| Tsai-ko Autobiography: Esme |    |
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| Name: Esme Infante Nii
High School: Mililani Tsai-ko Lunch Size: N/A Tsai-ko caricature: first row, 4th from left Other: (2010) Moms in Hawaii http://www.momsinhawaii.com |
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From the Warrior Beat blog September 27, 2007:
ST's Intro:
Esme Infante Nii has filled nearly every position at The Advertiser — editor, writer, columnist, intern committee head — but her most enjoyable role has been mother of two. Now she has managed to combined her love of journalism and family as editor of Hawaiimoms.com. Next week there will be a special story that Warrior fans will enjoy.
Esme is another co-worker who is smart, witty and just a great person. Here's Esme:
First, some notes: I liked the way Dennis Halloran structured his bio, dividing it by quarters, so I’m going to shamelessly bite the format. (Thanks, Dennis!)
Also, I’m still not sure why the Tsai-master asked me to do a bio since I’m only an occasional poster here (but definitely a habitual lurker), but thanks for the opportunity; it has been fun! Sorry I wrote so much, but it’s not because I have much of anything to brag about; it’s just because it was such a blast to reflect back on the role sports has played in various stages of my life.
1st quarter
Slack-jawed and clueless, didn’t know a sneak from a screen from a rush — that was me, one nervous freshman flute player in the Mililani High School band at my first football game. But we newbies had to learn fast about the sport if we wanted to keep up; the moment certain things happened on the field, we were supposed to instantly provide the matching tune — fight song (start of game or 2nd half) or “Go, go, geevum” (punt return) or “We want a touchdown” (red zone) or “Mister Touchdown” (duh) and so on. If you didn’t follow the plays and anticipate the developments, you would still be fumbling with your sheet music when the song was almost pau. Junior and senior years, I was the drum major leading the tunes, so I had to be even more sure I knew what was happening on the field. But at that point it was no longer a chore; I’d fallen in love with the thrill of the game itself. I’d even learned how to “accidentally” time a song to interfere with an opponent’s drive. Not that I ever used it.
2nd quarter
My blood probably ran green in my UH years and early 20s. Every Saturday in the fall, I joined scores of my buddies from the Atherton YMCA and Frosh Camp to do the whole Super Rooters routine. We were nuts. We would get there early enough to be the first to park in Aloha Stadium Section 8, kapu the whole area, hang out and hibachi, then streak over to the stadium gate to stand first in line. The reason is that these were the days before reserved Manoa Maniac seating for students — seats then were first-come, first served. So once the doors opened, we would full-on SPRINT like racehorses loaded down with humungous backpacks of bentos and beverages (in the days before strict screening) to get the best Super Rooter seats. I believe photos still exist of me in green face paint and hair spray, mostly because I haven’t been able to pay off the photographer. Also used to hang with a bunch of guys who got a kick, and occasional TV coverage, out of dressing up as “Noga’s Togas” (this was the Al Noga era). Not to be outdone, some gfs and I dressed in sheets too a couple of times and called ourselves “The Togettes.” Never got TV coverage ourselves, though. I think the reason was that, unlike the guys, we opted to wear shirts under our sheets.
Halftime
My 20s into early 30s really was a halftime of sorts, because I unintentionally took a break from UH fanhood for a while. Busy-ness, is all — just before UH graduation, I got hired at the Advertiser in ’89 and plunged headfirst into the work. My beats have included breaking news, education, labor/business, families, editorial writing; I was a columnist in the Island Life section; and I’ve won a few awards. Worked awhile also as a reporter “on loan” at USA Today in Virgina/Washington, D.C. At various points at the Advertiser I’ve also been an assistant city editor, the assistant features editor and a copy editor. (Running joke with ST: Every time I say that I’ve worked for every editorial department at the Advertiser except Sports, Stephen always counters that I was indeed an employee of Sports for one day — I once wrote a story about the Great Aloha Run that was published in the Sports section, he says. Then I say it’s weird that he remembers this, because I don’t; I’ve apparently repressed the experience.)
At that time I was also deeply immersed in my churches, first Word of Life and then Hope Chapel Kaneohe. Life-changing years, those. I owe so much to those churches and the friends I made there who became family.
Simultaneously went full-tilt in dance and theater, performing with Big City Productions, SLAM Dance Company, Danceworks and various Lisa Matsumoto plays (the “Once Upon One Time” series of fractured fairy tales among them), and co-founding Dance Central, the now-gigantic dance program based at Central YMCA. So there’s a chance some of you UH fans saw me back in my skinny days prancing around during guest gigs at a few games. I never did dance as a UH Rainbow Dancer, though; that distinction lies with my two sisters. However, when people tell me, hey, I remember seeing you perform as a Rainbow Dancer, sometimes I just smile and nod; it’s cool being mistaken for my younger and infinitely better-looking sibs. Anyway, the only dancing I do nowadays is with my rugrats in the living room.
3rd quarter
When I met my husband in 1998, it was in the middle of football season — and I discovered you can learn a lot about a guy by observing him at the games, riding the team’s highs (no shame cheering and high-fiving everyone — oh, good, an optimist and team player) and lows (phew, thank goodness no excessive swearing or throwing of beer cans!). I married into a family of athletes, most of them past star players in various sports for Campbell. So that means that anytime the family takes in a game together, you better know what you’re talking about … or you better be able to cook some mean potluck dish (good thing I can do both).
These days, the whole ‘ohana gathers at our house for potluck and pay-per-view. Unfortunately, my job as one of two editors of HawaiiMoms.com lately keeps me working in the office most Saturday nights, so I rely on the Tsaikos to deal the play-by-play on this blog.
Hubby and I hope we can raise our kids to be scholar-athletes. We keep imagining our daughter will play one day under Dave Shoji (unrealistic, I know; he’d be, what, 70 by the time she’s there?), and hoping our son’s mammoth size and speed will make him a contender for football, or perhaps baseball like his dad. At least the kids got an early start: When they were really tiny and just learning talk, one of the first sentences they uttered was “Let’s … go … Bows!” Mom and Dad were oh-so-proud.
4th quarter
Clock has not started yet.
Stats:
Height — at least the legs are long enough to reach the ground (my dad’s joke)
Weight — still five stubborn pounds away from pre-pregnancy
Speed — 60 on the freeway, strictly 25 in the school zone
Career touchdowns — my husband, my daughter (5) and my son (almost 3). I’ve been proudly married almost 8 years.
Job — editor of HawaiiMoms.com, a Honolulu Advertiser Web site for moms; Advertiser employee since 1989
Education — Mililani High School (highlights: band drum major, yearbook editor, various clubs, Bobby Sox); University of Hawaii (volunteer at Central YMCA/Frosh Camp; BA with distinction in journalism, with minor emphasis on psychology)
Extracurricular activities — dance classes; volunteering at daughter’s school; temporarily inactive member of various journalism organizations
Ethnicity — Japanese, Filipino, Spanish
Church — New Hope
Best potluck dish — choco-peanut butter krispie cake
Peeves — whining from my kids; people who lack aloha and consideration
Joys — laughter from my kids; family and friends; dance; books, music, film; chatting and making new friends on this blog and the HawaiiMoms.com discussion board; watching UH games … GO WARRIORS!