Celebration of the British period drama

Stupid British period dramas, why do they have to be so good! So, I came back from Maui and I was tired from hiking in the stream all day. My awesome honeybunch cooked dinner and we began our daily dinner & Netflix movie night. Browsing through our Instant Q, I saw the face of Richard Armitage. I didn’t know his name then but remembered him from Spooks (MI-5), another addictive British show. Next thing we know, we sat on the couch for 3.5 hours, watching the entire 4-part series of North & South. Gosh darn it! This series reminded me of Emma, Pride & Prejudice, and Persuasion, all of which are romantic British period drama that I love. Here is the last few minutes of North & South that I watched 5 times now over the past 2 days. I love how he couldn't stop looking at her and how she kept on looking away for the same reason. The cast is so gorgeous! Richard is handsome! But Bryan is more handsome!



Here is my favorite scene in Pride & Prejudice. While Mathew MacFayden is not as handsome as Richard Armitage or Rupert Henry-Jones, his acting in this movie is so real that makes all the women want to be Mrs. Darcy.

Chop Suey

Since I don't quite remember what happened during my hiatus, I have taken a Chop Suey approach - random pieces of information that are disconnected but have somehow consumed my every last bit of energy in the past few months. Let’s start with Shaun the Sheep. As Britain’s most beloved star, this adorable character made his debut in America as the perfect icon for Serta Mattress Co. I was given the opportunity to meet this fellow and his gang, and even hug them and pick their noses. Contrary to popular belief, Shaun is not soft but rather firm like a good ol’ sturdy mattress. Their white and fluffy bodies portrayed so soft and heavenly, part of animation being a beautiful and harmless lie. I can’t believe how much these guys sell for: small at $10, large at $400! As much as I love this creature, I did not buy a Serta mattress but I did enjoy napping with the mascot.

Mattress shopping is tiring - ironic but true. I am used to sleeping on one bed for at least 6 hours. Going from bed to bed, trying to differentiate the softness between them became impossible the more beds I tested. Pretty soon, my opinion of each bed was “soft, they are all very soft” until…I met THE ONE. Simmons Beautyrest Worldclass Atkins X-Firm – the ultimate perfect bed. It was all very complicated and contradicting, like falling in love – soft but firm, springy but not bouncy, flexible but holds its shape. This bed is absolutely amazing.

On a different note, Bryan and I went to the Hawaii Book and Music Festival at Honolulu Hale back in May. The highlight of this event was getting to see Jake Shimabukuro perform. He is a very talented musician and plays so passionately. I love how he turns melodies normally played with a piano or another instrument into an ukelele masterpiece.

I'm back!

Hi peeps, sorry for my little hiatus but I am officially back! I wrote an angry post back in the beginning of July about working in limbo at my state job but it was too gloomy and sad for the blog's taste. The post is still sitting in my flash drive and who knows, I may decide to post it the next time I explode with madness and frustration.

Before I dive into a discussion about some of the exciting things that happened in the past few months, I would like to indulge you in the thought of having another me...well, a more successful version that is. Not only is she a TV star and a foodie, she is a writer and producer of a radio show about shopping and eating. Oh and did I mention she is somewhat sexy and I love her hairstyle (the one on the homepage of her blog)? Check her out here. Gosh, if only I wasn't as lazy and dumb, that could be me :( Hmmm...I wonder if there is an evil-er version of me.

Stay tuned :)

In memory of Dr. LK

Certainly this is not something to blog about as if it's a casual matter that can be forgotten once I push the "PUBLISH POST" button. Nor can I ignore the fact that it happened so sudden and writing about it may help ease the sadness that I am feeling. I learned today that a well-respected individual who happened upon my life 7 years ago passed away in November of last year. His accomplishments in the medical society cannot be judged by the number of awards or honors he has received in his lifetime. Rather, they should be appraised by the number of young people he has helped to set foot in the studies of medicine, nursing, public health, social work, and many other professions for he taught the science of living and doing what one loves, either it be related to medicine or not. I am no doctor but I thank him for making my undergraduate experience the best years of my life. He will be missed.

Pan-Pacific Championship

After two very long weeks, the Pan-Pacific Championship soccer games finally happened. On Saturday, we arrived at Aloha Stadium in hope of finding my co-worker who invited us to a tailgate party before the game. We had every intention of bringing muffins that we bought the previous day at Costco. However, my unsuccessful attempt to reach my co-worker on our way out discouraged us from doing so. Plus, we didn't want the muffins to spoil in the heat before sundown. We ended up BBQing with a bunch of soccer referees and their wives. There were grilled shrimp, steak, ribs, veggies, potatoes, and best of all, wine. We had such a great time that we were late to the opening of the first game. It was my first time to a real soccer game so you could imagine how excited and anxious I was to see the players and experience the thrill of yelling and jumping with thousands of other people. The first game began at 6pm and it was LA Galaxy vs. Syney FC. I was determined to get a good picture of Beckham so I ran down to the "prime" seats near the sideline. I took a couple pics but was enjoying the game so much that I eneded up watching the entire game near the sideline. I couldn't believe what some of the people yelled out to Beckham. I remember one shouted, "Come on Beckham, make some goals. That's what you are paid to do right?" With all the criticisms and pressure from the sideline, Beckham managed to get two assists and won the game 2 to 1.


The second game began at 8:30pm and it was Gamba Osaka vs. Houtson Dynamo. Of course 80% of the people at the stadium were cheering for Houston because of Bryan Ching who is from Hawaii. I, on the other hand was cheering for Gamba because I knew they wouldn't get much support from the crowd. The first half was a lot of cheering for Houston and silence for Gamba. The second half was a disaster and embarrassment for Houston because Gamba scored 4 of its 6 goals and won the game 6 to 1. Houston was doing so badly that the crowd grew louder and more excited when Gamba scored. Let the truth be told, Gamba WAS very good. They were quick at passing the ball and the brazilians on the team were good scorers. All in all, they deserve the medal and respect from all the people at the stadium that night. One of Gamba's goals is captured below:


I am becoming addicted to these soccer games. Those bambams kept me awake for 5 hours during the games. Knowing me, I usually cannot stay awake that long. I only wish the european leagues would come and play someday.

Raiatea

I just returned from the Honolulu County Medical Society Member Appreciation Dinner where they had a feature performance from Raiatea Helm. Last time I heard her sing live was at the 2005 Taste of Honolulu. Since there were tons of people, I couldn't hear her very well...as a matter of fact, I couldn't hear anything at all. Tonight, I had the pleasure of enjoying her beautiful voice without the loud chitter chatter or the rustling sound of trees when the wind blows. Ah, she was amazing. Even though I didn't understand her songs (because she sang in Hawaiian), her soothing voice was enough to keep me entertained the whole night. She is only 23 and her wonderful talent got her 2 Grammy nominations already. At the end of her performance, I bought a CD and got her autograph. It was a rather expensive CD...$20. Well, what the heck. I rarely buy CD's anyway. I forgot to bring a camera so I used my phone which takes pretty good pictures for a 1.2 mpx phone camera.
You can see that my friend suu-paawanpaku came with me too. He was playing in the orchid grove while we were watching the performance. He was also scaring the kids before dinner.