State plans spending on construction projects

On a more positive note, I also just came across the following article:

State plans $300 million on airport, school and other projects

These are definitely worthy projects and issues that need to be addressed - modernizing airports, repairing schools, fixing roads, and a few other undertakings.

Ever since I visited other airports while traveling, such as Singapore's Changi International Airport and Taipei's Taoyuan International Airport, I have thought that the Honolulu International Airport needed some serious renovation. The airport is visitors' first impression of Hawai'i, and it is definitely not the paradise they are expecting.

The public school facilities need repair (in my opinion, in general, more attention needs to be paid and more funding needs to be allocated to public schools), and it would be nice to drive on the roads without having to dodge the potholes.

Hopefully this funding is used efficiently and actually results in the much-needed improvements to the state!

Oahu's Never-Ending Rail Project

I came across this article while browsing the news on the Honolulu Star Bulletin website:

New developments show rail project way off track

I am not surprised, but it is still disappointing. I am not exactly sure when this rail project was first started, but I know that talk about it began a LONG time ago. Of course, not much progress has been made over the decades. Sadly, this is pretty typical of Hawai'i. My relatives say that Honolulu looks the same as it did the last time they visited, which was about 20 years ago. Compare this to places I have traveled to recently - Singapore and Shanghai - and it is quite disheartening to realize just how stagnant our state is.

I question if the rail project will ever be completed...

Fickle Weather in LA

Southern California weather is generally pretty good, but it has been so strange lately! Coming back to LA from Hawai'i at the end of spring break, we were greeted by a storm - cold, wet weather after a week of beautiful sunshine and warmth... Then it got really warm (high 80's/low 90's), but only for a couple of days. Then back down to the 60's. And then came the wind, which makes the weather seem unbearably freezing - at least to many people from Hawai'i!

Weather like this makes me appreciate Hawai'i's "perfect" weather a lot more. I really do think that it is perfect - or at least as close to perfect as you can get! Growing up in Hawai'i, I think that most of us take it for granted. It is almost always between 70's and low 80's, the rain is warm (and clean!), and the breeze is pleasant and cool. Best of all, we get to enjoy this weather all year - it never gets too hot or too cold.

But LA's weather is not bad. The summers can be too hot, and the winter is usually a little too cold for my liking, but I know that I am spoiled; it is usually pleasant enough, and I can definitely handle it.

In any case, I know that living away from the islands has given me a much greater appreciation of the weather at home!

Hula - more than a dance

Hula

Tonight, a few of our USC Hawai'i Club members performed three hula dances at the Asian Pacific Islander Social Work Caucus's Annual Scholarship Reception. Because this hula performance was the educational piece of the event, we were asked to provide information about hula to include in the script so that the audience could learn more about hula. The following is some general information about hula, written by one of our choreographers: 

Hula is more than the dance of the Hawaiian culture; it is the soul of Hawai'i expressed in motion. Every hula movement has a specific meaning. Different gestures symbolize nature, emotion, even conflict and war. Traditional hula narratives tell a story, and every motion made by the dancer's hands or feet are significant in telling this specific story of Hawai'i. Hula is a way for stories and myths of Hawai'i to be passed down through generations.


In the Hawaiian culture, it is believed that hula was first performed by ancient gods and goddesses, giving hula much cultural significance to the ancient Hawaiian people.  Thus, hula was performed primarily during religious ceremonies, as an offering to the Hawaiian gods and goddesses. This old style of hula is called Hula kahiko which is performed in traditional costume, accompanied by traditional chants and percussion. However, after Western contact, hula gradually evolved into a form of entertainment. This modern style of hula is called Hula auana which is accompanied by songs, ukuleles, guitars, and other instruments.


Today, several hundred halau hula (hula schools) and less formal hula groups are active on every island and the mainland, teaching hula to thousands of students and keeping the old ways and traditional Hawaiian culture alive.

I hope that the audience tonight enjoyed the hula performances and learned more about hula because I definitely did!

Hawai'i's Aloha Spirit

Jogging at home always reminds me of the "aloha spirit" here in the islands. Every single person I come across during my run around my neighborhood greets me with a smile or "Hello!" When I ran around Kapiolani Park during winter break, on the other hand, all of the tourists I ran past avoided eye contact, looked at me suspiciously when I smiled, or did not reply to my "Good morning." This is not a criticism of people from the mainland; rather, I am just pointing out how nice and refreshing it is to experience that aloha spirit here at home.

Honolulu: "City budget proposal to be available online"

According to the Honolulu Star Advertiser's B.J. Reyes, Mayor Peter Carlisle is making the city budget available to the public:


With the first budget of his administration, Mayor Peter Carlisle is offering the public -- number crunchers, spreadsheet devotees and open-government advocates alike -- a chance to examine the figures and come up with ideas he might have overlooked.

...

The entire operating budget for the city and county will be available to the public, as will the budget for the soon-to-be-formed Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transit. Financial disclosure forms for Carlisle and his Cabinet already are posted.

"We'll provide an opportunity for the citizen to review this data and provide comment back to us that we will forward on to the appropriate parties to then look at ways that we may be able to save money, reduce costs and come up with any other ideas that we possibly missed," [city Information Technology Director Gordon] Bruce said. "I'm sure we'll come up with some great ideas."

Hopefully this increased transparency will help Honolulu improve its operations, budget allocation, and spending. It will be interesting to see what kind of responses the city will get - as well as what kind of action (if any) they take after hearing suggestions from the public.

Beta Alpha Psi Regional Conference

I recently attended the Beta Alpha Psi Regional Conference in Anaheim, CA, which opened my eyes to the difference between career opportunities in Los Angeles and career opportunities in Honolulu - at least in the accounting field.

Beta Alpha Psi is an honorary accounting organization, and most universities with established accounting programs have a chapter of Beta Alpha Psi represented on their campus. This year, the University of Southern California (USC) Beta Alpha Psi chapter hosted the regional conference, and I volunteered at the event. I met the three representatives of the University of Hawai'i at Manoa (UH) Beta Alpha Psi chapter and learned more about what recruiting is like back home in Honolulu.

The three representatives from UH's Beta Alpha Psi were all seniors, but they were still in the process of recruiting for full-time positions. I heard that some of the main public accounting firms are not even hiring for full-time this year because they do not have positions available. Others are offering around two full-time positions. Learning about the shortage of available positions made me realize how difficult it must be for graduates to find a job back home. Graduates from the UH accounting program are all competing for those few positions, and there are also graduates from mainland colleges applying to work back home.

If only a handful of graduates secure a full-time position with the larger accounting firms in Honolulu, it makes me wonder what everyone else will do after graduation... Perhaps more people back home go into private industry working in the accounting departments of companies. Or maybe proportionately more of them work at small, local accounting firms.

In any case, I am very grateful for the number of job opportunities available in LA. Almost all of my classmates at the USC Leventhal School of Accounting have secured internships for this summer, which will usually turn into full-time offers by the beginning of senior year. With each of the Big 4 (Deloitte, Ernst & Young, KPMG, and PwC) hiring 30+ interns every year, our chances of securing internships and full-time positions are so much greater.

I guess, in this sense, I am glad that I chose to stay up in LA to start my career...