Of course, this weekend was a major one because it was Christmas weekend! Merry Christmas everyone, hope you all had a safe and fun day and hopefully Santa brought you everything you asked for!

Christmas eve was spent cheering on the University of Hawai’i Warriors as they battled the University of Tulsa Golden Hurricane. I’m very angry about this game, so we’ll stop here. Grrrrr!

Christmas Day was a hectic, fun day with even the dogs opening presents! Mom made our traditional delicious waffles, and the family got a chance to finally relax!

Then finally, to end the weekend, the Kawakamis hosted our second annual “Cupcake Challenge.” More then a dozen of my friends baked their butts off and presented their finest cupcake entries in this year’s event. Every year, we gather and pick our favorites, and each winner receives a prize! This year, everyone stepped up their games and made some delicious cupcakes!

Again, I apologize for getting off schedule, I will release “Nick in Photos” tomorrow like usual, so stay tuned for that!
Aloha for now,
Nick

Other than that, it’s a busy week for ManoaDNA with a private function on Wednesday, and Lulus on Friday. Kani Ka Pila is cancelled for us this weekend as the DNA boys will be cheering on the University of Hawai’i Warriors against Nevada on Saturday! Go Warriors!

Besides, if wanna get my day to day, follow me on Twitter!
http://www.twitter.com/nickkawakami

Anyway, onto the news! Hawai’i got smoked by Wisconsin over the weekend, capping off a roller-coaster of a season. And while the pole 11.5 crew showed up in force, it wasn’t enough as Wisconsin ran all over the place. Oh well, I have to say, with all the crap that Coach Mack had to deal with this year, it’s amazing how well it turned out. Congratulations and thanks go out to the senior class!

Some of you have heard that Manoa DNA will be airing a two-hour radio program in Nagoya, Japan every Sunday afternoon. We are meeting tonight to finalize the details of the show’s content, but as a preview I thought I would test my reporting skills and let you all know of a delicious Vietnamese place in Kaimuki, O’ahu called “Hale Vietnam!” Their specialty of course is the pho (Wikipedia definition), a soup and noodle dish with vegetables and your choice of meat. It comes with bean sprouts, basil, mint, along with your usual pho fixings creating a delicious aroma that hits you the minute you walk in the door. If you aren’t in the mood for soup, I also love their Vietnamese thin noodles. Comes with a variety of meat, seafood or vegetable toppings, and I tried the lemongrass chicken. Whoo! Broke da mout! So ono, so good. Definitely makes the trek out to Kaimuki worth it! If you get a chance to make it to Hale Vietnam, tell them Manoa DNA sent you! (They won’t know what you’re talking about, so take their photo and send it to me! I would love to see their face!)

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Have a great week everyone. Thanks for reading!
Nick

Now the title of this blog entry may seem general and overused, but a wave of appreciation has overcome my emotions when I woke up today.

Don’t worry, I won’t bore you with tedious, tear-filled, post-menopausalish details, but let’s just say I realized I don’t take many steps back and appreciate what I have. Try it, it’s weird. That’s all I’ll say about that, and leave you to create your own thoughts.

On a less-serious note (while still beautiful), Hawai’i football is unstoppable (*knock on wood*)!! With the best game of the season (so far) played on Saturday, Hawai’i keeps its slim bowl-game hopes alive. What a game though, and well worth the entire roller coaster of emotions that have summarized this season. Heck, I lost my voice! My precious music-creating voice was taken for granted and now I can barely talk. It was worth it. Now, Hawai’i has to get through nationally ranked (#26 USA Today) Wisconsin Badgers next Saturday and it’s off to the Sheraton Hawai’i Bowl we go! Cross your fingers, send your prayers, and let’s go Warriors!!

Thanksgiving was a great time with the family! Plenty of turkey, stuffing, gravy, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes and more. I didn’t eat as much as I usually do, but that was not due to the quality or quantity of food before me. Instead, I think I took it easy, decided to enjoy the company of my family and take the time to catch up with everyone (something I’ve never done before). What the? Beautiful Hawai’i? Catch up? Not eat? Am I getting soft in my old age?!

Anyway, that’s my report for this Wednesday (hump day) in beautiful Manoa. We have a great series of holiday events coming up this month, so check the schedule and head down!

Happy Holidays Everyone! Be safe and shop!
Nick

Last weekend was bad because the Hawai’i Warrior football team lost an embarrassing game to nationally-ranked Boise St. There is little to say about the loss, and I think I am so devastated that I don’t wanna be seen on camera in a vlog right now.

So, as I lick my wounds and heal up, I will hopefully have something for you guys later this week. Stay tuned!

And our beloved U.H. Warriors won last night although they had to come from behind in the last couple of minutes!  Oh well, a win is a win in my book …

I’m off to walk the puppies and then I’m headed out to join some friends for a round of golf out at the new Hoakalei course in Ewa.  I’m taking a lot of balls in case I have a bad day, but hopefully I’ll be able to keep my score below 100!

Aloha, Lloy”D”