HOW TO LIFE

That’s what I told my surf coach my last trip to Hawaii. Yes – that’s him in the photo-Fritz. Fritz doesn’t talk much. He paused, thought about it, and nodded. He not once said, “that’s never going to happen,” or “are you crazy” or anything like that. I appreciated that. He didn’t even smile. I think he understood exactly what I meant. I’m all about targeting dreams, right? … then creating a plan to get it: set intermediary goals, create a game plan and execute with grit. Bu

Last weekend, I happened to be hanging out at a friend’s store (Adrift Tahoe) on the beach at Lake Tahoe. One of the guys, Frank, was playing his guitar and I was having coffee and listening. I was quite content to just sit and listen. I remarked how nice it sounded. He stopped playing, jumped up, ran into the store and came back out with a ukulele. He handed it to me. First, I stared at it. Frank then showed me how to hold it, how to strum it, and how to place my fingers al

Just returned from another trip to Hawaii where I spent 18 days, every day, all day, on my standup paddle board working on my surfing. That is pretty much all I do there during daylight hours. I take a break here and there to hydrate and refuel. Some say I should exercise “moderation” like everyone else: go out a couple of hours, rest a couple of hours or more. My friends tell me they surf for a couple of hours and then go do something else entirely. That’s great – for someo

At four and half years old, I was still living with my Obaachan in the little apartment in Chofu, Japan. Adjacent to the kitchen area was a living/bedroom area with a tatami floor where I spent my evenings after dinner and before the futons were laid out for bed. In winter, when it was cold and damp, a heater stood in the middle of the room on which sat a water kettle filled with water. By the time dinner was done, the water in the kettle was boiling and steam was coming ou

singing karaoke and “talking story” with my friends. That’s 2 of my “S” activities and it just occurred to me that “talking Story” could be an“S” activity too! And in Hawaii, no less, where I feel so much at home! I have "ocean" friends when I’m surfing; I have "island" friends with whom I spend the evenings for gatherings, karaoke, eating ono food and “talking story.” Even after a six month gap, I show up and it's as if I never left. With Josh, an ocean friend and surfer on

Although my father made me half Irish, I was completely Japanese. Japanese was my first language. My Obaachan was pre-war Japanese. I had two uncles, my mother’s brothers, who got married during that time, and my new aunts were part of the family affair that raised me. My favorite activity was dressing up in kimono. But, I was biologically only half Japanese. I was bigger than other children my age. My features were obviously mixed. I don’t really know how it is today in Jap