Went out and played some golf early yesterday morning … why, I don’t know since my game is so bad.  My shots are so inconsistent – good drive, bad 2nd shot .. bad drive, good 2nd shot – mix that in with an assortment of lousy sand trap play and 3-putts and you can see why I hate my game!  I did find one solution, though … after shooting 47 on the front nine, I grabbed a beer at the turn and ended up shooting a 40 on the back!  Hmmm … beer = good golf … now that’s an interesting concept, huh?

Today will be a busy Sunday … I have a squash game at 9am, a birthday brunch after that, and then I have to start getting ready for tonight’s Na Hoku Hanohano music awards banquet.  ManoaDNA’s “EVOLUTION” has been nominated in 3 categories so Alex and I plan to attend with family and friends.  It’s always fun to get dressed up and party with all of our entertainer friends .. this is probably the only time when we can see everyone all together … sort of like a high school reunion!

And finally, tomorrow is Memorial Day, a day to remember all our loved ones who’ve passed on.  Did you know that Memorial Day was previously known as Decorations Day?  I didn’t know that until a Facebook friend informed me of that yesterday .. and she’s from Japan (I guess she knows more about our history than I do – pretty embarrassing!)  Anyway, I plan to go up to the Punchbowl National Cemetery tomorrow to visit my Dad’s gravesite ….

Well, I gotta get going … have a great Sunday, everyone!     Aloha, “D”

“Good morning!” (again!)  I’m still dragging from the weekend … even after a cup of my favorite Dunkin’ Donuts coffee!  And it looks like this next weekend is also going to be nuts since it’s Memorial Weekend and the Na Hoku Festival is also happening.  We’re supposed to perform at the opening media party over at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel this Thursday, and then we’re going to attend the Na Hoku Hanohano Awards banquet on Sunday evening.  The Na Hoku awards are sort of like Hawai’i's version of the Grammys, and since ManoaDNA’s CD, “EVOLUTION” was nominated in three categories – Engineering, Group of the Year, and Contemporary Album of the Year – we plan to be there to party and support our fellow musicians!

Yesterday, the boys and I got up early to perform at the Arthritis Walk for Life down at Magic Island.  It’s always difficult to sing and play so early in the morning, but it was for a very good cause and I think everyone enjoyed the music.  After that, I drove out to windy Coral Creek for a round of golf with my Selohssa golf buddies and realized I would’ve been better off staying home!  I REALLY stunk … started off by shooting a horrendous 47 on the front nine and then shot a 41 on the back (including a triple bogey on the the last hole!)!  This has pretty much been my game for the last couple of months … is it time for lessons or a higher handicap??  Hahaha!!

Photo corner:  During our last Golden Week tour, we stopped in at our favorite yakiniku restaurant in Osaka owned by our pal, Fujii-san, where the food is simply AMAZING!!

We had a great IOLANI on Kona Street photo session for MidWeek yesterday … mahalo to Yu-Shing and Natalie for coming down and putting up with us!:-)  And talk about Murphy’s Law … remember how the weather’s been pretty hot lately?   Well, because there’s also been very little rain, we decided to repair the waterproofing on our parking deck.  And yups, you guessed it – yesterday it started pouring right after they had finished stripping the deck leaving it exposed!  Frick!!

Carla and I ate at our favorite Islands Fine Burgers & Drinks located in Ala Moana Center’s Hookipa Terrace last night after work.  I love their burgers – my favorite is the “Maui” w/ guacamole, while Carla’s is the “Longboarder” with Swiss.  If you’re looking for great burgers, milkshakes, root beer floats, or just an ice cold mug of draft, Islands is the place to go.  Tell ‘em ManoaDNA sent ya’ …

Photo corner: Here are a couple more pics from Alex’s graduation last Saturday .. me w/ the grad, and cupcakes celebrating the occasion.  Enjoy! 

Speaking of jet lag, I’m almost back to my regular sleeping schedule (finally!), although brain-wise I’m still a little out of it (so what’s new?!).  I can also tell that my body is still out of sync – yesterday I played in HJCC’s Samurai Classic golf tournament out at the Pearl Country Club with my buddies and was a total wreck.  I couldn’t hit the ball to save my life … everything felt foreign to me – the club, my stance, my swing – it was the strangest feeling!  But thanks to “Mr. Miller Lite”, my muscle memory started coming back and I was finally able to hit the ball towards the hole instead of away from it for the last few holes.

Although it’s great to be back home, we’re already making plans for our return to Japan in July.  I sure hope that the power shortages are not as severe as predicted, otherwise it’s going to be one HOT summer … especially in Tokyo! I was going through some of the photos from our recent trip to Sendai and Miyagi Prefecture, and I realized that pictures and words can’t even come close to describing what we encountered there.  I still have great difficulty expressing my thoughts and feelings when people ask about the situation …

Anyway, that’s about it for now … we’re back at Lulu’s tonight and Kani Ka Pila tomorrow.  See you there!

Much aloha, “D”

I went up to Punchbowl yesterday to visit my dad’s grave and placed one of our new KIZUNA wristbands on his headstone.  Punchbowl Cemetery is the final resting place for many of Hawai’i's veterans and the peace and tranquility that surrounds you there is breathtaking.  It’s really comforting to know that dad is in such a beautiful place …

The weirdest thing happened yesterday … I was leaving the office and getting into my car when I saw two birds sitting on my hood!  This is the first time I’ve ever seen this happen so I had to take a photo of it!

And finally .. golf sucked again yesterday!  I shot 40 – 52 for a 92!  I’m glad I won’t be playing for a while since we’ll be traveling … I can’t stand it when my game is so bad!  Grrrrrr!

Aloha, “D”

The boys & I are headed out to Coral Creek G.C. in a few minutes to play golf with the ManoaDNA Golf Club.  We always have a great time … most of the members are Alex’s & Nick’s age but there are a few old farts like me thrown into the mix.  And boy, can those young kids hit the ball!  The only way us old guys can stay competitive is to apply what we locals call the “Portagee judo” (ie, mind games) which most young minds always seem vulnerable to.  For instance, if someone is playing real well I’ll tell them, “wow, do you realize you’re only one over par?!”, and almost immediately they’ll triple bogey the next hole.  Or tell ‘em, “hmmm .. looks like you’ve lost some distance off the tee .. ” and sure enough, they’ll practically jump out of their shoes trying to swing as hard as they can!  I know, I know – there are those that say, “that’s poor sportsmanship” but hey, I can’t help it if you have a weak mind and can’t’ make a simple 3 foot putt to save your team!  Besides, we only do it when playing with friends and everyone is giving each other the same lip.  And as that old saying, “all is fair in love and war … and golf!”  Yeah, baybeeeeee!!!

Sorry … we gotta get going so I’ll continue this after I get back this afternoon, so stay tuned ….

It’s evening now here in Manoa, and we’ve just had a great dinner of shrimp & pasta.  The boys & I had a great time today out at Coral Creek although it was pretty hot.  And once again, I shot another wild round of golf – 45 on the front nine and 38 on the back.  Man, I can’t figure out why I can’t put two good nines together!  At least I got the closest-to-pin on two of the par-3s … haven’t gotten one of those in quite a while!  Anyway, I think I’m going to watch TV for a while and then go to bed early … after all, tomorrow’s the start of another busy week!

Aloha, “D”

Our good friends from Yokohama, Eriko and Mayumi, came in to our IOLANI on Kona St. store after flying in early yesterday morning.  They told us that things are ok in Yokohama although there are still some shortages and minimal power outages still occurring.  They bought several dresses which they plan to wear for a hula performance, and of course, they looked fabulous in them!  Mahalo for stopping by, girls!

We’ll be performing tonight on Pakele Live’s “Kokua Japan” fundraiser from 6:00 to 6:30pm.  Also appearing on tonight’s segment will be Nathan Aweau and the group, Kaiaulu.  It’ll be streamed live on the internet so don’t miss it!

And boy, did it pour last night!  It started in the early evening and continued throughout the night and also included an occasional burst of thunder and lightning.  It seems to have stopped this morning although the skies are still overcast and the air is still and a bit chilly.  I’m debating whether I should join the golf group this afternoon since the course might be soaked and I have to be at the Willows by 5:30pm for our performance on Pakele Live.

Aloha, “D”

I had a wild round of golf yesterday afternoon .. shot an 81 with 4 birdies and 3 double bogeys!  Just couldn’t seem to get any kind of consistency in my game although my partner and I played just a little better than the other guys to win!  It was another beautiful afternoon out at Waialae and we all had a great time regardless of whether you won or lost … well, maybe the winners enjoyed it a little more!  lol

We’ll be at Lulu’s tonight for our regular pau hana gig, but before that we’ll be at Studio Rim to record a radio segment with our pal, Pele Reiko.  I’m really looking forward to this as this will be our first recording since the terrible earthquake and tsunami hit Japan.  We will do our best to bring some smiles to the faces of the many listeners over there …

And finally … “Happy Aloha Friday” to you all!!

Aloha, “D”

I picked up some dinner at the original Side Street Inn last night … grilled rib-eye steak w/ mushrooms & onions, and bacon-wrapped prawns.   Along with some fried rice, this was a meal for the gods!  Of course I always end up eating way too much but hey, I’m a local boy … ‘love my grinds!

We’re getting ready to go up to Japan at the end of April for Golden Week, and it now looks like we’ll be performing in Tokyo, Osaka, and Hiroshima.  Since we will be representing Hawai’i Tourism Japan on this trip, we will only have one MDNA solo live concert which will be at Club Ikspiari on April 29th.  I’m really looking forward to seeing all of you, and hope that our music will bring smiles to people’s faces during these very difficult times.

Please take care and be safe, my friends!

Much aloha, “D”

Hey check out this photo of a rainbow that came out while I was golfing yesterday morning … it was pretty awesome!

We had a great weekend of music both at Lulu’s on Friday and Kani Ka Pila last night.  Congratulations to KKPG for celebrating its 2nd Anniversary this week with prizes last night (jeez, has it been 2 years already?!) – so if you could answer one of our Hawaiian trivia questions, then you won a prize!  It was so much fun and the crowd was awesome – leading the charge was our friend, Yutaka, who I just nicknamed the “Energizer Bunny” because he always gets the crowd going!  He got up to do a hula with Auntie Pat, and was also joined by another good friend from Japan, Fumiko.  We also had a real treat last night when Pat’s granddaughter, Lexie, got up to dance to our Green Rose Hula … so cute!  Also dropping in to party with us was Bruce Shimabukuro, a great talent with a big heart just like his brother, Jake!  Also there having a good time was Bruddah Bill, Charles, Sarah, and Carl (Happy b’day!) from Mililani, Keoki, Sharon, Sae, Shion, Takuya, Hiroki, Brian, Yoko, Kazu & family, Ken, Nola, Nao, Yumi, Reid, “Boon”, Fumiko, Masako, Amy, Mike, Logan, Lexie, Noelle, Paul, Jim, Carol, and many others whose names I can’t remember right now (damn, I’m getting old!).  Cute story: Charles (family from Mililani) is 2 years old and just loves trains – in fact his mom told me that they always go to the Dole Plantations because he loves to ride the train and listen to “Ka’aahi Kahului”, a song which we recorded on our 2nd CD and which is played during the train ride.  Anyway, they had just finished dinner and were walking by the Reef last night when all of a sudden, Charles heard us playing our other song “The Train” and made a beeline for KKPG!  I mean, this kid’s only 2 years old and recognizes our music!  Too funny!  Anyway, mahalo to you all and we’re so grateful that you guys chose to spend the evening with us!!

Was also saddened to hear of the passing of the mother of our good friend, Misako … our condolences go out to her and her family.

Aloha, “D”