Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Farewell to my Brother Vika

On Saturday, my older brother Vika will be laid to rest after a two year battle with cancer.
He was my father's son, older than Seka by 2 years. I met him when I was 11 years old, at Flag Day in Hawaii at Keehi Lagoon. He came up to Pat and said hello.
Salu just about had a heart attack.
I made a joke to an aunty after he was introduced "He's my long lost brother"
Salu just about had an aneurysm to follow up that heart attack.
My parents decided to tell us about him that night, after the fact. Up to that point, we had been a family of girls, so this was big news for me. I had always wanted a big brother who would beat up the bullies and mean kids that so often crossed my path. Seka didn't quite fit the image in my mind of a boy rescuing us from the evil palefaces that surrounded us.
I don't know what happened to him between that year we met and when we moved to Samoa 4 years later. His mother and my father were a complicated issue that resulted in him. Little did I know that that particular trait is very common in Samoan men in general, and Reid men in particular.
We were given the chance to really get to know him when we moved down in 1986. He worked for Pat's company, doing any and all feaus. He came and picked us up after school, watched us when our parents went on a trip, and never ratted us out to them when we snuck out with the car or had friends over. (Not always girl friends either. Ha ha.)
For the next 15 years or so, I would see him driving his bus or his tricked out truck on the road. The last time I saw him was in a store in Tutuila, maybe 6 years ago. He was shopping with his son and I was picking up something to drink.
It was not awkward-we were cordial. Chit chat for 3 minutes, then say goodbye. We never hung out or had Christmas together, but where ever he was, he was always my big brother.
No regrets for the times we didn't have together, just happy for the times we did.
Manuia lou malaga Vika.

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Cheap/Free/Easy

“When God closes a door, somewhere he opens a window.” Maria the Flaky Novitiate

So our apartment got flooded about a month ago, and we have been able to stay in this bigger apartment for the same price as our older one. How great is that?

Jun can borrow laptops over night from his work. It beats having to sit at his work or school library to do stuff. Anyways, just like in our old apartment, we can get on an open network to access the internet. How great is that?

We bought our small 19” TV last year for $25 and it’s been great. We don’t have cable so I just use the coaxial cable as an antenna and get the local stations. I’m not worried about Feb 17, because we can just get on the internet and watch episodes of our shows that we missed. How great is that?

Jun loves music. He spends the majority of his time on the internet looking for songs he loves. We go on YouTube and Lala-which we just discovered. We can listen to a song as long as we want and then click to the next, no charge. How great is that?

What’s better than a cheap buffet? A cheap buffet that offers coupons regularly. How great is that?

Love is the best four letter word ever. Happy VD to all!