i was invited again to a private school as a guest speaker. the topic “Tohoku.” it’s later this month so i thought i’d start to prepare. so i spent 4 hours going through photos of the missions in tohoku. to tell you the truth, it was sad, happy, and just so mixed emotionally. going through the thousands of photos really was hard for me to relive again. but it also makes me much stronger as a person. sometimes i forget the simple things in life, and seeing what the people lost makes me realize what’s important, and what’s not.

i met Azumi-san for the first time right after the tsunami. it was right here in this place where his surf shop once stood. he lost it all. i still remember walking over the rubble with him listening to his chilling stories. this was 4.5 years ago.

then this was 10 days ago. i think of Azumi-san like a brother. this guy totally inspires me each time i see him. his smile lights up the room. he’s a surfer, he’s a brother, and he’s an inspiration. i think i should share this story with the school kids. tell them that if you keep positive and look forward, good things will happen. this is a perfect example of that.

the waves finally came down to out come all the beach bunnies! so happy to see everybody enjoying this beautiful day!

then on the way in, i see a familiar face. a familiar face i’ve never known until my last trip to tohoku. Ishikawa-san shared me her story how her sister told her about the boat i found on the beach. it was this girl Chizu-san that connected us and made it all happen. it’s a pleasure to finally meet you Chizu-san!

the more i do yoga, the younger i feel. i love it. namaste.

new york approved today the $15/hour minimum wage for fast food workers. i feel happy for the workers, but i feel sorry for the companies. there will be a lot of unemployment to come. stay tuned.
here are the current minimum wages as of now:
New York: $8.75/hour
Hawaii: $7.75/hour
Japan: $6.45/hour or 780 yen/hour

omg, woke up this morning to the terrible news about the flooding in japan. this is so crazy! and so sad. just one natural disaster after another.

the weather in the world is just not normal this year. el nino making the water too warm so typhoons, hurricanes, and huge storms popping up everyday. and creating disasters like this.

i just hope everyone is safe.

and this woman videographer tried to act like the police and trip this poor man and kid fleeing syria for their lives. she ended up getting fired.

she wasn’t only unthoughtful, she created a dangerous situation for both the father and kid. if i was her boss, i wouldn’t have fired her. i would have put her on assignment in syria on the front lines forever. then when she tries to flee from ISIS, i would trip her myself. opps, sorry. i just think reporters should be there to only report. not to change the fate of peoples lives.

seeing these photos is sad. you have a father and son running for their lives. now they get caught and are in a lot of pain and trouble.

and now to crazy news right here in hawaii. a 19 year old girl got off the bus yesterday in Kapolei at 1pm. a man grabbed her neck and dragged her into the bushes and tries to rape her. mid-day in Kapolei? that’s crazy! is this really paradise?

after waking up to all the sad news, i just turned off my computer. picked up Fujita-san and took him for the most beautiful day of surfing. the waves, weather, and water was awesome. made me forget for a few hours of all the negative things going on in this world. what would i do without surfing? i really don’t know.

Shark vs. Marlin
Good morning 6am.
South swell down.
Chest high sets at Ala Moana.
Diamond Head shoulder high.
Light South winds so clean morning conditions.
Sun, clouds, rain, thunder, flooding.
Going surfing.
Have a wonderful day!