computer use...over the phone

one of the most frustrating tasks is to explain to your parents how to use the computer...over the phone. in college i used to volunteer at a center that taught adult learners how to use the computer. my style of teaching involves providing people the tools, going through the task with the person, and then having them repeat the task without my help. i thought i was a decent computer teacher. i taught these adult learners how to save files, format word and excel documents, etc.
but when it comes to explaining tasks to your parents over the phone, it's a bit aggravating. i once had to teach my dad how to attach a file on an email and then send it to me. He did pretty well, I received the emaiil, and then realized that i could not open the file or convert the file so that i could open. I then had to teach my dad how to save the file with a different extension and then reattach it and email it to me. After another 10-20 minutes, I received the file.

today i had to explain to my mom how to open up a file i sent her, save it to the desktop, open it, and then how to use excel. it was frustrating because she was using an older version of excel and i had to think back about what excel looked like. then to make matters worse, something is wrong with th computer at home so my parents cannot type into any of the MS programs. auughh!!
so word of advice to all those college bound students. teach your parents how to use the computer and email before you leave home. and make sure that they know how to do those tasks.

it's amazing, i take those skills for granted, but apparently it made my mother so tired that she could not type in the wedding list.

things to do in hawaii

one of my friends is going to hawaii on a family trip. he asked for recommendations and places to go, restaurants to try out, etc. so i'll be using this blog to jot down notes when ideas pop up.

random things you should try, but i don't have a favorite place.
hawaiian food-this is a hit or miss. most people have to adjust to the flavors of hawaiian food. it's basically flavored with salt. I don't know what kinds of spices are used in traditional hawaiian cooking. smoked items?
*dim sum-not sure where to go for cheaper yummy type. ala moana hotel has a pretty good one
shave ice (matsumoto's north shore, waiola-in town)

restaurants (pricey..aka fancy date places, but so worth it!)
*alan wong's-asian fusion food
*roy's-asian fusion food. yummy fish

slighty cheaper, but still yummy
*alan wong's pineapple room (macy's ala moana)
*sansei-waikiki (go for half off after 10pm or before 5:30pm on sundays-these specials might only be for locals, i'm not sure)
*verbano on king (italian food cooked by asians. it's slightly different from regular italian, but good)
*tadashi-japanese food, yummy green tea shave ice
*restaurant kuni-japanese food
*shokudo-asian fusion restaurants. portions are on the smaller side ( i guess asian tapas?)
*pietros-asian italian fusion. (my sister's favorite restaurant)

on the go foods-take-out type
*bale-vietnamese sandwiches, it's like a franchise, so some restaurants taste better than others.
*monarch seafood-seafood and chicken are yummy. i think this place is only open for lunch
*char hun sut (sp?) -manapua (aka charsiu bao)
*zippy's ( a little over-priced for local fast food, but i like it. try the chili. i like the veggie chili too)
*kurukuru sushi


food places other people like, but i think it's just okay.
*sam choy's-pricey
*sam choy's breakfast lunch and crab (cheaper)

things to do
haunama bay-snorkeling
diamond head hike
check out chinatown-it's interesting. lots of different types of produce
polynesian culture center (toursits go there. you might want to check out the prices). i remember thinking it was kind of cool when i was growing up.

night scene
sorry i've been out of it so long, i'm not sure.
indigo has happy hour during the weekdays. i think it's half-off martinis. they have a good lychee martini

research

It's that time again. It starts earlier every semester. It's when you have so many things to do that you have to write "Things to Do" lists just to remember to do them. I actually like the rush of it and I do excel under pressure and stress. Then I hit a point when I just want to sleep. Oh well.

Research Tidbits of the Day:
*Do not get Carpal Tunnel in your dominant hand. It slows down productivity a lot!
*Back up your data. You'll thank me later.

my bucket list

my sister and i were talking about that new movie "the bucket list" that is being released this month. she started talking about creating this list for herself and living life to the fullest.
i actually made a bucket list about eight years ago. i never knew the term "bucket list" existed, but i wrote one out for some reason. surprisingly enough i've been knocking things off that list, without referring back to it.

here's some of the things I had on the list:
*go to Australia (done)
*pick fruit from a tree (yeah, this has always intrigued me)(done)
*travel to Japan
*travel to Europe
*travel to Italy (plan to do this in Summer 2009)
*go snowboarding
*participate in an organized sport (done)
*own my omiyage business
*learn ASL
*learn another language
*taste a recipe and create it without a recipe

okay, it's probably not as extreme as the things that are probably on the movie, but it was the list i created a while back.

chambana

Even though Winter is almost here, I love the Fall because of the pretty colors of the leaves. Last Fall wasn't so pretty because it got cold all of a sudden and the leaves just fell. This year, the trees are happy. The four trees in a row are all different colors.

whoo-hoo!

Friday's lab meeting was canceled! That means that if I use one of my saved up 3 unexcused absences, I only have to go to a 2-5pm class on Friday!
Tomorrow-no school
Thurs-Teach from 11-1pm
Fri-Class 2-5pm
Considering I usually go from 9:30-5pm on Fridays, I'm pretty excited!
Now I will spend that time studying (seriously) and cleaning up my apartment b/c my favorite sister in the world is coming to visit me for the first time since I moved to Chambana. The picture is of my sister and me at the "Build a Bear" She bought a tanned Hello Kitty and forced me to pick out clothes for the thing. I remind you that she is my OLDER sister.

Wedding...

on the left is the inspiration for my light green pearlescent wedding invitation. on the right is picture of my work in progress. Yeah, I have a long way to go.

This is my favorite bridesmaid bouquet at the moment. It's from some floral site, I'm not sure which one, so I can't cite it.
The bridesmaids will be wearing this dress and sash. See it matches the invitations.