The Squatty Potty Is Legit
The Squatty Potty just isn’t a gag gift for Christmas parties. It’s the real deal. Otherwise, why would Costco be selling it and as a two pack as well!
Life
Wiped Out Goodies
Okay, so the display case of goodies at a Starbucks in Target is never really full to begin with, but the holidays really took its toll.
Obama on Christmas Eve
Got delayed as President Obama rolled through the Windward side on Christmas Eve.
Last aloha to President Obama’s annual visits to Hawaii.
The Shoe That Was Meant to Be
In the end, I guess it was just meant to be. In January of 2016, I had ordered the Nike Air Max 2015 in black and white from Nike’s online clearance section. Priced at $149.97, down from $190, the shoes felt good but not $150 good. So I returned them.
Forward to November 2016 and guess what showed up at Ross…in black and white… and in a size 10? Yup, the very same shoe model, but this time, the price was $70. This is high for Ross standards but at half the price of a clearance price, you know it was meant to be.
WordPress 4.7 Broke My Login
Aw boo, upgrading to the latest WordPress 4.7 Vaughan accidentally broke my ability to login. Instead, I was caught in a loop where WP wanted to update the database but couldn’t. No matter what, the site kept wanting to update the database, but couldn’t, never getting past that point. Googling this problem shows others have encountered the same behavior.
I found very useful troubleshooting tips in this article, namely deactivating themes and plugins. For me, it seemed the theme was the culprit. Still trying to sort it all out. 🙁
My Preferred Starbucks at Ala Moana
Is now the newest Starbucks Reserve which is like in the old location of the former Sears. In the Mauka wing of the mall, this Starbucks has been considerably emptier than the locations in Macy’s or at Center Court. Okay, so there’s not that many stores nearby but that simply contributes to it lower volume. And during the busy shopping season, this emptiness is very much welcomed.
A Hint I Ate Too Much
Thanks to this shopping cart for hinting that I ate too much this Thanksgiving weekend. I barely leaned my weight on its handle when I heard a crack.
A Fun Black Friday
Albeit I didn’t do a whole lot of shopping on Black Friday 2016, but I did brave Ala Moana for a few hours. This was in the late afternoon when I figured the crowds would have dissapated and even the heartiest of shoppers would have hit the wall. I was sorta right. Parking was available and made navigable using the recently installed parking counters. These things surely eased any parking anxiety.
First Stop, Starbucks
As the norm, my first stop was Starbucks. After easily finding parking (though in the boonies), I had to gear up for the crowds. Luckily, taking the closest elevator to the street elevator placed me nearby the Starbucks Reserve location by the former Sears. I hadn’t been to this location since it reopened and didn’t realize it had the “Reserve” status. Really, that didn’t matter to me. What really mattered was the short line.
After I finished my drink, I went for a free refill and this is what I saw at the other two Starbucks locations.
That Disney Vacation sign and pillar blocks the view of how long the line actually was. Looks like it ended near the escalators. So I kept walking to the Macy’s location which had gotten emptier in recent history. Although the gate was down, they were open, but you had to enter through their doors and get jammed into their small space with everyone else.
The Mess
I don’t know why, but my first shopping stop after getting Starbucks was The North Face. While I love the brand, I had never been to the Ala Moana location. Just no real need in Hawaii, you know. But the place was packed…and in a mess. The entry way display of specials was in a heap.
The store workers tried to keep up with the folding, but the masses undid the orderliness in no time. But now I know where to find Smartwool socks.
To be fair, the mess was everywhere. I went to Banana Republic since they had a hefty 50% off sale but finding shirts like this proved tough. Try finding a pattern and size in this jumble. You needed to make a bigger mess to go through the mess.
The Crowds
So even in the late afternoon, the crowds were still there. Weaving your way to get to your stops was tough with too much congestion and slow moving, bag-laden shoppers.
There was still a line just to enter Prada.
Fun Sights
Even though I had limited time, I did see a few fun things. The Finish Line in Macy’s ocassionally surprises me with their collection. They had an Adidas NMD colorway, but all the smaller sizes sold out earlier in the day.
Deejays were spinning the tunes as you entered Macy’s. If nothing else, the loud performance woke up weary shoppers.
The Vintage Cave has reopened.
I saw a pair of Yeezys and talked to the owner who had won them in a raffle. Instead of reselling them, he decided to rock them. Props to him!
Loving the new holiday decorations.
The Power of the Yoku Moku
The real reason I went to Ala Moana on Black Friday was to buy Yoku Moku at Shirokiya at 20% off. This purchase greatly helped my progress of getting a free Santa snow globe.
So yeah, like I said, a fun Black Friday!
Well Done, International Market Place
A promise made, and a promise kept is deserving of praise, and yes, that’s for the International Market Place for addressing their parking rates. After near perfection, the management promised to make amends, and they have with their new parking rate structure in place for the Black Friday shopping weekend.
Unfortunately, I don’t have a before picture to compare against, but trust me, that 4th Hour for an additional $2.00 wasn’t there last week. But that $2 rate makes a huge difference in your dining and shopping experience at the International Market Place.
International Market Place Striving for Perfection
Hold up. Let’s reconsider the essence of perfection. It’s not one static state but rather a continued journey upon which the International Market Place is on. You remember my almost perfect night at the Market Place, only marred by an exorbitant parking fee? Well, that has since been rectified and soon enough fixed for the better.
After that night, the missus wrote an email to the management of the International Marketplace with similar sentiments of my blogged version. Within 24 hours, there was a response from the General Manager himself. His response was refreshingly truthful and sincere. Yes, he apologized for our situation and shared that he had received similar complaints during their short time open. It seems their parking rates mimic the pricing structure of neighboring establishments, but this model doesn’t really fit the shopping and dining experience offered by the International Market Place. Recognizing this discrepancy, a new parking fee is being rolled out this week.
More so, the GM offered to reimburse us the difference between the current and upcoming parking rates which would equate to $6. Even better, he’s providing us with complimentary valet services (until the end of 2016). Of course, none of this is absolutely necessary to respond to a complaint. But the fact that the staff and management of the International Market Place did respond quickly and courteously to satiate a complaint says a lot. While the International Market Place may not yet have achieved perfection, they are striving for perfection.
Almost a Perfect Night at International Market Place
Update 11/21/2016: Wow, that was fast. Read how the International Market Place is striving for perfection.
Almost. So close to the pinnacle of perfection was our first night at the renovated International Market Place in Waikiki. In the end, this ruined perfection.
Yes, yes, we should have known better. This is Waikiki afterall, and the rates are posted. But let’s rewind to the start of our evening that started at 4:37pm on Saturday. We had 5:30 dinner reservations at STRIPSTEAK to take advantage of Restaurant Week deals, but we got there early to check out the Market Place and for me to visit the just-opened Flight 23.
This addendum to Foot Action had some previously sold out Jordans like the AJ1 Reverse Shattered Backboard and the Banned 1. Though not for me, I did pick up the Banned.
So yes, the night was off to a great start. There were quick stops to Clarks and Banana Republic where another $140+ was spent. Within 45 minutes of arriving at the Market Place, nearly $300 was spent then it was dinnertime.
The steak and lobster special did not disappoint, and the attentive service at STRIPSTEAK was at its finest.
Even when one sole sushi rolled off the serving platter when brought to our table, a whole new order arrived shortly thereafter. Wow, just wow.
Great food with friends made the time go by, and after dinner, we strolled around to see the other stores. I will say that in all the stores we visited, the vibe of all the various employees simply felt “alive.” I’m not sure how else to describe it, but everyone exuded their own personality making you want to support their business.
Even though we had just finished dinner not an hour before, we came across Kona Coffee Purveyors featuring b. patisserie. They too had Restaurant Week specials in the form of kouign amann sundaes with either matcha, vanilla, or apple pumpkin which you can see, our group ordered one of each.
The other b. patisserie goodies did not go unnoticed as our take home box indicates.
Needless to say, we were dropping bucks at this point. Yet, even with all this patronage, the end of our night was met with a $28 parking bill, validated down to $14. A blemish to an otherwise perfect night at the International Market Place. Fourteen dollars is reasonable you say? Maybe… but couldn’t there be additional price breaks, especially after spending a sum of money at the location? Spending time to spend the money kinda goes hand in hand, so why not reward the business with additional parking validation?
When asked or talking story about the International Market Place, you know the cost of parking will be my primary point brought up, not the assortment of stores, the attentive, personable service, nor the great food. Almost perfection.
NES Classic Edition and Walmart.com
Available in limited quantities at Walmart.com, the NES Classic vanished in seconds. I had one in my cart but got several errors when attempting to check out. Of course, when I did manage to checkout, I got another error saying the item was not in stock (even though I had still one in my cart).
I guess that high demand wreaks havoc on them servers.