08/30 - everybody clap & cheer  for me.  i've just completed my 1st week back in school w/o going insane .  yes , that was an accomplishment.  the only rant  i need to do 'bout being back @ UH-Manoa is my Chinese 101 class.  it's an intro. course to Mandarin, & i've been having problems absorbing everything being taught in class .  'bout 1/2 or more of my classmates have some experience in learning or knowing Chinese, so they're flying through the course right now .  what the hell ?!!  let's get this right peoples--it's a freakin' intro. course for those who don't know any Chinese !!  i guess  they only know a little bit of Mandarin, but don't know how to write Chinese characters.  still it annoys me because their knowing it so well let the proffessor move in a faster pace w/ the "easy stuff".  i feel so dumb  in that class.  it's like i'm the only 1 who's stumbling over the right pronunciation & spelling.  i need help!  i really enjoy learning Chinese, but my classmates intimidate me w/ their knowledge.  plus, i have the hardest time just trying to pronounce my chinese name.  ain't that really pathetic ?  oh yeah, the Warrior football team's 1st game of the season is tomorrow against Eastern Illinois.  gO wArriOrs!! then there's the 3-day weekend to look forward to thanks to Labor Day this coming Monday, which also happens to be my 19th b-day.  that's right , i'm getting a year older .  i usually don't plan anything special to celebrate my b-day, but i'll be having a little get-together w/ my friends on Sunday @ the restaurant to celebrate.  i think  it'll turn out fun --hopefully.  i wanna share something w/ y'all.  i read a very amusing letter in the August 29th issue of the Honolulu Advertiser in the "Letters to the Editor" page concerning the upcoming Warrior f-ball season.  let me share it w/ you, alright ?  here it is:
= UH Warrior football as Abe might have seen it =   Four years and many scores ago, our fathers brought forth onto these Islands a new football coach conceived to pass and dedicated to the proposition that speed kills.  Now we are engaged in a new season, testing whether this coach & his team so conceived & so dedicated can long endure.  We are met on a great football field of this season.  We have come to dedicate a portion of this field, as a final resting place for the Cougars, the Bulldogs, the Broncos & our other fallen foes.  It is altogether fitting & proper  that we should do this.
   The polls may little note, nor long remember what we say here, but we, the fans, will long remember what they do here.  It is for us the fans, rather, to be dedicated to the unfinished work which those who struggled here have thus far nobly advanced.
   It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us that from these honored athletes we take increased devotion to that cause for which they give the full measure of their devotion that we here highly resolve that this season shall not go down in vain ... a winning season & a bowl berth.
 ~ Les Omura ~ 


08/27 - it's my cousin Khai's birthday so...Happy 21st b-day khai  !!!

 
08/26 - whew !! what a tiring  1st day of school. it actually went better than expected. i didn't have such a hard time finding the building & the class, but was exhausted by the walk from 1 side of the campus to the other side, then back to that side again---each within 10 minutes .  sheesh , i had to walk up 5 flights of stairs to get to my 3rd class, Political Science 110, instead of waiting w/ the crowd for the elevator that took forever to come down .  i met this nice guy, Aaron, in that class since we had to pair up & "get to know each other" & introduce each other to the rest of the class--which went smoothly.  my 1st class of the day was Phil 101, & the 2nd class was Chinese 101.  my Chinese professor  started the lessons immediately after he walked in.  things were going so fast that whatever he said went in 1 ear & went out in the other ear, but i found it enjoyable  & very interesting nonetheless.  however, there was this guy in the class that sounded like a chipmunk when he had to repeat or respond to the professor...ha ha !  anyway, i just came back from buying all my books for my classes.  damn are they expensive !!  i guess  that means i better get off my a$$ & actually use them this year.  i should crack open 1 of those books now to read.


08/25 - wow , i didn't even know school was starting back up tomorrow until my older sis mentioned it to my mom--LOL .  i wonder how that'll go ?  damn, i've got classes 1 after another, too.  i've got 'bout 10 min. to get from each class, & they're on the opposite side of campus.  can you believe that ?!  hopefully i'll find my classes easily.  geez, i'm about to start my 2nd year @ UH-Manoa--what a scary thought .  my day today...it was slow @ the restaurant 'cause of the Brunch on the Park @ Kapiolani Park in Waikiki, so we closed the restaurant for a little while to go buy some things @ Costco.  (my father stayed back to take care of some things & any customers that may walk in.) that was fun .  my mom, older sis, & i bought soo much food.  ha ha ..i'm going to get fatter now.  we returned to the restaurant to find the creepy customer there.  ugh , i don't  like him.  he comes in almost everyday & order the same thing, but he doesn't talk very much, stares @ us alot, & gives off this creepy vibe.  whenever he says something, it's a snippy remark on something that's unrelevant to anything, & he never leaves a tip !!!  he only recently gave me a tip, but i'm the only 1 he gives .  i don't know.  he's a freaky old guy who only owns 3 outfits, which he wears the same 1 everyday for a week.  i gotta go prepare for school now...


08/21 - [sniff sniff]  my friend Shan is leaving tomorrow to go back to Colorado to resume college .  i'm actually very happy  that i don't have to see her again until next summer.  i'm only kidding Shan .  you know i'll miss you terribly (especially our usual banter w/ each other.  it's not the same w/  anybody else ), & i can't go on living w/o you .  ha ha ..was that enough to boost your self-confidence ??  alright Shan, i'll stop all this joking & get to the gritty details of my day.  last night my friends & i got together @ Gyotaku, where my friend Brandi works, to have dinner 'cause Shan's leaving.  the food i ate (oyaku-jyu & futomaki california roll) was very delicious . it's amazing of how much Shan & her older sis Shannon are so alike !!  we took a lot of pictures there, & hung out in the parking lot for a while after dinner.  we then went to Hawaiian Brian's Billards to play pool & games.  i didn't join them in the pool game, but i did play a couple of driving games w/ Shan.  that was soo fun !  when i checked on my friends @ their pool table, i realized my neighbors were playing @ the 2  pool tables right next to ours.  what a coincidence.  my friends & i hung out there all night, especially 'til it reached midnight because it became Ben's B-day.  so...Happy 19th birthday Ben  !! now on to today.  it was like other days except that i finally got the chance to go to the library & borrow some books to read. yes !  however, i may be going back to the restaurant again later 'cause my older sis has a Grad party attend @ Oceans.  besides that, i'm just extremely tired  & looking forward to just chilling @ home in front of the t.v. 'cause i need some rest.


08/19 - Happy 19th birthday Brandon  !!!  sorry i haven't gotten you a gift yet...


08/18 - it was such a crazy  day for me.  i started the morning being extremely tired  from last night due to Brandon & Ben's B-day hotel party @ the Pagoda Hotel.  i had a good  time.  ha ha , we walked to Ward to get some dessert @ Cold Stone--that's crazy !!!  today i worked @ the restaurant, & my wonderful friends came down to eat .  a little later, my older sis came down to switch w/ me for awhile 'cause of a dinner she had to go to.  then my mom told me to go home 'cause it was slow, & that she'd call me when she needs me.  however, i had do the laundry, but i never got a chance to.  @ 3 p.m. i went to the back of the house to the "laundry room" to start up the washing machine before i got the clothes to stuff it in.  i forgot  to unlock it from the inside, & ended up getting locked out when a wind blew it shut .  so i was stranded in the back room w/ no way to get back in, & no 1 home to open to unlock the door for me . i pried the screen of the window open, but was unable to open it 'cause it was hooked tight . plus, i got a nasty  scratch right below my mouth from a hanger that fell on me while i was trying to clear things from the window.  the only solution left was to either break the window or wait there 'til my older sis comes home to get ready for her dinner.  i decided to wait--for 2 1/2 hours !!  then i drove back down to the restaurant to drop-off my older sis for her dinner, but i ended up working again 'cause it got busy.  that's where i stayed for the rest of the night.  i'm now home even more extremely tired , but somehow have the energy to type this.  ugh , i'm pooped .  i'm going to get some much needed sleep  now.


08/16 - today was pretty okay.  i bought 2 cute shirts @ Everblue casuals today , so i won't be shopping for a long time.  my older sis, younger bro, & i also rented a DVD @ Blockbuster.  it's called Brother.  the plot has something to do 'bout a Japanese Yakuza hooking up w/ some tough African-American thugs in Los Angelas.  i haven't watched it, so i don't know if it's good. the plot sounds a bit funky ya ? well, tomorrow is my friends' b-day party @ the Pagoda Hotel. hopefully that'll be fun .  until then.....  i'm gonna to go watch the korean drama Since We Met now.


08/12 - i'm enraptured by another book.  ha ha ..that's getting more common these days.  once again it's another asian-themed fiction .  Bittersweet is written by Leslie Li.  @ 1st i borrowed it from the library for my older sist to read, but i didn't think  it seemed  interesting or different from any of the other books i've read or movies i've seen.  it was a "read that, seen that" kind of thing for me, so i thought i'd forego reading it.  i was definately wrong after reading it out of boredom @ the restaurant.  i'm 1/2 way through w/ the book, & i've already gotten teary-eyed  reading it.  don't laugh  @ me.  i'm a very emotional  person--ha ha !  here's what Bittersweet is 'bout: It's based on the life of Leslie Li's paternal grandmother--wife of the 1st democratically-elected vice president of China & briefly acting president.  Bittersweet recounts her 100-year odyssey as a headstrong Chinese peasant woman who escapes infanticide & poverty while enduring patriarchy & revolution to become the wife of the 2nd most powerful man in China.  She was a highly respected & capable figure.  From the demise of China's last imperial dynasty in 1911 to the government's suppression of the 1989 student demonstrations in Tiananmen Square, Bittersweet survives personal tragedies & national upheavals w/ her characteristic forbearance, compassion, & wisdom.  She also preserves family ties & traditions, customs & culture, & prevails to see her family safe & together again.  (taken & altered from a website which could be found by clicking on the picture on the right)  Bittersweet's life gives me a glimpse of what it must've been like during a most tumultuous century.  the point i'm @ in the book, i really hate  her husbund Delin.  ugh , how could he take on a 2nd wife (concubine) just 'cause it's custom for a high ranking officer to show his rank & prestige (& w/ needs that need to be taken care of since she doesn't like to travel & is busy taking care of their son Youlin).  sheesh , what a BS excuse. i hate  how he neglects his wife, but she's wise & understanding in the old ways of the Chinese which a wife obediently obeys her husband. still it's frustrating ! how could he go to America w/ the concubine acting as the 1st wife--leaving Bittersweet unable to get a Visa, only 1 wife under the law.


08/11 - today is the last day of the week, & it was a pretty good 1 for me .  yesterday i went w/ my friends to watch  XXX @ Ward.  We ended up eating @ Zippy's later.  wow , XXX was a very action-packed, exciting, & thrilling movie-- especially w/ Vin Diesel .  i think  it was the best movie i've seen this summer.  actually, XXX was like a James Bond movie for the younger generation.  well, that's what i thought .  here's a little synopsis of XXX:
Synopsis: Xander Cage (a.k.a. "X") is a notorious underground thrill-seeking adrenaline junkie who is deemed as being untouchable by the law w/ no fear & a lousy attitude.  When the U.S. Government "recruits" him to go on a mission by NSA Agent Gibbons, he's not exactly thrilled.  His mission is to cooperate w/ the government to infiltrate an underground Russian crime organization called Anarchy 99 to avoid going to prison.  the information "X" gathers is the planning of the destruction of the world, led by the Anarchy 99 leader Yorgi.  it is a dangerous covert mission where other conventional spies have failed in which he must succeed in combatting a clever, organized, & ruthless enemy far beyond the scope of his experience.  (found & altered from imdb.com)then tonight i'm gonna try watch the persoid meteor shower from my house. i wanna see lots & lots of shooting stars.  hmm..you think i'll get to see lots???


08/08 - yipee !! 3 of my friends came to eat @ the restaurant today.  ha ha ..it's like they come @ least once every few weeks--so nice of them ya ?  tomorrow i'll be working in the evening instead of the morning 'cause my older sis has a dinner to go to. i'm watching Flipped on MTV right now. it's the episode 'bout the 2 people who street race. i personally think people who street race are stupid & pathetic  sheesh , they're not only just putting themselves in danger, but also innocent people who are also driving on the road--probably going home where their family is waiting for them from a hard day @ work.  they find the few seconds of racing on a public open road as an adrenaline rush--not only 'cause they're racing @ 100 mph+, but also 'cause they're breaking a law. hey, if they wanna do that & kill themself--go jump off a cliff & get it over w/ . why put others in danger who have nothing to do w/ you ? geez ,go to the tracks & race where it's safer & the environment is controlled . ugh just had to get that out of my system.


08/06 - i just came back from going out w/ my friends.  we had dinner @ Bravo (an italian restaurant) near Pearlridge.  the garlic bread they served us were delicious !!  however, the ravioli wasn't soo good .  after we ate we split up in 2  groups--some went dancing @ Cafe Sistina & the others (including me ) went to visit a friend @ his new apartment.  his place was much nicer that what i had envisioned--it's cute & looks like a hotel room. well, i had a good time in the end. it's been awhile since i've been w/ all the girls @ 1 place @ the same time .  we had to get together sooner or later 'cause our summer break is ending, & we'll be going back to concentrating on college & work.  2 girls are going back to the states to resume school, so we don't have much time left to all hang out.  alright, i'll be going to sleep  now.


08/05 - i finished reading The Hundred Secret Senses by Amy Tan very early morning today..hee hee . i got caught up in the book, & stayed up really late to finish it. i really enjoyed  the book, & found it very intriguing--different from anything i've ever read . the plot is 'bout Kwan, Olivia's older half-sister from China which claims she has yin eyes  (the ability to see & talk to dead people). throughout the time Kwan & Olivia have been together, she tells her a story 'bout the people of the Hakka tribe of Changmien in China, who are pestered by a group of foreign missionaries & threatened by the conquering Manchus. then there's Olivia's deteriorating marriage w/ her husband Simon because of her hate & jealousy towards his late girlfriend Elza.  when fate brings Kwan, Olivia, & Simon to China, much are revealed & learned by all 3.  i thought  the ending of The Hundred Secret Senses was bittersweet . it was great  how Olivia got the paranoia 'bout Elza, & got back together w/ Simon . Olivia learned to appreciate Kwan just before she disappeared in the cave. that part was sad .


08/04 - it's Sunday.  i finished reading One Hundred & One Ways by Mako Yoshikawa a couple of days ago, & began reading The Hundred Secret Senses by Amy Tan, author of The Joy Luck Club (1 of my fav. movies  ).  the ending of One Hundred & One Ways was a bit of a let down for me . throughout the book, it was a building of a climatic meeting between Kiki & her grandmother, a former Geisha, whom would provide the answers to her many ?s  relating her relationship w/ fiancee Eric  & dead 1st-love Phillip .  in the end, her Grandmother decided to stay back in Japan & go back being a Geisha.  therefore, Kiki & her mother would be going to Japan to visit her. Kiki ended up figuring things out by herself of what & who she wanted while awaiting her trip to Japan.  all this talk 'bout meeting her Grandmother came to nothing in the end. i was so mad  there was nothing written 'bout Kiki meeting her Grandmother for the 1st time. this special bond between their similar predicament of the men they loved was just hype for the meeting that never happened .  ugh !!!  whatevers, i moved on to the next book already.  so far it's quite good & has kept me entertained during the slow periods @ the restaurant .  if you haven't figured it out yet, i've recently gotten into reading Asian-Fiction.  i don't know, they're interesting & i can relate to it easily 'cause there's the Asian connection.  plus, it's good to learn 'bout my culture & explore others.  sounds like a bunch of Bull$hit, huh ??


08/01 - today was the 1st day of school for many little kids & high schoolers 'round the state of Hawaii, including my younger bro.  however, i won't be starting school for another 2  weeks.  my summer break is coming to an end soon .  it's kinda good to get back in school & get busy.  i'm promising myself to study harder, but we'll have to see 'bout that.  wow , we're in the 2nd half of the year already--damn.  aye, that means my birthday is a month & 1 day away . oh no..i'm turning 19 soon . besides that, i've recently gotten caught up in reading One Hundred & One Ways by Mako Yoshikawa.  the book is 'bout: Japanese-American Kiki Takehashi (a.k.a Yukiko) who's engagedto the young, handsome  Caucasian New York lawyer Eric, but she's haunted by the mourning of her earlier love Phillip (who died in a mountaineering accident in Nepal, India).  she fears Eric is attracted to her because of a Asian-Woman fetish.  not only that, she feels a kinship w/ her grandmother Yukiko (a former geisha), whom she's named afteryet have never met. while Kiki is conflicted w/ her 2 loves, she awaits the imminent visit of her grandmother to America w/ eagerness that she'll provide the answers to the many questions she's anxious to ask. i'm 1/3 done w/ the book