Eliot Spitzer

The last month in New York City has been quite eventful in terms of the governor position. It all started when now ex-governor of New York Elliot Spitzer was publicly accused of being involved in a prostitution ring. It turns out he was indeed having sexual affairs with a "girl gone wild" and has officially admitted it. Now, his name is disgraced across the world, and he is obviously out of office. This story is amazing to me, because I do not understand how anyone can cheat on their wives when they have children and a family at home. Yet, the people-elected governor in the most famous city of our proud country is one of those men? To me, the most amazing part about it though is not that he had an affair, but how the Bush Administration might have been involved and also because of his ruthless actions towards bad behavior in the past when he was secretly doing the same thing. See this site for more information on the government's possible hand in Spitzer's impeachment:

http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=8376

It basically says that the timing of Spitzer's downfall couldn't have been better for the Bush Administration, because Spitzer was becoming more public in his blaming of the Bush Administration for our country's falling economic status and financial disaster. He was attacking Bush and the Republicans. No wonder the FBI "accidentally leaked" the wiretap records showing Spitzer's phone call with the prositute and the $4, 300 he paid to have her for an hour of fun.

Job Choices

Just as I was thinking about colleges last night, I have been thinking about possible majors and what I want to do for a living after college. Here is a tentative list I came up with:

Teacher/Coach (Punahou)
Computer Technician
Web Designer
Writer
Hotel Manager (Like my dad)
Run my own business or maybe something with my brothers
Sports Doctor/Trainer


I want to do something that I love. I refuse to grow up and get stuck in a job that I am unhappy with. I will choose passion over money, but I of course want to make enough money to easily take care of myself and a family one day. I want to make a difference in people's lives. I want to help. I want to fight for what I believe is right and spread my beliefs. I don't know exactly what I want to be when I grow up yet, nor do I plan on choosing anytime soon, but this short, tentative list is a good start.

Top College Choices

I've been thinking a lot lately about colleges because I have been receiving some letters from colleges in the mail and thru my email. Also, I have senior friends who have recently been getting accepted or rejected from colleges, and its a very crucial process for teenagers. I am taking the time now to jot down my top choices of colleges that I plan on applying to. Some of them are shaky, and some of them are unrealistic and a lot depends on how far I progress in basketball, volleyball, and in the classroom. Here is my temporary list w/some reasoning:

Stanford University - Always has been my first choice; I love the area
UCLA - Super nice campus; west coast; incredible sports program (not to play in but to go to the games)
UC Santa Barbara - super nice; west coast; volleyball?
Pepperdine - super nice; close to the beach; west coast; volleyball?
Boston College - east coast; good school; connections in boston with my brother
Cornell - hotel school
U Penn - great school
Brown - ivy league
USC - nice, west coast

March Madness

Once again, it is March, and that can only mean one thing to basketball lovers in America: March Madness. March Madness is the nickname given to the NCAA Basketball Tournament that features a field of 65 college teams and where some of the greatest moments in basketball history occur every year. March Madness is where Cinderella stories and dreams come true while defeat and heartbreak are left in the hearts of many young players who either do not make the tournament or suffer losses in the tourney. It is indeed madness, because anything can happen at any given moment. No lead is safe and no point differential is ever enough in a game, because magic is in the air and everyone has basketball fever. The tournament also attracts millions of fantasy players nationally and worldwide, all of whom are filling out their new brackets and competing for money, fame, or props across the country. My friends and I are participating in a fantasy league of our own this year, and my personal bracket is just above this. I have Tennessee winning the championship over UCLA, and I have quite a few upsets predicted! Partially because it is really fun to guess upsets and also because it is more exciting to cheer for the underdogs! I love March Madness and can't wait for the tournament to start on Wednesday! Go Tennessee!

Hogwarts 2009

I just read online about plans to create a Harry Poter theme-park and I am so excited! The park is supposed to be a "theme park within a theme park" and it is called "The Wizarding World of Harry Potter." It is set to open as a part of Universal Orlando Resort in 2009, and is going to be the first major Harry Potter-themed environment in America. As an intense follower of my favorite book series ever, I plan on attending this theme park as well as Disneyworld either in 2009 or 2010 after I graduate. My sister lives in Miami, so I figure it will be a great time to travel, see my sister, and enjoy the magical world of Harry Potter all at the same time!

A wild dream

Early February means quite a number of things in Hawaii. Punahou Carnival, Super Bowl, and then the NFL All Star Game also known as the Pro Bowl all occur within the first two weeks of February. It's early this morning, and I'm up because my dad is taking my friend and I to the Pro Bowl! There is a lot of traffic always, and we want to go early so that we can get some autographs before the game from our favorite players. I go downstairs and my dad has McDonalds' sausage mcmuffins waiting on the table for me. He knows me too well. In the middle of breakfast, the doorbell rings and I rush to greet my friend at the door before my mom wakes up! My dad, friend and I jump in the car and head for the stadium. It's a really gloomy day outside. The skies are the darkest shade of gray I have ever seen. My dad notices the clouds seem to be assembling above the giant volcano. I am slightly scared, but I don't want to show it, and my excitement to meet the NFL stars wins me over and I decide that the volcano will never erupt. I convince myself that the clouds are always this grey, and turn the music up louder as if tuning out the grumbling earth beneath our car. Halfway out to the stadium however, things no longer look so good. The car starts rattling, and the ground beneath us is shaking heavily. My dad pulls over to the side of the road and stops. I strap my seatbelt on hard over myself, take deep breaths, and begin to pray that the earthquake stops. To my dismay, the earthquake only increases in strength and I can make out cracks in the road through the gaps in my fingers spread across my face. All of a sudden, BOOM! A rocket of lava lifts off from inside of the volcano and shoots out towards the heavens, an explosion of blazing fire that is stamped into my memory and forever engraved on my eyeballs. People everywhere blast open their car doors and sprint in every direction possible, screaming their heads off. My dad manages to yell over them to my friend and I that we should make a run for UH, because it's close and they have to have a safe place to hide their students in case of the emergency. I bust out of the car, and five minutes later my friend and I have lost my dad in the crowd and the race to safety. Lava is still lighting up the once grey sky, and raining down upon the city. The lava is coming towards us though...and fast. A tsunami of lava is eating up everything on the road, and burning down the greenest city on earth. My friend and I make it to UH at Manoa campus safely, but my dad is nowhere to be found as I constantly scan the crowds for his familiar face. Screaming his name at the top of my lungs, regretful thoughts creep into my head about how I never should have made my dad buy us Pro Bowl tickets, or made him drive us, because now he is in major trouble. His old body couldn't keep up with ours. Cops everywhere are pushing us back into classrooms and not letting us stay outside. Two cops come over by us and start forcing us back into a room. "No, wait my dad is out there! Stop! Find my dad!" I shout at them. "It's too late for your dad now! He's gone!" they yell as they pick me up and throw me into a room. "Wait," is my last screaming attempt and they slam the door in my face.

A new rival

After all these years at Punahou, I thought our biggest rival was Iolani in athletics. I am beginning to realize that Kamehameha is, has, and always will be our biggest rival in at least the sports I play--basketball and volleyball. I have made it to championship games four out of four times for basketball, and once for volleyball. Three out of those five times, we played Kamehameha in championships and only one time have I played Iolani for a championship. In my four years of experience at Punahou playing basketball, I have not once lost to Iolani. I have lost three times to Kamehameha however; twice in the preseason and once in last year's championship game. For volleyball, I have also lost more times to Kamehameha than I have to Iolani including yesterday's heartbreaking defeat to Kamehameha-Blue 25-13, 17-25, 26-27.

Coming into yesterday's match with Kamehameha, both of our teams were undefeated in league play. Our coaches kept telling us all week at practice how important this match was, because its the only time we get to play them all season since there are no playoffs. It was a must-win game. Personally, I did not have high expectations for our team, which I regret because I wish I had been more prepared mentally for the matchup. I was crummy in warmups, and my team didn't look too much better. I heard Kamehameha players whispering on the sidelines, "They aren't even that good," about us. That pissed me off. We came out hard and destroyed them in the first game 25-13, deflating their arrogant attitudes. I couldn't help but smile thru the net at their players who had been so loud the first game but now were as quiet as mice. Perhaps without realizing it was a bad move, our coach switched up the lineup in the second game, replacing two starters. We looked flat out there, and we let them gain momentum back as they beat us 17-25. The third and decisive game was intense and extremely well-played by both teams. I started off terribly, commmitting errors on the first three points. Our coach called a timeout to calm me down because I was really down on myself. I felt like my lack of heart and my unforced errrors were costing my team and I was doubting myself. My other outside hitter Colin, played a hell-of-a match to help support my poor play and if it wasn't for his great hitting, we wouldn't have even been in the game. 23-23 came however, and we were very much in the game. And even better, I was in the front row. Our teams traded points, with them getting a kill, and then I answered back with a kill of my own. Eventually, the score got to 26-26, and because the rulebooks say there is a scoring-cap of 27, it was last point wins. I went back to serve, and served it in. They had a couple of nice hits, but we had some great saves. The game ended when our middle hitter hit it into the net. The Kamehameha side of the crowd erupted in celebration and their bench players flooded onto the court to jump around and cherish their victory.

I was bitter because I don't like to lose, and I felt that I was the reason our team lost. Plus, I'm used to being the one celebrating after the games, not watching it from a distance. It was a very hard-fought battle between bitter enemies. I am no longer going to overlook Kamehameha in sports, and I am going to consider them our biggest rival until Iolani can prove that they deserve that tag. Look out Kamehameha--Punahou's coming for you.