Buffalo Pies

I read an article in TIME magazine today about how Buffalo Exchange is hip and cheap, the best thing since buttered toast, etc.

Lies.

Filthy lies.

I dont know if its because they were looking at the store in Brooklyn (where it is likely that BE would be considered frugal by comparisson) or if its just Oregon. But the Buffalo Exchanges in Portland are crap. The clothes are not even that cheap ie, old ratty t-shirt from american eagle for $12 and some brand new trendy handbags for regular hangbag prices. And furthermore, the clothes are not what I would consider trendy either. Unless you are willing to hunt around in that store for hours at a time, weeks in a row. Then you might come up with something cool - like a Banana Republic wool coat for 20 or less.

Promo Time!

I experienced my first martial arts promotion ceremony last night. Super fun!!

First we had to do a test. 2 katas (form dances) and 4 randomly chosen fighting techniques and some general knowledge about Kajukenbo. Then Sigung and Sibak, the instructors, would grumble amongst themselves. After that, it was time to kneel on the red line and reap the rewards. The first guy to get promoted was so nervous he couldnt even untie his belt!

And thats all good fun, but heres the really cool part --> when you get presented with your new belt you are expected to squat in front of the black belts (by squat I mean something like a horse stance, not european bathroom position). The master instructor, Mr A, places your new belt on your shoulder, tells you how proud he is of you (and in my case how much he loves you), says "Kajukenbo bless you forever" and proceeds to BEAT THE SHIT OUT OF YOU with the belt. He whips and lashes on your arms, legs, torso, what-have-you. Then, when that excitment is all over, the assistant instructor comes over, takes the belt, and does the same thing!

I almost cried! At my own damn promotion! I sort of screamed since I wasnt really expecting it to hurt as much as it did!

But, thankfully, I didnt cry. I dont think mine was the worst of the group anyway. The green belts got it really bad. Then afterwards we all hung out in the dojo and had some beverages of choice. All in all, it was a very interesting experience and I am proud to be my honey's first female purple belt. Yahoo!

Mele Kalikimaka Kakou!

I have finished all my christmas shopping. Havent quite finished the christmas crafting. I have sent the cards, wrapped the gifts, decorated the house plants and television tops, and only lost electricity once.
When we were in Hawaii, as I fondled a CD of hawaiian holiday tunes at the swap meet, Mr A told me that he had a vast collection of the kalikimaka kind. I reluctantly put the disc back. I have since discovered that he has one CD, which he cant find. So the house tunes are same ole shit.
*NEW TOPIC*
Like a fickle freshman in high school, I have shunned Thai for the now super cool popular (North Face wearing) Hawaiian. Thats right, kids, if your best friend language just cant get with it and people just dont understand, you should kick em to the curb and instantaneously take interest in whatever Mr Popular Language is doing at that moment. Though I still use phrases such as mai au (dont want it), mai chop (dont like it), and mai bpen rai (doesnt matter) almost all basic nouns and noun phrases have been completely irradicated.
We have lots of language options in our house (Filipino is honeyboys new dialect of choice). Though neither Mr A nor I is actually fluent in anything, especially SAE, we both know enough of a wide range of 'olelos to remain discrete while discussing sensitive issues in public. I have decided to focus my studies on Hawaiiana, because I think it will reap the most rewards in the future. You know, the 15 other people who can actually speak Hawaiian will probably give me a thumbs up or something if I ever end up shipwrecked on Ni'ihau.
Anyway....
Youd think this would be easy, being that it is I am living with a true breed Hawaiian.

Thats a huge negative.

Turns out that Standard American English, Hawaiian American English (pidgin) and Hawaiian are three totally different languages. And its really challenging to convince Mr A that words he has grown up using are something sort of different than what he thinks they are. Its like telling someone from the south that aint aint a word. For instance, the word momona is commonly used to refer to overweight people, but turns out that in standard Hawaiian, momona primarily means sweet tasting. (?!) I would like to direct everyone to Kiki's article about her nickname translating into Thai. Serious communication breakdown.
This is an ongoing battle. I will prevail.

Oh Ye of Little Faith

So it just occured to me, again, that I should probably update my blog more often. Geez, youd think now that I dont have a 9-5er (730-4er) I would have ample time for such an activity. Just goes to show how much time is wasted by going and working for someone else.

I saw Mel Gibson on a talk show last night and determined that he has finally become that guy from Lethal Weapon. Either that, or he was type cast in the first place.

I made a quilt last night - though I have yet to quilt it. Mainly because I cant figure out what that verb actually means.

I got back from O'ahu earlier this week. Had my first experience staying at a B&B in Kailua. There are oh so many reasons why I want to sing Auntie Barbara's praises. I highly recommend the B&B thing. The traffic isnt quite so monstrous on that side of the island as well.
We got some business done, made some plans for the wedding & the moving, etc. It was Mr A's birthday as well so there was lots of celebrating and Phillipino food eating activity. I ate ZipMin from Zippy's too many times. This picture was taken around the third time.

Since I mentioned the wedding... Im quickly finding the getting married process to be 100% facinating! Im going to have to start blogging on that more often. Perhaps Ill change the subtitle of Terms of Indifference to read "catholic wedding planning: not just for the pious"

I am eagerly awaiting my Engaged Encounter and my "personality inventory" aka marriage test. My mom mentioned she wanted to email me some of the questions. Why? So I can study? So I can cheat? Only time will tell.

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween!!!

I attended my first Todd & Michelle Halloween Extravaganza. Mr A and I went as the infamous Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker. Even though Mr A looked slick in his fedora, our costumes barely registered on the full out freak show scale of that particular gathering.
The winners, in my opinion, would have to be Nate & Lara - shown here. Theres not a whole lot you can say about a couple costume this awesome.

I need to go and scour the thrift store off my skin now.

The Challenging Life of the Self-Employed

Sometimes I think that I just say "Im self employed" because it sounds nicer than "Im unemployed".
I probably do more work, technically speaking, than I used to when I had a 9-5er. But theres something about not punching a time card or asking my bosses permission to smoke that leads me to believe I really have no job.
The challenge is that we are told no job = no purpose. Instead of celebrating my liberation Im left feeling like a freeloader.
I was told, and agree wholeheartedly, that I should never work again unless I really really wanted to. I know that no one could possibly pay me what I think Im worth. I dont think that anyone is going to care about my wellbeing the way I do. Or let me take Wednesday off because I would rather finish my book. So why should I leave those sorts of decisions up to anyone besides myself?

Thank you Shaklee. Although sometimes I feel guilty for things I shouldnt (like hooking up my loved ones with high quality healthy stuff that they probably want anyway) in the end I know that a Tuesday afternoon hike with my dude is worth feeling a bit of vunerability.

Hook Line & Sink

Yesterday I went to my grandmothers house to deliver a bottle of Basic H because she has fallen in love with my mom's super slick cleaning style. We started talking about her white counters and how metal pots and pans leave unsightly grey marks all over the place. (interestingly enough, Basic H will take those marks off her counter, but thats not relevant to my story) She informed me, casually, that she uses bleach to clear up said marks. What in the hell she is thinking putting bleach anywhere near her food, Ill never know.

But thats not the point. The conversation turned to her sink, which she also cleans with bleach (same metal streak mark problem there). I asked her why she doesnt just use a sponge and she said, in true Granny fashion, "Well, I dont know my dear, I guess Im under the crazy notion that white sinks should be white." And she asked me what color my sink was. I truly dont know because Ive never looked at the sink that closely but I insisted that it is not and has never been white.

Then I got to thinking last night...

So this afternoon I reached for the Scour Off and scrubby-deal from my much loved Get Clean kit. Its made from cherry pits and did a marvelous job on the oven last week. I peered into my sink and said to Mr A "maybe at some point in its life it was white, but now its scratched..." He told me to try anyway. I think he could sense the premature surrendering in my voice. So I took to scouring and...


TA-FREAKIN-DA!


My sink smells a whole lot better now and - Ill be damned - it is white! Amazing. This isnt the best picture but its half way through the job and gives some idea of what Im talking about.