3.28.2007
So stoked!!!
Over the past few days, I've been able to start talking with an old friend from Pacific University. While a freshman at Pacific, my next door dormmate, a Montanan and I, hit it off right from move in day. Since we lived next door to each other at this new place, it was easy to get to know each other quickly, class together, yada yada yada. A long story short - This guy was into some pretty crazy stuff, he loved booze, and loved women. He ended up having a child, later got married, and I haven't talked to him in 6 years. Well, I was able to meet up with him this evening at Beaverton 4 Square church for their midweek service, and later retreat to his house with his wife and two children and talk to him about his story, about how he met and fell in love with Jesus, and how it's changed his life. As I walked in to the sanctuary this evening, I was literally moved to tears to see him and his wife standing, with raised hands, worshipping.
NCAA Basketball Tourney
So far so good. Over the last few years, my buddy Titus and I have tried to pick the winners for the NCAA Basketball tournament. Titus follows the game a little more closely than I do, and every year to date, I've lost, and lost BADLY at that. This year we are going to have a new champion. Out of the 60 Games that have been played to this point, I have chosen 49 of the correctly. 49/60 or 82%. I'd take that to the free-throw line in overtime. Had 10 of 16 in the sweet 16 round, 8 of 8 in the elite 8 round, and now sitting pretty with 3 of 4 in the final 4 round. If any of you are wondering who will win, Jonny Boy picked Ohio State - Titus threw his cash on the Georgetown Hoyas......and with 82% correct so far, I'd throw your money down on the Jon and the Buckeyes.
3.23.2007
Global Warming Debate....???
After Watching the ENTIRE thing, I felt compelled to post it. Very well done!
3.21.2007
3.20.2007
Class
What had originally been a class scheduled to meet on Mondays, has now turned into a class that meets on Tuesdays, which I don't particularly care for. Paul and Merideth have been way too kind in opening up their house, feeding Matt, Joel, Dan and I some great food, AND DESSERT, all of which is usually homemade from scratch! It's unreal, the food is great and we get to spend a little time together as a band. The thought of missing out fills me with loathing. Tonight we are recording Matt on drums and trying to get this CD thing kicking! Maybe we'll throw a few bass tacks down...
.....So, here we sit in class.
No Food,
No Band,
We are learning about troubled students, and...it's troubling me!
Ahhh.
.....So, here we sit in class.
No Food,
No Band,
We are learning about troubled students, and...it's troubling me!
Ahhh.
3.09.2007
3.6.07, 3.7.07, 3.8.07
The last three days are all a haze as I look back on them. It’s vacation right? I’ve neglected posting anything due to lack of time, and lack of internet availability here on the island, yeah they’ve got it, but it’s mostly dial-up. I often think of my “hi-tech” friends and how they would struggle with dial-up. It continues to be variable winds, which is great for surfing (wind=BAD, unless it’s offshore). Wednesday eve is prayer meeting at Calvary, followed by a potluck, so I scored again.
Here’s a small centipede -
The cultural significance of food is very noticeable over here. When I taught at Moloka’i Christian Academy I would often be shocked at how students of all ages were taught to share their food as there was need. For instance, I was sitting at the lunch table with many of the students one day and a student did not have a meal. The other students responded by offering portions of their lunch. It’s not just a pre-school or even a high school thing, it’s ingrained in most of these students and they take joy in knowing they can provide for others who may or may not have. Sharing food is like sharing a part of their heart. Here are some of last nights people at the table.
Angela, Candace, Megan, Teva, Nicci, and the Pou boys….Taoatua, Hoarai, Pi’itoa, and Noho’ari’i, (sons of Nicci and Teva – they are Tahitian.) We were even able to meet up with Atoa, a former Moloka'i Wrestler.
We’ve dawn patrolled a few times since last writing. Yesterday I drove up to Kalae to pick up Clint (the Moloka’i wrestler who got hosed in the state finals) and we paddled out at Kawela at about 5:55am to score some waist high rights. He had to be at school by 8:00, so time was limited, but we had a great time nonetheless, and he was only a few minutes late. I would seriously be in trouble if I grew up here and knew how to surf. There would be patches of absences on my record due to the surf pumping.
The last two days I’ve been helping Teva with a bit of remodeling at Auntie Gloria’s place. My hamstrings are sore from working on the floor, but I’ve got a little extra scrod to work with. I was also able to stop by All God’s Children Pre-school and help out for a few hours just playing with the kids. It’s hilarious to hang with little kids like this (three and four years old) and hear them talk Pidgin Hawaiian, total slang for these little guys. Here’s a few examples; “Uncle Jon, you when get da stuffs?” And “Uncle Jon, can push me next?” And I’ll never forget…
Me – “What’s your name”
Kid – “Braddah Nick”
Me – “What?”
Kid – “Braddah Nick”
Me – “Braddah Nick???”
Kid – “Yeah”
Me – “hahahahahahaha”
In the few hours I hung out with them, there seemed to be and endless line of kids waiting for me to push them on the swings. There were a few criers, but for the most part, they were happy to wait in line and snag a turn when they could. A few were so stoked, they stopped and threw up da shaka (hang-loose sign).
The pre-school is on the same grounds as the Christian Academy, so I was able to see the improvements they’ve made to the school
and even take a seat in my old classroom.
Another trip to the beach to teach Stephanie how to surf….She ended up riding this one all the way to shore, jumped off, and cut up here knee. She was done after that.
A developing story : Since I arrived on Moloka’i my left bottom wisdom tooth has started hurting, toothaches are BAD!! I finally cracked yesterday due to the fact that it was not getting better despite the unhealthy amounts of hot saltwater I was gargling. A 5 minute seat in the community health center dentist’s chair revealed that I have a hideously infected wisdom tooth that NEEDS to come out, all the while, the infection has spread down into my neck, this would explain why it has been increasingly harder to swallow and chew. I got some antibiotics, plus a bunch of codeine, the latter I haven’t had to use yet. The pain has subsided a lot.
It many regards, I’m looking forward to coming home. I’m stoked out on Ethnos and the potential there is for the body to grow in size and depth. I’m also a little bit guilty of being gone for so long considering school and other commitments I’ve made. On the down side…There are a friends and family here that I dream of seeing more often.
Ahhh.
Here’s a small centipede -
The cultural significance of food is very noticeable over here. When I taught at Moloka’i Christian Academy I would often be shocked at how students of all ages were taught to share their food as there was need. For instance, I was sitting at the lunch table with many of the students one day and a student did not have a meal. The other students responded by offering portions of their lunch. It’s not just a pre-school or even a high school thing, it’s ingrained in most of these students and they take joy in knowing they can provide for others who may or may not have. Sharing food is like sharing a part of their heart. Here are some of last nights people at the table.
Angela, Candace, Megan, Teva, Nicci, and the Pou boys….Taoatua, Hoarai, Pi’itoa, and Noho’ari’i, (sons of Nicci and Teva – they are Tahitian.) We were even able to meet up with Atoa, a former Moloka'i Wrestler.
We’ve dawn patrolled a few times since last writing. Yesterday I drove up to Kalae to pick up Clint (the Moloka’i wrestler who got hosed in the state finals) and we paddled out at Kawela at about 5:55am to score some waist high rights. He had to be at school by 8:00, so time was limited, but we had a great time nonetheless, and he was only a few minutes late. I would seriously be in trouble if I grew up here and knew how to surf. There would be patches of absences on my record due to the surf pumping.
The last two days I’ve been helping Teva with a bit of remodeling at Auntie Gloria’s place. My hamstrings are sore from working on the floor, but I’ve got a little extra scrod to work with. I was also able to stop by All God’s Children Pre-school and help out for a few hours just playing with the kids. It’s hilarious to hang with little kids like this (three and four years old) and hear them talk Pidgin Hawaiian, total slang for these little guys. Here’s a few examples; “Uncle Jon, you when get da stuffs?” And “Uncle Jon, can push me next?” And I’ll never forget…
Me – “What’s your name”
Kid – “Braddah Nick”
Me – “What?”
Kid – “Braddah Nick”
Me – “Braddah Nick???”
Kid – “Yeah”
Me – “hahahahahahaha”
In the few hours I hung out with them, there seemed to be and endless line of kids waiting for me to push them on the swings. There were a few criers, but for the most part, they were happy to wait in line and snag a turn when they could. A few were so stoked, they stopped and threw up da shaka (hang-loose sign).
The pre-school is on the same grounds as the Christian Academy, so I was able to see the improvements they’ve made to the school
and even take a seat in my old classroom.
Another trip to the beach to teach Stephanie how to surf….She ended up riding this one all the way to shore, jumped off, and cut up here knee. She was done after that.
A developing story : Since I arrived on Moloka’i my left bottom wisdom tooth has started hurting, toothaches are BAD!! I finally cracked yesterday due to the fact that it was not getting better despite the unhealthy amounts of hot saltwater I was gargling. A 5 minute seat in the community health center dentist’s chair revealed that I have a hideously infected wisdom tooth that NEEDS to come out, all the while, the infection has spread down into my neck, this would explain why it has been increasingly harder to swallow and chew. I got some antibiotics, plus a bunch of codeine, the latter I haven’t had to use yet. The pain has subsided a lot.
It many regards, I’m looking forward to coming home. I’m stoked out on Ethnos and the potential there is for the body to grow in size and depth. I’m also a little bit guilty of being gone for so long considering school and other commitments I’ve made. On the down side…There are a friends and family here that I dream of seeing more often.
Ahhh.
3.5.07
Awoke this morning with just enough time to get out of bed, brush my teeth, and swig a smoothie, before heading down to the wharf to head out and fish for the day.
The water was sheet glass the entire time we were on the water, a rarity for Moloka’i, as the wind is usually blowing 10-20 mph, and the winter swells make it a little rough. It was calm a creamy all day long. We had trolled down the south shore of the Island for about an hour,
and I was listening to a story about the fish that had been caught in this particular location…meanwhile, a 100 pound Marlin was busy chomping at one of our lures.
Yeahyeah! I grabbed the reel and started reeling, before Stephanie was able to get seated, and ready to fight the fish herself. It was going to be a hard fight, as the reel was slipping on the pole…it was a two-man ordeal after that! The fish was on, the reel was smoking, and we were stoked once again! The stoke only lasted about 5 minutes though, after the thing jumped out of the water, ran further, and finally took advantage of a little slack in the line. Soo, it was pretty fun while it lasted, and we were happy to see some fish action,
but…it would have been rad to actually land da bugga! So, after 4 more hours of trolling for nothing, we headed back to the wharf. The rest of the evening was spent hanging with old friends, eating, and laughing.
The water was sheet glass the entire time we were on the water, a rarity for Moloka’i, as the wind is usually blowing 10-20 mph, and the winter swells make it a little rough. It was calm a creamy all day long. We had trolled down the south shore of the Island for about an hour,
and I was listening to a story about the fish that had been caught in this particular location…meanwhile, a 100 pound Marlin was busy chomping at one of our lures.
Yeahyeah! I grabbed the reel and started reeling, before Stephanie was able to get seated, and ready to fight the fish herself. It was going to be a hard fight, as the reel was slipping on the pole…it was a two-man ordeal after that! The fish was on, the reel was smoking, and we were stoked once again! The stoke only lasted about 5 minutes though, after the thing jumped out of the water, ran further, and finally took advantage of a little slack in the line. Soo, it was pretty fun while it lasted, and we were happy to see some fish action,
but…it would have been rad to actually land da bugga! So, after 4 more hours of trolling for nothing, we headed back to the wharf. The rest of the evening was spent hanging with old friends, eating, and laughing.
3.05.2007
3.4.07
Arrived to Moloka’i with no trouble whatsoever. Chris dropped me off, boarded the plane, left Honolulu (HonoZOOlu), and touched down at the Moloka’i airport at 7:35 am.
I sat there for about 5 minutes, soaking up the silence. There were no cars driving, The sun was just over the eastern mountains of the island, and I could hear no one. Just like that it was easier to breathe! I was picked up shortly after by Candace, Aisha, and Megan and we all cruised up to Coffees of Hawaii to score some coffee, grind some poi bagels and talk story.
These girls are great!!!! Megan and I cruised down to the “Wherehouse” (Calvary Chapel) and met up with all the old Moloka’i church Ohana. (Ohana = Family). I was stoked as stoked gets!!! I’m tellin’ ya, these people great!! My cheeks hurt from smiling too much…and I like smiling, so…I’m talking LOTS of smiling! Yeah. I was stoked to hear Teva and the Band layin it down with the worship music. These guys have a deep pocket, and Teva is an incredible worship leader! I haven’t been able to clap my hands while singing for the past several months, seeing how I’m playing bass and all, Worshipping without the bass guitar in hand was nice! I’m always amazed at the simplicity of things over here. Most people can hear God’s voice a little more clearly on Moloka’i, being that the “neon” of the city is gone, and we get to see the simplicity of life as it used to be. Following church, I met up with Teva and Taoa (his boy) and he headed to Halawa Valley,
surfed there for about an hour…it was junk, so we left and headed back to Rock Point
where the wind had just turned off-shore, and the waves were firing. I got doughnuts on the first two waves, but it was fun anyways. We ended up surfing for about 3 hours, until the sun started to set. We loaded up and headed back to Candace’s house up in Kawela. The pad is sick, with an unreal view of Lanai, Maui, and about a 5 mile stretch of the south shore of Moloka’i.
Aloha again!
I sat there for about 5 minutes, soaking up the silence. There were no cars driving, The sun was just over the eastern mountains of the island, and I could hear no one. Just like that it was easier to breathe! I was picked up shortly after by Candace, Aisha, and Megan and we all cruised up to Coffees of Hawaii to score some coffee, grind some poi bagels and talk story.
These girls are great!!!! Megan and I cruised down to the “Wherehouse” (Calvary Chapel) and met up with all the old Moloka’i church Ohana. (Ohana = Family). I was stoked as stoked gets!!! I’m tellin’ ya, these people great!! My cheeks hurt from smiling too much…and I like smiling, so…I’m talking LOTS of smiling! Yeah. I was stoked to hear Teva and the Band layin it down with the worship music. These guys have a deep pocket, and Teva is an incredible worship leader! I haven’t been able to clap my hands while singing for the past several months, seeing how I’m playing bass and all, Worshipping without the bass guitar in hand was nice! I’m always amazed at the simplicity of things over here. Most people can hear God’s voice a little more clearly on Moloka’i, being that the “neon” of the city is gone, and we get to see the simplicity of life as it used to be. Following church, I met up with Teva and Taoa (his boy) and he headed to Halawa Valley,
surfed there for about an hour…it was junk, so we left and headed back to Rock Point
where the wind had just turned off-shore, and the waves were firing. I got doughnuts on the first two waves, but it was fun anyways. We ended up surfing for about 3 hours, until the sun started to set. We loaded up and headed back to Candace’s house up in Kawela. The pad is sick, with an unreal view of Lanai, Maui, and about a 5 mile stretch of the south shore of Moloka’i.
Aloha again!
3.3.07
Today was the final day of the state tournament.
There were some major thrills, but overall I feel a little bummed out. Over the past three seasons Moloka’i high school has put together a pretty solid team, considering the size of the island, and how popular wrestling is. One of the toughest kids I’ve coached to date is Clinton Manley, a senior at the high school this year who has taken 2nd in the state the last two years.
This year he was going for another finals berth, and hopefully a victory in the last match of his high school career. After his near upset in the semifinal round, (where he was trailing 5-1 going into the third round, and came back to win it in overtime) he made it to the finals where he faced a really tough but beatable kid. He was trailing in the match, when he was almost put on his back (BAD), but inverted (a great high school and college move), but he received NO points, not even an escape. This might sound foreign to most people reading this, but let me tell you this……He should have received 5 points for that. The problem is, Hawaii officials lack the skills to officiate a match properly. They rarely see higher-level college competition, and rarely call a match right. Well, unfortunately, Clinton lost the match, and for the 3rd straight year, he was the runner-up. The entire crowd thought the referee in the match was ridiculous. I must agree. Following the tournament, we were able to share some laughs, some great food, and talk story with most of the kids from the team. Clinton’s dad, a pastor, and the coach of the team this year, was taxed. It was an exhausting day. To go from anticipating a champion, to settling for second again, carries with it a crazy swing of emotions. I’m bummed.
There were some major thrills, but overall I feel a little bummed out. Over the past three seasons Moloka’i high school has put together a pretty solid team, considering the size of the island, and how popular wrestling is. One of the toughest kids I’ve coached to date is Clinton Manley, a senior at the high school this year who has taken 2nd in the state the last two years.
This year he was going for another finals berth, and hopefully a victory in the last match of his high school career. After his near upset in the semifinal round, (where he was trailing 5-1 going into the third round, and came back to win it in overtime) he made it to the finals where he faced a really tough but beatable kid. He was trailing in the match, when he was almost put on his back (BAD), but inverted (a great high school and college move), but he received NO points, not even an escape. This might sound foreign to most people reading this, but let me tell you this……He should have received 5 points for that. The problem is, Hawaii officials lack the skills to officiate a match properly. They rarely see higher-level college competition, and rarely call a match right. Well, unfortunately, Clinton lost the match, and for the 3rd straight year, he was the runner-up. The entire crowd thought the referee in the match was ridiculous. I must agree. Following the tournament, we were able to share some laughs, some great food, and talk story with most of the kids from the team. Clinton’s dad, a pastor, and the coach of the team this year, was taxed. It was an exhausting day. To go from anticipating a champion, to settling for second again, carries with it a crazy swing of emotions. I’m bummed.
3.03.2007
3.1.07 & 3.2.07
3.2.07
Dave’s little apartment is SICK. So simple..clean, and the view of the north shore is great! Instead of getting up pre dawn, I slept till 7, mosied out of bed, got my shtuff together, and headed out. Here’s the best part of the morning. A typical bachelor in Hawaii does not eat breakfast at home. They go to the gas station or 7-11 to get some morning grindz. So we stroll in to 7-ll, get some breakfast plates (which were good) some water, and a bar of surf wax. David was already standing in line near the front. There were two checkers working their own register. Since we were together, and paying together, I just threw my stuff with his, threw down some cash, and waited for the lady to ring us up and get us going. Meanwhile this conversation ensued..
The next guy in line – “Bra, what, you don’t have to wait in line”
Dave – “Bra, we’re together”
That guy – “So…you don’t have to wait in line”
David – “Bra, we’re together”
That guy – “Well I was in front of him”
David – “I was in front of you”
That guy - …
David - …
It was almost fight time or this guy. Heaven forbid two people pay together. Hmmmm. This guy was struggling!!! So we drove to Lani’s equipped with a beefier board, and jockeyed for position once again. There were a handful to good waves snagged.
Dave’s little apartment is SICK. So simple..clean, and the view of the north shore is great! Instead of getting up pre dawn, I slept till 7, mosied out of bed, got my shtuff together, and headed out. Here’s the best part of the morning. A typical bachelor in Hawaii does not eat breakfast at home. They go to the gas station or 7-11 to get some morning grindz. So we stroll in to 7-ll, get some breakfast plates (which were good) some water, and a bar of surf wax. David was already standing in line near the front. There were two checkers working their own register. Since we were together, and paying together, I just threw my stuff with his, threw down some cash, and waited for the lady to ring us up and get us going. Meanwhile this conversation ensued..
The next guy in line – “Bra, what, you don’t have to wait in line”
Dave – “Bra, we’re together”
That guy – “So…you don’t have to wait in line”
David – “Bra, we’re together”
That guy – “Well I was in front of him”
David – “I was in front of you”
That guy - …
David - …
It was almost fight time or this guy. Heaven forbid two people pay together. Hmmmm. This guy was struggling!!! So we drove to Lani’s equipped with a beefier board, and jockeyed for position once again. There were a handful to good waves snagged.
Here’s the view of the north shore, looking south.
The first reason why I’m here was the state wrestling tournament, and it has begun. Several kids I once coached have qualified and are wrestling quite well. At the end of Friday’s round there are 5 of 8 still in the tournament. I’m back at Chris’ house for the eve. No surf, only semifinals in the morning!
Aloha
3.1.06. Dawn Partrol on North Shore
This morning Chris and I awoke at 5:30 to take the hour long drive up the North shore, or the country. Traffic had already started at around 6, so it took just a little longer than expected to get there. We surfed Pupukea, about 100 yards north of Pipeline. This stretch of beach is far and away the most popular and sought after surf spot in the world. By the time we paddled out, there were about 10 people in the water, within 30 minutes, there were about 30 people in the water. Surfing in a crowd is not fun. When your all by yourself, you get the pick of the litter…waves roll in, and you paddle where you want, when you want. You actually get to pick and choose. Now, when 30 people jump in the water, and try to surf the same wave, you can imagine there is quite a bit of jockeying for position, though there is a surfing etiquette that is usually followed that lets the guy closest to the breaking part of the wave have priority. Anyway, The larger sets were about shoulder to a foot or two overhead. A good size! Google some pictures from pipeline and that should give you the idea that this was a smaller day. It was nice. There was one bad part…I was riding a 7’2”… 7 freaking foot 2. Are you kidding me? I eat boards bigger than that for breakfast. This was like a paperweight compared to what I’m used to riding. I was afraid the board might get lost in the water or something. I mean, I ride longboards for the most part, and this board had only about ¼ of the float ability of what I’m used to. So in regards to the board, it could have been much better! But I do believe there is nothing better than Dawn Patrol any day of the week. The rest of the day was spent visiting with old Pacific Wrestling Alumni at a local restaurant just north of Honolulu. There were around 20 people in all, including two former women's wrestlers at Pacific. Lots of new introductions were made, and to stick with the age old saying….good times were had by all!!
Pictured are…Jon Small, Poncie Raguindin, Old Coach Mike Clock, Kurtis Saiki, Billy Veninciano – The Moloka’i Connection
With a late night drive back to the north shore with David, The stage was set for another great day…Surf in the morning!!!
3.01.2007
2.28.07 Aloha from Oahu
Made it to the airport with nothing more than two sore butt-cheeks. Flight was good. I sat next to a very interesting 26 year old gal from Hillsboro who was reading about Zen, Falling in love, and insisted on talking about how bad George Bush was and is. She could not believe it when I told her I support him. More questions pursued about the things I like about him, or rather, the things that he has done that I approve of. I listed many, she had a hard time rebutting some of them. That was interesting. I sat around the Honolulu airport for a couple of hours waiting for my old wrestling coach to arrive. I’m struggling with what to call him. It sounds weird to me to call this guy my friend, and, clearly he is. He has been my wrestling coach all through college and I enjoy traveling and chatting it up with him. The weird part of this is the simple fact of age. He is 70+ and I’m 26. So I was trying to explain what I was doing on Oahu to this girl, and she was confused when I said “my old wrestling coach.” Seems I should be calling him my friend, but I don’t want people to freak out when they see him, that he’s 70 and all. Hahahaha Wed evening was spent up at One Love Ministries with my old pastor Waxer Tipton. He’s doing his route 66 Bible study…that is, teaching through the 66 books of the Bible in a year. That’s nuts if you ask me. He is an amazing speaker. As with the current tradition of eating out after our gatherings at Ethnos, A bunch of the mid-20’s crowd went to a bar to eat following the Bible study. I had left my computer and bag in David’s jeep, only to find that his jeep had been towed in the hour it took to eat and visit. I thought it was stolen. That would have sucked. This is the second time this has happened to me…..IN THE SAME PARKING LOT. The last time was with my buddy Chris. And again, the last time I had all my gear in the car too. This time it cost $182.00, and it was only gone for an hour. Dawn Patrol tomorrow morning! Aloha
My boy Chris Wallick
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