Aunty is Googlable!

One day last year, Aunty was at the kitchen sink and saw the Google Car drive by.  The Google Car!!  It was a beetle looking car with a huge camera on the roof and star-strucked Aunty bolted out of the house to see the rear end of the Google Car rushing away down the next block.

Hmmm, Aunty thought that it was going kinda fast to capture pictures, so for the next half hour, Aunty stayed out in the yard and driveway hoping that the Google Car would drive by again – and it did!!!

Of course it didn’t capture me ready to wave and/or make a pose, and, it was about a year ago that the Car went by so I forgot about it.  Then, just the other day, Daughter #2 calls all excited to let me know that Aunty had made it and was now “famous!” and on Google maps!

Such a thrill, such glory!  Definitely one of the highlights of Aunty’s life.  If you know Aunty’s home address and you search by Google, you will see Aunty watering her driveway.

Mahalo for visiting!!

Lillian the Dancing Queen

Lillian Hirai was one of my favorite people.  Just thinking about her would bring a smile to my lips and a lightness to my step.  We had some fun and crazy times together, and we had the common habit of always getting to high school hungry and late.

She once arrived at school in a coat even though it was a hot and sweltering day because she had dashed out of her house and didn’t have time to change.  During lunch break, she opened up her trench coat to reveal her pink floral pajamas and, with her contagious laugh, had us all rolling on the ground.

I didn’t see her much after high school, and found out that she had moved to Japan.  I always assumed that she had moved there because of the Japan based religion that she belonged to.  I also assumed that she was the high priestess of her church which was known for its dance and song rituals on rooftops.

You see, Lillian was really special – like she knew so much more than we could ever fathom.  When anyone spoke, she would lean in and really listen to what they were saying – as if it was as important to her as it was to the speaker.  This trait of intense listening would cause a slight time warp in her response, so, if someone were telling a joke or funny story, Lillian would still be staring into the person’s face 2 seconds after the punch line, and then would erupt with laughter – later, longer and louder than anyone else.

I was always impressed at how humble and unselfconscious a person she was, especially since she was the priestess and beneficiary of her church, or so I thought.  During her last visit to Hawaii I mentioned her high stature, to which, after a pause and a long stare, she said, “Huh?”

Well, come to find out, she wasn’t a dancing goddess and she didn’t move to Japan because of her religion.  She wasn’t tardy anymore, and she lived a good and decent life earning her wages working as a translator in Japan.  We all had a good laugh about that, Lillian laughing longer and harder than any of us.

That’s what I will always remember about Lillian.  Her laughter – and how she enjoyed life, friends, and the good old days.

Yesterday, when I found out that Lillian had passed away after a massive heart attack in Japan, it just didn’t seem possible.  She was the most alive person I knew.

It is sad to lose a friend.  It’s weird to lose a friend like Lillian – because even though I know she is gone, and the sadness creeps in, the remembrance of her laughter takes over, and I shake my head and smile.

In my memory, she will be forever dancing on rooftops and waving hello to us.  I find it hard to say goodbye when I know that she will never leave our hearts and our fondest memories.

 

The Fat Lady Sang “Ka-ching!”

Well, Aunty finished boothing the Hawaii All-Collectors Show this weekend!  Leading up to it was not as stressful as it usually was – Aunty is wondering if it is possibly because of Protandim taking or if it is just the mellowing with age.  Hmmm.

It also always helps to have best pal Patricia using her magic touch of design and arrangement in the booths as well as her company during the show.  Uncle, daughters and Wandering Wanda also pitched in with loading, setting up, and/or sitting the show.

A most exciting surprise was right across from us – a comic book booth, with one of the premier graders of comic books, Bruce Ellsworth of Maui Comics and Collectibles.  Bruce has been a senior advisor to the Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide for over 33 years, and so, on the second day, Aunty brought one of her boxes of Conan the Barbarian Marvel comics to see what it could be worth.

Aunty loved Conan the Barbarian comics and collected them with a passion as a young adult.  I would go to the Moiliili Library to buy or trade with young boys in order to upgrade and complete my collection.  I am wondering if Barack Obama was there (he would have been a young boy then)  because he also liked Conan the Barbarian comics (or so I read somewhere), and he lived close by.

“Hither came Conan, the Cimmerian, black-haired, sullen-eyed, sword in hand, a thief, a reaver, a slayer, with gigantic melancholies and gigantic mirth, to tread the jeweled thrones of the Earth under his sandalled feet.”

 

Nephew collector David used to tell me about my collection:  “Aunty, Conan is just about the only affordable silver age title” – comparing it to Spiderman, Hulk, Xmen, etc.  That was always a bit disappointing, but he advised keeping them, and so I did, in boxes with archival packaging and stuck them in a out of reach closet area for years, always wishing that I had liked Peter Parker or Dr. Bruce Banner more than the axe welding, long haired, scowling and scantily clad Conan from Cimmeria.

At the show, Bruce confessed that he also liked Conan the Barbarian comics (hurray! a fellow Conan-er) and proceeded to look at Aunty’s Conan the Barbarian #1.  With a jeweler’s loop, Bruce inspected the front cover, spine, back, edges and then said 9.4 – 9.6.  That meant Greek to Aunty, and then discovered it was a grading scale, with 10.0 being the highest and best.

Then, Bruce said that it was the first time he had ever seen a Conan #1 in that fine a condition and that to his knowledge, there was only one other like it, and it had sold at auction for $8,000!!!

Aunty would have done the happy dance right then and there, but refrained due to the nature of my attire (hat, pearls, skirt) and the persona of my booth (classy, refined, antique-y).

Now Aunty is buzzing in her head about the next Conan the Barbarian #1 comic book auction and envisioning Bill Gates, Steve Wozniak, and President Barack Obama in a bidding war for Aunty’s collection of Conan the Barbarian silver age comics in mint condition.  How sweet a vision!  Actually, if any of those bidders would like to contact Aunty directly, Aunty will give the collection to them, in exchange for the privilege and honor of taking a picture with them (Network = Net worth according to JT Foxx).

It was a great weekend.   Aunty is very thankful for the opportunity of meeting old and new friends there as well as the surprises and treasures around every corner and booth at this Show.

I hope Bruce Ellsworth will be there again next year.  If so, Aunty will bust out her mint collection of Howard the Duck to grade and appraise.  Howard is a cigar smoking, opinionated, crass mouthed, horny duck that also fascinated Aunty in the 70’s.  He was Aunty’s kind of duck and one of my favorite titles.

Hopefully the fat lady tunes up her vocals for next year also.

Week’s lessons learned, Go West, young man

This was truly a week of learning for Aunty.  Not only from the great asset protection and tax relief workshop this weekend, but also from websites I visit, books and newsletters that I have read, and listening to CDs in my car.

One sad bit of news to report is that Real Deals Hawaii will not be having their monthly meetings (so this week’s meeting is off) until they start them up again in September.  They said to go visit them on Facebook/RealDeals, which I will be doing since I am already going through withdrawals from not seeing these guys.

So wassup and what has Aunty learned?  (stay tuned for the big AHA)

From one of Raymond Aaron‘s web lessons – listen for brilliance.  In fact, I had to tell Uncle that because I notice that his eyes tend to glaze over when I am talking to him.  Aigoo! (Korean way of saying “auwe”), Aigoo!  That’s okay.  It is still a good lesson and worth trying.  The next time I see you I hope to hear your brilliant thoughts and ideas.

From Doug Bench’s “Mind Your Brain” course I learned that in order to put a thought or memory into one’s long term memory where it can be used, one must do something to get it there from the short term thought flash before it disappears into the short term memory library and is never recalled again.  Repetition, association, fierce emotional feelings, and something else (but I forget, lol).  Good stuff though, and I will eventually do a Review on this excellent program.

Kung Fu Girl of KungFuFinance.com wrote her blog entries from Florida, where she is absorbing information from world experts on our economy, black swans, hyperinflation, police states, etc. etc…. so prepare for the worst because it seemed like almost everyone predicted the end of the USA’s role as the world power it is today.  Scary stuff, but Kung Fu Girl will be writing a post about surviving the coming storm in the near future.

Mike Dillard’s (Elevation Group) credit score improver Anthony Gaalaas says to keep ALL balances of credit cards and lines of credit below 25% of the full line.  Pay down immediately if it rises.  Now is the best time to improve your credit score in order to be able to take advantage of super low mortgage rates for as much real estate as you can borrow.  However, Aunty REALLY likes to get Hawaiian Miles VISA credit cards often – a big no-no for the credit score health, but sometimes the hit is worth the travel benefits.

A mean man, but he means well (I think)

John Reed.  I subscribe to his $125/yr Real Estate Investor’s Monthly and almost asked for a refund.  In his April 2012 issue, the man’s ego was quite distasteful with his bashing of some well known names as well as a rude tribute to the recently departed Thomas Kinkade, calling him a BS artist.

However, though distasteful and egotistical, this man sometimes imparts gold nuggets of information that I find very useful.

Many of his articles were about hyperinflation, money, mortgages and real estate, somewhat in line with Kung Fu Girl‘s reports from the Florida Casey Conference this past weekend.

To quote John Reed, “Those who owned real estate in Austria, Germany, and Hungary during the hyperinflation in the early 1920s were glad they did, IF they could hang onto it, and if they could find food to eat.”

Then, in another article about do-it-yourself-ing, he touched on living off the grid of electricity and how difficult it could be, though having generators, wood stoves and solar panels could help.  He started off the article with how the West was settled – the government gave land grants to young men and after 5 years, the land was theirs.

That’s when the aha(!) moment hit Aunty like a big AHA!

Aunty had to jump out of her chair and talk to Uncle.  “Uncle!”, I said (well I don’t actually call him Uncle), “How about we buy agriculture acreage up in Waimanalo or Maui (instead of beachfront for his fishing pleasure) with a 1031 exchange of a property or two, get a mortgage on it, rent it out for a year or so, and then build our ideal simple house on it with solar panels, water catchment system and live in it while I grow vegetables and raise chickens for food?”

There was a long pause as Uncle looked at me.  You see, Uncle has been baptized in a Christian religion that totally believes in God’s salvation for man as prophesized in the Bible.  Uncle is a very calm deliberate thinker and has learned to ask simple questions and wait for explanations when I come up with some of my ideas.

“What?” and then “Why?”, came out of his mouth as he sat there in the middle of finishing up a letter.

We must plan and live in order to prosper and survive

Whether the worst case scenario comes to pass, or our economic and social woes slowly and miraculously get fixed after a few major overhauls, doing nothing and hoping for the best is not good enough.

Just as those pioneers packed up and hauled their life’s belonging in a wagon across the prairies, it is our turn to “Go West”, but in Aunty and Uncle’s case, “Go Country, not Beach.”

So, the plan is to live where we can grow food to sustain ourselves – banana, papaya, mango, lichee and avocado trees, soy beans, herbs, vegetables, chickens to lay eggs for our protein and eat the bugs in the garden.

Stock up on canned foods like spam and vienna sausages, packaged foods and mixes, portable water filters.  Buy lots of soap, matches, batteries, lanterns, candles, whiskey, and other goods that can be used for barter.  (from this point on Aunty is asking for those little bottles of whiskey on the airplane since frequent fliers get 2 free drinks per flight.)

Buy as much cheap silver coins (or gold if you can afford it) like old dimes, which can be used as currency for goods.  Start thinking like people in the bartering society of old, and keep building up a supply of barter desirable items.  Keep the 2 bicycles that we have in riding shape.

Becoming self sufficient with solar panels tied into batteries and back up generators, gas stoves, water system or access to water, just in case.

The world as we know it might stay exactly the way it is and has been, but it is the just in case that Aunty fears.  I hope it never comes to pass.  Even if it doesn’t, this projected way of life is a good plan, or so Aunty believes.

December 21, 2012?

Hopefully not even a ripple on the water, like how YK2 (year 2000) was nothing but a nothing.  The Rapture?  Hope not.

There are too many things to do, people to meet, places to go.  Keep well, stay dry, make money, and be happy.  For Aunty’s sake, start taking little steps to get financially stronger, safer and wiser.  Maybe I’ll see you in Waimanalo!

Wisdom from the Podium

This weekend was a fantastic learning experience!  Aunty was in a 3 day Asset Protection and Tax Relief class put on by the great folks at the Anderson Law Group (see alglaw.com), Michael Bowman, Rod Buttars, and Aaron Yen.

For whatever reason, the class was not full, so we had a lot more attention and time for questions and answers as well as longer one on one consultations than in the past.

And this time, this class was the BEST Continue reading

Aunty and the Dalai Lama

2013-03-31_14-08-39Although Aunty’s fantasy about meeting the Dalai Lama face to face and bumping foreheads, or having our eyes lock in recognition did not happen, it was still a highlight to have heard and seen the Dalai Lama at the Pillars of Peace on April 15, 2012.

Aunty did a page about the Dalai Lama.  Such a cute and kind man.  He said that everyone is like an old friend to him.  Indeed.  He had no airs, no arrogance, no pretense.

Aunty is glad to have a new old friend.

Notes from January 19 Boardroom event with Robert Kiyosaki

2013-04-17_11-16-15This event was okay, but not fantastic.  Aunty pays $9.95 to listen and watch.  I always get way more than $9.95 worth of insights – and usually from Robert or one of his advisors.

There was a lot of bashing of politicians and wannabe presidents, governments, middle class, media coverage, etc.  I picked through to find out what Robert invests in, and why.

He is investing in America – because America controls the world’s currency, military, and will bail people out.  Our tax laws are written for businesses and investors.  He says Brazil, Russia, India and China are what others are touting, but he doesn’t want to invest in socialist or communist countries, or capitalist dictatorships like Singapore.

He calls California a communist republic because of their social programs, tax laws, etc (i.e. liberal).  Instead, he invests in Nevada, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, and Arizona – because these States are very pro capitalistic.  He also says to invest in what and where you know.

Robert Helms (from Real Estate Guys) talked about having always been in real estate and this period is what he and other investors have been waiting for all their lives.  Plentiful cheap properties, and super low interest rates.

Kiyosaki said he is actively investing in the Bakken in North Dakota – this is where they have tons of shale oil, enough to allow us to be 0% (currently at 40%) dependent upon foreign oil. [In fact, Ken Wade’s market charting group had Bismarck, ND as entering into the green light phase of real estate investing.]

Your view of the world is your view on the world.  How you view the situation is YOUR choice.  He predicts a LOT of volatility, and those counting on old ways (get a job, social security being there forever, 401K plans being there, the government will take care, kids will get a good job because they go to college, etc.) will get hammered.

Kim Kiyosaki (wife of Robert) says it is not going to be comfortable – there will be mental, physical and emotional stress but it must be faced.  Get out of your comfort zone in order to grow.

The webinar ended on a positive note with the Kiyosakis talking about agreeing to disagree – by someone else’s different point of view, one grows.

Leap of Faith

CIMG1472Today I attended a YWCA meeting and Cash Flow game – because Robert Kiyosaki’s sister Tenzin Kacho was present.  I read Rich Brother, Rich Sister and was fascinated by the intertwining of 2 very different lives of siblings growing up in Hawaii – one pursuing financial wealth, the other pursuing spiritual growth.

Robert Kiyosaki is a powerhouse of investing and building businesses.  I hope to meet him one day, to shake his hand, and say thank you for waking me up enough to invest, take charge, become secure.

Emi Kiyosaki (Tenzin Kacho) took a different path, a flower child that gave up her regular (albeit hippy) life and followed the Dalai Lama’s teachings, becoming an ordained nun.

I expected a monk-like female – a monkette.  I thought she would be almost silent, like the sound of one hand clapping.  Or someone with a gentle stare that could read all the good and bad in my soul.

Instead, with her orange robes and perky demeanor, she was just like a friend – with a shaven head.

Her lifework is that of a Buddhist nun, but she is also a hospice chaplain in California.  Rather than disdain financial gains, she has her feet on the ground and realizes that the world will not take care of her – and it is her responsibility to take care of herself.  She admires what her brother does, and is willing to learn and take action.

The few minutes I spent with her were full of surprises.  She is not a vegetarian, she plays the Cash Flow game to win, and she carries the Bible at times.  She doesn’t go around bowing and chanting – she shakes hands, does small chit chat, and participates in discussions as if in a PTA meeting.

Her talk during lunch was inspiring.  The key point for me was doing what you feel driven to do.  Fulfillment of life now – because we will all die one day, guaranteed.

She will be speaking at the Unity Church of Hawaii (3608 Diamond Head Circle in Honolulu) on Sunday November 13 from 6-8 pm on “What is Life Presenting You?”   Go, if you can.

One of my favorite quotes of the Dalai Lama’s is:  “People take different roads seeking fulfillment and happiness.  Just because they’re not on your road doesn’t mean they’ve gotten lost.”

Tenzin Kacho is full of grace and acceptance and I feel blessed to have crossed roads with her today.

*Update, Tenzin Kacho has left the nun hood – I suppose she will now go with her given name, Emi Kiyosaki.  Nun or not, Aunty really likes her.  With that, Aunty leaves you with one of her hoarded cards:

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Master Sha is da bomb.

Last night I went to McKinley High School to check out Master Sha.  It was a rather unusual event, bordering on unreal.  Uncle (being of strict Christian faith) would have been very uncomfortable with the philosophy of Divine healing power, but I really felt a connection – and lightning and thunder resonated before, during, and after -without a drop of rain.  Flickering lights as I walked to my car would become steady and bright as  I walked under them.  Very eerie – like John Travolta in Phenomenon.  I think he is the real thing – a healer, and although I really really want to learn (he will be having classes this weekend), I will put it off for now and hold the experience of seeing the possibilities in the quiet recesses of my mind.  Maybe next year when and if he comes to Hawaii again.

3 wishes

Bibidibobidiboo!Investor Todd asked me in an email today, “If you had 3 wishes, what would they be?”  What a grand question!

My answer of 3 wishes:  A kinder world.  A world without hatred and fear.  The ability to heal.

I have to chuckle a bit.  My one and all consuming wish a week ago was for our son to contact us since we hadn’t heard from in many weeks – no response to emails, letters, parcel.  I thought the aliens had abducted him.

Well, he did finally email and even gave us a phone call from Germany where he now lives.  Big wonderful relief.

So, this worried mother’s all consuming wish of just a single simple response one week changed immediately after my wish was fulfilled.  It has been replaced with wishes for massive global change and supernatural ability.

It’s all a matter of perspective and what is going on in one’s life at the time.  Life is good, LG.

I hope you have great wishes and all the good ones come true.

What are your 3 wishes?  Please comment below – you manifest what you put out in the universe.

Namaste, aloha, and shalom!