Patrick Far East Music

So many "Far Easts" were canceled this year due to the nuclear crisis. (Equivalent to State or Regionals back in the USA.) Remember that exchange trip to Yoron Island that Jake participated in last year? That was canceled this year as well. It was all very sad for so many kids...most of them Japanese kids from the mainland.

Patrick was so relieved when they ended up rescheduling Far East Music after it had been canceled. We were thrilled he had the opportunity to go. It was in Korea...which is turning out to be the go-to destination for Far Easts lately. Something to do with the facilities at the Olympic Village being perfect for it.

Patrick didn't take many photos because "it gets tiring remembering to take them" (like this is even ABOUT what he wants or feels).



Which is just one more example of why I am grateful for Facebook's tagging feature. Thank you, Patrick's friends!

I am also grateful for YouTube. I know this is kind of long, but if you like voices that stir the soul, I recommend you watch it. They did a fabulous job. I think I can pick out Patrick's voice, but that's probably just a mom thing. You can see him toward the middle of the pack.



Now this is one that Patrick did manage to capture on his camera. It is hilarious! Not the girls rehearsing...they were adorable and talented. I'm talking about when Patrick pans the room and you see the row of guys with their cameras out and mouths hanging open. Not to mention his commentary. Ahhh, teenagers.



And I guess turnabout is fair play. Listen to those girls scream! Of course Patrick is the most animated one, in front with the Members Only jacket.

Mama Don't Cook Concert

The choir director at Kubasaki High is a genius. First of all, he also coaches football, allowing him direct access to recruit much-needed male voices. Secondly, he fundraises in this manner: About three times a year, he puts on a dinner performance. He gets donations of food to put on the dinner (from parents) and "requires" students to sell tickets equivalent to the number in their family. Parents don't want their kids to think they are total losers want to hear their kids sing, so they pay $15 a pop to eat the donated food cooked and served by the culinary arts program. Oh, did I mention his wife is in charge of the culinary arts program? Genius, I tell you.


"Mama Don't Cook" is one of those concerts. (Can you imagine my "Mother of the Year" nomination for skipping out on a concert just for MOMS?! Calculating, that man is.)



This year I had two children in the combined choir, Patrick in show choir and Coree in advanced choir.



We all enjoyed our dinner...theirs steak and mine salmon. (It wasn't too bad, although it is really hard to do fish on a large scale. It just dries out too easily.) I got bonus flowers, though.



Once the show started, I had to move up and over to the side to get a good camera angle. I was able to keep both of them in the shot most of the time.



They did a great job, especially considering three choirs (that practice separately) were combined into one, and they were in such a confined space for so many of them.

I included a couple of samples here (mostly for grandparents). Hope you enjoy it as much as I did...and it's FREE for you!



50's Medley



What a Feelin'

Patrick is Headed to Broadway!

After much work, wait and fund raising, the day has finally arrived. Patrick's awesome drama teacher, Mrs. Deakins...has gone above and beyond in planning, coordinating, championing and working miracles to pull off the adventure of a lifetime.

Patrick and fellow drama-geeks will be leaving for NYC (via Korea and SFO) today. I am a bit sad not to be there to see him off at the airport...but the excitement I feel for him makes up for it. The kids will be participating in workshops during the day, seeing Broadway shows at night...and fitting in the sights, too...such as Lady Liberty, FAO Schwartz, etc. They are also going to try to get on the Today Show. Good luck, everyone!



Oh...and I never did get a chance to post this video from Patrick's Far East Drama experience in Korea. One of his talented classmates put it together, and I just can't get enough of it. Lots of good footage of Patrick in it, so I hope you'll check it out.

North Shore Drive

We had planned to go to the Polynesian Cultural Center today, but Jake really didn't feel up to it. Instead, we decided just to take a windshield tour of the windward side of the island. We had to do something to get out of the room.

First, we took H3 straight out to the Marine base at Kaneohe Bay to look around at the BX, quarters, etc. You know, the important stuff. It is a very nice base with lots of new and improved housing. We ate lunch at the food court. {Only the best for Jake.} Then we did a little shopping. Not too much, though...not a lot of room left in the suitcases. Just important things...like chocolate chip macadamia nut shortbread cookies.



This is just the way I remember it from 20 years ago. I think it's wild how the road runs right along the ocean. See how wet it is? That is from the waves crashing onto the road. It was fun to watch.



I wonder how many people have driven straight into the ocean?



We followed the signs to the LDS temple in Laie. Beautiful! It had just opened back up after two years of renovations.



Then we backtracked a little to check out the BYU Hawaii campus.



What a gorgeous campus. We're hoping one/some of our kids have the opportunity to go here.



Jake still didn't feel like stopping at the Cultural Center next door, so we just kept driving...up to the North Shore. We found parking right off the road and stopped to take in the sights for awhile. {With Hawaiian radio 105.1, KINE, playing in the background, of course. It's been our constant soundtrack for our adventure here. Hawaiian music is probably going to give me traumatic flashbacks of this experience now.}



The waves were awesome. I could have sat here all afternoon and watched.



Then, to add to the local flavor, a machete-wielding stranger walked up to our car with a green coconut...



And made us an offer we couldn't refuse. {Seriously, we were afraid of what he might do with that machete if we turned him down.}



Jake loves coconut and was super excited to be drinking from one. The straw looked suspiciously like those McDonald's carries...and with no wrapper in sight, I had my worries about its origin. {Here's hoping Jake's "local" experience doesn't have him "going coconuts" all night.}

Frustrating Day...and a Lovely Evening

Jake's first pre-op appointment was scheduled for this morning. After waiting over an hour past our appointment time, someone (a nurse, I think) came out to tell us we weren't going to be seen today. This was extremely frustrating. I understand stuff happens and emergencies come up...but making us wait over an HOUR? It wasn't like our appt. was at 0700...they had plenty of time to figure out that the Dr. was going to be in surgery to tell us when we checked in that our appointment was being rescheduled. The frustration was amplified by:

(1) My being a control freak
(2) The fact that we have been sitting around for an extra week, waiting to ask the questions we've had for four months.
(3) Surgery being only two days away and I feel like I'm being cheated out of time I need to prepare. See number one.

So, they rescheduled the appt. for 0700 tomorrow, to fit it in before he goes into surgery for the day...and before the 2 hour pre-op/anesthesia appt. we have at 11:30. I asked (snidely...I'll admit), "Sooo...no chance we'll show up at 0700 tomorrow, to wait for an hour to be told we've been bumped again?" She flatly said, "No."

We headed back to the room. I fumed. And watched several episodes of "Say Yes to the Dress" and "Police Women of Maricopa County." {Jake is so happy to have his own TV, I'm sure.}

On the bright side, we had reservations for the Hale Koa Luau tonight. We left a little early to hopefully have some time to go to the Army museum beforehand, but that didn't work out because of accident traffic.



This is the picture they took as we entered the garden. Since I don't have a scanner here, I took a picture of the picture.



There were all kinds of crafts and displays as we walked in...and there was a "before show," with, Hawaiian guitar players, a tree climbing demonstration...



Yummy, fruity drinks...



And hula lessons! Like father, like son. {Ask Cliff about our honeymoon when they pulled him up on stage and made him put his hands on his hips, just like this.}



After the cocktail hour was over, we were funneled into the main stage area to find our assigned tables. The entertainment started right away.


And entertaining, it was. Not just heavy on the grass-skirts and coconuts...



Lots of muscles, too. {Hi, Cutie. Sorry...I'm already married.}



The food was all very interesting...most of it in a good way. Tried the poi, again...just in case my tastes had changed. Nope. It's still nasty.



We were each served a huge plate. Four kinds of meat. {What? No macaroni salad?} Almost all of it was fantastic.



This was dessert. I'm sorry to be a dessert snob...but this did not do it for me. Dessert either needs to involve chocolate...or crumb-top apple pie. Most every plate still had the flavorless pink jiggler on it when the server collected them.



The host was delightful. He's actually sort of famous. He had a couple of hit songs, one was a #1 hit in the 80s. I can't remember the name of it now, though. He sang it for us and I recognized it right away and it brought me back to the day.

Anyway, he went through a process to pick the couple who've been married the longest. This couple has been married 63 years! They were so cute together. They came up and danced while the host serenaded them. I was watching them, imagining being up there with Cliff, 43 years from now. As lovely as this show was, it felt so incomplete to be there without him..



I took many pictures and video clips, but won't include them all here. Just trust me, it was a great show. We had lovely table-mates from Indiana. The mom was a veteran, and she now works for the govt and was here on business. Her grown son and his girlfriend tagged along. He's thinking about leaving college and joining the Air Force. It was great to have the opportunity to tell him about my experience, how it was one of the best decisions I've made...and also go over the pros and cons of enlisting vs. finishing college and getting a commission. I hope he decides the take the plunge, either way...he seems great.



The show's finale was a very touching tribute to our military, past and present. In addition to the typical playing of service songs while people stood for their branch, for the last song, he called for anyone who had lost a close friend or family member in the military, to raise up a candle from their tables while he sang "Proud to Be an American." It was a very special experience.


Oh...and when we got back to the room? There was a message from orthopedics. They needed to reschedule that "sure thing" appt. from 0700...to two in the afternoon. *Counts to ten.*

Celebration at Anzuya Koza

The evening Cliff returned from Korea, we planned to go out as a family to celebrate. Cliff had been living in a tent in the snow, eating MRE's and tray rations for almost a month, so we wanted to take him wherever he wanted to go. Coree was at a soccer game with a friend, but the rest of us were determined to press on.

The tsunami warning kind of threw things off, however...because that made everything on the water basically off limits. I scoured my brain trying to think of the perfect place (I hear more recommendations than he does). We had settled on Krishna's Indian food since it was already pretty late and Krishna's is just around the corner. But as we were turning, this place came to my mind and I said, "or we could go to the water restaurant." The boys, practically in unison said, "YES!" To which Cliff replied, "What's the water restaurant?" Could it be true? In the 1.5 years since Cliff has been back from his deployment, have I not once taken him to the water restaurant? It's true...we hadn't been back since. So, Anzuya Koza it is!



After stowing our shoes in the cubbies and climbing up the stairs...we walked across the glass to our booth, praying we wouldn't plummet into the depths below.



Can you see the people in the room below (over Jake's shoulder)?



They were having a great time. There were speeches and applause. I found myself wondering how they were connected and what they were celebrating.



See the shoes on the step? They are slippers provided by the house, in case you need to leave the room and don't want to put your own shoes back on. See the cabinet on the left? Those are the cubbies which hold your shoes.



Under the table shot. Glass floor.



Jake pointed behind me to get my attention and this is what I saw when I turned around.
"Pssst!".....



Heeheehee...I just couldn't help myself. He ducked back into his cubicle so quick when he saw my camera.



The food started arriving on gorgeous dishes. They seem to have stepped things up a notch since we were here almost 2 years ago.



Yummy avocado salad...



Beautiful roll...



Gyoza. A Japanese staple.



Troy had to get the ray-fin fries again. I couldn't bring myself to eat ray jerky. Just no.



Patrick had been dreaming about these bacon-wrapped quail eggs since last time.



Nomnomnom....



Jake can't quite decide if there's something else calling to him.



But Patrick feels pretty satisfied.



Suddenly, the waiter appears with more. Evidently, we were starving when we ordered, because there was a TON of food...



Except, see this lovely platter of sashimi? This gorgeous, $30 platter of sashimi? We didn't order it. We didn't know quite how to handle it with the language barrier...so we just ate it. Literally. {Then Cliff suggested it was something they pulled on all Americans, which made us laugh at the thought. More likely a picture-menu, pointing misunderstanding.}



The platter included so many interesting sea vegetables and other greens I had never seen. These little sprouts have a very strong flavor. I couldn't tell if I liked them or not.



But these, I love. Shiso leaves have a very strong flavor that you either love our hate. I think they're pure awesome.



Jake was thrilled with the bonus science lesson in shrimp dissection.



It didn't matter that we were all absolutely stuffed, dessert just seemed necessary. Troy opted (again) for the chewy, mochi-covered ice cream)



Yum. If you like that kind of thing.



Jake had the honey toast...which really seemed to have been kicked up a notch since our last visit.



Jake agrees.



The rest of us opted for this gorgeous chocolate lava cake with the classy cornflakes.



Loved the special spoon Cliff got with his dessert.



That's what I'M talkin' about! And the cornflakes really did add something nice to it.



Suddenly we heard familiar Sanshin music. At first we thought it must be a dinnertime show. Well, it was...but a private one. In one of the booths across from us, a group was having a jam session. All of the neighbors within our view seemed to enjoy it as much as we did.



As we were leaving, one of the sanshin players (who must have seen my enthusiasm) stopped us and motioned to ask if we'd like a photo with his instrument. Now that's my kind of guy!



I had a request of my own, which they seemed to happily oblige.