Hey there Kwonics, Lanceformers and Lurkahs!

I had to take a vacation day yesterday because on Sunday was my annual 50th State Fair outing with my players.

I'm getting old.

So sad, I needed a day to recover.

Anyways, you know how it goes when you're short a day of work... now it's playing catch-up.

Have fun with these "Have You Evah's" and go share 'em if you got 'em!

Have you evah...... been in a fist fight...... or a cat fight?
Have you evah...... broken a bone?
Have you evah...... been da breaker-upper in a relationship?
Have you evah...... called your boyfriend/girlfriend by da wrong name?
Have you evah...... forgotten a loved one's birthday?
Have you evah...... received a present you really didn't like?
Have you evah...... fallen asleep while on da phone?
Have you evah...... asked a wahine if she was hapai..... and she wasn't?
Have you evah...... fell asleep on da beach and got really burnt?

And da bonus question.........

Have you evah...... saved a piece of chewed gum and chewed it again later?

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And since I nevah answer before, hea's mine's:

Have you evah...... been in a fist fight...... or a cat fight?
     Yup. One too many if you ask me.  Cat fight? Seen a couple. Kinda nutz!

Have you evah...... broken a bone?
     Yup. Several. Hmmm, ALL my fingahs, right big toe twice, right wrist, cracked ribs, cracked sternum. Funny, I only went to get a cast for my wrist.

Have you evah...... been da breaker-upper in a relationship?
     Yup. All except one.

Have you evah...... called your boyfriend/girlfriend by da wrong name?
     Oh heck no! Das why I still stay living..... plus, I know I can run fastah than da wahine.

Have you evah...... forgotten a loved one's birthday?
     Forgotten to get presents but knew it was their birthday.... hmmm, I wondah which is more sad?

Have you evah...... received a present you really didn't like?
     Uh..... YEAH! Doesn't dat suck.

Have you evah...... fallen asleep while on da phone?
     Ummm..... guilty. I was actually snoring. 

Have you evah...... asked a wahine if she was hapai..... and she wasn't?
     Nope. But I've thought it and then asked someone else if she was.

Have you evah...... fell asleep on da beach and got really burnt?
     Sadly..... yup.

And da bonus question.........

Have you evah...... saved a piece of chewed gum and chewed it again later?
     All da time! Wen I was shmall kid time. My mom used to get sooooo pissed cause I'd leave it in da fridge. Nevah like waste eh.  

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Mid-Life Crisis (MLC) blogger Rodney Lee (aka Uncle Rodney) posted a blog on Feb.18 titled, "Just Go Out There And Have Fun" and posed a question to me following a response he had to one of his posters (just so happens dat da poster is a Kwonic too!)    :

KAN:  I know some people (not me) who thrive on competitiveness-the act of competition and giving their all IS fun.

UR Response:  You talking about Brudduh Lance? Let's ask him when he's out to win, is he also out to have fun?

BL:  Sorry Uncle Rodney, I was tryin' and tryin' and there's no way I could fit my response without full on posting a blog in your blog because there's A LOT to say - it's simple but not.

UR's blog had asked about having fun in sports and we see eye to eye in general - well, literal too cause I tink we same height.    And here's a definition he posted,

I love dis kine philosophical/observation stuff (as you guys who frequently read have noticed by now) and wen Uncle Rodney asked... I couldn't resist. Well on with it......

First, I am very - ok, extremely - competitive but I value "fun" more than anything else.

How can that be? Well let me try explain wat I tink competition is.

Being competitive for me is more about doing the best I can and always striving to do more than I can. It's not about "beating" the other team or running up points on the scoreboard. It's especially more "intense" when I know I can do it whether I've did it before or not. So really - at least for me - it's competition against myself. Then I use that "edge" to try and "win" over the person/team I'm playing against.

For example, I've been playing all kine sports all of my life - and still to this day - and I'll tell ya that when people first meet me on the field or court - regardless of sport - the first impression they get is, "This little guy is playing? I'm going to cream 'em!"

Without getting into details, let's just say that I LOVE da underdog role and it's "fun" when I get to knock 'em on their okole! If I'm on the losing end of that battle, it just pushes me more to do better the next time and keep fighting.

Fun, I believe, is the emotional aspect that's displayed in everything we do whether it be sports, work or play. I've had fun losing, winning, at work, at home.... everywhere and anywhere!

Everyone concentrates and works hard. There are serious moments and times when your face looks like you're on the "throne"..... but how can you tell you're actually having fun?

By looking at their faces and their actions.

Look what happens when LeBron or Shaq goes up for a dunk... their face is pure intensity and concentration before and during the dunk..... the fun comes the moment they flush dat ball in! Look at LeBron's grin or Shaq's "dance". Look at da chest bumps, da hard high five's, da bench players jumping up and down, the crowd going wild.... That's when you know EVERYONE's having fun.

Look when Chad Johnson or most anybody scores a touchdown. They all wanna celebrate and "have fun". Have you seen their faces? Have you seen their dances? You can tell.

UR brought up Michelle Wie. Recently, before entering the final round she says she's just going to "go out there and have fun" but later it seemed to be her demise quote of the day. I believe she lacked something and she wasn't having "fun" either. Have you ever seen her giggle on the course or smile even? I mean a whole hearted smile - not da kine she always does: presses her lips tightly together like she's forcing it. We've seen that hundreds of times already.... no fun.

Look at Tadd Fujikawa last year at the Sony Open... you could tell he was having fun by his monstrous grins he flashed BETWEEN shots - not before his shot prep, not during his swing but AFTAH! And guess wat? When he was having fun, da crowd was having fun!

Fun is not necessarily the "celebration" itself - although some athletes could make a mini-series about it -  but it's the exhibition of emotions. That's when you remember if it's fun or not. You could make a fantastic play and when someone compliments you on it, your face lights up and you smile... now DAT was fun!

When you really think about it, fun only happens when you feel like you've been involved. When a teammate does well and you share in the moment (some people are not team players hence the "J" effect) you end up having fun yourself.

If you're ever on the spot as an individual like bowling needing a strike in the last frame to win it or 10 feet away for a birdie putt or on the free throw line needing a basket to win it and if you miss you surly won't be having fun because of just the emotional let down. You could of had a fantastic game and had fun through it all but it takes just that one moment to take all that fun away.

I'll tell you right now, writing a blog is NO FUN! But the interaction from the responses IS. You wouldn't believe how many times I smile when I read a post (dat's why I keep asking you guys to comment. *hint hint*). I have FUN from THAT.

Don't believe me? Ask Uncle Rodney, Queenie or Leslie. When they write, they're not smiling but when I pass by their desk and I see them grinning at the screen.... I KNOW THEY'RE ON THEIR BLOG!  I shoud paparazzi them da next time I walk by yeah?   :cool:

The next time you're at your keiki's ball game, watch them throughout the whole game and watch for their moments of "fun". You'll see the ones who don't enjoy the game are the ones who always say the game - or sport - is junk and "no fun". It's cause they're not laughing, smiling and enjoying it... they're NOT having fun. If there are more fun moments than not, you'll always be having fun.

Better yet, check out da peeps at work. You can see who enjoys their work or not. Or better yet a pah-tay - take a look around and see who's having "fun" and who's not.... you'd be surprised to see how many people truly are and how many just "say" they are.

Fun for me isn't so much about da wins and losses, it's about well.... having fun! 

So Have You Evah had "fun"?

You bettah believe at da next Triad pah-tay..... I'll be lookin'! Cause I bettah not be da only one having fun!

I think we'll add a new category 'dis yea' called...

Have You Evah....

Nothing fancy, just something to get your memories and experiences stirred up.

Yesterday was a holiday for most and as most know, I don't have much of those. But today holds a special event that I used take part in yearly until I started working at The Advertiser.

Have you evah.... run the Great Aloha Run?

I've run it several years when I had the day off and still have vivid memories like my first year I decided to participate... I nevah like miss da bus and like a rookie, I was supah early and ended up waiting for almost two hours for da race to start... in da cold dark morning! Or da booming gun signaling da start of da race. Or da gazillion people wandering around - even da gazillion people in da buildings watching da whole spectacle from their windows or balconies.

There are those who dress up in full runners garb and oddahs who dress up in watevahs. There was one year a black man was making a statement about the African-American oppression and had a VERY thick chain draped ovah his body and I swear da chain weighed like a 100 pounds!

Then get all da kine runner's who all gusto at da start and about three minutes in already walking. Then get da ones who constantly zig-zag through da crowds as if they were in a slalom course. Then there was da time my friends and I all went to Sizzler's sald bar buffet aftah da race.    

Can't forget the line to da porta-potties DURING da race or da ukumillion empty cups on da road. Did I mention da people who actually stop at McDonald's to pick up food while they are running? Or how about the really hard core runnah types who finish da race.... then run ALL DA WAY BACK to Aloha Tower?  

In 2000, about a month and a half aftah my reconstructive knee sugery, I ran it (yeah, I pupule and hard head) and was challenged by wat seemed like a 100 year old man. Ok, so I challenged him. 

Yeah, yeah.... Wassap Wit Dat!

Here was this kupuna switching between a very fast power walk and a quick jog  - did I mention he was also flanked by TWO very hot women? He really surprised me cause he didn't miss a beat - running and oddahwise.  Now I don't know if the two women were nurses or his "dates" but I thought 'dis kupuna had it going!....... but he wasn't going to beat me in dis race even with my handicap of only having one useful leg!

Hobble aftah hobble we traded taking the lead until I had enough and deicded to put on da aftah burners and dirst him under da viaduct. I thought I left him in my dust but as we were reaching the home stretch, I noticed da trio just whizzed past me once they hit da stadium grounds and he was booking it! 

"Oh heck no you didn't!"

He caught me a little off guard as I was already easing up to give my swelling knee a break but once I caught wind of da tunnel - and didn't want to be put to shame from da kupuna - I found a little more juice in da tank and trucked on past him cause there was no way I was going to come in second.

As I crossed the finish line all I was thinking of was icing my knee - then da kupuna strolled on by with his two hotties..... I guess I was still da loser.  

The Great Aloha Run is something I think everyone should do at least once in their liftime if you live in Hawaii cause just the experience is rewarding enough when you cross that finish line. You don't even have to run cause there's au'kine of runners, walkers, strollers, joggers etc.

Maybe I jus' may burn a vacation day to run it or maybe I'll put together a WWD! hui to run - or walk - together because the proceeds does go to charity.

So I guess instead of asking, Have you evah.... at least fo' dis' one I should be asking Will You Evah.......