Wow, today was a busy day.  I helped celebrate my sister and friend’s birthdays.

First off was Susana’s birthday in Santa Cruz.  My mom and I drove up to Riva’s on the wharf to meet Susana, Kayla and Rex for lunch.  I had my ususal Fisherman’s Platter (calamari, fish, and chips).  There was some slight detour-ing going and leaving the pier as a marching band competition was occurring by the Boardwalk.  Luckily Kayla was able to guide us back to her house for cake.  We even beat Susana and Rex back to the house! (pics posted on the photos page)

Later on that night I was invited to my friend David’s 40th birthday celebration at El Burro’s.  There must have been a lot of people celebrating their 40th birthday there as I almost ended up with the wrong party for dinner!  It was the first time i met most of David’s family (mom, dad, and his sisters).  It was a large celebration that lasted several hours.  Good food, good cake, and good conversation.  Oh, and afterward we went to go catch a showing of [Team America] at Century 21.  My review on that later.

"So you wanna breakdance instead?
-- Purported mumbled word by me.

Ok, I know I talk in my sleep. But I can’t imagine any situation where I might mumble the above phrase. Farrah said I did and she’s not one to make this up. I don’t think I can even make this up!

our favorite new television show this season has to be [lost] wednesay @ 8pm on abc.

quick shot: plane crashes on a deserted island.  survivors try to figure out where they are, how to contact someone for help, and who they can trust amongst their group.  it’s a dramatic gilligan’s island!

what we like (so far): the story has many mysterious elements surrounding the island as well as passengers on the plane.  when i say ‘so far’, you just never know if the show’s storyline will tank as it moves forward.  the characters not only ‘purtee’ but have some depth.  the writing is strong (again, so far).  this is a show brought to you by the makers of felicity and alias.

what we didn’t like: that it’s only on once a week.  ugh!

man, it’s october and i’m still talking about our hawaii trip that took place back in august!?!?!?!  well, my memory on specifics is fading (yeah, it comes with age, huh).  this might be the last time i write about the trip.  most of the pictures are posted.  just a few more from the last days we stayed.  anyway, on with the story….

sandy left oahu on saturday afternoon.  for the rest of that day we relaxed.  we picked up jane, then had a late dim sum lunch with ann, who was working.  we might have went to [ala moana], if not that day i’m sure some other days.  but after lunch we did drive to the north shore from shave ice!  some time later that night we went to circut city - i needed to figure out how to download the photos i had since the ipod wasn’t accepting my camera’s connection.  this is where the photo below was taken:

uncle johnny and auntie linda treated all of us to sunday breakfast at [anna millers] .  in the afternoon we headed to russell and majorie’s house, in mililani for an late lunch/early dinner.

russell tried his best to bbq, taking care of most of the food.  when it came to the beef he delegated that task to sim.

the following day, after pali lookout, we went to kauai.  our plane left early in the morning.  funny thing going to kauai, and coming back, was being thoroughly searched.  we did the whole nine yards of getting the metal detector ran over our bodies and having our bags searched. heidi’s back had an extra passenger on the outside, which airport security noticed: a cockroach!  we figured one of our names was a trigger for being searched or our group size.  other way it was a hilarious experience.

with jane’s help, we booked four days and three nights, staying in the [kauai sands hotel].  the kauai sands is a nice little hotel, which if i remember reading correctly, is one of the few family owned hotels left.  our rooms (farrah and i in one, yen, heidi and sandy in the other) where above/below each other.

the first day on the island was a little rough for me.  for breakfast (most of the days we were there) we ate a place called [eggberts], which was close to the hotel.  i think the jet lag plus the food was catching up to me because i was getting tired pretty quickly driving.  we made a drive to the poipu area of kauai, where there are more resorts and the ocean is calmer then most of the island.  afterward we ate a [puka dog] with the coconut relish.  they were out of the star fruit relish.  oh well.

for day two on kauai we had nothing special planned, just more sight seeing.  we stopped by the visitor’s center in the hotel and asked about boating tours to the napli coast. we decided to take that trip on thursday (the next day).  next, we  did the eggbert’s deal again in the morning. on the walk back to the room we ran across a gecko:

everyone, including yen, took turns holding the little visitor.  we got in the car and made our way around the eastern part of the island.  the first place we stopped at was the kilauea lighthouse. see all the white dots in the picture below?  those are birds, eh.

we then went to the guava farm about 1/2 a mile away.  boy, can the girls shop! they almost bought one of everything in the store.  guava this, guava that. ugh.  we then made our way up north to the princeville resort. huge, lovely, expensive place.  the last place we hit before heading back was hanalei, where we were able to go to a couple of shops in the local center.

thursday rolled around and the big activity that day was the boat trip up the napali coast.  i was going to go with the girls, but after hearing it was going to be rough out there i backed out, preferring to spend four hours by myself at the local mall.  the boat trip started around 3pm, and planned to end around sunset.  from what they describe the trip going up the coast was rough, as the captain sped up there to spend as much time sight seeing as possible.  the trek back down the coast was at a more leisurely pace.

the last day on kauai was short, with our plane taking off early afternoon.  we made a quick trip to the poipu area to grab our last puka dog (no star fruit relish still). we got to the airport and were promptly search before going to the gate.

ah, back on oahu.  so we waited outside for jane to pick us up from the airport.  as we waited i continued to scratch my peeling back.  heidi had an idea to use her lint brush, wondering how much skin would come off.  well, the results are below:

rating: ** 1/2 out of 5

quick shot: ron perlman  brings hellboy to life, embodying hellboy both physically and emotionally.

what i liked about the film: the look, the story pace, and the comedic elements.

what i didn’t like:  the ending was slightly disappointing,  when it had every opportunity to be stronger.  perhaps a director’s cut of the dvd - which i think is scheduled later this year - will prove to make a better film than the current version.

the day after hanauma bay, we went did more driving around oahu, specifically toward pali lookout.  we could have gone the day before, but after six hours in the sun it was difficult to muster any energy.

the drive to pali lookout isn’t that long.  in fact, driving to anywhere on the island doesn’t take too long.  pali lookout overlooks the kloolau mountain range.  it sort of reminds me of twin peaks in city with the wind and view.

after pali lookout we drove further on the highway, stopping for lunch at a local thai restaurant.  we then made our way further around the island, stopping along the coast to see manana island (aka rabbit island) and the blow hole also.  picture are located in the pali lookout album.

who’s new cadillac is this?

well, let’s ask the car who she belongs to:

yes, farrah’s dad, as of this weekend, is the proud owner of a silver smoke cadillac cts.  sweet huh? it’s a pretty smooth ride. six cylinders, sun/moon roof, leather interior, am/fm/cd/xm satellite radio.  a very nice car to take on a trip.

well, time to write more about the hawaii trip, since i have some time on my hands.  it’s a hot one here today in sunnyvale.  i’m not sure if it’s hotter than it was at hanauma bay, but it’s pretty close.

on my first full day on oahu we went to hanauma bay.  it was a sunday and the bay was fairly crowded.  some things have chanced at the bay.  it’s five dollars to get in (the same, i think).  before being let loose on the bay you are required to watch a film about the habitat and rules about the reef.  the film is about nine minutes long.

the trek down to the bay wasn’t as long as i remember it when farrah and i went back in ‘97.  you can still snorkel in the bay, but you can’t feed the fishes any longer.  we spent sixhours at the bay.  needless to say most of us paid for it with a nice sunburn, especially me.  my whole backside and most of my frontside was sunburned.  the only one to escape this fate was farrah.  [see hanauma bayphotos]

later that same evening, we had a bbq at auntie’s house.  oysters, korean bbq, and plenty more to be eaten that night.

after the bbq we rested for more site seeing around oahu.

ugh, getting back from vacation has been rough, especially with work being a drag right now.  i’m slowly getting the vacation pictures up.  log on a take a look when you get a chance.

in order to get it all down, i’ll start writing about our vacation coinciding with each album.  for example, arriving in hawaii:

the trip over

i took off on saturday august 7, 2004 by myself.  farrah had left with yen and heidi on wednesday.  doug took me to the airport (pic above) and i was off.  the flight was straightforward with little turbulence.  i bought the lousy two dollar headphones to watch the movie, then promptly fell asleep after eating dinner and missed most of shrek 2.

the humidity was the first thing to hit me when i stepped off the plane.  i forgot how wet hawaii could be.  luckily i wore shorts on the plane. the first night was spent saying hi to everyone, getting settled, and making plans for the following days of vacation. [see photos in arriving in hawaii]

congratulations to scott and stefanie on their new baby boy!  seth emilio salvotti was born on august 18, 2004 @ 12:33.  we’ll need to meet seth and skylar soon.

rating:  **1/2 of 5

quick shot: val kilmer does his bit for country and mamet.  a good thriller even though the ending is a bit deux machina.

what i liked about the film mamet’s writing.  snappy dialog and interesting plot.

what i didn’t like part of the ending (you’ll know what i mean)