Aloha, everyone!
It’s Monday, Nov. 4th, and pretty soon the holidays will be upon us! It’s amazing how quickly this year has gone by … seems like it was just yesterday that we were putting away all of our Christmas decorations! In any case, the holiday season is such a joyous time for me … and I could sure use it after the kind of year this has been so far. Good things are coming our way, though … I can feel it!
The boys and I are now totally focused on our upcoming 2013 Hot Hawaiian Christmas Tour in Japan at the end of this month. I’m really excited about the new music that we’ll be bringing to all of our fans there including our first-ever live recording!  Some of Alex’s new compositions which he wrote in LA will also be featured and there will be a few surprises along the way too. It’ll be great fun so don’t miss it … check our manoadna.com website for more info.
We finally moved all of the stuff out of my mom’s apartment last week – furniture, artwork, memorabilia – it was so sad and so final. There was one bright moment, though … as we were sorting through my mom’s belongings, I spotted her little quilted sewing kit and immediately felt an emotional wave hit me. There were many times when I watched her take out her needle and thread to fix a hem or repair a button and that little sewing kit brought back so many fond memories! I now have it at home and will probably put it in our display case at ‘IOLANI as a tribute to her from us. And I’ll probably have mixed emotions going back to Arcadia now … the people there are great, but so many painful memories. I hope time heals …
My elbow still hurts … doesn’t help that I still golf and play the guitar which puts a strain on the injured ligaments. Oh well, no pain no gain, right? And I even have a personal trainer now to help strengthen my core and improve my posture. Her name is Shiho and she really kicks my butt! I never realized how weak and inflexible I was until I met her and it’s been a rude and very painful awakening! I know it’s going to be a long and torturous process, but I can see that it’s going to help me tremendously in the long run. If only it wasn’t so damn painful! :-) So there are now two women who I fear other than my wife – Shiho, my personal trainer, and Michelle, my voice coach. I’m actually scared out of my wits before every session with these ladies … and to think I’m paying them to boot! Am I an idiot or what?!! Nah … seriously, though, these women are true professionals and really know their stuff and I’m so fortunate to have them torturing me! Hahaha!
Aloha, “D”