08/31 - yesterday was a blast !!  i went to the season opening game of the University of Hawaii football team against NCAA division 2 Appalachian St. @ Aloha Stadium yesterday.  that was the 1st collegiate football game i've ever attended, & it was quite an experience .  i went to the game w/ my older sis & 3 of her sorority sisters. the kick-off of the football game was @ 6:05 p.m., but we arrived @ Aloha Stadium around 3 p.m. for the KEO frat boy's tailgate party.  it was an interesting sight of people out in the parking lot bar-b-quing, playing football, & getting drunk .  LOL ...the KEO frat boys took off their shirts & had the girls paint the "H" logo on their chest while 2 of my older sis's sorority sisters had hawaiian-style tatoo armbands painted around their arms.  boy, they had a lot of school spirit.  i must say, those boys must've been the best decorated Warrior fan in the stadium .  now on to the game...it was fantastic ! UH won 40-17 w/ Jason Whieldon as quarterback instead of our Heisman trophy candidate Timmy Chang due to a 1-game suspension on failing academic requirements.  Whieldon played a great game--you wouldn't have know he was a replacement by the way he played.  the highlight of the game for me was seeing Ross Dickerson run 100 yards for a touchdown on a kick-off return.  that run blew me away , & really electrified the Warrior fans in the stadium to get on their feet & cheer .  after 6 years of having watched the UH football games on t.v., & now having attended 1 of their games @ the stadium....i'm blown away by the talent.  i hope i'll have another chance to go to another football game this season.


08/27 - HAPPY 22ND BIRTHDAY KHAI !!


08/25 - today was the 1st day of school for me. it went better than expected . i went into the 3 classrooms hoping i was in the right room for the course i registered for. tomorrow i've got my Chem 151 class & the lab. luckily, i know some peeps in my CHN 211 (inter. Mandarin convo.), & i have 1 of my older sis's sorority sister in my Com 201 class. my AMST 202 class, so far, is filled w/ young freshmens & unknowns.  now that i've got the 1st day of school behind me, i think  i'm going to do good this fall semester.  i'm so happy  my classes don't require me to buy so much books.  most of the required novels i need to read can be borrowed from the library.  now i'm off...



08/24 - last night i went to Waterfront w/ my friends. we all gathered @ the Jamba Juice in Kapahulu, & then drove down to the club.  the place was really packed.  i expected it would be since it was the last weekend before school starts for college students.  all my friends & the 2 guys from Nebraska was @ Waterfront.  i had a lot of fun  dancing & chatting w/ friends.  i went home @ 2 a.m. instead of the usual 3 or 4 a.m. 'cause i had to wake up early today to go w/ my mom to the swap meet.  as i walked from Waterfront Cafe to the front of Aloha Towers to pick up the car @ the valet service, i noticed a group of 'bout 7-10 girls looking down @ the ground.  as i passed them, i saw a girl laying on the floor obviously unconcious  w/ her friend holding her head up w/ the security guard next them.  i could see vomit all over the ground & on the girl.  it was such a nasty sight.  after 'bout 10 mins., 2 ambulance vans & 2 cops arrived.  the unconcious  girl was put on the stretcher.  anyway...my mom woke me up today to go to the swap meet, but later decided not to 'cause it was raining really hard.  so now i'm just going to spend my last day of summer vacation chilling @ home .


08/23 - i went to Venus last night w/ my older sis & her friend 'cause they were taking out a friend from the mainland.  i didn't feel like going to a cramped place in a smokey atmosphere, but i went anyways 'cause my sis asked.  to my surprise , i met Kelsey, Anna, Jodi, & her boyfriend @ Venus.  i had no idea they were going down there, & it was the 1st time i've seen Jodi in a year i think .  she's back from Oregon, & will be on the island for a month. i had an okay time @ Venus.  i danced for a little while, & spent the other time sitting on the sofa w/ the rest of my friends.  later, my sis, her friend, & i went to eat @ Sorabol.  i've never been to a dine-in Korean restaurant before.  the food was pretty delicious.


08/22 - yesterday i went down to Campbell Industrial park w/ my friends for go-cart racing.  i raced 3 times.  i came in 2nd twice & 3rd once--not to bad for a 1st timer, huh ? driving a go-cart is like riding on a large lawn mower--well, that's what it sounded like.  anyways, i had a lot of fun .  after the go-carts, i went w/ Tara & Brandi.  we got dropped off back in to town by Zinan, & Brandi borrowed her co-worker's car to drive all of us to Pearlridge for a little shopping. we decided to get dinner 1st @ Gyotaku in Pearl City.  i ordered the same thing i always order when i'm @ Gyotaku, which was oyako-jyu.  both my friends work @ the Gyotaku in town & know some of the employees @ the Pearl City 1, so we got special services like free shave ice/sherbet desert (which were very delicioius ) that's not on the menu & a plate of sushi.  Brandi's co-worker/friend arrived when we were almost done w/ dinner, but stayed until he finished his meal.  since we did that, the girls & i didn't get a chance to go over to Pearlridge, but that's okay.  as long as i was able to spend some quality time w/ Brandi & Tara..it was all good .  this Saturday my entire group of girl friends are planning to go to Waterfront.  i think  the club's going to be packed this weekend 'cause it's the last weekend before school starts.  i'm going to make the best of my last summer vacation weekend.


08/21 -  Happy 20th Birthday Ben !!!


08/18 - 1:15 a.m. & i'm up.  i just came home having been out w/ friends.  Kelsey picked me up @ 7 p.m., & then we picked up Thu.  then Kelsey had to go pick up 2 guys in Waikiki, & that's where we met up w/ Li & her bf Howard.  w/ Li & Howard hungry, they got some food @ Wolf Gang Punk Express while everybody was outside hanging out.  after that, we went down to Portlock in Hawaii Kai to chill.  i've never been there before, & the walk down was a bit difficult  & extremely dark.  the sight of the crashing waves from a steep cliff was beautiful, but kinda hard to really absorb its beauty 'cause its dark there.  i think  we stayed there for 'bout an hour before we headed down to Blow Hole.  we were there for an hour before we headed back into town 'cause the place began to crowded w/ racers & their car sluts. we hung out @ the 2 guys' hotel room for a little while before we decided to leave to let the guys get some much needed rest .  it was cool & interesting to meet those 2 guys from Arizona/Nebraska.  they're such twinkies .  it was great having met some really cool people from the mainland .  & most importantly....Happy 20th Birthday Brandon !!!


08/13 - that is it .  no more driving for the rest of the day for me. today i drove by 2  car accident scenes blocks from my house, almost got into 1 car accident (which wasn't my fault), & had 1 aggravating  road incident.  i think  that's an obvious ominious sign that i shouldn't be driving for the rest of the day. let me tell you 1st 'bout how i almost got into a car accident today.  it was 'bout 2:41 p.m., & i was on my way to pick-up my younger bro from school.  i'm on Date Street approaching a 4-way traffic light intersection in McCully. it's a green light up ahead, & i'm moving @ 20-25 mph.  the car ahead of me crosses the intersection & i'm a yard behind.  @ that point i'm in the middle of the intersection going 20 mph (& possibly less 'cause there's a little hill in the intersection) when a car whizzes right across me from the opposite lane. i'm startled  by the car, but i do manage to stop 2 feet before i hit that stupid car.  as that car passes by me, i check the traffic light to see if i was still going on green--& i was.  man, my heart totally stopped beating when i saw the car appear right before me.  that old bitch !!!  she almost killed me 'cause she didn't bother to look @ the traffic light to see the red light after the car in front of me had just drove past her.  just check out my little diagram i drew on the right to see what i'm talking 'bout.  lol ..i'm so angry  & peeved  @ that lady that i drew that diagram. [FYI: i'm the blue dot & the bitch is the pink dot.]


08/09 - whew, i'm so tired .  i was up very early this morning 'cause of phone calls waking me up.  the last phone call was from my aunt, & it had me up & out of the house in 30 mins.  she invited me to join her & my cousins to watch the 8th annual AT&T Dragon Boat Festival down @ Ala Moana Beach Park.  i didn't know it then, but my guy cousin was participating in the dragon boat race for the Lum Sai Ho Tong association.  the only other time i attended the dragon boat race festival was its inaugural year back in 1995 'cause my kung-fu chinese lion dancing club participated as stage performers & a team in the race.  back to today...i had a fun  time swimming in the water w/ my cousin, & napping on the beach under a tent that was put up by a participating team in the boat race (i think ).  the tent was right on the sand yards away from the water, but wasn't being used by anybody.  my aunt, cousin, & i decided to conquer the tent as our own until we get kicked out by it's owner.  luckily that didn't happen, & we had a wonderful time using that tent.  later on in the afternoon, Ben, his sis, & his little cousin came down to Ala Moana Beach to join us in the fun.  LOL , it was wonderful to play in the water only yards away from the racing dragon boats.  now i'm sitting in from the comp typing this out w/ a wonderful tan, but i'm also deaf in the left ear 'cause it's plugged w/ water.  hopefully my ear will be unplugged soon because the slight deafness is irritating me.


08/05 - i forgot to talk 'bout the Chinese movie i watched the other day.  i rented the dvd from Blockbuster yesterday on the way home from the carnival.  the movie is called To Live, & i found it very intriguing & wonderful.  To Live gave me new insights on the effects of Mao Zedong's political revolution on the Chinese people.  the most wonderful thing of To Live was watching a simple yet moving epic on a family overcoming many obstacles (personally & politically), & still end up quite happy after all.  plus, To Live was directed by Zhang Yimou who also directed Raise the Red Lantern & The Road Home.  I've seen both those movie, & expected a quality movie in To Live, which was fabulous.
 Synopsis:  This epic chronicles 1 family's ups & downs set against the backdrop of China's tumultuous history between the 1940s & the 1970s.  Fugui is the father of a once-wealthy family whose addiction to gambling & chronic bad luck caused him to lose his home in a game of dice w/ Long'er.  Fugui's wife Jiazhen can no longer stand his gambling & leaves him.  He finds himself working as a peddler until Long'er gives him a pair of shadow puppets.  Fugui learns the art of puppetry & travels as a performer.  Then his wife Jiazhen returns to him w/ their children.  While on the road, he's arrested by Nationalist forces until he's liberated by advancing Red Army factions, & comes home to his wife & children trying to adapt to the nation's new leadership.  While once a lazy extravagant spender, Fugui vows to change his ways, & struggles to become a better worker & citizen.  Soon Fugui & his family realize there is adversity waiting for them around every corner.  (found & altered from blockbuster.com)


08/04 - i went to the Farm Fair last night w/ my older sis & younger bro .  i guess you could say we had a family outing.  i rode on the Wild Cat, Music Express, & Bumper cars w/ my bro.  man, i must be getting old .  i didn't get much enjoyment from the rides as i used to when i was younger.  now i know why i've been avoiding carnival rides these years.  however, i did enjoy the food booths @ the fair, especially the malasadas--yummy !!


08/02 - ah, only a couple of weeks left before i'm back in school.  my younger bro started school yesterday--on a Friday.  can you believe that  ?!  what a waste of time.  what wasn't a waste of time was going to watch American Wedding w/ my friends @ Ward theatre.  American Wedding was hilarious !!!!  i was laughing  almost through out the entire movie.  for a sequel, it was pretty good but it was missing something. maybe it was the character Oz played by Chris Klein.  he wasn't in the movie, & he wasn't even mentioned--so weird .  i love  the American Pie movies, especially the 2nd one.  it's cool to see how the guys have grown up from their high school days to college & then adulthood.  go watch the movie!!!!
 Synopsis: This prequel in the American Pie series has Jim & Michelle getting married.  W/ East Great Falls High, foreign exchange students, band camp, crazy glue, & summer college vacations now a thing of the past, Jim & Michelle's friends & family are ready to help usher the couple down the aisle, & over the threshold into adulthood.  Michelle's knock-out sis Candence has flown in to help out her sis as maid of honor.  Once Stifler & Finch catch sight of Candence, the war to 'woo' is on while nervous Jim has his hands full trying to impress Michelle's somewhat stuffy parents.  Meanwhile, Jim's dad is an ever-present constance, dispensing well-meaning, sometimes clueless advice to his son & future daughter-in-law, occasionally crossing the line into the land of 'too much info.'.  Also helping the groom & bride-to-be's walk down the alter are Kevin, Stifler, & Finch.  They chase down Michelle's perfect wedding dress, & throw a bachelor party complete w/ a naughty 'maid' & sexy female 'cop'.   Will Jim & Michelle have their perfect wedding after all the chaos that's happened?? (found & altered from americanpiemovie.com)okie, now i'm off to Ala Moana Beach Park to attend the surprise birthday party for Kat.  ain't it sweet that her boyfriend is planning it, & gathering her friends for it ???  i hope she'll be surprised to learn the "family barbeque" is actually in honor of her belated birthday.  so before i leave...HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY KAT !!