"In the United States, Independence Day, commonly known as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain. Independence Day is commonly associated with fireworks, parades, barbecues, carnivals, picnics, concerts, baseball games, political speeches and ceremonies, and various other public and private events celebrating the history, government, and traditions of the United States. Independence Day is the national day of the United States." Courtesy of Wikipedia

The 4th of July in Hawaii is celebrated just about da same as New Years with fireworks and bbq's but with the added exception of increased beach activity kapu'ing da best spot all da from Ala Moana to Kailua to White Plains. How are you spending your 4th? Dis year we're going over to a friends house (just up da road too!) for a potluck bbq and let's just say dat I'm glad dat it's up da road.

But let's talk about life's independence.... with a game!

List your independence from - watevahs! All da things dat you're doing "on your own" aftah being taught from any age.

Hopefully we'll break da century comment mark if anybody is at work today.

btw, Happy Feel Good Friday and have a great July 4th!!! Pah-tay hard and please, please pah-tay safe!

 

 

 

 

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Tomorrow is Indepence Eve and because da holiday falls on a Saturday, a lot of business' have the 3rd observed as a holiday.

The Honolulu Advertiser doesn't.

Well normally we don't.

We've been given the option to take the day off or not and I'm taking it.... plus Monday too.

I just really need to get "euphoric" in my sleep and plus Da Wife has da day off - Monday too!

Wat da heck is B/B/V/A Day?

Well if you're anything like us, it's all our "special days" celebrated in one day. It's her birthday, my birthday, Valentine's and our Anniversary all rolled up into one.

So wat are we doing?

Nothing.... sad yeah?

Well hea's wat happened. Da Wife's birthday was in late November and as such, da holiday festivities was about to go full tilt. We had seasonal obligations so we couldn't really do anything special like going out to our favorite restaurant, DK Steakhouse. Then my birthday came around and we had stuff to do hea and there so we put it off. Valentine's was right around da corner and da next thing you know baseball season was on it's way.

In a few days, it'll be our 2nd wedding anniversary on da 7th so dis time we're making time! Amazing. Our 2nd. We barely made it through da first - beats me how we going make through da next 10 even?

We both wanted to go holoholo to a neighbor island but there was no airfare specials like they had a few weeks ago with $3 airfare! Yeah, tree bucks! So we're heading to our favorite restaurant this weekend to DK's! Oh yeah baby! We've both been craving dat place for a very long time since it's our place to celebrate our "special events". And no worries, going get one follow up Shaka-nack review on DK's. 

So if there's no post on Friday... I slept in.

If there's no post on Monday... I stay kanack.

If there's no post on Tuesday... call... eh, nobody kea about me.

Wea's your favorite place to celebrate things? Wat's your favorite type of grindz?

 

SHOUT OUT #1:    Howzit Scott! Was nice seeing you at Point Panic yesterday!

SHOUT OUT #2:    WWD! Experiment still going strong - quite a bit of Lurkahs have come out of hiding! Mahalos for dat! Now if only I can get them to post on hea on WWD!....... ok ok so there's only like 22 people but I'm hoping there's more out there!

Click below, if you like be my "friends". 

 

 

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I've told friends I'd nevah do it.

I've posted on WWD! saying I'd nevah do it.

And like a true lolo....... I've gone and done it.

*standing up with my head down* Hi, my name is (Braddah) Lance... and I'm on Facebook.

I don't know if that's a good thing or not - yet - but I've signed up and it's a wait and see game now. My friends have always been on social networks and wen MySpace came out they were all like, "you gotta get a MySpace page."

Uh, no thanks.

Now dat MySpace is a considered "unsafe" to an extent (*see, told you so!*), FaceBook (FB) has become the site of choice and you could say FB has found a niche on networking where it could be better controlled and more suited for adults who truly want to just keep in touch.

I kept saying it was a cult and the more and more I heard my friends and others saying (even tita leerz said she's on FB from her last post) you gotta get on FaceBook the more I was reluctant to do so..... untill my friend said he just signed up and I told him I'd check out his "page".

Once I searched and found him on FB, I couldn't get into his page.... I had to be his "friend" first.

Hold up.... I'm already his friend! His real life friend!!

Wassap Wit Dat!

Then I understood why FaceBook was touted as being more "secure" because you could control who you want seeing your "personal" life. While at first glance, the site does display pictures, it's just your profile pic dat the host chose and it's also to help recogmanotice who've you searched for. It's helpful in the fact that you wouldn't want to mistakenly ask a complete stranger with da same name to be your friend. Also if you see the "friends list" you can kinda connect da dots and figgah out dat dat's da person you was looking for. You could, even for nostalgic sake, find a long time friend you haven't seen since hana-battah dayz. Capiché?

Then I started to get a few "ask to be friends" invites - assuming dat they saw my name on our mutual friends page - and noticed dat FaceBook is pretty cleaver in that wen you do something/anything it posts straight on top so that anybody visiting your page would see who you recently added as friends and thus begins da networking game since you may see someone you've nevah seen in choke long time and noticed dat they're on now.

I've "determined" dat FB is actually an open "blog" of sorts between friends. A real open blog. You got some dat share every waking moment online and you got oddahs, like me, who just kinda chill and no even update their "page". I barely have enough time to keep up with WWD!

Although WWD! is an open blog between..... who knows? Well, I've gotten to know some of you so we're not "strangers" anymore.

Then I got an "invite" from a friend I haven't seen since high school and I remembah spending nights sitting on da curb talking to her while my friend was trying to mack with her friend - or was it her, or was it both? - but being da dutiful wingman dat I was, I was there in full support.

Wats even more surprising, she says she reads WWD! all da time even though she now lives in da mainland!

But den I thought, how come she no post? I have no frickin' idea but just hearing dat she reads all da time - supposedly - kinda lifted my spirits about WWD! but posed a question in my spinning coconut shell.... while I may not know who reads and who posts..... how many people are out there that I DO know, dat read WWD! ? Cause I know for surah dat they aren't posting.

So I'm posing this experiment. If you're in FaceBook, let's be "friends". Shoot me an invite (Braddah Lance Kwon - for da blog or Hyung Lance Kwon - personal) and I'll gladly accept either or both.

Plus I like see how much people like come out if not on WWD!, but on FB. I jus' curious to see how many peeps stay reading cause our site doesn't keep track (or at least I'm not told about it unlike some ODDah blogs) - even if only get 27 people.

If you put in a note of "WWD!" in your "invite" I'll know dat you're from Da WWD! Hui and it be cool to put a face to da name..... and no worries, I not going share stuff between FB and WWD!.

Dat falls undah da WWD!/Kwonics/Lanceformers/Lurkahs confidentiality clause.

 

 

SHOUT OUT:  Happy Belated Hau'oli La Hanau Jess!   

 

 

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Being in the middle of the Pacific Ocean surrounded by water, you can't help but visit the beach at least once in your life.

For as long as I can remember, I've always been in the water whether it be at picnics, surfing, diving, watevahs - just as long as there was sand and surf, I was good. It didn't hurt that wen I used to live in Sand Island, I literally could just hop our fence and be at the beach.

With the recent South swells, as NKHEA keeps reminding me, da Pacific comes a calling.

Da past few weeks I hit da surf wenevah I could during lunch - my only free time to surf - but yesterday was almost fate-like. Da Wife had planned to have a pau hana get together with a few of her ex-coworkers after work so I was left in a predicament. Do I go all the way home, take care the dogs, rest for a hour and drive back or do I stay at work and work on some things.

Hmmm........ Neither.

I wen surf Baby!

Boy was it epic!

It wasn't as big as last weekends swell but a solid three feet (Hawaiian scale of course). It was a bit inconsistent at Point Panic but knowing wea to sit in the lineup was key so I had more than my share of fun waves. I was in da water for a little ovah 2 ½ hours till da only light we saw was the moonlight and it was the most time I've evah spent surfing since high school wea I'd surf on average 10 hours a day.

Barrel aftah barrel I was so stoked to not only be in da watah for dat long but da fact dat I was in da right part of da lineup wea da "hui" was going on da first sets and once they were gone I was still fortunate enough to catch da last one in da set. Almost every wave was pitching nicely due to da light winds and low tide.

My last wave was unreal.

It was one of the bigger waves of the day and all I could see was a huge wall lining up. I pulled in high and tight and whooosh! A picture perfect wave barrelling from beginning to end and I threw in a few spinners (body surfing rolo move) and not only made it out but rode it all the way in wea I didn't even have to paddle in to get back on shore.

It was euphoric... and Da Wife can attest cause wen I went to pick her up, all she saw was a huge grin ear to ear even aftah I was out of da water.

No wait.

I was grinning ear to ear cause I took one look at my beautiful wife and couldn't help myself.

We may have talked about it before but yesterday was just so enlightening dat it refreshes my soul.

So wat is it dat you do, want to do, have done dat makes you "euphoric"? Eating chocolate? Playing cards? Hitting golf balls?

C'mon, share yours.... or you like keep 'em to yourself?

 

 

 

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Last Saturday I needed to get a haircut but I was finally fed up with Supercuts.

I've been going there since I was 15 and had more than my share of bad haircuts from their "stylists". They're either new and inexperienced or they just cut and be done with it. Their prices have gone up a few times and their once "everyday value" went from $9.99 to a whopping $18 (without tip). For da wahine, dat may not seem like much but to us guys, dat's a lot wen most times it's just a buzz and a trim on top - nothing fancy.

They've also gotten rid of their "get 12 haircuts get 1 free" card. It used to buy 8 get 1 free, then buy 10 get 1 free (I think) and then 12 and now nada.

In fact, a few months ago wen I went down to da Kaahumanu location, my "stylist" (who I could barely understand but have had cut my hair several times) asked me if I shampooed my hair after a haircut. I said, "not right away, but after I get home I do."

At the end of my haircut, she directs me to the back and I follow. It was a very slow day as I was da only person there so I thought she was just being nice and giving me a shampoo hookup...... then I got da bill.

Boy was I duped. Suckah.

Wasssap Wit Dat!

I didn't even want to bother arguing and just paid the little extra and went on my way but boy did Da Wife hear my...... opinion.

So last Saturday I took a chance on a barber shop I see almost everyday and always told myself I'd check them out. They're on da corner of Kamehameha Hwy and Waimano Home Road in the Pearl City Medical Building which is very ironic cause there isn't a single medical office there..... WWD!

I walk in and immediately they ask, "Haircut?".

"Yes."

They point me to a chair and there I was, hoping my hair wouldn't get butchered and praying I didn't make a mistake.

Right after I tell the "barber" wat I wanted, he buzzed and snipped away. I then began noticing that it's a quaint little shop with about six or seven chairs and each with their own "flare" ranging from equipment to Christmas pictures of their frequent patrons.

Then the fun began.

People started flowing in and the wall to wall bench seats were filled up. A little keiki was watching a movie on her dad's iPhone, a couple of others texting, the rest either reading The Honolulu Advertiser or magazine. A barber (are wahine barber's called barbers too?) took a quick second to grab a jar of candy on her shelf, opened it up and asked da keiki if she wanted one.

A big smile gleemed from da keiki's face.

Then da boss lady asked one of her barber's if he could work some extra days that he wasn't scheduled to and it was entertaining to say the least. If you've ever watched da movie Barbershop starring Ice Cube and Cedric the Entertainer, it was just li'dat. If you nevah saw it, you missed out on a fun movie.

It was exactly like the movie where they were arguing and quipping back and forth and all the patrons are laughing.

Classic.

Well my hair wasn't butchered and I was very impressed at the attention to detail my barber had. He even busted out the shaving razor - da kine with da huge blade and handle - and trimmed all da edges to make sharp lines! He was handsomely rewarded for attention to detail and he surah earned his tip.

And da $13.61 price for da haircut didn't hurt either.

Pearl City Barbershop and Hairstyling is in a prime location next to Longs, Don Quixote, banks and McDonald's and yet they are still able to keep their prices down.

Looks like I found a real barber now.

How's yours lookin'?

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