About Me

I'm what's known as a "nisei" (NEE-say), a second-generation Japanese-American.

My mother was born and raised in the Land of the Rising Sun, hence the name of this autobiography "Rising Son". My father was a career sailor in the U.S. Navy. The two met in Tokyo of 1964, and married in Tokyo of 1965. He brought her to Honolulu, Hawaii, which is where I came into being.

My childhood was rocky. My parents divorced when I was seven. I didn't get to know my dad much, since he was overseas for half of the time. The next few years was spent being fathered by my mother's various boyfriends. She finally remarried when I was ten, and spent the rest of my youth a step-child.

It seems my teen years were spent angry. To make it short, I felt like I lost my family. My dad remarried and raised a son, while my mom remarried and raised another son. They got new lives to replace their old ones, but not me. I saw myself as old baggage that my mom had to carry around. I wanted to bond with my dad, but he moved far away. At 16, I actually tried running away, but I had enough common sense to force me back home. That anger took root into my soul and still lingers today. It's one of the many feelings that built the person I am, and explains why I am, where I am now.

The few years after high school, during college, were spent trying to figure where I belong. My best friend, Greg, grew up under the same situation, and we spent a lot of time together. Then I met Lisa, and we married a couple years later. I also found career to build upon, bought my first home, and started feeling as if I found a place to belong.

That probably saved me more than anything else. If not for that, I'd probably be in prison, or suicidal, allowing the angry feeling from my childhood to fester and dominate my being.

Instead, I now own and operate a business. My wife and I live a nice house, have great friends, and enjoy life quite a bit, despite her nagging health problems.

Though my childhood anger still lingers deep inside, and still raises its ugly head. That's really what this autobiography is about, dealing with this negative feeling and trying to live a normal happy life. The truth is that my life is like a balancing scale, with the demons on one end, and common sense on the other.

In reality, those demons are beneficial, because it drove me into what I am, an entrepreneur, an optimist, a challenger. It's what keeps pushing me to reach higher and do better.

I'll explain it all in this autobiography.

About This Autobiography

A few years ago I started writing my autobiography. I was typing it out in Microsoft Word. I'd write it a little at a time when I felt up to it. But after having written several pages, I came to realize that no one would read it. I'm not a famous guy, so no book publisher would take it. I figure I would print out the pages when it's finished, and store it in a box in my garage. After my death, someone would go through my belongings and find it, and read it.

That seemed so far fetched. What good would it do me if someone understood me better after I'm dead? I'd rather have them understand me while I'm still alive.

So, I figure I would publish it here in blog form. As long as it's online, someone's going to read it. Also, I figure it will stay online for quite sometime since I have published under my company's website.

Posted:   Friday, June 30, 2006