16. DRESS UP AS SANTA CLAUSE

Tis the most wonderful time of the year!

Last year I scored when I was asked to dress as Santa Clause for work for Christmas. Last year, after the holiday season had passed, I was delighted to hear that there was an overwhelming positive response to the way I “did” Santa. I was delighted to have been asked if I could be Santa once again this year. Though I had the opportunity to do it once, I still jumped at the chance. Based on the crowd’s response, it seemed as if I did a pretty good job.

This year instead of centering this post on the guests at our hotel, which again was a great experience, I instead am going to revolve it around Santa Clause surprising my niece Ashanti. Like most children, my niece loves the holiday season. Not necessarily because of all the gifts, but because it’s one of those times when the entire family comes together to spend time with each other. She loves seeing everyone.

This year my family and I decided to open gifts on Christmas evening. I kind of planned everything out so I brought my Santa suit home from work. While the action was going on outside, I snuck off to the side into a bedroom to get changed. I asked my cousin, Ashanti’s mom, to bring me one of her gifts so I can put it in my Santa sack. Because I got dressed up the day before, putting the suit back on correctly was literally done in a second. I went thru the back and snuck around to the front as my cousin got my entrance song ready to go.

With everyone together and Ashanti not knowing, “Santa Clause is Coming to Town” played. She looked outside at the figure that was coming towards the house. I weaved my way through the driveway and started dancing. Our family was cheering along. It was rather hard trying to dance and entertain while trying to keep everything together, i.e. the hat, the beard, and making sure the pants don’t fall.

The moment went by like a blur. After everything was done and I transformed back into Brandon, I went back into the house. Ashanti was ecstatic telling me I just missed out on seeing Santa. Seeing her smiling ear to ear made this Christmas one of the best ever. This moment was the personification of the holidays. I can only hope I’ll be able to not just surprise her, but take Santa Clause island wide.

70. RIDE A ZIPLINE (2nd TIME)

When we woke up in the morning, our initial plans were to take Damien over to this Teen Expo, walk around, and catch the b-boy battle, then head out. The day didn’t exactly go to plan. And that was a good thing.

When we got there, we did a quick survey and headed over to the ping pong tent. Damien, for quite some time, has fallen in love with the sport (?) of ping pong. After meeting with some of the other ping pong players and the tent coordinator, we walked around and checked out the other tents. Since Anabelle had worked for 2 years with Maui High School on their Project Grad, she was hitting up tent after tent for their literature. In the midst of tent hopping, there was a guy decked out in a harness passing out coupons for the Maui Tropical Plantation Zipline.

Intrigued, I wandered over to him and asked him what he was passing out. He said that because of the Teen Expo, the Tropical Zipline was offering a special for expo-goers at $25 for 2 lines. I took the ad to Anabelle and asked her if she wanted to go. Realistically, it was way too good of a price to pass up. After paying, we walked back and asked Damien if he wanted to go. With some peer pressure from his friends, he said okay. We again walked back and decided to check out the lines. Since we already experienced the Haleakala Zipline, the 2 Tropical Zipline lines were a lot shorter and didn’t seem as adrenaline pumping. Even with that taken into consideration, we were still pretty excited.

We were given a quick rundown on the course and got strapped and harnessed up. Damien, Anabelle, and I were paired with 3 other parties and a lone lady who seemed to be conquering some type of fear. As we walked towards the zipline platform, we were given some quick tidbits about the vegetation there. The guides were great. They incorporated humor with their lessons and told a few jokes.

As we walked up the first platform, they hooked us onto the cables that ran throughout our first takeoff. Safety was their primary concern and you could definitely tell. After we initially got hooked on, no matter where we moved to, we couldn’t get there without first being unhooked and hooked back up to another line. Within a few minutes, the zipping began. As it should be, the idea of ziplining quickly became a race of who can get across first. We were going in 2’s so Anabelle and our lone visitor went first. Silently, I was rooting hard for Anabelle to get across first. From the get go, Anabelle took the lead and held onto it. Damien and I were up next and the trash talking immediately began. I knew that because I had about 100lbs on Damien, odds are that I was going to win; though I didn’t want to celebrate early. Once the guide gave us the green light, Damien and I took off and it was a sprint. About ¾ of the way down, I noticed that Damien was losing steam. Unfortunately, he didn’t make it to the other side and had to be fished out by another guide. I on the other hand tried to take video of our race and had no idea where the end of the line was. Then all of a sudden, I felt my come to a halt as my momentum shot me as high as the zipline chord was. Evidently, there are guides at the bottom that use a rope to stop the riders. However, I was coming in with so much speed that I almost sent the guide flying. There were 3 boys that were with our group that were in awe at how crazy I was coming in. That first jump was great.

Shortly after we all took our first plunge, we got hooked up to the second line and getting ready to go. Because Damien and I went last on the first line, we went in reverse order; so now we were first. Also, because Damien was semi-embarrassed about getting stuck the first time, he wanted to make every effort for that not to happen again. Again, when the guide gave us the green light, Damien sat down in his harness while I made the mistake of jumping off. As we were going down, Damien had a marginal lead on me but I felt my weight would help me speed down. Majority of the second line was over the Maui Tropical Plantation lagoon where there are ducks and fish that guests can feed. Also, for those that are interested, you can take a small canoe and paddle around the lagoon. There were many families below us and many of them were oohing and aahing as we zipped over them. I could hear several kids in the wake, “Mom, can I do that?” As this was happening, I could see Damien’s lead diminishing. I really thought I had a chance but the end of the line was coming up. I tried straightening out to get aerodynamic and hope that would be enough. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen. Actually, it was a photo finish. It’s really hard to say who took the second round but we had fun nonetheless. Anabelle and her partner came in not long after with Anabelle luckily winning their face off. She was smiling ear to ear; and she didn’t even look at it as a race. Call me competitive.

As our zipline came to a close, we unstrapped ourselves and immediately started talking about the experience. We had so much fun. At first, we both Anabelle and I were a bit apprehensive because both lines were a lot shorter and lower than the lines that zipped over in Haleakala. Regardless, we had nothing but fun and are definitely happy we chose to do the line. I now recommend it at work to those that want to experience ziplining but afraid of heights. I’m glad we went and if you choose to give it a whirl, I’m sure you will too.

158. WIN A PIE EATING CONTEST

When I hear the words, “Pie Eating Contest”, I automatically think of County Fairs with haystacks in every corner, straw hats on every guy, and tied tops and daisy dukes on every female. The only time I’d ever hear of a pie eating contest is on TV.

In essence, it‘s through TV that helped elevate this event to be on my Bucket List. I had mentioned in an earlier POST that I love to watch the TV Food Network when I eat. Along with the Iron Chefs, I normally turn to another one of my favorite programs when eating, Man vs. Food. I love watching Adam Richman tackle the nation’s biggest, baddest, and most fattening challenges. Sometimes he wins and sometimes he loses; either way I love the fact that he’s turned your average meal into a competitive sport. It’s shows like MVF that really made me want to participate in this contest.

Over at the Relay for Life, different parties coordinate different activities and events. One family was sponsoring a Pie Eating Contest. When I was first told about it, I was hoping that no one was going to want to do it. There were several of us that could easily take down a pie but I don’t think they’d want to wager their pride. I was concentrating on something so much and so hard that winning or losing never crossed my mind.

When you see a pie eating contest, everyone seems to dig straight into their pie and concentrate on one particular spot. I’ve always wondered why no one ever sucks the topping, as opposed to biting it. That theory now turned into a plan of attack. I thought, “Live by the theory, die by the theory”.

The emcee of the evening called up all contestants. Walking up I had butterflies in my stomach. Again, I wasn’t scared to lose I just don’t like to be in any way the center of attention. There were 7 of us. We all sat down as the emcee went over the rules. When we first arrived, there were only a handful of people. In a 2 minute span where we were given our pies (blueberry cheesecake) and blindfolded. Prior to losing my sight, I looked through the crowd and there were at least a hundred people. Being that I was on the far right, my cheering section was pretty close to me. I tried to flare my nose several times to make an opening for me to see out the bottom of my blindfold. My last thought was, “Okay, let’s kill this”. Shortly after the emcee called out, “On your marks, get set, ready”, as a sinister laughed came from her on my left.

GO! I quickly swooped down and slurped in as much as I could. I heard nanoseconds of the crowd cheering and they seemed to be going ballistic. I chewed as fast as I could and swallowed. On my second pass at the pie, I took in way too much and as I swallowed, I could feel it coming back up. At that moment I was pretty scared I was about to blow chunks to whoever was standing to my right. Luckily I didn’t and I kept going. I felt I had at least half of the pie gone in 4 passes. As I started to work on the left half of the pie I wondered to myself if I had to eat the crust too. The crust thin and I was afraid I’d end up biting the foil pan and getting shocked. (For those of you who don’t know what I’m talking about, put a little piece of foil in your mouth and bite down on it for about 3 seconds. The results are going to be shocking) I figured I’ll save that for the end and work on the blueberries for now. After swallowing each time I’d be taking deep breaths to get as much filling the next swoop. It seemed that I had for the most part eaten so much already that I couldn’t find any more filling. With that in mind, I resorted to licking the corner and working my tongue around to make as big a clump of filling as I could; then eat it. Once I started thinking, I was getting thrown off my game plan. I thought that since I cleaned out the amount of filling as I had, so has everyone else. I thought that enough time had passed by so I needed to hurry. And as soon as I dove back in, the crowd started laughing hollering because a winner was announced. It seemed I was so deep into thought that for over half of the contest, I didn’t hear a peep out of anyone. However, as you can see, it’s quite different on video.

I heard Anabelle cheering my name but I didn’t think I had won. I just sat there waiting for them to get the blindfold off of me. I then felt a lady’s voice in front of me telling me that I had won. On the inside, I was going absolutely ballistic. On the outside though, I could think of only one thing to do: POP MY COLLAR. After they got the blindfold off of me and my eyes readjusted, I could see a ton of people in front of me. A few of them were on my team but most of them I had no idea who they were. One of my first thoughts was, “Let me get a picture of myself with all this crap on my face so I can use it as a default on Facebook (LOL)”. Anabelle had stopped recording and gave me my camera. While fidgeting with it, I started shaking people’s hands and getting congratulated. There were a bunch of people that I didn’t know taking my picture. People were telling me to look here. Now here. Now there. Okay, one more time. Flash. Flash. Flash. It was surreal. I thought, “Man, this feels like some paparazzi (expletive), wow”. I got the picture I wanted and claimed my prize; a Hawaiian Airlines bag with a towel, hat, and some granola bars.

As the dust settled and we headed back to our tent, it was only then that I truly realized that I had just won a pie eating contest. It was then that I felt a gamut of emotions passing over me. I was still in disbelief. I can’t believe I just won. There was a volleyball game most of our team was playing but as soon as they finished, they were all congratulating me. Typing this just makes me smile.

Being able to participate in this contest was great, but actually winning was the icing on the cake, er.. pie. Looking back to almost 30 days ago, I’m extremely glad I did it. Hopefully next year I’ll be able to defend my title. As Adam Richman would say, “In the battle of man vs. food, today..

MAN WON!!

144. WIN A RADIO CONTEST

Unlike many people, I really enjoy driving. It gives me a chance to think and have my much needed “me” time. I also enjoy listening to one of my favorite radio stations, ESPN AM 550. I love listening to hosts Fred and Bill and their insights. They have a very broad spectrum of sports knowledge and I gravitate towards that. I also love to hear the points of view of the many listeners. And though I don’t agree with many of them, the show keeps my attention and I still enjoy listening.

As I was driving to work, the station was giving away 2 tickets to the first 5 games to Maui’s semi-pro baseball team, Na Koa Ikaika. I’ve had several chances to attend a game last season but unfortunately, due to a lot of PROCRASTINATION, I never did. Fred announces that they’d give away the tickets to the first caller. Having listened to the show for so long, I knew the number by heart so I dialed. Unfortunately for me, because I was on the road, I misdialed the number and I missed out on it. As I was listening to the winner talk to Fred and Bill, they had told him that he has to come to pick up the tickets today because on of the games was for that night. The downside was that I lost the tickets; the upside though was that had I won it, I would have had no way to get them since I’d be at work. What surprised me was that I was seriously bummed that I didn’t get the tickets. Luckily as the broadcast moved on, I ended up forgetting about my loss.

I had made my mandatory Friday steak plate pick up for lunch as I was again on my way to work. About 3 miles away, again Fred Guzman was giving away tickets to the first caller. Being that their number was my last call, I tapped dial twice and the phone started to ring. “Hello caller, may I get your name please”. I was internally going bananas. Externally, I was panicking hoping that the police wouldn’t catch me on my phone while driving. I had given Fred my cousin’s name since I knew he’d be able to pick up the tickets. After solidifying my victory, I went ape shit. I had actually won a few radio contests before but it’s been such a long time that it felt like a totally new experience.

I had told Ray (my cousin whose name I gave) that he needs to go pick up the tickets and he could have them. All I asked in return was that if one of the games was for a Saturday, I’d like to have that one for Anabelle and I to use. Ray utilized the first games tickets with some family and they all enjoyed themselves. The next day, Saturday, was the second game that the tickets were good for so we all went. It’s also been awhile since I’ve gone to a baseball game in which kids weren’t playing so that was a nice change of pace.

We all thoroughly enjoyed the game. There was a ton of good food that both Anabelle and I capitalized on. I loved the fact that there was a lot of entertainment between the innings. We all had a lot of fun. I even won a bag of bar-b-q sunflower seeds. =) Hopefully ESPN 550 will be giving away tickets more often because I’d sure love to go to another game. Maybe then I’ll know all the words to “Take Me Out to the Ballgame”.

46. GO TO A PGA TOURNAMENT

This past weekend, Anabelle and I made the trek across the island to check out the Hyundai Tournament of Champions. The name changed this year as it was the Mercedes Open for the last 11 years. The field this year wasn’t as stacked in years past, but for us, we were totally cool with it. Nonetheless, it was a great day. It was Anabelle’s first time to a pro golf tournament so she didn’t know what to expect. We both had a blast there. Though we were both out of our element, we made the best of everything. We both don’t really care for watching golf on TV but when you’re there in person, it seems like a totally different game. These are some of the images we snuck in considering all cameras were banned from the event.

COOLEST GUY THERE. WINNER OF THE BARCLAYS.

MATT KUCHAR

64. GO PARASAILING

SERENITY AT ITS FINEST

WELL.. IT WAS SERENE UP UNTIL THIS POINT

BUT WE LOVED IT

16. DRESS UP AS SANTA

There’s no time better than Christmas time. The scent of Christmas trees lingering in the air. The Christmas lights twinkling in the night. Making lists and checking it 3 times. And there’s a joyful spirit that is absolutely contagious.

It’s been a tradition for our hotel to fly in Santa Clause every Christmas Eve. We like to add our own island flavor by bringing him via helicopter which lands on our putting green. Every year I’ve been lucky enough to see Santa fly in and every year I still enjoy watching kid’s faces light up. There’s a certain magic that you can see in them when they see the red and white suit peeking through the windows of the helicopter.

Every year, I work the morning shift so I can go to our family party in the evening. It’s one of the 2 days a year that I work the shift because I’m far from a morning person. The day starts off as any ordinary morning does. Without much of a warning, my General Manager opens the door and asks me if I’d be interested in being Santa Clause today. I had a silent jump for joy going on in my head and instantly thought about the opportunity to cross off an item from my bucket list. Because I’ve never shared my bucket list with him, I didn’t want to start acting all giddy though I really was.

But then the nervousness kicked in. We all act like Santa for the hell of it. We all say “Ho! Ho! Ho!” in a playful manner but it’s never been where I had to upkeep the Santa Clause performance. I had the jitters; the type that hits you when it’s your wedding day, when your sister or best friend is about to give birth, or the type of jitters you get when you wake up and its prom day. I had so many things running through my head; how should I act, how should I sound, should I hug the kids or shake their hands, the questions were endless. I started cramming every guest name, room number, and face in my head so I could use it while in character. My excitement grew as the time ticked down. I couldn’t believe I was about to do this. Being a front desk person at a hotel, I’ve come to realize that I’m in the business of making peoples dreams come true. For some of these guests, being here on Maui is their dream having come true, I just want our hotel to add a little sparkle to it, and being that I now have the power to, and I’m definitely capitalizing on this. I’ve never been one to want the spotlight on me (When I was the employee of the year at our hotel, I refused to take a picture). However, now that I’m hiding behind a red suit and a white beard the attention became more bearable for me.

After a short drive to Blue Hawaiian Helicopter , my nerves were in overdrive. It was excitement coming from all angles. I checked in with their desk and got weighed and off to the bathroom I went to get transformed. I had about 40 minutes to relax before my sleigh took off and about 30 of them were spent in the bathroom pacing the floors and putting on my costume. Before I knew it, the bathroom door was being knocked on summoning me, I mean Santa. In years past, Santa Clause was always joined by random passengers who enjoyed the quick drop off. To my surprise, it was only me and the pilot on this trip. The beautiful view really took my mind off of what was about to happen. After driving the same roads for most of my life, Maui looked way different while looking down upon it.

Maui Hill is in sight. I pulled the beard up, made sure the glasses were fastened and my hat was good. I zipped up the suit and made sure my shoes were hidden. As we’re descending, I’m waving “shaka” to the hundreds below as they’re waving to Santa. Surprisingly, my jitters were gone. I hop out of the helicopter, greet my General Manager, and here we go. I’m also greeted by a mob of children and cameras. For the first minute or so, I had no idea where to go or what to do, though I’ve seen it done so many times. I start yelling “Merry Christmas” and “Mele Kalikimaka” to everyone as they’re yelling it back to me. I shake hands and take pictures with as many people as I can. As I start walking up to my “Santa’s Chair” at our poolside, I’m joined by legions of kids. I felt like a superstar being followed by his fans. It was an unbelievable feeling.

After sitting down for a few short seconds, a swarm of parents with their children are waiting for the picture to be taken with Santa. Kids are shaking my hand and hugging me with smiles from ear to ear. Of course some were shrieking with fear but most eventually warmed up to me. I’m asking their name and asking them what they want for Christmas. I was surprised though; that a lot of kids still had no idea what they wanted for Christmas. Being that I was a last minute replacement, not too many of the staff or my family members knew it was me until late. When they finally did realize it, their expressions were priceless. For almost 2 hours, I lived a dream by helping people live theirs. The countless pictures that I took and the hundreds of smiles I got from the children were the best.

This was definitely a monumental moment in my life and it’s one that I’m going to cherish for as long as I live. Even if being Santa Clause for the holidays wasn’t on my Bucket List, it would have been one of the more memorable moments for me, though I’m glad that it was.

On the upside, when I came back to work the following Monday, I was greeted with rave reviews from the staff and guests. One guest had told my General Manager that I was great with the kids. Another guest had told him that I was the best Santa we’ve ever had. Lucky for me, I was told to block my Christmas Eve for 2011 because I was now working, regardless if I want to or not. I have no problem with that. HO! HO! HO!

17. GIVE A GIFT TO SOMEONE LESS FORTUNATE

Being a former mall employee, it was an annual event for me to see the Salvation Army Angel Tree and all the ornaments hanging for the underprivileged kids of Hawaii. I’ve passed this tree every day of every holiday season and have always told myself that I’m going to make the effort to donate. However, I’m ashamed to say that I never did. No excuses; I was just too damn lazy to get off my rump and think of someone else other than myself. Fortunately, one of my resolutions for 2010 was to live a procrastination free life. I’m glad to report that I finally asserted myself and donated.

I had no idea that giving a gift to a person in need would feel this good; especially when the person is a child. I’m on an emotional cloud 9 and I love this feeling. I was able to donate 4 pairs of shoes and I would have donated more had I found more kids that wore my size =). I had 2 off size shoes so I gave those out too. Now that Damien is at the age of needed shoes for gym class, I can only imagine what underprivileged kids wear or how their parents feel being unable to supply their child with adequate footwear. And with that exact scenario happening, I’m glad I was able to step in and fill the void for 4 kids. What I found funny was the reaction of the 2 lady’s that were logging in the gifts. When they asked the price of the shoes, their jaws dropped when I told them. I never knew giving was tax deductible and I didn’t wan them to think I was lying.

Nonetheless, with “GET A CHRISTMAS GIFT FOR SOMEONE LESS FORTUNATE” being on my Bucket List or not, the act of giving is definitely well worth it. As adrenaline pumping as some of the other things that I’ve done was, giving a gift to a child will always hold a near and dear place in my heart.

114. WEAR A CHINESE LION DANCE COSTUME

BOOM. CHI. BOOM. BOOM. CHI. BOOM. CHI. BOOM. BOOM.

I’ve never really done my homework on much history. Of course being of living in Hawaii, we grow up learning Hawaiian history. Being of Hawaiian descent also makes it a personal exploration. Unfortunately, I’ve never done much homework on other cultures. My knowledge was a bit here and there; like I said, quite unfortunate.Over in Lahaina, Maui, the Lahaina Restoration Foundation created what I hope will be a tradition, the Plantation Days Festival. It’s to raise money to keep the history alive with Old Lahaina’s once booming sugar plantation. It closed down awhile back and all that stands is a lone smoke stack that hopefully will never falter. It was a night full of great food, great music, and great cultures coming together as one.

I joined my dad with Damien (who left early), as we helped my mom and Anabelle promote their non profit organization, The Friends of Moku’ula. It was a hot and muggy afternoon with dust flying like crazy. But no one was really bothered by it, at least we weren’t. The Friends of Moku’ula had a tent that a ton of people were interested in; both young and old, both local and tourist. The now Mayor of Maui, Alan Arakawa even stopped by and gave them his best wishes being that he’s familiar with their cause.

As the day progressed and Anabelle and I were able to get away and do our own thing while checking in from time to time with my mom. We had a chance to check out the other tents and see what they were about. In the corner was the Chinese tent, the only tent we stayed away from until the end of the evening (there were tons of kids running all over the place). Finally when we went in there, they had a lot of things going on. They furnished it really nicely. At the entrance, beside the Chinese arch, they had a Chinese drum that they let people bang on. Being that we were there the last 15 minutes or so before everyone was packing up, we had the chance to bang on the drum all we wanted. They had a Chinese lion dance costume on the other side for people to take pictures with. When I seen it, I thought to myself, “Man, I’d love to put that on and dance around”.

Hawaii is a diverse place with many cultures floating throughout the islands; Hawaiian, Filipino, Japanese, Chinese, etc. There were many times I’ve seen Chinese lion dancing. It’s a tradition still used to spread good fortune. I’ve enjoyed watching these dances and am always impressed. However, I’ve always wondered what it’s like being in the lion, as opposed to being on the outside. Hmmm.

Before we knew it, one of the guys in charge of the Chinese booth asked us if we wanted to try it on. I immediately thought, “Yes sir!” I was so in there. I wanted Anabelle to get her pictures first. I didn’t realize how ecstatic she’d end up being but she for sure was. Then came my photo op. I was really enjoying my moment in there. I jokingly said that I should go around and collect money from everyone. It’s not something that may be big on other people’s Bucket Lists but I think my intrigue was the spark of this being brought up. I had the chance to shake the head around, lift it up and down like the dancers do, make the eyes blink, and just have a ball being in the lion.

It’s weird the places and times that you get to live out certain special moments. My goal as of recently was really to live a procrastination free life. I’ve come to realize that I need to really broaden my horizons. Fortunately for me, I love it and love that I’m doing it. I went to the Plantation Day Festival in support of The Friends of Moku’ula and I came out with this great story and being able to cross off #114 from my list, WEAR A CHINESE LION DANCE COSTUME.

70. RIDE A ZIPLINE

Maui is currently home to 4 Ziplining tours; the Ka’anapali course, the Pi’iholo course, the Flyin’ Hawaiian course in Waikapu, and the course we went on, the Haleakala course. Upon arrival, we were at an elevation of over 4000’. It was a bit chilly but not overly cold where it ruined the experience. Our guides were the charismatic Luke who we renamed Duke, and Joe, who was probably the Haleakala Zipline punching bag who just rolled with the punches. Both guys were great. There were 8 of us in our party and 2 couples from Honolulu joined us. Luke and Joe gave us a brief introduction to the course and outfitted us with our harnesses. After leaving later than we’re supposed to, as if any one of us cared, we were off.

The course started off with a brief hike. I was under the impression that it was going to be a lot harder than it was. Other than a short ascent over somewhat uneven terrain, the “Hike” was more of a cakewalk. We were informed of the tons and tons of Eucalyptus trees that bombarded the Haleakala hillside. After a 7- 10 minute hike, including their speech, we were at the first line. Luke did the preflight takeoff speech while Joe suited up and showed us how it was done. They explained that your dominant hand is what steers you at the top right below the pulleys while the left is simply used for holding on. We were all stoked, well, most of us. One by one we took the perilous plunge. Some were more apprehensive than others but we all finally jumped. The line wasn’t all that long; it seemed to be no more than 50’ long. It was a pregame to the day’s latter lines. The ride was amazing. I can best describe it as scary, at that same time serene, with a dash of worry. Then it was onto line #2.

Before taking in every line, either Joe or Luke took a minute to describe one of the near extinct native birds. The second line wasn’t that bad either. It was a bit longer than the first one but at a lesser decline. For the most part, we all were a bit more at ease with leaping but steering and landing took some practice. All 12 of our group members did relatively well. A few of us came in smoothly, a few of us came in decently, and a few of us came in either backwards or landed too fast and dragged our feet on the landing pad. Damien did really well. He was graceful throughout his first few flights. He may have done as well as he did because he couldn’t reach the landing pad up until either Luke of Joe had stopped his momentum. Either way, Damien did awesome. Anabelle did awesome as well and really verbalized her enjoyment with the Zipline.

The third line was noticeably longer than the first two but seemed to have less of a descent. This one I really enjoyed. I asked our concierge when first booking if it’s possible to run and jump off the runway. I also asked Luke if it’s possible. He warned me that the faster I take off, the faster I move on the Zipline, and the faster and harder it is to land. Oh well then! It was hard to get a good running start being attached but I think I did rather well. I loved every second of it.

The fourth line we were told was 150’ long. This particular Zipline seemed longer than the prior 3 combined. This gave us our first true adrenaline rush. Everyone in our party went. Some crashed hard and ate wood when they landed. Some had a case of assburn because they didn’t turn forward in time. There was a cameraman at the end and took our pictures as we took flight. On the first 3 lines, I came in nice and easy, however, it came to me after, that I wasn’t putting much thought into it. This line however, when I put so much thought into turning to the camera for my photo op I turned in the exact opposite direction than you were supposed to. Regardless of how their pictures came out, it was straight awesome.

After the 4^th line, we took a small hike over to the swinging bridge. This more than anything is what everyone was dreading. The bridge was no more than 3 feet wide with the wooden planks giving you 12” of walking room. Oh, did I mention that it swung from side to side. Just looking at it made people shiver. Fortunately for us, our harnesses were fastened to a cable that travels the length of the bridge and protected us from falling over, or so that’s the concept of it.

It was onto the big boy. When we seen the 5^th and final line, this is what we were all either anticipating or dreading. Luke told us that the 4^th line was 150’ long and gave us a top speed of 12 – 20 mph. This final line though is 750’ long and will give us in excess of 60 mph. OMG. OMG. OMG. Kristi went first so she could take a picture of one of the couples from Oahu. Once she left, we were all in awe. Not one person was quiet and all our jaws were dropped. We were all gaining with excitement as each other went. One by one we went as we enjoyed what could very well have been the time of our lives. I was wondering how my mom would have fared but she did a heck of a lot better than I thought she was going to do. Damien was great and more than likely masked how afraid he was, but then again, that’s so him. Anabelle screamed the entire way down as her voice echoed through the trees. There was a bumper at the bottom opposite end of the course which prohibited people to smash into the telephone pole at the end. Of the 11 people in our party to go before me, only Kristi had reached the bumper, it didn’t look like it on our end, but fine, we’ll give her the benefit of the doubt. LOL. It became my goal more than anything to just reach that bumper. I also noticed that everyone that went before me went in a very un-aerodynamic way. This could have been the reason for them not reaching the bumper. I took off and tried to curl up into the fetal position and hold it the entire way. On my approach, the bumper came closer and closer. Then before you know it, SMACK! I touched the bumper. Actually, I smashed into it and broke their “Do Not Let Go of Your Cable” rule. I didn’t care. I reached the bumper. I did it.

The entire day was simply amazing. Ziplining was so much fun; I’m definitely going to recommend it to everyone at the hotel. Many thanks to Luke, Joe, and the rest of the Haleakala Zipline crew. Once we arrived back to their base, we were sharing how much fun we had. If you ever come out to Maui, you need to live and go Zipping. Best believe that we’re gearing up to tackle another Zipline course. #70 is now a memory.

CHECK OUT OUR ZIPLINE VIDEOS HERE

65. GO JETSKIING

WENT 70 MPH

FLIPPED 5 TIMES

HAD 1 HELL OF A MEMORY

89. RUN A 5K

It’s been a bit over 5 months since I last ran my 10k. Due to extreme laziness, I’ve chosen the computer over everything else. I’ve gone jogging a few times but never went for a run. With Operation Sexy in effect, I really wanted to change that. About a week prior, I’d go running from a golf course somewhat near my house and run from there home. It’s about a mile in distance and surprisingly I wasn’t stopping as often as I thought I would have. There was hope. Looking on VIRR.com I found that there was going to be a 5k at Keopuolani Park which is about a 15 minute drive from my house. The second part of the battle was the actual run; the first was to wake up early enough to get there, which is pretty unheard of as of recent.

Getting to the park, the tents are all set up. The finish line is beyond the registration. It cost $29 to register with all proceeds going to the Isiah Christian Academy. I’ve never heard of that school but its cool, I’ll drop the cash, and gladly did. The turnout wasn’t quite as good as many would have wanted it, but for the most part, it was a nice quaint crowd.

I tried to find a few songs that I could run to but unfortunately my sucky ass Blackberry didn’t get good reception. The mandatory stretching session was done and we all walked to the starting line. The students joined the runners for a thank you speech and prayer done by the faculty. The feeling of doing something good rushed within me. The fact that I was getting fit while helping out the community was soup to my soul, I loved it.

The beginning of the 5k was great. It was nice being in the middle of dozens and dozens of runners. Their energy gave me energy. That fed my spirit. The water tables were in abundance and so were the helpers turned motivators. There was a bit of a mishap with the direction the runners took. Due to a lack of communication and direction, the runners didn’t take a particular turn and ended up going in the wrong direction. Before I realized it, I was about ¼ mile off the track. We all quickly got back on track and continued on with the run. I ended up burning up a sweat almost immediately. I passed people as people passed me. The run in its entirety was just over 3 laps of the park. As the race wore on, the kids were chanting crap just to be funny with their peers. It was a bit irritating but like I’ve said before, if I was in their shoes, I’d be doing the same, so I can’t hate.

Crossing the finish line signaled the start of a new beginning for me. It signaled a time of change. It’s time to me to really put my initiative to good use and pursue a better me. I think and talk about various changes in my life but never chose to take the initiative to pursue them. This “FINISH” line symbolized that. The day was great in every way. I did something good for my health. I did something good for my spirit. And I did something good for my soul. Bucket List #89 has been X’ed.

123. LAUGH UNTIL I CRY

Gabriel Iglesias is coming! Gabriel Iglesias is coming!

After many years, I finally had the chance to go see a full on stand up comedy show. And for more spice, for my first show, I got to see one of my favorite comedians perform, Mr. Gabriel Iglesias.

I’ve spent many nights watching Gabriel Iglesias on Comedy Central. I spent many workout sessions running to his voice to take my mind off of my workout. And let me tell you, it works.

So I finally get my show tickets and because the wifey is on Oahu, I get to go by myself. I seriously had the best seat in the house. I was between two pillars on the second level. My closest neighbor to me was about 4 feet away. I loved it. I had an unobstructed view. It was optimal. I had no one’s head blocking my view and no one’s knees banging mines like everyone did below me on the first level.

From the start of the show, Martin Moreno had everyone rolling in their chairs. He was great. Up next were Steve Lathom and his lazy eye. The way he made fun of himself yet still played the part of a pimp was epic. The 3^rd comic that performed was the 5’2” wonder, Noe Gonzalez. His Harley Davidson to moped joke was piss your pants funny. He was hysterical. The 3 comics did a fantastic job before handing the crowd over to Fluffy.

 I feel it would be a travesty if I go into detail what his performance was about. If you ever get a chance to see Gabriel Iglesias perform, definitely do it. His performances on TV don’t do him justice. From him walking on stage to him walking off, he had the audience in stitches. At many points in his routine I was standing up laughing ferociously. I was about to fly the chair because he had me going. Even after the show, for about 4 days, I had the worst headache from him. From his voice overs, to his stories, to his sound effects, and especially his delivery, he is a comedy legend. And with all the laughter, one thing that I really admired about him, is that he did his entire set without cussing and telling dirty jokes. As much as I love dirty jokes, not hearing F-bombs was a nice change of pace.

I’ll definitely go to his next concert and the next one and the next one. This show was absolutely epic. And without even knowing it, I got to cross off #123 off my Bucket List, LAUGH TIL I CRY.

88. RUN A 10K

Miles and miles were ran over the course of my lifetime. Hundreds?? KILLED IT.. Thousands?? GRAVY.. Tens of thousands?? MORE THAN LIKELY..

Though miles and miles have been walked, jogged, skipped, and sprinted, among any other speed, I have never had the chance to do an organized run. Saturday, November 7 was the day I ran my first 10k. it was for the day of hope contributing to cancer research.

18 hours to starting line.. I seen the flier around town and mentally wanted to take part but physically I'd brush it off. I haven't been running for a few weeks due to laziness so I really thought that I wasn't about to do this.

12 hours to starting line.. I had bought a runners world magazine like I do when I get in my work out phase. I would look at all the pictures and read all the articles. I'd fantasize about what I had seen and read then dismiss it as if it were a parking ticket. WHATEVER.. but I knew that I somewhat made up in my mind that this was very possible.. all that stopped me was becoming the pessimist/realist that I am almost to a fault.

6 hours to starting line.. SLEEP.. Forcing myself to sleep was pretty damn tough considering all the adrenaline is starting to take shape.

30 minutes to starting line.. I make it down to the parking lot.. CASH.. check.. SHOES.. check.. GLASSES.. check.. PHONE.. check.. EARPHONES.. check.. ... And I'm off to the shuttle to go to the registration area. I'm one of the last 10 people to register. The lady asks me, "Which do you wanna do? the 5k.. or the 10k.."  hmm.. I know the 5k for me is cake.. but a 10k sounds out of my reach.. especially considering that I haven't really been running.. hmm.. FCK IT.. I'll do the 10k.. *pay $40*.. collect the bag.. collect the shirt..

5 minutes to starting line.. I find myself right next to the toxic smell of coffee. GROSSAGE. Next to it is a huge jug of OJ.. I'm there.. hoping that its not the meadow gold orange flavored water crap I'm happily surprised that it wasnt. cup 1.. gulp.. cup 2.. gulp.. cup 3.. gulp.. cup 4.. gulp.. The emcee/ fitness person stretches everyone out and I cooly stretch along on the side only following some of her directions. The runners/walkers make their way up the hill from wailea beach and get into line along Wailea Alanui. Newscaster Howard Dashefsky is in the mix of people doing the 5k.. I find that admirable.

NO GUN SOUND.. The line is moving. Okay, here we go!!

First starts the weaving in and out of people. Onto the street and back. Onto the grass and back. Thinking which will probably do me better, I continue dodging people and their strollers. No biggie. For those of you who I may have offended for whatever reason, I'm sorry. lol.. Uphill and downhill I go. Man, doing this is so fcking exhilarating! On the far side of the street there are high school volunteers cheering people on and it's seriously bringing a tear to my eye. like f'reals. As gay as that sounds, it was touching. For a few minutes, the thought "I'M DOING IT.. I'M REALLY DOING IT!", was passing through my mind. It was an adrenaline high that I really enjoyed. I was passing people and other people were passing me. The uphills and downhills continued. My sweat glands are at full force. Hip hop song after hip hop song passed through me. BlackStarr and Talib, amongst others were helping me cope with those grueling uphills that the damn lava caused. ha ha. I see the sign.. 1m.. and I think to myself..WTF.. thats it. I still had a way to go.. but it's cool. I was in my zone. It's an early morning. No sun beaming down on me. Just the chill breeze. Run. Stop. Walk. Run. Stop. Walk. Run. Stop. Walk. RUN! I see the sign 5k and surprisingly it didn't hurt as much as seeing the 1m sign did. I don't even know why. I pass drink stations and see variously placed teens cheer and get somewhat annoying much like I would have had I been that age. Hell, even at this age, I'd be irritating. I'm passing different properties. I pass the newly named Makena Resort, no longer the Maui Prince.. I cut the corner behind the hotel and run on the cobblestone path as tourists are smiling and wishing me a good morning. And oddly enough I didn't think to myself, stfu.. stupid fck. This time i wasn't behind the desk, this was just their human side coming out. It wasn't the sarcastic tourist behavior that I normally get. LOL. I pass the vacation home that David Bowie and wife Iman rent out when they come to the island. The address is either 5410.. or 5910.. one of the 2.. I mosey on through my run walking at times then going back into running. Tired of my blackberry radio, I youtubed and repeated Jay-Z's "Death of Auto-tune" to pass about 30 minutes. 30 minutes later I move to some slow song that I can't think of the name. Then Du Hast from Rammstein is gonna be the song to carry me through the finish line. The entire time, I pass and get passed by a lady who vacations here from Washington. She tells me how they come every year and how she ran the 10k 6 of her last 7 years. As we pass the last water station her spirit's up as it lifts mines. She gives a thumbs up to the volunteers and thanks them for their services. She cracks jokes with them which frees my mind from the rest of the run ahead.

"FINISH" IS IN SIGHT.. 2 more hills.. I know I can make it. It's almost there.. c'mon dude, PUSH! Random encouragement is getting me through. The closer I get, the more I'm yelling at myself, "Dude, you're there. 10ks. Hell yeah." The Washingtonian is right in front of me and I figure, I can definitely out sprint her but how about we cross at the same time, TOGETHER. We do. As the helper rips the bottom of the paper from my chest, I get introduced to Melissa. "Brandon", I say exhausted.  Whew, I catch my breath. My earphones are dangling from the collar of my shirt. My glasses I could give a rip about. I put the cool wet rag on my head and walk through the cool down sprinklers. I have a different stench of odor, not just sweaty, but SUH-WET-E. And I'm savoring each and every drop of it.

I've run thousands and thousands of miles. Whether it be playing around, playing basketball, jogging for whatever god forsaken reason, its been done. But not to this extent.. one of my life's biggest accomplishments has been reached today. The shirt is my trophy.. the pride of doing this will always be there.

I DID IT!! .. Now when's the next race??

22. GO TO DISNEYWORLD

as Julie Andrews said...

REMEMBER, DREAMS COME TRUE

21. GO TO DISNEYLAND

THE HAPPIEST PLACE ON EARTH

54. TAKE A HELICOPTER RIDE

I always considered going on a helicopter tour my "touristy" goal. There are tons of helicopter tours that are around and Maui is no exception. I actually had the opportunity to go on a helicopter tour when I was a little kid. Honestly, I don't remember anything beyond the tarmac.

I had the trip set up for Anabelle, Damien, and myself for quite some time. I booked it on MauiScape Helicopters. We initially were going to do the Haleakala tour, but due to a somewhat big misunderstanding we were upgraded to the West Maui/ Molokai tour. We had to wait an extra week to do it which sucked but was so frickin worth it. Damien was bummed, rightfully so, but they really made it up to him.

One week later.. DAY OF.. We first get to their base and check in. We tell the receptionist our weights, take a seat, and chat with the other families that are there with us. One was from Canada and the other from California. We had a great conversation. They envied us as we were from the islands. We sort out what we can bring and what we end up bringing; mainly the trip's necessities. Cameras, wallets and phones are what we go with. We jump on their bus and shortly thereafter we arrive at the heliport. Their staff directs us to get into these lines according to the markers as the helicopter enters the scene.

 DAMIEN & I ON THE HELICOPTER

Once landed and settled, we get in, buckle up, and scope out the interior of the chopper. The gauges, buttons, switches and lights intrigue us. Damien and I are in the back with the father-son combo from Canada with us. ANABELLE and the Canadian mom are in front with the pilot.

As we lift off, the sights are instantly amazing. Though we can only see the heliport, the airport, sugarcane, and the streets, it was great. A few minutes into the tour, we're pinpointing all the places that we know. With the headsets on, we are entertained with music and some information from our pilot slash emcee slash tour guide.

We booked the West Maui/ Molokai tour. The island of Molokai was first. The ocean that is between Maui and Molokai is called the Pailolo Channel. It semed that we were pretty low to the water as if we were just skimming the surface. That was pretty damn cool. As we approached the island, we were in constant awe. Awaiting us was an abundance of lush greenery. Just about every shade of green was in sight, darks and lights, bright ones and pale ones, and every shade in between. A few minutes with Molokai below us we came across waterfall after waterfall, cascading in the light. We brushed along the cliffside and truly realized that other than by helicopter, these views are unattainable otherwise. This was by far one of the highlights of the trip. It was absolutely beautiful.

We flew over Kalaupapa, where Father (now Saint) Damien looked after and supported hundreds and hundreds of lepers for 16 years. We learned that he gave emotional support to these people before contracting leprosy himself and later died. It was a bit uneasy knowing what had happened there about 150 years ago. This was definitely a place rich with history.

After about 25 minutes of touring Molokai, we soon ventured back to the west side of Maui, Lahaina. By then, the subtle vibrations of the helicopter knocked out both kids. The pilot told us that that's somewhat common. Flying over Lahaina was also cool. Both Anabelle and I noticed all the hotels that we once stayed at; the Hyatt, Westin, Royal Lahaina, etc. We seen Anabelle's work place and were totally not paying attention to the pilot. We ventured over Waikapu and the sugar cane that connects Wailuku and Kahului before getting back to official "air space".

The experience of a helicopter tour was invigorating in many senses. We all had a great time and really cherished this experience. I hope that one day we can all go on another tour, maybe one in a different state. And maybe that one can be #54A.

99. HOLD A GOLD MEDAL

Athletes train day in and day out for an almighty goal, to become a champion. To me, the title "Champion" is right up there with being a hero, hall of famer, or a legend. Mama always said you can do whatever you set your mind to. Even I could have been a champion, and I know I could have been one too. Like most people, maybe even you, I've never listened to my mama.

Holding a championship ring is #78 on my bucket list. The amount of work and dedication attaining the status of champion is something I'll never fully grasp. Now when you magnify that to become the best in the WORLD, that is unimaginable. About 10 years ago, I found myself face to face with the 2000 gold medal Olympian, Rulon Gardner. Gardner is most famous for upsetting Alexander Karelin, who has been undefeated in Greco Roman wrestling for 13 years.

Many moons ago, in late 2000, I was working at The Sports Authority here on Maui. There was a flaky guy named Richard that I worked with. He somehow had tees with Rulon Gardner's wrestling coach. Rulon was on the island for a wrestling exhibit. Richard asked if it was possible if Rulon could swing by and make a little appearance which the happily obliged. When I first seen Rulon, he was just a colossal individual. His fists were the size of my head and his head was the size of the rest of me. While shaking his hand, his hands were so big that his pointer and thumb could touch. DAMN!! Though he was as big as he was, he was by far the gentlest big man I have ever come across. Working in the footwear department at the time, I had the opportunity to help him find shoes. Because he was a size 15, which we didn't have a big inventory of, he was very much let down. The few size 15s that we did have didn't do him much good either being that he couldn't wear the because of his contract with Aasics. He carried a small black box that both employees and customers were swarming over like flies on "shut yo mouth". In this black box was a 2000 Olympic gold medal from Sydney, Australia. Many fellow employees of mines touched it and wore it. For myself, because I was helping Rulon with shoes, I didn't really have a chance to admire it as much as I would have wanted to, but that was absolutely fine. After getting my turn with the gold medal, I asked Rulon if there's any way I would get some wrestling shoes autographed. Being as gracious as he was, he did it. Holding, seeing, and feeling a real life hold medal was definitely a great experience. The attention to detail that it had was incredible. If you haven't felt gold before, it was pretty damn heavy, which amazed me. If you ever have the opportunity to hold any type of Olympic medal, do so. The sight and feeling of one is unparallel. Unfortunately I don't have a picture of me with it but it'll forever be burned into my memories.

 THE MEDAL ON THE RIGHT

Not only did I get to hold and fell an actual gold medal, but I got to get an autograph by a golf medalist. And to top it all off, I was blessed with being able to help a person that is one of the biggest victors in Olympic Games history.

I still should have listened to my mama though.