Friday...The Good...The Bad...The Awesome...and The Suckish

Let's start with the suckish, shall we? Suckish=1:30 AM musters for 6:30 flights. Seriously?



Put your hips into it, honey. Isn't it sweet that Jake wanted to be woken up to take Dad to the drop-off point? I thought it was. We dropped him off and went back to bed. At least we had that luxury...it was going to be a long day+ for Cliff.



Good=Kids headed out for a night of branch youth conference, including sleeping on tatami mats and climbing on poles and ropes.

Bad=Patrick having to miss out because it's the performance weekend for his musical.



Good=Just Troy and I getting an opportunity to spend time together. I offered to take him to dinner, since it was just the two of us. He chose Tony's, since he'd never been. We hadn't actually taken any of the kids there yet. It's just been our date night thing. This is just to show you that although I always get the same thing, there are other things on the menu. Especially if you like Spam.



Which Troy does. I do not. This is a Hawaiian omelet. It had spam and pieces of cream cheese in it. And Kimchee on the side, with the obligatory scoop of macaroni salad and a bonus Spam riceball. Would that be Spamnigiri? Anyway, he said it was great.



Good=Garlic shrimp twice in the same week. I think this makes up for the less than awesome birthday, actually.



Awesome=Patrick on stage. This was his first musical. We are going to see it tomorrow...and I will tell you all about it.

The Most Frustrating, Stressful Birthday Ever (and some awesome sushi)

College is totally kicking my butt. Or I guess technology is, rather. But since one of my classes is all about computers, and the other is delivered via the Internet...it's really the same thing.

I had a big project due for my computer class tonight. A project using Microsoft Access, to be exact. And a take-home quiz due. Through Murphy's law and a massive comedy of errors, I spent hours on the computer today trying to figure out how on earth I was going to complete what should have been an easy project to finish up. I had emailed myself the file from class, only to find out that my version of the Office Suite did not contain Access. And the one that does...costs $500. Instead, I tried downloading a free trial. This crashed my computer. Three times. No problem...I'll just get the trial version for Mac on our desktop computer. Problem...Access doesn't come with the Mac version. Well, there's always Cliff's laptop, right? Problem...he already used the free trial of Professional Office for his laptop. A year ago, so it's expired. Since it was due tonight, and having a birthday does not give me a free pass from class, homework OR my other daily responsibilities (although it should, dang it!) there was no way I was going to be able to go to the school to hammer it out in the computer lab.

About this point, I thought I might spontaneously combust. I hate technology. OK, so I love it. But today, I HATED it. Cliff was due to leave at 1:30 AM for his trip. We had tried to plan one last hurrah at our new favorite restaurant on the island, Newport Sushi. This was totally contingent upon me getting my project and quiz done. It was not looking like this was going to happen. Cliff got all packed and left to run one last errand and drop off Patrick at play practice. He told me to call if I got done and we could meet.

Through anger, tears and suppressed urges to smash my laptop against the wall, I finally got the Office download to work without crashing. I was making good progress on the project (better than I thought possible) and watching the clock. I had been looking forward to this night, was so bummed out about Cliff leaving in the first place, and now I was going to miss out on our sushi date. I finished everything I could on the project (it wasn't due until midnight, so I'd have another hour after class), grabbed my book and quiz and jumped in the van. I knew I'd spend the next month regretting it if I let this chance go by. I called Cliff and told him he could meet me at Newport Sushi if he didn't mind me working on my quiz between plates.



He didn't mind in the slightest.



Hello Cotton's Boat. I am going to eat you in one bite.
This is a mound of real crab meat, topped with shrimp, with the loveliest seasoning.



Spicy Tuna Tostada...where have you been all my life?



Heaven on a wonton.

Salmon Carpaccio Sashimi



Dressed with olive oil and citrus juice.



Stuffed Tomato really had nothing to do with tomatoes...it's tuna and crabmeat, designed to look like a stuffed tomato. Clever, no?



Just like the Volcano is not really a volcano, but seared salmon, crab and scallops topped with roe.



With a belly full of fantastic sushi, 9/10 of my quiz completed, the stress of the day behind me and a few minutes of peace and quiet with my favorite person on the planet...this pretty much summed up my mood.

In the end, it all worked out fine. I finished the quiz in class and turned in the project by 11:30. And even got thirty minutes of sleep before having to get up to take Cliff to his muster. I think making the time for our date was the key part of the equation. If I had just decided to skip it because it was too hard, even getting everything done, I still would have been ticked the whole month. Sometimes, you just gotta take time to taste the sushi.

My Birthday...Family Edition

Between evening classes for 3 of us 2 nights a week, play practice every night, piano lessons, youth activities and the like, it was rough to find a night where we could all go out together as a family to celebrate my birthday. With Cliff leaving for a month on Friday, there was no perfect solution, so we settled for an early dinner at Coco's Curry House tonight...and cake after Patrick got home from play practice.


Patrick ignoring his quail egg curry while passing notes with Abby who happened to be in the booth behind us.



My usual order. Chicken cutlet with vegetables added...regular spice.















Still way more interested in the note than the food.







Coree getting in on the note passing action.



Patrick noticing his hat is missing from the window ledge...and has magically appeared on the head behind him.



The patisserie has lots of little individual cake slices and whenever we go, I usually get the same slice of chocolate sponge cake. It was my lucky day...they had an ENTIRE cake of my usual! Woohoo! Doesn't it look incredible?



I don't like regular cake...and I especially don't like frosting...but this cake is way different. I wish it was easy to make, but it's probably a good thing it's not.



See the little flecks of gold on the chocolate curls?



Where have you been all my life?

Because of all the scheduling craziness and the pressure of my homework due, etc...I have to admit, the celebration felt kind of check-in-the-box-ish. I didn't even get to blow out any candles. We have a plastic box with a variety of birthday candles...and because we haven't had a birthday since November, we had no idea it was missing until cake time. So, no wish. Also...no presents. (What the heck?) Things have honestly just been insane preparing for this exercise...so Cliff gets a pass. Actually, I don't mind doing my own shopping this year. Cliff may live to regret it, though. (Hehe.) He was feeling a bit guilty, but I told him not to worry, when averaged together with last year's fantabulous birthday extravaganza...it elevated this one to still pretty great. I'm not sure if that made him feel any better.

Anatomy of Valentines Day

It starts with chocolate chip scones...



Followed by the traditional Godiva truffle exchange. (Not actually planned...but do we know each other or what?)



Then Cliff broke the "don't spend too much money on flowers which are going to die" rule. But I still love him. {They are beautiful.}



I'd much rather spend a fraction of the money on beautiful shrimp, which will also just end up disappearing...because it's a much more delicious experience. {He is beautiful.}



That's what I'M talkin' about!

Educational Updates

I'm not sure if I've mentioned this here or not...but Coree decided not to go to eighth grade this year. Instead, she decided to take a semester of ninth grade classes online via BYU independent study. Her goal...to transfer into Kubasaki at the semester. I was all for her doing it. Well, I do have some reservations about her being barely 17 when she graduates. But she's always been on the more mature side...all of her friends are older, and that has usually been the case. And there was no question about her being ready to do high school work. So, we went for it. It was a rough first semester all the way around...for Coree's social life, Dad's wallet AND my sleep. Online classes are very time-consuming. They are also expensive (especially compared to free). For LDS kids, high school=early-morning Seminary. This meant I had to bring her there and back every morning. (Not that I didn't do that the first 2 1/2 years I had kids in Seminary, but it's been nice having such a large carpool since then.)

Well, to make a long story short, she did it! Coree is now a Kubasaki Dragon. She is so thrilled...but at the same time said, "I can't believe I did all that work, NOT so I could be relieved to be done...but JUST so I could do MORE work! (Yeah...welcome to high school, sweetie.) Silver lining for Mom: Since I drove the Seminary carpool the entire first semester, I'm now done for the year. Woohoo! It's funny, she comes home every day with some new tidbit about how high school is so much better. ("Mom...today, one of my teachers GAVE us gum. At Lester, you'd get detention for chewing gum!" or "Mom...today at lunch, I changed tables THREE times....and no one said ANYTHING to me!" Also a detention-earning infraction at Lester. So is hugging of any kind.) It's not that she ever tested any of these rules, or had any trouble with anyone, it's just the overall atmosphere of the school that was suffocating to her. It sounds like she's really breathing easier in a less oppressive environment. I understand middle school is a tough age to manage, so in an effort to keep good order and discipline, they....well, run it like a prison, frankly. It's just that Coree didn't need that. And we had other options.

Well, all that {unimportant} academic stuff aside...let's get to something that really matters. Fashion. Coree could not be expected to carry a middle school backpack to high school, could she? Well, I thought it would be fine, but evidently, it's just not done. Coree scoured the Internet and found something more acceptable at Urban Outfitters. For $80. Fat chance. I agreed to go halvesies. Deal. Here it is:


So what do you think...is it sufficiently high school enough?

Leaving me with the cast-off middle school model. Pssshh...I have no shame, I'll take a backpack that won't cost me additional money any day. It's still in perfect shape. In your face, middle school. Why do I need a backpack, you ask? I've gone back to school myself. Two classes:

Does this look familiar?



How about this? Does this make your chest tighten as much as it does mine? If I survive ten weeks of college algebra, it will be a miracle. At this point, all I care about is passing with a C. Anything else would be overkill. I'm also taking a computer class (information systems management) which is not so bad. I tell you, I'd take ANY class over college algebra, any day. But it's a necessary evil. Mostly just evil.

And Jake? He's still playing the mad professor at home.



He made this pontoon boat through instructions in his Supercharged Science program. He got tired of waiting for me to order a bunch of the parts, so he started stripping old electronics he had in his room. Would you even know where to start? I wouldn't know what part does what or how to remove it. Jake makes it look easy.

Here it is in action. I can't wait to see what else he can do. Although, I'm thinking I'd better order him some new parts or my electronics might start disappearing.

600th Post!

Can you believe I've come up with 600 things to write about over the past 2+ years? Or that this blog had 12,000 hits just this last year? OK...so half of those were probably from my mom...but that's OK...I know she's my biggest fan. {Love you, Mom!} Since there are so few comments, I'm always amazed to see how many hits this blog gets. Thanks for reading, even if you're among the ranks of the lurkers. {I won't call you out or anything..."De-lurking Days" and the like on other blogs kind of bug me. I figure if you want to say hello, you will. And I would LOVE it if you do...but no pressure.} =^)

Anyhow, I guess this calls for another give-away, doesn't it? I've been thinking about this over the past week, wondering what I should offer to celebrate. I wasn't really coming up with anything and I almost decided to skip it...but I'm a sucker for traditions and just couldn't.

So, I consulted my capable assistant (Jake) on what to do. He came up with the following idea (for the most part...I refined it a bit). It's sort of like "The Price is Right," only with Yen. The next four pictures are up for bid (so to speak). ONE of these product groupings is worth 600 Yen. You guess which one it is, and you win them ALL. That's right...Showcase Showdown...ALL of these lovely prizes will be yours.

Let's get started!



Is it Prize Package Number One? {Tasty Treats of Asia}



Prize Package Number Two? {Extreme Motherhood: Lunch Edition}



Prize Package Number Three? {Rubber Dog Doo and Friends}



Or Prize Package Number Four? {Pen Pal Palooza}

Be the first person in the comments to THIS post to answer correctly, and you could win all this free crap these fabulous prizes. They can all be yours...IF...The Price is Right!


There are no restrictions...prior winners may play. I receive email notifications as comments are posted, so I'll know the order in which comments come. One guess per person....unless you make a mistake and need to change your answer, then you can retract and repost...but if you retract, your prior answer is void. I will notify and post the winner within 24 hours of publishing (hopefully we'll have a winner by then).

Good luck!

{Image}

Far East Drama

Patrick has another great opportunity to travel off island for a performance competition. He tried out and was selected to go to the Far East* Drama competition in Seoul, Korea. It's been several months of practice every day after school, in addition to the other community theater production he's practicing for every week night...not to mention the talent show rehearsals he squeezed in there, and the Madrigal dinner before that. Oh, and Scouts (on occasion...lately!), and early morning seminary, and piano, too. And he's keeping up the required A/B grades in order to be allowed (by us) to participate.

I worry about him taking on so much, but Patrick feels like life isn't worth living if he doesn't have an opportunity to do what he loves....and school is not what he loves (it's just a requirement) never mind it's what allows him to participate in most of these cool opportunities. Anyway, being in the spotlight is what he loves, and he's sure had plenty of opportunity for that.

He left Saturday and will be gone for a week. We're so excited for him. Thursday night, they had a preview night for family and friends to come see the pieces they are taking to competition. All of the team is performing in the one act play (which is about 3o minutes in length) and then each of them also had to prepare, practice and perform either a monologue, duet or trio dramatic or comedy piece for the smaller competitions. The team got to vote and choose 2 of the smaller groups to represent them in competition, but the coach won't announce the results until they are on their way, so we won't know if Patrick is just competing in the one act, or if his dramatic duet will be chosen for competition, too...until he gets back, unless he calls us sooner.



Anyway, I am including the video of his dramatic duet here. I'm not going to lie, it is a little on the disturbing side...but not in the way you might think. If you are brave enough, you'll have to watch and see. I've seen Patrick in many comedic or otherwise over-the-top performances...but this is the first truly dramatic work I've ever seen him in...and I think it's really good. I was really impressed with all of the subtleties that went into making his character believable. I really hope he gets the chance to perform it at competition, even though I'm quite certain they'll choose the funnier, more lighthearted pieces. We'll see.

I do have most of the one act on video...except that the memory card was full with almost ten minutes still to go. I won't be including that here, mostly because the five minute video you see above took three hours to upload with our lousy Internet speed here. Can you imagine a 25 minute video? Also, who's going to watch a video that long? Besides maybe my parents? (Not that it wouldn't be worth it just for you guys, mind you...if it weren't for the impossible Internet situation.) Anyway, just trust me it's funny and really good. If I can figure out a way to just include a clip of it, I will. If I was filming, I would have stopped and started the filming several times to break it down into smaller bites (or bytes...hehe) but Jake was filming since I had to duck out the door before it was over to get to my computer class. (By the way...did you know you should capitalize Internet? Yep. Because there is only one. I learned that in my computer class last week. Cool, huh? Now if I can just master Access and Excel, it will be money well spent.)

Break a leg, Patrick...you're awesome! And have fun! But not too much fun. I don't know how much humor those Koreans have. Just sayin', K?

*Far East is a program which allows Department of Defense Education Activity high school students to compete in different events, such as drama, show choir, Model United Nations, photography, football, wrestling, tennis, baseball...you get the idea. Kind of like "State" or "Regional" competitions back in the USA. Our students travel around the Pacific to places like Guam, Singapore, Korea, mainland Japan, or here on Okinawa. The school pays for the travel and competition, we pay for the lodging and food. Definitely one of the perks of living here.


**BTW...if you normally read this in Google reader, I did something funky with Troy's Eagle Court of Honor post. It's a boring story, but basically I published the post before it even happened (for about 5 minutes) while I was making his slide show back on February 2nd. Then I erased the slide show photos I had posted there, but since I kept the original "shell" of the post, it published it back on February 2nd, even though I didn't actually post it until this morning. Get it? So, if you desire to read it (it's a good one) you'll have to either go to the actual blog, or look it up in your feed. And I knew all of this, because I received a friendly blogger tip to "follow" my own blog. This way you know how things look in the reader. So try it with your own blog. You might be glad someday that you did!