Lebron is getting....... BETTER!!!

Lebron James has finally evolved into a clutch player. I feel that this was the only area that he had a lot of room to improve on, and a very important one. The Heat vs. Bulls series has made me a believer. In game 2 and today's game 4 he was the epitome of clutch, scoring huge baskets down the stretch in the fourth quarter. I mean, of course Lebron has had clutch performances in the past. But it just didn't seem like he could bring it consistently. I somehow get the feeling that he has finally turned the corner and now will be a consistent clutch performer. Lebron is also now capable of playing defensive player of the year type d. If u saw today's game, u saw him locking up MVP DRose in the fourth quarter. Man, it's unreal when u think about it. This guy had the most hype EVER coming out of high school, and he's actually surpassing the hype! Go Heat!

Dunk of KD's career so far! Loving this year's playoffs!

So who are you rooting for in the NBA final four? I personally am rooting for the Miami Heat. But you know, I'd be happy for any of these four teams that are battling it out. If the Mavs win, I'd be happy for Jason Kidd and Dirk Nowitzki, two very deserving Hall of Famers. If the Thunder win, I'd be happy for KD and company for winning it all at so young an age. Lebron James, Dwayne Wade, and Derrick Rose are my favorite players in the league, so obviously I'd be happy if either the Heat or Bulls take the trophy.

Flakiness is sooooo annoying!

It's such a simple situation, if you say you're going to do something, then do it! If not, then don't say you will in the first place. Especially if you don't even have the courtesy to let the other person know that you've changed your mind for whatever reason. If you do have a good reason, then obviously it can be forgiven. But even if you don't have a good reason, it's always best to let the other person know what's going on. Instead of leaving the person hanging, wondering what's happening. Golden rule people, treat others how you want to be treated.

Kentucky's gonna be stacked once again next year.

I've been watching a lot of the high school all star basketball games and the player that has impressed me the most is Mike Gilchrist. He already is an extremely complete basketball player, very talented on both ends of the floor. I think most people rate Austin Rivers as the best in the class of 2011, but I disagree. Yes, Rivers is an immensely gifted offensive player, but I've noticed that he is a bit of a ballhog and he hasn't impressed me on the defensive side of the ball. I would easily recruit Gilchrist over Rivers.

Food Pics

This is the "brownie sundae cheesecake" from The Cheesecake Factory. I give it 3.5 out of 5 stars. It's a little too sweet and rich for my taste. The brownie portion is very dense, I would prefer it to be lighter and more airy.

This is the "boneless kalbi" from Koreamoku BBQ. Unfortunately this is the first thing I tried from there that I didn't like. It's just my luck that I chose to take a pic of this instead of the other plates I enjoyed from there. It tasted like a simple teriyaki hamburger steak that was thin yet still a little tough. 2.5 out of 5 stars.

Ncaa BBall Tournament Action

The tournament has been awesome this year. So many exciting, well-played games. I'm not the biggest college basketball fan, but I'm glad I've been able to catch a couple games in the elite-eight that have been fantastic. I caught yesterday's Arizona-UConn and today's Kentucky-UNC game. Both were immensely fun to watch. Both also had exciting future NBA players. Derrick Williams from Arizona, Kemba Walker from UConn, Harrison Barnes from UNC, and Brandon Knight for Kentucky will all be lottery picks. They all put on a great show in these games.

Brandon Knight

Lil Wayne

separated at birth? lol. ballers in different worlds.

Rodney Stuckey

50 Cent

another one i thought of

and here's a good highlight package of Derrick Williams, you can youtube the others for yourself

Japan earthquake disaster: Warning sign?

I'm not usually a pessimist, but this disaster in Japan has definitely got me worried. What gets me is that Japan has the only tsunami early-warning system in the world. So in that sense, the earthquake happened in the perfect spot. Because obviously the warning can't be early enough when it happens right there. I mean, I'm like everyone else, I hope that the 2012 predictions don't come true. And we should always live life to the fullest... but maybe especially this year.

Good eats on Oahu

Just wanted to mention a few of my favorite places to eat here on Oahu. Here they are in no particular order:

1. Gomatei Ramen is by far my fave ramen place here. The char siu tan tan is my recommendation. The tan tan broth is rich, dark, and extremely tasty. Their char siu is the best I've had: thick, tender, beautifully marbled slices of roasted pork. I also highly recommend their chicken tatsutaage appetizer: deep fried, but still very juicy chicken with a delicious, crispy batter that comes with a tasty citrus sauce. Oh and I've always had excellent customer service here, very rare(check back with my earlier blog, lol).

2. Nico's is a fantastic fish place that was a recent find. I've been there twice now, and it has definitely earned a spot in my food crave rotation. I recommend the furikake ahi: perfectly cooked ahi(still pink in the middle, don't worry the fish is definitely sashimi grade) with a tasty tartar sauce. This is a plate lunch place so you don't get served, but the two times I went, the people at the counter have been friendly.

3. Fresh Catch is another fish place that I love. They also have a wonderful variety of poke. For all the non-locals: poke is a raw fish appetizer in which the fish is marinated and mixed with tasty ingredients such as onions and seaweed. If you love sushi, you'll love poke. I recommend the furikake salmon. Surprisingly, they also have the best cupcakes I've had. They are made by a friend of mine, which is how I discovered the place. But I promise I'm not only saying this to help her out, her red velvet cupcakes are truly delicious. This is also more of a plate lunch place so you don't get served, but the counter people have been good the few times I went.

4. Kakaako Kitchen is a gourmet plate lunch place. All their plates are good, but I almost always order their sweet chili chicken. Deep fried, battered chicken drenched in a sweet, very mildly spicy sauce. Not always the friendliest people at the counter here. And if you called in an order, you have to speak up to get their attention. They won't say anything to you even if they see you waiting. But the food is worth it.

5. Another recent, awesome find is Koreamoku BBQ. They are especially known for their bbq pork ribs, which come in a delicious Korean style bbq sauce and are fall- off-the-bone tender. But I've also had their chicken katsu and mochiko chicken which are both very good. Even their veggie sides are very tasty. I'm excited to try more of their menu. This place does have a few tables so you can sit down and get served if you choose to. I've done both and have received excellent service.

bbq pork ribs


6. I recently got to try Soul, which won the best new restaurant in Honolulu magazine. I went with my sister and we tried the fried chicken and jambalaya. The jambalaya was decent, but I wouldn't order it again. The chicken, on the other hand, was excellent. The batter was perfectly crispy, sweet and delicious. I think I tasted maple syrup, that must be why it goes well with waffles. The chicken was very juicy and tender. The sides were also very good, except for the chili which was a little watery and salty. Maybe it's meant to balance the sweet delicious cornbread that was next to it. The coleslaw was also very good. And that was the first time I had collard greens, they make it with corned beef. I would give it a rating of pretty good, it went well with the other food on the plate. This is another place that you can choose to take out or dine in. We received good, attentive service on our visit.

If I find or think of more places, I'll make another list. Until then, happy eating everyone! Oh and all these places except for Soul are in the 8-12$ range, Soul is in the 15-20$ range. Yeah, I'm not much of a fine-dining guy, simple guy remember? Lol.

Video games are for fun people!

I enjoy playing video games and I have learned that there is another entertainment aspect if you play online. You can laugh at people getting upset at each other while playing. People whining about certain tactics that people use, slinging racial slurs, cussing each other out, etc. It's really pretty sad. Sooo the opposite of what video games are supposed to be all about, FUN!!! If you're going to get so stressed out over a video game, you're better off taking up some sort of solitary hobby, or restricting yourself to playing offline. Because shortening your life over a video game is totally not worth it.

No Basketball?

So I did a search for basketball blogs on here and got no results. Seriously?! So I guess I'll be the first? Basketball is definitely my favorite sport. I don't really have favorite teams, more so favorite players. Right now I like Lebron James, Dwayne Wade, Kobe Bryant... you can probably throw Derrick Rose in there. So because James and Wade are on the same team, I definitely root for the Miami Heat. But man are they in a funk right now. I hope my friend was right when he told me that they'll step up in the playoffs. I think NBA players are the best athletes in professional sports. Running, jumping, and even strength; basketball players are beginning to resemble football players in the muscle department. Lebron James in particular, is unbelievably blessed in the athletic department. These players are so much fun to watch. With all this being said, I still believe the greatest of all time is Michael Jordan. End of discussion. I know this is a blog but..... nuff said.

What is up with women on dating sites?

Where to begin with this one. I might catch a lot of hate on this, but that's what blogging is all about, to get a lot of reaction, right? A lot of women on dating sites say that they probably won't respond to short messages. But what's the point of sending a long one, if they might not even be interested? I mean, I understand if you don't want to respond to a "Hey babe, we should meet up" or something like that, but how about a "Hi there, care to chat some time?" or any other short and respectful message. Plus I have tried sending longer messages as well, and still get no response. When women message me, I always write back, even if I'm not interested. I figure if they had the courage to put themselves out there, the least I can do is respond, politely as possible of course. But the one that really boggles my mind is when a woman joins a chat with me, and then doesn't say one single word and leaves. Why do they even join the chat in the first place? Please someone shed some light on this for me. Tell me what I am missing. I know I am no George Clooney, but I definitely think I'm decent, and I only usually reach out to women that I see have viewed my profile, which should mean that they are at least somewhat interested right? I have met a couple of good friends from dating sites but nothing serious. Do dating sites only work for the people on the commercials? Really seems like it.

Whatever happened to good customer service?

This question occurred to me recently on an outing with a friend as I had what seems to be an ever-increasing experience with bad customer service. We were at a juice place and I ordered a smoothie that was called "tropical strawberry". I guess the worker heard strawberry something else, because she proceeded to make a drink that didn't include the ingredients that were listed under the "tropical strawberry" smoothie. So I repeated my order and she tersely replied that I said strawberry. Then she shook her head in disgust and when I tried to pay with my credit card she told me I had to get into another line because they didn't take credit cards at that counter. So, already annoyed, I entered the other line and when I got to this next worker, she snatched the credit card out of my hand and didn't say a single word during the transaction. Needless to say, I left the place extremely unsatisfied, and yes, the smoothie sucked as well.

Come on people, I know that most people don't like their jobs, but don't take it out on innocent customers. Why can't people live by the golden rule? Treat others how you want to be treated, seems so simple to me.

So I guess I now want to give a shout-out to a couple of companies that do provide excellent customer service. Amazon is definitely high on my list. They always respond quickly to my e-mails. This is rare even from a lot of other big name companies. Amazon also consistently offers the best price on a lot of different merchandise. They also provide free shipping on orders of at least 25$, even to Hawaii.

Another company I want to mention is Discover credit card. They also respond quickly to all my e-mail inquiries. They even saved me from getting ripped off. I had ordered about 150$ worth of merchandise from an online company and never received the merchandise. I tried e-mailing this company and got no response. So I then reported this to Discover. They told me that they would start an investigation and get back to me as soon as possible. Probably within a few weeks, I finally received the merchandise I ordered. It's no surprise that Discover is a leader in customer loyalty.