Coke or Pepsi?
Plastic or Reusable?
Windows or Mac?
Car or Truck?
McDonald's or Jack-In-The-Box? Does anyone still go to Burger King?
Leonard's or Champion's?
Chow mein or chow fun?
Kikoman or Aloha?
HIC or T&C?
Pizza Hut or Papa John's?

And da winnah winnah huli huli chicken dinnah.........
Rainbow Warriors or Warriors?

Wat else you got?

Phrases or words like "cool", "totally", "hang loose", "chillin'", "make whoopee" and "OMG / LOL" (yes, those are said letter by letter just as much as they are written). Then there are things we say everyday without even really tinking and it just comes out "naturally" whether it's your generation or not. We also "substitute" words like "frick" (you know wat dat's for), "b-yatch" (still means da same thing) and I actually used "fudge" and it ain't for eating.

Having Da Baby around learning, speaking and soaking up things like a sponge, Da Wife has busted me on more than a few occasions of saying, "Jesus". I really don't know wea I picked dat up from or even how come I say it but I know Heaven isn't too happy for breaking one of da 10 Commandments on way more than a few occasions. It's something dat just.... comes out, no mattah how much I try not to say it.

I guess it's a blessing in disguise for having a speech impediment wea I kinda butcher words dat have a "ch", "sh" or anything close to those sounds. I can enunciate it correctly with conscience effort but I'm unconscience in everyday conversation - flipping it on and off only wen I gotta be "proper" like Pidgin.

Da Baby has picked it up and uses it in its correct context too but thankfully she's heard it "wrong". She actually says "Cheesus" instead of "Jesus". Yup, cheese + zess. Well thank goodness I got a speech impediment huh?

So guess wat I've been saying instead now? You got it, "Cheesus". Well I guess it wouldn't mattah either way cause of my speech impediment cause I'm still saying it "wrong". LMAO!

Wassup Wit Dat!

Wat have you caught yourself saying constantly? Wat irks da heck out of you wen you hear it? Have you tried to stop? Have you substituted words with something else?

But we all know there's one thing you all say...... Wassup Wit Dat!

Right?

Yup, still stay but stay going all pupule with everything spinning around me like Hurricane Iwa - so wat's new yeah? Mahalos for those dropping in fo' see wassup.

Sadly - or good thing howevah you look at it - I've run into a dry spell of WWD! moments but it just must be dat I stay too busy to notice or dat I nevah even care cause I stay all kapakahi already. There's so much things to take care of but nevah enough hours in a day 'den get all kine dramas at work dat I really no like get into details cause get some co-workahs dat read and I no like all da huuhuu dat goes along with it.

I still get a few blogs lined up but just nevah have time fo' finish 'em but I going.

And how was dat traffic last Friday yeah?!?!?!

Wassup Wit Dat!

Dat was da icing on da cake of how my week(s) went...... and still going.

Can you figgah out, if anything, wat da heck is going on wit dis picture? And yes, it is a real picture of a real building in Waikiki and it made me say Wassup Wit Dat! as soon as I noticed it.









SHOUT OUT: My condolences to Uncle Rodney on the passing of his mother. I'm surah he'll agree she's lived a good life and now is in a bettah place.

While not everyone agrees in a time of passing, we should celebrate and not mourn, especially if dat person has impacted your life in a positive way.

God bless you and your ohana Uncle Rod!

Gotta deal wit it and keep trucking on.

Anybody else in da same canoe?

Yesterday as I dropped off our team hats for embroidery (no worries, NKHEA, I get your job ready dis week ), Da Wife and I decided to stop by Old Navy Ala Moana to pick up some clothes for Da Baby since it's been unreal hot recently.

Old Navy is pretty cool in dat they get one decent sized open area dat has a keiki bench picnic table with a hole cut out and a bowl full on crayons in da middle. They also provide coloring paper cause crayons are useless without 'em. It's neat to see dat they would sacrifice floor space to do it but again, it goes back to Econ 101.

Wen we first got there, there were two pleasantly plump - who am I kidding, ovahweight - daddies on each side of da table with one cheek on da seat as if they didn't know/realize dat da table wasn't for adults. Da Baby looked at them (cause she knows wat da table is about) but followed Da Wife to da girls section anyways. Ten minutes latah she asks if could color so we walk back to check da table and saw dat it was empty and still in tact.

She sat herself down and usually there's papah's all ovah da table but dis time was clean. I looked on da side wea they keep da sheets and a'ole. I walk up to a clerk nearby and ask if they had any more sheets. She walked to da table, looks at it, looks at da side and said, "sorry."

Uh, duh.

I asked if she could check and about ten feet away were a couple of "managers". They had to finish their "conversation" before acknowledging da subordinate and very quickly said they were out.

Da Baby was bummed out but it was a "bonus" to have dat anyways so too bad so sad for us. We tracked down Da Wife and then she tells me she packed up her coloring book and crayons in her diaper bag.

Ohhhhhh yeeeeeah.... Da Wife rocks!

Just so happen there was an empty table (actually was a shelf for shirts) Da Baby's height so I put da book out and away she went.

Aftah Da Wife was pau we had to walk by da table once again and wat do we see? You got.... coloring papah's all ovah.

Wassup Wit Dat!

No can believe, but can believe.

Then as we was standing in line, had these three haole wahine malahini's standing in line. Well two of them and da oddah was walking around with a pair of shoes she wasn't surah she was getting or not. No, literally, she was walking around da store wit her foot in one side wit da oddah side still strapped to it. WWD! all da way.

Anyways, she was gone for awhile still shopping and of course da line eventually moved forward. We were right next to da line separator (dunno wat da heck you call those silver poles wit da straps you pull and connect to da oddah poles to separate da lines like in Disneyland) but da stroller front end was past da beginning of da pole. Dis wahine didn't care dat there were oddah people behind us and dat da front half of da stroller was "inside" da pole but decided to go OVAH da stroller as if it was in HER way to stand next to her companions in front of us.

Wassup Wit Dat!

I'm just glad Da Baby was acting her normal pupule self and cracking me up to get my mind off of wat just happened.

Well dat and da fact dat she was still wearing da shoe which had da oddah shoe still strapped to it making look like she three feet.

Now if only she had one brain.

But I'll admit I get dat kine "habit" too and I was shocked to see my habit gone wild!

In a recent fit of trying to reclaim some living space in our hale, I found dat I got CHOKE bags and hats! Ok, ok....... so I already knew I had choke bags and hats but they're for good reason.

I literally got a bag for watevah I need it for like a duffel for wen I go out and play sports, a backpack dat I carry to work, a drawstring bag inside my backpack for wen I need to carry smaller stuff wen I no need da backpack, an Under Armour baseball practice duffel (sentimental cause it was a coaches gift embroidered w/ "Coach Lance"), one supah large duffel.... just in case I gotta carry something supah large, a laptop backpack, a camcorder bag, a camera bag, a fanny pack (yeah, you heard me, a fanny pack), a few oddah backpacks of varying sizes, a few Camelbacks of varying sizes, a couple of tool bags and a filled containers sitting on my gorilla rack shelf dat I haven't yet gone through.

Then I probably got enough hats and visors to wear a different one everyday for a month and a half! Of course I got about a dozen 49ers hats and visors readily available but I also got a good handful of UH hats and visors, two "Grumpy" hats (one was a gift) from Disneyland, an "Ainokea" hat (one of their original hats wen they first entered da scene), a bunch of hats dat I thought looked nice and then anoddah bunch of hats dat I thought was cool.

O..... M..... G!!! I'm da Imelda Marcos of bags and hats!?!

Wassup Wit Dat!

Even Da Wife commented how many bags and hats I have but I tell her dat at least I either got 'em free or supah cheap and they all have a purpose! It's like I tell her da cardinal rule of fixing things: you gotta have da right tools for da right job.

At least das my excuse for feeding da habit.

One of da "rules" dat nevah gets broken wenevah I spock one bag or hat out is if da buggah not on sale, clearance or just cheap in general, I gotta put 'em back on da shelf. Even da hat prices have gone pupule going like $22+ wen I remembah it used to be about $15 before so unless they $20 or less, I gotta say a'ole.

I guess das why my "collections" have stopped growing.

Wat kine "habits" are growing in your closet? Wat is it dat no mattah if you window shopping, you still going check out your "thing"? Have you commented/teased on your oddah half's collection(s)?

Wat are you an Imelda Marcos of?

As we finished da team pre-practice instruction, da players broke to their positions on da field. As they headed out, there was a group of people in deep right field. They weren't hanging around but holding some sort of softball practice. You would think dat if they saw a whole bunch of keiki baseball players on da field, equipment strung out throughout, dat there was some sort of organized activity going on right?

A'ole.

They were about twenty-five feet from my right fielder so I waited a few minutes to give them an opportunity to leave before sending a "warning shot" to right field.

Hint not taken.

I hit a couple more shots to show that they were impeding my right fielder and they continued hitting their softball and it wasn't until I noticed that the person hitting the softballs was literally ripping it to their people (they were not players - high school or older - and he certainly wasn't a coach). It was at that time I walked over because while I train my players to stay in front of hard hit balls, they are trained to field balls that are hit in front them, not behind them.

As I got closer, I loudly asked the two people standing in our field to leave and got no response. Instead, both of them gave stink eye and then they turned back to (try and) field more balls.

I asked again and added that if they didn't leave, they will be escorted off the field. After a few more stink eyes, they reluctantly, and slowly, left the field.

Then a few minutes latah, a large Polynesian man comes to our dugout, interrupts our practice and asks to speak to me.

LARGE MAN: "I wanted to let you know that I was offended by what you said."
BL: "You're wat? You're offended by wat I said?"
LARGE MAN: "Yes, you said you was going to escort us off the field."
BL: "That was because you guys didn't want to move even aftah I asked... twice."
LARGE MAN: "This is a public park."
BL: "Yes it is but we have a permit to practice on the entire baseball field."
LARGE MAN: "Well we didn't know. You could have told us that you had a permit and you guys were all the way here (pointing to home plate)."
BL: "Excuse me? You see a full team of kids on the field, two adults, equipment all ovah and you don't think we're going to practice and use da field? We're here (pointing to home plate) because that's wea we give instructions before da players head out to da field. Why YOU nevah ask if it was ok to practice there (pointing to right field)?"
LARGE MAN: "You still offended me be saying you're going to escort us off the field."
BL: "You're offended?! You gotta be kidding me! *full on Korean action coming on* Even aftah I asked politely, TWICE, to leave da field, then those two standing in da out field no even move and then give stink eye and then show disrespect.... and YOU'RE offended........ I'M OFFENDED!!!

Wassup Wit Dat!

LARGE MAN: "You didn't ask me to leave da field."
BL: "You wasn't even on da field! I asked those who were on da field to move and if they didn't relay that message to you then it's on them. Plus you guys was ripping da ball to them (their outfielders), wat if it was hit too far or you guys couldn't field it? It would have injured my player... then wat?"

Dis went on for a few minutes until finally he left.

One of my players comes up to me aftah practice and says, "Coach, are you nuts???" *Referring to da intimidating size of da man*

I responded by telling him dat wen it comes to trying to do da right thing, you can nevah be nuts. I am "passionate" about living true and right and will not stand of da downfall of common courtesy and respect and dat is wat I'm trying to pass onto da team.

I did tell da player dat while it was wrong on their part be rude and disrespectful, I was wrong to have gotten "excited". Wen someone comes to talk and not be confrontational, I should show da same respect regardless of how passionate I am.

Lesson learned........ both ways........ and yeah, I am shmall kine nutz.

It always made me feel "heavy" to start da day cause I no tink I know how to eat. Wen I "eat", I like full meals and if da grindz is ono, I always gotta get seconds even though I stay "full". I normally no snack, and for now, I'm active enough to balance my weight although I just did a health screening and I'm...... *gulp*...... obese.

Wassup Wit Dat!

Well, I tink I stay ovahweight but cause da numbahs literally say I'm .1 ovah da category scale (according to da BMI calculator), I'm obese. It's kinda depressing but at least I know dat my body is a bit more muscle than fat so da scale, in my particular case, is shmall kine off. No, really, it is. Although I have been going da opposite direction of my workouts da last few years so my "definition" has become less definite.

I could lose about ten pounds to be more "slim" and within my "ideal category" so you know wat I heard from Dr.Oz? Yeah, I not shame to say I got him on dvr cause he got some interesting things to say on his show. One thing dat really stuck out was dat to shrink fat cells,

a recent study found that those who ate three yogurts a day while dieting lost 81% more belly fat than people who didn't eat yogurt. All study participants were directed to eat 500 calories less per day. As part of the Flat Belly Plan, you should eat about 6 ounces of low-fat Greek yogurt before every meal. Why? It's thought that calcium can help stop fat from entering your cells, improve your body’s ability to break down fat and help your body carry out fat through your bowel movements.

So I've been doing dat...... well, for breakfast anyways. I guess it would work bettah if I actually listened to wat I heard and ate it three times a day.

Well, I guess I should actually eat low-fat Greek yogurt instead of da Sam's Club low-fat parfait.

I've also heard to drink hot green tea in da morning to help something (can't remembah wat) but I've been doing it for da last year and actually throughout da day.

Well, I guess I not listening to dat fully either.

Oh yeah, supposed to eat smaller meals too yeah? I've been working on dat as well by putting dinnah in a smaller bowl or plate.

I guess I should take it as eating from a smaller bowl or plate one time instead of going up twice huh?

Wat have you heard to do das bettah for you? Have you done it fully? Partially? Wen you feel like it? In any case, da "change" dat you're doing, do you feel like it's working or can you admit, you only tink it's working?

Needless to say, da end result of all these "changes" is anyone's ultimate goal but wen you not following fully wat you heard to do, how can you change?

I guess das why infomercials will nevah die..... at least dat we know will nevah change.

Have a grrrrrrrrreat Feel Good Friday! And stay dry.

We've heard time and time again dat "communication" is vital in getting your message across for both understanding and well, communicating. Whether dat communication be verbal, non-verbal, email, text, mind reading, googly faces, watevahs - it's da one thing we do every single day for every single second even while we sleep.

Email is a particular monstah dat I get kinda irked with especially at work - even at home mind you. Wat I no understand is how difficult is it to hit da "Reply" button?

Seriously, especially if you're replying to a question or a situation dat needs more clarification, why can't you hit reply instead of creating an entirely separate message or da absolute worst, hitting reply and not even including da original message(s)!!!

Uggggh! Wassup Wit Dat!

How can you expect clear answers if da original "question" - or information - isn't even included? How can you expect quick responsive answers if I have to spend time digging up old emails or doing repetitive research on issues dat were already explained or responded to?? It's such a simple thing to click and da computah even does it for you so you don't have to modify, edit or do anything to it but click "Reply" and type your response.

And then there are those who regularly receive "group emails". How many of you meant to reply back just to one person but hit da reply all button and sent it?

Guilty. Although I've only done it a couple of times.

One of da biggest things I like about "Reply" is dat it helps memory challenged people like me reread da "history" of da message and know dat I get "back up". There's been so many times dat I've been told one thing but da email says anoddah and since my memory really sucks, it has saved my okole on choke occasions cause I get 'em in "writing".

Texting has come a long way too wea they keep your text history, I say, for proof. I get one friend das just as forgetful as me so we're always going back to our texts saying, "see, das not wat you said".

Has email saved - or sunk - you? Are you one of those dat replies WITHOUT da original message(s)? Or even go as far as replying but in a NEW email? Do you use your text messages as "proof"? Can you live without email?

Please.... "Reply".