Kaulapi World

Been about a month between actual entries, once again life gets busy and there hasn’t been too much time to stop and actually write something down. Had a good trip out west, will have to write about that with some pictures when I get around to it. Meanwhile life goes on I suppose, I’m getting pretty tired of the daily grind, especially when lately it seems like its much ado about nothing at all. Its an ongoing struggle seeing and learning one thing in school, and then seeing the opposite at work, sometimes vice versa, either way it can be either uplifting or discouraging. The study of law is a different animal, in some ways its hyper theoretical, studied in a vacuum, just like other ivory tower disciplines. In other ways its quite real and hard hitting, when it comes to basic procedure and due process. At the same time work has the theoretical process on how work is supposed to go, contrasted with the imperfect reality of how things play out and how people actually interact. I have to say that I’m quite proud of how I’ve been able to balance both day work and night school, so far neither has really intruded into the other one in a negative way, mostly because there has been so much overlap between the two. It is discouraging sometimes when it feels like I’m the only one that really sees it though.

There is something worth mentioning that my generation has been the beneficiary of the one of the longest bull markets, by some estimates since 1982, meaning that we’ve never had a period of economic slowdown, never had a tough period for finding jobs, never had anything major barriers to access to credit. Both have contributed to a decent and increasing quality of life, either from actual income, or more perceived quality of life from cheap credit at low interest rates. As businesses start tightening their belts and laying people off, as banks stop giving out loans without ample capital or credit ratings, this will ultimately result in a shift in the American way of life as we currently know it, a shift that I wonder we are all adequately prepared for, both financially and psychologically.

About a week back into classes and work is picking up as well. Looking like a busy spring is in store for me on many fronts. On a side note, I got a chance to make wonton, some for saimin and another batch to freeze for later. It had the flavor and feeling of home.

Still following the primaries for the upcoming 2008 presidential election, have to say that I’m still a little torn on the prospects that I’ll most likely be considering come November. I’m always amazed at how US politics has become a warped version of reality TV and a strange never ending talk show in which candidates field questions and are continuously giving speeches and smiling so hard that it hurts.

Meanwhile, AFC championship is coming up, New England v. San Diego in a rematch from last year’s divisional, this time the stakes are higher as the winner goes to the Superbowl in Glendale, AZ in a few weeks. Read an article online about how both Jr. Seau and Rodney Harrison were both former Chargers before coming to New England, but Harrison was able to get there in time to get a superbowl ring or two while Jr. is still gunning for his first in 18 years. Reading about the pursuit of perfection at a professional sports star level puts things into perspective, it shows the drive and dedication of some athletes to stick with goals for years and years. We’ll have to see how this season plays out, I have a feeling that this season will be memorable thats for sure.

So semester 6/8 starts with a busy week, lots of reading to do, new profs, some familiar faces in the crowd of inspiring students, some new ones. So far I’m taking Administrative Law, Criminal Procedure II, and Legislation. I noted that it’ll be the first semester in which all of my classes are actually ones that I’m personally interested in, not just classes to take as they are recommended for the bar. While it’s always hard to gauge a class by the first couple of meetings, I have to say that I’m genuinely looking forward to the semester and the material that I’ll be covering. so far so good, lets see where this all goes.

It was a tough and physical game, but the Patriots advanced to the AFC championship for a second year in a row. In other news the Chargers upset the Colts in a close match-up and will be in the AFC championship as well. I’m cautiously optimistic that New England will be headed to Superbowl 42 based on the fact that the Chargers are pretty banged up right now, if both Rivers and LT were healthy, I would expect a battle like it was in last year’s divisional, but this time around I think it won’t be nearly as close.

Meanwhile Green Bay toasts Seattle in a classic Packer game in the falling snow. After rough start Green Bay’s running game comes to life and Favre is looking like it is 1999 (1998) again, who knows, maybe it’ll be a rematch of the 1998 superbowl? That would be my first choice of matchups this year for Superbowl Sunday.

I still feel like I was just studying for my Immigration law final, but as crazy as it sounds, I’m starting up classes again tomorrow. Ran up to the school to get my books in gear, ended up spending an arm and a leg (again). I’m pretty much used to it. It seems like the more letters you try and tack to the end of your name the more hundreds of dollars get tacked on for books for the semester.

Also marking the new year is once again my return to work/school schedule something that I’m not looking forward to at all, but have accepted it as just a fact of life for the next couple of years at least. Been feeling completely drained both mentally and physically lately, not really looking forward to the late nights in class and even later nights reading and studying up for the next class. The positive spin this semester is that I’ve been able to stack all of my classes on two days a week, meaning that I’ll have some more evening time to get a work out in here and there, and if need be, work later hours. I think just getting mental break from school for one extra day makes a big difference. Will see.

Wild card weekend, it looks like New England will be facing Jacksonville for the divisional round game. Been reading up on a lot of the news reports and it seems like a lot of people are picking the Jaguars to knock off the Pats. I’m not so convinced, although I do think that the Jaguars are a hot team right now and are looking pretty tough for a wild card after beating Pittsburgh almost as convincing as the regular season meet up in the snow.

Another new year rings in, surprised how time flies. Made my annual version of ozoni, decided to mix things up a bit and got some steamer clams (instead of little necks) from whole foods. They were actually cheaper by the pound, and ended up tasting really good. Kind of felt back for the little guys when I took them out of the fridge, their nozzles were sticking out of the shells looking for salt water. Still recovering from my finals, still don’t know how I did, but this time around I’m surprising very much at peace with all of it. maybe I’m just a little numb to going through this 6,7 times already, but I can honestly say the stress level is a lot easier to stomach as time goes by.

Meanwhile in football distractions on the New Year, UH pretty much got destroyed by UGA in the Sugar Bowl, 41-10, really it felt more like more like 41-3 since the last touchdown was scored against UGA’s scout team. I couldn’t help but feel sorry for all the UH fans that made most likely some of the most expensive travel plans in a long time to fly from Honolulu to New Orleans. All week long there were a lot of new stories in the local media talking about the clash of cultures, happy times, and overall anticipation of the upcoming game. When it came down to it, it was painfully obvious how mediocre an otherwise prolific quarterback can seem when his offensive line is outmatched by an athletic defensive front, and with virtually no running game to balance the offense out. After a few series I noticed the Georgia players dropping 7-8 players back, their front 3-4 were able to get to Brennen with no problem, either sacking him, or rushing his throws. with 7-8 linebackers or corners, Georgia could double team all of Hawaii’s star receivers pretty much all night. Hawaii’s defense did pretty good at first, but after about a quarter it was obvious who the better team was.

Not to be too cynical, but the whole ordeal was a reminder of reality in the differences in facilities, recruiting budgets and overall caliber that Hawaii has against many mainland colleges. After a certain point, believing in yourself, dedication and hard work cannot make up for lack of talent, or more importantly, the missed opportunity to harvest and develop that talent into it’s full potential. Hawaii is a very good team no doubt they prove it by winning their conference and going undefeated during the regular season and beating everyone and anyone who was willing to play them and didn’t chicken out like Michigan. The game just showed how much better a #2 or #3 team in a BSC conference can play, especially in a prime time bowl game on national TV. Case in point, earlier today Wisconsin lost a close battle to Tennessee in the Outback bowl which didn’t get nearly as much spotlight as the Sugar Bowl. Even though the Badgers lost, they were in it until the very last drive, and last pass. At least they were able to compete and keep winning the game a possibility. UH clearly had no chance whatsoever.

The whole affair actually did remind me of another team that I’ve been following that has been pretty much dedicated to the pass attack. One that has so far kept an undefeated season alive and well. At least New England has an offensive line, and a few solid running backs in the backfield when it needs to change things up. Looking forward to the playoffs.

Strange dreams, a recurring one no doubt, it comes in pieces, all of them have a sense of urgency and loss. There are two that stick out, one is I’m riding a subway train and I discover that one of the passengers has left a whole stack of partially used fare cards behind in a seat. I don’t know who this person is, but I am left on the train counting a whole stack of paper train currency, wondering what the right thing to do is. I dont’ know whose these belong to, so there isn’t much a point in reporting them as missing, worse yet, If I give it to a station employee there is a chance that they’ll just pocket it. While I’m sitting there counting the cards, 3 secret police officers get on board and two of them recognize me, and all three take a seat next to me.

The agent that sits next to me is very friendly as I am introduced by my other friends. I notice that the other passengers visibly tense about these three, and are looking away from our small group, and are avoiding eye contact with us. We kid around, talk about the weather, and the local sports teams. I have to notice that the agent next to me is carrying a very lethal looking submachine gun, semi-concealed. He offers it to me to take a closer look - the gun is an impressive work of mechanized technology. Weird things are that the sights are below the muzzle, and the clip is very small and compact. It feels very light but sturdy in my hand. At that time I kind of have an “aha” moment that I’m not in DC anymore, I’m not even in the present time either. I don’t recall how this dream ends.

With a hard fought victory in the meadowlands, the Patriots go 16-0 in an amazing season with a number of dominating victories along with a few close come from behind games. I had a feeling that they would be in good shape to make a playoff run, but to get the top seed and home field advantage through the playoffs and to cap off an undefeated season was pretty unexpected, at least to me. New England players now hold a bunch of league records, in addition to the first undefeated regular season since 1972, records for total points scored, passing and receiving touchdowns in a regular season. The downside is that after watching such a dominating regular season anything short of a trip to Glendale would be a letdown. I’m hoping that there are at least 2-3 more wins for the Pats this year. We’ll see if they can keep it up in a couple weeks.

The other aspect of modern day totemism that I would be interested in how Durkheim would’ve analyzed in is how sports fans have put up fan blogs and discussion forums on the various articles floating around on the internet. For every celebrated match up, both team’s fans are quick to boast about their respective team’s strengths, the abilities of its star players, coaching staff, and go on to predict the outcome of the football game. There is usually a bit of comment about each team’s past laurels, from the current season as well as past seasons, all evidence on the superiority of one’s team. One of the forums I browsed through recently had some interesting turns, as the debate on the final football score in the sugar bowl went from discussing football to discussing the quality of public education at the UH-Manoa vs. the UGA. Another one went into the greater debate on what it means to be a local (Hawaiian) vs. a mainland Wannabee local. This is an ongoing debate that revolves around Hawaii’s star quarterback and his troubled past before he came to Hawaii.

Went up to NYC this weekend for a short day trip. Kind of a last minute whim, reminded me a lot of the random trips I used to take to various cities. This time was another experience in itself. Running around Times Square with all of the last minute Xmas shoppers was pretty crazy, it was so crowded I felt like I was at a carnival in the middle of a city. For the most part it was a bit of sensory overload, granted it was a busy time of year, I couldn’t help but think that that it is this crowded all the time. Even early in the morning the streets were relatively busy, people walking to work, or bums hanging out in the street. One observation on the differences between NYC and DC is that there is no spare change to be found on the ground. Either the bums or the street cleaners probably take care of any money dropped and pick it up.

Overall I have to say that the city reminds me most like Tokyo, except its a lot more tense, and dirty. There is also a certain swagger of confidence of people walking around, a sense of purpose maybe, its hard to tell if its just the “city face” or “game face” that people put on in big cities, or whether it is a true confidence. Or maybe its just something else. More than a few times I got stopped in the street by another tourist asking me for directions to which I responded by pulling out my map and pointing them in the right direction.

Survived another round of finals (3 this time), and with one more small paper or so, am just about wrapping up my 5th semester or so of night school (6th if you count summer school). As always I’m not sure how I did, but I think the difference with this semester and those past is that I’ve definitely gotten to a point that I can honestly say that regardless of the paper grade, I know that I’ve learned a bit more about the law. Also this time around, although just as hectic and stressful, I think I’m getting better and better at coping with the demands. I attribute it partly to a lot of B vitamins, taking a break here and there to watch a football game, and surprisingly, getting more sleep than usual. After parking myself at various coffee shops for hours on end, lugging heavy casebooks for almost 2 weeks non-stop, I could feel my physical health start to take a hit. I’m a little amazed that I didn’t come down with the flu or something after shocking my immune system.

In other news, there’s an internet tea party today, as in the 234th anniversary of the one thrown by a bunch of feisty free thinkers once upon a time. I caught a documentary on PBS the other night about the last day-long money drive, the one that broke all kinds of records for one-day fund raisers. I’ve been tracking the tally from early this morning, as of 8:41am its roughly at $1,350,000 and climbing at a rate of $180K per hour. It looks like regardless of the total, at the current rate Ron Paul should be sitting on another big chunk of change with Iowa coming up in 18 days.

First snowfall of the year in the district, and I’m in full study mode for this next round of finals. Got a paper out of the way a couple of weeks ago, then its two big staple exams, and then I have a 4 day break before the last elective course is up. After that its another smaller paper, and some administrative matters which would wrap up the semester. Its crazy enough that I planned ahead to take some annual leave this week, ironically it ended up that my job had a crunch this week as well.

Crazy to think how busy life gets right around the holidays, when most people are thinking about winter vacations and shopping for Xmas presents. I’m usually camped out in coffee shops and libraries. I suppose its been like that for almost a collective decade now. Its become second nature really, the one year when I didn’t have to go anywhere or study anything I felt kind of lazy.

Pleasant distractions/breaks from studying has been the ongoing successes of my college and pro football teams. Hawaii went undefeated in the regular season and is set up to go to the Sugar Bowl to face Georgia, who had case to be playing for a national title. Wisconsin is on its way to the Outback Bowl to face Tennessee. On the pro side Green Bay lost a battle with Dallas, but is still in the hunt for the NFC playoffs at 10-2. Finally New England has had a couple of close games but is still undefeated at 12-0. I suspect that the rest of the games will be tough, even the winless Miami and almost Winless New York. Everyone is saying how Pittsburgh will be the hardest game, and it should be a cakewalk after that I’m not so sure, after seeing how the Baltimore and Philly brought their A game on to face the Pats. Its a strange feeling really, being in a bar and hearing just about everyone cheer against your team, even though they aren’t Baltimore fans.

One thing for certain, its looking like both pro teams will be in the playoffs, and both college teams are in New Year’s day bowls - which makes for good football distractions for the winter, and the first month or so of the next semester.