2013, The Year That Was...AWESOME!
I had a great year. No wait, I had a freaking fantastic year! So much happened. Don't get me wrong, there were some down moments and some really tough times. But the good times outweighed the bad, immensely. Might as well start at the beginning.
The Seahawks beat the Skinz on the road to start off in January of 2013. Hawks first playoff road win since 1983. They rolled into Atlanta and I thought they could win that game. They almost did. I remember watching the game at my parents house. When Marshawn Lynch plunged into the endzone with about 30 seconds to play I told my dad that we scored way too fast. When I was in Vegas with Dawn's family last October, I had won a parlay partly due to the Falcons driving the length of the field in under a minute to kick a game winning field goal in the waning seconds of a game. They did it again against the Seahawks. Ugh. Heartbroken, I thought that it was a good season to build on, and I would at least get to see the Hawks at the Pro Bowl 2 weeks later.
It was hard for me to be at work knowing the Seahawks Pro Bowl players were practicing a couple towns over at the end of January. I needed to save my vacation time for our Japan trip later in May. One of my supervisors told me he couldn't believe I showed up for work everyday that week with Russell Wilson and crew in town. I got my revenge though.
Dawn and I went to Pro Bowl Eat the Street. I said I would buy anything that the vendor designated for the Seahawks was selling. That turned out to be Kettle Korn. Blue and Green popcorn was an easy purchase. The next morning I got up at 3am to head to Aloha Stadium for Pro Bowl Ohana Day. See the same people at the front of the line every year. Representing different teams, but all sharing their love for the NFL. I will truly miss this event if Goodell moves it to the mainland to package the Pro Bowl with the Super Bowl in the same city. Jerk.
Met some cool people and was able to get the coveted front row seating at Ohana Day. Scored some autographs for a friend in Ohio and autographs from Leon Washington and Russell Okung from the Seahawks for myself. The photographer from the Seattle Seahawks took a picture of me and my Seahawk friends and posted it on Seahawks.com. One of the coolest experiences I've had in my 30+ years of being a Hawks fan! I debated for months about buying the picture, and my Secret Santa came through for me! Will need to work on getting that framed sometime in the future. Maybe after the wedding is over.
At the end of practice the Pro Bowl officials literally had to drag Russell Wilson off the field that day. I told my neighbor, that's why we're going to win a Super Bowl one day. The kid has the work ethic that is unmatched. "The Separation is in the Preparation."-RW That goes for obtaining autographs as well. My goal is to somehow, someway obtain Russell Wilson's autograph. Didn't happen at the 2013 Pro Bowl. Hoping not at the 2014 Pro Bowl. No, no, no. Just love that guy! You give me my pick of any QB in the league and I pick him over everybody. Over Peyton Manning, over Tom Brady, over Andrew Luck. Anybody. And twice on Sunday, Monday or Thursday. I've waited my whole life for this guy to take my team to the promised land. It's gonna happen! SEA...
At the end of practice the Pro Bowl officials literally had to drag Russell Wilson off the field that day. I told my neighbor, that's why we're going to win a Super Bowl one day. The kid has the work ethic that is unmatched. "The Separation is in the Preparation."-RW That goes for obtaining autographs as well. My goal is to somehow, someway obtain Russell Wilson's autograph. Didn't happen at the 2013 Pro Bowl. Hoping not at the 2014 Pro Bowl. No, no, no. Just love that guy! You give me my pick of any QB in the league and I pick him over everybody. Over Peyton Manning, over Tom Brady, over Andrew Luck. Anybody. And twice on Sunday, Monday or Thursday. I've waited my whole life for this guy to take my team to the promised land. It's gonna happen! SEA...
We skipped the Pro Bowl Block Party and went to the rescheduled Robin Thicke concert at the NBC on Saturday night. It was Dawn's birthday present. We enjoyed the show. Thicke must have combed his hair 20 times during the concert!
The Pro Bowl the next day was great! I parked far away instead of paying the $40 they wanted at the school we usually park at next to Aloha Stadium. It was like $7 the year before. Seriously people? We sat with Dawn's coworkers which was really great! Awesome seats and company. Tried to meet my Seahawk friend Michael D at halftime. We ran into Train and Brian McKnight during intermission. Michael never showed because Russell Wilson signed his 12th Man Flag before heading into the locker room. Go Hawks! I love the Pro Bowl!
Next couple of months was spent just preparing for our trip to Okinawa and Japan. Getting a passport was stressful. I left it to the last minute of course. I still haven't uploaded my trip picks yet. lol It was a great trip. Okinawa is very different from Japan. Much more laid back. Reminded me of Hawaii. Island living. Didn't realize how messed up Okinawa got during World War 2. Really liked the food in Okinawa. The pork and soba was amazing. Ate our fair share of Foremost Blue Seal Ice Cream. I loved buying stuff out of vending machines both in Okinawa and Japan! Those things are everywhere! Shuri Castle was the highlite of our stay in Okinawa, and my favorite place we visited in either Okinawa or Japan!
Japan was the polar opposite of Okinawa. So much people. So crowded. Food was great. And inexpensive. Going to Skytree was an adventure. So was riding the Subway. No way Dawn and I could have gone there alone. Tyler and Christina were great tour guides. Tsukiji Fish Market on our last day was magnificent! Some of the best seafood I have ever had in my entire life. It was the trip of a lifetime. Doubt we'll ever go back. Dawn has no desire. Going on that trip has ruined me for eating sushi, miso soup, chicken katsu and Japanese food in general here in Hawaii. Damn.
Got back to Hawaii for the last 3 days of public school. lol Summertime means movies. I saw a lot. Both at the theater and via Redbox. My Top 10 Movies this year were:
1) Gravity-Never seen anything else like it in my entire life. SPECTACULAR! Saw it in 3D which was so AWESOME!
2) Pacific Rim-Like watching Robotech come to life. Nerd Alert!
3) Hobbit-The Desolation of Smaug-I hated the first movie. Thought this one fell more in line with the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. Really good! Pacing was much better than the 1st one.
4) Captain Phillips-Very intense! Was gripping my hand rest in the theater!
5) American Hustle-Jennifer Lawrence is one of the best actresses around. Terrific performance!
6) The Fast and the Furious 6-Fun Summer Movie. Take your brain out and enjoy!
7) The Hunger Games: Catching Fire-Much better than the first one.
8) World War Z-Great up until he gets off the plane. Then the movie falls on its face.
9) Enough Said-Really cute movie about grown ups dating and falling in love as they send their kids from previous relationships off into the world.
10) The Wolverine-I expect hate mail for ranking this movie. I enjoyed it! I understand that its flawed. I don't care. Its my list dammit!
Best movie I saw via RedBox was, "Searching For Sugarman". I also really enjoyed, "Chasing Mavericks" and "Into the Arctic". Check those out if you get the chance.
Music. Okay year in music. Let's hand out some awards!
Artist of the Year: Bruno Mars
Pop Artist of the Year: Bruno Mars
R&B Artist of the Year: Robin Thicke
Rock Artist of the Year: Imagine Dragons
Rap Artist of the Year: Macklemore and Ryan Lewis
Breakthrough Artist: Macklemore and Ryan Lewis
Worst Artist: Miley Cyrus (EW!)
Worst Artist: Miley Cyrus (EW!)
My Top 10 Singles of the Year:
1) Wake Me Up-Avicii
2) Ho Hey-Lumineers
3) Hold On, We're Going Home-Drake featuring Majid Jordan
4) Clarity-Zedd
5) Can't Hold Us-Macklemore and Ryan Lewis Featuring Ray Dalton
6) Demons-Imagine Dragons
7) Make Me Say-Kimmie featuring Imua Garza
8) Radioactive-Imagine Dragons
9) The Monster-Eminem featuring Rihanna
10) Berzerk-Eminem
I would be perfectly fine if I never heard "Royals" by Lorde, "Roar" by Katy Perry or any Michael Bolten song from his Honda series ever again. Dawn's coworker let me use his ticket to the Microsoft Concert featuring Macklemore and Ryan Lewis and Neon Trees at the start of summer. We did not have to sleep at Ala Moana to get the tickets. It was a great concert and I instantly became a fan of Macklemore and Ryan Lewis. Love the music. Love the message. Love the album. Dawn's cousin Gavin tried to get us to listen to him earlier, but we didn't. Better late than never, right?
We also went to the Gin Blossoms concert in November. I stood in front of the speaker and went deaf. I got hearing back in the one ear halfway through the next day. Truly old man status. Gin Blossoms are one of Dawn's favorite rock groups. Good show, but I don't want to stand in front of the speaker for the Stone Temple Pilots concert that we will be going to this coming March at the same venue (the Republik). Chester from Linkin Park is fronting STP now. That should be a good show.
I proposed to Dawn in June. She said, "Yes!" Funny story. In my preparations for the proposal, I ate at Teddy's Bigger Burger while I was doing errands in the afternoon prior to her getting home. I let the cashier talk me into ordering an Inferno Burger. I was sweating like a pig because the burger was so hot and it was the dead of summer in Hawaii. Wearing nice clothes out on the North Shore after eating that lunch, coupled with the nerves was nearly the death of me. It worked out though. I never seem to make things easy on myself. Glad she said, "Yes!"
Her ring is pretty and not yellow like it looks in the picture. It sparkles. Its not huge and obnoxious. Not like any of her friends wedding rings either. Its old school and unique, just like her. So it fits. And it appraised at much more than the sticker price. She picked it out. Nice job Hon. Dawn is super smart. One of the many reasons I love her.
The next day I went to the KKEA Sports Fest at the Blaisdell. Lance snuck me in the side door of the Alaska Airlines Fly Away contest. He qualified me a day after the contest officially closed. I was third in line to pick an envelope. There were a 100 envelopes and only one envelope had the golden ticket. The people in back of me said there was no way that the envelope was on the table. About 25 envelopes were laid out on the table at that point. The person behind me said that guaranteed that one of the last 10 people to choose would win. KKEA would want to drag this thing out as long as possible. That made sense to me. But I was starving. I had only eaten a few tater tots that was left over from Teddy's the day before in the morning. It was 12:30pm and I was STARVING and needed to eat. I decided to pick out an envelope on the table, stair at it, hope no one picked it, lose, get out of there, and get on with my life.
Chris Hart would ask you a few questions (where are you from, how old are you, have you flown Alaska Airlines before, etc.) and then have you select an envelope. Then he would ask you if you were sure? First guy picked, didn't change his mind and didn't pick the winning envelope. The lady in front of me took forever. She kept changing her mind and switching envelopes. But she did not touch the envelope I had picked out mentally on the table. She lost and I was up. I told Chris that I was from Mililani and that I had just gotten engaged the night before. I picked the envelope and passed on swapping it. He opened it and it was the golden ticket! I WON! 2 tickets to wherever Alaska Airlines flies! I immediately turned around and apologized. Huge groan from the crowd. My bad!
I just booked the Honeymoon last week. My dad suggested that we fly to Seattle then spend some time up in Vancouver. We both have family up in Seattle. We are going to a concert and a Mariners game while we are gonna be in Seattle. We've been there twice before together and have had a great time! It's very exciting! We love Seattle and Vancouver looks beautiful! We will have some time to visit with family while in the Emerald City and then some time to ourselves while we are in Vancouver.
Speaking of winning, I won a lot of stuff this year. I won the trip, a Tempur-Pedic mattress cover from the Wedding Cafe, an autographed Earl Bruce Ohio State 8x10 also from KKEA at the UH Season Ticket Holder Event, tickets to the 2014 Pro Bowl via McDonald's Hawaii, 4 Tickets to the HHSAA Championship Game (Mililani vs. Punahou) from Cover 2 and KHON and UH vs.San Diego State game tickets from the HSFCU. I've never won anything in my life. And then I win all this stuff. Bizarre. But I am not complaining. Not in the least.
UH football....damn that was rough. I have been going to games since I was like 4 years old. This was the first time that I had actually considered giving up my season tickets. Not a fan of Chow. Hate his offense. Hate his play calling. Hate losing. He's good at the last one. I was ready to give them up, but then Dawn said she would buy them for my Christmas and birthday gift. It was a frustrating season to say the least. I think Ben Jay should have fired him at the end of the season. I know money is tight, but he could have found it if he looked. He just didn't want to. These Chinese guys are looking out for one another! Seriously!
I'm 90% sure that this coming season will be Chow's last. His bullying tactics, running players off, boring offense, and stubbornness are straight up killing UH Athletics. Not just the football attendance. I seriously doubt he can get anybody good to come over to be his defensive and offensive coordinator. He was a terrible hire and is a terrible coach. I fully expect next year to be his last. I can deal with that. But still, Go Bows!
One of the coolest experiences I had this year was being interviewed by Lance T for Honolulu Magazine's UH's Armchair QB Review! He picked a handful of people, (fans, ex-players and other people surrounding the program) to get their opinion on the upcoming season. I really enjoyed it and he pulled a few quotes from me and included it in the article. Funny because the cover say's, "Will We (UH) Ever Win Again?" lol That unfortunately is a very serious question.
One of the coolest experiences I had this year was being interviewed by Lance T for Honolulu Magazine's UH's Armchair QB Review! He picked a handful of people, (fans, ex-players and other people surrounding the program) to get their opinion on the upcoming season. I really enjoyed it and he pulled a few quotes from me and included it in the article. Funny because the cover say's, "Will We (UH) Ever Win Again?" lol That unfortunately is a very serious question.
Dawn and I broke our streak. As long as we have been together, whatever UH Women's Volleyball game we went to, they would lose. We would go to one or two matches a year over the last 5 years and they would always come up short or have a bad game. Funny because they only lose one or two games a year max at home. Only the matches we showed up to! Till this year. We talked about going to a junk match to really test the theory. If we went to North Sacramento State Tech and the Wahine lost, then we argued that we should never be allowed to go to another volleyball game again. But they played #1 Texas in the first match of the year! We went and they won! With us at the match! The streak was finally broken! Hooray! Glad Shoji is coming back next season. I will continue to buy tickets to the last home match of the season until he retires. I want to be there for his last home match.
We also went to a few Men's Basketball Games. They look good this year. Should win 20+ games. Could make a run at a GOOD tournament this March. Gib still has a ways to go as a basketball coach! I went to the Illinois and Long Beach State games last season and the Montana and Boise State (Diamond Head Classic) games this season. We always dreamed of sitting in the lower bowl 10 years ago. Do it all the time now thanks to Dawn's company!
We also went to a few Men's Basketball Games. They look good this year. Should win 20+ games. Could make a run at a GOOD tournament this March. Gib still has a ways to go as a basketball coach! I went to the Illinois and Long Beach State games last season and the Montana and Boise State (Diamond Head Classic) games this season. We always dreamed of sitting in the lower bowl 10 years ago. Do it all the time now thanks to Dawn's company!
My high school alma mater, Mililani High School made it to the State Division 1 Championship Game! I was so happy! We had never made it that far. We would always get creamed by Kahuku in the OIA Playoffs. Not this year. We beat Kahuku! Smashed em! They played good. I really wanted to go to that title game. Even won tickets. But I had made a prior commitment. I gave the tickets to a coworker. I did buy a Mililani Trojans: OIA Champions shirt for myself and a few of my friends. I will wear it proudly! Go Trojans!
Back to the Seahawks. We are the number 1 seed in the NFC with home field throughout the playoffs. Very optimistic. Seattle is very hard to beat at home. I do not want to see any Seahawks at this years Pro Bowl because I want them in Jersey getting ready for the Super Bowl the following week. Fingers crossed. Love our quarterback Russell Wilson. Such a nice guy. And a hard worker. Never been prouder to be a 12! We have the best fans in all the NFL! ...HAWKS
I also won my keeper $ league fantasy football championship this year! I went "all in" and made some good trades in the off season setting up this championship run. Keepers are Megatron, JC, Jimmy Graham and somebody from the group of Kansas City Def/ST, Nick Foles, Keenan Allen or Ryan Mathews. I change my mind on the 4th keeper every day.
Got lucky in the championship game. Just been that kind of year for me. Looking forward to getting that package with the trophy. Got a spot picked out for it next to the TV. #CooCooFB I do play in 7 fantasy football leagues. Only one championship. That's okay. It was the one that count$. And I beat Dawn 2 out of 3 times this season, including the playoffs. Still have a losing record against her (5-7). GRRRR!!!! No unicorn shirt this year Honey! Maybe next season! But like I said, Dawn in super smart! She can beat me at my own game that I've been playing for over a decade! That's impressive!
Got lucky in the championship game. Just been that kind of year for me. Looking forward to getting that package with the trophy. Got a spot picked out for it next to the TV. #CooCooFB I do play in 7 fantasy football leagues. Only one championship. That's okay. It was the one that count$. And I beat Dawn 2 out of 3 times this season, including the playoffs. Still have a losing record against her (5-7). GRRRR!!!! No unicorn shirt this year Honey! Maybe next season! But like I said, Dawn in super smart! She can beat me at my own game that I've been playing for over a decade! That's impressive!
My health problems. I had a kidney stone in February. Dawn took me to the Emergency Room on President's Day. My dad has had kidney stones so it is hereditary. Stayed at the ER till 2am. Then again in November I had the same feeling. Like someone was stabbing me in my stomach with a knife. Dawn took me to the Emergency Room again. This time it was different. I didn't pass the stone. They told me I couldn't go to work and that I needed to see the doctor. Just gave me a crap load of pain killers and other meds to alleviate the pain. Missed work that whole week. Every doctor I went to during that time said this is not good and referred me to another specialist. Then, as I'm sitting at home wondering what's going on, the phone rings and its a specialist telling me not to eat anything because I was having surgery later on that day.
I had surgery the day before Thanksgiving. Thankfully, I didn't have to overnight it and wake up on Thanksgiving in the hospital. I had a moderately sized kidney stone blocking the pathway to my bladder. My left kidney is small and can't pull the load. Urine was backing up and infecting my right (good) kidney. I ended up having 5 stones total in both kidneys. The doctor removed the big one causing all the problems and was able to collect a sample from it. They are analyzing it on the mainland and I should know the results soon. That way I can modify my diet and know what foods I need to stay away from. I will probably have to go on some sort of medication or supplements to prevent those stones from forming.
I have tried to improve my diet since the hospital visit. I gave up soda, which I would drink just about everyday. The doctor said that stuff is poison to me. I did drink one on Christmas Eve. And I will have another if the Seahawks win the Super Bowl or my birthday. Whichever comes first. lol Eating more salads and trying to stay away from processed foods. Like Spam. I absolutely love Spam Musubi. I ate one before Christmas, and like the soda, I can't have another till after my birthday. Its okay though.
Dawn was incredible throughout the entire ordeal. I was so scared. Thought there was a chance that I might die. Had I not had the surgery that day I was looking at kidney failure a couple days later. Dawn was calm and optimistic throughout. That really helped. She held my hand and was there for me. No question I have the person that is right for me and is gonna stick by me no matter what. I told her I'm damaged goods and asked her if she wanted to hit the door? She declined the offer. She's incredible and I consider myself very lucky to have her in my life.
The wedding planning is coming along. We took a little break for Christmas and the New Year's Holiday. We will be hitting it full steam starting Thursday. Most of the big things are squared away. Just have the minor details to finish up. Dawn's mom did a beautiful job painting our invitation picture and other items for the wedding. She is so talented. I'm looking forward and am honored to become apart of their family. They are fantastic and have always been so good to me. Bringing me on family trips and making sure we have everything we could possibly need.
We also lost our cat, Falken in November. He had a bad heart. He was my favorite out of Dawn's 3 pets. The house is different now. I miss him. He was my buddy and often kept me company when Dawn wasn't home. It was tough losing him. I regret not saying goodbye to him the day that he passed. I was late for work. Only day I didn't tell him bye. Shucks.
I hit a pole doing an illegal U turn with my car in March . Drove around with a big @ss dent on my car for most of the year. This random dude comes up to me in the parking lot of McDonald's in September and asks if he can fix my car? I had my car looked at and it was going to be about 2 grand to fix all the bangs, dings and scratches. The guy fixed it all for $300! In 20 minutes! Is it perfect? No, but it looks a helluva lot better than it did before! How nuts is that? I was going to wait till after the wedding to get it fixed. But that situation worked out great!
Don't see my friends as much as I would like. But we try. We have very different schedules and its hard to get together. The Sharky's are making their triumphant return after a ten year hiatus. Very proud of my friends! We're all grownz up! I have the right people in my life.
I worked more than ever this past year. My supervisor is giving me lots of hours because he knows we need money for the wedding. Working with 3 great kids and families. Morning client, afternoon client, and preferred sub for a weekend client. They keep me busy. Even given up a lot of football watching so I can work. Priorities. Even portions of televised Seahawks games. Forgive me 12's. I tape it and watch it later on that day or the next day.
Doing the best that I can. I had a wonderful year. There are so many things I'm thankful for. I'm blessed. Even the bad things had a silver lining. 2013 was action packed from beginning to end. One of the best years in my life. I'm glad that you chose to be apart of it on Facebook and Twitter. I'm up over a 1,000 friends and followers on both platforms. I score free stuff from Klout for having a high user influence score. I've gotten to know and interact with people I never would have met or gotten to know had it not been for those social media outlets. Not sure if 2014 can top 2013, but gosh darnit, I've gotta try! Accomplished a ton of my goals in 2013! Very proud of myself.
My goals in 2014 include beefing up my Instagram account, getting all my music onto my new iPod, buying a Seahawks Super Bowl Champions shirt and hat (fingers crossed), having a dope wedding and honeymoon, make more money than last year and provide good service to my clients and agency. As well as be a good husband, friend, son, son-in-law and person in general! Wishing you the best in 2014! ALOHA!
