good evening. japan finally cooled down. perfect weather right now. it took me a while to pack my stuff today. i’m ready for a 12 day trip. it’s been a long time and i can’t wait to sip on my margarita under a coconut tree on a white sandy beach[:????????????:]……

look at the forecast for the first day of competition at cloud 9. yes, that’s the philippines right to the left of that typhoon. hip hip horray!!!!

i just read in the newspaper that 1.5 million people die from kitchen smoke. yes, i said 1.5 million…. growing up in america, we take for granted our lovely kitchen stove that we can turn on with a simple turn of a knob. but in other countries like the philippines, indonesia, and vietnam, most families don’t have the luxury of a stove. if they want to cook, they have to gather trees, grass, or bushes and burn it to make a fire before cooking. and the smoke can be lethal. so the next time you turn on your nice stove, think of the people who don’t have that luxury. appeciate what you have because there are a lot of people that aren’t as fortunate. they actually risk their lives cooking for their family…
***and last, just wanted to wish Yoko Furuichi and Happy Birthday!!![:??$B!^(B??????:] check out her blog by CLICKING HERE…..

ohayo gozaimasu. gosh, all the things i have to deal with at airports really got to me yesterday. i usually fly japan airlines so they are pretty cool with things. united is a different story. i left hawaii with only one suitcase. i know i’m allowed to check in two suitcase at 55lbs. each. anyway, my one suitcase weighed 59lbs. the lady at the counter told me i was over and was going to charge me an excess baggage fee. she told me that if i was business class or first class, she would let me slide. but because i have economy class, she had to charge me. gosh, that made me feel good… so i told her i was going to take something out of my suitcase and check it in. she said fine. so i took out my 10lbs diving weight belt and put it on the counter. she looked at it in disbelief and asked me what that was. i told her that was my second suitcase. she looked at me and told me that it’s too small to check in. huh??? too small? now there’s a minimum size? the lady was really unfriendly to me and i know that i was trying to be on my best behavior. traveling all these years taught me that at the check-in counter, they own you. it’s pretty much by their rules. i could just imagine if i had my surfboards with me too. well, if i had my surfboard with me, i would have bought the lady flowers and got down on one knee like a little puppy. that usually works. but gosh, now i really appreciate japan airlines. they are kind and treat customers with respect. the united counter treated me differently. the lady made like i fly on united all the time. she gave me that “don’t you know” face and i hate that. and it sucked that it was in hawaii. i’m going to the philippines tomorrow and am limited to 20kilos to check in. i have 3 boards, my diving stuff, and my camera stuff, and my computer stuff. all probably weighing over 60kilos. i know it’s going to be another nightmare so i’m going to the flower shop before checking in. [:?????(J\(B????????????:]haha….. i know guys paying $2000 USD for their boards sometimes. and i ain’t joking…. so please wish me luck….

i trip out on the toilets here in japan. with the new ones, you walk over, stand up, and the toilet recgonizes you and the seats go up automatic. the first time, it scared the shit out of me. i thought there was a ghost in the bathroom….

see, it went up. and then the seat gets warm, then there is like a slight vacuum to suck up the stinky air from your [:???????????(J\(B:]. then you can shoot a warm stream up your butt to clean it up, then blow dry it with warm air. what an amazing toilet. i’m sitting on one right now…. haha…

i just got my new surfer magazine in the mail. opened it up and i was super stoked because it was like a family issue…..

in the front of the magazine had a roxy ad of kelia. it’s was also the poster for the ROXY WAHINE CLASSIC. i thought it was the roxy jam hawaii poster but it was for a different contest. and it’s a pretty sick photo….

then they ran a big article on indonesia. guys like mick fanning, shane dorian, and jamie o’brien were in it but Bol got the opening spread. sick….

this is mega or “50 Cents”. a super humble, kind, and well mannered kid that let’s his surfing do the talking…

then garut got the ending spread. check out this air he’s pulling on a TSSC mike woo shaped board. garut sent me an email yesterday and told me about a photo he got in the new surfer mag. i didn’t expect it to be this sick. garut’s on fire!!! so this is why this months surfer magazine is like a family issue. these guys are like my family. known them all from little kids. i’m so stoked for them. i’m keeping this mag forever…
**the only thing i was pissed off about was “where was my spread?”…. haha… only joking…