Life Unraveled

I noticed something on Thanksgiving day.  I was scrolling through my Facebook news feed and hitting the "like" button on pretty much every other post I saw.  I was thoroughly enjoying my virtual Thanksgiving as I perused a ton of thankful posts, expressing gratitude on everything from the joys of eating cranberry sauce from a can, to hearing a small child express what he was grateful for at the holiday dinner table.  All of it made me smile.  I began hitting the "like" button as if it were my job, and I must say I liked it.  Alot .  It was clear to me that everything is exactly what we make it to be.  On Thankful Thursday, Facebook became a tool that (by and large) was used to spread joy, gratitude and love.  I think sometimes it can be easy to forget that through this one website we are able to connect with each other in ways that can actually be uplifting and profound.  Amidst the daily jokes, ...

Sometimes I swear I can hear my grandmother's voice.  Tonight as I maneuverd my way through the busy mall, I could swear she was right there with me.  I'm not sure what triggered this particular visit.  But as I strolled along, I knew that I was not alone.  Not by a long shot.  My mom's mom, or Nani as all of her grandkids affectionately referred to her, was right there with me every step of the way.   It wasn't like a flood of memories came rushing back and brought her to mind.  No, it was more like her whole presence was there with me.  Still is now in fact.  I can feel it .  Nani has been gone from this earth for a long time, about 18 years or so if I am not mistaken.  I think of her often, and she visits me in my dreams quite a bit.  To say that I think she is watching over me most of the time is probably very accurate, at least as much as th...

We are all hiding something.  I am convinced of this.  Fact is, we are probably hiding more than we care to admit.  I contemplated this when I heard about the sex scandal surrounding Jerry Sandusky and Penn State.  I don't want to rehash any of the sordid details.  I will leave it to the media to air out all of the dirty laundry, since that is what they appear to do best.  No, what I really want to consider is how any human being can hide such indignities.  How can anyone smile, laugh, go about their daily business, and portray himself as a do-gooder when behind the scenes he was attacking and violating young boys?  And almost as shockingly, nobody seemed to have a clue as to what was really happening there.  At least they never admitted it, let alone tried to stop it.  Not his wife.  Not his friends.  Not Joe Paterno.  Nobody .  I could sit and judge this whole episode...

Looking back on a day that got away: 7:40am:  Woke up after 9 hours of sleep.  Felt fresh, ready for the day, and proclaimed to myself that it was gonna be a great one.  8:30am:  Made some coffee.  Fully caffeinated too, not the wimpy half-caf I have gotten used to.  Loved every sip.  The energy was building.  Yep, it was gonna be a good day. 10:00am:  Arrived at work.  Surveyed the situation.  Co-workers feeling sick.  One never even showed up.  Who cares!  I can carry everyone.  Maybe it was the caffeine talking, but I was convinced.  It was gonna be a good day, damn it.  Laughed and chatted with some regular customers.  So far, so good.  12:30pm:  Been on the register for hours.  Short-handed staff.  Non-stop line.  Coffee buzz wearing off.  Getting hungry.  Maybe I just need to sit down for a few minutes.  And oh by the way, is it me or does...

Here is the scenario:  a young man drops a stack of books as he is walking by you.  He may or may not have been distracted by his cell phone as they come crashing to the ground.  Maybe he was just in a hurry, who knows.  Do you: a) Stop whatever you are doing and help him pick them up, b) Observe it all but still keep walking, or c) Have no reaction completely. You missed the whole thing.  Heck, you have your own crap going on! Such was the social experiment being conducted for a psychology class by a collegiate friend of mine and her fellow classmates earlier this week in busy downtown Honolulu.  One member of the group would walk along innocently and get distracted, dropping his books and papers into a messy pile on the sidewalk.  Then the real fun begins.  Time to observe the reactions!  I sat and watched probably ten rounds of this little "candid camera" moment.  What did I see?  Well, more often...

There is so much to be grateful for.  I love when I realize it at the strangest times. Yesterday was a typically hectic Friday morning at work (does everybody want coffee on Fridays or what?).  So there I was taking orders, chatting with our regulars, and swinging back and forth between probably ten different tasks when I bent down to open the small refrigerator that holds our breakfast sandwiches.  As I opened it, a singular thought scrolled through my head, as if someone was actually whispering the words directly in my ear, loud enough to be heard over the music and din of conversation that was erupting all around me.   It was this: I am so grateful to have this job.      Wow, I thought.  I  am grateful. This realization helped keep me focused and light all the way through the morning rush, long after my espresso buzz had ceased.  ...

I didn't know Steve Jobs.   In fact, before today I hadn't given him much thought.  Of course I knew he was the Apple guy.  I also knew he was the Macintosh guy back in the day, when I was a precocious second-grader and would spend hours playing "Lemonade Stand" on one of his bigger-than-a-breadbox creations from the 80's.  I knew he was a rich man, perhaps the richest of them all.  But today upon hearing of his passing, I read some of his quotes.  It was then that I realized, hey, maybe I do know Steve Jobs.  Maybe we all do.  And no, I'm not smoking anything.  I heard the news of his passing via Facebook.  That is pretty much how I get all of my news these days.  I looked at Facebook on my smartphone, and while I do not own the iconic I-Phone, the device I used was undoubtedly inspired by Mr. Jobs' creations at Apple.  I scrolled through many of my friends' posts, all wishing him godspeed.  ...