Author Archives: Aunty

About Aunty

Aunty is a new senior citizen and loving this phase of her life. Less responsibilities, less fear of being weird, able to do more of the things that I want to do! Older, yes, slower, yes, but life is even more wonderful in my golden years and I look forward to even goldener ones.

Ala Moana Hotel auction and update

Posted on by
3
auction

Tuesday’s auction on the Courthouse lanai

Aunty was again at the Courthouse steps (actually it is the lanai fronting the courthouse) to try her hand at bidding for an Ala Moana Hotel room unit this Tuesday at noon.  The foreclosure notice was found in the classified section of the Honolulu Star-Advertiser – the bank was due $215,458 with arrears, late charges, etc.

Aunty went to its Sunday open house about a month ago, met Jenny the commissioner in charge there, and decided to attend the auction.

Fortunately, Aunty’s credit union is just across the street from the Courthouse, so it was easy to stop there earlier in the day to withdraw a cashier’s check for 10% of the max of what Aunty might be bidding.  (All that is required of the winning bidder on the day of auction is 10% of the bid.  The rest of the bid is due after the closing.)  Proof of funds must be verified by the commissioner, so Jenny took Aunty’s name, phone number, and noted the proof of funds on her worksheet at noonish of the auction day.

After all prospective bidders were signed in on her worksheet, Jenny read off the conditions of the property being auctioned, as well as general rules and procedures.  Then, without much ado, the auction began.

Whenever banks or associations are involved in foreclosures, they try to recover what is owed, and so they bid the total sum due, and then they own the property.  To Aunty, this seems like a matter of them moving the asset from one pocket of what they are owed to the other pocket of keeping the asset for themselves.  Like paying yourself off on behalf of yourself.

So the opening bid was by the bank – for $150,000.  Hmmm!  That was interesting, and also left some room for us regular people to bid.  Aunty dove in at $155,000, hoping no one else would bid.  Sadly, someone did, at $156,000.  A fair price for the unit would have been $160,000, but Aunty looked at the woman bidding, kinda liked her, and so the auction went going, going, gone to the lady for a very nice price for a rather good unit.

Hawaii’s judicial foreclosures require a confirmation hearing before a judge so this was not the end of this auction.  At the confirmation hearing, bidding can begin anew if anyone decides to start a new bid at 5% over $156,000.  Hmmm.  Aunty just might go to that confirmation hearing just to watch and learn more about the process.

Meanwhile, how is the cash flow from the Ala Moana Hotel?

Aunty had posted about “Buying a piece of the Ala Moana Hotel” back in April of this year, and this is an update of how it has been doing.  It has been doing pretty well!

Some months like April and May are rather sparse, and months like February and August are very good.  Property taxes are paid semi annually, working out to be about $200/month.  So, on average, after the AOAO of $800/month, property taxes, and the hotel management fees of 60% are taken from room rentals, Aunty averages about $800/month, net.  ROI (return on investment) is 6%.  Not that great, but not too shabby, especially when compared with the piddly rate of return on savings accounts.

Changes in the works

In July, the hotel ownership changed from the Outrigger Hotel chain to an Australian firm, Mantra Group.   This may be good for us – though not sure how much they will shake up the existing structure of management and employees currently still in existence at the hotel, or if hotel rates will change, or what new ideas and policies will be implemented.  The Mantra Group does seem to want to woo owners with making us feel special, offering 50% off parking services while staying there as well as discounts to other hotel chains under their umbrella.

One very evident improvement is an art gallery/store next to Starbucks in the lobby.  For years that glassed store space was covered up and vacant, and now it looks beautiful with quality merchandise reflecting the diversity of things Hawaiian.

More?

If Aunty could, she would buy more units.  The 07 and 26 one bedroom end units have a mini kitchen complete with a cute dishwasher, but are priced over double of the studio units and have a higher AOAO.  These would be perfect for people who want to stay in Hawaii for a couple of months, and then rent out their units when they are gone.

The studio units in the Kona Tower are the least expensive, with poor views on the mountain side, and these views will get worse during the next year because of construction for the 45 storied Kapiolani Residences that is soon breaking ground.

Units in the Waikiki Tower are more expensive and quieter.

No matter which unit, the amenities for all are the same, and the advantage of being right next to the Ala Moana Center is wonderful and convenient.  Target (Aunty’s favorite!) will be a new neighbor in the old Nordstrom wing.  With all the new condominiums coming up in Kakaako, this hotel will be less congested and more desirable than there, or Waikiki.

It would be great to have more units in this hotel, so Aunty will keep on watching and jump in again if possible because it is reasonably priced cash flowing real estate in a great location.

Please let Aunty know if you get a unit in the Ala Moana Hotel, and we can meet at their annual owner meeting!

Jan 2017 update:  Aunty tried to win at another auction last month.  The bank representative started off the bid just below Aunty’s planned target price, so Aunty bid above him, and THEN! da buggah shot Aunty down with a bid $20,000 higher than Aunty – what a rotten buggah to tease with the low opening bid.

Also, cash flow from the “cheaper” units in the Kona tower is dropping.  Perhaps the new owners of the hotel operations (Mantra Group) are offering cheaper booking rates to contract guests.  It is affecting the monthly cash flow for these units, in a junk way. 

Towards the end of 2016, fewer and fewer units in the hotel were available to buy because the offerings were being snapped up like hotcakes.  However, this trend of lower rental income might have current owners dumping their units on the market.  The Ala Moana Hotel Board meeting is scheduled in February.  It will be interesting to see and hear from the new owners, and Aunty will definitely be there.

 

 

 

Sugru, like Super Putty on steroids!

Posted on by
6

Aunty loves Sugru.  It can fix almost ANYthing.  It air hardens to a tough flexible rubber in a day.  It is like super glue, polymer clay, and Playdoh, all rolled into one little package.  It is a bit pricey and comes in little bitty blister packages to keep the air out.  It can attach to wood, metal, rocks, plastic, rubber, glass, paper, and almost everything, except air and water.

Aunty will update in another post in the future, but wanted you all to know about an awesome sale that they are having this week – 40% off, eeeeYOWZA, that’s a sale!  Use the savings code “10millionfixes” to save during this flash sale.

Here’s the link to the sale: 2016-09-25_14-21-36

If you do use Sugru, please share how you use it with the nice folks over there as well as with Aunty.  Meanwhile, here is a very short fast video that will give you an inkling of Sugru’s potential:

Out, out, dang spots!

Posted on by
16

darkarmspot(Warning!  This product contains mercury.  Aunty did an update on this issue.)

Ever since Aunty turned 50, brown spots started showing up on her face, arms, and legs.  These are sometimes called liver spots.  Whatever they are called, they are unwanted and unsightly, and they started getting bigger and darker on Aunty’s cheeks and arm.  Very visually irritating, you know?

Aunty tried all kinds of products, some expensive, some highly recommended, some experimental.  Laser zapping worked but only if the dermatologist gets every part and dot, and it was very very painful during and after.   Nerium AD seemed to help a little, but not enough to take them away.  The last resort would have been Obaji – which was very very expensive, with mixed reviews from absolutely great to permanent pigment problems if one was not careful to stay out of the sun while it was “raw”.

One day, pal Cookie mentioned Lee Sueoka, her Kauai buddy who always looked perfectly coiffed, dressed, and beautified, and her quest to get rid of her freckles.  Lee discovered a Cambodian Be Be cream that she testified took away her freckles!  The ingredients were simple and natural – Lee said that they were so simple, you could eat it.  AND, it was cheap ($12 on ebay)!

Good old pal Cookie gave Aunty a couple of pink cream jars to try.  After about 2 weeks of applying the Be Be cream, Aunty thought that her spots were fading, and they were!  And they did!

Pictures tell are worth a thousand words, so here are some before and after pictures of Aunty’s age spots over a 5 month period.   The redder pictures were taken indoors in March, and the bottom pictures were taken outdoors in August.

Pretty good results, for an inconspicuous looking pink plastic container of cream, don’tcha think?  Aunty was applying the cream to her spots after her evening bath, and then again in the morning – but actually the instructions say to only apply at night (oops!).

The ingredients in this Be Be Special Cream made in Cambodia are:  milk, honey, saffron, wheat flour, turmeric, avocado, and Vitamins C & E.  It does not contain perfume, is easy to use, and Aunty is eternally grateful to pals Cookie and Lee for the best age spot remover, hands down!

Need more proof?  Remember the picture at the top of the dark round spot on Aunty’s forearm?  Here it is now.  Pretty amazing, huh?!?

goodarmspot

The results are great for dark spots BUT I would not recommend this treatment because of its high mercury content. Since I have stopped using it, my brown spots did return. I did a mercury cleanse (chelation therapy) and am learning to live with the fact that I am getting older. One of the benefits of Covid has been the mandatory wearing of masks. These not only cover up my lower face, they also protect my skin from the sun – thus brown spots are not growing or as evident.

Whatcha doing?

Posted on by
6

2013-04-03_20-26-12Nick Polizzi is the Director at The Sacred Science team.  Aunty forgets how she found them, but it began with watching a documentary that they did in the jungles of Peru, taking 8 very ill people to a healing camp.  No running water, no electricity, bugs and critters, strange rituals, and primitive smashed root and bark meals prepared by people that did not speak their language, at all.  One of the rituals was the smoking of ayahuasca, that Aunty’s numba one, ichiban shiatsu masseuse Dick, of Hikari Shiatsu used to talk about.

Aunty was blown away after watching the hour long documentary.  It was honest, human, and what modern medicine would call miraculous, but in Peru, in the depths of the jungle, was commonplace.

Aunty now has a copy of The Sacred Science (you like borrow?) and also subscribed to Nick’s emails.  He is kinda intense, but in a good way.  Most of the time, Aunty skims through and then files away, but today’s email was special, and worth a shout-out.

He shared advice that a shaman friend gave him, “Don’t let the illusions of your past or future rob you of the infiniteness of your present.”  He also shared a Sanskrit poem by Kalidasa, an Indian poet and playwright from 16 centuries ago:

Look to this day,
for it is life, the very breath of life.
In its brief course lie
all the realities of your existence;
the bliss of growth,
the glory of action,
the splendor of beauty.
For yesterday is only a dream,
and tomorrow is but a vision.
But today, well lived,
makes every yesterday a dream of happiness,
and every tomorrow
a vision of hope.
Look well, therefore, to this day.

Isn’t that pretty awesome?  What will you do with your today?

 

To Lotus, or not to Lotus

Posted on by
2

2 years ago, Aunty saw a lotus plant for sale at Koolau Farmers.  The flower was huge and simply gorgeous, rising above the water and leaves and smelling wonderful.  It was rather pricey at $75 and Aunty wasn’t ready for it yet.

Last year, Aunty was ready and went to a lotus repotting class at Mulkern Nursery in Waimanalo on a dreary wet Saturday in February with good friend, Bocho.  It was a great class about everything you might want to know about the successful planting of lotus, and a little about water lilies.  At the end we were let loose to choose our own tuber roots for just $10 apiece.  At that price, Aunty got 2 different varieties for $20!

These looked like little potato sausage links.  Lotus is also known as hasu – a staple in Japanese cooking.  I suppose we could eat them after they are harvested in a year or so, but these would not get as fat since these were the ornamental type vs. the food type of lotus/hasu.

Pretty pretty water lilies

Aunty has had her share of different water lilies which sometimes do well, and sometimes do not.  The pretty flowers would bloom and last for weeks at a time, then seem to die off with even the leaves falling off and rotting.  Boohoo boohoo, Aunty would push fertilizer tabs deep in the mucky soil for a couple of months, repot the seemingly dead clumps and hope for new leaves and/or flowers.  No luck.  Algae would grow like crazy and the only happy creatures were the fish that lived in the pots of dirty water.  Sometimes, after months of forgetting and giving up, the water lily plant would perk up and have leaves again!

One of the best lessons that Aunty learned was about fertilizing those seemingly fickle plants.  Both the lotus and water lily go into a long period of dormancy and rest.  During this time, no amount of fertilizer will revive them.  It is during the spring and summer, they arise and become beautiful again.  Thus, we fertilize AFTER the dormant cycle NOT during as Aunty used to do.

Another great lesson learned was about controlling algae.  Algae will overcome water that gets sunlight.  By introducing water plants that cover the surface of the water, such as duckweed (Aunty’s favorite – looks like little little dots that koi fish eat) or leafy floating plants that multiply quickly, the container water does not get sunlight, and algae does not grow.  Hurray!

Let us Lotus

If Aunty had to choose, lotus would be her water plant of choice.  Lotus leaves are like works of art – a complete green circle of radiating veins that sit on the surface of the water or rises on stalks reaching for air.  Water lily leaves are super fragile, and must lie in the water or else they dry up.

Both the water lily and the lotus have beautiful flowers with gradient color petals and showy stamens.  The lotus flower is much larger and dominates, like a queen in full dress.

Much mahalo to Kevin Mulkern of Mulkern Nursery for a wonderful mucky day of discovery and growth.  Next project – a water pond?

 

Good looking and cool = KunkleWorks.com!

Posted on by
5

open carportFor years, we parked in our driveway with power, telephone, and cable lines overhead across the entire length of the driveway from utility post to a garage that was not usable as a garage.  Being parked in the sun was not great, but it was okay, since we had eclipsesunshades.net retractable windshield covers that helped to keep cars cooler during the day.

However, it was the dang birds’ poop that was not okay.  Sometimes it was small droplets of poop, and sometimes it would be a huge mushy pancake of poop targeting whichever vehicle was in the driveway with pinpoint accuracy, as if the car had a bullseye painted on its roof.

Decades ago, we contacted a local company (was it Skylights Hawaii?) about a really cool looking metal and plexiglass carport that Servco in Mapunapuna had on their lot.  The very large carport was huge, curved, and quite beautiful.  We were given a quote for our small driveway- which was much too high for our budget with very limited options style and installation options.

Recently it seemed like the birds hanging around our driveway multiplied and a competition was on for which bird could plop the biggest pile of poop on the cars.  It got to the point that it was better to park on the street instead of in the driveway.  A desperate call to Skylights Hawaii revealed that the company had been out of business for years.  A google search of “carports Hawaii” pulled up KunkelWorks.com, and a call was put through, and Maggie Kunkle arrived with her measuring tape and brochures.

Aunty liked Maggie, immediately.  She has a charming accent and a spring to her step.  She had leopard print car seat covers and animal print accessories.  That is Aunty’s kind of style – animal print, rrrrooofff!

It took a while to choose the style, color, material and installation method, and with Maggie’s suggestions and Aunty’s pickiness, a unit was agreed upon for a reasonable price ($6,900 + installation cost).  A contract was signed, down payment made, and 2 months later, Aunty had a wonderful beautiful carport that did not take away from the looks of the house, gave glorious subtle shade during the day, and most importantly, foiled those dang birds by taking away their favorite targets, hah!

These carports are imported from Japan, by one of Japan’s largest corporations, Sankyo.  They are of top quality and arrive with everything that is needed, and delivered on site by Maggie’s folks.  Edi Rodrigues is her chief installer, and Aunty highly recommends that Edi is used because he has been putting these up and can read through the plans – that are printed in detail with pictures, and Japanese writing (no Engrish!).

Aunty is super happy with the results.  Our driveway was extended just a bit (installation cost was $4000), the heavy duty aluminum posts were permanently secured in concrete, resulting in a look that is almost invisible.  In fact, Aunty is so happy with the results, Aunty wants to crow (heh heh) about it and will be helping Maggie at this weekend’s “Remodel it Right” show on Friday night and Sunday afternoon by passing out flyers and crowing!  Please come visit Maggie’s KunkelWorks booth and check it out if you are looking to get cool too!

 

 

 

Aunty is prezzed!

Posted on by
8

2016-01-03_10-06-27Awhile back, Aunty spocked President Obama in a motorcade and this sparked a letter to him, which Aunty sent out to the White House.

It was sent to Washington, DC earlier in the year, and then forgotten.  Since then, a lot has happened and the political coocooness, stock market roller coaster moves, and life changes continue on.

Then, just the other day, a very nondescript pale green envelope came in the mail to Aunty, with the return address of “The White House, Washington, DC 20500”.  Aunty tossed it aside, thinking that it was a pitch by the Democratic party to vote/donate/get involved.

When Aunty finally got around to opening old mail to make sure nothing important was overlooked before trashing, guess who wrote to Aunty in that pale green envelope!?!  It was the President of the United States, thanking Aunty for writing!  And appreciating Aunty’s perspective!

Okay, it wasn’t hand written, and maybe it was just one of those standardized printed on White House stationery responses, but it gave Aunty a thrill and made her day!  So nice, Aunty feels so spaaaacial!

Here’s the letter, scanned and saved:

prez

Eat to starve cancer and obesity

Posted on by
Reply

foodlistWhen Aunty was young, which seems eons ago, hardly anyone had cancer.  Now, it seems commonplace, heart breakingly commonplace, and too often – harsh and fatal.  We live in a different time, with different environmental factors as well as different lifestyles, and we need to take charge of our choices before it is too late.

This TED Ed talk by Dr. William Li of the Angiogenesis Foundation explains why and how we can eat common foods to beat cancer and obesity before it becomes symptomatic or a problem.  Please take 20 minutes to view and absorb this valuable lesson.  Meanwhile, please drink green tea, eat broccoli sprouts, tomatoes, garlic, red grapes, strawberries, and other yummy great foods.

 

Kahai Street Kitchen = Yum!!!

Posted on by
4

Kahai StRemember the old Guri Guri place on the corner of King and Coolidge, then it was HK Drive Inn, then a couple of other places that didn’t make it?  It is located just past First Hawaiian Bank and across the Moiliili softball park.

Well, it is now the Kahai Street Kitchen, and the food is DA BOMB!  Prices are a little higher than regular plate lunches but it is like eating the top chef local food on styrofoam plates.

food

A late picture, after eating about half of the plate

Aunty asked a customer about the menu, and what was good.  She didn’t know but she got to sample the Braised Boneless Shortribs and said it was ono, so Aunty ordered that ($12.95) and the Grilled Marinated Chicken Provencal ($9.25), both with tossed greens rather than the traditional mac or potato salad.

O.M.G. both plates were superb!  Cooked to perfection, the shortribs couldn’t fall off the bone because it was boneless, but it was soft and the gravy was French-like, rich and flavorful.  The chicken was strange looking at first with stuff on top.  It looked like it wasn’t going to taste good, but BAM! da buggah was SO good, the white sauce was not too heavy, not too light, but just wonderful.

Aunty took pictures of the menu board and saw even more entrees that tempted – which means, gotta go back!  Maui Potato Chip Crusted Mahimahi, several ono sounding salads, hamburgers, 3 different kind loco moco, sandwiches, local mixed plate combos, something for every taste, from simple to fancy!  They are open Tuesday – Saturday from 10:30 – 7:30, with menu specials that change and tantalize.  Aunty, the takeout queen is SO happy to find this kitchen!

Update:  Aunty went AGAIN to try something else.  Boneless Kalbi Shortribs with Kim Chee ($11.95) – rather sweet, very soft, good quality beef, and Crab Crusted Mahimahi ($13.95) in a delicious white wine cream sauce, topped with plenty real crab mix!  It was really great food, though Aunty has rediscovered that she doesn’t really like crab – or maybe is used to the fake kind.  If you like crab, go for it because you will love it!

The folks there are also SO nice.  Aunty ordered 2 Korean Cobb Salads to go so she can act like she can cook to a gathering tonight, and they packed the hot stuff separate from the green stuff which Aunty will put together on a nice big platter and impress her friends.  All credit goes to Kahai Kitchen, but for just a little while, it will look like Aunty’s creation.

 

 

Take you back

Posted on by
3

See you this Sunday?

See you this Sunday?

There is a song called the Molokai Slide with the lyrics, “Take me back, (take me back), back to da kine…..” that the following film reminded me of.  Nostalgia for those days gone by when Hawaii was more for real than now.

This was put together by a talented George Mihal (dunno who that is) and is actually color footage from 1959-1960, which is unusual for that time era since we didn’t even have color tv yet!

I kept imagining what I was doing or if I saw that parade or knew of anyone in the crowd.  I must have been 7 or 8 years old, growing up in Palolo and about 8 minutes in, a fantastic little local parade of monks and dressed up little kids and lots of Japanese people congregated for what looks like the grand opening of the new Palolo Hongwanji Temple – was I even there?  Maybe!  Maybe not. But that was kinda neat!

We lived in simpler times.  We did not have the opportunities then that we have now, but still, it was such a wonderful place to grow up with “the tropical moon and the lazy palm trees” and the smiles, the luaus by the sea, mo’ bettah da kine.

When you have about 20 minutes, try watch the video.  Let me know if you spock yourself in it or somebody you know. Some of those Palolo priests were super young looking back then, and now they must be kinda really old.