Home Again (2012)

Having spent the past holiday season in HK, it has been approximately 1.5 years since I had been home. I don't think I can remember ever being away for so long. Anyways, I had a strong desire for a trip back to the 808 and I fortunately had a couple of opportunities to make things happen. Here we go.

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I never tire of this view. It means I'm going somewhere. I'm waiting patiently for the plane to depart SFO.

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Economy Plus makes a 5+ hour flight just a little bit more bearable.

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A view from up high. You can see Haleakala quite prominently, and both Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa off in the distance. Almost home...

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I don't recall ever seeing this sculpture at HNL before so I decided to take a pic. Each island has its own pillar engraved with each island's individual flower.

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First meal back at Jack's in Aina Haina. Homemade corned beef hash, fried rice and scrambled egg. Yummy!

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Plumeria from around the garden at home. So pretty and fragrant.

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Tackled a "Trivia Night" with the Julie, Richard and Kim. Team "Oho" placed 3rd and we won this Instant Ramen bowl and fancy chopstick set. We finished only two points behind 1st place!

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Congrats to Adrian K, who graduated from Temple and held a "satellite" commencement with family & friends at Queen Lili`uokalani Elementary School. The most I've ever laughed and genuinely enjoyed a graduation ceremony (from a spectator's perspective).

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Afterwards, I made my way over to Pagoda for a birthday lunch for Daniel's grandma. Round one of the buffet.

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Daniel, Me & Clifton after lunch at Pagoda. Good times.

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As has been a recent tradition of mine (and in the interest of physical fitness), I hiked up Koko Head with Darren & Kevin. Beautiful view; long way down.

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Since I can't seem to find this on the Mainland, I have to get my Meat Jun fix while I'm home. Picked up this mini plate on the way out to Makapu'u to hang out at the beach with Daniel & Clifton after the Koko Head hike.

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Dinner with Darren & Priscilla at Tonkatsu Ginza in Waikiki. The recommendation came from a co-worker (thanks Nicolette) and it did not disappoint. I didn't know tonkatsu could be that excellent!

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Lunch on my last full day from Shirokiya's new and improved food court (well, new to me). A yummy tonkotsu ramen and mochiko chicken musubi.

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Back on a plane after an awesome trip home. Just a short detour on the way back to Cali...

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A brief layover in Kahului, Maui due to the ticket that I purchased. I haven't been to Maui in ages. I won't really count this stopover since I stayed in the Terminal, but at least I got this beautiful view of Haleakala at sunset.

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They also had a small exhibit on the way to the food court (which had a Pinkberry no less!) featuring some neat artifacts from Aotearoa!

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Two weeks later, I found myself on a plane once again. This time, rather than a full fare ticket, I had to settle for a standby ticket. I had nearly forgotten how anxious it can be but luckily I got on board. You never feel completely at ease until you feel the plane push back...

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I also had the rare privilege of flying on a flight that Mum worked. After the main meal service, we talked story for a while before all the friends/co-workers gathered together for this pic in the rear galley.

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I went home for my 10 year High School reunion. Has it really been that long?

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It sure has. We all got together to take this "official" Class photo. Yes, I'm up there in the last row (towards the left).

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Our dinner: POG (passion orange guava juice), poi, lomi lomi salmon, ahi poke, chicken long rice, kalua pig and squid luau. Nothing quite like local food and catching up with old classmates.

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The old pool in the twilight. Some things haven't really changed too much.

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An awesome lunch from Fukuya Deli with Darren and Priscilla. You can see I've got furikake chicken, a vegetable croquette, mini inari, mochiko chicken, nishime and spicy green beans with chicken on my plate. We took the food to Waialae Beach Park and ate at the picnic tables there. Kevin joined us for a bit of football throwing and I must say, what a great way to spend an afternoon.

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Capped off with a classic malasada from Leonard's for dessert.

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Clear skies, ocean, beautiful view. It doesn't get much better.

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And finally, dinner at Tenkaippin with Darren, Priscilla and Dad. They have this Kotteri ramen with a thick, almost gravy-like broth. Delicious, but different than most ramen that you'll see around.

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Nothing beats a trip home and I'm glad I got to spend quality time, across two separate trips, with family and friends. I hope it won't be so long till I return and get to eat more good food, enjoy more time outdoors and see everyone once again. Until next time...

A Look Back at May

Apologies. Work and travel have conspired to busy up my life enough to keep me from blogging. Also, the advent of Instagram makes it so much easier to post up individual pictures with witty remarks rather than blogging a whole group of pics. I promise to do my best to keep up my blogging efforts despite the convenience of "Instagramming". Anyways, May kinda came and went without too much of a peep so I'd just like to share a few pics from that most special of months.

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Nothing like game night with the crew. This game "Seven Wonders" has become popular for us to play in 2012 and features frantic points collecting across 3 "ages". Doesn't take very long to play through and it can be quite competitive and intriguing since you have so many ways to earn points.

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Did you know there's a "Diva Half Marathon" which gifts successful runners a feather boa, tiara and giant, bling medal for finishing? Congrats to Mari & Lauren (I don't think the Nesquick bunny ran...though he did hand out free chocolate milks) for completing the full 13.1 miles!

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Somen salad plus a Guava juice. A little taste of home in mid-May. Lovely.

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My next car perhaps? Got to see and touch a new 2013 Subaru BRZ when it came to town. Not a very big vehicle, but it does hold quite a lot of appeal (e.g. relatively low weight, low center of gravity and rear wheel drive). Watch this space...

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BBQ with Priyanshu at the McNall's. The first of many for the season hopefully!

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Darren came to town so we decided to go do something fun. Hence, archery (we really wanted to shoot guns, but this turned out to be more convenient). Pretty fun, though I'm sure it has been more than a decade since I last tried. I didn't think it would, but it works out your arms really well!

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I'll end with a b-day card and the quote it contained:

"One way to get the most out of life is to look upon it as an adventure." -W. Feather

Here's to many more adventures to come.

Transit of Venus

We took a break from a busy workday to check out this amazing event. Thanks to Alex for bringing his binoculars, which we used to project the image of Venus (black dot) moving across the Sun (big, bright circle) on to the paper. We live in such a cool universe and what a treat to be reminded of that in such a special way. I hope some of you also got to see this in person too as you'd have to wait a long time to see this again (another 100+ yrs).

NZ Music Month 2012

Howdy folks. So much for keeping up to date on this blog. I had meant to post these pics a while back but Iʻm just getting to them now (about 2 weeks after I thought I would). NZ Music Month officially occurs during the month of May, but I had a quasi-"NZ Music Month" of my own stretching from early April to early May. Let me show you what I mean.

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On the evening of April 8, the Black Seeds came to town bringing their dub-funk jams to Slimʻs in SF. I have been a fan of the Seeds ever since 2005 when I studied abroad down in NZ and tried, unsuccessfully to see them play a show in Chch.

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Daniel Weetman and, somewhat obscured, Barnaby Weir front and center. They provide the vocals for the group and very much serve as the frontmen. They brought a lot of energy and the crowd really responded well. I am continually impressed by how well NZ bands seem to be able to attract people to concerts so far away from home!

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I stood right in front of the brass section and jammed along with them all night long. I had a blast finally getting to listen to them live as the Seeds really do put on a good show. Also glad to hear a bunch of tracks of their newly released album! Thanks for stopping by guys!

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Next up on April 21, the Naked and Famous graced the Warfield with their presence. As a band that gets regular airplay stateside, they certainly drew a very impressive sized crowd familiar with a lot of their music.

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It took them a song or two to get the crowd into it, but boy did they have an impressive show with lights, screens and a captive audience.

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You can tell Thom (guitarist/vocalist on the left) and Alisa (vocalist on the right) form the core, but the other bandmates really help to fill out the sound (particularly in the live setting). They played many of their hits off their debut album and worked in a few favourites off their earlier EPs which, while unfamiliar to most of the crowd, I found quite enjoyable (and a nice nod to their loyal fans).

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They finished up with their big hit, "Young Blood" and the crowd went wild. Really brilliant performance and one of the better concerts, in terms of overall quality and crowd enthusiasm, that Iʻve been to in recent memory! Hope some folks can join me the next time they come to town!

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And lastly, but not least, Midnight Youth at Brick & Mortar in SF.

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Simon Oscroft (guitar) and Jeremy Redmore (vocals) brought a lot of energy and enthusiasm and they really come off well as a live act. Pity about the small crowd and surroundings (they clearly attracted a much smaller gathering compared to either the Seeds or TNAF) though I wonʻt complain too much because they didnʻt charge admission. Mustʻve been because they played late on a Tuesday night!

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I have to single out Jeremy as having a great, impressive singing voice live. I had heard some live/acoustic mp3s and youtube videos but now I know for sure having heard in person. I hope they donʻt get too discouraged by the smallish crowd and will choose to come back in the future. Iʻd love to see them again and hear them play a longer set.

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So it has been a while since I had the privilege of seeing some NZ bands in the Bay Area, but I can well and truly say the past month has made up for the lull. Always great to hear Kiwi bands playing in the States particularly since they all typically perform so well live. I truly hope there will be more gigs for Kiwi musicians in the future and I also hope that I can get more of my friends to come along too! Well, until next time, happy May (and thanks for the b-day wishes).

Another So Cal Sojourn

So, March seemed like a good time to head down south for a weekend to avoid some wet and windy weather. I don't have too many pics to share, but check these ones out:

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Nothing hits the spot after a long drive from Nor Cal like a great meal. It has been too long (a few years) since I last graced the Pampas Brazilian BBQ joint in the Original Farmers Market @ Fairfax & Third. Time to remedy that problem.

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Oh glorious picanha, alcatra, etc. I forgot how much I missed eating this stuff (though I'm sure my waistline and overall health could excuse not eating this regularly). Just like old times...loading up with at least 75% meaty goodness! I recall that I used to be able to eat this size of a plate on my own, but alas I shared it this time around.

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How else would we expect to also have room to ingest/digest this tasty nutella & banana crepe? Yummmy! Thank you Farmers Market; I hope it won't be too long before we see each other again!

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After we got up for a morning run around the UCLA campus (yeah, that horrible place), why not indulge with a bit more food? Roaming around "Little Osaka" in West LA, we came upon this newly opened restaurant called Miyata Menji, which served only two items on the menu: tsukemen as seen above has the noodle & broth served separately. You dip the noodles bite by bite into the thick, gravy-like broth. Quite a new, tasty experience. I liked it, but not as much as I like my traditional favourite...

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The good, old tonkotsu (i.e. pork broth) ramen. Very salty and tasty as a good ramen should be. I liked it and would eat again.

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Sufficiently full of food, we decided why not spend the afternoon meandering through the LACMA. Unfortunately, the meandering turned into a little bit of a quicker than desired pace due to time constraints. Anyhow, one of the coolest things I saw that day: Metropolis II by Chris Burden. Quite a sight to see with 100,000 or so hot wheel cars zipping around a dense urban centre.

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On this very same day, my weather app showed rain happening in Nor Cal. I don't like a lot about So Cal, but I do like this beautiful, warm weather. You can't read it, but the Hollywood sign was visible (it's at the very center of the image).

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Me reflected in Jeff Koons' Cracked Egg.

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Another Koons work: Caterpillar Ladder.

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Inspired by Jumping in Art Museums, Mari and I do our jump in front of Koons' Balloon Dog.

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Robert Therrien's Untitled (Snowman) has apparently grown an extra head.

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In my continuing efforts to seek out and share art from Oceania, I wanted to post this image of a Maori wooden sculpture. Cool eh?

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If you haven't heard about the upcoming installation Levitated Mass by Michael Heizer, basically they just moved a 340 ton boulder and will be building a 456 foot trench underneath it for viewers to walk under and experience. The effort to move the boulder alone generated a lot of interest and attention. You can find more information here. Do check out the video at the link of them moving the boulder through the streets of LA. Anyhow, they haven't finished the installation, but I caught a peak of the infamous boulder outside a window. I actually am very interested in seeing this when it finally opens for viewing.

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I had the privilege of seeing a great many friends who I hadn't seen in a long time during this trip. Dinner with Traci, Erik, Ryan and Uzor at an old favorite, Shaab in Old Town Pasadena. Then, dessert with my old flatmate Jen (OTAGO!) in Sherman Oaks. I'm glad I got to see you all during this trip, even if we only got to catch up for a little bit.

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Also part of the agenda was a detour to Orange County to hang out with Claudia. This included breakfast at Bruxie, known for their waffle sandwiches (this one had goat cheese, mushrooms, basil, arugula and a balsamic reduction). Thanks for taking a bit of time out of your trip prep to catch up Claudia!

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Continuing south to San Diego, we met up with Brad and had "lunch" at Huapangos where I ordered the above Huevos a la Mexicana (Mexican eggs with carnitas). They served their tortilla chips with this warm white cheese dip that tasted pretty damn good. Apparently you can buy that sauce on its own by the pint (which Brad briefly considered).

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We had a little wander through Balboa Park (including a visit to the San Diego Art Museum), which Greg joined us for. After parting company with Greg, we had some Pinkberry fro-yo as an afternoon snack before the rain came down (fiercely joining the wild wind which had been whipping around since that morning). With the foul weather, we decided to watch the new Muppets movie (excellent film if I may say so) before grabbing dinner from Lolita's and watching the old classic Super Troopers (meow). Dinner was the delicious San Diego special, California burrito (carne asada with French fries wrapped in a tortilla).

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We left San Diego the next day, stopping in LA briefly to gas up (Costco gas w00t!) and have a nice lunch with Grant at Paul Martin's American Bistro. Salmon fish tacos for the win. Delish.

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Finally, on the long drive back up to Nor Cal, the last of our fig bars (from Sigonas market...just as good as the Berkeley Bowl ones). A great snack for the road (or whenever).

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So quite an exciting weekend filled with a lot of activity and a nice break away from the Bay Area. Thanks so much to Lauren (in LA) and Brad (in SD) for providing some shelter and to everyone else who came out. Always a lot of fun visiting you folks down south. Until next time...