49 Days

Yesterday the family recognized the 49th day of my father's death. The 49th day observation is a buddhist ritual, but we had the local reverend come to the home and pray and say a few words. The cousins, aunties, and uncle came over for dinner. The best part was the chance to relive our childhood memories again, through pictures. One of the gifts my father left for us was the collection of pictures of all of us during our younger years. The 49th day observation, while bittersweet, became a source of happy memories.

Brunch at the Ihilani

Christmas Eve morning we headed over to Ihilani for a Sunday brunch. My dad loved this brunch, and I can see why. For starters, the restaurants offer a raw bar filled with oysters. Dad loved oysters, so we all had (at least) one. Great food, even better company. Here are Dean and Mom standing in front of the Christmas tree.

Manta Rays

One of the highlights of the Ihilani resort is the pool of marine life. In one, there was a collection of sharks. In another there were manta rays. I was about 3 feet from this one.

Birthday Dinner w/ the Fam

My birthday was spent with family. We headed out to the Sheraton Waikiki to meet up with friends of my mom's, and then headed over to the Royal Hawaiian Hotel for dinner. The best part was the view of Waikiki Beach and Diamond Head.

The Birthday Dinner

Petite Filet Mignon, steamed vegetables and garlic mashed potatoes (in the pastry tower).

Mom & Fukui-san

Mom's friends, the Fukuis, joined us for dinner. Mom met the Fukuis several years ago. My mom works at a souvenir shop on Oahu and the Fukuis were visiting from Japan. They struck up a friendship and every time the Fukuis return, they pay a visit. Here's a shot of Mrs. Fukui w/ mom.

(No) Power Update

I'm in Hawaii enjoying tons of electricity, but my poor roomate is in Seattle still w/o power. I called the power company to get an update and the news was just depressing. They expect power to be restored on December 24th, 12:33 pm (according to the message).

No Wind, No Rain, and (still) no Power

So the largest windstorm to hit the Seattle area in a decade has left the city in ruins. Maybe not in ruins, but it sure feels like it. Winds measured 70 mph at Sea-Tac Airport, but in little Woodinville, it didn't really feel like that. Yet after 5 days, my condo is still without power...sans power...no tengo power...denki nai. To add insult to injury, 2/3 of my condo complex has power, but my little row does not. Subdivisions all around me have power, and not only that, people have been flaunting their electricity by plugging in all of their Christmas lights and decorations. Even the little ghetto mart down the street has power. I can say that I have power right now, but I had to leave the state to get it. I'm now sitting in Hawaii, typing away in an airconditioned room. My poor roommate, though, is sleeping in a condo that I'm sure is about 28 degrees. Yikes. I only hope that the power comes back on before I return to Seattle. All right...I'll stop whining.

Christmas Pictures and Christmas Visits

My goddaughter, Maggie, came by for a visit today. She had just been to the mall where she visited with Mr. Claus. She was really excited to see Santa, but when she finally had her turn, she got tongue tied. Apparently she has decided to write Santa a letter instead. Here she is with her godfather, Uncle Eric.

Shorkie-Tzu

The Herms family recently acquired two new family members: Jake & Jolly. I have no idea which is which, but aren't they adorable? Makes me want to get a dog. In case you're wondering, Jake & Jolly are Yorkshire Terrier and Shih-Tzu mix.

Shorkie-Tzu II

Ma-Chan

My nephew, who my mother has nicknamed Ma-Chan, is growing by leaps and bounds. He still has a big head (for the big brain), but he's also wearing 3-6 month clothes (he's 1.5 months old). My brother received an old suit jacket he wore when he was about 3 yrs. old. We suspect that Ma-Chan will wear it when he turns a year old.

Puppy Love

My brother and sister-in-law have two dogs. Bear (dachshund) & Mika (black lab mix) are starting to become friends. This hasn't always been the case. Bear is the older dog and the one they have had longer. He was my dad's best companion and pretty much ran the house. Mika is about a year old and joined the household last December. She's a young, energetic puppy, and while sweet, she is a puppy. Well, since my dad passed away, Bear and Mika have spent more time together, and are now a whole lot sweeter to each other. They've become sleeping pals.

Snow Day!!!

I got the call this morning. Early this morning. Eric phoned at 5:32 am. Not his fault since I told him to call me if school were canceled. The last two times that school was canceled, no one told me and I went into school. Grrrr. So the phone rang at 5:32 and I picked up and learned of the school closure. What a beautiful way to wake up. Kevin called next at 5:45 am confirming the school closure. Jack called at 10:06 am trying to pull a fast one on me. "Hey Suz, why aren't you at school?" Bah ha ha. "Didn't you hear about the students who were calling profs early this morning saying that school was canceled?" That second one had me going.

A Room with a View

The Twisted Sub

So I was right about one thing last night: I was eating a sandwich today. Susan and I headed to the Twisted Sub to see if it was open. It was. I had to walk in and apologize to the owner about parking in front of her shop. At least she didn't have my car towed. The next door business had 3 cars towed. Meanies. Anyway, we ordered a soup and sandwich at the shop and hung out for a couple of hours. It was a great way to spend the morning (my snow day morning!!). After brunch, we headed back outside where it was a brisk 27 degrees.

The Twisted Sub II

Susan at the Twisted Sub.

The Long Road Home

After a leisurely morning, it was time to head home. Susan and I went the back way to the condo. Here are some shots of the road. Notice the abandoned van on the side of the road.

Seriously...it's snowing?

So I'm at work today, writing up a quiz. Kevin walks in and states that it's going to snow...really snow. I don't really believe him. In the span of 15 minutes of talking with him, I became a believer. In that 15 minutes, it went completely dark, and traffic reports in north Seattle included snow, lots of it. So I get in my car and head home, on backroads, of course. Well, what would normally take 20 minutes, took 1 hour and 20 minutes. And on top of that, I had to leave my car at the bottom of the hill in front of a sandwich shop. I have a feeling I'll be eating sandwiches tomorrow.

I took this pic in front of the condo. Since it's dark, it's hard to get a landscape shot. This will have to do for now.

A cold lonely tree

The JA Posse Movie Night

Well, the posse got together last Saturday. Our major goal was to actually watch "Howl's Moving Castle," which we did. We were sidetracked a bit with all the food (see below). Next on the list: nabe party.

The Menu

When I got to Dale's we got out the snacks. Now, for normal people, snacks and popcorn would have been just fine. Not our group. 7 people attended, but we had food for 20. Hanging out with friends like these is the best.

but wait...there's more food...

Mari, Mark & Sueko brought the pizza.

and more food.

The buffet was complete with leftovers from Thanksgiving (thanks Dale & Bif). The JA Posse just can't do things on a small scale.

Dad & Daughter

I love this shot of G & B outside on the lanai. This was taken on Thanksgiving Day, before people started leaving.

The Cousins

The Tokumoris and Asatos

The Cingular Bars

The Weather? Same old, same old.

The Ko'olaus

A mesmerized audience

The highlight of the evening was the debut of the family video. My dad was the family photographer and not only took hundreds of pictures, but also shot some 8mm film. My brother had the film converted to DVD so that we could all watch it. Here Tanya, Mark, Dean, & Sheri watch the video.

Tanya

Some of the picture's had a young Uncle Aki featured in them, Tanya's dad.

Looking at pictures

Rayann and Mona look through Bachan's pictures.

Yuki

My cousin's, Rayann's, daughter.

Dean

My brother Dean next to an arrangement from family in Oklahoma & Texas.

Family, Funerals, and Feasts

My family was busy yesterday and today as we attended my dad's funeral and burial service. The visitation for the funeral began yesterday at 5:00 pm, but there was already a line when we got there at 4:50 pm. It was strange standing in the receiving line with my mom, brothers, and sister-in-law. The last time I remember doing this was at my parents' 40th wedding anniversary. I saw a lot of the same people but instead of smiles, they shared words of comfort and shed a few tears. And after the funeral service, we all shared a meal together.

This morning we left home early and drove to the veteran's cemetary. Today's service was sadder than yesterday since it really felt like the last formal recognition of my father's life. The military color guard presided over the funeral and presented my mom with a US flag. The color guard then fired their rifles for a 21 gun salute. A lone bugler played "Taps". What a haunting melody. The service was short and at the conclusion, we all made our way to Pah Ke's Restaurant...one of my dad's favorite eating spots. The food was excellent: shrimp salad, eggplant szechuan, beef & vegetables, peking duck, black bean shrimp, noodles. People ended up taking home a lot of the food.

The family came over later this afternoon to look at cards and well wishes and to talk story. We pulled out all the left overs and ate (again). Now we have about 12 hours before we start all over again. Family will be over again as we feast on a Thanksgiving meal.

I had been dreading this week...dreading it since November 2001, to be honest. That's when my dad was diagnosed with liver cancer. But now that it's here, I don't want it to end. The abundance of family and friends, the stories we've laughed over, pictures which stoked our memories, and the meals that we've shared, have made it a sweet experience.

A Survivor

My family has the unfortunate luck of killing birds.
Not intentionally. We have had many failed attempts at rescuing birds. The last two birds died at my hands. It really was sad. It was last Christmas when a storm passed through the islands. I went outside the next day and found two baby doves on the ground. I brought them in the house, hand fed them, and kept them warm. All for nought. They died several days later. But this morning, there was good news in the house. My mom has two pet birds which laid eggs. One must have hatched and produced this bird. It's actually quite big. My brother Dean said that its good we didn't know it hatched or we would have killed it, too.

MVP Gold, Baby

I'm leaving on a jet plane...again. I get on a flight tomorrow. I first head to Maui, then have a 2 hour layover, then on to Honolulu. This week will be spent in funeral preparation and meeting with family. While this whole experience is not unexpected, it has been so sad. The one good thing out of this? I've traveled so much to Hawaii this year that I'll hit MVP Gold status after this trip. What a bittersweet way to get it.

The Long Goodbye

My family has spent five years preparing for the day, but when my father passed away, it was still painful. November 2001 landed a blow to my family. We learned of my father's liver cancer, which had already claimed the life of my dad's youngest brother in 1998. My father scheduled surgery to have the cancer removed only to learn later that the cancer mass was too large; the surgeon's only option was to stitch him back up, cancer in tact. My father had a grim prognosis, and we were preparing ourselves for imminent death. He proved us wrong.

Since learning of his cancer in 2001, my father took numerous trips especially to Las Vegas, attended all the parties he could, met with friends, and arranged his chemotherapy treatments around vacations and football games. Living life became his priority. It wasn't until recently that his body began to wear out. My brother Kyle and I got the call last month from my youngest brother that we needed to make preparations for one last visit.

The trip was planned for the Veteran's Day weekend. My brother, his wife, and their newborn son had left on Wednesday, 11/8, for Hawai'i. My father was weak with cancer, unable to eat, move or talk, but he recognized Conner, and even tried to mouth his name. He met his first grandson. I flew in on 11/9, but my father passed away while I was enroute to Hawaii. Fortunately I was welcomed home by immediate and extended family who helped to ease the transition for me, my mom, brothers, and sisters-in-law. And now we make the final preparations and bid farewell one last time for a life well lived.

Rain rain, here to stay...

It's raining. Again. Maybe it didn't stop. I don't know. I took the long way in to work today, driving on surface streets. There were puddles of water everywhere, and traffic progressed unevenly as drivers accelerated, slowed down, stopped, and moved on. When I got to work, I decided to sit in the car for five minutes just to hear the rain beating down. Loved it. Problem was that I eventually had to leave the car to get to my office. I don't mind getting wet, except I have this thing about my hair; I hate having wet hair. Ask any of the guys I hang out with and they'll tell you the same. Ah well, nothing to get worked up about especially when I sport a $14 haircut. Let it rain, let it pour.

Kahalu'u

So I found this pic on my cousin's site. Isn't it great? This is the area where I grew up, about a 10 minute drive from my parents' home.

Princess Maggie

My goddaughter, Maggie, dressed up as a princess for Halloween. Wand in hand, she is ready to conjure up some chocolate. (I'm not sure what's up with the pic and why it won't display, but if you click on the pic spot, Maggie will appear).

For Book Lovers!

I cannot say enough about LibraryThing.com. This website is an online cataloging service which allows members to keep track of books they own. I also track books I've read. You can check out my library at:
http://www.librarything.com/catalog.php?view=suzreiko

You can also take a tour at:
http://www.librarything.com

There are different levels of membership including free, yearly, and lifetime. I opted for lifetime, which is a mere $25.

Masato

So I went and saw my nephew the other day and have come to realize that he is just going to be a big kid. He weighed in at 9.7 lbs, AND he has a big head. Now, everyone in my family has a big head (yes, literally and metaphorically speaking), but Masato's head must be home to the biggest baby brain ever (big head MUST mean big brain, as I've convinced myself, a bigged headed person, to believe). Masato is also sturdy, he is in no way petite, which leads me to believe that he will be a healthy robust child. That makes this aunt very happy.

Me & Masato

Kyle & Masato

Oh mother dear we sing to thee, St. Andrew's Priory...

Yesterday I paid a visit to my alma mater, St. Andrew's Priory. The Priory is an all girls' school in Honolulu. It was a little strange as I walked on the grounds. It not only looked different, it felt different. I didn't have those warm fuzzies like I thought I would when I saw the senior lounge or the library. I didn't have flashing memories of classmates or events when I walked through the cathedral, or in front of the fountain. I thought I'd have a stronger connection, but not so. I still credit the Priory with changing the trajectory of my life, and if given the chance, would do it all over again at the Priory. But there is no reason to go back unless I'm with other alums who can talk through the memories with me.

Downtown Honolulu

The Priory is in downtown Honolulu. It's a block away from the state capitol, several minutes' walk from the business center, and right next door to the governor's mansion. It's also a couple minutes' walk from the seedy area of town. I guess its the yin and yang of the location.

St. Andrew's Cathedral

The cathedral is right next to the Priory's grounds. THis is where I attended chapel twice a week, and where we held our graduation. A most beautiful structure.

St. Andrew's Cathedral - Inside

Hawai'i...Again

I'm hopping on a plane to Hawai'i today. I'll teach my 1:30 class and then head home. Cindy and Maggie R. will come get me at 2:45 and then I'm off to Sea-Tac airport. I'll be in Hawai'i by 8:30 pm tonight (11:30 pm Seattle time). Will post when I get there.

Jake Shimabukuro

Check out one of my favorite musicians, Jake Shimabukuro.

Conner Masato

My brother and his wife welcomed their first son to this world. Conner Masato was born on October 15, weighing in at 9.7 lbs. Yeah, he's a big kid with a big head. My brother Kyle is holding Conner in this shot.