i went to japan in 1992 to persue a career as a salary man. i had my college degree, resume, and drive to make it. till this day, some people think i was joking but i wasn’t. i went to liberty house(now macy’s) and spent a thousand dollars on 2 suits a week before i left to japan. i sold everything i owned in hawaii including my car, tv, and even gave my prized pet fish to my friend. as for those suits, i tried it on once at my house before i left and that was the last time i ever took it off the hanger. now that i think back, what would have ever happened if i took the road of a salaryman in japan? i know i wouldn’t be as happy as i am now but i’m a little curious. would i be all white? would i be an alcoholic? would i be successful? would i be just a weekend surfer? or would i have quit my job and went back to surfing? yeah, probably that. but at least i tried. now that i think about it, i took the chance and found the right road. through surfing, i got to see the world that i would have never been able to see. it made me a lot smarter, and much more appreciative of what i have. i don’t need a rolex watch, i don’t need a mercedes, and i don’t need a million dollar house. i’m happy with what i have, and the friends i made around this world. i wouldn’t trade it for anything. but from time to time, i always sit down and wonder, “what if”….

good afternoon, just got back from a surf at bowls. the waves were fun and not too many people were out. the weather is nice now as it cleared up. i got to get packing before i miss my flight… see ya..

i went to tahiti about 15 years ago with shuji kasuya and mar ono for a surfing world article. ever since then, i always wanted to go back. well, now i got the chance to go again and i’m so excited that i’m going to piss in my pants. the golden opportunity came up and i’m taking it. for the next 7 days, i’m going back in time to visit what hawaii must have looked like 80 years ago. we’re island hopping and this time, i got my camera….

in a week from today, i should have taken about 5000 photos. well, got to get to the airport before i miss my flight. have a nice day….
**and last, i’ve been throwing away such good photos trying to clean up my computer library. look at these photos of huge pipe last winter i shot from the water. i remember swimming out from the beach that day thinking to myself “what the hell i’m a doing?” yeah, it was 15′ and freaking crazy. surfing it is pretty hard. swimming out there with no board is completely nuts…. check out this gallery before it’s all gone.. deleted forever….

good morning. shark sightings again at waimea bay yesterday. yeah, that’s pretty much guaranteed. if you see a school of bait fish, sharks will come in for lunch. and the bait fish have been hanging out at waimea for a few days now. and as long as the bait fish are there, the sharks will be too. speaking about sharks, takeshi from saitama sent me an email asking about the recent skin diver show. i guess he watched it online from japan. anyway, he wanted to know if the sharks we were diving with bit anyone. no they didn’t. but they kept on bumping me in the head and if i didn’t have a hood on, i probably wouldn’t have my ears…. as for the waves, it’s still pitch dark outside. it’s 5:45am and want to get an early morning surf. i’m out of here. have a nice day…

i was at wallmart the other day and they had the christmas trees out already. isn’t it too early? christmas? oh my gosh. i better go out and buy me a present… haha…

the moniz kids quiver on the north shore…

seth and josh were watching the x-cel pro contest online. it’s weird to be watching it live from a couple of blocks away….