In keeping with the Halloween theme - since it is Halloween week, I thought we'd discuss costumes. Can you remember what costumes you wore when you went trick-or-treating? If memory serves me right, I once went as Tweety. And another year I went as Casper. Full on one piece costume and mask. Of course since the mask blocked out my whole face, I was sure to greet the neighbors by name: "Trick or Treat! Hi, Mrs. Correa!". Because it was usually followed with: "Who is that?". At which point I was sure to lift up my mask to reveal myself. Why? Because it was usually followed with: "Rodney! Here, I have a special package treat for you." "Thank you, Mrs. Correa!".
Then as I got older, I remember going as a hobo. Just some Halloween make up to draw on a dirty face and throw on something from the rag box and I was good to go.
But enough jibber-jabber. The real reason for this entry is to see how many of my co-workers read MidLife Crisis. So I'll post some pictures from last year of co-workers who dressed up. I'm didn't warn them that I'm posting their pictures - so let's see how often my phone rings.
Left: Here we have our resident cutie devil.
Right: Is that Robin Hood? Kinda reminds me of a lawn gnome.
Left: Our resident geek. Okay, nerd.
Right: Notice the ton of snacks in the front and the huge Mac Pro in the back?
Left: EGL (Elegant Gothic Lolita)
Right: Loli & a Warlock
Left: MLC Playboy Bunny
Right: MLC Geisha
And here's my favorite. She had us so stumped that after she came in and gave us her re-election speech, we still were trying to figure out who she was (IRL). Governor Lingle
Do you remember what your costumes you wore when you went trick-or-treating? Do people at work dress up for Halloween? Do you dress up for Halloween - whether at work, or for a party, or just to pass out candy? What were some of the best costumes you recall seeing people dressed up as?
As Halloween week falls upon us, I thought this would be a good time for readers to share their spooky stories and other eerie experiences that happened to them. Some of these stories were already told in the Superstitions entry, but feel free to list them again as that entry was over a month ago - and you know us MLCer's - poor memory.
I know a few cops and they always have at least one story of spooky calls. One friend of ours told me a story about when he was just a rookie and received a call of screaming going on at a house at the end of a skinny lane. He parked outside the lane and started walking in. As he passed a house midway in the lane, their dog ran up to the fence and started barking at him. As he walked further down the lane, the dog followed and kept barking until he reach a certain point. At that point, the dog stopped barking and retreated back to the house - even though there was more yard for the dog to follow him and continue yapping. He thought nothing of it and went to the house at the end of the lane to investigate. Turns out that the house was abandoned and no one lived there. He walked back out the lane where a few other cops were waiting for him. They asked him what's going on and he said there's nothing there but an abandoned house. Then they asked about the barking dog that barks only partway down the yard then retreats. He said yeah, he thought it was kinda strange that the dog didn't follow him until the end of the yard. Then the other cops told him that they often get that call but know better than to venture down there - because there is nothing there but an abandoned house. "Welcome to the force".
Another police friend of mine told me about a call they got from a Filipino family and reported that their normally calm teenage daughter was acting strange and talking any kine. They had attended a funeral earlier in the day and said that the spirit of the deceased person entered the girl's body and had come home with her. The cops asked what they can do to help and the family said that they need them to take the girl back to the graveyard to free her of the spirit. So they loaded up this disturbed girl into the back of the squad car and headed to the graveyard. As soon as then entered the graveyard, the girl became calm as the spirit left her. Then they high-tailed it out of there and took her home. Whoa.
For me, nothing really stands out. We didn't test fate and mess around at the Chinese cemetery in Manoa or look for the moving statue at St. Andrews priory. But there was this one time when we were in high school. About 5 of us was packing in my friend Jon's dad's Dodge dart. We were on the way home on the pali and as we were making the horseshoe turn - on a wet night - we played that game where we all lean into the turn and smash the poor guy who just happens to be sitting by the wrong door. When I think about it now, how dangerous that was, risking our lives on the lock of the door that could've given way and toss 3 of us out on the side of the road. But as we were doing that, maybe the shifting weight of us threw off the traction and the car started to fishtail. Luckily, Jon got control of it and we headed on. That should've been an omen but we were young and stupid.
So we headed over to "Morgan's Corner". Now some say that Morgan's Corner is on the old Pali road while others contest that Morgan's Corner is at the bottom of the Pali, behind Pali golf course. Well, we were at the one below the Pali and we were headed to the "blood tree". As we drove down the back road, we saw the tree in front of a maintenance yard. It's a big tree with red paint thrown on it. We turned the car around and as we headed in the opposite direction, the car's headlight partially illuminated the tree. We couldn't see the purportedly devil's face so we told Jon to move is car so the headlights pointed directly at the tree - which he did. As he pointed the car lights right at the tree, Jon and the front seat passenger sat still as the three of us in the backseat pulled out heads together to the middle of the front seat to get a view. We all stared quietly for about 4 seconds. The almost in unison, we all said, "Ok! I see it! Go Jon!". Jon stomped on the gas pedal and flooded to carburetor for a second as the car sputtered, then lurched forward. He quickly made a U-turn and dug out of there. Needless to say, the car ride home was a very quiet one. Each one of us recalling what just happened and questioning ourselves whether we really saw it or not. Me, I saw it.
We never went back there again.
Word has it that if you wrap your arms around the tree as far as they can go, you'll feel another pair of hands grab yours. Anyone want to give it a try?
How about you Big Island folks? There are tons of stories from the Big Island. When my brother was working at the Kona post office, he heard a lot of stories from people who grew up there. I vaguely recall him telling us a story of how a lady friend and her son were fishing at the end of some lava fields when they ventured inland to go back to their car. But as they were walking back to their fishing spot, a huge rainstorm started where they couldn't see where they were going, but they kept walking as they guessed which way the ocean was. After the rainstorm finally passed, they noticed that they were in the same exact spot where they were when the rainstorm started. Yikes.
So, share the spooky stories that you heard or experienced. After all, it's Halloween week. Muhahahaha!
Where’s a place outside of work (or school) where you’re likely to run into people from work (or school)?
Feel free to cut and paste the questions above into your reply and answer them. Like this:
Where’s your favorite beach?
I would have to say that my favorite beach is "shorebreak" in Kailua where I learned to surf. I spent so many hours, days, and years there surfing in the on-shore slop. But it's not the waves that makes it a favorite. It's recalling the memories of those old, carefree days as a early teenager. Another beach that Paula and I recently stopped by at was Hanauma bay. I remember when my dad used to take us there to go fishing or just walk around the point to "toilet bowl". I'm not sure if it's the keawe trees, but there is a unique scent there that reminds me of small keed days.
Where’s your favorite place to spend money?
Las Vegas, duh! Where else can you drop $1k, and come home with $2k? Sometimes... If you're lucky... And the planets align in your favor...
My tightwad brother doesn't understand how we can spend money in Vegas gambling. Here's my theory: it's like entering your name into a drawing. The person who enters their name into the drawing has a 100% better chance of winning the drawing than the person who doesn't put in an entry at all. So, if I drop even 25¢ into a machine, I have a 100% better chance of hitting a jackpot than my tightwad brother who won't drop even a penny. It's just that I drop in many 25¢ coins at Vegas. And $1 bills. And sometimes $5 bills. But at least I get chance, right?
Where’s a good place to watch people?
Gotta be Ala Moana shopping center. The locals, the tourists - both from the states and abroad. I sometimes look at the tourists and wonder where they're visiting from - maybe from the Midwest, or Canada, or Europe. And I wonder what they think of our beautiful island and how they wish they could stay longer.
Where’s a good place to be totally alone?
Wa'ahila ridge park at the top of St. Louis heights. It's quiet and serene. You can hear the wind blowing through the tall pine trees, feel the cool mountain air, and enjoy the great view of Manoa valley. A quick escape from the hustle and bustle of Honolulu. A great place to feed your soul.
Where’s a place outside of work (or school) where you’re likely to run into people from work (or school)?
Again, I have to say Ala Moana shopping center. Probably because Paula and I are there almost every weekend. I think I ran into Marisa there for the past 3 or 4 weeks in a row. But what's really amazing is the people I bump into at The California Hotel in Las Vegas! On just about every trip, we'll run into someone we know there. I remember seeing my good friend's mom - who I haven't seen for over 10 years there. One of my buds that I used to hang around with when Paula and I were just dating recognized us and stopped us to talk story. And he lives in California! (the state, not the hotel). In fact, I didn't recognize him even after he told me who he was! I played along like I recognized him. I even introduced him to Paula, which was funny because he said "of course I know Paula!" (he was at our wedding). It wasn't until I heard his laugh that it dawned upon me. Sorry, Garrett.
So, what's your Friday5 replies? No shame, your answer can deviate from the question little bit (like I did on #5) - it's Friday!
ps. Powerhouse Band will be playing at Ige's 19th Puka tonight (10/24). That's Roy Yonashiro's (of Natural High) band. White Light makes a flashback appearance there in early November.
Today I would like feature a guest entry from dedicated readers M & Masako. They both put a lot of effort in sorting out the pictures and putting them into 3 different slide shows - with comments on the photos too.
First of all, Masako put together an excellent narrative of their trip. I can see the time and effort put in to this and thank them both for taking the time to share their vacation with us.
And so, without further ado, M & Masako's Okinawa/Kyushu trip:
Okinawa/Kyushu March 2008
From childhood I was told that I am Japanese on my dad’s side and Okinawan on my mother’s side. For years I thought “same thing but different” and to me being half Okinawan meant that I didn’t get the nice eyes but got the hairiness. I thought Okinawa was a place where they eat andagi and pig feet soup instead of mochi and miso soup. As the years went by I realized that there was a difference and I wanted to see for myself.
M and I went to Japan for the first time in 2004 and was instantly addicted. We went back again in 2007 and I told him I wanted to visit Okinawa in 2008. He said fine, go look for a tour. I found one that went to Okinawa, Yamaguchi Ken (where my paternal side is from) and Hiroshima, three places I wanted to visit. I also wanted to go shopping in Tokyo but there wasn’t time to stop there. No worries, there was plenty of shopping on that trip.
I’ll let the pictures do the talking about the sightseeing but I want to share my personal insights about the trip. I was able to spend a day with distant cousins of my great grandfather in Okinawa. They picked us up at our hotel and we got into their car, imagine they could have kidnapped us or something! It was a magical day. Visiting ancestor’s graves and hearing first hand about the culture and way of life in Okinawa. Only one cousin could speak English but we had no trouble communicating. They took us to their house for dinner and we got to meet the living patriarch of the family, an 89 year old in good health who actually had met my great grandfather. I learned from my time there that Okinawa is different from Japan. They share the same language and government but the culture is different. They even look different. Okinawa is laid back, similar to how Hawaii is different from the mainland, in fact my young cousin refers to Japan as the “mainland”.
Kyushu - The main reason I wanted to visit Kyushu was to go to Yamaguchi-ken, Nagasaki and Beppu. We also visited Fukuoka and Kumamoto, those two places was similar to Tokyo. Yamaguchi ken was more country, lots of fishing and farming which were the two hobbies that my paternal grandparents enjoyed. No relatives to meet there but it was a neat feeling to be walking in the land of my ancestors. We visited a museum dedicated to the Japanese immigration to Hawaii and I could imagine what my ancestors went thru. Nagasaki was sobering. I couldn’t believe that our country dropped a bomb on Nagasaki after seeing the devastation in Hiroshima. I wanted to visit Beppu to experience the hot springs there. The highlight was bathing naked in an outdoor hot spring, in 50 degree weather, on top of the mountain overlooking Beppu city hoping there was no one in the distance with binoculars.
Our tour ended in Hiroshima. I thought it wouldn’t be as emotional after visiting the war memorials in Okinawa and Nagasaki but it was. Right in the middle of the city there is an A bomb dome which is a skeleton of building after the bombing. The exhibits in the museum are graphic. There is a peace bell there and as I rang it I prayed for world peace.
Overall the trip was everything I hoped it would be and more. I now have a deeper understanding of my culture and heritage. We are planning to take our son to Tokyo next spring and we’ll be sure to take lots of pictures to share with you all.
Please click on the pictures to view the 3 different slide shows that Masako painstakingly put together to share with us.
Okinawa:
Kyushu:
Hiroshima:
Thank you M & Masako to sharing your trip with us and taking us on this cyber journey. Especially to Masako to spending much of her vacation time to put together these slide shows (with comments) to share with us.
How about a big hand for M & Masako!
I've never been to Okinawa nor Japan but would like to visit someday. Have you been to the Land of the Rising Sun? How about Okinawa? If so, what are you memories of your visit? And the food pictures! How do you like those pictures of the foods? Hungry yet?
Left: EGL (Elegant Gothic Lolita)
Left: MLC Playboy Bunny
He parked outside the lane and started walking in. As he passed a house midway in the lane, their dog ran up to the fence and started barking at him. As he walked further down the lane, the dog followed and kept barking until he reach a certain point. At that point, the dog stopped barking and retreated back to the house - even though there was more yard for the dog to follow him and continue yapping. He thought nothing of it and went to the house at the end of the lane to investigate. Turns out that the house was abandoned and no one lived there. He walked back out the lane where a few other cops were waiting for him. They asked him what's going on and he said there's nothing there but an abandoned house. Then they asked about the barking dog that barks only partway down the yard then retreats. He said yeah, he thought it was kinda strange that the dog didn't follow him until the end of the yard. Then the other cops told him that they often get that call but know better than to venture down there - because there is nothing there but an abandoned house. "Welcome to the force".
