The National - Sorrow (Live Directors Cut)

fell in love with the National's "Bloodbuzz Ohio" several months ago...lately it's been "Sorrow." would like to see them live. watch the vid in HD, just ignore the squeaks towards the end!

photoshoot NGs

a couple months ago a friend at the dept of public works needed some help with a photoshoot for their new collabo tee with filtrd...although i wasn't sure i was the right person to help out, i was glad to be of service :) i had a blast that day, matt busted out his showtune collection to make me feel more comfortable and mike (the photog) and i discussed our mutual love for the colts. mike had the hugest lighting contraption umbrellas i've ever seen. he is a lighting genius btw. i'm not used to studio/indoor photography so i was really curious about what he was doing with all of his lighting equipment. so fascinating. i finally got the pics the other day, and i was told that i could have my way with them. muhahaha. so here are some of my faves that didn't make it on their site: 

there's matt on the right -->

all photos by mike orbito
assisted by matt yee
styling by melanie shoda
hair/makeup by me
tacos by matt yee/melanie shoda (yum!)

PASSION PIT + ALT/AIR

this is super late but i'm finally getting a chance to just sit down and not do anything! translation: blog. it's been madness this past month. the passion pit + alt/air concert was on dec 12, and i am only now able to write about it. i had to go through such an ordeal to go to the concert, and it was so worth all the effort! it was originally supposed to be held on dec 11, and i was so happy because i was already off that day. then they changed the date on us ($&#*!) and i found out i was working that day and i felt the world collapsing around me. thankfully i found someone to switch with me literally 4 days before the concert so i could go!!! and thanks to mk for reserving me a spot on the guest list, that way i could use my tickets for my friends to go. everything fell into place and we all had an amazing time. passion pit and alt/air were crazy good...wanted to hear "cuddle fuddle" but that's okay, at least they performed "sleepy head." picked up the alt/air ep that night, and the recording sounds so amazing! very professional and high quality. great job, dean! and of course to the charismatic and talented alt/air duo..

birthday/christmas brunch

after all of this holiday madness, my family and i finally got to celebrate my birthday at the hawaii prince court buffet today. unfortunately i was hungover so i couldn't enjoy it as much as i normally would (ie didn't eat my usual 20 crab legs) dammit! i will never again drink the night before i know i'm going to a buffet. despite being hungover, i had a good time. had one of the best omelettes in a while and got to watch my family stuff their faces. my brother might need a triple bypass after all the bacon he ate and i liked watching my dad help himself to seconds of pho and almond tofu. he's a finnicky eater so it's always fun seeing him eat a lot. we just had to check his pockets for silverware before we left, but otherwise it was all good.

his second bowl

you will not understand the amount of time it took to get the following photographs of my brother and i. oh. my. gosh. my parents are going senile and have forgotten how to use a point and shoot. i think it took about 20 min but my brother and i were determined to get the pics. at one point my mom told us to take pics of each other because she didn't believe that our photog skills were better than her photog skills.

taken by my brother (ordered by my mom)

frustrated

after 20 min, she finally gets the camera to work but gets this shot instead

success!!!

it would've been funny to post outtakes but frankly there were hardly any outtakes to post. neither parent was capable of pressing down on the shutter long enough, so nothing would show up. over and over. they kept saying, "okay i took it," and, "did i take it?" and nothing would appear. you cannot write this shit. we were so unbelievably frustrated but it was hilarious at the same time. parents, i tell you.

checkin himself out

happy holidays!

dinner at morimoto waikiki

celebrated my birthday dinner at morimoto waikiki last week, and my girlfriends were so generous and sweet in treating me to the omakase tasting!  the food was presented beautifully and the restaurant itself was gorgeous. thank you so much for everything :) xoxo

full review of the place still to come on yelp! 

I heart NY

here are some pics from my trip to new york in november. one week went by way too fast! didn't get to do all of the touristy stuff so i have an excuse to go back :) had such a good time just exploring the different areas of the city...although i only got to see a 1/537th of it. fell in love with brooklyn heights, which was where i stayed (thanks to a friend's sister and bf), brownstones, lombardi's pizza, freeman's restaurant, and central park. caught a NY giants game at new meadowlands stadium, where i froze my ass off and drank the most expensive domestic bottled beers ever. my week was jam-packed with stuffing my face and museums galore, hanging out with old friends and new. best trip in a while..i needed that! and best of all, the weather was beautiful all week.

p.s. i am determined to own a brownstone one day!