KAISER JOHN TAVITA KUKI LEUPOLU

18 May 2001

Talofa lava Jebi (oh yeah,...and the rest of the coaxing ilk),

I thought I had better write before fines were instituted for those in
remiss with correspondence. The idea of Pania and I getting the lot of you
fed and drunk has been quite motivating....not to mention the fear of
getting well deserved hate mail :). Pania, check your voicemail.....
So my friends, pardon my rude silence...part of which can be blamed on the
idiot pusa before me; beverages and a cpu, not a good mix....but mostly due
to my seemingly inherent laziness with getting it fixed, learning how to
use it properly (if not appropriately..choohoo..), going back to school,
renewing my passport, stop smoking, stop working multiple jobs...blah,
blah, blah goes the list of my discursive interests and obligations.

It's probably been two years since I last wrote any of you. The website was just
up and running ( I'd checked up on it from work several times), we'd found
Carolyn, Marie was an unemployable alcoholic getting enlightened in an
apse, Douggie was beating a camel at a red light in Saudi,mmm....Mele said
the eff word and Lupe chimed in, splitting the mailing list...my puter was
never the same after downloading those pictures...
 Anyway, thanks for keeping me on your lists. Though most of my mail has
been unread nor retrievable, I appreciate it and it especially warms my
heart when a relative mentions that one of you has asked about me. You have
all in some way, enriched life for me. I am in awe and applaud your
successes, your tenacity, your boldness, your humor, your pride, your
kindness....I treasure it and continue to learn and become inspired by you.

   (so go on witcha bad selves! Who let the dogs out?lua pati ma le po)
   As most of you know, Los Angeles is where I currently reside and
overwork. Pania and Madaleine are in the vicinity...we have this study
going to see just how many jobs and how much sleep deprvation it would take
to induce a heart attack or insanity; we've yet to experience chest pains.
I have been in Lala land (stop it) for about a decade now. I manage a store
for Goodwill Industries in Torrance...some say  it is a chain of glorified
opp shops dressed to be like retail. It is actually the largest thrift
store chain in the world with a mission of rehabilitating the handicapped
or anyone with barriers to getting a job. The pay is not all that great but
it's altruistic intent makes it rewarding employment. I often try to remind
myself of that especially when an irate customer is in my face. Because a
substantial portion of the funding is through donations, everyone thinks
they own the place. Picture the stress. Well, I have been there for eight
years and on and off from my first job (inventory auditing) which takes me
traversing all counties in Southern California and nearby states. I miss
out on most of the good trips though I flew to Phoenix on them yonks ago.
OI, haven't said yonks in a bloody long time...(bollocks, buggers, wankers...)EDIT !!!

  Before LA, I was locked up in a mental ward in Apia suffering from
depression. It was actually my room and I had no idea what I wanted to do
(still working on it) after having dropped out of uni in New Zealand. Two
years in Samoa was spent besides being an encumbrance to my family, island
hopping to and from Pago (almost went to work for Starkist), working for
Magic 98FM (only in Samoa do you get phone-in- requests-or-else from
listeners IN jail)- basically bumming around Samoa 'til I ended up here. I
was actually packing for Apia when I got my current job. Things were not
going so well in LA. I was somewhat destitute, sleeping in a garage smack
in the middle of gang central with the chopper lights at night, the
gunshots...just like in the movies. The logical thing to do was getting the
hell out...no surprise, I stayed.

   Three- four years of varsity in NZ yielded no academic credentials. I
had wasted my benefactors and parents money pursuing medicine, microbiology
and other sciences I had no real affinity for. Just the year prior, I took
Physics for the first time at UPY in order to qualify for the Science
funding. Geography was my ken at Samoa College. I actually had the balls to
enrol in geography, anthropology, ninjitsu, the Captain Cook Tavern, the
Taipei Club in addition to  working parttime illegally and hosting a radio
show on campus.Marie and Treena were my sidekicks. Nothing like playing
what ya wanted and dispensing bad advice on air...lol...

    I flatted with Marie in Otago which may have engendered her disposition
for hard liquor and loud music. Something good must've rubbed off since she
married a minister...nyuk-nyuk...She taught me alot about how to survive in
the kitchen. For instance; "Kaiser, all we have in the pantry is a half bag
of rice and some jam. Shall we light up a joint and delude ourselves into
it being dinner or shall we call Samoa crying for money?"

    Before Dunedin was UPY....and 1984 was my final year at Samoa
College....if not then I am more screwed up than I thought.Before that,
Leiififi Intermediate....Apia Primary...Apia Infants...Anglican
Kindy...born in Hawaii....I'm getting a headache from driving in
reverse....LOL.

Life has been great for me.It gets lonely out here at times. I have become
the satellite family member who rarely comes out of orbit, so my family
says.I am still the same old pain in the ass with the acquired American
accent though when I cannot be buggered, I revert back to some freaky
colonial sound that is completely alien to this timeline...lol... I'll send
a photo when I can afford/hook up a scanner . I am told I'm a hottie for my
age(thanks Eveliga & Ella Magazine)...The last time I went home was during
the Pacific Arts Festival in 96. It was a good boozefest as usual...so were
the aesthetic arts and cultures....

   Well, please append this as my contribution to the website. I hope this
makes up for my negligence in acknowledging your care. I hope I am
forgiven.My warmest regards.

Alofa,
Kaiser John Tavita Kuki Leupolu.