Plate Lunch: Two Scoops Of Hapa

Aloha nui loa, Hip Hapa Homeez! As we say in Hawai’i, komo mai or welcome. He hale keia a (this is the house of) our multiethnic and cross-cultural agenda featuring folks we like to call da kine Hip Hapa Homeez.

This week’s featured Hip Hapa Homee is another Watermelon Sushi Associate Producer, Scott Lee, pictured above in mid-tea toast. Below, are photos of my fave dishes that Scott always orders for us at our preferred Waikiki eatery on Kapi’olani Boulevard. That’s cake noodle on top, and eggplant with tofu beneath it. Mmm. So ono da kine! No siree, no plate lunch here. If you’re hip, then you know the typical Hawai'ian plate lunch includes two scoops of white rice, or one of macaroni or potato salad.

Scott, who lives on Oahu where he’s a skillful chef, has been a reliable source for financial investment information for our independent film, Watermelon Sushi. If you have any ideas you’d like to discuss with Scott, do drop a line to yourhiphapa@me.com and we’ll forward your email to him.

Q: What makes you a Hip Hapa Homee?

A: I'm Chinese, Korean and Hawai’ian, which is considered a Poi Dog here in Hawai’i. Growing up in Honolulu in a working class family (that sacrificed to send me to private school in my early years only for me to end up in the secondary public system), I was exposed to both ends of the tracks. The multi-cultural culinary field in a predominately tourism economy allowed me exposure to the ‘rainbow’ diversity and, more importantly, acceptance of Hawai’i living as experienced by President Obama. I have lived here all my life visiting other states on occasion and, I look forward to experiencing more of what this planet has to offer.

Q: How did you grow up?

A: My parents were both educators and with it came all the bells and whistles of underachievement and accomplishments necessary for parental unit approval; more so the end result of my life working in the food industry. Personally, I don’t feel it matters what I do being that all the families with a long history here in Hawai’i descended from farm life in the pineapple and sugar cane fields.  

Q: What's your role in Watermelon Sushi?

A: To be honest, I really do not consciously know what my role is with Watermelon Sushi. Between all of you out there and me, I sometimes believe Yayoi keeps me around as a Hawai’ian pet in need of attention. Actually, for the past 15 years to mix up the sometimes "Groundhog Day" eventless mastery of my culinary career, I decided to experience some opportunistic activities in my spare time leading to a wealth of knowledge and useful contacts I believe will become assets to the production of Watermelon Sushi.

Q: What else do you do?

A: Paying the bills falls on my ability to food service particular working class clients who have had the chance to sample my 25 years experience in the hotels and restaurants of Oahu at "sub fast food prices".  When or if the economy improves anytime soon, I will be increasing my efforts in this arena.

Q: As a renowned chef, do you have a recipe to contribute to The Official Watermelon Sushi Cookbook?

A: Yes!  Mix your favorite b-b-q sauce with your favorite teriyaki sauce one part to one part and use it on everything; get rid of your favorite ketchup.  

Q: What impact do you think Obama's presidency has made on multiethnic agendas?

A: What! Are you kidding? It has everything to do with what our society has become culturally. I’m not talking about all the work the different ethnic backgrounds have produced in the last 50 years. I’m talking about forcing all the culturally ignorant individuals that were sitting on the fence deciding whether or not to accept publicly what they already knew in their hearts. Other than the few aliens roaming around lost on this planet, we are all 99.9% genetically the same. Just like all the doggy breeds, we have all the same genetics whether big, small, hairy, or not.

Q: Speaking of aliens, what do you see in Watermelon Sushi’s future?

A: Watermelon Sushi will kick start a revolution of all the people who have been looked down upon as being half-breeds in their perspective hometowns, in their home countries. It is now in the minority to be of only one cultural background.

Mahalo nui loa, Scott Lee! Moke shaka!

Remember, if you’re a Hip Hapa Homee with a story to share, email yourhiphapa@me.com so we can feature you here. Next up, look for our interview with author Teri LaFlesh discussing her book, Curly Like Me.

And, here are some updates from past Watermelon Sushi World interviewees:

Filmmaker Joe Doughrity’s Akira’s Hip Hop Shop—

(December 2, 2009, Anime, Hip Hop, Japan And Joe http://watermelonsushiworld.blogspot.com/2009/12/hip-hapa-homee-joe-and-japanese-hip-hop.html) 

one of the finalists in BETs’ “Lens On Talent”--is now available through Amazon. 

Check it out here. You go, Joe!

Actor Tony (Juan Carlos) Insignares 

(January 13, 2010, In Character With Tony Insignares http://watermelonsushiworld.blogspot.com/2010/01/welcome-back-hip-hapa-homeez-this-weeks.html) 

has a role in a film released on April 17 called The Harps. 

Here’s the link:

http://www.theharpsmovie.com/

Finally, congratulations to iPrince, Richard Todd Smith, last week’s featured Hip Hapa Homee. iPrince has been hustling so hard on behalf of our Watermelon Sushi film that he earned a promotion to Co-Producer! Congrats, and big up. Please friend iPrince Smitty on Facebook or email him at iprincemsmitty@gmail.com with any questions you have about production. Since our interview last week, iPrince forwarded this photo below of Detroit’s Chinatown. What a Hip Hapa Homee!

Remember, if you’d like to show your support, purchase a Hapa*Teez 

t-shirt and earn a rear crawl credit on the film. Also, join our Hip Hapa Homeez Group page on Facebook to stay informed about all the news pertaining to multiethnic communities and transracial adoptees. Become a fan of our Watermelon Sushi Fan page on Facebook to be kept up-to-date about our film. You can also follow the Watermelon Sushi World blog on Facebook. And, if all of that’s not enough to show us love, follow watermelonsushi on Twitter. We promise to follow back!

That’s all she wrote for now, but I am and always will be

Your Hip Hapa,

Yayoi

Good Luck, Good Fortune

Do you believe in good fortune? Do you know people who always seem to luck out? You know the type; they get in a car wreck, but--fortunately--they only sustain minor injuries and, on top of that, the insurance company is paying them big time.

One of my neighbors recently sprained his back and got a brand new truck out of the deal. Personally, any injury would be too much of a sacrifice for me, but I always wonder about people who manage to luck out of what would have been an otherwise disastrous situation.

Some folks say it isn't about luck at all, but about faith. But aren't we talking about the same thing? I mean, no one can prove that anything exists beyond our mundane lives. Yet people all over the world stake everything they know on a belief that their brand of paradise exists just on the other side of their demise.

Personally, I'm more into metaphysics than religion, but it's interesting to note that neither belief system can be 100% guaranteed. My background is in Astrology, and I earned a degree from a school that Dr. Walter Coleman founded in Puerto Rico and New York. In the early 1990's, I read Astrology charts on a radio show, and I once belonged to the prestigious NCGR (National Council for Geocosmic Research). Although I discover a lot of accurate information when reading people's natal charts, I can't make predictions that are absolute and infallible. I don't believe anyone can.

Growing up, my parents each had her/his own beliefs. Like most Japanese people of her time, my mother practiced a mix of Shinto and Buddhism. Besides putting photos of her diseased parents inside her gohonzon, she often fed wild birds and exhibited great empathy towards those less fortunate than herself. But she never formally practiced any particular religion, and she'd admonish my sister and me about the existence of a higher power. In her broken English, she would chide, "God not say nothing. Only people say."

My father, on the other hand, came from a typical Southern Baptist black family. So, Sunday church attendance was mandatory for him, my sister and me. That is, until she and I got old enough to rebel. Luckily for us, my father was stationed away from home for long periods of time--up to two years, sometimes--and my sister and I took full advantage of it. With a foreign mother who didn't quite get all the customs of America, we had it pretty easy when it came to forging our own activities. But whenever my dad was around, my sister and I had to endure the scratch of starchy dresses, Jergen's lotion rubbed into our "rusty knees" and, along with embroidered handkerchiefs knotted around our coin offerings, we'd be taken to church.

Somehow, time has changed nothing. Today, my mother's married to an atheist. She still gathers table scraps to feed the wild birds hanging out in her front yard, and she still tears up whenever she watches the news. As for my dad, he still attends a Baptist church, still says grace at meal times, and still believes that you go to "heaven" after you die.

Then, there's Yours Truly (or Your Hip Hapa, I should say) who still reads Astrology charts and Tarot cards, and is absolutely riveted by Crop Circles and any sign of extraterrestrial life. For decades, I've believed that a higher consciousness is awakening in humankind, and that the portal to greater knowledge will open according to the Mayan calendar in the Age of Aquarius in 2012. I can't prove any of it, and I could be wrong, but it's just what I've always felt.

How about you? I'm really curious about mixed-race people and their personal beliefs. Most people adopt the religion of their parents. But what happens if you have parents of different races? Or, for that matter, parents who have different beliefs? Back in the day, there were issues whenever Catholics married Protestants, and vice versa. Drop me a line and let me know about how being biracial helped shape your belief system.

Meanwhile, here's a reminder that our producers have begun casting for principals for Watermelon Sushi. If you'd like to see a copy of the Open Casting Call, please drop me a line. If you're on Facebook, navigate to the Hip Hapa Homeez group page and read it there.

In keeping with my theme, above are some photos of the gods. The golden Buddha is my mom's favorite while the one next to it was snapped at a tea shop in Los Angeles. The Buddhas on the wall were taken at a fusion restaurant on Oahu. I've forgotten the names of the two ceramic Japanese gods sitting on my mom's table, but maybe you know. And, finally, there's Zoltar, the psychic who dispenses fortunes on Santa Monica's Pier.

Good Luck, ya'll!

Your Hip Hapa,

Yayoi

Aloha No, Straightened Hair, And A Dedication To Sergio Goes

"You look younger," my neighbor told me tonight as I was taking out the trash.

"Really?" I replied, doubtful as I remembered sleeping only six hours the night before.

"It must have been my trip to Hawai'i," I told him. "I felt so relaxed--like I was home."

Even though my last week's Honolulu island hop ended on a bittersweet vibe, I enjoyed moving among people who looked like me. If you're of mixed races and it shows, being in Hawai'i is like being on a planet filled with all your multiracial brothers and sisters. Sure, there are lots of "pure-blooded" East Asians among other races living there, but there are also many folks that are racially unidentifiable--like yourself. And, that feels comfortable. When you're comfortable, you don't frown or wrinkle your face up in defense. So, you look younger!

Of course, I was also happy to be "home" because I got to spend time with my old buddy Scott Lee who greeted me with a fragrant traditional lei and lunch at our favorite King Street Chinese restaurant. Scott Lee and I go way back to 1994, and we love to "talk story" about local culture; of which Scott's an expert having lived on Oahu all his life.

I also hung out with my friend, Lucy, an NYC transplant and professional photographer. Besides munching on a vegan lunch in Kahala and a homemade dinner at her Kailua home on Windward side, we also indulged in a lot of girly stuff like trying on make-up at Ala Moana Mall. We also got our hair done by a young woman selling electronic hair straighteners at a booth.

That's right. After 20 years of wearing my own personal natural--long, thick, wavy, hair with frizzy ends--I allowed myself to get talked into having an electronic implement iron out the ripples of my tresses to give me straight hair. When Adee first approached me, I balked. After all, I am of the natural garden variety. Rarely do I wear make-up, other than lip and nail color, and I don't like fussy hairstyles. But as Adee smoothed out each strand, my thoughts went from skeptical to amused to impressed. I hadn't had straight locks since the mid-1980's when I would spend precious hours rolling my hair in curlers the size of soup cans then sitting under a scorching dryer with a magazine hoping against hope that it wouldn't rain in Seattle where I lived then. Just one drizzly day would undo my hours of hard labor. Later, when I became more of the artist that I am today, I chucked the rollers and hair dryer and went au natural.

When Adee was done, I just knew I had to have the straight look--at least for a while. Call me a sell-out, but I dig variety and my waves had become boring to me.

My friend Lucy saw it differently.

"But you just said at dinner the other night that one of the problems you had with Michelle Obama was her hair," she reminded me. "You didn't like that she relaxes it."

"Yes," I argued weakly, "but I'm half Japanese and I'm just trying to look more like my mother. Besides, my 'do is chemical free."

All I knew was that I wanted a different look, and looking different made me feel different. Somehow, I felt Native Hawai'ian with my new flowing hair. As I walked around Waikiki tossing my untangled mane, I felt that the locals thought I was Native Hawai'ian, too.

Still ain't buying it? Well, here's what hair author Teri LaFlesh told me when I admitted to using a straightening rod on my hair.

"Hey, I checked out your hair! Even straightened it has so much presence. Hair is a crown, and you wear yours with such flair."

If Teri, the hairx-pert, says it's okay, then ya'll back off.

On to a much sadder note. While in Hawai'i, I discovered that a friend had passed away there in July. Although I hadn't been in touch with Sergio Goes for awhile, I always remembered his warm graciousness. Co-founder of the Cinema Paradise Film Festival, Sergio issued me a press badge in 2003, then went out of his way to invite me and Lucy to all of their Red Carpet events and parties. A filmmaker himself, he also gave us copies of his documentary called Black Picket Fence. The story of two aspiring rappers in a NYC project is told with Sergio's deep sensitivity and humanity. Originally hailing from Brazil, Sergio had a keen ability to hone in on things American and his film shows that. Sergio was also known for his amazing photography which appeared in most of Honolulu's local publications. While it hurts to lose such a downright nice person, I feel fortunate that I knew him at all. This week's blog is dedicated to the memory of Sergio Goes. That's him with Lucy in 2003 in the picture above.

To see my straightened hair, watch for the extra blog following this one.

Mahalo nui loa and aloha no. Rest well, dear sweet Sergio.

Your Hip Hapa,

Yayoi