Last week, a reader sent me an interesting blog topic via email. First of all, I’d like to thank her for reading my blog and secondly, for taking the time to email me with a very good topic idea that hopefully a lot of Midlifers can contribute to. Take a look:
Hi Rodney,
I saw your Midlife Crisis blog and I wanted to write in and ask if you could send a question out to your readers. I’m in my late 20s and early in my career as a business professional. I have a handful of older co-workers who have amazing stories of what it was like to work in an office without computers! I simply can’t comprehend what I would do - I mean, I need my computer for everything, the entire concept is just beyond my ken.
I would be interested in learning more and hearing a bit from people in other fields or at other companies - what was work life like before Excel spreadsheets, email and diversity training?
Thanks for your blogging!
Well, I work in the I.T. department so ever since I started my career, computers (main frames) were always around. Although, I do remember that at my first job as a computer operator, only one or two accountants had PCs. Windows wasn’t around yet so these guys were struggling with something called DOS - on monochrome monitors. Wow. Talk about Old Skool.
But let me step further back when I was a “lot boy” during my high school years. I remember the accountants using the light green ACCO columnar sheets. And big, long, black binders to hold those sheets. And many sharp pencils to write numbers into the tiny blocks. In fact, when I was in college, we had to use those same kind of worksheets for accounting class. And of course, a 10-key calculator to add up the totals.
No email in the office of the past. All those funny jokes and cartoons were photocopied and handed out. I still have a manila folder full of them.
How about here at The Honolulu Advertiser? Since I’ve been working here, there were always computers around. But before computers, how did the reporters get their stories to press? How did the graphic artists create advertisements without Photoshop and Quark? Even the photographers had to go to the darkroom to develop their pictures rather than just uploading them from a memory card.
So help me out here Midlifers as this young reader asks how we survived without computers. Payroll must’ve been a nightmare. How did we schedule meetings without MS Office? How did we keep our accounting books in balance without spreadsheets? How did HR keep track of sick and vacation days? Remember when companies used to send out employee newsletters as a means of communication? Now it’s called an intranet.
Ahhh, hot summer nights. The geckos are on the screen, the termites are swarming around the street light, and the sounds of taiko drums and shakuhachi flutes heard around the neighborhood. It’s Obon season.
Every Friday and Saturday throughout the summer, at least one bon dance is taking place. This weekend is the Honpa Hongwanji bon dance, located on Pali highway. The Wahiawa Hongwanji also has their annual bon dance this weekend. You can see the full schedule for this summer right here, including neighbor islands: 2008 Bon dance calendar
The Honpa Hongwanji bon dance has become somewhat of a tradition for me. It was my wife who turned me on to the Honpa bon dance. When we started dating, she dressed up in a full kimono and had me escort her to the Honpa bon dance. She jumped right in and danced throughout the evening while I sat on the wooden benches and watched.
There’s just something special about sitting under the stars on a warm summer night, eating saimin and shave ice under the soft glow of the chochin laterns while watching the people dressed in their kimonos and hapi coats dance around the yagura. The smell of barbeque sticks cooking and the faint sound of the shave ice machine grinding away.
Last year I invited my blogger buddy, Donna to the Honpa bon dance. I’ve been following Donna’s blog for at least 4 or 5 years now, which is how I was inspired (and encouraged) to create this blog. Plus, Donna is a techie. Anyway, Donna did attend and brought along part of the Dancing Fools bon dance posse - whose motto is: “We’re fools whether we dance or not, so we might as well dance.” Here’s a vlog that Donna shot at last year’s Honpa Hongwanji bon dance:
What are your bon dance memories? Did you go to them during small kid time? Do you still attend them? Do you remember the dances? Do you recall the food?
*Special thanks to Donna at Champuru.com for allowing me use some of her pictures and vlog. Ippe nihei deebiru
In the Candy thread, OlyKalena mentioned how her kids thinks she’s nuts when she sings the old Redondo Sausage jingle. Is it the one that goes something like this?
“Yes sir, Redondo’s, Turn on with Redondo’s, Redondo’s, that special sausage, Redondo sausage turns me on!“
Is that right, Olykalena?
Every so often, my co-worker sings the Beef-a-roni jingle.
“Beef-a-roni, We’re having Beef-a-roni, Beef-a-roni’s fun to eat, Beef-a-roni’s full of meat, Beef-a-roni’s really neat, Hooray, Whee! From Chef Boy R Di”
…or something like that.
I know, the words are probably wrong, but pretty close, no? There was one local jingle that I was totally off on the words until maybe about 10 years ago when one night, I suddenly realized that I was singing it wrong since small keed time. This is how I thought it went:
“Wana kukui, Above Hawaii, Is Wonderful, KGMB”
As you know, it should be:
“One of the good things, About Hawaii, Is wonderful, KGMB”
At least I got the last line correct. My wife and I still laugh about it to this day.
There in another jingle that has stayed in my head ever since hanabata days and it pops up every so often - out of nowhere. Spooky. Maybe because the last 2 lines of the jingle are subliminal messages - or sure sound like subliminal messages:
“EVERYONE WANTS A SLINKY. YOU ARE TO GET A SLINKY.” Okay, just don’t hurt me.
What old jingles come to mind? Mention them here and I guarantee one of them will stick in your head for the rest of the day. You can thank me later - like when you’re trying to fall asleep and the jingle just won’t stop. he, he
First of all, I’d like to give credit to avid reader and poster Shoyu Burner for suggesting this topic. Thanks, Shoyu!
What kind of candies do you remember? Mention has been made in previous posts of Horlick’s Malties. Horlick’s Malties are available once again, but not in the aspirin like bottle with the red screw on cap like they used to come in but rather in cardboard boxes. It’s just not the same. People who have tried the new Horlick’s also say that it doesn’t taste the same either.
Does anyone remember Fizzies? Alka Seltzer with flavor. We’d buy the cola flavor thinking we’d get a coke, but it didn’t quite cut it. Although the Root Beer flavor came pretty close. Or how about Chiclet’s gum? I used to get the “tiny size” Chiclet’s.
Also mentioned in a previous post was those little wax bottles that contained the juice inside. I also recall little wax tubes with juice inside. After we drank the juice, we’d chew on the wax to get every last drop of juice out of it.
A good example of “packaging sells” was Choward’s Violets. The shiny purple wrapper always caught my eye and I’d choose it. My mom would remind me that I didn’t like it, but I’d choose it anyway. And of course when I ate it, instead of tasting like grape candy, it tasted like soap. But as I grew older, I started liking Violets. Maybe because they reminded me of “small kid time”.
How about the candy cigarettes and cigar gums. Talk about a bad influence. But smoking wasn’t considered a health risk back then. I remember buying the candied cigarettes and holding them between my fingers pretending I’m some famous movie star, smoking my candy cigarette. And the gum cigarettes used to have powder between the gum and paper so the gum wouldn’t stick to the paper. I’d put a gum cigarette in my mouth and blow hard watching the powder come out, pretending it was smoke. I don’t remember too much of the chocolate cigarettes. And I didn’t know much about smoking cigars so I just bit off pieces of the cigar gum and then put the paper ring on my finger. But I thought the cigarette “packs” looked so cool. Can you imagine the uproar if these candies were to appear today?
Do you remember what candies you used to buy? Tomoe Ame just so you could get the toy? Jujubees? Grape Whip? Lik-m-aid?
Friday5.org is a website that poses 5 questions of a specific topic every Friday for other bloggers to post to their readers. I try to make it a point to visit every week and if I like the topic, I try to post them.
Well, this is the first time I’m posting Friday5 questions on Midlife Crisis. Let’s see how it goes…
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Too Much For My Taste
What’s too spicy for your tastes?
What’s too sweet for your tastes?
What’s too salty for your tastes?
What’s too bitter for your tastes?
What’s too sour for your tastes?
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Here’s my replies:
Too Spicy. I’m Korean. Can anything be too spicy for my tastes? Okay, I’m only half Korean so yes, there are some things that are too spicy for my taste. If it makes my head sweat when I’m eating it - it’s too spicy for me. Such dishes as the Cajun Fettuccine from Ryan’s, or the Spicy Pork from Han Yang Korean Restaurant. Or the Spicy Garlic Shrimp from Giovanni’s in Kahuku. I can handle the hot sauce on the side, but not when it’s cooked in with the shrimp. Whew! 5-alarm fire!
Too Sweet. Hostess Cupcakes. I could handle those chocolate cupcakes when I was a kid. Not anymore. And those Safeway cakes. Wow. The frosting makes my teeth hurt.
Too Salty. Ruger Market boiled peanuts. Man, those peanuts are so juicy and taste so ono. Funny, it doesn’t taste salty, but yet after I finish off a whole half pound bag by myself, my lips are all chapped. That’s what happens when I don’t buy an Icee. Always buy an Icee when buying boiled peanuts.
Too Bitter. Chinese Parsley. Call it Cilantro if you want, but you still can’t trick me! The worst is when it’s chopped up and mixed in Chow Mein. I’ll pick it all out, but just one little stem in a mouthful of noodles and find me a napkin quick because that mouthful of noodles is coming back out.
Too Sour. When I was a kid, I always wondered why some houses had a bottle or two of fruits in water on their garage roof. That is until I started hanging around with this Chinese guy in intermediate school. One day when I was at his house, he took down the bottle and asked me if I wanted one. I asked him what it was and he just said lemons. Then he said he’ll race me eating it. So he popped one in his mouth and I popped one in my mouth. He started chewing all the while keeping a straight face. I just kept mine sitting in my mouth. After my friend was done chewing, he opened his mouth to show me that it was indeed all gone. I opened my mouth and saliva began gushing out. My friend told me to eat it. So I began to chew it. Oh man! That thing was so sour! My eyes started to water. Or maybe it was just my saliva overflowing through my tear ducts. But I finished it. That was my first and last time I ever ate one of those things-in-the-upside-down-bottles-on-garage-roofs.
and secondly, for taking the time to email me with a very good topic idea that hopefully a lot of Midlifers can contribute to. Take a look:
Every Friday and Saturday throughout the summer, at least one bon dance is taking place. This weekend is the Honpa Hongwanji bon dance, located on Pali highway. The Wahiawa Hongwanji also has their annual bon dance this weekend. You can see the full schedule for this summer right here, including neighbor islands: 
There’s just something special about sitting under the stars on a warm summer night, eating saimin and shave ice under the soft glow of the chochin laterns while watching the people dressed in their kimonos and hapi coats dance around the yagura. The smell of barbeque sticks cooking and the faint sound of the shave ice machine grinding away.
Last year I invited my blogger buddy, 
Also mentioned in a previous post was those little wax bottles that contained the juice inside. I also recall little wax tubes with juice inside. After we drank the juice, we’d chew on the wax to get every last drop of juice out of it.
A good example of “packaging sells” was Choward’s Violets. The shiny purple wrapper always caught my eye and I’d choose it. My mom would remind me that I didn’t like it, but I’d choose it anyway. And of course when I ate it, instead of tasting like grape candy, it tasted like soap. But as I grew older, I started liking Violets. Maybe because they reminded me of “small kid time”.
How about the candy cigarettes and cigar gums. Talk about a bad influence. But smoking wasn’t considered a health risk back then. I remember buying the candied cigarettes and holding them between my fingers pretending I’m some famous movie star, smoking my candy cigarette. And the gum cigarettes used to have powder between the gum and paper so the gum wouldn’t stick to the paper. I’d put a gum cigarette in my mouth and blow hard watching the powder come out, pretending it was smoke. I don’t remember too much of the chocolate cigarettes. And I didn’t know much about smoking cigars so I just bit off pieces of the cigar gum and then put the paper ring on my finger. But I thought the cigarette “packs” looked so cool. Can you imagine the uproar if these candies were to appear today?
