Honoring Great People

On Sunday, April 17, 2005 I had the great honor and privilege to present Dr. James Skouge (Jim) with honorary membership into the Hui Po'okela Chapter of Mortar Board for 2005 to 2006. We had to devise an elaborate plan to get him to attend, for we ALL know that he would never attend something where the spotlight would shine brightly upon him. So, he was led to believe that I would be receiving an award and he would be presenting me with this award. The plan took LOTS of effort to carry out, and I must thank Chanel, the outgoing Historian, of Mortar Board for persevering in order to carry out this plan!

I feel that it is important to acknowledge and pay tribute to those who mean so much in our lives while they're still with us! Too often, we fall prey to honoring people AFTER they have passed on. Everyone in our office, Lei, Patrick, Steven, and myself knew what was going on; even Sharon, Jim's amazing wife knew of this plan. I eagerly awaited the banquet, excited that I could share the wonderful things that Jim does with people who CARE!

The plan worked amazingly. I was so very happy to see that Sharon could attend; I spoke with her prior to the banquet and she expressed disappointment that she couldn't attend due to work demands. Then I see Sterling, Jim's best friend, arrive...I'm thinking, "Great! But where the heck is our friend and camera man Steven?!"

"Jim what the hell are you doing here?!" I tell Jim...playing the plot out all the way till the very end!

I don't think Jim knew what had hit him until after he had finished making comments in response to what had just transpired. A little after the presentation, Jim comes over to me and utters, "You're a dead man!" That was just too funny! I know Jim was really touched and appreciated the honor! You deserve it, buddy, you deserve it!

Even if the honor was for Jim, he still took the time to share things with the audience about how much I do and will accomplish in my lifetime; it's a bit embarrassing to be up there listening to this when the night belongs to HIM. But again, this is just another example of the one word I believe sums up Jim - UNSELFISH.

I'll end here as I have a long week ahead of me. I just felt a need to post an entry to further acknowledge the great night that we all shared together!

Randomness for the week:


This is Brandon working hard on a story
at the computer lab on Friday. He's doing
a great job each week. (Yes, I did obtain
permission from him to share this with
everyone!)


Sharon & Eulalia enjoying a UH men's
volleyball game on Friday. We all had
a great time! Steven, Suzie, Patrick were
there as well! It was fun!


Jim celebrates his induction as an honorary
member of the Hui Po'okela Chapter of
Mortar Board for 2005-06. Sharon, Sterling,
Steven, my parents, and I were happy to
join in this special night!

Until next time, I wish everyone a great remainder of the semester. My postings could be sporadic at best as I have many demands to carry out in order to be the best student I can be; which is priority #1! Pay homage to those who play a special role in your life. It can be as simple as saying, "Thank you!" but I urge you to do this so that those important people KNOW how much they mean to you.

Congratulations, Jim! Please don't fire me...mind I remind you that your WHOLE office crew was in on the plot! Haha! We ALL love you, buddy!

Time Waits for No One

Time...it's such an interesting concept to think about. As we think, we can't help but envision time passing us by. Why is it that we always think we never have enough time?! And when we DO have time, we often think, "I have too much time on my hands, I'm bored!"

So much to do, but time keeps ticking, what am I to do?
I try to make time stand still, but dates fly by with things due.
Striving to be the best I can be, I'm the only one I can let down;
Expectation, potential, ability - great words that will take you to town.
Don't get caught up in the hype, if you fall prey you will pay.
I should call it a night and head to bed cause I'm running out of things to say!

Thanks for taking the time to check in with me. I know I've been neglecting my blog. School and life just got super busy; I haven't found the time (there's that word again!) to write all that I want to, need to. I plan to get back into a groove sooner than later!

It was pointed out that I might be breaching confidentiality with some things mentioned on my blog. I am VERY cognizant of this issue and will often err on the side of caution, making sure that I have permission to share what I share, if it involves others, OR by excluding specific names, details, and images. All that you DO see and read has been cleared and approved by the respective individuals.

I am also believing that some of you reading this might be new visitors, introduced to my blog via my presentation at the Capacity Building Institute, through Dr. Jim Skouge, or maybe even through Dr. Ann Barnes. Welcome! Thanks for taking the time to visit my blog! It's lacking any new entries of late, but stick with me and I assure you that I'll post entries that will be interesting to read...much more interesting than this boring entry!

Randomness of the week pictures WILL make a return by week's end. I'm looking at the time, realizing that I should be in bed fast asleep, since I just recovered from a bit of a cold...luckily I was able to fight it off in a 72-hour period.

Until next time, have a wonderful week! Remember that you are only as good as the people you surround yourself with. Each day that I go into work on campus, I realize how truly lucky I am. My co-workers are truly class acts!

I've just started taking interest in Myspace.com; it's pretty addicting! This is my site there: http://www.myspace.com/bkajiyama

Also, I want to remind and urge people to volunteer any help they can offer to my efforts in organizing Art Enabled 2005. Landry and I are starting to get things going into second gear, as the date of the event (July 22, 2005) quickly approaches!