I Lived a Quarter Century
This past Saturday, I became 25 years old.
1) I didn't have time to update this blog that day (I use the public library computers to surf the Internet), but I did have an adventurous day.
In the morning, I had breakfast with my parents and grandmother at Kam Bowl's in Kalihi (they got the best fried rice & scrambled eggs). That is my birthday tradition to eat over there.
Later, in the noon/afternoon time, I did my usual weekend duties of laundry and cleaning.
In the evening time, me and a few friends were at Eastside Grill to watch a UH football game. Though it's always better to watch a game at the stadium, I preferred to save $$$ and watch it a bar. It's a fun social thing, and you don't have to get drunk. I just drank 7up & water.
2) I'm 25 already? Damn I feel old! (though someone said to me that day that I'm still a young guy).
The reason I say I'm getting old is that now I feel like a full-on adult. Though I have been legally an adult for 7 years, I wasn't always feeling that way. I never felt like a full-0n adult when I was in college, but I do now.
The reason is now, I have to work and support myself. I'm not attending school anymore, though I do work at the schools. And now I gotta be a mature adult.
To good thing about being a full-on adult is that now, there's no real pressure to be a part of a clique! Now, there's no pressure for me to always hang out with friends or else others think I got none. It's always strange that just because I'm not around a friend 24/7, I got accused by some of not having friends. If those folks even paid attention, they would know with whom and where I hung out.
As a full-on adult, there's less flight-or-fight pressure. As a teenager, if you don't lash out in anger, you're considered a wimp or a pussy! So what do you in tough situations? Lash out in anger. Which I have done! And I would be pissed off if my friends dont back me up in a fight!
In one case, a former friend (profiled in the 9/29/05 post) told me that someone said false things behind my back. Of course, I wanted to fight that rumor-spreader. Problem is, that "friend" didn't want to back me up in a fight! I considered that "friend" a coward.
However, I handle things different. When I was working at Palama Settlement this past summer, there were tense situations. In one case, a woman was pissed at me for disciplining her nephew. In another case, a co-worker (who only got hired because someone else quit) was being bossy and rude. In those situations, I told my supervisors about how those folks been acting. It's better to tell the supervisors about it instead of lashing out at that "irate auntie" and bossy co-worker. You can't be a doormat (wimp) but you can't lash out in anger, so you gotta find the middle ground - being calm but stern! That is something I have learned from my supervisors at Palama Settlement, and something I wish I've learned earlier in life!
Going back to that rumor-spreader in high school, I have learned that you shouldn't go telling people "so and so said this about you!" If you hear someone saying negative stuff about me, DONT TELL ME ABOUT IT! And I wont tell you if someone said negative stuff about you! I'm an adult and I dont need to spread bad vibes.
The problem with being an adult is that you have even less time to hang out with friends. Every one my age is busy working and taking care of their own children. They don't have time to call or hang out! Even to invite friends to a party is a pain in the ass nowadays, since everyone is so busy with their own lives. (though in one case, one friend was too sick to attend my birthday party)
Also, being 25 and a full-on adult, that means childhood, adolescence and young adult hood is over. That means all the good memories are just memories, and there's things I've wished I have done, but didn't have time to do them. I remember feeling like 4 years of high school was too short! When I graduated from McKinley High School [Tiger Pride :)] , I wanted another year, so I can do stuff I didn't get a chance to do in the 4 years!
However, now that I work in the schools, I get a chance to enjoy life in school again. I get to enjoy observing kids doing fun stuff and making jokes.
However, my role is changed.
Good news is that I got authority! The kids have to listen to me! I am the star of the classroom!
And I dont have to fit-in a clique nor get involved in some immature nonsense!
However, I am held responsible if the kids get hurt! I have be on full-alert at all times!
And when kids act up, I can't be a wimp, but I can't lash out either. I got to be calm & stern! That's easier said than done. But it must be done!
Wednesday, October 12, 2005
School Profiles
1) The Honolulu Advertiser recently had an article about Farrington High School.
http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2005/Oct/09/ln/FP510090344.html
Here's what I wrote to the editors
I thought the article on Farrington High School was interesting, but the Tiger in me (I'm a McKinley grad) is a little envious.
I think it would be a good idea to do a profile on McKinley High School and put in on the front page of a Sunday edition.Here's my reasons
1) it's the oldest public high school
2) it's in the center of Honolulu, and therefore it's good to inform rural and suburban Oahu residents about the thoughts of urban Honolulu kids. It's a very different culture.
3) it has a really large immigrant population from various nations, including Vietnam, Korea, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, China, Phillipines, Samoa, etc. How do they adjust to new surroundings, do they get along with each other, do they fight each other? How does the administration deal with their struggles?
4) the school district covers various communities like McCully, downtown, Chinatown, Liliha, Mayor Wright's, Palama and Lanakila. How do the students from those communities differ and how do they get along?
5) as you can tell from #4, students from various income levels go to McKinley.
6) going back to #3, NOT MANY students at McKinley have any ancestors who were working in sugar plantations of old Hawaii. So those students may not be able to relate to students in (for example : Pearl City, Campbell, Castle, etc.) It's a very different culture from the rest of Hawaii.
Conclusion : It would be great for the whole state to read about life in a school that is the most urban school in Hawaii, a school with the most immigrants, a school with students from various income levels, school with diverse groups, a school in which students may not relate to the plantation culture.
2) Kamehameha Schools.You want to know why I don't take the "Native Hawaiians only" admission policy very seriously?
Go to http://starbulletin.com/2005/10/10/features/story03.html
then scroll down until you see the photo.
Do the 2 sudents sitting down even look Native Hawaiians? Do they even look part Polynesian?
The boy looks totally European, the girl looks totally Asian.
Meanwhile, many Polynesians who live in Kalihi Valley Housing or Kuhio Park Terrace (both less than 1 mile from Kamehameha Schools) dont get admitted to Kamehameha Schools because their ancestors landed on the wrong island. ( Many residents of both housing projects are Samoan or Tongan)
Meanwhile, Europeans and Asians can lie about their supposed Native Hawaiian ancestry (even when they don't look Hawaiian, nor practice the culture) just to go to Kamehameha. ( One of my relatives who grad from Kamehameha probably fit that description)
Why cant everyone just live in the 21 st century and learn to be intergrated already?
3) So ironic that people say Kamehameha is needed due to all the negative statitstics on Native Hawaiians.
Yet, a lot of Kamehameha students don't look Hawaiian and probably live in middle class areas.Even some of the ones who do look Native Hawaiian live in middle class areas (ie Kaneohe, Mililani, Pearl City , etc.)
In any public housing complex in Honolulu, you'd find more Samoans and Micronesians than Native Hawaiians. Yet we don't see anyone demanding segregated schools for Samoans and Micronesians.
Cant we all just along and integrate already?
1) The Honolulu Advertiser recently had an article about Farrington High School.
http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2005/Oct/09/ln/FP510090344.html
Here's what I wrote to the editors
I thought the article on Farrington High School was interesting, but the Tiger in me (I'm a McKinley grad) is a little envious.
I think it would be a good idea to do a profile on McKinley High School and put in on the front page of a Sunday edition.Here's my reasons
1) it's the oldest public high school
2) it's in the center of Honolulu, and therefore it's good to inform rural and suburban Oahu residents about the thoughts of urban Honolulu kids. It's a very different culture.
3) it has a really large immigrant population from various nations, including Vietnam, Korea, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, China, Phillipines, Samoa, etc. How do they adjust to new surroundings, do they get along with each other, do they fight each other? How does the administration deal with their struggles?
4) the school district covers various communities like McCully, downtown, Chinatown, Liliha, Mayor Wright's, Palama and Lanakila. How do the students from those communities differ and how do they get along?
5) as you can tell from #4, students from various income levels go to McKinley.
6) going back to #3, NOT MANY students at McKinley have any ancestors who were working in sugar plantations of old Hawaii. So those students may not be able to relate to students in (for example : Pearl City, Campbell, Castle, etc.) It's a very different culture from the rest of Hawaii.
Conclusion : It would be great for the whole state to read about life in a school that is the most urban school in Hawaii, a school with the most immigrants, a school with students from various income levels, school with diverse groups, a school in which students may not relate to the plantation culture.
2) Kamehameha Schools.You want to know why I don't take the "Native Hawaiians only" admission policy very seriously?
Go to http://starbulletin.com/2005/10/10/features/story03.html
then scroll down until you see the photo.
Do the 2 sudents sitting down even look Native Hawaiians? Do they even look part Polynesian?
The boy looks totally European, the girl looks totally Asian.
Meanwhile, many Polynesians who live in Kalihi Valley Housing or Kuhio Park Terrace (both less than 1 mile from Kamehameha Schools) dont get admitted to Kamehameha Schools because their ancestors landed on the wrong island. ( Many residents of both housing projects are Samoan or Tongan)
Meanwhile, Europeans and Asians can lie about their supposed Native Hawaiian ancestry (even when they don't look Hawaiian, nor practice the culture) just to go to Kamehameha. ( One of my relatives who grad from Kamehameha probably fit that description)
Why cant everyone just live in the 21 st century and learn to be intergrated already?
3) So ironic that people say Kamehameha is needed due to all the negative statitstics on Native Hawaiians.
Yet, a lot of Kamehameha students don't look Hawaiian and probably live in middle class areas.Even some of the ones who do look Native Hawaiian live in middle class areas (ie Kaneohe, Mililani, Pearl City , etc.)
In any public housing complex in Honolulu, you'd find more Samoans and Micronesians than Native Hawaiians. Yet we don't see anyone demanding segregated schools for Samoans and Micronesians.
Cant we all just along and integrate already?
Friday, October 07, 2005
PTA @ UH
Usually, we associate Parent-Teachers Associations (PTA) with elementary, middle and high schools.
However, University of Hawaii also has a PTA.
This has caused some controversy.
http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2005/Oct/02/ln/FP510020331.html
The reason why a PTA was started at UH was because some parents were concerned about what was going in the dorms. There incidents at the dorms where drunk students got ill, violent or even dead from overdose.
Parents were also concerned about the shortage of student housing on campus.
However, some students at UH are pissed off at the PTA for discouraging drunken-ness on campus. The attitudes of those students were "we're college students already, so buzz off parents"
Now, my opinion on all this ----
Some parents do over-manage their kid's lives excessively, even the kids who are already grown into adults.
However, the parents do have a right to be concerned about what goes on in campus. After all, it's the parents who usually pay the tuition.
After all, if a student has 1) died of binge drinking, 2) commited suicide, 3) gotten sexually assaulted, 4) gotten into a drunken fight, etc. --- who's going to pick up the broken pieces?
It AINT gonna be the admissions office, NOT ASUH, NOT the student housing staff, NOT those Ka Leo columnists who opposed the PTA.
It will be the parents who have to pick up the broken pieces.
So dam right the parents should have some say in what's going on in campus!
THIS DOESN'T MEAN that the UH administration has to satisfy every single parent (impossible), NOR does it mean the parents should over-manage every move a student make. NOR should a parent be picking their kid's major or extra-curricular activity.
But the UH administration should at least listen to the concerns of the parents.
So I say, let's have the PTA involved at UH.
Usually, we associate Parent-Teachers Associations (PTA) with elementary, middle and high schools.
However, University of Hawaii also has a PTA.
This has caused some controversy.
http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2005/Oct/02/ln/FP510020331.html
The reason why a PTA was started at UH was because some parents were concerned about what was going in the dorms. There incidents at the dorms where drunk students got ill, violent or even dead from overdose.
Parents were also concerned about the shortage of student housing on campus.
However, some students at UH are pissed off at the PTA for discouraging drunken-ness on campus. The attitudes of those students were "we're college students already, so buzz off parents"
Now, my opinion on all this ----
Some parents do over-manage their kid's lives excessively, even the kids who are already grown into adults.
However, the parents do have a right to be concerned about what goes on in campus. After all, it's the parents who usually pay the tuition.
After all, if a student has 1) died of binge drinking, 2) commited suicide, 3) gotten sexually assaulted, 4) gotten into a drunken fight, etc. --- who's going to pick up the broken pieces?
It AINT gonna be the admissions office, NOT ASUH, NOT the student housing staff, NOT those Ka Leo columnists who opposed the PTA.
It will be the parents who have to pick up the broken pieces.
So dam right the parents should have some say in what's going on in campus!
THIS DOESN'T MEAN that the UH administration has to satisfy every single parent (impossible), NOR does it mean the parents should over-manage every move a student make. NOR should a parent be picking their kid's major or extra-curricular activity.
But the UH administration should at least listen to the concerns of the parents.
So I say, let's have the PTA involved at UH.
Thursday, September 29, 2005
2 years ago today
9/29/2003 is memorable to me for 2 reasons - 1) end of bus strike and 2) end of a friendship
1) The bus drivers strike was so stupid. The bus drivers going on strike didn't deserve any sympathy. They didn't even get sympathy from the usually pro-union radio host Larry Price. And they had no sympathy from me.
Bus drivers already make more money than cops, fire-fighters and teachers, so they had no reason to bitch about their pay.
And all the strike did was cause inconvenience to those who can't afford their cars.
For more info on that bus strike, check out my editorial from 9/4/2003
http://www.kaleo.org/vnews/display.v/ART/2003/09/04/3f57021195085?in_archive=1
The most irritating thing about the strike was that one morning, where I had to walk to work in extremely humid weather. I had no money for a taxi. I was really pissed off that day!
On 9/29/2003 I was happy the bus drivers finally went back to work
2) End of a friendship
9/29/2003 was the last time I talked to a former friend.
I met that "friend" in middle school and continued to hang out with him in high school and in my college years (though he didn't attend UH-Manoa like I did).
I used to like hanging out with him because we had similar interests. I started to hang out with him when I found out he liked heavy metal music and watched "Beavis & Butthead". We also enjoyed talking about other people at our schools.
As we entered high school, we started to talk a lot about rap music and gang fights going on this island. We also cruised the malls, go to parks, and talked about hoochie girls :)
However, in his senior year, he became a constant whiner! He kept saying "I cant wait to get out of high school", while I couldn't wait for him to shut up!
You see, I was looking forward to my senior year. That is when you get even more involved in activities, become even more hyped up, be a little more outgoing, etc. After all, you want to enjoy high school while you still can.
But that "friend" didn't think that way. He preferred to whine every lunch recess and in every class I shared with him. It got to a point that during Black & Gold Day (a day McKinley High School had activities to boost school spirit) he spent that day whining. That was it! I scolded him for whining about his problems at what was supposed to be a fun activity.
After graduating from high school in 1999, I still talked to that "friend", though not as often. It was because I was attending UH-Manoa, while he was attending K.C.C. However, the conversations were civilized and usually fun.
However in the summer of 2003, his whiny side of him came back with the vengance. That "friend" became a very paranoid "man". He had a problem with some of another race and he got paranoid about it! Even though he got along with those from that other race before!
I couldn't take it anymore. I'm not going to listen to a guy being racist just because of an incident! Mature adults don't over-generalize another group just because a member of another group is rude! Grow up already!
I sent him letters telling him about all the things I dislike about him. I told him that he whines too much, told him to start respecting other cultures, told him to go see a real psychiatrist, and told him I'm going my separate ways.
Then on 9/28/2003, he called and said he wanted to return a few items he borrowed. The next day 9/29/2003, he returned those items and had a casual conversation.
However, I have never contacted that "friend" since then. And I don't feel guilty about it. I have other friends I can talk to.
Sometimes, life demands that you dump friends who waste your time! If that's the case in your life, find a way to dump that "friend"!
9/29/2003 is memorable to me for 2 reasons - 1) end of bus strike and 2) end of a friendship
1) The bus drivers strike was so stupid. The bus drivers going on strike didn't deserve any sympathy. They didn't even get sympathy from the usually pro-union radio host Larry Price. And they had no sympathy from me.
Bus drivers already make more money than cops, fire-fighters and teachers, so they had no reason to bitch about their pay.
And all the strike did was cause inconvenience to those who can't afford their cars.
For more info on that bus strike, check out my editorial from 9/4/2003
http://www.kaleo.org/vnews/display.v/ART/2003/09/04/3f57021195085?in_archive=1
The most irritating thing about the strike was that one morning, where I had to walk to work in extremely humid weather. I had no money for a taxi. I was really pissed off that day!
On 9/29/2003 I was happy the bus drivers finally went back to work
2) End of a friendship
9/29/2003 was the last time I talked to a former friend.
I met that "friend" in middle school and continued to hang out with him in high school and in my college years (though he didn't attend UH-Manoa like I did).
I used to like hanging out with him because we had similar interests. I started to hang out with him when I found out he liked heavy metal music and watched "Beavis & Butthead". We also enjoyed talking about other people at our schools.
As we entered high school, we started to talk a lot about rap music and gang fights going on this island. We also cruised the malls, go to parks, and talked about hoochie girls :)
However, in his senior year, he became a constant whiner! He kept saying "I cant wait to get out of high school", while I couldn't wait for him to shut up!
You see, I was looking forward to my senior year. That is when you get even more involved in activities, become even more hyped up, be a little more outgoing, etc. After all, you want to enjoy high school while you still can.
But that "friend" didn't think that way. He preferred to whine every lunch recess and in every class I shared with him. It got to a point that during Black & Gold Day (a day McKinley High School had activities to boost school spirit) he spent that day whining. That was it! I scolded him for whining about his problems at what was supposed to be a fun activity.
After graduating from high school in 1999, I still talked to that "friend", though not as often. It was because I was attending UH-Manoa, while he was attending K.C.C. However, the conversations were civilized and usually fun.
However in the summer of 2003, his whiny side of him came back with the vengance. That "friend" became a very paranoid "man". He had a problem with some of another race and he got paranoid about it! Even though he got along with those from that other race before!
I couldn't take it anymore. I'm not going to listen to a guy being racist just because of an incident! Mature adults don't over-generalize another group just because a member of another group is rude! Grow up already!
I sent him letters telling him about all the things I dislike about him. I told him that he whines too much, told him to start respecting other cultures, told him to go see a real psychiatrist, and told him I'm going my separate ways.
Then on 9/28/2003, he called and said he wanted to return a few items he borrowed. The next day 9/29/2003, he returned those items and had a casual conversation.
However, I have never contacted that "friend" since then. And I don't feel guilty about it. I have other friends I can talk to.
Sometimes, life demands that you dump friends who waste your time! If that's the case in your life, find a way to dump that "friend"!
Tuesday, September 13, 2005
Anniversaries of Big Events
1) I was so busy on Sunday & Monday, that only now I'm posting comments about the sad events 4 years ago - the 9/11 attacks.
You can check my past posts to find out what I think about the politics surrounding 9/11 and the War on Terror.
I want to talk about my experiences on that day 9/11/01.At the time, I was a college student living in the dorms at UH-Manoa. Being that I was in Hawaii, I was sleeping when the World Trade Center and the Pentagon got hit.
I first found out about it when my mom called me at 5:45. She mentioned that the World Trade Center blew up. At the moment, I was thinking it would've been similar to the bombing that occured in the World Trade Center in 1993.
Only when I listened to the radio (the TV in my dorm room was screwed up at the time), when I found out it was actually airplanes that hit the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a field in Pennsylvania.
Later that morning, I was in the cafeteria, when a student was concerned that a class I had with him was going to be cancelled. He also fear that Pearl Harbor might get hit again.
I had 2 classes that day. In the 1st class, the professor mentioned about the 9/11 attacks, then went on with the lesson of the day. I think it was the appropriate way to deal with it. Acknowledge what happen, but don't let it stop everything.
The 2nd class that day, the teacher just cut it short.
Ironically, that afternoon, it was the 1st day I was working at one of the dorm's front desk. Very hectic day.
I had a gut feeling that day, that it was probably Islamic fanatics mad at US foreign policy. I was right. But in the months that followed, I became more patriotic and more supportive on the War on Terror.
3 days after the 9/11 attacks, I was hanging out with a long-time friend. We were talking about the week's events, plus all the racist hate crimes committed against Arab Americans occuring in the mainland. Then the friend said that I better shave (at that point I didn't shave for a whole week) or someone might look at me the wrong way. (Though I am Latino, some have said I look like I'm from the Middle East, especially if I didn't shave) Needless to say, I shaved my face that night (though I kept my infamous mustache).
2) 9/11/1992 was when Hurricane Iniki hit Kauai. At the time, I was in the 6th grade. All day long I was so scared that the hurricane would hit Oahu. My older relatives had to tell me to calm down.
Fortunately for me, Iniki didn't hit Oahu. Unfortunately, Kauai was devastated. My father, who was a construction worker, helped out with Kauai's recovery by renovating many buildings. I even visited him there one time.
After the recent hurricane in Louisiana, I asked my dad about his work in Kauai. I asked if there was looting in Kauai after Iniki. My dad said he heard of none, and that there was a lot of sharing going on between the island residents.
3) Today 9/13/05 is the 9th anniversary of the death of Tupac Shakur aka 2pac.
I was in the 10th grade attending McKinley High School. On that day's afternoon (ironically it was Friday the 13th), I was home. My brother came by and told me about 2pac's death.
2pac was shot several days earlier. It wasn't the 1st time 2pac was shot, so I was expecting another recovery for 2pac. Unfortunately, this time around 2pac didn't recover.
I was already a fan of 2pac's music before his death, but I gained a greater respect for the man afterwards. For the next few years, I really studied all the biographies of 2pac. I learned that 2pac was once a good student who enjoyed poetry and literature. However, other kids thought he was soft, so 2pac became more aggressive to show them that he wasn't soft.
Now 2pac is respected by many hard-core gangstas. I still hear his music being played by loud car stereos. Though 2pac songs were mostly concerned with the African-American community, his music is loved by people of all races.
2pac has many critics but he is already a legend on the level of Elvis, Frank Sinatra, Jimi Hendrix and Kurt Cobain.
1) I was so busy on Sunday & Monday, that only now I'm posting comments about the sad events 4 years ago - the 9/11 attacks.
You can check my past posts to find out what I think about the politics surrounding 9/11 and the War on Terror.
I want to talk about my experiences on that day 9/11/01.At the time, I was a college student living in the dorms at UH-Manoa. Being that I was in Hawaii, I was sleeping when the World Trade Center and the Pentagon got hit.
I first found out about it when my mom called me at 5:45. She mentioned that the World Trade Center blew up. At the moment, I was thinking it would've been similar to the bombing that occured in the World Trade Center in 1993.
Only when I listened to the radio (the TV in my dorm room was screwed up at the time), when I found out it was actually airplanes that hit the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a field in Pennsylvania.
Later that morning, I was in the cafeteria, when a student was concerned that a class I had with him was going to be cancelled. He also fear that Pearl Harbor might get hit again.
I had 2 classes that day. In the 1st class, the professor mentioned about the 9/11 attacks, then went on with the lesson of the day. I think it was the appropriate way to deal with it. Acknowledge what happen, but don't let it stop everything.
The 2nd class that day, the teacher just cut it short.
Ironically, that afternoon, it was the 1st day I was working at one of the dorm's front desk. Very hectic day.
I had a gut feeling that day, that it was probably Islamic fanatics mad at US foreign policy. I was right. But in the months that followed, I became more patriotic and more supportive on the War on Terror.
3 days after the 9/11 attacks, I was hanging out with a long-time friend. We were talking about the week's events, plus all the racist hate crimes committed against Arab Americans occuring in the mainland. Then the friend said that I better shave (at that point I didn't shave for a whole week) or someone might look at me the wrong way. (Though I am Latino, some have said I look like I'm from the Middle East, especially if I didn't shave) Needless to say, I shaved my face that night (though I kept my infamous mustache).
2) 9/11/1992 was when Hurricane Iniki hit Kauai. At the time, I was in the 6th grade. All day long I was so scared that the hurricane would hit Oahu. My older relatives had to tell me to calm down.
Fortunately for me, Iniki didn't hit Oahu. Unfortunately, Kauai was devastated. My father, who was a construction worker, helped out with Kauai's recovery by renovating many buildings. I even visited him there one time.
After the recent hurricane in Louisiana, I asked my dad about his work in Kauai. I asked if there was looting in Kauai after Iniki. My dad said he heard of none, and that there was a lot of sharing going on between the island residents.
3) Today 9/13/05 is the 9th anniversary of the death of Tupac Shakur aka 2pac.
I was in the 10th grade attending McKinley High School. On that day's afternoon (ironically it was Friday the 13th), I was home. My brother came by and told me about 2pac's death.
2pac was shot several days earlier. It wasn't the 1st time 2pac was shot, so I was expecting another recovery for 2pac. Unfortunately, this time around 2pac didn't recover.
I was already a fan of 2pac's music before his death, but I gained a greater respect for the man afterwards. For the next few years, I really studied all the biographies of 2pac. I learned that 2pac was once a good student who enjoyed poetry and literature. However, other kids thought he was soft, so 2pac became more aggressive to show them that he wasn't soft.
Now 2pac is respected by many hard-core gangstas. I still hear his music being played by loud car stereos. Though 2pac songs were mostly concerned with the African-American community, his music is loved by people of all races.
2pac has many critics but he is already a legend on the level of Elvis, Frank Sinatra, Jimi Hendrix and Kurt Cobain.
Friday, September 02, 2005
Hurricane Katrina
Some of my thoughts on Hurricane Katrina that hit New Orleans as well as other parts of the Southeast US.
1) I never visited New Orleans but always thought it'll be an interesting place to visit. It had the Mardi Gras, jazz festivals, the Cajun culture, the vodoo dolls, and a mix of French and African culture. There is also some immigrants from Mexico, Vietnam and other nations living there.
The one thing that sticks out in my mind about New Orleans was the rapper Master P and his record label No Limit Records. No Limit was very popular in my last 2 years in high school, and I loved many of their songs like "Make Em Say Ughhh", "Them Jeans", "Miss My Homies" "It Aint My Fault", "Wobble Wobble", and too many others to mention. Cash Money Records (once the home of Juvenille, Hot Boys and Big Tymers) had some great records as well.
2) Even after a devastating disaster, there are those who pimp the pain of the destruction for political persons.
Already, some left-wingers blamed Bush, saying his inaction towards global warming has caused the hurricane.
Meanwhile. conservative preachers have said the hurricane is punishment to New Orleans for hosting gay parades and "Girls Gone Wild" videos.
Meanwhile, Islamic fanatics say the hurricane is Allah's revenge on the US!
Another conservative minister said that the looting of stores after the storm is the fault of liberals for not allowing religious indoctorination into public schools.
Bush is blamed for not having rescuers moving fast enough to save everyone.
To all those complainers mentioned, I want them to shut up already! Their comments aren't helping anyone, all they do is irritate us!
3) Some on the Radical Left say all the looting of stores is OK, because of all the poverty, injustice, etc, etc.
Excuse me, but where's the compassion for the store owners. The store was a way of life for those working there, and now it's all gone. It's bad enough they had to put up with hurricane damage, and now predatory thugs have taken whatever else is left.
If I was a store owner, and people are looting my store, I will kill them!
In that situation, it's my life or their life! They shouldn't even be looting my property in the 1st place! They should know that, and they should be shot at if they intrude!
Look, my grandma raised 8 kids while living in public housing. They were VERY POOR! Yet, if one of her kids found a lost toy in a park, my grandma would tell the kids to put them back where they found it, because it belongs to someone else. And if they insist on keeping it, she would slap them!
I don't like to see people starving and dying of dehydration!
But I'm sick of hearing excuses for punk asses who loot stores and stealing stereos, DVD players and other luxury items! To them, looting isn't about fighting injustice. To those criminals, looting is a fun thing to do.
But it wouldn't be fun if the store owners were shooting at them, right?
4) Hawaii is even more vulnerable than New Orleans. At least there was someplace to escape from New Orleans. But people in Hawaii would have nowhere to run to. We are stuck in the middle of the ocean.
I already started storing several bottles of water a long time ago. I got most of the times I need to store in case hurricane strikes. I'll need to re-check the list one more time, to make sure I got everything I need ahead of time.
5) I will be praying for the recovery efforts for all those affected by Hurricane Katrina, and I will pray that Hawaii be spared that sort of devastation.
Some of my thoughts on Hurricane Katrina that hit New Orleans as well as other parts of the Southeast US.
1) I never visited New Orleans but always thought it'll be an interesting place to visit. It had the Mardi Gras, jazz festivals, the Cajun culture, the vodoo dolls, and a mix of French and African culture. There is also some immigrants from Mexico, Vietnam and other nations living there.
The one thing that sticks out in my mind about New Orleans was the rapper Master P and his record label No Limit Records. No Limit was very popular in my last 2 years in high school, and I loved many of their songs like "Make Em Say Ughhh", "Them Jeans", "Miss My Homies" "It Aint My Fault", "Wobble Wobble", and too many others to mention. Cash Money Records (once the home of Juvenille, Hot Boys and Big Tymers) had some great records as well.
2) Even after a devastating disaster, there are those who pimp the pain of the destruction for political persons.
Already, some left-wingers blamed Bush, saying his inaction towards global warming has caused the hurricane.
Meanwhile. conservative preachers have said the hurricane is punishment to New Orleans for hosting gay parades and "Girls Gone Wild" videos.
Meanwhile, Islamic fanatics say the hurricane is Allah's revenge on the US!
Another conservative minister said that the looting of stores after the storm is the fault of liberals for not allowing religious indoctorination into public schools.
Bush is blamed for not having rescuers moving fast enough to save everyone.
To all those complainers mentioned, I want them to shut up already! Their comments aren't helping anyone, all they do is irritate us!
3) Some on the Radical Left say all the looting of stores is OK, because of all the poverty, injustice, etc, etc.
Excuse me, but where's the compassion for the store owners. The store was a way of life for those working there, and now it's all gone. It's bad enough they had to put up with hurricane damage, and now predatory thugs have taken whatever else is left.
If I was a store owner, and people are looting my store, I will kill them!
In that situation, it's my life or their life! They shouldn't even be looting my property in the 1st place! They should know that, and they should be shot at if they intrude!
Look, my grandma raised 8 kids while living in public housing. They were VERY POOR! Yet, if one of her kids found a lost toy in a park, my grandma would tell the kids to put them back where they found it, because it belongs to someone else. And if they insist on keeping it, she would slap them!
I don't like to see people starving and dying of dehydration!
But I'm sick of hearing excuses for punk asses who loot stores and stealing stereos, DVD players and other luxury items! To them, looting isn't about fighting injustice. To those criminals, looting is a fun thing to do.
But it wouldn't be fun if the store owners were shooting at them, right?
4) Hawaii is even more vulnerable than New Orleans. At least there was someplace to escape from New Orleans. But people in Hawaii would have nowhere to run to. We are stuck in the middle of the ocean.
I already started storing several bottles of water a long time ago. I got most of the times I need to store in case hurricane strikes. I'll need to re-check the list one more time, to make sure I got everything I need ahead of time.
5) I will be praying for the recovery efforts for all those affected by Hurricane Katrina, and I will pray that Hawaii be spared that sort of devastation.
Alcohol at UH football games
I'm looking forward to start of the U.H. football season tommorow, as the Warriors take on the Trojans of USC.
Unfortunately, the folks at Aloha Stadium has done the cowardly thing and delayed the decision on whether to ban alcohol at games.
The idea that "getting drunk at games is part of the experience" is stupid. I dont watch sports to get drunk, I watch sports to see the action on the field.
I love to yell and get wild, especially when I'm around friends who do the same thing. But at least I'm sober when I'm making noise at games.
However, when spectators are drunk, they make stupid comments and you want them to shut up. But most of wouldn't tell them to "shut up" because we don't want to get into a fight. That is why so many have said they don't want to watch games at the stadium anymore.
Same thing with nightclubs. I like to party and make noise when the music is playing. However, at many clubs, there's some drunken fools that make stupid comments or start a fight because you made eye contact, or you bumped into them, or they're jealous of your girlfriend/boyfriend.
I'm looking forward to start of the U.H. football season tommorow, as the Warriors take on the Trojans of USC.
Unfortunately, the folks at Aloha Stadium has done the cowardly thing and delayed the decision on whether to ban alcohol at games.
The idea that "getting drunk at games is part of the experience" is stupid. I dont watch sports to get drunk, I watch sports to see the action on the field.
I love to yell and get wild, especially when I'm around friends who do the same thing. But at least I'm sober when I'm making noise at games.
However, when spectators are drunk, they make stupid comments and you want them to shut up. But most of wouldn't tell them to "shut up" because we don't want to get into a fight. That is why so many have said they don't want to watch games at the stadium anymore.
Same thing with nightclubs. I like to party and make noise when the music is playing. However, at many clubs, there's some drunken fools that make stupid comments or start a fight because you made eye contact, or you bumped into them, or they're jealous of your girlfriend/boyfriend.
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