‘Iwa Ink Update... and Approval!

So, it's done. It took a little over an hour to complete and I am really happy with the results.

If you've read my prior blog entry regarding this design, it's based on some moments of my life growing up with my grandfather. I hope that those who read that blog entry understood the deep meaning behind this design and the reason for selecting it for (a part of) this tattoo. After having the tattoo done tonight, I can add a little more to this depth to the story...

My grandfather's Hawaiian name is "Kauakanilehua." It is a reference to the Kanilehua rains that fall in Hilo, and translated further, it's technically "the rain that makes noise in the lehua (trees)." For us, it represented that moment when you can hear sound of rain approaching... If you've lived in Hilo long enough, you will understand what I mean. If you've danced hula and performed "Hilo Hanakahi" or any Hilo song mentioning the Kanilehua rain, you'll get it in this format: "make the rain, clap, make the flowers."

After getting inked up tonight, I took my tattoo-session-moral-supporter best friend to dinner for some comfort food - KHOP! Shortly after being seated, we heard rain starting to fall outside and, eventually, a downpour. All I could think of was, "Papa knows that I got the tattoo... and I think (I hope) this means that he approves." Very soon after that, the rain stopped. Like the ‘iwa birds served as a sign to my grandfather, perhaps the rain itself has now become a sign of him.

Thank you to Brady at 202 Tattoo in Hilo for providing his pro inking skills to make my design a reality. I am looking forward to finishing the art for this chest/shoulder piece and coming back to see you.

Thank you Shari for being a part of another adventure in the tattoo world and for keeping me company during the session. You're next (again).

Still smiling through the pain... NAH, no pain!

First glance of the new tattoo!

‘Iwa Ink?

When the black silhouettes of the ‘iwa (great frigate bird) appeared over my grandparents' house, I would stare at them in awe, thinking that they were some kind of pterodactyl that somehow escaped the fate of the other dinosaurs. Never flapping their wings, I wondered how they were up there. There was usually more than one, so you can imagine the scenes of some cheesy sci-fi thriller, "When Pterodactyls Attack" that would play through my mind. Eventually my grandfather would explain to me that they were birds (wow, really?) and were harbingers of something at sea, most likely a storm which had driven them inland. Fast-forward a couple of decades after the Internet became available to us all, I eventually discovered, thanks to Google, that these birds will spend most of their lives at sea and in flight, close to their homes, usually landing only to incubate eggs and all that good stuff you would likely see as a part of the Nat Geo special for any avian episode.

It has been many years since I have seen one of these effortlessly riding the winds high above, but the next time that I do, I will make sure to scream, "pterodactyl!" for old time's sake. Just kidding. I will look at them in a different light, with a new respect and appreciation for them. My grandfather saw these birds as a sign of something in the distance, something in the near and very possible future. I will wear them as a reminder to myself to heed the signs in life, namely those events that just feel like they're from God. They will be reminders to be attentive, receptive, and aware of things around me. Nā hō‘ailona. (Pay attention, Nic!)

Side note... ‘iwa is a Hawaiian term that means "thief" due to this bird's methods of stealing food from other seabirds. Not always in a negative frame of reference, this concept was also used as a descriptor for Kamehamehaʻs union of the Hawaiian Islands. And... Not that there is any coincidence for my inclusion of this symbol in my design, but how's this ‘olelo no‘eau:

"He ‘iwa ho‘ohaehae nāulu."

It translates into "a frigatebird that teases the rainclouds." It's kaona or hidden meaning is reference to a handsome man which arouses jealousy in others. If you've ever seen ‘iwa in flight, they are pretty impressive, their large wingspans and effortless glide on the wind make for a stately appearance. I doubt I evoke the same kind of emotion when I walk by others. *insert awkward silence*

So now, we shall see if my financial and pain threshold abilities will allow for this to happen.

Here comes 32.

When I was in my early twenties, I declared that I would accomplish a handful of things by the time I reached 30 years of age. Tonight is the eve of my 32^nd birthday and I must admit that out of the three... wait, four... goals that I set for myself a decade ago, I've only accomplished a single one in my 30^th year. A few months before my 31^st birthday, I found myself practicing my signature over and over again on pieces of scratch paper, preparing for the signing of mortgage and title documents. I even selected the pen with which I would sign my name. March 31, 2012 will go down in history as the day that I started my journey through the myriad of emotions that come with home ownership. Regardless, the mental and financial anguish of purchasing and owning a home cannot overcome the pride, excitement and joy of waking up each morning and thinking, "this is my house that I shall make into my home, each and every single day." I'd like to take this time to thank Home Depot for carrying a million color choices on free color sample card. I would also like to thank the creators of Allure vinyl plank flooring.

So, what about those other as yet unfulfilled goals? My 30^th birthday came and went, and so did those goals, well, at least for a while. I sulked in defeat, just for a little, after turning 30. However, the pouty phase eventually wore off and so what if I was 31 when it occurred, I did don a cap and gown once again - this time with a hood, sash, and cords - and survived another commencement exercise that marked my completion of a Master of Arts degree. This leaves two more of those four goals unchecked on the to-do list of my life. With the 30-years-old age deadline on these goals automatically lifted as of July 11, 2012, I have no choice but to make an exception to my self-imposed timeframe and to issue myself a supplemental agreement to extend time of performance (if you've done government procurement and contracting, you should probably get that, bonus if you laughed!). With time not waiting for my accomplishments to occur, my only two options are to 1) give up on those goals, and 2) keep trudging on toward them. Selecting option 1 will lead to a breach of contract, and that would be bad, so I am leaning toward selecting option 2 (Ha-ha-ha, more contracting lingo - so clever, huh?).

I am writing about this not to keep you, the reader, in suspense until I reveal the *gasp* remaining goals of my life. No, that is not the intent, and I probably will not even tell you what they are in this post. What I will tell you is that, as I get older, I feel like I am becoming more skilled at composing goals in business-like fashion, almost with documented action plans and logic models tracking my planned and actual progress toward outputs and outcomes. Hey, actually, that does not seem like such a bad idea; segue to the "Joys of OCD" blog post. On the contrary, what seems to matter more to me now is the fact that I have set these goals for myself and construct general plans to work toward them, not so much the accomplishment of the goal itself or the timeframe in which it should occur. These are not your run-of-the-mill "I will lose 5 pounds" type of goals, but goals that will take emotional and financial endurance like none other. Tomorrow morning, after I wake up, I will ask myself, "Am I ready to tackle working toward these goals?" Well, not before wishing myself a very happy birthday, of course. Okay, I think I’ll have my morning coffee before asking myself that. Actually, I should probably wait to see how my workday goes, too...

There is only one unaccomplished goal in my life that I can attach to the excuse of, "too late for that," and that would be the winning of a gymnastics medal. They don't hold competitions for gymnasts who mount their floor exercise routine with a cartwheel. Sadly, I don't think I could do a cartwheel now if I tried to; this is a sad thought knowing that I could once cover an entire basketball court with a array of handsprings, layouts and twists. Other than this one goal, I am pretty convinced that these other "big" goals that I have consciously (re)placed on my to-do list are achievable goals that are things that I want and things that I am confident about accomplishing.

I came across a quote from author Harvey MacKay online today:

           

            "A dream is just a dream. A goal is a dream with a plan and a deadline."  

I think that many of us allow our dreams die when we become engulfed with the "regular" things we need to do in our lives - parenting, working, cleaning, etc. - or just because we permit ourselves to become too lazy to work toward making a dream into a goal, and becoming even more lazy when it’s time to carry out the plan to achieve that goal. No matter where you are in life, I think it’s important to keep on dreaming and to keep on creating goals from your dreaming. Working with older individuals (a.k.a. “senior citizens” or “elderly”), I see lives being lived with vivacity and fervor by 70-or-80-plus year-olds. Some of our County’s “seniors” in the local line dance classes could probably out-dance me at a shindig. They are living actively despite the biological and sociological barriers that nag at them because they continue to dream, continue to set goals, and continue to thrive. Because they want to and believe that they can. They remind me that at this age, I really have no excuse to be a bundle of defeat.

The goals that still linger in my head are there because they are the products of a dream or two that I am holding onto. I have set some loose guidelines and timelines for them (again!), but will be a little more flexible than I was before; life happens, right? Who knows, they may happen tomorrow, for all I know. I just hope that my family and close friends are ready for a spur-of-the-moment wedding ceremony and reception. Just kidding. Simmer down, folks. That was just a mere example for illustrative purposes. J

Thanks for reading. If you understood, well, thanks for that, too!

Have an amazing day, everyone. God bless y’all!

P.S. Not a totally impressive goal, but here’s a little side story related to a goal I set when I was in high school:

In 1995, Honda Motor Company’s “luxury” division launched the Acura TL sedan. It sported the clean and perfectly balanced lines and build of the Honda lineup of the time, complete with frameless glass windows and yellow fog lights integrated into the headlamps (only true import junkies of that era will understand the “coolness” factor there). I requested a brochure from the Acura dealership in Honolulu as a visual reminder that I would someday drive an Acura TL. I held onto that brochure since then and trashed it only a few years ago.

That someday finally came. I have driven a 1997 Acura TL for the past few years thanks to a lucky buy through a family friend. It looks just like the one that I used to admire on that brochure.

Talk about being patient with a goal.

Heartache and backache.

I love to do my own commentary when I watch gymnastics on television. It's not that Tim Daggett and Elfie Schlaegel are not doing a good job, I just enjoy my fresh bluntness topped with fine profanity where applicable. Okay, so I am technically not qualified to do commentary at the olympic level, but I know good gymnastics when I see it. However, I am saying this as I lay in bed dealing with some problems with my lower back. Forget gymnastics, I could barely ambulate around my house today. Pretty. Darn. Sad.

When I was 10 years old I had already become self taught in the year or so prior in moves like back handsprings and back tuck somersaults. I joined Hilo Gymnastics Club and trained with some old guy as my coach... I can't even remember his name, or wait, I don't think I ever knew it. A few years later I switched to Pacific Gymnastics until I was 16 or so, and then "retired" at the Pantheon School of Gymnastics with some of my friends in the "adult class." I went to college and got fat in my first year sans formal gymnastics, but, joined the now-extinct University of Hawai‘i at Hilo Vulcan Cheerleading squad in 2001. I tumbled and stunted for three years, becoming coach/captain in my senior year. I also coached gymnastics students for a year back at the Pantheon School of Gymnastics and officially ended participation in any form of the sport at the age of 24.

Fast forward to the age of 30.975. The aftermath of years of flipping, twisting, crashing, stretching, splitting, spraining, straining, and hand-standing have caught up with me. I remember the first time my lower back gave out two years ago as I was doing sit-ups on an incline at the fitness center. I crawled to the aerobics room and lay there in pain and shock. Over the last two years I have had numerous recurrences (like this weekend) where I am rendered almost unable to walk or sit without major effort and chance of major pain if I make a wrong move. Almost makes me feel pathetic as I criticize the bent knees in that guy's Stalders on high bar or that girl's lack of a full 180 degree split in her balance beam mount. I. Cannot. Do. A. Cartwheel. Anymore.

I miss the sport. Heck, I miss just being able to touch my toes! But what I really miss is my physical health. I know that gymnastics will always be a passion of mine, but I have come to terms with the passage of time and have claimed my spot as a spectator. I do hope to work on being healthy and fit and flexible again, despite the physical problems that I have incurred. I guess I took my fitness for granted all those years at the peak of my physical capabilities. I refuse to declare that "I am just getting old." Tell that to 1991 floor exercise world champion, Oksana Chusovitina, who participated in 5 olympic games and ended her career as the 2008 olympic champion on vault in Beijing at the age of 33!

So enough laying in bed and anti-inflammatories. The least that I can do for myself is regain my physical health through gradual exercises and therapy (sorry, Shaun T., no more Insanity for a while!) and get away from these backaches once and for all! Off to drill my chiropractor for more tips in fixing my body.

BTW, congratulations to the 2012 olympic men and women's U.S. gymnastics teams! Te trials are through and I think we have some great athletes going to London. They are not immune to my snooty commentary, however! :) Check 'em out here: http://www.nbcolympics.com/team-usa/athletes/sport=gymnastics/index.html

Back to blogging

Here I am. Back at it. I have a lot to share/say and no outlet to do so... so I've decided to see if I can keep at this blogging thing. We shall see if this is the last post for 2012 or not, haha!

I recently signed up for a Wordpress account because one of my friends have started using that for their organization's site. I really have not played with it enough, but I am just wondering if maybe there are better blogging sites out there. Not that it would matter, really, because, how fancy could one really stand to have their blog be?

Well, hope to post again soon!

The Lexus IS of the Computer World

It's been a while since my last post here... but this new iMac is just making me want to do everything online so much more than before. I picked up the base 21.5" iMac - the smallest of the best. So superior to a Windows machine on the inside and outside. I'd consider this all-in-one desktop to be like the Lexus IS series of the computer world.

I've already hooked up my keyboard controller and played on Garageband for a bit earlier. I can't wait to try out the HD webcam on Skype and play some games on here. Oh, I forgot to mention, this computer was purchased with my excess financial aid; I bought it to do my online Master's program... and apparently, other things, too!

Next thing - the iPad 2... just for fun!

The Nic House Project - Episode 2 - The Initial Meeting

The Waiting...

After a mix-up with the location of our meeting, I finally got to talk face-to-face with the contractor that my friend had referred me to. I'm working with a team from Hilo-based company, Dennis Delfin Contracting. They seem like a really good team for such an important life project, and I am glad to have met with them today. Oh, and how very typical "Hilo," Dennis is my dad's classmate. Of course... :)

The Questions and Answers

The draftsman (Clint) went on his merry way asking questions. I don't know if I was very good with the answers. :( Yikes.

Clint: Slab or post & pier?

Nic: Slab cuz it looks nicer. (I refrained from an extended answer including cobwebs and weeds...)

Clint: What kind of roof?

Nic: Regular...? OH! The kind where extending would be easy if I needed to extend later on.

Clint: What kind of ceilings?

Nic: Umm, not open beam but not flat

Clint: Flat ceilings are cheapest

Nic: Okay, flat. Plus, I can reach the light bulbs, right?

Clint: Cesspool or septic?

Nic: *blank stare* Ummm...

Clint: I'll research that.

Clint: What kind of car do you have?

Nic: *Points to the parking lot* That white one. Nissan.

Clint: Okay. Maybe 5 feet plus 3 feet on each side in the garage?

Nic: Sure. Sounds good.

Clint: What kind of counters?

Nic: Silestone? I saw them at Home Depot

Clint: Okay. Granite is better...

Nic: But, more expensive? Okay, granite!

Clint: We'll figure out your allowances for each feature in the home like the counters.

Nic: Oh, I would show you my scary spreadsheet, but... never mind.

Project Location

I made a quick (and motion-sickness-inducing) video on my lunch break to show the team where things would be as far as driveway and house placement. Not sure if it helped, but you can watch my little video if you want. I also gave them some photos just in case the video was just too.. crappy. :)

What's Next?

After the research is done by the draftsman as to where things are under the ground and how the project will pan out as far as expenses and material allowances, the next step would be getting permits acquired, financing secured and have my spreadsheet of expense allocations fine-tuned - I'm talking serial numbers and measurements for televisions, furniture, you name it! :) We'll save that for another episode.

Praying that the project quote comes within my budget...

Thanks, Dennis, Clint & Keola for a good meeting and for making me feel comfortable with such a large (and expensive) project!