can you believe today was my first day off since i came back from the mentawai? and before i left, i don’t even know when i had a full day to go play. last night, my job for today was cancelled. then i get a call from my dive friend shawn who also hasn’t been able to dive for a while because of his job. i really wanted to stay home today, turn on my air conditioner, and relax. but when somebody invites me for a dive, there’s no way i’m turning it down. i wake up at 4am, i drive to hawaii kai, hook up shawn’s boat, drive to waianae, and dive all day. i surely needed some really deep breaths!

you couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful day. going on my boat gives me a little stress because i have a big responsibility. so when i go on my friends boat, i can just sit back and relax.

i forgot to take my fin socks so i started getting blisters on my feet. went back to the boat, taped it up, and dove all day. shawn tells me that we were going to start off shallow. my first drop was 40′ or 12 meters. that’s shallow to him. my breath holding felt pretty good all day long. felt super relaxed deep on the bottom lying down waiting for the fish.

see that broom fish? the colorful one? that is the best sashimi hawaii has to offer. when i seen that, my mouth started to water. now it will be one of my fresh dinners this week.

i’ve heard a lot about this guy Vernon Takata. he’s won many free diving tournaments, been in all the skin diving magazines, and on tv regularly. today i was a student. i just watched as these professionals did what they do best. check out this huge flounder!

on our last dive, a mother dolphin and her newly born baby swam right by us. a great way to end the day.
south shore swell came up. i’m going surfing tomorrow morning. my body and soul couldn’t feel any better!

i surfed with the coolest couple from Shizuoka yesterday. Mr. and Mrs. Tomita, one longboard, one shortboard. we surfed for 3 hours and caught so many long waves. then ate curry, talked, laughed, and had a great time. Mahalo to the both of you and hope you enjoy the rest of your stay in Hawaii.

ok, i have to say that my sister is getting good at photography. this is one great photo! and after i finally get the same lens she has, she goes and buys another one. i swear that Canon is a smart company. kind of like Apple where you need everything they make. i’m going broke trying to keep up with technology and my sister. haha.

ok, i bet my sister doesn’t have a photo like this. i took this on the 4th of july from the ilikai hotel. not bad for a surfer yeah? haha.

and i bet my sister doesn’t have a shot like this. i took this from the Ilikai looking up at the Modern Hotel. haha. the Modern Hotel promotes its privacy. i don’t think so! haha.

after taking these photos to adjust my lens, i told myself that i would never stand on any hotel balcony naked ever again. haha.

and last, been getting so many comments on my new wetsuit. i just wanted something different so i ordered a front zip 2mm white wetsuit with one arm black. i got so many good compliments. one guy even ran up to me as i got out of the water and asked “hey, where can i get one of those cool wetsuits?” well, here it is! it’s called a Dove Wetsuit and i’ve been using it for the past 20 years. and if you know me, i only use the best! CLICK HERE TO GET THE BEST WETSUIT IN THE WORLD!

remember i had to do a banzai toast at my friends wedding? well, it was my time to get called up for the official good luck toast at probably the most formal and expensive wedding ever in hawaii. i had a few drinks and was feeling good. no planning in my speech as i was going to go up, try to embarrass the groom for a minute, then do a good luck kanpai. my friend john has been embarrassing me for the past 22 years. from running up and down the streets in Niijima Island drunk and screaming out my name, to pulling up to a bunch of japanese tourist girls in waikiki, rolling down my window, and yelling my name out. yeah, he always stops on the side, rolls down my window, yells “kirby fukunaga, go-naminori!” i try to roll up my window but he locks it down, sits there, and just laughs. the girls standing on the side of the street look scared as shit. but john just stays there and laughs his head off. that’s probably one of the reasons this site has so many viewers. haha. john also goes to clubs, acts crazy, and tells people he’s me. he also use to call my house at 3am in the morning and when my message recorder goes on, he voice records adult videos. yeah, imagine getting a call late night, wondering who the heck it is, then when the message recorder turns on, you hear adult porno stars having sex. and not just for a few seconds, he keeps recording it for minutes. and in the background, i can hear john laughing his head off. then i start laughing and can’t go back to sleep. haha.

anyway, it was my time. i didn’t want to do a banzai because i have an image of japanese kamakaze pilots yelling banzai before they suicide bombed pearl harbor. then kanpai was just too normal. so i take a chance. want to do something people will remember. i ask the 250 guests to repeat after me. “when i say “Nonde Nonde Nonde” you say NONDE! we did it for 3 times and that was it. i drank a sip of jack/coke, and that was it. john and i along with many many of my japanese friends played these drinking games for the past 22 years and i just thought it would be appropriate. haha. NONDE NONDE NONDE!!!!