Am I :D or :( ... emoticons...why I can't type without them. ;)

It all began with simple ha! ha! ha!'s at the end of my sentences. Then I started writing lol. Later it was WTH-k. (I try not to swear even in text form, although I am not perfect). Now, I don't know how to type without them or worse...emoticons.

I just get nervous and question myself, will they know I'm kidding if I don't write LM@O or ;). A friend of mine who holds degrees in English and French Literature chastised me a while back after I sent her a sarcastic email with a "LOL" & :D at the end of the sentence. She commented that I had become "one of them." By "them" she meant the masses who do not know how to express themselves properly through punctuation and diction.

My main form of communication between clients is through email. I usually only speak with them when I am actually in negotiations, even then usually I type to clarify. However, I find that many of them use emoticons in business language. It makes me uncomfortable, however I feel as if I HAVE to return the LOL or ROFLM@O.

It must be indicative of the sarcastic nature of our society that we really can't just say what we mean. Our humor can be so biting and our punctuation so lackadaisical that we can not decipher what the other person means or is trying to say without them adding a :o) or a >:). I enjoy a good joke, but where does that leave our language if we can not properly punctuate. How will we understand one another? Is the English language doomed or am I just going to have to make up new ways of expressing myself. :-P.

Man Hands...yeah that's me ;)

So, in a previous post I discussed that a physical feature I like about myself are my hands. What I failed to tell you, is that my hands are pretty big. My friend and work and I laugh about our hands and if you've ever seen the Jerry Seinfeld episode, we call them our "Man hands."

I wear a size 9 in ring. YEAH! I know. Crazy. I can't buy any of the nice feminine gloves because one size does NOT fit ALL!

I conjure up images of "So, I Married an Axe Murderer" and say "Hand move now" and laugh. One of my mahu (gay male feminine) cousins tried to make me feel better, he said "They are not Man Hands, they are elegant and graceful, like Queen Salote." That's why I love my mahu cousins.

I really don't mind that they're big, its funny how some things make you sensitive and others you just brush your shoulder. Now, if they made fun of my old red-framed glasses it would be ON! ;)

Confessions of a Social Network Addict

Hello, my name is Hola and I am a social network addict. It started out as just something fun and casual. I thought, hey all my friends are doing it. It began with a casual profile on myspace. Then my cousins all told me they were on bebo. Then all my classmates and siblings were on facebook. Next thing I knew, I was writing on other peoples walls. I couldn't even go a whole day without checking on my phone. While I was in line at the grocery store, I would check on other peoples walls. When sitting in doctors appointments I would be facebook stalking. Then people began poking me. At first, I thought it was strange and then I started to like it. *sobbing* I couldn't stop.

I told myself, I could handle it. I mean, I wasn't hurting anyone. All of the games were free. However, I started comparing myself to others. Are we "best friends," are we "soul mates." Who did I need to cut out because our pet peeves are "same difference" or worse..."miles apart." I began avoiding my friends because I know that they would wonder why I did not accept their flowers. *screams* I can only save so much rain forest a day.

SO, I lost my phone. (I don't want to hear it) It has forced me to re-evaluate my life. I have had to take a hard long look at how many of my 192 really close friends can I keep in touch. How many pieces of flair really mean something to me. One day at a time. One day at a time.

Am I being too picky????

I have an Uncle, well I have many actually. But, this one particular Uncle, every time I see him tells me to tell my mother to stop being so picky. He is referring to my marital status. He thinks I should just get married. As if I can just pick a husband up at the local McDonald's. Well, he actually may not be too far off.

This past weekend, I had to open the store as usual. However, I also had to make the bank deposit from the night before. The store opens at 8:30am and the bank opens at 9:00 am. We always try to have two people in the store. I told my cousin I didn't think it would be that busy this morning because of the LDS General Conference, later definitely, but only between sessions. So, I told her I would drop off the deposit and I needed to weigh in at weight watchers. I said, it would take me about 30 minutes and I would buy her some McDonald's. She agreed and so I ran my errands. When I pulled into the McDonald's parking lot, the line to the drive in was waaay to long. I thought for sure the line inside would be shorter, plus I try not to idle my car, for the environment and my wallet...ha. Next time I'm going to let the car idle and cause a hole in the ozone. Here is what happened.

So, I parked the car and went inside. I was standing in a huge crowd and trying to get to the line. A small hispanic man with a strong accent, told me I could go ahead of him. I smiled and said thank you. Then we proceeded to have the following conversation.

Him: Where is your husband?
Me: huh?

Him: Boyfriend?
Me: (When will I learn to lie) *Awkward smile*. No.

Him: Do you want a boyfriend?
Me: (the lady in front of me kept making the guy repeat back her order, he hardly spoke English and the line was taking FOREVER, I wanted to kill them) Not really.

Him: Are you sure?
Me: Yeah, I'm good.

Him: So, am I. (He started to laugh, ick)
Me: ( I Quickly turn to the cashier and give her my order and money and feel sick to my stomach and move to the side to wait for my food. As I am waiting a kid comes up to the man and says, "Dad is the food done yet?")

Don't ever be picking up girls at McDonald's while your KIDS are waiting for their food. Am I being too picky...I don't think so. Sheesh!

10 Signs You're too OLD for the SINGLES WARD.

I attend a singles LDS Ward. For those who do not belong to the LDS Faith, many of these wards are to "help" single LDS people go to church with people who have a similar outlook on life and have shared experiences. It can be a good thing, however it is mainly for people in their 20's and there is a time when people may "hint" that maybe you should go to the "regular" family wards. These are all hypothetical, however they may hit close to home for some. The characters and situations are all fictional. ( just needed to add my Law & Order clause in case some of you seek royalties or compensation for public humiliation.) ;)

1. The Bishop starts asking members to pray specifically for you to find "a special spirit" during the monthly fast.

2. Other ward members start referring to you as "wise" and "more mature" when trying to set you up with THEIR single parent.

3. When you go to a church dance you request the DJ to play your favorite song, he smiles at you and says, "I love the oldies too."

4. The newly appointed counselor in the bishopric says in his first address to the ward, that he is happy to see some familiar faces. Especially yours because you used to teach him in PRIMARY!

5. You mention to your family home evening group that you went to the Cheers bar when you were in Boston, they all look at you with blank stares and judge you for going to a bar.

6. The year that you graduated from High School is the year that many of them were born.

7. The bishop gives you a calling as Ward Historian, because all of the ward members think that history started with you.

8. You attend a new singles ward with your sister/brother and the bishop tells them that its so nice to have their "MOTHER/FATHER" attend church with them.

9. You find yourself telling other ward members that you remembered going to the ward with their parents. Good times.

10. You make some movie suggestions to the ward activity committee and they turn you down because they don't watch TCM they watch TMZ.

Remember this is fictional, I am not that old...I think. ;)

Why I have the greatest roommates in the WHOLE WORLD!

I have the GREATEST ROOMIES in the WORLD! Here are some reasons.

1. My Roommates share a room and bathroom, I get my own room and bathroom. (Jealous, I know)

2. I get along with my roommates "boyfriend" as I like to call him. He is quite the handsome guy, but really not my type. He's so "patriarchal."

3. I'm so comfortable with my roomies, I feel like we've known each other my whole life.

4. My roommates charge me the perfect rent rate. It is very affordable.

5. My only hang up is my roommates family. They are not always my favorite people. Especially the ones that call from Hawaii. You are 4 hours behind. We're already in BED!

That's about all. I hope you all are enjoying your roomies as well. Remember its not the destination, its the journey! That's how you find happiness. ;)

Hawaiian Hut...or Hawaiian Nut

Recently, I began helping out at my uncle and father's store. It has been very entertaining to say the least. (I'm still at the hotel)

So much drama and craziness. If there were bilingual reality shows on Polynesians, it should be Tony's Hawaiian Hut. It would have to be a USA television series, because characters are all welcome.

If you come to the store, it is not like Wal-Mart or Kmart where you know where everything is. When you come into the store one day, it will be completely changed and remodeled the next day. The store has been remodeled and dry walled more times than I can remember. I laugh at this because the last time we re-painted our house was when it was almost burned down due to my mother leaving a candle lit on the staircase(Maybe another blog, I'll think about it). Before that, it was painted when we moved in...1996. Yeah, I know.

It is like watching an episode of Who's the Boss at times. Everyone has an opinion on everything and Tongan's are aggressive on the football/rugby field, not so much with each other. My father, the least of all. My mother on the other hand is a tiger. Do not mess with her.

My aunt is the fashion consultant for all the clothing and merchandising. She is very serious about it and does a great job. Her daughter and my cousins help out with the store. They are hilarious and we laugh more than we work sometimes. If you're on the west side you should come and visit us at Tony's Hawaiian Hut...or Nut sometimes I forget.