by Sandy Kiyomura
Did you know that you could be skiing in Japan next year with the Far West Ski Association? Nisei Ski Club is a member of BAC, the Bay Area Council of Ski clubs. BAC in turn is a member of Far West. Each year, Far West puts together an international ski trip. Several NSC members have skied in Europe with Far West. These trips usually include one or two weeks of skiing and an optional week of touring the country. In 2019 the pre-trip ski week is at Niseko in Hokkaido, Japan, and the basic ski week is in Hakuba/Nagano where Jonny Moseley skied in the 1998 Olympics and performed his famous Iron Cross aerobatic trick. The optional post-trip week will include a tour of Kanazawa, Kyoto and Tokyo. Far West allows the flexibility to join the basic ski week and either or both of the optional weeks.

Niseko is a town on Japan’s northern Hokkaido Island, near the dormant volcano of Mt. Yotei. Major ski centers like Niseko Mt. Resort and Grand Hirafu occupy the slopes of Mt. Niseko-Annupuri. The surrounding mountains are dotted with numerous hot spring resorts, known as onsen. The Shiribetsu River is known for its whitewater rapids. The area also features several golf courses against a backdrop of snowcapped peaks.

Hakuba Happoone Winter Resort is a ski resort located on Mount Karamatsu in Hakuba, Japan. For the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, it hosted the alpine skiing downhill, super giant slalom, and combined slalom events. Happoone receives an average snowfall of 11 meters (36 feet) per season!

Several NSC members are going on this trip with me, including our President Armand. If you have any questions about the trip, feel free to contact Armand at president@niseiskiclub.org or visit the Far West website.

by Tina Woo
The recent NSC Newsletter in August featured an article by Sandy Kiyomura about her Wednesday afternoon ballroom dancing class held at the Alameda Mastick Senior Center. There was information on how dancing benefits us physically by getting us up and moving, cognitively by helping the brain in remembering steps and variations, not to mention, socially, where we meet new people.

On a beautiful Wednesday afternoon, Margaret Wong and I decided to visit Alameda and Sandy’s dance class. When we arrived at the Mastick Center. We were pleasantly surprised by the welcoming atmosphere. There was a costume jewelry sale and an ice cream social. Margaret found some nice pieces of jewelry to add to her collection. The facility has several classrooms in addition to two bocce ball courts, a pool room and an exercise area. There are dozens of classes such as computer classes, foreign language classes, stained glass making, line dancing, hula and bridge club.

Sandy is an excellent resource and has been teaching as her “retirement job” for 8 years. Her beginning waltz class covered the basic box step, quarter turns, the underarm turn variation, in addition to a progressive step enabling you to move around the ballroom. Highlights included the all- important frame, posture, and heel-toe, toe, toe heel footwork. Sandy works with an excellent assistant, Jim Kawasaki, and provides both leader and follower instructions. The class was divided accordingly, and we practiced with a variety of partners. Sandy provided feedback to all. This was a very fun, welcoming, non-threatening experience, with great music to boot! And all of this was reviewed in an hour (for $5).

So, whether you’re a newbie or experienced dancer, this is a great opportunity to learn the basics or get a valuable refresher! Margaret and I thoroughly enjoyed the class and plan to return. Want to join us?

Armand Gutierrez, President

Ten years ago NSC celebrated its 50th Anniversary with a ski week at Vail, staying at the Vail International Condominiums. Later that year, in June to be exact, NSC had a grand 50th Anniversary dinner at the Holiday Inn in San Jose. This year NSC made a return trip to Vail, again, staying at the Vail International Condominiums, and this month we will be having our 60th Anniversary dinner at the China Stix restaurant in Santa Clara. These events are not by coincidence, but by design. Does the word tradition come to mind? A tradition is a belief or behavior that is passed down from one generation to the next, and can be for a special occasion, cultural aspect, or an event with great significance. Past NSC traditions could include the yearly ski races and the Nikkei Matsuri fundraiser. Unfortunately, traditions, like the wind, come and go. Tevye (from Fiddler on the Roof) struggled to maintain his religious and cultural traditions when outside influences encroached upon his family’s lives. Over the years NSC had similar outside influences that affected the yearly ski races and the Nikkei Matsuri event. Perhaps it’s time to start a new tradition, a tribute to NSCs ability to succeed as a club for all these years, and the years to come. Looking forward to seeing you, off and on the slopes, in 2028.

Upcoming Events
60th NSC Anniversary Dinner in September – September 8th
The Anniversary Dinner is completely booked with 70 people looking forward to meeting old friends, reminiscing about the good old days in NSC, and, of course, dining on fine cuisine.

Big Sky Ski Week 2019
The Big Sky trip is moving along well and on track. Thanks to those that sent in the second payment and the final payment is due in October. If you had one of those escapable moments and forgot about the second payment then you can redeem yourself by sending it now. An even better idea would be to send in your total payment and be worry-free.

Here are a few ideas for September “things to do” in the Bay Area.

Sausalito Arts Festival Labor Day Weekend: Enjoy one of the most prestigious art festivals in the country with over 250 artists in 14 different mediums at the Marinship Park waterfront in Sausalito, September 1-3. Fine art, music, food and wine come together for the perfect way to celebrate the end of summer. Admission: $25/day, $20 seniors 62 and over, children under 12 free.

Come out to paddle or cheer at the 23rd annual Northern California International Dragon Boat Festival September 15-16, 2018 at Lake Merritt, Oakland. It’s the largest competitive dragon boat festival in the United States. For more information: sfdragonboat.com

If you’d like to purchase tickets for San Jose Taiko’s 45th Anniversary Concert, you can do so here:
https://sjtaiko.squarespace.com/45thconcert

Hoyt Nelson

We live in a wonderland of ethnic restaurants in the Bay Area. Indian and Pakistani places have lately become much more popular– partly because so many folks from these places have come here to work in Silicon Valley and because this cuisine is so delicious. I remember in the late 60s when we had to drive to San Francisco to Taj of India and later to Pasand in Emeryville for these cuisines. At that time, there was a place called the Khyber Pass in Berkeley which claimed to be the only Afghani restaurant in the Western World. Now, the San Jose, Berkeley and Fremont areas are packed with such great places.

Unless you habitually seek out new places however, you may not know about Flavors of India, an Indian place in Santa Clara on Saratoga Ave. It’s just 100 feet in back of Applebees (which is 100 feet just S. of Hwy. 280). The listed address is actually the cross street, Moorpark. You might remember Tony Roma’s BBQ, which was one of its previous incarnations. The old cowboy decorations are still there. Many Indian folks have found it, with good reason, and I suggest you do too for its high quality food. It has most of the typical favorite Northern specialties like tandori and curries, but we go there for the dosas (a southern specialty which is not yet as popular in this area). If you find any, they will probably be just the Masala dosa, and I suggest you start with this popular version. It is an enormous thin, crispy semolina pancake rolled up into a 2 inch diameter tube which will probably overhang your plate on 2 sides. Inside, is a large dollop of spiced potato, but the pancake is the thing. Caution: You may have to ask for the separate dosa menu which lists about 8 different types. Like many local Indian places, there is only a buffet at lunch, but a thali (house combination of either veggie or with meat) will do for the most part.

Just W of India on the map is Pakistan and lately, our hands down favorite is Zareen’s Pakistani in a strip mall at 1477 Plymouth in Mtn. View – several hundred feet from a nearby large movie complex just E of 101. It is pretty small and gets very crowded during peak times, so plan timing accordingly. There are a few political messages scrawled on the walls and the seating is informal at picnic tables, so you might have to ask a 2-some to share a table. Otherwise, just take it home since it already comes in a takeout clamshell. The chai (spiced milk tea) is very good and is self-serve, but a sign says to limit yourself to 3 small paper cups per person. It’s not fancy and there may be as good or better Pakistani places in the Fremont area, but for my money, this is the very best Pakistani food within easy reach of San Jose.

Continuing N on Saratoga Ave. just N of Hwy. 280 is Harry’s Hofbrau at 390 Saratoga, one of our standby places for fast, large servings and which stays open till 11 PM. It’s not out of the way, but the same building houses a Persian grocery store (at the right end). Enter this store and go through an unmarked entrance in the back into a large, dark, cave-like Persian restaurant called Stone Stew. The atmosphere is quite nice actually. There is a well-equipped commercial kitchen to your right, but strangely, cooking is done in a lunch coach permanently parked just outside. The kabobs, breads and salads are pretty good, but the signature Stone Stew is just chunks of spiced meat and potato with some onion in a small stone mortar. You use a decorated stone pestle to mash the bits together with a few veggies into an un-appetizing mush. It’s an interesting presentation, but don’t bother.

Finally, if you have an itch for Thai on a Sunday, go to a Thai temple at 1911 Russell St. Berkeley from 10 till 1 PM. It’s called Wat Mongkolratanaram (wat means temple) at 1911 Russell St.. In the back is an open area filled with about a dozen long (communal) picnic tables. There are separate lines to enclosed tents for each of veggie, non-veggie and deserts etc. with 4 or 5 selections in each category. You pay for each with wood chits. There is a non-church cashier where you purchase these chits, and this allows all the other church members to serve you without touching money (which this sect is not allowed to do). It’s excellent and cheap, so the place is usually mobbed. It’s well worth the wait.

Snowbomb Festivals are held around California in November and are a great way to get psyched for the upcoming ski season. At the festival you will find free lift tickets, ski and board sales, climbing walls, entertainment, vendors, beer and wine. Admission tickets are available online.

The Bay Area Council (BAC) of ski clubs will have a booth at the shows and we will be looking for help at the booth. This is a great opportunity to promote Nisei ski club and meet members of other clubs. Please contact Armand if you are interested in volunteering for a few hours at this fun event.

Here are the dates:

Santa Clara County Fairgrounds:
Nov 10 2018 12pm – 8 pm
Nov 11, 2018 | 10am – 6pm
San Francisco Pier 35:
Nov 3 – Nov 4, 2018 | 10am – 6pm
Sacramento Cal Expo Center:
Nov 17 – Nov 18, 2018 | 10am – 6pm

Nov 5 — Winterfest — The BAC Winterfest will be held at the Englander Pub on Monday November 5th. This is a great opportunity for club reps and travel directors to speak with ski resort reps. There will be great raffle and silent auction items.

Armand Gutierrez, President

August. Hot August Nights. Kids returning to school. Still summer, but heading into fall. What does August bring for you? For me, it’s a minor milestone: my 5-year anniversary of being retired, and I often forget that it’s been five years. Many of you are probably thinking that I’m still a newbie at only five years, and you would be correct. After all, there are many members that have been retired for 10, 15, and 20 years or longer. So you see, that still makes me a youngster. Getting older is unavoidable, and NSC is no exception. Witness the fact that we are now having our 60th Anniversary Dinner next month. Yes, our club is getting older, as is the membership. But that doesn’t mean we have to stop doing the things we love, especially our love for skiing/boarding. My passion for skiing is what keeps me young (along with 5-6 days at the gym each week), and skiing with members of NSC is always something I look forward to each season. Hope to see you on the slopes this season.

Upcoming Events

60th NSC Anniversary Dinner in September – September 8th
Karen Soo, our trip director, has been working very diligently on the upcoming 60th NSC Anniversary. So far there have been 60 signups and we have room for 80. So, if you haven’t signed up yet what are you waiting for? Do you really want to miss this opportunity for meeting old friends and acquaintances and reminisce about the history of NSC?

Big Sky Ski Week 2019

The Big Sky trip is completely booked, unless you are a single and would be willing to take a sofa sleeper. If more people decide to sign up then I’ll make an inquiry on the possibility of getting an additional condo or two. As a reminder, August 10th is the deadline for sending in the second payment. Here is the link to the flyer: Big Sky flyer

Armand Gutierrez, President

Summer has officially arrived and we’re experiencing unusual weather. You may have noticed that there are warm-to-hot days followed by cold days. This is caused by alternating high and low pressure systems over the bay area, and is not typical for our summer pattern.

NSC Annual Membership Meeting and Luau Picnic, June 10^th

Once again we had a great turnout for our annual membership meeting and luau picnic, and the weather was warm and sunny. And once again I didn’t win the Left-Center-Right game that Karen sponsored. Congratulations to Patt Dumlao for being the big winner. Thanks to everyone that showed up and had a great time.

Upcoming Events

Mt. View Obon Festival is on July 21^st  and 22^nd. This is an annual volunteer event that NSC participates in and is always a fun event. After all, there’s a variety of food, carnival-style games, cultural events, lots of people, and the famous Beer Booth. If you’re interested in volunteering here is the link for signing up: http://signup.com/go/KTroJEG

Big Sky Ski Week 2019

Plans are moving smoothly for the Big Sky ski week trip for 2019, and the date is 19-26 January. The Big Sky flyer has been posted and you can now send in your applications. This trip will be limited to 36 applicants so be sure to send yours in early.

For 2018-19, Big Sky will be on the Ikon Pass, and is also good for Squaw Valley/Alpine Meadows. Here is what you need to know about the Ikon and Epic Passes for the Big Sky trip:

• Purchase the Ikon Pass (Big Sky, Squaw/Alpine) from Sports America and receive a discount on the Big Sky trip. Go to this link to purchase: https://www.sportsamerica.com/ikon-nisei
• Purchase the Epic Pass (Northstar, Heavenly, Kirkwood) and receive a discount on the Big Sky trip. The Epic Pass cannot be used at Big Sky, but if you go on the Big Sky trip you will receive a trip discount. Go to this link to purchase: https://www.sportsamerica.com/epic-nisei

Patt Dumlao

On June 10th 2018, the Nisei Ski Club had their annual picnic celebrating the club’s 60th year. It was announced that we are one of the oldest ski clubs on the west coast.

It was a pretty good turnout with members, family, and friends showing up. The weather was warm and breezy. A lot of entrée and dessert dishes were brought in by the members as well as varied liquid refreshments. You couldn’t stop eating (LOL) umm..umm..good! Karen Soo was our terrific grill chef for the day. As everyone enjoyed the food, it was a good time catching up with new and old friends.

“El Presidente” Armand made a few more announcements about the next weeklong ski trip to Montana. More on that in another article. Thanks and gratitude were given to those that volunteered in making this picnic successful and he also mentioned some changes in the Nisei Ski Club including new members of the board.

Once the club business was done, the traditional Left-Right-Center game commenced. Those that were new the game had fun learning how to play as well as being enjoyed by all. About 30 people circled around and participated. The winner of the game is typically “volunteered” to write this article about the picnic.

It was a great social day. Thanks everyone. . .

Greg Wong

This is my last article as Membership Chairperson.  It turned out to be a three year tour that went in a blink of an eye.  The membership ended the year with 74 members.  It has roughly been the same for the three years.  Long gone are the years of 200+ members.  Now, the club is a core group of people with some new members.  

I like to welcome Tina Woo as the new Membership Chairman this year. If you have not met her, say hello.   She comes in with new and needed enthusiasm.  Tina has some new ideas for the club to bring in new members. You will hear about them in future articles and events. I hope other members join in her membership activities.  I wish her good luck.    

Judy Hom

This is my last edition of the newsletter. It is hard to believe that I’ve been your newsletter editor for three years. It’s even harder to believe that I’ve been the Nisei Ski Club newsletter editor on and off for 11 years. Indulge me as I walk down memory lane.

My first stint started in 1997. Ron Nishimura decided that he needed to recruit a bright-eyed and bushy tailed new member to be the newsletter editor otherwise he would be stuck with a second term. It sounded interesting and not knowing any better, I said yes. Here’s a link to my first column as newsletter editor.

Back in 1997, the newsletter used to be quite a production. Articles were collected and laid out for printing on 11″ x 17″ paper. Four pages fit on 11″ x 17″ paper double-sided. The ideal number of pages for the newsletter was in multiples of 4. The smallest newsletter was 4 pages long and the typical newsletter was 8-12 pages. If push came to shove and there was not enough content, then 8.5″ x 11″ inserts were used.

The newsletter couldn’t be too big otherwise it would be heavier than 1 ounce, which would require additional postage. Once the newsletter was laid out, I took it to the copy shop to get 300 copies made. I organized the collating and stapling of the newsletter instead of paying extra to have that done for me. I used to recruit club members and even family to do that every month. Later, my husband Winston bought a used washing machine sized HP laser jet printer and we did the printing at home. I have fond memories of Winston dropping collated copies of the newsletter on the floor and sometimes on my head for stapling and stamping.

In 2004, the club offered a PDF version of the newsletter as an option to the printed newsletter to lower printing and mailing costs. In 2007, the club made the PDF version standard and the printed and mailed version an option with a small fee to cover costs. Finally in 2013, the club dropped the PDF version and made the newsletter online only.

It’s been interesting to work on the website only version. I’ve gotten a chance to learn new tools like Word Press and brush up on my HTML. In addition, the website version allows me to correct and revise articles any time. I used to feel badly when I found mistakes in the printed version after it went out — no more!

I’ve done this job for so long because Nisei Ski Club is a wonderful group of people. After all, that’s how I met my husband Winston.

In closing, I would like to welcome the brand new newsletter editor Judy Bracken. Some of you may have met her on the weeklong trip to Vail. In fact, Judy B. wrote the article about the club’s 60th anniversary trip to Vail. I find it serendipitous that the incoming editor is also named Judy. Please give this new Judy a warm welcome and your support.

Hello Nisei Ski Club! Thanks for selecting another Judy to be newsletter chair. I’ve got a tough act to follow after the awesome job Judy Hom has been doing for a very long time! I will do my best to keep you all informed with club happenings via the online news.

Skiing is one of my favorite pastimes and has been since I began to ski at age 8 in Utah. I always took it for granted that skiing was easy and accessible, living where it was a 40 minute drive to the top resorts of Deer Valley, Park City, Alta, Snowbird, Solitude or Brighton. Then when I spent four years at college in Colorado, it was more of the same. It wasn’t until I lived in Texas for a couple years that I realized how lucky I had been! I was overjoyed to be back in the West when we moved to California in 1991. Since then I’ve explored most of the Sierra resorts, settling in on Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows as favorites.

My three sons and I enjoy skiing together, but it’s not often our schedules coincide. Joining the ski club was a great way to find other adults that love to ski and stay active. The ski trips to Aspen and Vail were awesome and I hope to do many more.

Unfrozen water is my other love; I’ve been a part of a masters swim team for over 25 years. In 1999, I emerged from the pool to swimming in various bodies of water from the SF Bay to Lake Tahoe to the Aegean Sea.

Outside of skiing and swimming, I keep busy with various volunteer jobs, travel, family and friends, my pets, and my long distance boyfriend Mark. I originally had a career in Human Resources, but have also worked in housing economics, accounting, writing and swim coaching. Now I’m retired from those jobs, and my main task is to enjoy life!

Hi, I’m Tina Woo and recently rejoined Nisei Ski Club this past year to participate in the club’s week- long 60th anniversary trip to Vail, Colorado. Following this trip, Sandy Kiyomura contacted me to see if I would be willing to volunteer assisting in the membership role. I joined the club in 2004 and 2005, probably as a result of attending a dance at the Buddhist Temple and recall the earlier days of ski waxing workshops, making tempura for the Obon festival, dances and bus trips.

One of my goals for the club will be to maintain our current membership base and recruiting new members. The Bay Area has so much to offer in terms of cultural events and festivals, musical performances, museums, biking and hiking trails, attending a Giant’s game, camping, kayaking, stand up paddle boarding, dragon boat paddling, visiting one of Hoyt’s restaurant reviews, to name a few. If you would like to suggest a possible event for the club, please let me know. Send email to membership@niseiskiclub.org.

Hi, my name is Rick Dumlao. I joined the Nisei Ski Club in 2012. I was introduced to the club by Armand, our honorable club president. I started skiing at the late age of 25 then I took up snowboarding about 10 years ago. I would consider myself somewhere between an intermediate and an advanced rider. Attending the club’s week long ski trips for the last five years is always one of my highlights of the year for me. Previously I had been with another ski club called Crash and Burn until it was discontinued. I find the Nisei Ski Club much better suited to my liking with membership I can relate to. As I mentioned, Armand brought me into the club but we also had other things in common at the time. We used to work for the same company and we also share the skies flying hang gliders in the summer as well as enjoying the snow in the winter. I’m looking forward to contributing to the Nisei Ski Club as a new member of the board in any way I can.

We choose hope over fear. We see the future not as something out of our control, but as something we can shape for the better through concerted and collective effort.

Barack Obama

Hoyt Nelson

In the next few issues, I will talk about restaurants – mostly in the South Bay area. I’ve been “collecting” restaurants and sending short reviews to friends for over 50 years. My wife and I always have our antennae open for new, interesting places and when confronted with choices between an old favorite and a new place that looks interesting, we usually go to the new place. We usually like ethnic places and rarely pay more than $20 for a meal. It’s a moving target to find good places since new places are always popping up, old ones close and places frequently change. We usually get tips from friends and usually check out reviews from YELP and prefer places with at least 25 reviews.

Because we live in the South Bay, most places are within reach of our area, although we have a section of special places out of range of this area. You may not like all the same places as we do because of differences in your tastes, the particular dish, whether it’s lunch or dinner, the day of the week, etc. When in doubt, I suggest you learn more before choosing by reading YELP reviews. (The ratings are YELP’s ($ and *). Also, feel free to contact me for more details (and to tell us about your favorite places). Even we, sometimes find disappointments in places at which we have had good meals in the past.

Because my listing usually changes every month, I get sick of re-issuing issues all the time. So now, I am in the process of transferring my review to Google Drive. If you save the link to it, you will always be up to date. My drive location will also include notes on my travels, Bay Area hikes, my personal recipes, and a few of my favorite puzzles. I’m having a few problems since Google does things a little differently than Microsoft. By the next issue of our newsletter, I should have things straightened out. In the future, I hope to add more details on each restaurant, but until then, you will just have to ask me for more details. If there is enough interest in a particular restaurant, we might even organize a trip to it.

Here is this month’s restaurant:

Crepes Bistro

Enough with the preliminaries. One of our latest finds is Crepes Bistro (4.5 *. $$, Gluten-Free, Vegan, 57 Washington St., San Jose, where Washington changes to Bascom, 408-260-6885). It’s just off the Bascom exit from 880 going S. The crepes ($13 – $15.75) are more than large enough for 2 people so I suggest splitting a savory crepe for dinner and splitting a sweet crepe for desert. The crepes are true buckwheat, about 14X 16 and unusually thick at about ¼. Soups, salads, bagels, breakfast items, acai, deserts and drinks are also available. The place is fairly small and nicely decorated with tasteful photos. We enjoyed our first meal there and I look forward to the next.

Armand Gutierrez, President

It’s June and the start of the 2018-2019 NSC season. Our recent election resulted in three new members joining the board: Judy Bracken, Tina Woo, and Rick Dumlao. Thanks to all of you that took the time to vote, and you can see the full election results in Hoyt’s article.

Upcoming Events

NSC Annual Membership Meeting and Luau Picnic, June 10th
The NSC Annual Picnic on June 10th at Las Palmas park in Sunnyvale (same place as last year) is coming up soon. See the flyer in the newsletter and the Evite invitations have already been sent out. If you didn’t get an Evite in your email then please notify Karen Soo (tripdirector@niseiskiclub.org).

Mt. View Obon Festival is on July 21st and 22nd. This is an annual volunteer event that NSC participates in and is always fun. After all, there’s a variety of food, carnival-style games, cultural events, lots of people, and the famous Beer Booth. If you’re interested in volunteering contact the Mountain View Buddhist Temple at mvbt.575@gmail.com or phone (650) 964-9426.

Big Sky Ski Week 2019
Plans are moving smoothly for the Big Sky ski week trip for 2019, and the date is 19-26 January. There will be more details in the July newsletter.

For 2018-19 Big Sky will be on the Ikon Pass, and is also good for Squaw Valley/Alpine Meadows. Here is what you need to know about the Ikon and Epic Passes for the Big Sky trip:

• Purchase the Ikon Pass (Big Sky, Squaw/Alpine) from Sports America and receive a discount on the Big Sky trip. Go to this link to purchase: Ikon Pass for Nisei Ski Club through Sports America
• Purchase the Epic Pass (Northstar, Heavenly, Kirkwood) and receive a discount on the Big Sky trip. The Epic Pass cannot be used at Big Sky, but if you go on the Big Sky trip you will receive a trip discount. Go to this link to purchase: Epic Pass for Nisei Ski Club through Sports America

Hoyt Nelson, Vice-President

The results are in and we have a new board of directors for NSC. They will be installed on June 1 for the coming fiscal year starting June 1. There are many of the same members and a few new members. The members of the board are:

We will soon be brainstorming for new events for the coming year and preparing for ways to add to our membership. If any member would like to be part of these activities, contact any board member or send email to president@niseiskiclub.org. We look forward to working with all of you this year.

Judy Hom

NSC bocce ball players

A dozen NSC’ers attended the NSC bocce ball event on May 12th at Lake Almaden. NSC came early and was able to secure 3 of the 4 courts. It was a beautiful day for a bocce ball outing. Within two hours, we were able to play two games.

As Hoyt mentioned in his post Bocce Ball at Lake Almaden, you can learn bocce ball quickly. No prior experience or special skills are needed. It is a fun game and anybody can play. I have played bocce ball a few times. I loved the experience so much that I bought a set of regulation bocce balls. It is amazing to me how competitive this simple game can be.

Game 1 – Judy and Winston versus Morgan and Greg

In game #1, Winston and I played against Morgan and Greg. Morgan and Greg are experienced bocce ball players. We scored a four pointer and were comfortably ahead. In a reversal of fortunes, Morgan and Greg scored a four pointer! The score was tied at 14-14. We didn’t have our rules with us and decided that we needed to win by two just like in volleyball. It was a scrappy battle but Morgan and Greg won.

Greg, Winston, and Morgan

Tied up! 14-14

Games 2 – Judy and Winston versus Jackie and Celeste

Jackie and Celeste were bocce ball newbies but it was still an engaging game. As Hoyt said, all you need is on the job training and there’s no telling what will happen during the game. In this game, Winston helped the opposing team by knocking one of Jackie and Celeste’s balls into the pallino. Take a look at these amazing pictures. You can’t get closer to the pallino than this!

Eventually Winston and I won this game. However, I sincerely believe that Celeste threw the game because it was nearly noon and she wanted to eat.

Ball is knocked next to the pallino

Celeste is the lucky recipient of Winston’s mistake

Lunch at Back A Yard in San Jose

Hoyt loves to eat. You can’t go wrong following Hoyt. This time was no exception. We went to Back A Yard in San Jose for Jamaican food. We were not disappointed. The lunch was delicious and a perfect way to end a pleasant afternoon of bocce ball. Check out the pictures of the tasty food at this link:  Back A Yard – San Jose .

Thanks to Hoyt Nelson for putting this event together.

May is Asian American & Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month. AAPI Heritage Month honors the rich history and accomplishments of AAPIs throughout the history of the United States. AAPI Heritage Month was created by Congress in 1997. The first 10 days in May are designated as AAPI Heritage Month and May 7-10 (inclusive) is designated as AAPI Heritage Week. According to Wikipedia,

The month of May was chosen to commemorate the immigration of the first Japanese to the United States on May 7, 1843, and to mark the anniversary of the completion of the transcontinental railroad on May 10, 1869

Many organizations like PBS and AARP have celebrated AAPI Heritage month with articles. Check out this AARP article that lists influential Asian American movies and documentaries and this PBS article that lists PBS episodes that celebrates AAPI month. How many have you seen from this list?

Feature Films

• Joy Luck Club (1993)
• Enter the Dragon (1973)
• The Crimson Kimono (1959)
• Flower Drum Song (1961)
• Mississippi Masala (1992)
• Better Luck Tomorrow (2002)
• Chan is Missing (1982)
• Mulan (1998)
• Picture Bride (1995)
• All Saints (2017)

Documentaries

• Linsanity (2013)
• The Search for General Tso (2014)
• Tyrus (2015)
• Abacus: Small Enough to Jail (2017)
• Hollywood Chinese (2007)

PBS Episodes

• The Chinese Exclusion Act
• Resistance at Tule Lake
• Being Bruno Banani

Judy Hom

Have you used your Instant Pot yet? Here’s another recipe for you to try.

I read that the Instant Pot makes wonderful curries in a fraction of the time that it takes traditional methods. For my first Indian curry, I decided to make Butter Chicken or murgh makhani. Butter chicken is an easy curry to love. It’s flavorful but not too spicy. It’s a great main dish for non-Indians who may not be accustomed to fiery Indian curries.

I used Urvashi Pitre’s Instant Pot butter chicken recipe. She is known as “The Butter Chicken Lady”. You can find her recipe online: The Butter Chicken Lady who made Indian cooks love the Instant Pot. or in the Indian Instant Pot cookbook. My Indian co-worker gave me this book so Urvashi Pitre is the real deal.

The ingredients are readily available at your local supermarket. I bought my garam masala or Indian spice at the Indian market but I discovered that you buy it most anywhere — Safeway, Food Maxx, Walmart, and even Target! If you don’t want to buy garam masala, then no problem because the Indian Instant Pot cookbook even has a recipe for making it. It’s a combination of coriander seeds, cumin seeds, cardamom seeds, bay leaves, cayenne pepper, and cinnamon stick. Most likely, many of you already have the spices needed to make it.

My butter chicken was tasty and quite respectable for a first attempt. Warning – please use an immersion blender and not a regular blender. I didn’t have an immersion blender so I tried blending the sauce in a regular blender. The sauce belched out of the blender and spattered my husband Winston. Bad idea. Oops.

As advertised, the recipe makes lots of extra sauce. We used the extra sauce with fish and shrimp. Yum. Yum.

It was a fun experience. Give it a try. I now know why butter chicken is called butter chicken — the recipe uses an entire stick of butter!

Armand Gutierrez, President

May is here and that means it’s time to bring an end to the NSC 2017-2018 season. Like last year NSC had a pretty good season highlighted by a variety of accomplishments:

• Annual Luau and Membership Picnic
• Volunteer participation at the annual Obon Festival in Mountain View
• San Francisco Bay Trail to Bay Bridge bicycle ride
• A very well-attended 60th Anniversary ski week to Vail
• Six NSC’ers went to Trois Vallees with FWSA

June marks the start of the NSC 2018-2019 season, and beginning this month you can take advantage of the $5 membership discount if you sign up and submit your membership form before May 31st. Please submit your application to Greg Wong (Membership Chairman).

Since it’s the end of the ski season it’s time to start having our spring NSC events. Coming up we have our annual Post-Season Annual Membership meeting and picnic on Saturday, June 10th. Take a look at the flyer in this month’s newsletter for details. And on Saturday, September 8th there will be the 60th NSC Anniversary dinner. Karen Soo is coordinating the effort for this grand anniversary dinner so please be sure to RSVP when you receive an Evite regarding the dinner.

Nominations & Elections

The nominations process has been completed and the next step is elections. The elections chairman tells me there were several nominations therefore the slate consists of the new nominees and incumbents, and we’re fortunate that everyone on the board has agreed to serve again. However, voting is important and although there were few nominations you can still vote for a write-in candidate. Whether you’re voting for the incumbents, nominees, or a write-in candidate, it’s important that you do vote. Your vote tells the board that you do appreciate the volunteer work performed by members of the board, so please take the very short time needed to cast your vote. You will be receiving an email informing you to vote online using SurveyMonkey.

Big Sky Ski Week 2019

The Big Sky ski week is in progress and details will be announced soon. Several members have already taken advantage of purchasing the Ikon Pass, and is good for five days skiing at Big Sky plus unlimited skiing (with blackout days) at Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows. The Big Sky date is 19-26 January.

Here are details about the Ikon and Epic Passes for the Big Sky trip:

• Purchase the Ikon Pass (Big Sky, Squaw/Alpine) from Sports America and receive a discount on the Big Sky trip. Go to this link to purchase: https://www.sportsamerica.com/ikon-nisei
• Purchase the Epic Pass (Northstar, Heavenly, Kirkwood) and receive a discount on the Big Sky trip. The Epic Pass cannot be used at Big Sky, but if you go on the Big Sky trip you will receive a trip discount. Go to this link to purchase: https://www.sportsamerica.com/epic-nisei

Greg Wong, Membership Chairperson

The ski season is almost over. It is time to put away the equipment and move on to other things. But for the seasoned skier, it is time to renew the season pass. As a skier, we know that there are more benefits and discounts if you renew early and such is the case with Nisei Ski Club. It is time to renew your membership for next year. If you renew before June 1, there is a five dollar discount on your membership fee.

This year is the 60th anniversary of the club. Not many organizations have that honor. Many ski clubs and other organizations have disappeared. I have seen it over the years. I belong to another organization that also had their 60th anniversary last year. It was one that my parents belonged to. Most of the activities have stopped. The members have grown old and past away. It went out this year with a whimper. I have been a member of Nisei Ski Club for most of 25 years. I can believe that so much time has gone by. I have volunteered, served on the board and ran events during that span. Nisei Ski Club is not just a ski club. It is also a social club. It is a place to meet people and have fun. It is a place to learn and try new things. It was a place to meet your significant other. If it weren’t for the ski club, I never would have gone river rafting, kayaking, deep sea fishing, hiking, horse racing, ballroom dancing, learned how to play bocce ball or bunko or left right center, learned how to make chicken salad and fry tempura, as well as skiing. So, send in your membership forms. Join the club. Come to the 60th anniversary party. Volunteer and plan activities. Have fun. I want to see this club thrive and would hate to see this club go out with a whimper.

Carolyn Chan and Lenora Fong

After hearing about these weeklong ski trips in the past 20 years, I finally had some time to take advantage to see what the excitement was about.

With an early semester break, I decided to use this as a motivation trip for my son, a high school senior to go on a ski trip and breathe the outdoor cool air. The other option was to stay home during his break and play video games all day. No way that was going to happen.

Coincidentally, my girlfriend Lenora was in town from Hong Kong with her own month-long sabbatical minus her kids. Without any ski plans in mind, I was on a mission to convince Lenora to come on the trip. Karen had packed some extra Marmot ski gear, helmet, socks and goggles to distribute. We were ready. The space in 2-bedroom condo space at Vail International was limited but the sofa and floor space were a nice welcome. This was the perfect opportunity to ski Vail’s epic long runs. How perfect was this storm? We didn’t get any new snow but the weather was perfect.

Vail was everything everyone says it would be and more!

What made this trip great? The short walk from our condo to the lift chair. The snow, the skiing, the views, the condo, the food, but mostly the people from Nisei Ski Club. Nisei Ski Club is the most organized group of people I have ever met. From the board members to volunteers and first-time visitors. Everyone had with one thing in mind, SKI and HAVE FUN!! (And Eating well! – Well, at least our Condo 108 did).

Every meal was made with TCL as our hosts took care of every detail. I drove over from Denver where my sister lives and was given the task of picking all the welcoming party supplies from Costco. 3 bags of Chicken wings, 2 boxes of beef taquitos, veggie platters, chips and guacamole, wine and beer. Enough food to welcome all 63 Nisei ski Club members to the trip. No detail was spared from the welcome party to ice breaker games, the famous Rock, Paper, Scissors quarters game. Jim S and Aaron L was battling out with the Rock, Paper Scissor game and Jim came out to be the winner. I heard that his wife, Janice won last year with the LEFT RIGHT CENTER dice game….Mmm some NSC conspiracy theory going on here?

We had our pot luck night with entrees and desserts served in 5 designated condos. There were entrées like sake lemon chicken wings, steam fish flown in from the Bay Area, chicken gyro, kalua pig sliders, pot roast, chicken curry, chow mein, and tons of dessert from custard mochi to Jello shots minus the vodka. We ate and ate until we retreated back to our condo and collapsed.

Our condo was well prepared with meals planned for the week. We had BBQ Ribs, Greek Moussaka and Amy T’s Breakfast burritos. Karen brought some of her last vintage Silver Oak. We had people dropping by for dinner, dessert, snacks or just après happy hour. We were the party condo. The dream team, Karen, Curtis, Amy and David – thank you for letting us stay with you. The attention to detail was phenomenal and impeccable. Makes Julie McCoy’s job on Love Boat looks like a sinking ship.

Amy T prepared our lunches for the day and it was our job to carry it in our Marmot jackets with care, while skiers were cautious, and fall, they would not dare! It was fun skiing with NSC members Greg W, David Tom. Our days of skiing were also filled with fun and excitement as each member looked after each other and the runs were not crowded. On my third day, while everyone in my condo took a break, I had the privilege of skiing with the awesome foursome Nisei Golden Girls – Edna K, Kay K, Haruko N and Carol E. These four ladies were admirable and a force to be reckoned with. They were modest in their early inquiry about my ski level and afraid they would be too slow for me, when in fact it turned out to be the complete opposite! They had to wait for me on the runs. I only wish I could ski and keep up at their age!

All in all, it was an amazing trip to be had and can’t wait till next year! I’m hooked on this ski club!

The bar is set high with Karen Soo’s Crew, Try it, you’ll like it.. I bet you will too!

(Sorry, I was feeling a bit cheeky w Dr. Seuss!)

Judy Hom

Have you used the Instant Pot that you received for Christmas? Get over your Instant Pot anxiety and try out this recipe for Hainan chicken.

I have made this recipe twice with tasty results. On the first time, I made the chicken only and made white rice in the rice cooker. On the second time, I went for whole thing — chicken and rice! Wow, the rice was incredibly tasty. From here on out, I will always make the rice along with the chicken.

I followed Amy and Jacky’s recipe as written except that I used canola oil instead of olive oil because I always use a neutral oil for Asian dishes. The ingredient list is not long. With the exception of shallots, the recipe uses items that you typically use in your everyday Asian cooking: 2-4 chicken legs, chicken broth, green onions, ginger, garlic, soy sauce, Shaoxing cooking wine, and jasmine rice.

The secret to the success of this dish is the dipping sauce and to not skimp on the green onions and ginger. I didn’t have peanut oil so I used canola oil. I heated up the canola oil in my wok and drizzled it over the minced ingredients. This is the same method that I use when finishing steamed fish. My mom told me that hot oil removes the fishy taste.

I did plunge the chicken legs in the ice bath after cooking. You need to be patient with this step. I was too hasty with my first attempt and the legs were not firm. With my second attempt, the results were better.

What did I learn from this? I learned that it only takes 8 minutes to cook chicken and 3 minutes to cook rice. I also learned that the Instant Pot does a good job of cooking grains in a short amount of time.

Give it a try and let me know your results!

Link to Amy + Jacky’s Hainan Chicken Recipe: https://www.pressurecookrecipes.com/hainanese-chicken-rice-pressure-cooker/