growing up here in hawaii, i never thought the world had a rubbish problem. i thought it was just common sense to throw rubbish in trash cans. hawaii is very clean, and that’s how i thought the world was. it wasn’t until i went to japan till i noticed a lot of trash on the beaches. then when i went to indonesia, i was in shock. then after going to the philippines, i was in total shock. i traveled throughout asia and it blew my mind on the rubbish problem and how uneducated people are. still till this day, i will never forget the image of the staff throwing over the big rubbish bags into the ocean at night. total disbelief.

the report came out today that there are 8 million tons of plastic in our ocean. that is 16,000,000,000 pounds, or 7,257,477,920 kilograms of plastic floating in the sea right now.

30% of the plastic pollution comes from china. number 2 is indonesia, followed by number 3 philippines. i’ve never been to china before but if there is more plastics in the ocean than indonesia or philippines, that’s scary. we live in a plastic world and scientists say that it will be 10 times worst by 2020.

one major problem are plastic bags. they get caught to marine life and kill them. i’ve seen this with my own eyes many many times.
so what are we doing about it? well, i’m proud to say that hawaii has stepped up to ban plastic bags. yes, there will be no plastic bags starting july 1, 2015. that’s a huge step in the right direction. i just hope other countries will follow. then our ocean will be a cleaner place for the generations and generations to come.

Next Mentawai Boat trip?
Good morning 6:20am.
North shore 6-8′ and bumpy. Surfable.
South shore chest high and super onshore.
Strong South/West winds at 25mph.
Cloudy becoming sunny later.
Going surfing.
Have a wonderful day!

what is a Thai Latte? i have no idea. latte? expresso? frappuccino? what is all that? when i was going to college 25 years ago, all there was was coffee. either black, or with milk or sugar. and that was the last time i drank coffee. yesterday, i go to a cafe and order a Thai Latte, thinking it was tea. when i got it and took my first sip, i tasted the strong coffee. and since i don’t like to waste, i drank it all. shortly after, i felt the coffee buzz! just kept on talking and talking to Kaori-san like i was on a drug or something. i hope i didn’t scare her. haha. then i came home at 7pm. usually i eat dinner, shower, and sleep by 9:30pm. but last night was different. i was cleaning my garage, i was watching tv, i was eating snacks, i was doing head stands, and next thing, i was in bed at 11:30pm. tossing and turning, just couldn’t sleep. felt like it was morning. felt like surfing or diving or anything. kept on looking at the clock and the last thing i remember, it was 1am. woke up at 3am and couldn’t go back to sleep. omg, i will never drink a thai latte ever again. i seriously thought i was on drugs! i could feel my heart beating so fast!

so this morning, i went to calm myself down by going to yoga. been going a lot recently, in fact, almost everyday. good to see the same people enjoying the peaceful time. many japanese there too so making new yogi friends. i haven’t seen so much healthy and happy people all in one room at the same time. when i looked at this photo of myself, i look like i had a party night with a major hangover. but just a little cup of thai latte did this to me. haha.

i went to return the dive buoy and flag i found floating in the ocean last month. i walked into sunshine scuba and the japanese owner happened to greet me. i told him i found his equipment floating in the ocean. he was very thankful and offered me a tshirt. i told him it’s ok. but he insisted and insisted. i kept on saying no and no. but after he said “please please take it,” i took it. now i’m a 5 star sunshine scuba crew! stoked!

thank you Kana-chan for the wonderful gift from japan!

thank you Megumi-san for the honolulu cookies!
the weird weather continues. be patient because summer is right around the corner. good night.