Holy Girl Parts Batman!!!!

so yesterday, my husband and i found out that we're going to be having a girl. i just wanted a healthy baby, but a girl will also do just fine. there's one small problem. WHAT THE HELL DO YOU DO WITH GIRLS????!!!! i have nieces but i never really took care of them as infants. you have to wipe a certain way and you can't be too rough. you mean i can't just throw them on the bed while we're playing? you see, in our family, especially in the next generation there are five boys and only two girls. again, the two girls i have never really taken care of as infants. i have no idea really what to do. i'm not even a girly girl as those who know me can attest to. put up her hair in cute barrettes? how do you do that? make cute little ponytails? what do you mean i have to brush her hair? i don't even brush my own hair. wtf???!!!??? bows? little headbands? huh? am i gonna have to go to the mac counter and get some quick classes so i can at least show my daughter how to but on some kind of makeup when she gets older? OMG. i think the walls are starting to spin. little purses and froo froo dresses? sheesh. well, at least i have girly girls around me who i'm sure will be able to froo froo out my daughter to the nines. and with the two grandmothers who will definitely be FIGHTING (oops i mean COOING) over my daughter, then i'm sure everything will be fine. i just can't wait for my son to have someone to keep him company or should i say a little sister to beat him up and he can't do anything because #1: she's smaller & #2: she's a girl. but in the end, i believe that God doesn't give us anything that we can't handle. so since everything happens for a reason, there's obviously a reason she's going to be coming into our lives. i just want clay aiken to come to the hospital and sing the stevie wonder song like he did in scrubs for my daughter. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07ZNORc6xW4 oh well, here's to welcoming a brand new girl in our lives. however she turns out, i just want for her the same thing i want for my son. i want them to be who they are and be happy.

until next post.

watchu gonna do with your dash?

so yesterday i went to my uncle's funeral. it was a "nice" funeral, as most are. the thing that stood out the most was one of the eulogies. one of my uncle's childhood friends came up and listed the dates that my uncle was alive. so and so date - 2008. then he said that the birth and death dates aren't really as important as that dash. the dash, or what you did with your life before and until the day you died. that kinda stuck with me. we're all not getting any younger and i was just thinking about what i've done with my dash. i'm not gonna go into my dash, but it's just something to think about since i was reading The Rambler's: Think About It Thursdays blog.

until next post.

sheesh

soooooo...

ummmmm...

ok...

it's 2009. crap, where the heck did the year go? actually, i know where it went but that would take me a whole nother year to type about it. here's to 2009. new beginnings, new hopes, new dreams & later on in the year, a new little somebody to snuggle and cuddle with.

maybe i'll just start to blog about more random things like i started out doing but then ended up blogging about stuff that kinda pissed me off. i did make one resolution for the year, NO RESOLUTIONS. i mean, how many of us actually stick to them? i know not me. i will always remember when we USED to go to the spa. every year it was the same old thing. in the beginning of the year, the class we used to take would be super packed. filled to the brim with all of the new year's resolution people swearing that this was the year that they were gonna shed those extra pounds. by the time march & april came around, half those people were nowhere to be seen. and by about the summer, i would say about 99% of those people were gone. that's why i don't make resolutions. they just don't work.

work, oh yah, i should do some.

until next post.

adult drinks

so, far be it from me to dis someone who is trying to make money. times are hard. i understand that. but do we lose our integrity in the process just to make a quick buck?

back at the end of september, my husband, son, and i went to a function at a nightclub that shall remain nameless. i think the draw to the event was the name, but other than that it was way too overpriced. so we go in and the door person puts a bracelet thingy on my son and gives us some stub looking thing, yet doesn't explain what it's for. we go inside and there is a dj playing music, but he's it also seems like he's practicing for another gig because he's trying to scratch while the songs are playing and when he's transitioning to new songs it's just all f'd up. the mc was boring as hell and kinda seemed like she didn't really even want to be there. so we decided to stay regardless because we wanted to get somewhat of our money's worth but never really got into it.

then here's the integrity part. this is a CHILDRENS' EVENT. about 30mins after we got there, i hear the mc tell the crowd, "just a reminder to all your parents, please keep your adult drinks away from your kids." WTF??? what do you mean ADULT drinks??? adult drinks at a primarily CHILDRENS' function???? principles, values, and integrity people. again, we all are feeling the pinch during these trying times, but....come on!!!!!! after i hear that announcement, i just give my husband this look. a look that says about 50 "f" words in it. we decide ot leave about 5 minutes later.

when we are going out the door, the doorperson asks us for our ticket. i say, "what ticket?" she says that ticket that we gave you when we put the bracelet on your son. ok, maybe that tidbit of information should have been explained when we first walked in the door?? i understand that it's for security purposes and that great. but i wished i would've known the procedure beforehand just in case i had thrown that little slip away. luckily, my husband had it in his pocket which he then showed to the lady and we got to take our son home. but what IF i had thrown that away? would there have been a huge commotion at the door and i wouldn't be able to take my son home????

obviously, we're NEVER going to this event again. i just think that if they have been making adult drinks all this time, they're lucky that nothing bad has happened. if they keep making adult drinks, i just hope nothing bad happens because that would be a huge liability if anything did. i'll keep my fingers crossed for them.

until next post.

arrrrggghhhh

so....i applied for a job yesterday. a job as an academic counselor for school to be unnamed. the job description stated that a college degree was required. i said yipee and proceeded with the application process. i faxed my resume in and in 1 hour i was called back asking if i would be available for an interview. yipeee!!! i scheduled a time, was told about more requirements of the position such as hours and traveling circumstances. then came the part when the very nice lady asked me if she could ask me some questions, to which i said sure. first question, do you have a bachelor's degree. answer, no. then very nice lady setting up interview said that she would have to deny my application because i do not have a bachelor's degree. my response to this was simply that THAT particular requirement was not mentioned in the advertisement for the position.
i guess my bitch, is just the fact that doesn't experience count for anything anymore in this world? so if i had a bachelor's degree in basketweaving, i would've gotten my foot through the door? i had all of the qualifications that they were looking, except the fact that i haven't worked with the higher education population. i've worked in customer service as well as worked with a wide range of people dealing with domestic violence, sex abuse and at risk youth and just because i don't have a bachelor's i'm denied???? come on people. don't get me wrong, i'm not dissing on having a bachelor's degree. it shows that you've shown the committment to stay the course and better yourself educationally. i'm also not trying to dis anyone having a bachelor's in basketweaving. i'm just dissappointed, i guess, as to the fact that i can't even get an interview because i don't have one? i have an associate in human services, which for this particular position, in my opinion, is a better qualification than baskeweaving.
ultimately, i'm just venting and it's their say as to what they want in an applicant. so i have to either do something about it, or just stop dwelling on it. obviously, their HR department is not going to change. the nice lady i was talking to said that they would keep my application on file in case something comes up where a bachelors is not required. to that i say oh well.
until next post...

Gotta love that Customer Service thing.

I work in customer service. (yeah me...bleh) Which means that I have to be very two-faced or I get complained about to my boss. When I worked at Planet Hollywood, this lame manager use to dog me out all the time because one minute I would be swearing up a storm to my friend on the phone and the next minute I would answer the phone and speak oh so sweetly to a potential customer. Again, customer service.

So here I am at my job just minding my own business when I get a phone call from somebody that obviously HATES their job and has decided to take it out on me. In a perfect world, I would've loved to tell this customer (bitch) where she could stick her information that she was looking for. Unfortunately, I couldn't (it's that customer service thing again) so I had to kindly ask this customer (bitch) for her information in order for me to help her. She proceeded to give the loudest sigh in the history of sighs before she started to spew out the information that she needed. After she was finished, I asked her for one more piece of information that I needed in order to kindly help. OMG, I guess that that had brought her to her point of postalness. This customer (bitch) went off on me telling me that she has already given me ample info and asked me if I just started at this job. I kindly informed this customer (who is now on my fucking bitch list) that I was trying to get ALL of the information so that I can look for her answer as quickly as possible. I also added that I had been working at this job off and on for almost 21 years and had learned from my father who started the company in the 70's. I then asked her (which I shouldn't have, but at this point I didn't give a shit) how long she's been working at her current position. After that, as quickly as she had gone postal on me, I suddenly heard silence. It was one of those silences where you know the person is just sitting there with their mouth half open with nothing to say. (how you like me now biatch) So I asked her to hold on and looked for her information. I came back on the phone, gave her her information and kindly asked this customer (totally facialed bitch) if I could help her with anything else? She timidly said no and hung up.
God, how I love this customer service shit.

Lauren's You Hungry blog: YUM!!!

The mention of You Hungry brings up tasty visions of fresh corned beef & cabbage, succulent kalua pig, & steaming shoyu chicken, all in mom-style portions with big scoops of rice. I also recall it being on the corner of Atkinson & Kapiolani, where we'd wait patiently for a parking stall because the reward would be worth it.

You Hungry has since continued the tradition of good, real food under the new ownership of Joel Cabais (son of Jay Cabais, Honolulu steak plate pioneer), his brother Donovan, & cousin Jason of Ono Hawaiian Steak. Recently You Hungry went to the streets, winning Honolulu Magazine's Best Lunch Wagon for 2008. With the help of David Hayashi, they are now implementing plans for world domination.

Seriously. You gotta try their sauces.

When my brother told me he was taking me to lunch at a lunchwagon, I was a little skeptical. My experience with lunchwagons is pretty noobish. I remember visiting one by the boats near Ala Moana Beach Park perhaps 13 years ago, a lunchwagon outside Queens Physicians Office Building with my dad & I think I've gone to Tsukenjo's once. I'm a drive thru girl when it comes to lunch, mostly due to laziness.

Still, I trust my brother.

Around 12:30 (lunchtime) we found street parking on South Street practically in front of our lunch destination, in front of which there was already a line of 5-6 people, & a few others who had already ordered, or were perhaps just bathing in the enticing smell of hot food.

Lunchwagon menu boards intimidate me. I always think I want something, & then at the last minute I decide I want something else, but I'm not entirely sold on that something else & I can't really be 100% sure that's what I actually want, but I'm already at the front of the line & everyone is looking at me expectantly. So then I order what I'd decided on initially that I wanted to change my mind about. And then after I pay I figure out what it was that I actually wanted to order. But it's too late.

Maybe that's why I go to drive thrus. Anyway.

There were already a number of items already sold out on the lunchwagon menu board. Naturally, I immediately found something I'd like to eat amongst the sold out stuff (fresh corned beef!!).

We were moving ahead in line pretty fast & I had to make a decision.

My brother informed me he was going to order the Fried Ahi Poke, reassuring me he wouldn't be able to finish the whole thing.

And so there I was, & there was only one person left in front of us in line. My brother had already decided what he was going to order, but I still didn't know.

I considered the Roast Pork with gravy, but thought that might be too flagrantly unhealthy --- I'd have to come back here alone to order that. The Garlic Chicken sounded tempting, but I wasn't in a real chicken mood, & Crab Stuffed Salmon felt a little too adventurous.

I looked again, forlornly, at the bottom of the menu board where "Fresh Corned Beef w/ Cabbage" sported a little note saying "OUT." I thought of a few reasons why I didn't need to have Corned Beef for lunch today.

And then we were at the front of the line & the guy in the lunchwagon was looking at me.

My brother had ordered his Fried Ahi Poke, & was looking at me.

My mind went completely blank. I didn't know what I felt like eating. Everything sounded good. They were out of fresh corned beef. Ooh, Pork Adobo.

"I'll have the Hamburger Steak please," I said. "All rice. Brown rice. Thank you." Sheesh, I'm such a dork. I didn't even let him tell me I could have toss, but if I'd been a lunchwagon connoisseur I'd have known that tossed greens is a common plate lunch option.

Well, I handled that well.

Our plates came & we set up on the picnic table next to the wagon.

My brother had gotten me a small sample of You Hungry's secret recipe Sweet Wasabi sauce. Whoa.

I've had wasabi/mayo dressings that went well on burgers & wasabi/miso dips that added color to seafood, but this sauce was pure happiness just by itself. As I've said in other blogs, I'm not the huge sauce person; I like my food plain with minimal seasoning.

But this sauce tasted winz just on the tip of my finger. I was too busy enjoying the bright, expansive flavors to even try to deconstruct what I was tasting.

You could put this stuff on anything. Ok, maybe not ice cream. Worth a try anyway, though. It was good.

My brother's Fried Ahi Poke looked & smelled so good that I immediately felt like a loser. The chunks of ahi were soft & perfectly cooked, seasoned with some enchanting citrus flavor. If only I could order this by the bucket & take it to the bar!

Obviously my brother had been here before!

Resignedly I turned to my panic-ordered hamburger steak.

As I lifted the condensation-drenched lid I was greeted with the smell of rich, homemade brown gravy & beef. My hamburger steak was tender, meaty, & swimming in delicious gravy. I'm proud to say that I didn't make it through the rice. But that hamburger steak disappeared in its entirety.

That was really good. I made a good choice after all.

Either that, or there are no bad choices.

Monday thru Friday, 10am-1:30pm
Two locations: South & Halekauila, Alakea & Beretania.