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!!

There's Always TV!

TV talk today!

Have you seen "The Marriage Ref" yet?  The celebrity panel offers a lot of humor and from their opinions you get a glimpse into their mindsets, often surprising.  The most fun comes from the married couples themselves and they don't mean to be funny, they just are.  The things they argue about makes you go, "Gee, we're so normal compared to them, yeh?"  Hmmm, oh really?

For instance, one couple needed mediation because the husband's beloved dog died and he got it stuffed.  He intended to construct a "shrine" in their upstairs hallway (visible also from the ground floor) to display his stuffed doggie.  Happily the panel and the Marriage Ref sided with the wife and the dog will be "buried" in the attic for her husband's enjoyment only.  Check out "Fonzie" the dog and the Ridolfi's.  I think they're a funny couple!

One decision that the Marriage Ref made that is still bugging me involved five tortoises.  They're the husband's pets and yet the wife has to do most of the work caring for them.  As they live longer than human beings, she's not happy with the prospect of doing this for the rest of her life.  The Ref's decision was that she must.  She wasn't even asking her husband to get rid of them all, just a couple of them!  I'm thinking she made a tactical error by not asking to get rid of them all.  We're not talking about little turtles in a terranium.  We're talking about 70 lb. land tortoises!  [I should clarify that this couple didn't appear on the Marriage Ref show itself, but on Oprah's show when she had Jerry Seinfeld and Tom Papa on as guests.]  The Ref and Oprah agreed that it would be bad to break up the family pets, while Jerry said they're not pets because they show no expressions.  I think the wife should scoop up their poop and put it in hubby's car so he'll have a part of them with him when he goes to work.

Other arguments included a wife insisting that their "formal diningroom" be used only for Thanksgiving.  I thought that was a bit too anal and I couldn't believe the Ref ruled in her favor, although he did concede that her husband shouldn't be required to set up an "instant patio" that she ordered.  Another wife refused to let her hub install a stripper pole in their bedroom and the Ref ruled in her favor--thank goodness because a grouchy, reluctant pole dancer is a turn-off!  One husband complained about his wife who insists on flossing her teeth in bed.  This was an easy unanimous decision for the panel and the Ref, and now this stupid wife has millions of people thinking of her as "that gross teeth flosser lady").   Of course all couples got a free Caribbean cruise at the end, so maybe she thought it was worth being exposed?

We audience members sit at home and laugh at these couples as though they're from Planet Crazy but I'm sure you could all come up with arguments you've had with your spouse that are just as funny as theirs.  Not me, of course,  I'm a very reasonable, intelligent spouse who basically just gives in to my husband's ideas which are always brilliant, and vice versa. 

Other TV programs I'm watching:

American Idol (Tuesdays/Wednesdays on FOX):  No favorite yet although I do like Crystal Bowersox whom the oddsmakers are already favoring.  I also like Andrew Garcia.  Unfortunately there isn't an Adam Lambert-type contestant who makes me look forward to the show every week.  I have one wish about this show and that is I wish AI would choose the songs for the contestants. I'm sick of hearing "Wrong song, dog," and confused about the conflicting criticism of "you didn't make it your own" and "why did you change a perfectly good song." 

The Good Wife (Tuesdays on CBS):  Not only are three of the main characters among my favorite actors (Julianna Margulies, Chris Noth, and Christine Baransky), but we get a bonus in Archie Panjabi's character, Kalinda.  She's my new favorite character of all the shows I'm watching this season.  She's an intelligent, uber cool lady investigator who is often the Superwoman who saves the day.  She's also sexy without dressing constantly to show cleavage like those CSI ladies. Where so many TV series have the stereotypical Indian character who is funny/nerdy or serious/nerdy, she's one Indian who is the antithesis of those characters except that they kept in the intelligent part.  (Not that I don't love those comical characters such as Raj on "The Big Bang").

Dancing With the Stars (Mondays/Tuesdays on ABC):  They haven't started yet, but I'm 99% sure Evan Lysacek will win or at least come in second. This man lives for training and from an interview he did after winning his ice-skating gold medal, it's obvious he is very goal-oriented.  Not to mention the fact that three Olympians have already won DWTS (Kristi Yamaguchi, Apolo Ohno, and Shawn Johnson). Assuming he's as good as I think he'll be, the only reason he may not win is if the voters have an issue with him, if you know what I mean.  I think Nicole Scherzinger of the Pussycat Dolls will also be in the finals.  Every year when they announce the celebrity line-up I hope that there won't be anyone I care to watch so there'd be one less show for me to follow, and there have been years that I don't watch (such as last year), but I admit I have a lady-crush on Nicole S. and I love ice skaters soooo looks like I'll be doing the AI/DTWS juggle on Tuesday nights. 

Anthony Bourdain/No Reservations and Andrew Zimmerman/Bizarre Foods (Mondays on the Travel Channel):  I used to want to travel, but was too lazy to go anywhere except Honolulu and Las Vegas.  I'm still lazy, but I no longer feel the urge to travel because of these two guys.  I can pretty much live vicariously through them because they fill my "exotic food" need.  Even if I went to the same countries they visit I wouldn't be able to eat what they do because they have inside info and connections I don't.  Well anyway, that's how I'm justifying sitting on my behind watching TV instead of traveling to the food bazaars of Istanbul.  That and saving $5000.

 Dr. Oz (10:00 a.m. daily on ABC):  Even if you don't watch daytime TV, you should try to watch this (record it) because you'd benefit from information you'll hear.  What's great about Dr. Oz is he embraces both allopathic and naturopathic medicine.

The Middle (Wednesdays on ABC):  I like this new sitcom and haven't been able to watch it because of the Olympics and AI.  I had stopped watching family sitcoms because they started to annoy me with their usual hot wife, un-hot husband, and bratty kids.  I didn't intend to watch The Middle, but somehow saw an episode and was hooked by that cute little (literally little) son, dopey insecure daughter, and also dopey older son.  I love atypical, especially because these odd kids are quite appealing in their own ways.  Patricia Heaton's mom character in "The Middle" is not half as capable and self-assured a mom as Debra Romano was, and thank goodness that Scrub's crazed maintenance man (actor Neil Flynn) is now a pretty average, though typically clueless dad.  I like that according to what I've seen so far, this show is funny without the husband and wife constantly battling each other.

I'm also still into Law and Order, CSI, Ugly Betty (cancelled!), Desperate Housewives, Glee, and Lost.  I'm trying not to watch anything new because I'm trying to watch less television.  If you think I'm watching a lot now, you should've seen me a few years ago when I would be watching one show and recording two others!  I rarely have to record anything these days and still wonder why a TVholic like myself can find too much to watch on "Budget Basic" cable ($13/month, approx. two dozen channels) and yet most people have more than double the choice and seem to watch less TV than we do.  Well, as Bruce Springsteen sings: "57 Channels and Nothing On" !

Cakes and Caked Blood

I saw a segment on KITV news last night which led me to this website where I spent a half hour ogling cakes.  Kailua's Cake Lava's designer/owner Rick Reichart will be competing on the Food Network April 4th in a cake challenge.  Here are two of the hundreds of cakes pictured on the website. 
 

The cake on the left is one of my favorites and the handbag below is also a cake!  Amazing!  Who would want to slice up and eat such works of art?  Me!!  I was reading the page devoted to "flavors" verrrry carefully and if anyone's ordering one of these cakes for me, I'd like the Hawaii Five-O:  Chunky pineapple cake layers with fresh bananas, mango curd, coconut cream, and shredded coconut. 

And take a look at this leopard skin handbag.  It looks like maybe it belongs to one of their clients--because obviously these cakes are not in the Costco Bakery price range!   It's kind of funny to think of eating a purse, but I swear there's a photo of a toilet cake on their site!  I wonder if they put a chocolate lumpy something in the toilet.  Ewwww!

Now this next topic I wanted to bring up is not funny like a toilet cake, but icky also.  I may or may not have mentioned that I've been reading Tess Gerritsen books lately.   I was very excited to find another medical thriller author because they're one of my favorite genres.  After reading her first two I went out and borrowed four more.  She's one of those writers whose books you can't put down and I soon realized that she isn't necessarily a medical thriller writer even though the original two I read ("Harvest" and "Life Support") were medical thrillers. 

The second set of books and I believe the majority of her books are serial murder thrillers and as far as I can see, all involve the kidnapping, torture and murder of women.  Although I wanted to stop reading once I realized this, I found myself attached to her recurring characters (a female detective and a female medical examiner) and so I kept reading, often skipping over the icky parts--and there was a lot of skipping because the gory details were not spared.  I admit I was disturbed that this wonderfully talented writer was abusing women.  This series, incidentally, is being developed into a TV series starring Angie Harmon and I hope it won't be as dark because I love Angie!

I have a whole shopping bag of paperbacks from a relative.  I looked through the bag because I needed a respite from the mental images of Gerritsen's women who've been sliced and diced, mummified, decapitated, and peat-pickled.  Ok, this J.A. Jance book, "Day of the Dead," looked interesting because it seemed similar to a Tony Hillerman novel set on a Native American reservation.  Cool!  Ohhhkay,  a chapter or so in I  realized that young girls were being tortured, raped, murdered and cut into pieces by J.A. Jance.  Once again, however, I was already sucked into the book because of good storytelling and a need to see justice done. 

This was not the first bag of books I'd received from friends or relatives and in the past I weeded through them and tossed out the "stalking" books--often half the bag!  It now dawned on me that there are way too many books written by women about the stalking, torture, raping, and murdering of females and what's more astounding is that these authors (Gerritsen, J.A. Jance, Jordan Dane, Tami Hoag, and Lisa Jackson to name a few) are bestsellers.  So my question is why do women like to write and read this stuff?? It's unsettling to think that women are entertained by this violence against other females, albeit fictional characters.  (Since none of Leonard's friends bring him boxes of books, I'm going to guess that women, not men, are buying and reading these books.)  Are there any psychologists out there who will comment on this phenomenon?  Meanwhile, it's back to Maeve Binchy and Janet Evanovitch for me---if only they'd hurry up and write more books.

Want to hear something creepy?   Yesterday I was reading that J.A. Jance book where a woman kills her husband's young sex slaves (whom she supplies him with) and chops them up.  Despite enjoying reading everything in the book except the parts involving the violence, I was feeling understandably disturbed and decided to stop for a while.  I looked at the clock and noticed the Oprah Winfrey Show was half through and turned on the TV.  Lisa Ling was discussing how young women in China were having surgery to add a couple of inches to their height by having surgeons break their legs.  You guessed it, they had to show us the surgery and that's exactly when I tuned in: camera focused on skinny legs in metal frames being cut up.  I sat there wondering if I was being sent a message.

So readers, if I should suddenly disappear and I'm found in pieces, it won't be a total loss.  I'm thinking my blog will finally get read by more than the three of you!