RHS 50th class reunion banquet

On Saturday, David and I drove to the Hale Koa Hotel in Waikiki to attend his Roosevelt High School 50th class reunion banquet.  The Hale Koa Hotel is owned by the U.S. military.  Someone on the reunion steering committee must have belonged to the military in order to reserve the Banyan Tree Showroom there:

One of David’s classmates took our photo.  We are wearing our badges, and I am also wearing the black pendant given to me by my blog friend, Christine (thank you, Christine):

Out of a class of 651 graduates, there were 140 alumni plus their guests at the reunion.  On the screen in the background we saw photos of classmates who died since graduating in 1967.  We were surprised that so many have already died:

Music was provided by the TS Rollers, who sang old, familiar songs:

The buffet table was long and the food was excellent:

Comedian Frank DeLima was hilarious:

I took this photo of the alumni in the courtyard of the Hale Koa Hotel:

A professional took this photo from the second floor of the hotel.  David is wearing a blue shirt and is standing towards the rear on the right:

David and I truly enjoyed the banquet and the fellowship with David’s classmates.  We plan to attend his 55th reunion in five years.

Cooling the dining/family room

Our dining area and family room were too warm for comfort:

Last Thursday, we hired Air Conditioning Concepts to remove the old air conditioner from the right wall (where the blue painting is) and install a new Mitsubishi split air conditioner on the left wall.  The new air conditioner now points toward the dining area:

The 30,000 BTU Mitsubishi is very quiet and efficient:

Now, our dining area and family room are cool and dry.

I recommend Air Conditioning Concepts for the installation and servicing of air conditioners, as they are competent, courteous and reasonably priced.

Tour of Roosevelt High School

Last Tuesday, David toured his alma mater, Roosevelt High School, as part of his 50th class reunion week.  He took some photos.

The school dome:

There were about thirty alumni, who joined the tour.  David is seated in the second row towards the right:

The auditorium:

The football stadium.  The swimming pool is located nearby:

This is the band room, where David rehearsed as a clarinet player from 10th grade to 12th grade.  In the background, you can see the various trophies and awards that the school has won at marching band competitions.  There also is an orchestra room, but no chorus room, as chorus is not offered at Roosevelt High School:

The weight room:

The gymnasium:

The school Hall of Fame, featuring distinguished alumni:

Pop singer, Bruno Mars, is a famous alumnus:

These sculptures were carved out of lava rock in front of the school and signify unity:

After the campus tour, David and the other alumni ate lunch (beef stew) in the cafeteria.  He noted that disposable plates and plastic utensils are now being used.  Unfortunately, he forgot to take photos of the food and the cafeteria.

Altogether, it was a nice trip down memory lane, full of nostalgia and pride.  When David remembers his high school years, he has only positive memories.

Buying a matching set

A friend of mine was once married to a rich attorney.  After fifteen years of marriage, he left her for a younger woman.  My friend (I’ll call her June) was devastated, and she wondered what she would do with her life, as she had been a housewife throughout her marriage.  Well, June put her college degree in culinary arts to work and started a catering business.

One day, I invited her to lunch at my home.  She opened one of the cupboards in my kitchen to get a glass, and said, “Gigi, you really should invest in a set of matching dishware.  Even if it’s for every day use, a matching set will make you feel better.”

So, guess what, I donated my mismatched dishware and bought a set of matching dishware and glassware.  I use these every day:

Then, I bought a set of fine china for special occasions:

June is right.  Always find ways to improve your home décor.  Don’t be satisfied with less.  Be satisfied with the best!  A set of matching dishware and glassware will always cheer you up.

A purse and a lunch

David and I are going to attend his 50th Roosevelt High School class reunion banquet on Saturday, and I wanted to replace my cross body bag with something more elegant.  Yesterday, we decided to shop at Macy’s in Pearlridge Shopping Center:

I bought this black Calvin Klein purse, which was on sale (50% off).  It’s small, but big enough to hold my wallet, camera, and keys.  Isn’t it elegant and so much better than a cross body bag?  Perfect for a banquet:

After my purchase, we decided to walk across the parking lot and have lunch at Monterey Bay Canners:

This is the Sumida Watercress Farm outside the restaurant:

This is David, eating his sour dough roll:

We both ordered the Monterey Seafood Club Sandwich, consisting of crab, shrimp, bacon, lettuce, and tomato on toasted wheat bread.  It was delicious.  The French fries were nice and hot:

The lunch was discounted 15%, because David has a special card from Roosevelt High School that discounts meals at a number of restaurants in Hawaii.

Hence, we bought an elegant purse on sale and a wonderful lunch at a discount.  Way to go!

Don’t take your feet for granted

David suffers from osteoarthritis and a flat foot.  He had his two knees replaced recently, but can’t do anything for his flat foot.  Hence, he still walks slowly and is crippled for life.

His left foot is flat.  His right foot is normal:

He shaves the callus on his flat foot with a special device:

I am thankful for my normal feet and have a pedicure once a month, changing the nail color from time to time.  Last month, I had blue polish.  This month, I chose pink:

My 7 year old grandson, Rylan, has perfectly formed feet:

You should never take your feet for granted.  Yesterday, I saw a man sitting in a wheelchair.  His left foot had been amputated, probably due to diabetes.

No more migraine

I had an excruciating migraine yesterday and spent most of the day in bed.  The trouble with me is that I cannot take anything for pain relief as I am allergic to most analgesics.  The only thing that helped me was hearing internally the reassuring voice of my deceased father.  Imagine:  My father’s reassuring voice removed my migraine, and I felt so much better.

This morning, I am sipping my coffee while typing this post.  All is well in Gigi-Hawaii’s world.  Soon, I will go outside and sit in my patio and appreciate my plants, the sky, the clouds, and the early morning sunshine.

These are photos of David and me, sitting in our patio in July:

Another thing I like to do is listen to CDs.  Music is very therapeutic.  Lately, I have been listening to the Boston Pops Orchestra, conducted by John Williams.  What a great conductor!  The brass section is incredible.  I told David that if I am lucky, my next husband will be a trumpet player.  I loved the sound of the trumpets on the Boston Pops CDs so much that David ordered more CDs, featuring the trumpet, from Amazon.

I am very lucky to have my husband, my house, and my music.  Also, it helps to hear internally the reassuring voice of my deceased father, who gave me much credit for having all of this despite all of my problems.

Moanalua 99

On Saturday, David had to pick up two T-shirts at Moanalua 99, a former warehouse in Honolulu which is now filled with restaurants and meeting rooms:

These T-shirts will commemorate the 50th Roosevelt High School class reunion to be held next week.  We walked around Moanalua 99, looking for the place where the T-shirts were to be picked up.  It’s a huge complex:

Finally, we found David’s classmates, who were handing out the T-shirts, stored in boxes:

Then, we decided to have lunch at Diem 99 Café, a Vietnamese restaurant inside Moanalua 99:

We ordered the Diem Sampler, comprised of noodles, summer rolls, spring rolls, pork hash, and stuffed eggplant along with an assortment of sauces:

There were many U.S. Army personnel (male and female) having lunch in Moanalua 99, because it is located near Ft. Shafter, an Army installation:

When we returned home, David tried on one of his T-shirts.  It was rather tight, even for size 3x, and it might shrink in the wash.  But, the art work on this shirt is quite beautiful:

Next week, David will tour the Roosevelt High School campus with some of his former classmates and will have lunch in the school cafeteria.  He will wear his new T-shirt at that time.  I will give him my camera so he can photograph what he sees, especially the school lunch!  I hope it’s nutritious and tasty.

Later, David and I will attend his 50th class reunion banquet.  I am looking forward to meeting David’s high school classmates and having a good time at the reunion.

My sweet grandkids

On Friday, Maria brought Julia and Rylan here to be babysat, since she and Grant had to work.  She also brought us some goodies from Trader Joe’s in Seattle:

Julia, age 9, and Rylan, age 7, are growing up tall and lean.  You might be interested to know that racially they are 1/4 Irish, 1/4 Korean, 3/8 Japanese, and 1/8 Chinese (1/4 white and 3/4 Asian):

Rylan recently won his yellow belt in karate.  He showed me some of his karate moves:

Julia enjoys her tablet:

Rylan loves to play Pokémon:

He and Julia also love to read:

I don’t always babysit, as my daughter and her husband are school teachers.  When their children are on vacation, they are on vacation, too, because they all belong to the same public school system.  Teaching is a great career for that reason.

The kids will start their new school year on Monday.  Julia will be in fifth grade, and Rylan in second grade.  They are excited and looking forward to it.

What a mess!

This is David, mowing our back yard a few months ago.

***

David had a routine colonoscopy at Straub Medical Center last May.  He was not supposed to be billed for this routine screening.  The copayment was supposed to be zero.

Recently, he received a bill from Straub for $230.  He was shocked.  When he called Straub’s billing department, he was told that the coder had read the doctor’s notes and had concluded that the colonoscopy was an outpatient surgery, which meant it cost $230.

David argued that no surgery had been performed.  It was a routine colorectal screening, covered 100% by his Humana Medicare Advantage HMO plan.  Straub told him to show them proof.

Yesterday, David drove all the way to Straub’s billing department to show the biller his paperwork from Humana that stated zero copayment for the routine colonoscopy.  When he got there at 11:40 a.m., he was told that the biller had gone to lunch at 11:30 a.m., so he left the paperwork with the receptionist.  I told him he should have sat in the office and waited for the biller to return, but he said the wait would have taken too long.

Later in the day, he called Straub and was told that the biller would get back to him.  Well, she hasn’t yet.

What a mess!  David is so afraid that his bill will go to the collection agency, and his income or savings will be garnished.

That coder, who inputted erroneous information on the bill, should be fired.