Congratulations Marty!

Legendary director FINALLY won an Academy Award for Best Director last night for his latest film, The Departed. The icon had been previously nominated 6 times without winning for landmark films such as Raging Bull and Goodfellas but he finally got his long overdue award. I thought The Departed was an excellent film and glad it won the Best Picture award even though I haven't seen the other nominees. But just the fact that it was based on an excellent Hong Kong flick made it my sentimental favorite.

And speaking of...I wish these damn Hollywood people would do their homework! During the Oscar ceremony, after The Departed won the award for Best Adapted Screenplay, the announcer stated that it was based on the JAPANESE film Infernal Affairs! I mean come on! That's just disrespect! And then this morning as I was getting ready for work I had ABC news on and the reporter said that The Departed was a remake of a CHINESE film. It makes me want to throw up. What, all the Asians are the same to these people?

At least Scorsese had the respect to mention the Hong Kong writers and director of the source film in his speech. Now that's a class act.

I also wanted to say that I was very disappointed that Eddie Murphy didn't win for Best Supporting Actor for Dreamgirls. Granted, I haven't seen either his film or the performance that won, Alan Arkin in Little Miss Sunshine, but I just wanted Eddie to win cuz I like his films a lot and the man is a Hollywood icon. You could see the disappointment on his face when they didn't announce his name. What does Hollywood have against box office stars? Give them their due when they deserve it! Tom Cruise is waiting for his Oscar too!

Volunteering at the SBS Open

Did a volunteering gig with Wayne's World this past weekend at the LPGA's opening event of the year, the SBS Open. Volunteered on Friday and Saturday, the last 2 rounds, from about 6:30am to 5:00pm on the first day, and from 8:00am to 5:00pm the Final Round.

Volunteers rise early and gather for their assignments.We were assigned as on course marshalls for the Par 3 13th hole.After a quick free breakfast of bagels, danish, muffins, and coffee, we were on our way. We got hooked up with this cool older fella who's been doing this for a couple of years and he showed us where we could park on course and also where the good spots were to retrieve balls from the lake and the bushes.

View of the 13th from the green.Just like Augusta!View of our hole from the teeThroughout the day, we were able to see the best female players in the world.

The power group of Lorena Ochoa, Karrie Webb, and another player. I don't think I was supposed to take this shot but I took a chance!Japanese superstar Ai Miyazato had a large following of photographers and journalists.An action shot with both Wayne and LPGA sex symbol Natalie Gulbis.
Here was Wayne's favorite, Thai player Virada Nirapathpongporn.And here's an exlcusive shot of the winner, Paula Creamer! Check out my mad photo skillz! LOLIt was fun to get to see these women up close and personal. You got to see who were buddies and could talk story, while most just hit the ball and didn't say much at all.

I kept special notice of who said hello to us as they walked by to the tee. About 1 out of 10 or so said hello, including Hall of Famer Se Ri Pak and last year's money leader Lorena Ochoa. Morgan Pressel surprisingly went out of her way to say hello both days and even said "thanks you guys for volunteering this week" to us on the final day. Props! I'm also glad to say that my favorite player, Mi Hyun Kim also acknowledged us with a nod hello both days.

All in all, it was a fun experience to see the behind the scenes stuff at a golf tournament. I think next year WW and I might try the walking scoring gig cuz you get to walk the course, although you're with the same group the whole day and can't see everyone like we did this past time.

And the volunteers were very well taken care of. Not only did we receive free golf shirts and visors or caps, we also got a free round of golf at the Turtle Bay Arnold Palmer course, worth around $70-$80. They also threw a party for all the volunteers after the event, feeding us with rice, mac salad, tossed salad, roast pork, shoyu chicken, and cake. There was even beer and wine! Then they topped it off my handing out tons of door prizes such as golf shirts, visors, Titleist and Pinnacle balls, and even 1 night stays at the Turtle Bay, a new 58 degree wedge, and a ukulele worth $500! Unfortunately, both WW and I walked out empty handed.

But it was lots of fun and I'd defintely do it again and I'd recommend it to anyone else who's a golf fan.

Happy (Lunar) New Year!

Today is the first day of the lunar new year, commonly known here as Chinese New Year. It is called 설날 (seolnal) in Korea.

In Korea, this is probably the 2nd biggest holiday of the year after Chuseok. Everyone is given a 3 day holiday and most people either travel to their hometowns or take family trips somewhere.

Tradition for 설날 (seolnal) is pretty similar to Chuseok. The families gather the day before to help prepare for the feast the next day. On the actual New Year Day, everyone wears the 한복, or traditional Korean attire. The younger people do 세배 (saebae) to their elders, paying respect to them by kneeling and bowing in front of them. Then they pay respect to their family ancestors by preparing a large table of various food items (although this is not as strong a tradition in Christian families). Then the entire family gets together and basically eats and plays games together all day.

새해복 많이 받으세요!

Happy New Year!

Las Vegas - Day 3 - Last Day!

Sorry...no photos. Just some boring family pics. I got lazy I guess!

Woke up at around 11am. The elders had a craving for some Korean so we headed down to Kimchi BBQ. We've been to this place the past 3 times in Vegas and I'd definitely recommend it. It's located right across the street from Circus Circus and next to a Walgreen's. If you want to yakiniku meat, it's great for that but since we were there for lunch, we all had a stew or soup of somekind. I had the kimchee jigae.

After lunch, it was time to take my uncle back to the airport for his flight back to LA. That was really cool of him to come by and see us like that, even for a short while. Thanks, Uncle Kevin!

After dropping him off, went back to the Bellagio cuz my dad wanted to play more Carribean Stud. Lost money. Boo!

Then went back to the MGM to shower and rest for a bit. Since we had eaten all kinds of foods already on the trip, we decided to eat at local burger fave Fat Burger, located right across from Monte Carlo. The Fat Deal with a Fat Burger, fries, and drink will run you about $9. If you want to add bacon, a fried egg, chili, or cheese to your burger, it's an extra $1 each. I ordered mine with egg and cheese. Yum! Although to be honest, by that time, I was all fooded out already so I didn't even finish my burger.

After Fat Burger, my sister really wanted to play Pai Gow but since the strip only had $25 minimums for the most part, we took her to Downtown to play at the Cal. Now I know that a lot (and I mean a lot) of local people are in love with this place, but I just don't see it. I feel like I'm in Hawaii when I'm in the Cal and I guess that's the point. You either seek that or you don't. I don't particularly do when I'm travelling to other cities. Plus, I don't know if it was that particular week or what but 75% of the people in the casino were 50+. Where all the young people at?

Anyways, to make my sister happy I played with her for about an hour and a half, doubling and tripling my ususal wager just to make things exciting cuz it's a really slow game. I even got scolded by my fellow table mates cuz whenever the dealer revealed her hand, I would always call out what she had before they arranged their cards. Why? Cuz I was bored and honestly, she was just taking way too long. I guess after a few hands she made a comment saying "Wow, you know what I have before I do!" and I kind of automatically replied, "I'm just trying to help you out, you know, to speed the game along". Well, that got a response out of the table. Kind of like a "Ho, sorry, yeah, Mr. Big Better! This game too slow for you?" And yeah, I know, I shouldn't have said that but it just came out cuz it's truly how I felt. I know, I'm an asshole. I've been told enough times. Well, at least I got paid for my suffering at that table. I made money. Yay! And my sister had tons of fun and made money too. Yay!

Now it was about 2am so we went to go eat at the cafe (I always forget the name) in the corner where they serve oxtail soup. This never disappoints. $6 for a large serving of oxtail? Awesome! Even though we had to wait like 30 minutes to get our order. By the time we finished eating, it was like 3:30am and time to go back to MGM to pack. We had to leave the hotel by 8 to make the flight back to Honolulu.

Got back to MGM at 4 and here's where I realized I was getting old. Usually I'd maximize those last few hours and get some more gaming in. But this time, I just wanted to sleep. Old man now! Scary! So I slep till 6, then packed and checked out.

Overall, it was a fun trip, about as fun as can be when with your folks. To be honest, this trip was more about entertaining them and making sure they were happy than it was about me. So I'm glad my folks and my little sis had fun. I'd do it all over again and probably will.

Las Vegas - Day 2

Day started with me waking up at around 11:30am. Man, did I need those 5.5 hours of sleep after hardly getting any sleep the previous night on the plane!

We headed off to The Bellagio to check out their brunch buffet and also to check out their Chinese New Year exhibit in the conservatory. The Bellagio's Conservatory and Botanical Gardens is always one of my favorite places to visit when in Vegas and the Chinese New Year exhibit did not disappoint. Check out the amazing colors and flowers!This pig (the one in pink, not in blue!) was animatronic and could move its neck, ears, and snout!After visiting the Conservatory, I had built up an appetite and it was off to the Buffet! The Bellagio Buffet is one of my favorites and even though I had to wait in line for 45 minutes just to get seated, it was well worth it. Here's my first serving: bowtie pasta, potatoes, california roll sushi, eggs benedict, and shrimp scampiServing #2: Curry chicken, rice with saffron, link sausage, French Toast, salmon, more shrimp scampi, and more potatoes!Dessert: bread pudding, eclair. The bread pudding was the best I've had anywhere. A must eat!They also had meats like roast turkey, ham, and prime rib available but I didn't want to eat too much meat cuz I knew I was gonna eat prime rib later for dinner.

After lunch, gambled a bit at Bellagio, playing Carribean Stud since the MGM doesn't offer this game. Played for about an hour and won money! Yay! Then I went to the airport to pick up my uncle who was flying in from LA to visit us. Picked him up at 5:30pm and then gambled a bit at the MGM. Lost money! Boo!

We then went for dinner at Lawry's.This place is very similar to the House of Prime Rib I ate at in San Francisco, complete with the tableside spinning salad. Lawry's gives mashed potatoes as a side and while I would've preferred a baked potato like at House of Prime Rib, the prime rib cut was of very high quality and the service was amazing. We had the restaurant manager greet us directly and he even fetched a beer for me! A very enjoyable meal and definitely recommended if you like prime rib.

After dinner, we went to check out the Wynn, a new hotel by hotel mogul Steve Wynn. Wow, talk about high stakes! I didn't see a single table of blackjack that didn't have at least a $25 minimum. So while deciding what table to sit on, I saw one table that had 2 cute Korean girls playing alone so of course I jumped them, er....I mean I jumped on with them. Unfortunately, they started with only $100 each and after a few losses they were out of there. I could even hear them complaining in Korean about the high minimum stake. Oh well, I played a little longer and ended up winning at the Wynn! Yay!

Then it was back to homebase, the MGM. My parents and sister wanted to rest but my uncle and I played till about 6am (yeah, I know, again!). Lost money this time. Boo! I blame it on these idiot hicks who didn't know what the hell they were doing. I mean, come on! Splitting 10s? Hitting on 16 when the dealer's showing 5? Please! Idiots! Not only that, they took forever to make a decision. As Koreans would say, "Jaesoo opsuh!"

Interesting Story #2 - Oh man, is this embarrassing. While at the Wynn, we were getting ready to go so I met up with my folks who were playing slots. I told my mom to go cash in her ticket (worth $5) at the cashier's desk and to come back to where we were. Now, the cashier was literally no more than 100 steps from where we were. But after about 15 minutes, still no sign of my mom. So I start to get worried so my sis and I start walking around the casino to look for her. No sign. Then I hear it. Over the casino's PA system, I hear "...call for .....Choi". I'm thinking to myself...no way that's for me and I continue searching. Then it comes on again and this time I hear it for sure. "Phone call for Mr. Choi. Mr. Myong Choi. Please pick up at a house phone." Oh my god. I couldn't believe it. I knew right away that it was my mom and that she was lost. So while I'm searching for a house phone the message comes on about 3 more times. I'm pleading for the PA person to stop saying my name so the whole casino could hear. I mean, I knew that no one knew me there but still...shame! So I finally get to a house phone and ask my mom where she is. She's at the hotel registration area. Why? I have no idea. Hoo boy!

Las Vegas - Day 1

After the Hawaiian Airlines delay, we arrived in Las Vegas at around 10:30am. The first thing was to pick up the rental car from Alamo. I've found that Alamo offered the cheapest rates the last couple of times I've been to Vegas. I was able to get a full sized car for only $83 for a 3 day rental period. Pretty good! After browsing the full sized car aisle, I could've chosen either a Ford Taurus, Pontiac Grand Prix, etc. But I decided to go with the Hyundai Sonata. Gotta support my brothas! Actually, I remembered the Sonata getting pretty good reviews so I figured I'd give it a shot. The car was great, by the way.After meeting up with my sister, we went to go eat breakfast at The Omelet House. I found out about this place by doing some research on the internet. After eating there, I'm pleased to announce that it lives up to its reputation. I'm not usually a big omelet guy but I really enjoyed my order. It was called the "Popeye" and consisted of spinach and mushrooms. Look how cheesy!After breakfast, we checked into our hotel room at the MGM Grand. The last few times I've been to Vegas with my family we've stayed at the Main Street but I wanted to upgrade this time. The room was fantastic. Nice and spacious and oh so fancy! Even the linens on the bed felt really luxurious. Highly recommended hotel! The room cost me $425 for 3 nights. Very well worth it!We then went for a drive to check out Fashion Outlet in Primm. I don't really care for this mall too much but my dad wanted to check out this store cuz they sell cheap Italian made clothing. While my sis and I were waiting, we took some photos to kill time. Doing the Asian thing!After shopping, we went to go eat dinner at Main Street's Buffet. We specifically wanted to go there for their ox tail stew which is winnahs, and I even called ahead to make sure that it'd be on the menu for the night. When we got there, however, we discovered that there was no ox tail stew on the menu! Those liars! Oh well....

Then it was off to watch "Ka", the Cirque de Soleil show at the MGM Grand. I splurged for some good seats and they were well worth it! The show itself was pretty impressive and I especially like the technical aspects of it and also the parts that featured martial arts. The stage was amazing! Overall, I was not totally blown away by the show but it was still entertaining. I'd give it an 8 out of 10.

After the show, I was finally able to get some gambling in. Played about 5 hours of blackjack from 1am to 6am and ended up exactly even for the day. Not a bad start!

Interesting story #1: At about 4am, I was looking for a blackjack table and saw one with a few slots open. One of the guys already on the table was a bald Hispanic guy with tattoos all over wearing a white wife beater tank top and blue jeans. He had obviously been drinking a lot. I thought twice about joining his table but then thought to myself, I don't want to be a victim to stereotype so I gave him the benefit of the doubt and joined him. He turned out to be a great guy and we were fist bumping each other after every hand we won. Then a couple wanted to join the table but there were no two spots next to each other available. They asked the Hispanic man if he could move one spot over so that they could sit together but he declined, saying he was having good luck in his spot.

That's when the pit boss stepped in. He told the couple that the Hispanic guy couldn't hold that particular spot and that if they wanted to sit together, that they could. So the Hispanic guy had to move over. I thought that this was wrong already. You don't move a guy over if he doesn't want to. Let the couple sit one spot apart. Big deal! Then, what happened next totally blew me away. The couple apologized to the Hispanic and thanked him for being understanding. The Hispanic said something like he didn't like being moved like that but will do it just for them. Then the pit boss stepped in again and said to the couple "If anyone on this table starts giving you any trouble, let me know right away and I'll have security take care of it right away". What? Where the hell did that come from? The Hispanic guy had made no action that was worthy of such a warning except to complain a little (rightfully so) about being moved.

Obviously and understandingly, the Hispanic was upset about this comment and started to accuse the pit boss of being a racist and stereotyping him. I have to say that I agree. That was totally wrong. I mean, the guy was a little tipsy and sure, he didn't look like your typical high roller but everyone deserves equal treatment unless they behave otherwise. The pit boss's reaction was totally uncalled for. Anyways, the Hispanic was so pist he played just one more hand and then went away, which was probably what the pit boss wanted anyway. That's just so so wrong.

Another Korean Actress Suicide

Well, I made it back from Vegas. I had a great time but as soon as I hit the plane coming home, I was hit by a mean cold or flu or something and am now sick as a dog. I'll be posting some pics from my trip very shortly.

But this news item shocked me as I went on the internet for the first time in 4 days. Another young Korean talent has taken her own life. Actress Jung Da Bin, only 27 years old, was found dead in her boyfriend's apartment in an apparent suicide. She was probably most well known for her starring role in the mega popular Korean drama "Attic Cat" aka "Rooftop Romance". She was a great actress and this is another sore loss for the Korean entertainment industry after the recent suicides of two other stars, actress Lee Eun Joo and singer Unee.

I've read from as early as last year that Jung was suffering through depression and was having a hard time with her new management company. This is really sad news. I'm gonna miss seeing her on TV.

RIP

Not A Good Start!

Right at this moment, I should be sitting at the airport gate, awaiting takeoff in about 55 minutes. But no....I get to the airport and find out my flight's been delayed...by over 4 hours! The Hawaiian Airlines flight was scheduled to depart at 10:55pm, but now won't leave til 3:15am due to some mechanical difficulties in Seattle. That sucks, man!

So since I live so close to the airport, I decided to cough up the $10 cab fare each way to come back home and relax comfortably until the plane arrives rather than spend 5 uncomfortable hours at the airport. You can't put a price on comfort. At least Hawaiian Airlines gave everyone a $100 credit voucher for my future Hawaiian Airline purchase within the next year. That's pretty cool. That's pretty much a free inter-island fare. Not bad compensation.

I just hope that this start isn't a bad omen for the rest of the trip!

First LA, now New York. Go Chan Ho Park!

I just read on ESPN.com that Chan Ho Park has reached a verbal agreement to play for the NY Mets this upcoming season. Now, I'm not a baseball fan by any means, but I do like to see my brothas succeed in the big leagues. And Chan Ho was the very first Korean to make it into the show so I guess he's kind of like our Jackie Robinson. Too bad this contract is only for $3 million, a big step down from his 5 year, $65 million contract with the Texas Rangers.

Actually, this dude's had a pretty impressive career with an overall record of 113-87 and an ERA of 4.37. Very respectable numbers. He was even an All Star one year. But for me, I'll always remember Chan Ho for 2 things:

1) He gave up 2 grand slam HRs to the same guy in the same inning. If you're gonna screw up, might as well screw it up royally to make history! You go boy!

2) He is the only pitcher I've seen who's thrown a jumping taekwondo kick when the batter was charging him after getting beaned by the baseball.

Now that's a real Korean! LOL

Sin City, Baby!

I'm off to Vegas tonight for a 3 day trip! Not much planned besides going to watch Ka at the MGM, where I'll be stayiing. Wish me luck! This is what I hope to be doing...

Super Bowl Recap

Yay again! Got a lot of "amusement" out of the Super Bowl if ya know what I mean as the Colts beat the Bears 29-17, easily covering the spread of 7 points. It looked a little dicey after that initial kickoff return from Chicago but I just told myself to think of the BCS Championship game where Ohio State did the same thing only to get trounced by Florida (I got some amusement out of that one too).

So what commercials didja like the best? For me, the following really made me laugh:

1) Bud Light - English speaking school. Politically incorrect, but oh so funny!
2) Bud Light - Rock Paper Scissors. The first Super Bowl commercial is usually the best one.
3) Garmin - GPS Ultra Man vs the Map Monster. Sweet!
4) Bud Light - The slap is in, the fist bump is out!
5) Nationwide - K-Fed rapping. Yep, I laughed!

Oh, and didja notice former Hawaii resident and Miss Universe Brooke Lee in the Sprint broadband ad? You go girl!

Yay!

Oceanic announced today that they will be broadcasting the Super Bowl in HD after all! Yay! CBS was the only major network yet to receive the HD signal here in Hawaii for Oceanic subscribers and it seems like someone at Oceanic woke up and realized that what's right is right. Now, this will only be a temporary thing but I don't care. Football in HD is da bomb, yo!

Pretty Funny Joke

I thought this was pretty funny...

The boss had to fire somebody, and he narrowed it down to one of two people, Debra or Jack. It was an impossible decision because they were both super workers. Rather than flip a coin, he decided he would fire the first one who used the water cooler the next morning. Debra came in the next morning with a horrible hangover after partying all night. She went to the cooler to take an aspirin. The boss approached her and said: “Debra, I’ve never done this before, but I have to lay you or Jack off.” “Could you jack off?” she says, “I feel like shit.”