Behind the Yellow Tape

Lost in the ER

My daughter, Kasey, and I almost never get sick, so our recent trip to the emergency room was like visiting a foreign country.  Like tourists, we found ourselves staring at our surroundings and taking pictures.

 

If you’ve ever been to the ER for anything less than a gunshot wound, a stab wound or a heart attack, chances are you spent a long time in the waiting area.  Kasey was suffering crippling abdominal pain, but we still had to wait nearly two hours to get into an exam room.

 

Don’t get me wrong, people with more serious medical emergencies definitely should go first.  I spent the nearly two hours comforting Kasey, watching the Food Network’s Sunny Anderson whip up her manicotti enchiladas on the waiting room TV, playing solitaire on my BlackBerry, and privately rating the other patients.

 

There was a girl who was having difficulty breathing.  She should go first, I thought.  The man with the giant ice pack on his head?  Hmmm…you never know with head injuries.  But I looked around at the others and decided Kasey was a shoo-in for third.

 

Sound terrible?  You try killing all that time in a waiting room.  You start to go a little crazy.

 

We were thrilled when we finally reached the promised land.  Our nurse, Bonnie, was really nice, and our ER doctor looked just like Daniel Dae Kim of LOST!

 

Kasey received pain medication through an IV…

 

and in no time she was smiling, as they wheeled her away to get a CT scan.

 

“Baby, it’s not a Disneyland ride!”

 

“Weeee!”

 

Dr. Daniel Dae Kim eventually gave us our diagnosis and today, Kasey is just fine.  Once again, thank you everyone for your concern and well-wishes.

Anchoring, softball and other musings

I thought it might be a good idea to put my responses to your latest comments/questions about my fill-in anchoring in a new post.  Poor Kasey, we went way off topic during the last post about her sickness.

 

BTW, she’s back to normal.  Thanks for the well-wishes!

 

che, my first love is field reporting, but I also enjoy filling in on the anchor desk when those opportunities come up.  Friday night was particularly special for me because Guy Hagi was doing weather and Ben Gutierrez was in studio for his report on the flooding in Mapunapuna.  Guy and I co-anchored the morning show on KHNL many years ago, while Ben and I anchored together at CNN Radio many years before that.  It was just like old times!

 

waverider, Hawaii News Now has a lot of talented anchors, so I’m not sure how often I’ll be called off the bench.  But thanks for your kind words.  As for your question about how physically/mentally challenging anchoring is, let’s just say, after giving it my all during four newscasts Friday night, I passed out as soon as I got home!  Boy, I’m out of shape.

 

Michael, was that your anchor quote suggestion?  “Pink isn’t just a color, it’s an attitude.  I’m Minna Sugimoto.  Our top story tonight…”  LOL!

 

Switching gears, the Special Olympics Hawaii softball season is in full swing!  On Sunday, the team that I help coach, the Honolulu Rainbows, played a scrimmage against students in the Honolulu Police Department’s Law Enforcement Explorers Program.

 

Thanks to the Explorers for helping our team prepare for a big tournament next weekend!

 

waverider, since you were nice enough to mention Special Olympics athlete Larry Ramos in one of your comments, I decided to post this picture we took after practice on Sunday.  He's playing right field for us and is doing a fantastic job.  He was really excited that Coach Minna got to anchor.  J

 

We ain't the Brady Bunch

Carol had three daughters and married Mike who had three sons, and they all lived happily ever after...with a lot of help from Alice.

 

It dawned on me just how unusual my home life was when my daughter became sick at school today.  Chief photographer George Hurd and I were in our news car, heading to a murder suspect’s home, when my personal cell rang.

 

"Hello?"

 

"Hi, Ms. Sugimoto.  Kasey’s here in the health room.  She has a 102.2 degree fever and is feeling nauseous."

 

Ok, that's normal, right?  Carol Brady once pulled up to a suspected drug dealer/killer’s house and got the “can you pick up Cindy” phone call, right?

 

I quickly got out of my hard-nosed, Lois Lane, reporter zone and strapped on the mommy cape.

 

"How do you feel, baby?  Is your tummy sore?”

 

“Errr...” was all she could muster.

 

My newsroom managers were very understanding and let me leave for the day, so I could scramble over to Kasey and take her to the doctor.  Suddenly being one reporter short, I’m sure they had to shuffle a few things around.

 

We all sure could have used Alice today.

A lesson from Lefty

slump -- an extended period of poor performance, especially in a sport or competitive activity (dictionary.com)

I’m in a terrible golf slump.  I feel like I’m in quick sand and I can’t climb my way out.

Okay, perhaps I’m being a bit of a drama queen.  But lately, my scores have been rising (along with my blood pressure), and if there’s a sand trap, a ditch or a lake anywhere in sight, my ball is heading straight to it like a magnet.

There’s nothing sadder than seeing my cute pink ball at the bottom of a stinky water hazard.  This happened more times than I care to count this past Saturday.

 
"Minna, just relax.  Enjoy yourself.  Enjoy the scenery.”

Relax?  Enjoy the scenery?  I’m starting to realize that my friends really don’t know me at all.

Golf is not a good sport for a tightly-wound perfectionist like me.  Not even a Heineken from the refreshment stand can loosen me up once I step foot on a golf course (on the couch in front of the TV is another story).

Do I need to change my ball?  Am I eating the wrong breakfast?  Should I enroll in yoga?  Augh, what do I have to do to break out of this slump?!

Just as I was waist deep in my woe-is-me pity party, Phil Mickelson reminded me that there are more important things in life than a perfect shot.

Coming off a trying year in his personal life, Mickelson completed a Master-ful performance at Augusta Sunday.  How touching it was to see tears rolling down his sweaty face on the 18^th as he embraced his wife, Amy, who’s been battling cancer.

Congratulations on your third green jacket, Lefty, and thanks for knocking some sense into me.

The great Tiger debate

A male friend and I just had a spirited discussion about Tiger Woods.  He’s among the countless Tiger fans around the world sitting on the edge of their seats for this week's Masters.

 

With wife Elin's wounds still painfully fresh, the embattled golfer with the super-sized black book will mark his return to the PGA Tour.  At only four months, that “indefinite” leave sure was a quickie (oops, sorry).

 

"You're not seriously going to root for a guy with such low moral standards, are you?" I asked.

 

"Minna, what Tiger does off the course is his business.  He's a great golfer."

 

Okaaay.

 

I'm sorry, but I'm not a fan.  Never have been.  Yes, he's a phenomenal golfer, but so what?

 

I've always been turned off by the way he violently slams his golf club on the ground or on his bag when he hits an errant shot.  What is that?!  It's certainly not the club's fault and children, who look up to him, are watching.

 

Golf is supposed to be a gentleman's game.  At Monday’s press conference, Tiger vowed to be a better man, on and off the course.  That I can root for.

Cans on bottom, eggs on top

I'm looking forward to this Saturday.  I have a dentist appointment, and then I’ll go to work bagging groceries at Safeway Kapahulu.

 

You must think I'm strange because I love going to the dentist.  Or maybe you'd rather hear about my dental obsession later because right now, you're scratching your head over that "bagging groceries” part.  J

 

Nope, I'm not moonlighting.  On Saturday, I’ll be among a dozen "celebrity" grocery baggers who will be working to raise money and awareness for Easter Seals Hawaii and Special Olympics Hawaii.  Both organizations provide valuable programs and services for people with disabilities across the state.

 

The guest baggers will include Miss Hawaii Raeceen Woolford, Chefs Russell Siu and Fred DeAngelo, and Hawaii News Now's Grace Lee, Steve Uyehara and Mari-Ela David.

 

As a shopper, I always appreciate it when a person double bags the items that could leak, such as ice cream and raw chicken.  I must remember to do that!  Gee whiz, I hope I don't drop a jar of kim chee or something.

 

Mari-Ela and I will team up for the 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm shift.  Hope to see you there!

Crime reporter turned prom mom

Today is a big day for my household.  My daughter, Kasey, will be going to her junior prom.

 

Wasn’t I just at my junior prom?  Has it been that many decades?  Augh!

 

When I started this blog, Kasey begged me to not write about her.  But if I can’t embarrass my teenager once in awhile, what fun is there left?

 

Last year, when she was a sophomore, a boy asked her to his senior prom.  It was her first formal, so we were excited and went all out – gorgeous dress with alterations, professional hair and makeup, manicure and pedicure, the works.  I practically had to apply for a loan.

 

Here’s a photo.  She was a bit grouchy because her mom kept snapping pictures of her.  I’m Japanese.  I can’t help it.  I must take photos.

 

This year, I wanted to scale back a bit.  These are tough economic times, after all.  But a good prom dress is not cheap and it almost never fits perfectly off the rack, so there’s the additional cost for alterations.  I’m convinced it’s all a conspiracy.

 

So what did my wonderful daughter do?  She had her heart set on wearing a short dress, but stumbled upon a full-length gown and fell in love with the color.  She also liked the top portion of it.

 

“Mom, if they shorten it and bubble up the bottom, it would be PERRRFECT.”

 

“Kase, that is not a cheap dress!  You can’t just go cutting it in half!”

 

Where do children learn to make that pouty lip when they’re being denied something?  Are they born with that skill?

 

I’m weak.  I gave in.  Here’s the dress.

 

No word on where the other half went.

Teaching an old dog new tricks

Now I have some idea what it's like for a dog to have to sit, lie down, roll over, get on its hind legs and jump through a hoop just to get a biscuit.  Dogs all over the world, I feel you!

 

I was like a newborn puppy, navigating my way on wobbly legs through the big, scary world of blogging.  I sniffed around my new home called WordPress, figured out where everything was located, got myself comfortable and then BAM!  The family decides to move.

 

The good news is fellow Hawaii News Now bloggers Tannya and Oscar seem to like our new home, TypePad.  I’m still trying to get my bearings.  I tried to publish a reader's comment that was waiting for my approval and it wouldn't let me.  If I really were a dog, I’d be shedding from all this anxiety.

 

My blog friends, any thoughts about our new look?  Any suggestions?

Chilly plunge, warm mahalo

A sauna, the Sahara Desert, chicken noodle soup.  I kept thinking warm thoughts and, somehow, I survived another Super Plunge! Thank goodness Mother Nature showed mercy on us and delivered a sunny day with little wind.  It was such a blast and all for a great cause.  Preliminary figures show the one-day event at Restaurant Row brought in more than $28,000 for Special Olympics Hawaii. Nearly 100 people donated a minimum of $100 each and did a one-time plunge into this icy, 34-degree water.  The group included Honolulu prosecutor Peter Carlisle, members of the military and law enforcement communities, and a team from year-round sponsor Tesoro Hawaii. Not everyone took the dip in a swim suit or board shorts.  This man jumped into the pool in business attire.  Also making a splash were Wonder Woman and a pair of vikings. But the winner of the costume contest was Honolulu firefighter Anthony Sabatini, who took the leap in full hockey uniform.  Sabatini, who works out of the Waikiki fire station, also contributed $800. This year, there were nine Super Plungers, including me.  Check out my form!  We each raised at least $1,000 and braved the frigid water once an hour for 12 hours, beginning at 6:30 am. Thank you so much to the generous folks who donated money to Special Olympics for me: che Landon Bryan Kam Mike Harada William Harrison Richard Qin of Ricado’s Italiano Restaurant Patrick McPherson Jim Fulton Garett Kamemoto che and Landon are guys who regularly comment on my blog.  It was nice to meet both of you face to face!

The value of a life

How much is a human life worth?  If you kill someone, how much of your own life should you lose to incarceration? In Hawaii, you’ll likely be charged with second-degree murder if you intentionally shoot, stab or beat a person to death.  If convicted, the usual punishment is life in prison with the possibility of parole.  Clean and simple. But if you kill someone with a car, all bets are off.  The penalties for deadly drivers have been all over the place. As Forrest Gump might say, a sentencing hearing for a vehicular homicide case is like a box of chocolates.  You never know what you’re gonna get. Today, Melandrew Taban was sentenced to 14 months in jail.  He killed his teenaged passenger and injured two others in a high-speed crash in Kunia. http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/Global/story.asp?S=12039340 A week ago, Billy Lamug sidestepped prison altogether.  Instead, he got probation and community service for killing two teens, and leaving another permanently disfigured, in a speed-involved wreck in Waialua. http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/Global/story.asp?S=12000854 Taban and Lamug escaped stiffer penalties because they had never been in trouble with the law before, and the crashes didn’t involve alcohol or drugs. Remember, Joseph Calarruda?  He got a five-year prison term for killing a pet pig because he had a prior criminal record.  That's a harsher punishment for the death of an animal. What do you think about Hawaii’s sentencing guidelines?