Suburbia, U.S.A.

I am now fully transitioned from by urban one-bedroom apartment to a three-bedroom, two bath suburban home with my brother and his family. The only thing missing is the dog or cat (although, we apparently have some fish that seem to be multiplying).

Living with other people again is a bit weird. I'm used to just stripping, hopping in the shower and then meandering back to my bedroom to figure out what I'm going to wear. Now I have to figure all that stuff out before heading to the bathroom. It's like living with my parents or dorming at college again. But, at least I don't need to bring a shower caddy and wear slippers to the bathroom anymore.

Over the weekend, I moved the rest of my stuff to Kapolei with the help of my dad and brother. Even after downsizing by a considerable amount (in my opinion), I still have a ton of stuff. Some of it is still out in the living room, but I've managed to squeeze everything into my new bedroom. As I slowly begin to unpack, I find myself questioning my own sanity. I mean, does one person really need ten pairs of sweats/workout pants? That seems entirely ridiculous, especially when the person in question doesn't even work out! Also, despite donating and tossing about 15 pairs of shoes, I seem to still have another 15 pairs to boot. This is really the epitome of American excess, don't you think?

On Sunday, my dad and I scoured my old place and I can tell you I haven't worked that hard in ages. We only got about three quarters of the way through, but my body was waving the white flag by the end of the day. Not surprisingly, cleaning dirt and grime off of jalousies is no easy task. I highly recommend against that type of window treatment if you have the choice. We're planning to go back this weekend to finish up the job and turn in the keys. Hopefully after all the cleaning I'll get my full deposit back. That'll really help add to the round-the-world trip slush fund.

This morning I made my first early-morning commute after not having driven in the long distance traffic for over six years. It was interesting. I left at 6:30 a.m. and made it in an hour by taking a special route that a friend of mine suggested. I'll try it again tomorrow but will take the regular route and see how much faster/slower it'll be. So far, it's not as bad as I thought it'd be. Of course, this is still a novelty and will surely wear off with time. Check back in a month and I'll be a raging maniac.

Zoo Party for Kapiolani Medical Center

Today I headed over to the zoo for a free family day with my sister, sister-in-law and two nieces. Kapiolani Medical Center for Women & Children was celebrating its centennial celebration and was offering free admission by simply downloading a pass from the net.

We got there a little after 11 a.m., but it was difficult to find a place to park. Apparently there was a free shuttle to and from KCC but we didn't know it at the time. Luckily, my sister is renovating a studio in Waikiki so we used its parking structure.

On the way to the zoo, we stopped off at Rainbows for some burgers and plate lunches. Yummy! I haven't eaten there in forever. It was like coming home. I got the hamburger steak, my sister got their roast pork and we split it. Delish! When our stomachs were full, we went into the zoo.

I haven't been to the zoo in probably ten years or so and I have to admit that it has improved quite a bit. A lot of the enclosures are new and there's more food places. Today, there were tons of tents set up with activities for the kids. I think my nieces had a great time. We wandered through the zoo, and most of the animals were where I remembered them to be. I'm not sure if they're the same ones though. My friend the tortoise wasn't in his enclosure, but we did see him in a back area. God, he was there when I was a kid. Wonder just how old he is?

Despite the extreme heat, it was a good day. The place was packed full of kids of all ages. I think the event was quite a success for Kapiolani.

Are Kid Movies Really For Kids?

When did kid flicks start getting all adult on us? I don't ever remember animated movies being so high brow before. Lately, they all seem to be geared toward the parent and not the child.

Last night I watched Up with my brother and his family. His 3-year-old daugher was left cowering in her mother's lap during one part. During another part she was practically nodding off because the scenes were slow (from a kid's point of view). They were in fact pretty depressing (from an adult's point of view).

When did Hollywood turn innocent children's movies into these adult art films? It seems like I can find ways to deconstruct most of the recent array of kid movies more than I can the independent art film. What's up with that?

Yeah, I realize that production companies want to entertain the parents because they're the ones who bring the kids and spend all their money at the concessions. But seriously, is the full life cycle of a man and a woman really appropriate imagery for young people?

Knocked Off While Getting His Rocks Off

Who would've thought that the man who played an ascetic monk on the boob tube would die because of a mishap during some kinky S&M sex? You think I kid, but it could be true.

Apparently after more investigating and an autopsy, Bangkok officials think this may be the cause of death for David Carradine, especially since there was no suicide note. Family members and friends all deny that he would committ suicide. No comments on whether or not they think he'd participate in some Thai S&M during his time off the movie set. Interesting, no?

While this is a little shocking (the dude was in his 70s for crying out loud), I find it funny in an almost absurdly morbid way. I'm not laughing about the fact that this guy died. I'm giggling over the way he might've died. Who would've predicted this would be the way they'd go out of this world? Geez, what a way to go. And most mothers are worried that you're wearing clean underwear. How about NO underwear, Ma? How 'bout that?

You can look at it as the absolute best way to go (while doing the deed). Or you can look at it as the most embarrassing position to be caught in. This got me on the train to morbidville and I started pondering how I'd like to die if I got to choose. Here's what I came up with:

1. Kick the bucket in the middle of an ice cream eating contest with a gigantic glop of ice cream in my hand and my face planted in a 21 scoop sundae. Sounds heavenly to me.

2. Dying peacefully in my sleep sounds like a nice way to go. However, I'm afraid I'd start to attract the extended family of roaches who live in my building and that they'd start nibbling on me before my stink alerted the neighbors. Guess there goes the open casket route.

3. Just so my name would live on, I'd like to go in some exciting/devastating/awe-inspiring manner. I'm not really sure how though. Croaking while doing some kind of Evil Knievel-like move involving a lot of rings of fire atop a moving airplane while riding a motorcycle blindfolded sounds kick ass.

4. Being the last person alive aboard a spaceship looking back at the dead earth while hurtling uncontrollably toward the sun sounds like a poetic demise.

5. Turning into a popsicle in the vast lands of Antarctica while exploring icy caverns in the name of science makes my death sound noble and gives me a chance to get jump started once technology figures out how to unfreeze me and jolt me back to life.

So how would you like to take your last curtain call if you had the choice?

Aquarium by the Bay - Under the Sea

For shits and giggles and because it was free with the Go SF Card, we stopped in at the Aquarium by the Bay while in San Francisco. Surprisingly, it was pretty small (not as small as our Waikiki Aquarium though).

The aquarium is located in the high-traffic Pier 39 area, so it's convenient for most tourists to swing by for an hour or two. It's a good, family-friendly activity that I'm sure the kiddies will enjoy.

Honestly, there are better places out there for this type of thing, but this one's convenient and free if you have the card. However, I don't think I'd pay for admission, especially if I had a large family in tow.

One of the best parts of the aquarium was the jellyfish tanks. They looked awesome against the dark blue water and lighting.

There were a couple types of jellyfish in different tanks. What a life to live, huh? Just bobbing along and floating without a care in the world. Completely lovely.

The other great part of the aquarium was the interactive area where you could actually reach into the water and touch and feel the animals. One tank housed things like starfish and sea cucumbers. I'd never touched a starfish before this experience. You'd think they were soft and squishy, right? No, they felt like coral and were rough and bumpy. Weird and kind of disorienting. I really thought they'd be soft or at least slimy. Not really as thrilling an experience as I had hoped.

The other tank housed some bat rays and leopard sharks. They were so cute. The rays have a little snout/nose that is just precious. When we were there, there was a baby one who was so friendly and would come right up to you.

The rays' skin felt really soft and slippery. They're not slimy at all. Just tap the top of the water to attract their attention and the swim on by. Parents don't need to worry about their little stingers because they're cut off. The staff member overseeing the tank said that the stingers are like fingernails and grow back. Cutting them does not hurt the rays at all and allows them to be used as educational tools for the public.

The leopard sharks are harder to touch. They swam back and forth in the tank, usually in the middle, so it's hard to reach them. Still, when you do get to touch them it's really enjoyable. Their skin is also soft and very smooth too. The only drawback to this experience was that the water was extremely chilly. It was hard to even reach down into the tank because your hand felt like it was about to freeze.

I also forgot to mention that there's a large underwater tunnel that you walk through. This allows you to see the fish, sharks and rays swimming on both sides and above you. It's an interesting experience, although not very unique. There are other aquariums around that have the same thing.

Say "Money"

I just got back from two and a half hours worth of family time. Normally, this wouldn't be so bad. However, this chunk of my life was spent at the Sears portrait studio doing our first and last ever family portraits.

We were scheduled for a 6:30 p.m. session since that's the time we could all make it out after work. With 12 people all trying to squeeze into the camera lens, it's no wonder we didn't take longer than we did.

I think the photos came out alright - more good ones than bad ones anyway. We'll see when I get my copy of the CD. The only bad thing was that there was only one employee at the studio and she had to serve as photographer, photographer's assistant, cashier, IT support and do it all with a smile on her face. While I give her much props for her fantastic attitude, it was completely stupid of them to schedule only one employee with such a large group coming in.

I really felt sorry for another customer who ended up waiting over an hour for nothing. Since we shut the place down, there was no way she and her baby were going to get their photos taken or even their questions answered. That's completely bad for business.

Also, everyone knows that studios rip you off with their picture packages. Costco is so much more inexpensive. However, we purchased a package anyway like most people. There goes money down the drain.

I did learn that the new "cheese" is "money." I guess cheese isn't cutting it anymore in such slow economic times. The word "money" makes people a lot more happy than "cheese" ever could.