It's been bothering me for awhile now dat no mattah wea we at or wat we're doing - people just no kea (care).

Whether it be something like last night again wea there were a handful of vehicles traveling in da pau hana shoulder lane at 6:30pm wen it specifically states dat it closes at 6:00pm. I'm just hoping da motorcyclist dat was stranded on da side nevah get run ovah as he was waiting for help. Or people who just cut in lines without a second thought dat people are already in a formed line. And how everyone seems to be "wat's in it for me?" kine of attitude.

Wassup Wit Dat!

Call me nostalgic but I enjoy watching a handful of - definitely not all - black and white films wea there was such thing as displaying courtesy and using da words "sorry", "thank you", "please" with meaning instead of something you 'have to say'. Even 'traditional' things as holding da door open for a wahine, waiting for oddahs before you start eating (if they're not running late) and just good hearted gestures are far in between da current 'societal norms'.

How is it dat we have 'evolved' into such a selfish culture? I'm surah we all can agree technology has played a major role (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter etc) but haven't we been raised before all dat nonsense? Haven't we had good and decent parents instill core values, morals and character into us? Why has dat been thrown out da window?

With such a sensitive issue such as excessive force by police (law enforcement) but would it have escalated to dat point if da lay person would just "listen"? Think about it, would law enforcement have to feel like they have to constantly protect themselves if they weren't pushed into dat corner from previous experiences? We all see da online videos of one side - why not show all da videos of wea police are assaulted, shot at, spit on, called into dangerous/precarious situations? Why not show da officers in da hospital with injuries? Oh yeah, da 'alleged' criminals have rights. 🙄

Trying to raise two young keiki, it's sad wen finally Da Keiki is making an honest effort to speak up and look people in da eye saying "please" and "thank you" and in return she doesn't even get a "you're welcome" or an acknowledgment without looking back at her. Sometimes she gets a grin and I have to reassure her dat she made dat person happy as she looks at me as if she did something wrong.

So I challenge all da 11 readers of WWD! to go out today and just do one thing without reward. Go out and do something real instead of watching 'commercialized' videos of good deeds. While we won't go 'viral', we can at least show dat it still exists.

Live it, do it, crave to be pono.

For those storm drains closer to da shorelines, we've seen seen 'em all ovah da place. Whether it be a stenciled humuhumunukunukuapua'a or a brass plate embedded in da concrete, it basically says "No Dumping - Drains to Ocean" to which I'm pretty surah no one knowingly will do..... right? If at worse, since it is a "drain", I've seen people empty watah bottles, hydroflasks - basically liquids, hardly evah any hard opala.

So wat happens wen you're further from da ocean? Aftah dropping da rugrats at preschool and da sitters, I was heading back home down a residential street and noticed an older man walking down his driveway carrying a wok. I thought it was an unusual site but thought nothing of it thinking he might be going ovah to a neighbors to share some kau kau until I saw him walk ovah to a storm drain and dump out wat I can assume was cooking oil.

Wassup Wit Dat!

You certainly don't want to evah pour oil down your sink drain mainly because of clogging issues but to walk outside your house, to da curb and pour oil down da storm drain? Now das something I nevah thought I'd see to get rid of da oil.

But then it got me thinking, is it wrong? I mean, we're told nevah to pour engine oil down da storm drain but I nevah heard of cooking oil. It may sociologically wrong - possibly morally - but does being way further from da ocean make it "ok"? It's one of those dat you scratch your head thinking wat da heck is he doing but at da same time asking is it wrong?

Wat do I do? I do da same thing - in theory - as I do wen changing my motorcycle/truck engine oil. Since we keep mostly all of da glass jars dat foods come in (tomato sauce, pickles, etc), they make perfect containers to which I like to add either crumpled up newspaper or used paper towels so it 'soaks' up wat it can instead of just having a jar full of oil. Once full or near full, it goes out with da regulah garbage. One thing to keep in mind dat I do dat once da oil has cooled ovah night. 😉

There are many oddah uses dat I just read which all involved straining da oil to reuse it - da uses seem very 'logical'. Obviously it can be reused for future cooking but how's about making an oil lamp for those times wen da electricity goes out? You can use it to make soap and even shaving! 😯 I've also read dat since it's a natural, organic (biodegradable) product, it can simply be poured in a corner of your yard. I'm not entirely sold on dat idea.

How do you get rid of oil? Do you reuse it? How many times? Do you have oddah uses for it?

Hmmm, I'm suddenly in da mood for tempura or chicken katsu.

Weather da storm then see where you lay.........

I have to admit, I'm a pretty "clean" eater.

If it's something messy like crab, I don't like da juices running between my fingers or down my forearm and I'll wipe them up as quick as they drip. Shave ice is eaten like I got da Holy Ghost between me and da cup. I'll wipe my mouth da very instant it "feels" dirty or if there are any sauces left on da sides like a clown's mouth.

No even get me started if I splash something on my shirt. 😆

Maybe it's cause I still remembah small kid dayz wen my mom used to cut up my food into symmetrical sizes and how she used to wrap my Big Mac in a napkin so "cleanly" like one burrito dat da Big Mac nevah fell apart and nevah have too much stuff falling out. Maybe cause I remembah trying not to have my parents feeling shame if I made a mess.

And then I got dis.................














Da conversation actually went like dis:

(went into da garage to get something, Da Wife was in da kitchen)
Da Keiki: Um, Dad. You better get out here.
BL: Why? Wat's going on?
Da Keiki: Just come here.
BL: Are you guys done with dessert?
Da Keiki: Almost..... but I think Da Baby is done.
BL: Already? (was in da garage for less than a minute)

Da Keiki has always been a "neat" eater too but Da Baby...... well, he's definitely not one of "us". I couldn't believe how messy he got in like forty-five seconds and even moreso ALL OVAH his face AND body!

Wassup Wit Dat!

Maybe das why Da Wife knows best and Da Baby actually eats without a shirt and pants at home. :lol LMAO

So wat? You one messy eater? Or get napkin covering your shirt and legs? Or you just have at it and just wait till da end of da meal to clean up? And those dat have/had keiki, you let 'em loose or bring extra clothes? lol

Good thing we get watah hose out back.

Da Keiki had a birthday pah-tay dis past weekend and since I'm da designated pah-tay parent on those occassions wea only one parent can attend, I 'happily' obliged. As with most keiki birthdays, you don't know - if any - much of da oddah parents and even then it's mostly da Mom's who go so being da "Dad", logically it's a few hours of boredom to suck up, check emails and play Boom Beach.

Definitely not knowing who da host invited, it was pretty much like a blind date - you don't know much about each oddah but know wat each oddah looks like. While I'm not one to just sit around and do nothing, I was glad dat some genius invented smart phones.... only to have dis lolo being da not so smart person dat he is....... and leave it at home.

Wassup Wit Dat!

We amazingly got to da pah-tay on time, no, not Hawaiian time, so I contemplated pretty heavily whether I should go back.

BL: Ai-yah, I fo'got my phone.
Da Keiki: (kinda sad look on her face and with DAT voice) So we have to go back home?
BL: (suck it up big guy) No...... I'll just go back aftah I drop you off ok?

Da Keiki was pretty excited so I didn't want to disappoint her. We walked to 808 Bounce inside Pearlridge and all it was was an entire room filled with inflatable bouncers which naturally a five year would go nuts ovah. Aftah checking in, I contemplated going back but I asked myself one question..... "wat did people do before phones?"

I sat there watching Da Keiki run amock coming back to drink watah every fifteen minutes. Some oddah parents had oddah siblings watch da little one(s), some had little one(s) to watch themselves, some parents went shopping (no comment on dat one.... for now) and of course, da majority whipped out their phones to occupy their time.

While sitting there with literally nothing in my hands but a bottle of watah and wondering who was going to sit next to/around me as they approached da tables and scanning wea to sit, it was just like any social event wea you don't know anybody...... and without a phone.

It didn't turn out so bad - it nevah does - as I attended a birthday pah-tay last week and half da people were there and one of da parents sat across me and when she wasn't out making surah her keiki's were ok, we talked about da future of our keiki's. Then anoddah parent came by and we had "normal" adult conversations.

How ironic is it dat as parents we constantly preach/teach our keiki to go out and meet people, talk, be social but wen da roles are reversed especially as adults, we clam up like an unshuckable oyster and clueless about da art of conversation?

I imagined dis was how it was about 20 years ago no? Boys on one side, girls on da oddah. 😆 Evah striked up one of those conversation thingy's? Or you just play Tsum Tsum working on level ????