta
San Francisco beach
In Washington - took a short cut. The road went on forever.
Mt. Shasta
San Francisco beach
chicken house
27 April 2008
Had a brief visit with the parents. Well, mom went to pick me up at the airport then the next day I dropped her off at the airport - she went on her own vacation. So just me chillin at the house by my lonesome since dad's always working. He had Sunday off so we built a chicken house (me supervising of course - I might've broken a nail or something! Just joking... someone had to take pictures.) Yup, he got some chickens and they had been living in the greenhouse but now that Spring has arrived they need a new home so he can begin planting.
Had a brief visit with the parents. Well, mom went to pick me up at the airport then the next day I dropped her off at the airport - she went on her own vacation. So just me chillin at the house by my lonesome since dad's always working. He had Sunday off so we built a chicken house (me supervising of course - I might've broken a nail or something! Just joking... someone had to take pictures.) Yup, he got some chickens and they had been living in the greenhouse but now that Spring has arrived they need a new home so he can begin planting.
And yes, that is a dog house back there... temporary shade until next Sunday when he can built some shelving and finish making the door.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Last of Hawaii
22 April 2008
So these past few days I’ve been playing a tourist. Went on an island tour and saw various beaches including the famous Northshore. It was very windy but nice beach. I was surprised it is still undeveloped and country. Diamond head was next up and whew! What a climb but the view was spectacular.
Ordinarily, I’m a chicken but I thought this would be interesting or at least be a good story to tell. I saw a brochure on swimming with sharks… then a friend of mine mentioned it and wanted to go. Since then, the though has been ruminating in my brain and well… I went. I was so nervous I didn’t sleep – the thought of swimming with sharks and flashes of the movie 'Jaws' kept coming to mind. It wasn’t as scary as my dreams since we snorkeled in a cage… when the sharks heard the boat motor and of course, the smell of breakfast they came swimming as fast as they could.
Dole plantation wasn’t as heart stomping but it was a good way to relax and see lots of pineapples. My roommate and I had a bet going on where pineapples grow – she said in the ground, I had said in trees. We were both wrong but we’d been debating about it for a good two months – since we met. I didn’t realize there were more than one kind of pineapple but there were some from Vietnam and Paraguay – there are 3,000 species and hundreds of hybrid of the bromeliad family. More interesting is that Dole, first started out as a fruit stand and became famous by canning pineapple for further distribution.
19 April 2008
I’ve been living on the ship for 2 months now. I signed off today – no more ship life. It’s a strange feeling from going from one extreme to the other. Living in small quarters and always being around people versus now, I have a hotel room all to myself. I think people have grown on me. I’m kinda lonesome. It’s a bit difficult to describe but I have always hungout with at least one person on board. On ship, I had two roommates so I was never alone in the room. In my free time, there was always someone that also wanted to go sight-seeing with me. Granted, it was different people but the fact that there were always people around just grew on me. Never was there a time of being alone since there was always something to see and someone to go with. Again, as in all my seasonal work I have met some really interesting people and glad I had the chance to know them.
Before, when I lived at the South Pole, the population was small at 265 and I felt a bit overwhelmed at times because of the lack of privacy – you were constantly around people (except for my day off where I became a hermit and remained in my jamesway.) Working 6 days a week at Pole was tough because I was not used to being around constant people. I am very fond of the Pole and would like to return someday – perhaps winter over but was concerned about the lack of being alone – strange as that may seem in an area that is secluded from civilization. I mean, if you wanted to not be around people there was no where to escape except your own room.
Now that I’ve worked 7 days a week for 2 months on ship, had total lack of space and privacy I feel that it has forced me to be more social and probably equip me better for another Pole experience or a place where there are always people present. While in training, my roommate was the social one and I was quite the introvert. I did get frustrated with all the people about and yearned for my own space. I have realized without any extroverts present, I tend to become quite the recluse. At Pole, I realized I have to force myself to talk to people just so I didn’t seclude myself. On ship, it was quite different. I didn’t have for force myself to talk to people – everyone was friendly enough for the most part. Ship life is good… I like most of the people. Granted there are 1,000 workers onboard but I only had contact with few whom have become friends.
The part I did not like about ship life is the actual job. It’s more like 85% cleaning and 15% making sushi, when I actually made it to the sushi bar. In the beginning, I was working in the bakery and these past two weeks I somehow turned into a prep cook pealing potatoes, carrots and whatever else that was not prepared or sent to a different restaurant to help out. The mentality on-ship is teamwork… teamwork is great only if everyone is working together. But a majority of the time, 20% of the crew would work while the remaining 80% did not, which grew extremely frustrating when the supervisor would get upset with the 20% working and not say anything to the 80%.
After I signed off the ship, two buddies came with me to hangout. We ended up going to Hanauma bay for snorkeling. The water current was a bit strong so I was a little nervous but with the reef so close, we were swimming in about 3-4 feet of water. There wasn’t as much fish as I thought there would be but I was still quite close to shore. Looking at the bay from above, we should have gone out farther. My mask kept fogging up so I couldn’t see and I think the fish knew I couldn’t swim so well since they would dart out of nowhere and swim right up to us then take off. I’m really glad my friends joined me even though it was only a few hours before they had to return to the ship.
Hanauma bay would be more of an all day trip but living and working on ship, crew only get a glance at the island and not even the touristy glance… for the most part, many crew only have time to go ashore for a quick trip to the mall for a bite of lunch, a quick trip for souvenirs, or a quick walk around – things that are only a few minutes away from port unless you get special permission to arrive at work late or leave early.
It didn’t occur to me until now, but I think there will be many things I will miss. Not only the friends I have made but also the ship motion – sea sickness finally went away but it’s nice to be lulled to sleep with the rocking motion of the boat… kinda like falling asleep in a hammock except more comfortable. It took some getting used to but I will miss working in a huge chunk of floating metal, living and working in a tight-knit community – the friends you make while onboard are quite close and even seeing the guests come in, chatting with them and finding out where they are from.
I doubt I will work for another cruise line but the opportunity to do so is an experience to remember. Furthermore, I can mark it off of ‘things to do in my lifetime’ checklist. So far, plans are to return to southern California. I have made some good friends there and I miss them.
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Hanauma bay
some friends joined me snorkeling at Hanauma bay.
Josie (on the left) works in the bakery - amazingly, she's trying out to summer at the South Pole.
Takita (right) works in the same restaurant as me - East meets West. Surprisingly, we went to the same culinary school in San Francisco... at the same time! We only lived a few blocks from each other but have never met before working on this ship.
getting ready to swim with sharks - at least we were in a cage.
to attract the sharks, they had couple of buckets of fish
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yikes, how scary! there was a great white in the area last month but these sharks are mostly silky, galapagos and a few tiger sharks... small for a shark but very big to me - all were bigger than 5 feet long.
tiki carver at the international market
.JPG)
view of Waikiki from Diamond head
.JPG)
waikiki sunset
state flower - the yellow hibiscus
.JPG)
.JPG)
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Dole plantation - lots of pineapples there
polynesian cultural center
.JPG)
rainbows were all over the place - this was in honolulu
old sugar mill
.JPG)
.JPG)
north shore
.JPG)
nuuapali lookout
chinaman's cap
.JPG)
halona blowhole
.JPG)
NCL: pride of america
So these past few days I’ve been playing a tourist. Went on an island tour and saw various beaches including the famous Northshore. It was very windy but nice beach. I was surprised it is still undeveloped and country. Diamond head was next up and whew! What a climb but the view was spectacular.
Ordinarily, I’m a chicken but I thought this would be interesting or at least be a good story to tell. I saw a brochure on swimming with sharks… then a friend of mine mentioned it and wanted to go. Since then, the though has been ruminating in my brain and well… I went. I was so nervous I didn’t sleep – the thought of swimming with sharks and flashes of the movie 'Jaws' kept coming to mind. It wasn’t as scary as my dreams since we snorkeled in a cage… when the sharks heard the boat motor and of course, the smell of breakfast they came swimming as fast as they could.
Dole plantation wasn’t as heart stomping but it was a good way to relax and see lots of pineapples. My roommate and I had a bet going on where pineapples grow – she said in the ground, I had said in trees. We were both wrong but we’d been debating about it for a good two months – since we met. I didn’t realize there were more than one kind of pineapple but there were some from Vietnam and Paraguay – there are 3,000 species and hundreds of hybrid of the bromeliad family. More interesting is that Dole, first started out as a fruit stand and became famous by canning pineapple for further distribution.
19 April 2008
I’ve been living on the ship for 2 months now. I signed off today – no more ship life. It’s a strange feeling from going from one extreme to the other. Living in small quarters and always being around people versus now, I have a hotel room all to myself. I think people have grown on me. I’m kinda lonesome. It’s a bit difficult to describe but I have always hungout with at least one person on board. On ship, I had two roommates so I was never alone in the room. In my free time, there was always someone that also wanted to go sight-seeing with me. Granted, it was different people but the fact that there were always people around just grew on me. Never was there a time of being alone since there was always something to see and someone to go with. Again, as in all my seasonal work I have met some really interesting people and glad I had the chance to know them.
Before, when I lived at the South Pole, the population was small at 265 and I felt a bit overwhelmed at times because of the lack of privacy – you were constantly around people (except for my day off where I became a hermit and remained in my jamesway.) Working 6 days a week at Pole was tough because I was not used to being around constant people. I am very fond of the Pole and would like to return someday – perhaps winter over but was concerned about the lack of being alone – strange as that may seem in an area that is secluded from civilization. I mean, if you wanted to not be around people there was no where to escape except your own room.
Now that I’ve worked 7 days a week for 2 months on ship, had total lack of space and privacy I feel that it has forced me to be more social and probably equip me better for another Pole experience or a place where there are always people present. While in training, my roommate was the social one and I was quite the introvert. I did get frustrated with all the people about and yearned for my own space. I have realized without any extroverts present, I tend to become quite the recluse. At Pole, I realized I have to force myself to talk to people just so I didn’t seclude myself. On ship, it was quite different. I didn’t have for force myself to talk to people – everyone was friendly enough for the most part. Ship life is good… I like most of the people. Granted there are 1,000 workers onboard but I only had contact with few whom have become friends.
The part I did not like about ship life is the actual job. It’s more like 85% cleaning and 15% making sushi, when I actually made it to the sushi bar. In the beginning, I was working in the bakery and these past two weeks I somehow turned into a prep cook pealing potatoes, carrots and whatever else that was not prepared or sent to a different restaurant to help out. The mentality on-ship is teamwork… teamwork is great only if everyone is working together. But a majority of the time, 20% of the crew would work while the remaining 80% did not, which grew extremely frustrating when the supervisor would get upset with the 20% working and not say anything to the 80%.
After I signed off the ship, two buddies came with me to hangout. We ended up going to Hanauma bay for snorkeling. The water current was a bit strong so I was a little nervous but with the reef so close, we were swimming in about 3-4 feet of water. There wasn’t as much fish as I thought there would be but I was still quite close to shore. Looking at the bay from above, we should have gone out farther. My mask kept fogging up so I couldn’t see and I think the fish knew I couldn’t swim so well since they would dart out of nowhere and swim right up to us then take off. I’m really glad my friends joined me even though it was only a few hours before they had to return to the ship.
Hanauma bay would be more of an all day trip but living and working on ship, crew only get a glance at the island and not even the touristy glance… for the most part, many crew only have time to go ashore for a quick trip to the mall for a bite of lunch, a quick trip for souvenirs, or a quick walk around – things that are only a few minutes away from port unless you get special permission to arrive at work late or leave early.
It didn’t occur to me until now, but I think there will be many things I will miss. Not only the friends I have made but also the ship motion – sea sickness finally went away but it’s nice to be lulled to sleep with the rocking motion of the boat… kinda like falling asleep in a hammock except more comfortable. It took some getting used to but I will miss working in a huge chunk of floating metal, living and working in a tight-knit community – the friends you make while onboard are quite close and even seeing the guests come in, chatting with them and finding out where they are from.
I doubt I will work for another cruise line but the opportunity to do so is an experience to remember. Furthermore, I can mark it off of ‘things to do in my lifetime’ checklist. So far, plans are to return to southern California. I have made some good friends there and I miss them.
.JPG)
Hanauma bay
some friends joined me snorkeling at Hanauma bay.
Josie (on the left) works in the bakery - amazingly, she's trying out to summer at the South Pole.
Takita (right) works in the same restaurant as me - East meets West. Surprisingly, we went to the same culinary school in San Francisco... at the same time! We only lived a few blocks from each other but have never met before working on this ship.
getting ready to swim with sharks - at least we were in a cage.
to attract the sharks, they had couple of buckets of fish
.JPG)
.jpg)
yikes, how scary! there was a great white in the area last month but these sharks are mostly silky, galapagos and a few tiger sharks... small for a shark but very big to me - all were bigger than 5 feet long.
tiki carver at the international market
.JPG)
view of Waikiki from Diamond head
.JPG)
waikiki sunset
state flower - the yellow hibiscus
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
Dole plantation - lots of pineapples there
polynesian cultural center
.JPG)
rainbows were all over the place - this was in honolulu
old sugar mill
.JPG)
.JPG)
north shore
.JPG)
nuuapali lookout
chinaman's cap
.JPG)
halona blowhole
.JPG)
NCL: pride of america
Thursday, April 10, 2008
fun stuff
7 Apr 08
First kiteboarding lesson was today. Didn’t get in the water but just learned how to fly the kite… stayed on the beach and still had fun. Forgot to use sun block on other areas besides my face and got burned abit – bright red is not a good color for me.
6 Apr 08
My first sea day… something happened to the ship engine and we were out of power for a bit. Luckily, we were still in the Honolulu port. We usually leave at 6PM but for some reason just noticed that the ship wasn’t moving at midnight and found out the engine had to get fixed before we could leave.
Anyway, instead of spending Sunday in Hilo, we’re skipping it altogether and going straight to Maui, spending all day traveling there. Apparently, engine failure occurs quite frequently and we were lucky we were in port.
4 Apr 08
Had the chance to go on an excursion this morning. It was great. I had a friend to go with me which made it even more fun. It was called mudbugs and waterfall tour which was basically going mudding in little dune buggies then washing off in a waterfall. It was such a nice day out but we finished right in time since it started raining about a ½ hour after we completed our trip although that would have been even more fun.
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First kiteboarding lesson was today. Didn’t get in the water but just learned how to fly the kite… stayed on the beach and still had fun. Forgot to use sun block on other areas besides my face and got burned abit – bright red is not a good color for me.
6 Apr 08
My first sea day… something happened to the ship engine and we were out of power for a bit. Luckily, we were still in the Honolulu port. We usually leave at 6PM but for some reason just noticed that the ship wasn’t moving at midnight and found out the engine had to get fixed before we could leave.
Anyway, instead of spending Sunday in Hilo, we’re skipping it altogether and going straight to Maui, spending all day traveling there. Apparently, engine failure occurs quite frequently and we were lucky we were in port.
4 Apr 08
Had the chance to go on an excursion this morning. It was great. I had a friend to go with me which made it even more fun. It was called mudbugs and waterfall tour which was basically going mudding in little dune buggies then washing off in a waterfall. It was such a nice day out but we finished right in time since it started raining about a ½ hour after we completed our trip although that would have been even more fun.
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Tuesday, April 01, 2008
sushi work
The other sushi cook I've been working with is going on his 5 week vacation this Saturday. This means, I am taking his position ordering all the fish, supplies and running around the ship trying to "borrow" items/ food that we need. Or haggling with the butcher downstairs insisting the ahi tuna is for the sushi bar and the executive chef told us to just go and get it without a requisition.
In the meantime, we got 2 new sushi people in last Saturday. One guy is the sushi bar supervisor who has worked on the other 2 NCL ships but never this one. (The other two ships make sushi in the back with the rest of the restaurant and the waitstaff deliver the food to the table - there is no sushi bar). So this open sushi bar with all-you-can-eat is really different for him. So the supervisor is implementing new procedures from the other ships so it's more familiar and convenient for him. The other guy worked on this ship before but doesn't like the sushi bar and wants to transfer to one of the other restaurants.
I guess working 55-57 hour weeks is too much. The supervisor got rid of one of the sushi cooks saying he couldn't make the rice correctly and now I'm only working 4 hours a day. The really frustrating part is the cruise passengers really enjoy sushi and the whole restaurant East meets West will be open for lunch - sushi bar, teppanyaki, shabu shabu and Asian fusion starting this Friday. The waitstaff has already been informed of this change and will be working more hours. Us sushi cooks found out about this information by looking at the calendar and eavsedropping on the waitstaff pre-dinner meeting and when asking about who will be working lunch have been informed that the restaurant opening is only a rumor. It's not set in stone just yet... so we have no idea who will be working the lunch schedule. But with one guy out of the sushi bar and the other leaving, there will only be 2 sushi chefs (me included) and the supervisor.
On the other hand, Disney cruiseline just bought this ship itinerary. It will be a few months to a year before they will take over and no longer be Norweigian Cruise Line. Guess we'll see what happens. I'm counting down the weeks... 6 more to go before returning to California. Whew!
In the meantime, we got 2 new sushi people in last Saturday. One guy is the sushi bar supervisor who has worked on the other 2 NCL ships but never this one. (The other two ships make sushi in the back with the rest of the restaurant and the waitstaff deliver the food to the table - there is no sushi bar). So this open sushi bar with all-you-can-eat is really different for him. So the supervisor is implementing new procedures from the other ships so it's more familiar and convenient for him. The other guy worked on this ship before but doesn't like the sushi bar and wants to transfer to one of the other restaurants.
I guess working 55-57 hour weeks is too much. The supervisor got rid of one of the sushi cooks saying he couldn't make the rice correctly and now I'm only working 4 hours a day. The really frustrating part is the cruise passengers really enjoy sushi and the whole restaurant East meets West will be open for lunch - sushi bar, teppanyaki, shabu shabu and Asian fusion starting this Friday. The waitstaff has already been informed of this change and will be working more hours. Us sushi cooks found out about this information by looking at the calendar and eavsedropping on the waitstaff pre-dinner meeting and when asking about who will be working lunch have been informed that the restaurant opening is only a rumor. It's not set in stone just yet... so we have no idea who will be working the lunch schedule. But with one guy out of the sushi bar and the other leaving, there will only be 2 sushi chefs (me included) and the supervisor.
On the other hand, Disney cruiseline just bought this ship itinerary. It will be a few months to a year before they will take over and no longer be Norweigian Cruise Line. Guess we'll see what happens. I'm counting down the weeks... 6 more to go before returning to California. Whew!
Luau - Kauai, Japanese garden, liliuokalani park - hilo
31 March 08
Went to Kihei today on the bus. I didn’t really know where to get off and it was not as big of a tourist area like Lahaina. This place had a lot of beaches and places to snorkel or fish. Got off the bus to look around for a bit but the ride was long and had to get back to work so I didn’t have much time to sight-see.
30 March 08
Walked a little around Hilo and saw Banyan Drive – it’s a street lined with banyan trees all planted in the 1930’s by famous people like Baby Ruth, Amelia Earhart, Charles Lindbergh, Cecil DeMille, etc. These trees are about 70 years old… the one in Lahaina was from 1830’s and was huge. It took up a whole block – the trees dangle out their branches which act like roots and grow where ever the branch goes.
Today’s work was quite funny. We’ve been ordering unagi sauce the past few days but it hasn’t show up (it is sauce we put on the eel – it’s kind of like teriyaki sauce). We figured the executive chef looked over our requisition and cancelled the order. Since there are 10 restaurants on the ship and everyone’s orders get cut, there has been a lot of stealing. Other cooks from other restaurants will come to our restaurant and take whatever they need and vice versa. One night we actually ran out of soy sauce – there were just none to give to the customers… yes, it a sushi bar where soy sauce it a bit mandatory. We ended up going to the buffet upstairs and “borrowing” theirs.
But anyway, on with the story… so we haven’t been receiving our unagi sauce. Again, we ran out of soy sauce and one of the wait staff went upstairs to the buffet to find more. In addition to the soy sauce, he also found 3 gallons of unagi sauce. Ok, so the upstairs buffet doesn’t use this sauce for anything but the hilarious part was that it was found in the tea cupboard where the ice tea concentrate is kept. Apparently, people have been taking our restaurant unagi sauce thinking it as the ice tea concentrate for iced tea. They do look exactly alike even the label except one says tea concentrate and the other unagi sauce.
Our restaurant manager was debating whether to pass on the message of unagi used as tea. Perhaps that’s why the guests have been complaining the ice tea doesn’t taste very good. Anyway, he called to inform the chef who then had to taste all the ice tea and dump them.
28 March 08
Worked the breakfast omelet station in the morning then had the rest of the day off. I had the chance to attend the luau in Kauai. There was dinner, dessert and a show – all sorts of hula dancing. The best part, I thought was the dancing with fire. I got a few pictures and a short video.
My roommate decided to get a tattoo. She had set up an appointment for today. I was trying to scare her and say she was going to cry it would hurt really bad since she wanted it located on the back of her neck on the spine. So much for that since she giggled… guess it didn’t hurt but rather tickled. Perhaps she’s a bit of a masochist.
banyan trees
hilo was hit in the early 1920's by tsunami and lava - this area kept getting destroyed.
Japanese garden
Luau
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.JPG)
fire dancing movie
Went to Kihei today on the bus. I didn’t really know where to get off and it was not as big of a tourist area like Lahaina. This place had a lot of beaches and places to snorkel or fish. Got off the bus to look around for a bit but the ride was long and had to get back to work so I didn’t have much time to sight-see.
30 March 08
Walked a little around Hilo and saw Banyan Drive – it’s a street lined with banyan trees all planted in the 1930’s by famous people like Baby Ruth, Amelia Earhart, Charles Lindbergh, Cecil DeMille, etc. These trees are about 70 years old… the one in Lahaina was from 1830’s and was huge. It took up a whole block – the trees dangle out their branches which act like roots and grow where ever the branch goes.
Today’s work was quite funny. We’ve been ordering unagi sauce the past few days but it hasn’t show up (it is sauce we put on the eel – it’s kind of like teriyaki sauce). We figured the executive chef looked over our requisition and cancelled the order. Since there are 10 restaurants on the ship and everyone’s orders get cut, there has been a lot of stealing. Other cooks from other restaurants will come to our restaurant and take whatever they need and vice versa. One night we actually ran out of soy sauce – there were just none to give to the customers… yes, it a sushi bar where soy sauce it a bit mandatory. We ended up going to the buffet upstairs and “borrowing” theirs.
But anyway, on with the story… so we haven’t been receiving our unagi sauce. Again, we ran out of soy sauce and one of the wait staff went upstairs to the buffet to find more. In addition to the soy sauce, he also found 3 gallons of unagi sauce. Ok, so the upstairs buffet doesn’t use this sauce for anything but the hilarious part was that it was found in the tea cupboard where the ice tea concentrate is kept. Apparently, people have been taking our restaurant unagi sauce thinking it as the ice tea concentrate for iced tea. They do look exactly alike even the label except one says tea concentrate and the other unagi sauce.
Our restaurant manager was debating whether to pass on the message of unagi used as tea. Perhaps that’s why the guests have been complaining the ice tea doesn’t taste very good. Anyway, he called to inform the chef who then had to taste all the ice tea and dump them.
28 March 08
Worked the breakfast omelet station in the morning then had the rest of the day off. I had the chance to attend the luau in Kauai. There was dinner, dessert and a show – all sorts of hula dancing. The best part, I thought was the dancing with fire. I got a few pictures and a short video.
My roommate decided to get a tattoo. She had set up an appointment for today. I was trying to scare her and say she was going to cry it would hurt really bad since she wanted it located on the back of her neck on the spine. So much for that since she giggled… guess it didn’t hurt but rather tickled. Perhaps she’s a bit of a masochist.
banyan trees
hilo was hit in the early 1920's by tsunami and lava - this area kept getting destroyed.
Japanese garden
Luau
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.JPG)
fire dancing movie
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