Feeling hot about the HOT

I understand about paying a toll (fee) at certain bridges or designated roads/highways. But paying for the freeway lane in which you’re driving? Well, change is the only thing that’s constant, says one man from Athens. Here in happy, fit and healthy Utah - among a handful of states - we will now pay to drive in the HOT (High-Occupancy Toll) lane which is slowly changing from “Carpool/HOV” lane to “Express” or HOT lane.

Here’s the deal. The Express lane is still free for carpoolers and high occupancy vehicles (HOVs) like buses. But when a one-person car wants to drive in that lane (since ideally, it’s not as crowded as other lanes) then the driver needs to pay, especially if he’s a frequent user/commuter. Such a driver will need a special transponder affixed to his windshield. (Just what we needed - another distraction to add to cell phones, GPS devices, etc., Who knows, maybe in the next century all cars will be completely instrument-operated.) Anyway, the antennas along the freeway communicate with the transmitter and will help in computing the charges based on the marked zones as well as the amount of traffic at the time. It’s a good source for state revenue.

But as a bus commuter I am worried the Express lane can turn into a “regress” lane since most people will now use it. The general tendency in freeway travel, is that people will try to get to their destinations fast and at almost any cost - monetary, that is.

Oh, by the way, I think the driver should mount the transponder at a spot where it doesn’t hinder her vision. Be forewarned!...LOL!

When I deal, it’s a good deal ....

From time to time, our company offers free health checks on vital signs (basics). Today was one of those times. I went in and my numbers were ideal, according to the guys and gals who administered the checkups. My BP ...haha...not the petroleum company ...but Blood Pressure was 111/73, which according to the guy was ideal.

My pulse was 54. The guy said it was a little low, then he quickly said that it’s typical for athletic people to have their resting pulse lower than 50. And he mentioned Lance Armstrong as an example. Wow, Mr. Armstrong? Now there’s an ideal psychological boost. However, I felt that I still needed a second opinion so I came back and checked for some confirmation of what he said and here’s an exact statement I found on one of the Health sites.

“...resting pulse for an adult is between 60 and 80 to be considered normal, unless that person is extremely athletic, then it may be lower.”

I may be "athletic", but being extremely athletic? ...I don’t know ... I would love to be considered as such, even if based solely on stats....lol.

Oh, and then my BS ...haha...again not the usual interpretation, but Blood Sugar, was 87; again the lady who checked it said it was ideal.

So there’s my somewhat clean and ideal bill of health for now ... oh, and tonight happens to be gym night - work out and play racquetball. Good Deal!

Helpmeet or Helpmate?

Are these men taking a literal and skewed interpretation of helpmeet?  From a Samoan viewpoint, these husbands ought to be sent packing!...lol

UK - Egelani

Poland-Polani

Ireland -Aealani

USA-Amerika

Greece-Eleni

India-Initia

Serbia-Sepaia

And the winner is .....

L.A. - Lalomanu Aleipata

...hahahaa.... One of the morals of the story: E sili lava le kama Hamoa ....hmmm...maybe I should say some, or most kama Hamoa, aua e iai foi isi 'aukuoli e le mafaufau, le popoi ma le faaaloalo...aea?

Apple cores and a stylish killer

Speaking of Summer, one of my routines is taking the bus to work. I enjoy it. Not only I get to have someone else do the driving - especially during rush hours - but it’s economical; the employer pays for my ki'eki'e pasi, so why not?  I also am able to read a book, take a nap, contemplate something or just watch and observe people. Oh and these buses also have free Wi-Fi ...sweeet!

This morning, at one of the stops, a guy boarded the bus munching an apple. Instead of taking a seat, he stood in the aisle holding on to one of the metal supports with one hand and apple in the other. He was in the center of everyone’s forward gaze, especially mine, now that I’m impressed with his healthy demeanor. (I considered him a friend since I had an apple too, but in my backpack.) At the next stop, amazingly, a woman boarded with a protein shake and she too stood in the aisle next to my apple friend; mind you, there were empty seats still. Could standing be considered a healthy habit? Well it must be since sitting - in the sedentary sense - has been reputed as a health risk (re: quotes below). If so, then the two standing passengers must have contributed to Utah’s top ranking as the healthiest/fittest state in a recent national survey.

vi and core (Spondias dulcis)

Now back to my apple friend. The woman did not drink from her shake, meanwhile, I was waiting for the moment the driver was going to remind Johnny Appleseed about the “no eating on the bus” rule - he (driver) did not.  Johnny continued in the usual circular munching pattern until he had only the core left. My interest then shifted to how he would dispose of the core. For a couple of quick seconds, he seemed to have looked for a trash repository, then he did the unthinkable, at least from my perspective as an apple lover and core hater (no pun intended, hahaa).  He took the first bite and then the second and the core was gone. I winced but was not totally repulsed. In fact I quietly convinced myself that there actually are people who eat apple cores. Come to think of it, I would love to give my friend a vi (Spondias dulcis) and see if he would eat the core too; though I have seen kids in Samoa who would chew and reduce the vi core to pulp then spit it out.

And then the researches/studies on the risks of sitting from which these quotes are taken:

“You might be pleased with that cool looking Aeron chair your buns are nestled in —— but it’s nothing but a stylish killer. Recent studies have shown that the amount of time you spend sitting raises your risk of dying. Sit more, die sooner.  An Australian study of 8,800 people over a six year period found that for each hour spent sitting increased the risk of death from heart disease by one-fifth.”

So standing is better?

“Better yet, stand part of the day. Research done by Dr. Mark Benden of Texas A&M University, suggests that standing at least two hours a day improves energy levels, productivity and can even assist in weight control. Standing two hours a day can burn up to 280 calories daily....”

If my bus ride was two hours, I would consider standing, like my two bus mates.  A’o Samoa la, a ka ku, ua ka le mafaufau, fai mai loa le faa-sitoe: “Sole gofo i lalo, o le kagaka e ku e vave a ga palasi” .....Koea’iga fia malosi!...LOL!

Savagery of a noble kind

Summer is here - finally. It’s everyone’s favorite season, except for those avid skiers snowboarders and other winter sports enthusiasts. One of my favorite Summer activities is camping - roughin’ it out. It’s the closest I get to reliving my faipopo and fai ma'umaga days.

Summer gets more appreciated and anticipated in Utah, at least by warm-blooded primates like me, because of the seasons, especially Winter. And Summer equals camping, which equals swimming, jet skiing and other water sports. Camping is one of those activities into which islanders in the States, and elsewhere, need to be assimilated. For me, it took a while to be convinced of spending a few days in the wild and in the mountains. At first I said: “Why? I just came from Samoa where I spent a lot of time in the mountains, let alone the fact that much of my immediate si'osi'omaga consisted of trees, mountains, rivers and the ocean. In essence, I have been camping for the last nineteen years. So what’s there in camping?” ...well, please pardon my impetuosity!  I guess I had to live and immerse myself in the nature-deprived life of modern western society in order to finally get that  “A ha!" moment.

And so after several years of being held captive in the steel and concrete jungles of modern cities and high-rises, the longing and visceral yearning for the placidity and serenity of natural lakes, the awe and grandeur of the mountains, the soothing flow of rivers and streams and all the wonders and splendors of nature, slowly crept back into my being.  Now, whenever I go camping, sleeping under the stars of the sprawling night sky with the night breeze whispering sweet soft lullabies interrupted only by a wail of a nocturnal predator, all of a sudden I feel newfound freedom and it seems my noble savagery is reawakened. I feel not only refreshed and renewed but also returned to some primal glorious existence. The feeling of a certain fresh and invigorating consummation has finally arrived - again.  It’s savagery of a noble kind.  And to that, I say "Chooooo-soo-soo!!" which is the noble celebratory cry of a real savage.

E au uma i le tauola, e au fo’i i le fagota ....

Translation: “We all get to carry the fish basket, as well as become the fisherman, too.”

The picture is one of my all-time favorites. The amazing thing was that as soon as I saw the picture the proverbial expression above flashed through my mind. The realization and association were immediate, epiphanic and validatory.

“Tauola” refers to the bearer of the fish basket; “tau” is short for “carry” (as in tauamo, tau'ave, tausa’e, tausi'i) and “ola” refers to the specific basket designed to carry fish.  This special basket is woven from the youngest and topmost leaf of a coconut tree.  This is the leaf whose leaflets are still closed and not yet opened and the basket is woven with them still closed and not to be opened.  The whole idea is for the basket to be airtight and therefore not many holes  - if any - for fish to slip through.

The expression is mostly used as an advice in the context of leadership succession. Specifically, it reminds us of the need to always be prepared to “step up to the plate” when filling someone else's shoes. In other words, it’s a reminder on the importance of being an effective apprentice or understudy. And therefore, the expression is also a caveat against complacency and dereliction.

In the picture, the father (fisherman) walks ahead of his son (fish basket bearer). While the father fishes, the son is supposed to watch and observe because sometime in the future, he (son), too, will be the fisherman.

In a more general sense, the adage serves as a reminder of the need to develop skills and flexibility in acquiring the moxie to perform different roles that life sometimes assigns to us.

On a more personal level - and still continuing my reminiscing subtext - the picture brings memories of the times when I went fishing with my dad. He used a cast net (or throw net) - the tili or kili. And the strategy is that he walks ahead along the beach, spots a school of fish and then casts the net. As I follow closely behind with the basket (ola) - or an old rice bag - I would make sure that as soon as he casts the net, I am there when he retrieves and hauls it in. My job of extracting and putting the fish inside the basket/bag was easy and anyone can do it; well, sort of. The extraction takes skill and experience too in order to avoid tearing or damaging the net, and also to avoid the spines from poking and cutting your fingers and hands.

My dad’s task, on the other hand, was more challenging. Casting/throwing the net seemed natural, however, I was often left to wonder how he was able to spot the fishes. As a child, I thought he was haphazardly casting the net and whatever fish happened to be in the area - by luck or by fate - was caught.

In hindsight, it was indifference and disregard, more than childish pride, that I did not inquire about the feat. Anyway, here’s the answer. A skilled fisherman watches the crests of the waves which are often transparent from the refracted sunlight, and there the fishes will be visible. This intuition is also the source of another Samoan adage: “Ua malama i ulugalu” (“It’s visible in the wave crests”) meaning something has become clear and discernible as the fish in the crests.

The picture also captures the essence of our relationships with our parents. They are in fact our first teachers and leaders. We learn a lot from them whether consciously or subconsciously.  I’ve also heard somewhere - whether we like it or not - that daughters will eventually become like their mothers and sons like their fathers, possibly more through nurture than nature.  Ia ka'ilo! 

At any rate, whatever you do, do it well or not at all.  Aua le faakaga faia se mea; fai faalelei.  A tautua pa'o ma tomumu se taule'ale'a, ona faapea lea o le matai:  "E au i le tauola, e au fo'i i le fagota."  O lona uiga, e iai le taimi e avea ai oe ma matai ona e iloa lea o le leaga o le tautua pa'o ma le tomumu."   Hmmm... kinda like "what goes around, comes around ...."  Ia ga!