Happy New Year Preview (Photos)

Like last week, I’m sure many of us (I hope!) are away from our computers today and spending quality time with our families. For those of us who are taking a quickie WWE break before heading on home (I don’t blame you 😛 ), here’s a lil’ somethin’ somethin’ for y’all: a couple long exposure shots I took during last year’s New Year’s celebration. Enjoy!

Pretty cool yeah?

Pretty cool yeah?

I’m scheduled to be promo’d in this Sunday’s print version of the Advertiser so pick one up and support the paper won’tcha? And den, check out this blog right hurr for Part I of some of my Japan adventures! Woo hoo!

Have yourselves a safe and happy new year y’all! See you next week year! 🙂

Food, Family and Fun: The True Meaning of the Holidays

With Christmas just behind us and the new year quickly approaching, many of us are fortunate enough to be able to spend quality time with family and friends during this happy time of year. Preparing and eating our favorite meals while trading gifts and stories from the year gone by… Ahh… there ain’t nuthin’ better!

Here are some shots from recent celebrations:

Pork Chops on the Grill

Seasoned Shrimp Ready to Be Cooked

Shrimp On the Barbie!

Wii Fun

Da Gang

And den… it was time for homemade mochi making with da wifey’s family. Good times!

Pouring the mochi rice into the steamer bowl

The Steamer

Transferring the rice to the mixer

The Mixer (Nu Skool version of the mallet-stone pounding action)

Big mochi blob ready to become little mochi blobs

The mochi innards: peanut butter and anko (red beans)

Stuffing one with anko

My combination mochi

The finished products

Let’s not forget da local kine eats! Kalua pig and cabbage!

Kalua pig and cabbage stir fry

(Wasn’t quite sure if the fam wanted to be seen on this here blog, so I only included food shots this time around. Maybe next time, if/when they give the ok, we’ll get some faces up in hurr! 🙂

Talk to me!
* How did/will you spend your family bonding time this year?
* What is the one dish you most look forward to (and who makes it)?
* What are you most thankful for this year?

How Geeks Do Blackouts

Yeah, I know, I’m shmall kine late with the blackout report, but I figgah since errbody else already blogged about it up in here, I’d try to present a different angle for all y’all, 3 days aftah da fact. *grin*

Now I don’t consider myself a geek by any stretch of the imagination, but I do have geeky tendencies. LOL! Below, you’ll find what one pseudo-geek did to pass the time of what literally turned out to be “Black” Friday.

Unless you make your home far far away, I don’t have to tell you what happened to most of us during Friday’s fiasco. What I do want to tell you (and what I also want to hear from you) is how we (you) spent our (your) day battling the dark “night”. Get it? Pretty good play on words eh? *patting self on back* Anyway…

The night started with some false alarms. The flickering of the lights. Some subtle hints warning of the impending doom, er gloom, ah, blackout. Wifey and I rushed to get our dinner a-cookin’, but the electric gods were not with us.

*POOF*

Power be gone!

Ain’t no thang. We were kinda mentally prepared for it actually. But it did suck, as, I’m sure it did for the rest of us. (One story I heard was of those stuck in the “Bodies” exhibition when the power went out. That must’ve been nuts yeah!? Talk about real life haunted house! LOL!).

Thanks to all of the candy and treats our friends, family and neighbors gave to us for the holidays, we pretty much had a jubilee of options for a replacement meal. And although Chex snack mix is not the ideal meal, we at least had 30 days worth in case the power didn’t come back for another month. 😛

With no electricity, there was no form of entertainment to speak of. Like errone else, TV, Internet and Phone were all down, so we were reduced to working on our Thank You cards under candlelight (My eyes are still burning). 8)

When the vision started to go and the fumes from the marker became too much, I took periodic “Virus Buster” breaks on the trusty DS. Staring at a bright screen in pitch black darkness however, is not so guaranz balbaranz, so I had to take a break from taking a break, naw-mean? So it was off to find the next thang to do. Hmm, let’s check the Internet on my phone…

Awww yeeeeeaaaaah!

Da buggah works!

So what do I do? I check my email, read my feeds on Google Reader, do a lil’ bit of Facebook, and then pop on to Twitter.

WOAH!

Note to self (and others): Twitter, during island-wide blackouts, is the place to be son!

Thanks to the (Hawaii) Twitter community sending constant updates about their situations and the news they’ve gathered from others, I was not in the dark, while in the dark, if you know what I mean. I was able to piece together what was happening all ova the island without electricity and witout moving a muscle (except the ones in my thumb). Apparently, the Hawaii blackout related messages (marked with “#hipower”) was the number one tracked term on Twitter search at the time. Pretty amazing.

I gotsta give mad props to @johngarcia (John Garcia from the Advertiser), @hawaii (Ryan Ozawa), @KGMB9 (Jared Kuroiwa is that you?), and a few others for holding it down and keeping many of us afloat when we were looking for something, anything.

The next morning, the power was still not back for us “Milsville” peeps, so it was time for more geekiness. We busted out the ol’ crank radio to listen to Perry (on the left) and Price (on the right) on KSSK to find out what the dealio was, and mixed in a few more rounds of DS and Twitter for good measure…

Funniest quote of the day (from wifey): *pouts* “I’m washing dishes for food we didn’t even eat!”

Talk to me!
* Is that geeky enough for you? Were you even geekier than me?
* How did you end up spending your night/day?
* What area do you live and what time did your power end up coming back on at?
* Any other thoughts or feedback on the blackout or weather in general?

Holla!

Where In Hawaii is Edward Sugimoto? – December 24, 2008

Where In Hawaii is Edward Sugimoto? – December 24, 2008

OK, ok, so it’s another “psyche!” photo this week, but das only because it’s Christmas eve and I care about you yo! You should be spending quality time with your family, friends and loved ones today instead of wasting your time reading this here WWE blog. So promise me you’ll go home soon a-ight? 🙂

BTW, this photo, in case you were wondering, was from a Christmas gathering I had with the homies last year in Hawaii Kai. BBQ-ing with friends is always fun during the holidays.

Happy Hump Day Where In Hawaii Wednesday Christmas Eve. 🙂

I’m doing the long weekend thang, so I’ll see you guys next week k? Shoots! Merry Christmas y’all!

P.S. For kicks, don’t forget to track Santa here.

If I Only Had a Beard

It’s been a while since I’ve written a “real” random blog, so let’s give it a try eh?

In these final few days leading up to Christmas, I’ve had my fair share of sightings of the big guy in red. Seeing that jolly fella, and his flowy white work of art always made me wonder why I can’t, for the life of me, grow more than “scraps” on my chinny chin chin.

Errone always tells me that I should be thankful that I don’t have to shave errday, but I dismiss that with a pout. You see, I’ve been blessed with baby’s butt cheek syndrome… and I hate it.

Whenever I see you peeps with beards, goatees or even sideburns, I get j. Even if I let myself go for two weeks (which I’ve done on trips mind you), all I come up with is some sorry excuse for stubbles – above and below my lips – that would make Tom Selleck wet himself from laughing so hard.

Look Out Abe Lincoln! Hurr comes Ed!

The people who tell me I should be thankful are probably right, but I just want the option, nawmean? I want to be able to wake up one day and say, “Hmm… this week, let’s go for a Rollie Fingers stache, or the Kimbo Slice beard, or Dylan McKay 90210-esque sideburns!” The only options I have now are clean-shaven or a little dirt on my lips.

Sad yeah?

Talk to me:
* Should I be thankful?
* My hairless bruthas, does this curse last forever? (Will I one day be able to shave a monster beard?)
* My hairy bruthas, ain’t it great?
* Do beards keep you warm in cold weather or sweat in hot weather?
* Ladies, are your husbands/boyfriends/potentials hairy? Do you wish they weren’t? Is it a turn on or turn off?
* Ladies, are you going to slap me cause I, at least, don’t have to worry about my other body parts? 😛

Happy Tuesday y’all!

The Man Rules

Happy Monday folks. Hope your weekend was filled with fun and laughter. Let’s continue that loving laughing feeling with a hilarious joke email. Got this one from my softball manager/coach. Pretty funny stuffs! Let us know which is your favorite! Enjoy!

P.S. And remember… No get mad at the messenger k?

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FINALLY, the guys’ side of the story.
We always hear “THE RULES” from the female side.
Now here are the rules from the male side.   

These are our rules!
Please note.. these are all numbered “1 ”
ON PURPOSE!

1.   Men are NOT mind readers.

1. Sunday sports It’s like the full moon or the changing of the tides.
Let it be.

1. Crying is blackmail.

1. Ask for what you want.
Let us be clear on this one:
Subtle hints do not work!
Strong hints do not work!
Obvious hints do not work!
Just say it!

1. Yes and No are perfectly acceptable answers to almost every question.

1. Come to us with a problem ONLY if you want help solving it. That’s what we do.
Sympathy is what your girlfriends are for.

1. Anything we said 6 months ago is inadmissible in an argument.
In fact, all comments become Null and void after 7 Days.

1. If you think you’re fat, you probably are. Don’t ask us.

1. If something we said can be interpreted two ways and one of the ways makes you sad or angry, we meant the other one

1. You can either ask us to do something OR tell us how you want it done. Not both.
If you already know best how to do it, just do it yourself.

1. Whenever possible, please say whatever you have to say during commercials.

1. Christopher Columbus did NOT need directions and neither do we.

1. ALL men see in only 16 colors, like Windows default settings.
Peach, for example, is a fruit, not a color. Pumpkin is also a fruit. We have no idea what mauve is.

1. If it itches, it will be scratched.
We do that.

1. If we ask what is wrong and you say “nothing,” We will act like nothing’s wrong.
We know you are lying, but it is just not worth the hassle.

1. If you ask a question you don’t want an answer to, Expect an answer you don’t want to hear.

1. When we have to go somewhere, absolutely anything you wear is fine… Really.

1. Don’t ask us what we’re thinking about unless you are prepared to discuss such topics as baseball
or golf.

1. You have enough clothes.

1. You have too many shoes.

1. I am in shape. Round IS a shape!

Thank you for reading this.

Yes, I know, I have to sleep on the couch tonight; But did you know men really don’t mind that? It’s like camping.

Pass this to as many men as you can – to give them a laugh.

Pass this to as many women as you can – to give them a bigger laugh.

Fave Five Friday – Shopping Web Sites

Withu Kurisumasu right around za corner (yes, I still have the accent from my Japan trip), I figured dat dis one might be a good one to buss’ out this week. We go tryum!

Ed’s Picks:

1. Amazon.com – one stop shopping – dey got errthing over hurr!
2. BestBuy.com – gadgets galore!
3. The-House.com – for your boarding buddies out there
4. NewEgg.com – for your favorite computer nerd
5. Overstock.com – have never shopped here, but I hear the prices are good!
6. Oceanic Marketplace or AroundHawaii Shopping – might get scoldings if I don’t mention these. 😛

All you supah-dupah late Christmas shoppers out there bettah appreciate! 😉 Have a happy Friday y’all!

Survey Thursday – Mac or PC?

* Which do you like better Mac or PC?

[What da heck is Survey Thursday?]

I know I goin’ get mayjah heat fo dis one, but I goin’ go PC. *cringing*

---

Last Week’s Results (Favorite Aloha Shirt Brand?)

• Tommy Bahama: 3 (DA WINNAHS!)
• Riggers: 3 (DA WINNAHS!)
• Sig Zane: 2
• Kahala: 2
• Tori Richard: 2
• Quicksilver: 2
• Hilo Hatties
• Local Motion
• T&C
• Manuhealii
• Cooke Street ones at Costco
• Op
• Kahala
• Iolani
• Honolua Surf Co.

Ho, sad when my winnahs only get 3 votes yeah? Hehe! Shoots!

Where In Hawaii is Edward Sugimoto? – December 17, 2008

With HNL2LAS ‘s correct guess last week, we’ve got our third threepeater (with Coconut Willy and snow). This is getting too easy for y’all isn’t it? C’mon lurkers and shy ones! Represent baby! Or is errone on Christmas vacay awwready? 🙂

Hurr’s this week pic gangy! Can ya guess??

Where In Hawaii is Edward Sugimoto? – December 17, 2008

Hint: OK, so it’s not in Hawaii, but think of the latest place I’ve been to yo! I just hope at least one of you knows where dis stay. Haha!

---

Last Week’s Answer
Here’s the answer to last week’s photo: International Marketplace

International Marketplace

Da “Where In Hawaii” Winnahz Circle!

• Where In Hawaii Is Edward Sugimoto – December 10, 2008: HNL2LAS (International Marketplace)
• Where In Hawaii Is Edward Sugimoto – November 19, 2008: Coconut Willy with credit to che for the hints (Lanikuhonua)
• Where In Hawaii Is Edward Sugimoto – November 12, 2008: snow (Duke Kahanamoku Statue, Waikiki)
• Where In Hawaii Is Edward Sugimoto – November 5, 2008: snow (Big Kahuna’s Marketplace in the Waikiki Shopping Plaza)
• Where In Hawaii Is Edward Sugimoto – October 29, 2008: jr. (Waiola Store)
• Where In Hawaii Is Edward Sugimoto – October 22, 2008: Coconut Willy (Gina’s Bar-B-Q)
• Where In Hawaii Is Edward Sugimoto – October 15, 2008: HNL2LAS (Jurison’s Inn)
• Where In Hawaii Is Edward Sugimoto – October 8, 2008: jr. (Makapu`u Lighthouse Trail)
• Where In Hawaii Is Edward Sugimoto – October 1, 2008: HNL2LAS (Dole Plantation)
• Where In Hawaii Is Edward Sugimoto – September 24, 2008: teej (M Matsumoto Grocery Store or Matsumoto’s Shave Ice Sign)
• Where In Hawaii Is Edward Sugimoto – September 17, 2008: M (Tree Tunnel on Highway 520 (Maluhia Road) in Kauai)
• Where In Hawaii Is Edward Sugimoto – September 10, 2008: snow (Tasaka Guri Guri, Maui)
• Where In Hawaii Is Edward Sugimoto – September 3, 2008: M with props to Rodney (Laie Point State Wayside)
• Where In Hawaii Is Edward Sugimoto – August 27, 2008: nobody!, but dsosa was close (Camp Erdman)
• Where In Hawaii Is Edward Sugimoto – August 20, 2008: BarbieQ! (Old Koloa Town)
• Where In Hawaii Is Edward Sugimoto – August 6, 2008: kako mochi (Kincaid’s)
• Where In Hawaii Is Edward Sugimoto – July 30, 2008: ijiwarui (Dave & Buster’s)
• Where In Hawaii Is Edward Sugimoto – July 23, 2008: MoOgooGuypAN and Coconut Willy’s wifey (La Pietra Hawaii School for Girls)
• Where In Hawaii Is Edward Sugimoto – June 27, 2008: GumbysHorse (White Plains Beach, Barber’s Point)
• Where In Hawaii Is Edward Sugimoto – May 19, 2008: nobody! (the mall fronting Kekaulike Market in Chinatown)
• Where In Hawaii Is Edward Sugimoto – May 7, 2008: nobody!, but 1dble was pretty dang close (Ward area, more specifically, right in front of the Starbucks/Big City Diner area)

Happy Hump Day Where In Hawaii Wednesday y’all. 🙂

Wedding Day Recap – Part II

Part I |  Part II 

And… we’re… back… Let’s put a wrap on all this wedding talk with Part II of my Wedding Day Recap. It’s been what, almost a month, and I’m still blabbing away about it. Sorry!

Like before, we’re using Noreen’s day-of Twittering as the framework for this post. Enjoy!

What a nice cake! 12:23 PM Nov 22nd from TwitPic

Cherry Blossom cake

Ed’s Comments: Cherry blossom cake went with our Asian/Japanese theme.

Good food at Sheraton Waikiki. Liked the soup, especially on a rainy day. 12:30 PM Nov 22nd from TwitterFon

Awww what a cute couple! 12:36 PM Nov 22nd from TwitPic

Engagement Photo Display

Ed’s Comments: Love Story Weddings, son! They do good work.

Now for the best part — dessert! 12:37 PM Nov 22nd from TwitterFon

@worldwideed‘s mom is singing a traditional Japanese song about love for the couple. She’s a good singer! 12:47 PM Nov 22nd from TwitterFon

Mamasan singing “Ai No Sanka”

Ed’s Comments: Didn’t think I’d be as touched as I was. Much love ma!

It’s like watching a professional singer. She’s awesome! 12:49 PM Nov 22nd from TwitterFon

Ed’s Comments: Thanks ‘reens! She was supposed to be a pro back in the day in Japan, but chose family. Thanks or I may never be here today… Hehe!

Now for intro of family. Minna Sugimoto, @worldwideed‘s sister, is co-emcee and speaking in Japanese. 12:54 PM Nov 22nd from TwitterFon

Bruddah Bryan and Minna Sugimoto

Ed’s Comments: Thanks big sis!

Bruddah Bryan is scoping out the single ladies in the bridal party 12:57 PM Nov 22nd from TwitterFon

Groomsman’s advice to bride- don’t listen to @worldwideed! 1:02 PM Nov 22nd from TwitterFon

What a jerk! 😛

Ed’s Comments: And I consider him a friend… *sigh*

Learning a lot about @worldwideed. Something about an inflatable doll named Nani??? 1:06 PM Nov 22nd from TwitterFon

More jerks!

Ed’s Comments: The worst part was that I couldn’t defend myself. Haha! “Nani,” just so you know, was a gag birthday gift and I brought it home to the boys as a practical joke. Oh brother!

Bruddah Bryan is trying to play matchmaker for bridal party 1:07 PM Nov 22nd from TwitterFon

Matchmaker Bryan

Ed’s Comments: Quote of the day, “Single single or boyfriend single?”

Our table is making our own jokes. Must be the beers talking. 1:11 PM Nov 22nd from TwitterFon

@worldwideed is apparently an attention whore, according to best man. “Puppydog stuck in human body” 1:18 PM Nov 22nd from TwitterFon in reply to worldwideed

Ed’s Comments: Perhaps I should reconsider my pick for best man. 😉

@worldwideed apparently also has a light blue security blanket. Love best man’s speech! 1:19 PM Nov 22nd from TwitterFon in reply to worldwideed

All these guys are jerks aren’t they? *grin*

Ed’s Comments: Lies, all LIIIIIEEEEESSS! Hehe!

Banzai toast time! Raise em up! 1:23 PM Nov 22nd from TwitterFon

That was the most spirited Banzai toast ever! 1:25 PM Nov 22nd from TwitterFon

Props to Dave!

Ed’s Comments: Dave’s self-proclaimed “Best Banzai speech in the history of all weddings!”

It’s like Battle of the Banzais! 1:32 PM Nov 22nd from TwitPic

Props to B.I.L. Lee!

Noreen’s view of Lee

Ed’s Comments: Not to be outdone, Dave friend (and my brother-in-law) Lee does his version.

Time for Kagami Biraki or opening of sake barrel. I’m Japanese and never heard of this before so 1st time for me. 1:28 PM Nov 22nd from TwitterFon

1-2-3 YOISHO!

Ed’s Comments: Oh yeah! You heard it here first! As Borat would say, “Very Niiiiice!” ‘Twas a big hit with the guests, especially the sake drinking part. LOL!

Bouquet toss time. Love how they let it drop on ground. 1:53 PM Nov 22nd from TwitterFon

Bouquet Toss!

Ed’s Comments: You could tell they wanted it, but the ladies tried to ack like they didn’t. It was cute.

Garter toss time. @worldwideed pulled Granny panties off Maile! 1:56 PM Nov 22nd from TwitterFon

Gettin’ In Thurr!

Ed’s Comments: Love the reaction of Jon and Ann in the back!

@worldwideed is singing to Maile. So sweet and a little off-key. 2:00 PM Nov 22nd from TwitterFon

Why are Jon and Justin laughing?

Ed’s Comments: Haha! I don’t know what performance you were listening to ‘reens, but it surely wasn’t mine! *grin* Nah, it was a little off key (only in the beginning! 😉 ), but to defend myself, I was pretty nervous and drunk all at the same time. I brought it home after my nerves settled down though! *grin*

Got some sake from @worldwideed‘s dad. Smell reminds me coloring Easter eggs. 2:02 PM Nov 22nd from TwitterFon

Sake to Me!

Ed’s Comments: Pops was the perfect person to be pouring that to the guests. He looked so happy!

Slideshow time 2:04 PM Nov 22nd from TwitterFon

@worldwideed: such a cute baby! 2:09 PM Nov 22nd from TwitterFon in reply to worldwideed

Baby WWE

Ed’s Comments: No comment.

Slideshow included video of @worldwideed‘s proposal. He managed to ask her to marry him without literally asking. So sweet! I have tears! 2:17 PM Nov 22nd from TwitterFon

Ed’s Comments: I thought about posting the video to YouTube for a split second, but thought that I should save that as a private moment between wife, me and the hundreds of guests at the wedding. Hehe! Maybe one day in the future… who knows!?

Gotta go UH game so leaving wedding. Thanks & congrats @worldwideed and Maile! 2:27 PM Nov 22nd from TwitterFon

Ed’s Comments: Much love again ‘reens! That was awesome. Hope you were still able to enjoy the wedding in-between tweets!

Whoa! Validated parking cost $8! Guess that’s Waikiki for ya! 2:36 PM Nov 22nd from TwitterFon

Well, that’s it. The last of the wedding posts (*crossing fingers*). Wipe those tears away though. I’ll be back for more useless nonsense tomorrow! Holla!

P.S. If you missed it, be sure to check out my article “How to Get Married In Hawaii,” on newsstands now! 🙂

Part I |  Part II