Update: NOT Whasian

My sister tipped me off that Whasian is actually in the Urban Dictionary. There are basically 2 definitions:

1) A White person, wanting to be, acting like, or seems: Asian; and

2) one of mixed asian and white decent. whasian = white + asian.
it can be used to categorize someone. whasian can be a negative term in the way that the person can be considered white. a whasian sometimes does not fit into either group properly. subcategories: whinese, whapanese, whietnamese, whorean, whilipino, etc.

Okay, to be crass, both definitions totally suck. Whapanese? Hell to the No.

There is a also another term listed in the Urban dictionary for someone of mixed Asian and Caucasian heritage: Aite. Strangely, I find this A'ight.

I feel compelled to find my Aite brother and set him straight!

What's Up My Whasian

I went shopping last night and was stopped by a gentleman manning the check out register at one of the stores. He apologized and said he just had to ask if I was "Whasian", he paused and added "you know, White-Asian". When I said yes, he offered up a high-five indicated that he was also of the Whasian persuasion. This was weird, but since he was not unattractive I paid it no mind.

I was thinking about the encounter today though and there are 2 things that bother me. First, for some reason the terms "Whasian" is not sitting well with me. Yes, it is just as generic a term as Hapa, but Whasian comes across as almost offensive to me and I can't pinpoint why. If someone asks me if I am Hapa, I happily reply yes! But if someone now asks me if I am Whasian, I will have to begrudgingly offer up a yeah, I guess so. Perhaps this is because in my mind the term Hapa infers a Hawaii connection? Curious...

The second thing that bothers me about the encounter is that this gentleman felt it necessary to define Whasian for me. What did he think I would mistake the term for? Welsh-Asian? Which I guess would still make me White-Asian. Wealthy-Asian? This was obviously not the case. Although, I was dressed in my best jeans and kicks. Wiccan-Asian? Sorry, but Hawaii's weather is not conducive to the darkly colored Wiccan garb, so I am prevented from subscribing to that particular theology. The movie The Craft was wicked cool though ;)

And just as a technicality, if I'm doing the whole Tiger Woods combine your ethnicity into a new term thing: I am Germaswedirijapanglish.

Germaswedirijapanglish. pride!

Oops, My Bad

Heather said something to me awhile ago that keeps proving more and more true. Awhile back she made some type of mistake and said "Oops, my bad". Then she stopped herself and said, that's something only old people say now, huh? I thought it funny at first, now I realize what a dead on analysis that was.

I attended oral arguments before the Supreme Court a few months ago and the case being beard before ours dealt with sentencing terms. The case also noted a procedural error by the prosecutor wherein he neglected to get evidence properly introduced at trial. After being questioned by the 5 Judge panel, the prosecutor came clean and said, "your honors, that was my bad". Whoa, never thought I would see the day. Which makes me wonder at what point the phrase became both dated and acceptable work place language? Just the other day in fact I was cc'd on an email from an attorney apologizing for not getting an agreement over to us, it was indeed "his bad".

When did this happen and does all language fall into this pattern. Was "Et tu, Brute" once a hip/popular saying, then eventually someone came along and said hey that is something only old people say, like Shakespeare.

Who knows.

In any case I hope everyone is having a good week. Perhaps you are even getting down with your bad selves by getting jiggy wit it?

That didn't date me, did it?

Bunch O' Stuffs

1) In case anyone was curious about what Heather and I wore for St. Patrick's Day, we opted to retire the Irish Spring soap on a rope from last year and instead wore shirts that read "Irish You A Happy St. Patty's Day". And no, the shirts are not commercially available, we made them ourselves with puffy paint. We keep the puffy paint factory in business. We also sported ol' school crocheted Primo beer can hats. It was pretty sweet.

2) We got the results from the Swamp Romp this past week and although we were not last, we were close. As I always say, if you can't be number 1, then try and be number 313 (of 323 teams). As Heather pointed out, we even lost at losing. We will have to try harder next year.

3) So guess where Heather and I spent our lunch hour on Monday? That's right, watching Korean superstar Rain testify. We were able to use our super fantastic knowledge of the legal system to find out when, where and before which Judge the matter was being heard. I was also able to find out who was representing him and called in a favor to find out exactly when he was being put on the stand. Might I just say that his hair was fantastic, the sheen was almost blinding. Heather was so excited, it was all I could do to keep her from shouting out objections from the gallery. So awesome.



One last thing, sorry about the mishmash of topics here, I was not clever enough to think up a title that encompassed everything. I realize that Potpourri was the crappiest category on Jeopardy. Kala mai.

Sarah's Quick Tip Of The Week

People starting to find you predictable? Friends starting to guess your every move? Well here is what you're gonna want to do; start sending out emails like this to your friends and loved ones:

Hi Bob,

I was hoping you could help me with a favor. You know this city like the back of your hand. Do you know where I can get any of the following:

- A stained glass unicorn
- Vegemite
- An owl
- A Spanish Doubloon
- A plush manatee

Don't ask.

Thanks in advance,
Sarah

The important thing here is to include no less than 5 unrelated items. Try not to include more than 5 because then you seem more crazy than mysterious. Including "Don't Ask" at the end is the clincher. People will be intrigued, but generally respectful of your privacy.

Try it, and you are welcome in advance.

One last thing, does anyone know where I can get a snake wrangler costume(woman's)?

What? Legend has it that St. Patrick banished snakes from Ireland, I want to be festive for tomorrow. ;)

Lucky You Live Hawaii

That article I recently posted about Hawaii being one of the happiest states got me to thinking about some not-so-obvious reasons why we are "lucky to live Hawaii". This one is my favorite:

Do you realize that Hawaii is the only state whose postal abbreviation is also a salutation?

Take that Idaho, with your fancy pants Freudian terminology. You and your just as self-centered counterpart, Maine.

And will you make up your mind Oregon?

I must admit though, I do appreciate the constant state of wonder and awe of Ohio...

Consider yourselves lucky.

ps: South Carolina, you got yourself some pretty sweet initials ;)

Yay Us, So Sorry West Virginia

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29633972/

The Rain Came Down Berserk

First, let me apologize for all of the lyrics infused post titles. My mind has been thinking in song lyrics lately.

So anyway, I went running again yesterday evening and the weather turned absolutely horrid. It was only a slight drizzle of rain when I left my apartment but quickly turned into a downpour that left me completely drenched. I could have been mistaken for someone who went swimming in her running clothes. At first I was kind of disappointed after the high I was on following the prior day's moment of clarity. I did not think that the rain and wind's incessant pounding in my face and the bleak weather would get me into the proper spirit, but I ran on anyway.

Then a funny thing happened, I had another one of those moments. Marjorie Fair's Empty Room started playing from my shuffle and made everything alright. Better than alright, it made things magical again. I held out my hands and could feel the cold drops of rain gently prickling my palms. The puddles of water that were forming on the sidewalks happen to catch the light just right and made me feel like I was jogging down a perfectly lit runway. And Marjorie Fair put it all into perspective, all those silly things we worry about, well "This doesn't matter like it did before, this doesn't matter much anymore".

Does anyone remember the scene in The Shawshank Redemption when Tim Robbin's emerges from that sewer pipe? It felt like I should have gotten an aerial photo just like that in that exaxt moment.

Both of these experiences made me figure this playlist thing out. There are some songs that help keep your pace while running (Q-Tip's Breathe and Stop), there are some songs that make you feel like you running away from something (Joy Division's Digital) and there are some songs that make you feel like you are running toward something. Something better in fact. Don't Stop Believin' and Empty Room both made me feel like I was running for a reason.

I need more of that.

Marjorie Fair - New Music - More Music Videos

Hold On To That Feeling aka Best Run Evah

Broke in my new running shoes (tossed my old ones after February's Swamp Romp) and a new running playlist on my shuffle last night. It all amounted to the best run ever.

The most surprisingly awesome song to run to is Journey's Don't Stop Believin'. I thought it would be too slow to run to but added it to the playlist anyway. The song came on about halfway through my run, during my return trip along the Ala Wai and probably at the exact moment I needed it.

Man, if I could only bottle that feeling, endorphins pumping, sun setting and leaving a yellow glow on the mirrored buildings near Ala Moana, Steve Perry singing "It goes on and on and on and on...", I would know exactly what to give everyone for Christmas this year. It was sooo FAN-flipping-TASTIC in fact that I was ever so close to pounding my fist into the air in triumph :) Sometimes things just intersect perfectly and give you a sense of wonder. Luckily I was able to recognize that the moment was fleeting and savored every second of it. I think a lot of times these little moments spring up on us and we are too foolish to recognize them.

So excited to go running again tonight...

Free Fallin'

According the Feng Shui calendar that I keep on my desk at work, today is the day to perform the "Petty Person Ritual". Apparently, the ritual involves luring a petty person into a vast open area or under a bridge and proceeding to beat the petty out of them. It is helpful if the petty person volunteers for the ritual.

After reading this, it kind of makes me think whether all those documentaries I've seen on gang violence and gang initiation rituals were just a big misunderstanding. Perhaps those youths were just overly concerned about their chi and trying to keep their yin and their yang in balance?

In any case, I'm not really a violent person so instead I decided I would just listen to a Tom Petty album later on tonight. I hope this has the same effect.

"...and I'll keep this world from draggin' me down, gonna stand my ground and I won't back down"

Jammin' On The One or I Just Called to Say Stevie Wonder is the Shiznit

I read an article once about how musical leanings are often formed by what you are exposed to as a child. The theory makes perfect sense to me and explains why both my sister and I have a predilection for 70's folk music, my mom being a huge fan of Neil Young and the like. So it has kind of always puzzled me as to how I became such a huge fan of Stevie Wonder. I can remember liking Stevie Wonder for many years, but couldn't really place why or how I was exposed to little Stevie.

Enter the Cosby Show. I've been watching season 2 of The Cosby Show lately and came across the episode featuring Mr. Wonder, you know the episode when Stevie's limo hits Denise's car and he invites the family to a recording session to make it up to them. And then each member of the family sings a phrase or note which is compiled into a song. It's probably the most memorable episode for me (actually it might be a toss up between this episode, the Theo shirt episode and the one where Theo explains how he is gonna live off of baloney and cereal).

This realization is actually kind of startling to me, to think the Cosby Show had as much influence on me as my mom! Television is powerful medium, isn't it? In this case it was a real benefit, Stevie Wonder being the Shiznit and all.

As an aside, that crazy Huxtable Family totally cracks me up. Except for Vanessa.

Nothing's Ever Gonna Keep You Down, You're The Best Around

So, as some of you may know, yesterday was the annual Swamp Romp put on be the Marine Corp. I was totally scared this year because I have not been keeping up with my running (work has been crazy and staying at the office til midnight is not really conducive to being able to run after work) and the course last year was completely challenging. Additionally, about 3 days ago I totally jacked up one of my toes. I have no idea how I did it, but it started turning red and swelling and looking like a cartoon toe that got hit by an anvil (I'm pretty sure this is not what actually injured my toe). I cared for the toe as best I could and luckily by race day I was back to non-hobbling form.

So now to the race day itself. I got up at about 5:00 yesterday morning, had a banana and some coffee and donned my team shirt. This year's team name was Swamp Bobbys. The name is hard to explain unless you are a fan of trashy MTV reality television, so take my word for it, it is a brilliant name. Concerned I would fall way behind my team I decided to go with the vibrant yellow construction worker OSHA requirement t-shirt, with my "Bobbie Bobby" nickname puffy painted on the back. Along with my bright teal duct taped shoes, I was a complete eyesore, but confident I would not get lost.

When we got to the Kaneohoe Marine Base the scene was complete chaos. Apparently a new group had taken over organizing the event this year and was not doing a very good job. There were lines everywhere and for everything. There was a line to register and pick up your race packet, a line to pick up your timing chip, a line for the bathroom and a line to start the race. Since there was no real way to tell the lines apart, you very well could have ended up relieving yourself at the packet pick-up booth.

When we finally picked up all of the components that we needed to start the race and signed all the necessary waivers, it turned out they had already passed our number. Luckily, they feed us into the line and we were able to start immediately rather than having to wait until all the other 300-some teams had begun.

The race started out the same as last year, a series of mud pits, several waste high barriers that you needed to jump over and a wooden ladder-like structure with an incline down the back. Sliding down the incline caused you to create a huge splash that sent mud up your nose and all over your face. Yes, this was all seeming very familiar.

After running through a few other pits we arrived at what must have been a 9 foot wall comprised of wooden logs that you had to pull yourself up and over. Everyone got themselves up and over successfully and we headed toward the long stretch of quicksand-like mud. The distance this year was substantially less than last year, probably a quarter mile or less. After traversing the mud we took off on the long stretch of pathway leading us around the base. I was completely proud of myself at this point because I was keeping up with the team and feeling pretty good about the pace we were keeping.

As we passed one of the race officials who was leisurely lounging in her beach chair, she taunted us all with her shout of "half-way to the half-way point". As if on cue, Heather steps on a rock which had no business in the middle of the road and goes down. The fall resulted in a sprained ankle. Being the trooper that she is, Heather decides to push on by walking the course to the little medical checkpoint that ended up being about a mile or so away. When we get to the checkpoint, the medics tell us that they can either treat the injury or transport her back to the starting point. Heather decides to think about it and treat the injury in the meantime. After pulling off the ace bandage that we re-purposed for her ankle, Heather's puffy swollen ankle was revealed. That rock was not messing around. Once she is treated they give her one last chance to be taken back to the start, apparently one of the other race participant had a few blisters and could not hack the remainder of the race. Heather notifies everyone that she is going to finish. which resulted in cheers all around and high fives from the medics. It was pretty much equivalent to that scene in Karate Kid when they announce Daniel Laruso is going to fight!

So we started back on the course walking the rest of the way, though a few more mud pits, a beach run, low crawl and final stretch of mud. Making it to the finish line in a respectable 2 hours or so. Teams without injuries were still trickling in behind us.

The core group of us who finished the race for the second year decided that this year's race was drastically easier than last year. Where was the giant A-frame, the monkey bars, the huge mud pit that was so dense you could only crawl on top of it, or the stretch of sewer pipe that you needed to crawl through? Why was this years race so much shorter? Oh well, there is always next year.

Before the race I was expecting to wake up this morning feeling like 7 different kinds of awful. But my minor bruises, small scrapes and sore thighs only really total up to 2 kinds of awful. I guess I'll need to come up with 5 more kinds of awful so that I can feel accomplished. It is still early so leptospirosis and/or pneumonia can't be ruled out yet. Pray for me...