Not to get all preachy on you, because you know I don’t usually do that, but please continue to keep parents Scott and Keao in your thoughts and prayers. As you can imagine, they can really use the support right now. Links to their blogs are in a previous entry, and I’m sure they would appreciate hearing from you as they heal. And please also remember to pray for Triplet C, Casey, also known as “Slugger.” Even though she is progressing well, Casey still has a ways to go before she is completely out of the woods, and she needs every positive thought you can send her way, especially as she carries the torch for her sisters.

Keao and Scott with Casey.

Keao “kangaroo”ing Allison. Kangarooing is a special skin-on-skin nurturing process that’s encouraged between premies and their parents.

Casey, the hairy one. :o)

Allison, the “mellow” one . . . or so we’re told.

The girls are tiny, but somehow not as tiny as I’d anticipated – maybe because I’m short, ha  ha. And Scott and Keao were very upbeat, despite everything they’ve been going through, including the issues Casey and Allison have been having because they were born three-and-a-half months too early, as well as the loss of Rory.

If you pray, please include Scott, Keao and their little girls in your prayers. If you don’t pray, what the hell is wrong with you – just kidding. Just think good thoughts, I guess. For specific prayer requests and/or to see how everybody’s doing, follow their blogs, Pastor Scott’s Thoughts and Starring Astro and Slugger.

Just heard that my friend Bob Sega succumbed to cancer today. Bob had been living with cancer for quite some time now, but he was such a warrior. Bob rode his bike in countless races to raise funds for the Lance Armstrong Foundation and to raise awareness of and educate others about cancer. He never stopped, even though the disease and age were slowing him down little by little all the time.

The last time I saw Bob was less than a year ago, when he and his wife, Allis, came out to Hawai‘i for vacation. It was such a privilege to spend time with them, especially after all the trouble Bob went through finding the darned restaurant on a GPS device that somehow steered him in the opposite direction from the airport. Months later, we exchanged e-mails about the phase III clinical trial he had just enrolled in, as well as the upcoming Austin LIVESTRONG Challenge. Biking wasn’t so much on Bob’s mind as far as Austin was concerned, at least in terms of this e-mail. He wanted to know if our mutual friend Vicky and I were going to be at the Challenge, too, not only for our friendship, but because he wanted me to bring him some SPAM musubi!

“No kidding,” he insisted. “I really liked the stuff.”

:o)

Allis, the thoughts and prayers of many are with you tonight. We’ll miss you, Bob.

About 14 years ago, Chris was diagnosed with CML: chronic myelogenous leukemia. He needed – and, fortunately, received – a bone marrow transplant. He spent the rest of his life as a Lance Armstrong-like activist, serving on committee after committee to battle cancer and advocate for organ donation and tobacco-free workplaces. It wasn’t just business – it was personal.

I was fortunate to serve on one of those committees alongside him and to get to know him a little bit. Even though we didn’t always agree on issues and even though I’m pretty sure he saw right through just how naive I was sometimes, Chris was always friendly, and it was always good to see him. The side effects of his CML treatments clearly caused him pain and discomfort, but he never let that stop him in his role as an advocate. If you asked about why he was grimacing, he’d tell you – but he’d be there to tell you.

Chris, I’m glad your suffering is over and cancer can’t get you anymore, but those of us in Hawai‘i’s cancer-fighting community will miss you. Thank you for all you did.

She has also determined that it would be more economical to eat Cap’n Crunch at a frogurt bar than it is to buy it in the box. Not that anybody would actually do this or anything . . .

BUT, she does good hair. And I mean good hair, like ever since I started seeing her (when I finally got tired of the ladies at Fantastic Sam’s gossiping about my hair in Korean – you know you’re not just being paranoid when they start pointing, though what was so interesting about my hair, anyway?), people have actually complimented me on my haircuts. And when I finally trusted her enough with the cuts, I let her do color. And she does great things with color:

(Ignore the rest of the photo, it’s about the hair!)

Friends I’ve referred to Hillary have also appreciated her skill and quirkiness. And by “referred,” I mean I actually told some of them, and the rest were just stalking me on Yelp! (read my review) – but what can you do.

So, Hillary just started working exclusively out of a home-based salon she calls the Winam Hair Studio. It’s very Asian-inspired and cool:

. . . and it’s in close proximity to Starbucks. YAY. Call her, go there, get your hair done. And tell her I sent you, so I can keep track of my stalkers. ;o)