Nova English School

Posted on September 26, 2007 
Filed Under Uncategorized, Japan, Nova, Eikaiwa | Leave a Comment

I know this is BlogAloha, but I thought I would give any people that were considering moving to Japan to teach English a warning!  DO NOT WORK FOR NOVA!!  Right now their business is in deep trouble!!  Recently, teachers have been receiving their pay late and schools are being closed down.  It doesn’t look very good for NOVA.  I believe the only thing that will save them is if someone buys them or if some how they can get some more money from a lender, investor, or by merger. 

There is only one way I would work for NOVA these days, and that is if I needed a way to get a VISA.  I would use NOVA to get the VISA with the expectation of quiting as soon as I got there.  This would require anyone who wanted to do this to have enough money in the bank to survive and a place to stay.  So if you are a little brave or have some money in the bank and some connections in the city where you want to live, and you need a VISA….I say go for it.  If not I say find another company or at least wait until everything settles down……BUT…….Always have a Plan B and Plan C!!

Here are some things I would have:

I hope this doesn’t scare some people away from working in Japan.  I highly recommend doing it to anyone that asks me about it.  Hell, I would move back in a second if I could!!  If you have any questions leave a comment and i will gladly answer them. 

Aloha,
ET

 

 

 

Disclaimer:  I worked for NOVA for 5+ years and though I had some issues with the company I loved the staff and students so I delt with the BS when it came up. 

SuperFerry

Posted on September 26, 2007 
Filed Under Hawaii News, Hawaii Super Ferry | Leave a Comment

I so want the Hawaii Super Ferry to do well, but it seems like no one else in the islands agrees.  The outer island folks are pretty irritated by the HSF but I don’t see why.  They have known about this thing for YEARS.  Why did they wait until now to protest?  The State spent a lot of OUR tax money on this project!  It is a brand new boat that was designed with the environment in mind (as much as possible from what I heard).  If you look at some of the old leaking ships that travel back and forth between the islands you would be happy to see the HSF coming to your island.  I have wondered if big business was some how behind all of this.  Some companies have had ZERO competition for many, many years and I think they are a little worried that they might have to actual compete.  I could be wrong but something seems a little fishy about this. 

Will the Hawaii Super Ferry make it?  I don’t know.  I guess it all depends on how much money they have and how long they will be in court.  I hope they make it and dont pack up ship and leave (no pun intened). 

Aloha,

ET

PS.  Many drifter and racers are hoping the HSF survives.  That way we can go to tracks on the outer islands since they close down the one on Oahu!!

Doctor Trey Show

Posted on September 16, 2007 
Filed Under Hawaii News | Leave a Comment

Head over to Doctortrey.com every Sunday night at about 8pm Hawaii Time (check the site for the exact time).  It’s also a podcast so if you miss it you can subscribe on iTunes.  I was lucky enough to be a guest on the show.  His study is the bomb!! We are talking about a real deal professional studio where he actually produces real music artist.

808Talk Podcast: RIP

Posted on September 5, 2007 
Filed Under Uncategorized | 1 Comment

It’s a sad day in Hawaii! VBrown of 808Talk decided to end the 808Talk podcast.  He has been producing the show for a little over 2 years, and hasn’t missed a week, even when he was out of town.  Next week will be his final show.  He ended the show for several reasons, one of them being money. I am sure you can imagine how much time and effort it takes to produce a weekly show.  If not, it takes at least 2-5 hours to produce a 1 hour show.

I am a little pissed off, and it’s not at VBrown, it’s at the podcast scene and listeners!! Everyone wants something for nothing on the net these days.  For the numbers that 808talk has, it should have been easy to make enough money to support the podcast.  Listeners need to support the shows they like!!  If you like what you hear or see on the net, you should give up some money or at least click on some of their ads, or send emails to the host. You can’t always take, take, take, you gotta give back every once in a while!!

This was kind of a rant and it probably doesn’t make sense but I felt I had to say something.  I will probably write a more thought out blog entry in a day or so.

Aloha,

ET

Mekong Thai Restaurant: You have been BANNED!!

Posted on September 4, 2007 
Filed Under Uncategorized | 2 Comments

One thing that really irritates me about living in Hawaii is how some Chinese and Thai Restaurants don’t give you rice with a main course.  I have been to thousands of Asian Restaurants around the US, Japan, and Korea and have never seen this.  Is this unique to Hawaii? You mean I gotta pay extra for white rice?
Yesterday the wifey and I went to get some Thai Curry and we spent $30 on 2 small containers of seafood curry.  I sat there and waited for the order to be cooked thinking of how good Thai Curry was going to be with some Thai Rice.  When my order was ready I saw only 2 containers and then it hit me.  NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! I thought of the first time I went to a Chinese Restaurant here with my good buddy ROLO. We couldn’t believe that rice wasn’t included! We asked the waitress and she was like, “well we give you free tea”.  We were like, that’s supposed to be included with the rice and the meal as well.

$30 and I don’t even get rice with it?  That’s not even the worst part about it.  Curry is supposed to be served with rice!  At least add an extra dollar to the price and include it with the meal!

Do you think I should add this restaurant to my “Black List”?  Should I give them a second chance?  I have to think about it for a couple days but I am leaning toward the BAN!!

If you want real good Thai food in Hawaii that comes with rice you should go to McCully Shopping Center and hit the Thai restaurant there.  It’s called Puket Thai.

Super Ferry and protestors

Posted on August 28, 2007 
Filed Under Uncategorized | Leave a Comment

Well there was a little problem with the Super Ferries trip to Maui today.  It seems that protestors decided they were going to try and block it.  There were surfers and swimmers in the water trying to block it, and they were doing a good job until the Coast Guard and Police came.  I wonder if big business had anything to do with this….

Aloha,
ET

It’s Hot!!

Posted on August 28, 2007 
Filed Under Uncategorized, Hawaii News, Fun, Crowds | Leave a Comment

Wow, it was 91 degrees in Honolulu today! The A/C’s are on full and lots of people are at the beach. I went to Ala Moana Beach Park on Sunday at about 5:30pm and it was still packed. Usually by that time the amount of cars and people is considerably less. I am not sure if it’s the heat or if it’s the end of the summer type thing, but it was not normal! I am looking forward to a little cooler weather. Working in paradise isn’t that fun sometimes…

Aloha,
ET

Keeaumoku McDonalds is remodeling

Posted on July 3, 2007 
Filed Under Hawaii News, Fun, construction | Leave a Comment

The long time favorite of a lot townies, Keeaumoku McDonalds, is closing down for about 6 months to remodel.  Actually, they are going to tear down and rebuild.  I walk past this place every day and I know there are going to be a lot of retires without a place to go for cheap coffee.  In Hawaii just about every McDonalds has a group of seniors that hang out every morning and talk story.  I am assuming the reason why they are remodeling the place is to enlarge it and to make it more modern.  I will take pictures of the construction and post it on my flickr site.

 

Aloha,

ET

PS.  I think it’s about time for a Wordpress Theme change.  What do you think?

South Shore Swell

Posted on July 2, 2007 
Filed Under Fun, Surf | Leave a Comment

We have been blessed with a nice south swell this week!!  There is also another one coming midweek so July 4th should be a nice day off for the surfers in Hawaii.  The only problem with the swell was the full moon, which made the tides extra high and low.  My brother and I made the mistake of going on high tide!  We went to Publics which was packed and the tide killed the fun.  I think I caught 2 waves in 2 hours and one of them was when I was paddling in and right on the beach. 

I got a little video yesterday while walking around Magic Island at Ala Moana.  I am going to try and edit it tonight and get it up on Youtube or some similiar service. 

 

Aloha,

Et

Summer Summer Time

Posted on June 27, 2007 
Filed Under Sandy Beach Hawaii | Leave a Comment

Summer time in Hawaii is the best!  It’s even better on days off or for the students around the island.  One of the best places to see a true Hawaii summer is any day at Sandy Beach.  It is a cool place to hang out, especially for the younger crowd.  The parking lot is packed everone is talking story, hanging out with friends and family, swimming, sunbathing, body boarding, body surfing, fishing, etc.

I have “some” pictures from Sandy’s on my Flickr page.  Next time I go I will try to capture the true essence of “a day at Sandys”.  I is kind of hard to capture this but I will try my best.  Stay tuned…

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