i went down to kewalo’s to watch the last HSA Event of the year. ended up staying down there for a couple of hours talking to ben aipa. talking about coaching, talking about old times, and talking about japanese pro surfers talent. gosh, the things ben told me made so much sense. it will take me hours to explain but all i have to say is. if ben aipa was to coach the next generation surfers in japan, i’ll guarantee one of them will be the first ever japanese surfer to make the WCT. wanna bet?

the competitors here in hawaii are all friends. here is micah, john john florance, and the other guys that just came out of the heat. the level of amateur surfing in hawaii is blowing up…

went to sam’s club after to eat a half a chicken, 3 scoops rice, and one scoop macaroni salad. gosh, i felt like kalua after i ate this. $5.25. pretty cheap….
**i came back home to watch the volcom contest online. seth and isaiah went down in round 2. nao and kelia ripped and made it to the quarter finals. kelia sent me a text saying nao was ripping. way to go girls…. contest will wrap up tomorrow. well, tonight if your in japan. check it out BY CLICKING HERE….

when i was at kewalo’s yesterday, i saw alyssa walking around selling ear rings. she hand made every single one and even hand made the frame in school. she asked me if i wanted to buy one for $10 to help her raise money for her airplane ticket to the nationals contest in california this june. i couldn’t say no so i bought one. and i don’t even have holes in my ears? anyway, when i see kids with so much determination and trying so hard to make their dreams come true, i will support them 100%. alyssa only has to sell 25 more and one of her dreams will come true. so please support alyssa… and check out ALYSSA’S BLOG….

about the ear rings, i really like them but i don’t think they will match my dress. haha… so i want to give it away to somebody that will make use of them. the first email i get from somebody that has holes in their ears, or has a girlfriend that has holes in their ears, it’s yours. give me your address and i’ll stick it in an envelope and mail it off monday morning….

good morning. 6:30am saturday morning. small waves around the island. knee/waist high in town and looks packed. 9 guys out at rockpiles and 8 out at the bowl. north shore flat. huge typhoon heading to japan. wish i was there…. i’m watching the volcom contest live now. kelia made her heat and nao’s heat is next. yeah!!! have a nice day….

**got an email from reid inouye about the Hard Rock Cafe Series Quiksilver Kewalo Basin Final Showdown. it’s happening today at kewalo’s so go cheer on the local boys and girls. this is kewalo’s local derek wong ripping the rights. photo: bernie baker

for all of you, including myself, that missed the jack johnson kokua festival last month in hawaii. got a treat… the whole concert is on msn video. the video and sound quality is pretty awesome. way better than youtube. i was watching it last night and thought it was pretty cool. check it out by CLICKING HERE….
**one last thing, who got 4th place in the kid’s division at the TSSC users contest at ikumi last month? who ever it is, they forgot their trophy in the dove wetsuit car. i got it from tokura-san the day before i left japan. he thought it was seth’s but it wasn’t. i totally spaced out and forgot. sorry…. please let me know who it was and i will send it to you when i get back to japan. but if you don’t want it, i’ll bring it back to hawaii and put it on my shelf. it’s such a killer trophy….

good evening. small waves around the island today. surfed bowls this morning. knee/waist high but not flat. actually had a fun session… on the way home, kazuko-san told me there were some ono pineapple malasadas at leonard’s bakery so i stopped by to pick some up. the guy told me that was last months special. this months special was the mango malasadas. even better. it was so good….

i see this car all the time in the bowls parking lot. this is what you call a surf mobile….

when i went to check out queen’s this morning. there was this japanese lady and husband walking near the nice grass area. the lady put down her purse and started doing the hula. gosh, it was pretty cool. she must have been in her 60’s but looked as happy as can be. she danced a few songs, picked up her bag, and walked on. only in hawaii….

the first day of the volcome VQS contest went off today. heard the waves were small but big enough for seth and isaiah to make their heats. micah told me seth ripped and won his heat. he’s only 10 but surfing against the best 14 year old groms in the world. 2nd round tomorrow. kelia and nao surf tomorrow too. good luck guys and girls. kelia is in heat 3 and nao is in heat 9. their division is at 7:45am-10.15am tomorrow morning. california is 3 hours ahead of hawaii so wake up early if you want to see the heats. if you in japan, the girls division starts at 11:45pm tonight japan time. support the girls and boys….
**CLICK HERE FOR LIVE COVERAGE….
**and last, check out seth’s first experience with a japanese toilet…. classic….