Hawaii homes

Did you get a view of yesterday's eclipse?

I woke up at 5 a.m. to meet my friend for surfing. I looked up while driving in the morning darkness and saw a sliver of the moon. My friend called me up and said there's an eclipse.

Then I started thinking about it. The night before, I went to bed during a full moon. Now the moon is a sliver? Looking back up into the sky, I noticed the moon was already much brighter than it was half an hour earlier.

By 7 a.m. the sun was rising and the eclipse was nearly finished. We had our full moon again. What a sight. Lucky my friend mentioned it or it would have taken me longer to notice what was happening.

I didn't get any pictures, it takes a good camera for a lunar eclipse and I didn't have one with me. Checkout the links below.

Aloha, Mike Bates (RA)

Oahu MLS

i Properties Hawaii

December 10th eclipse

Lunar eclipse 2011

I went to my regular haircut place on Kapahulu Avenue last week. The owner and I always have things to talk about because we both live in Palolo Valley and we see each other regularly.

The owner asked me if I knew a certain realtor. I knew the name and had spoken with this person before, however I didn't know that realtor personally.

Then the owner told me about her experience with this realtor. She came in for a hair treatment and was given a reduced rate because she was a "friend of a friend". When the treatment was finished, she pulled out a credit card. The owner said they accept cash and checks only. The realtor said she had no cash. The owner said a check would be okay and the realtor said she didn't have her check book. The owner suggested going across the street to the bank ATM. The realtor was too inconvenienced and promised to drop off the money in the next day or two. She gave her business card to the shop owner.

A week went by and the realtor had not come back. The shop owner called the realtor and she seemed to have forgotten that she didn't pay for the treatment. The owner said she didn't pay and please come by with the $30 fee. Then the realtor claimed that she had paid $20 and only owed $10. The owner said "no," the realtor had not paid anything yet. The realtor said she'd stop by - and she didn't.

The shop owner called an acquaintance at the same real estate company. This person spoke with an in-charge person and they had a meeting with this realtor. She agreed to go and pay the bill.

Guess what? She hasn't paid yet! And this particular realtor is pretty successful, it's not like she can't afford to pay the bill.

Please don't tarnish our image! Pay your bills and be a good neighbor!

Aloha, Mike Bates

Michael Bates (RA)

i Properties Hawaii

(808) 548-1220

Have you seen these cones on Waialae Avenue lately? This week the City and County of Honolulu is conducting a study to see how a bike lane would affect traffic.

A long section of Waialae Avenue in the town-bound direction has three lanes. Within this area, a lane is blocked off, leaving two lanes for drivers.

Some people are grumbling about the traffic disruption. I believe we should look at the bigger picture and see how bike lanes will benefit Kaimuki and the surrounding neighborhoods.

In Palolo Valley there are a lot of people who are (choose one or more):

• Being green
• Getting exercise
• Saving money

- by riding their bikes regularly.

Here's a photo of a rider heading down Palolo Avenue. There's less motor vehicle traffic here and bicyclists can get into and out of the valley with less anxiety. Once you get to Waialae Avenue it's a different story.

My wife and I recently rode our bikes from Palolo Valley to the City Mill store in Kaimuki. Riding down Palolo Avenue wasn't bad, but once we got to Waialae Avenue we rode on the sidewalk! It's against the law to ride a bike on a sidewalk in Honolulu, however we'd rather risk a traffic ticket than getting run over by a car.

Result - we got some shopping done, fit exercise into our schedule, didn't burn gas and spent some quality time together.

We should do this more often! Adding bike lanes to Honolulu's city streets will allow more people to safely commute and get other things done. More bikes on the road = less cars on the road.

Think about it and please support bike lanes. How many of us are too fit and couldn't use some more exercise?

Click here to sign the Waialae Avenue Bike Lane Petition

Aloha, Mike

Michael Bates (RA)

i Properties Hawaii

1585 Ala Moana Blvd. #1533

Honolulu, HI 96814

I picked up the January 6, 2011 Honolulu Star-Advertiser and was shocked to see that Virginio "Marcus" Marcos passed away on December 6, 2010. That was a whole month ago and I only read about it today.

Marcus and I met back in 1982. Marcus' friend Dave Cruz was a resident advisor (RA) at Hale Anuenue, a dormitory at UH. I had just moved to Anuenue to start the fall semester and Dave was the RA for the second floor.

Marcus used to hang out with us at Anuenue although he lived somewhere else (off campus I think). Dave Cruz was a pretty good musician, I remember listening to him play guitar and sing in the lounge area of the dorm. By the way, Dave's brothers are Ernie Cruz Jr. and John Cruz. Back then they were hard working musicians who were not famous yet. Later on Ernie Cruz hit it big as a member of the Ka'au Crater Boys. And John has several popular albums at present.

Back in the Anuenue days Hawaii's drinking age was 18. Many of the guys in the dorms looking for fun would head down to Bullwinkle's on University Avenue. After 12/31/1982 they changed the name to Moose McGillicudy's because the Bullwinkle's franchise put legal pressure on the bar's owners about the name.

Bullwinkle's had live music, and the one group that really stood out was the Delta Band. The played all kinds contemporary dance music and seemed to learn each new hit song as it came out on the radio.

I remember going to Bullwinkle's with Marcus, Dave and his brothers for some drinks and then hanging out at the dorm to talk story and drink a few more brews.

Marcus used to ride his skateboard around campus and I remember he was into surfing.

Decades passed and I read a newspaper article about Marcus opening a restaurant somewhere in Honolulu. One day I went to Diamond Head Cove with a customer for smoothies. The customer told me a guy behind the counter was looking at me. I turned around and it was Marcus! That was 20+ years after the Anuenue days. Marcus was the owner of Diamond Head Cove, we talked awhile and I looked at his surfing pics on the wall. He was busy with his customers so we said we'd catch up later.

Now that I knew this was Marcus' shop, I went back with another customer a few months later. Marcus treated us to an Acai bowl and off he went, busy with his restaurant again. We had exchanged phone numbers and e-mail addresses and kept in touch now and then. Today I read about Marcus' passing away and reflected, wondering what his health condition was last time I saw him and if he was keeping quiet about it. According to the newspaper Marcus died of cancer.

As I searched the internet for news about Marcos I found this video:

Marcus' celebration of life will be held on Saturday, January 22nd 2011 at Fort Derussy Park in Waikiki. Starting at 8:30 a.m. with a paddle out to "Threes" (surf spot) and continuing to 6:30 p.m. with music and food.

Aloha, Michael Bates (RA)

Coldwell Banker Pacific Properties

Oahu MLS

Is this Guy Crazy or What?

"Chet the Jet" is a well known triathlete in Honolulu.  I met him in 1997 when I had just gotten into triathlon and he had recently moved to Hawaii from the mainland.

We started training regularly and became close friends.  Next thing you know, he talked me into doing my first Ironman distance triathlon (The Maui Triathlon). 

Several years back, Chet started coaching triathlon groups and started his own clinic, called Team Jet Hawaii. He's always managed to get a great crew of elite and everyday coaches to assist in the swim, bike and run training of his groups.  

Several years back, Chet did the Deca Triathlon in Mexico.  That was 10 Ironman distances - swimming 24 miles, biking 1120 miles and running 262 miles.  Yeah.

Another year or two later, the organizers decided to hold a one-time only Double Deca (multiply those distances x 2).  Chet went back to Mexico and did it again.  He was gone for about a month!

Well guess what?  The organizers decided to hold another Double Deca in 2010.  Chet signed up and was ready to go, along with fellow triathlete Charles Dias, who would be his "handler" - taking care of Chet's food, drinks, etc.

They were all set to go, but then decided to cancel because of the danger these days of being in Mexico. Organized crime, drug dealers, shootings etc.  They didn't want to risk their lives and Americans might be more at risk than some other participants.

Chet and Charles decided to do the event in Honolulu.  Just Chet with Charles' assistance.  On November 13, 2010 Chet started his swim at the Oahu Club pool in Hawaii Kai.  That's 48 miles, going back and forth in an olympic-distance pool.  

Three and a half days later, he wrapped up the swim and began his bike ride on Lagoon Drive, near Honolulu Airport.  On Thanksgiving day, 13 days into the event, Chet reached 1,200 miles on the bike.  Due to health issues (try sitting on a bike seat and ride that far), his doctor advised him to discontinue the bike ride and move on to the run.  So the bike portion became a "Deca" instead of a "Double Deca."

Now Chet's at Kapiolani Park, running laps for about 11 hours a day.  Averaging 33 miles per day.  He will wrap up on Saturday afternoon with 26.2 miles left to go.  Sunday morning, Honolulu Marathon here we go! He'll finish the event and his supporters will be there in force!

If you see Chet on Sunday, give him an encouraging shout.

Aloha, Mike Bates

Hawaii Realtor

Coldwell Banker Pacific Properties

(808) 548-1220