catching up

i've been slacking on posting some pics and writing about the summer/fall adventures. here's some highlights...


went home with harper and rach this summer. can't beat a ono plate lunch at the beach followed by shave ice.







we like the beach








rach, harper, and me at the kauai airport.







cool plant growing from handrail on the kaua'i house.





rach at the kauai house






the red cottage






rach and aunty lorna cleaning the taro leaves from the loi in the backyard. luau stew for dinner! yum!






harper playing cribbage with aunty, rach, and me...








kilauea lighthouse-up close






kilauea lighthouse







visiting with dad's side of the family in hilo. aunty julie, aunty jane, and uncle jimmy. its been over 15 years since i've seen some of them.



breakfast in hilo with my dad's older brother, uncle dennis and aunty julie (great aunty). uncle resembles my dad a lot...brings back some good memories of him.




aunty jane w/ doggy and her awesome yard.







aunty julie at the imiloa astronomy cultural center









at the tsunami museum in old hilo town.










me and uncle matt at boulevard saimin. yum!







harper and rach at the halekulani. last night in hawaii...







aunty claire, micah, and aunty lorna hanging out at the halekulani.







harper, rach, and me at the halekulani w/ diamond head in the background.




grandma dot (my dad's step mom) and i. learned a lot about my dad's family on this trip. every family has the good and the bad. what you do with it & how you change for the better is all that matters. rip grandma lau.




aunty claire and me at lanikai juice before heading to the airport.





skydiving for henderson's big 3-0 bday! weeeeeeeee!!!! ok, it might have been more like AHHHHHHHHH!! $@!%?*&#






we survived! yay!







camping with the gang near lake wenatchee (nason creek campground)







the gangy staying warm






backpacking trip w/ the coworkers at galena lakes (by mt. baker)






thomas & fauna feeding the birds





on the way out...yay! we just got our asses handed to us to get to the top. was kinda brutal....what doesn't kill you makes you strong right?






almost to the car...







awesome view on the way out.









the work gang (w/ their significant others)





sailboat at discover park







discovery park lighthouse








harper, me, and liane at the lighthouse







harper and me goofing around







ooooooommmmm....










cool wood






more wood

greenwood fire

many of you have probably heard of the fire that hit 4+ businesses on 85th and greenwood this morning. i met the founders of the green bean coffee shop when it was first getting started about 4 years ago. lisa, hayden, and the sanctuary were & still are awesome. tho i visit infrequently, the green bean has always had a special place in my heart. it was not only a great coffee shop but also a place that reached out to the community. it's devastating to see someone you know and other restaurant owners lose their businesses. for the community to lose a place to hang out and fellowship.

dr. randy rowland (ceo of green bean coffee house and pastor of sanctuary church) said, 'A church and a community development organization are about people, not about buildings. The people are unharmed and we remain resolute in our vision and mission in Greenwood.' couldn't have said it better myself...

if you are able and willing stop by chase bank on greenwood and 85th and donate what you can. there is a fund being established to help those affected by the fire.

check the following links for more info and updates...
http://www.greenbeancoffee.org/
http://www.phinneywood.com/2009/10/23/2-alarm-fire-burning-on-85th/

new set of old wheels

after much thought and consideration for my limbs and life i decided to try and break the mental block and negative perception i have on bike riding in the city. not to say i won't hate the jackass on two wheels who blows thru a stop sign that i almost t-bone, or the moron who is chilling & leaning on my car and the one next to me as we wait in traffic to merge onto mercer, or the guy wearing all black with no lights or reflectors at 1am on a non lit street that i've almost hit, and the list is endless (and includes morons on 4 wheels too)...

i do have to give many thanks to my friend, henderson who is someone i like to call a 'die hard' bike commuter. she may admit to blowing thru a few stop signs and has a distaste for spandex, seasonal riders (who doesn't?!), and is a helmet nazi (for good reason), but she sets a pretty damn good example as bike commuter. thanks, friend!

thought it's about time to give the bike commute a try. i should preface this with, i'm working my way up to commuting into the office (advice from henderson and a few other friends who bike into work). i did end up getting a cool '74ish peugeot. it needs some work and a tune up (not to mention a better seat) but for now it'll do the job. hopefully i'll reach the status of a respectable bike commuter, like my friend SH, and thus reducing my my carbon footprint in the world. i'll keep you posted on how successful (or unsuccessful) i am. for now i'll ride on the burke-gilman trail and avoid anything with four wheels that will use me as target practice.



in the meantime here's my bike (as seen on craigslist).

summer wine tasting trip

i gatta thank my good 'ol dragon boating teammates for introducing me to wine. some of us went to the woodinville passport wine tasting earlier this year and tasted a TON of wine! i also discovered it can be an expensive hobby if you get carried away. haha! sandy, julie, and i decided to head to kelowna, BC for july 4th weekend for a ladies wine tasting trip. we hit up 5 or 6 wineries over the course of the weekend. tasted some amazing reds, whites, and dessert wines. my favorite wineries were quails gate and mission hill. i also had some of the best duck in my life at the mission hill restaurant which was paired with an excellent reserved 2004 merlot. yum! here's some pics from the trip...


quails gate winery over looking the okanagan lake.







ceder creek winery










cool truck at st. hubertus winery (this winery was hit by the okanagan fire in 2003).






vineyards planted for the tourists









grapes








me at quails gate






julie and sandy at mission hill






wine tasting at the end of our tour at mission hill





entrance to mission hill's courtyard





courtyard

twitter = babble? no, you don't say?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8204842.stm

came across this article on bbc and thought i'd post it since i had written about twitter earlier this year. interesting how 8.7% of posts in the study had any value to forward and 40.5% were point-less babble. it'd be interesting to see how much time is wasted wading thru the babble before getting to a meaningful post.

life...

the summer has had its ups and definite downs. besides the fun adventures i'm once again reminded how fragile life is. in early july i learned my grandma (dad's real mom) was smoking at her sister's house in pahoa (on the big island) and fell asleep. she burned a part of the house down and had to be airlifted to a burn unit on oahu with 2nd and 3rd degree burns...two-thirds of her head/face were severely burned and over 30% of her body burned. after some deliberating with the fam and some heated arguments i made one of the best decisions in my life to visit her one last time, to find closure with her, and tell her i loved her despite not being close with her growing up. a week following my visit grandma passed away in her sleep...lesson 1 learned and promise kept...

yet just when you learn to grieve, life throws curve balls and sliders...last week i learned a good friend's mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. there's a lot to think about when you are delivered that kind of news. how do you support them? the family? your friend?

a great friend and climbing buddy learned she has spinal problems and may never be able to climb again. sail? motorcycle? run? to know you have to make lifestyle changes, weigh consequences, and educate yourself and make decisions on what you think is best for you. not only now, but for those years to come...

another good friend and paddling teammate just found out her older brother died (from a possible heart attack)...middle age, family, unexpected...words can't express anything yet i know she and the fam will find hope and strength thru each other...

life...it is fragile, full of surprises, joys, disappointments, tribulations, adventures, love, relationships, excitement, frustrations, death, births, hope, trust, faith, and the unknowing...live life to the fullest and live it with no regrets. you'll never know when today will be the last. love like you've never loved because you'll never get that second chance.

1/2 marathon

the inaugural rock-n-roll marathon & 1/2 marathon came to seattle this summer, and i just couldn't say no to something like that! so i walked/walked fast/barely jogged my first 1/2 a marathon and barely survived it. haha! it probably wasn't the best idea considering my foot and knee injuries, but knowing me i don't sign up for something and not do it. so against my better judgment and other's advice i went for it. i completed 13.1 miles under 3 hours and could barely walk after that! lol! lesson learned, go w/ your gut and stubbornness and you might be in pain. for a looooooong time. can't wait to see how i do when i'm healthy tho....maybe next year or 10 years from now. 2010+ seattle rock-n-roll 1/2 marathon here i come!


the finish line...







the twin and i after the race