What I Did This Spring Break

Ok, I know I say at the top of the page that everyone's much busier than I am, but once again I've managed to somehow neglect my blog for three weeks.   I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry....I'm sorry (I think I now have FOUR regular readers!)

I was in Honolulu for a week and had a mystery virus for a week also.  Which would you like to hear about first?  Ok Honolulu.

We try to go to Honolulu every March to visit our moms, although now I'm thinking since Jordan's not in school anymore, we should switch this to May (Mother's Day!).  On the other hand, I'm glad we went last week because I was finally able to attend the Kaimuki High School Foundation's annual fundraising dinner.  I was so indecisive about attending that I finally made up my mind and went an hour late.  Next time I'll go on time because I missed a very good silent auction.  (Happily, however, I was still able to bid on and win a very nice Fossil cuff bracelet for Jordan that others had somehow overlooked!)  

I admit I had reservations about attending the event because, after all, it was like attending a class reunion.  In going late, I missed the social hour and arrived just in time for dinner.  If you're like me, you want to go a reunion to see what other people look like after 30+ years, but not have to be seen yourself and more so, not having to talk to others much.  I once took a personality test in college and came out exactly in the middle of extravert/introvert so this obviously explains my wanting to go to a social event without having to socialize!  At any rate, it was an enjoyable evening and congratulations to my classmates, Steven Nakashima and Dale Yashiki and the rest of the foundation's board and committee for all of their hard work, which resulted in a record turnout this year and benefits the students of Kaimuki High.

Speaking of reunions, another mission I accomplished while in Honolulu was to hold a family reunion planning meeting. This will be our second family reunion and this time we're turning it up a notch by having it fully catered.  Borrowing from the Edayan Family Reunions, we're planning to have seven posterboard photo galleries on display for everyone to linger over rather than just the usual slideshow where you see a hundred relatives in ten minutes... "Was that my great great grandma--or great great grandpa?!"

Because I've always envied those food judges on "Iron Chef," I suggested having a dessert competition at the reunion.  Not that we'll critique the entries like in the TV show, though--we do have to live with each other afterwards, after all!  We'll probably do the anonymous voting method to avoid family feuds.

We did two "tourist" things this trip that we haven't done in ages: We went to the Pali Lookout since Jordan's never been there--yeh smart, three people getting over colds visiting the windiest spot on Oahu---and secondly, visited Chinatown.  I haven't been there for a few years and it's been even longer for Leonard.  He said it was like visiting a third world country and suddenly Andrew Zimmerman came to mind, but we didn't see any "street food," sadly.  But WOW, rats or no rats (I did look for rat bites on the sweet potatoes), I'd like to go back there next time and I wish we had Chinatown on Kauai.  It would certainly expand my cooking repetoire which seems to be limited to 10 dishes.

When you live on Kauai, even if you watch TV as much as I do, you don't get the full impact of what the world is coming to...until you go from Chinatown where you see homeless ladies sleeping on the cement sidewalk to Ala Moana Shopping Center.  Yep, we love Makai Market, Shirokiya, Sears, and Longs, but the newer shops are pretty much beyond our comprehension.  "What?!  A whole store just for Swaroski crystals?!"  "What!? A whole store of TEA?!"   We walked along the new upper level of the mall passing all those snotty one-brand boutiques, following young ladies in perfectly-fitted jeans with perfectly-matched accessories and I remembered how my friend Carol and I would spend the day at Ala Moana when we were 12 years old in striped "surfer t-shirts" and shorts, with straw bags and slippers to accessorize.

We were headed back to the parking lot and as a parting shot, the last shopper I saw had two matched red strollers unlike anything I'd ever seen before.  They were unusual because they were completely covered, the front with a window of netting.  I looked in as I passed and saw that each held an identical white lap dog.   "That's it,"  I declared to Leonard.  "The world IS ending in 2012...or at the very least, the United States is going DOWN!" I was never good in History, but I do recall that in more than one instance a civilization's peak ripeness was followed by decadence (as in "overripe fruit falling to the ground").  Check out this article for some points to ponder before voting this year.  Don't worry, it's not touting any particular political party, just points out what fallen civilizations have in common, thus giving us a lot to consider at this crucial time.

Because we were all getting over our colds, we didn't have much of an appetite, but we nevertheless managed to drag ourselves to the following eateries:

The Ranchhouse in Kapahulu--- The first thing I thought when I sat down was "Where's the BREADSTICKS?!" All I remember about the old Ranchhouse in Aina Haina was how I loved the breadsticks.  My mom pointed their absence out to the waiter who probably hadn't even been born when the old Ranchhouse was popular.  The food was a bit pricey, but we ordered the Ohana Meal which was a good deal and although the menu said "feeds 2 adults and 2 children," we ordered 2 meals and fed 6 adults (two men, four ladies) plus we took home a loaded plate.  We got some extra ice cream on our dessert platter because the waiter forgot our appetizer (he was probably traumatized by our demand for breadsticks!).

Happy Days Restaurant in Kaimuki---Always good, so aptly named!!  If you like dim sum, you must try this place.  It's always packed, so go early (before noon).  My favorites are the taro gok, shrimp/chives, and the char siu pies (triangular with pastry crust). 

Fook Yuen Seafood Restaurant in McCully---If you buy an entree, you can get a lobster for $10.99.  Ask for the garlic lobster...yummmm!

Zippy's Kailua---Their small wonton mein was more than enough for me and delish!

Big City Diner---Steak pupu plate and garlic fries...even though the waitress pointedly warned me "The steak will be medium rare," it was barely pink, which was fine with us. The fries were excellent....the timing was bad since I had to go the KHS dinner just 2-3 hours later with garlic breath.  That probably made me even more introverted than usual!

Toritos in Market City---They got my sister's order wrong, but we still like this place.  Oh wait, I just remembered...the enchilada tortillas were not the usual mealy corn tortillas, but seemed to be flour instead.  Madge said no, it's corn, but at any rate, I missed the regular corn tortilla. 

By now you know how I always say my life is like a sitcom. Well it's not only because of me, but the funny characters in my life. One day while driving in Honolulu we had to decide where to eat lunch. My sister said, "Oh, there's a new Thai or Vietnamese restaurant in---" Leonard cut her off, "Naaaah, I don't like Thai!" I asked him what kind of food he felt like eating. "Hmmm...hamburger!" Naturally we ended up at Makai Market as we always do at least once every Honolulu visit.

My sister went in one direction and Leonard in the opposite direction while Jordan and I got our pizza slices at Sbarro and dim sum at the Chinese Express (formerly Patty's). We were half done eating by the time my sister and Leonard came back separately. My sister had a hamburger and fries. Leonard had a plate from the Vietnamese counter. *sigh*

After all this food talk, I can't write about our weird virus...health blog next time!!