Written By Guest Blogger: Mrs. (Allyson) Reed
Daniel’s Note: Mrs. Reed was
volunteered by Dezarae (Ramos) Miyahira to draft a blog about me. After successfully
avoiding all texts and voice messages, she insisted that I email her responses
to her questions. Then I found myself writing my own blog (which was what I was
trying to avoid). After reviewing my responses, she ended up nixing the entire
thing anyway. And so, after months of waiting, she finally turned in a dramatic
narrative for your enjoyment (certainly not mine)! In the end, hopefully this
will explain the dynamics of our eccentric relationship a little bit better...while
trying to catch you up about what I’ve been up to the last 15 years when we’re
not trying to throw each other under the bus.
Most of you know that Daniel and I have a love-like
relationship. Perhaps we bond through
our love of MPI and service to the school, or though our sarcastic attitude and
sassiness, or even through our love of San Francisco—where we have jaunted through
the city together. It is nice to have
seen Daniel grow into a responsible employee, a crazy doggy-dad, a loving
husband, and my adult nemesis.
Who is Daniel?
According to your Facebook page, “
He is an in-demand national speaker, author, and
educator and has served dozens of clients in the public, private and non-profit
sector, including government utilities, universities, real estate, healthcare, avocados, and lifestyle brands.” I don’t know what he served the avocados or
why he served the avocados but I am sure that when he did serve them, the
avocados were impressed with his level of detail and service. I once asked DMJ what he did in SF and he
replied in mumbo jumbo. I didn’t
understand what he said (and I still don’t) but what I do know is this…if Mrs.
O’Leary’s cow kicked the bucket of coal again,
DMJ has made the city of San Francisco safe.
Ryan McArdle and Daniel Jaimes married in a heartfelt
ceremony in the city of San Francisco.
Since then, their family life has merged into The Brady Bunch is Keeping
Up with the Kardashians. While the
McArdles are small tight knit family, the Jaimes family is filled with drama
(we have been witness to this in real life at numerous school events) and
emotion. While the McArdles number about 8 and are in Portland, the Jaimes (and
Higa) family numbers in the hundreds and can be found in all corners of the
globe. While the McArdles revel in peace
and harmony, the Jaimes family explodes like fireworks on New Year’s Eve.
Daniel’s note: The
McArdles are a small loving bunch, and we “argue” about silly things like…
actually I can’t think of an argument we’ve ever had yet. Whereas, my extended
Jaimes (and Higa) side feels like we have all of this unnecessary drama that
surrounds us and it always seems to come back to haunt one of us (mostly me) later
because someone in the family was gossiping or it was some secret that was
revealed to me as an adult 15 years later...<queue the Korean soap opera
music>.
My God-puppy, Kai, is subjected to this bi-polar environment
of hot apple pie topped with spicy
salsa. Daniel cannot pass up a deal so
when puppies were on sale for $50 at the San Francisco SPCA , the first
McArdle-Jaimes baby came into being. Hoping to expand their family, the McArdles-
Jaimes family moved to Portland to be near family because Daniel does not trust
himself with babies. Honest words are
spoken as my God-Puppy spent time at the vet on the day prior to my meeting him. Daniel indulged Kai the day before and allowed him to eat grapes (Grapes are poisonous for some dogs). Six-hundred dollars poorer (there went the
puppy deal) and a bit wiser, Kai has puppy insurance and Daniel is now ready to
move on to humans.
If I had known Paul Griffing would be so popular, I would
have kept his papers and, no…Daniel, I did not keep any of yours. I hope Paul
Griffing is present at the reunion as everyone is curious about this enigma of
a lad. Daniel Kardashian remembers him
as “competition”. Daniel admits snubbing
him as a sophomore but later learned to appreciate Paul’s individualism, caring
spirit, and kind heart. This golden boy
(Paul) is presently following in his family footsteps, working in the insurance
industry, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Daniel’s life right now is consumed with the Class of 2001
mentorship and reunion. Your class has
been described as having a “unique energy” (fill in the euphemism here). Daniel
remembers the many unique personalities our class had, including Chad Wheeler, Chad Nishi, Liann Unebasami, Jacie Ann Oda, Max Sato,
Hiroaki Sakuma, Grant Shibuya, Kristen Tamashiro, Danny Pereira, Troy
Matsumura, Ken Tsubata...and hopes to reconnect with all of you in December. He is
also hoping to see all teachers and staff so that they can how their care and patience were successful
in producing individuals who are not only professionals in your fields but who
also contribute back to the communities you live in.
Daniel is also excited to see if his first social experiment is
successful. He says, “This reunion will
serve as a huge milestone to visibly showcase and to see if the social media
efforts and mentorship efforts in re-engaging each other and rebuilding our
class a year out was successful or not.” It would be a huge tribute to Daniel
and to your class if everyone would make the 2016 Holiday season as one that is
devoted to family, friends, and the Mid-Pacific Class of 2001.
This is a true story. I
am my own eye witness.
Are you getting your FREE Mid-Pacific Today Magazine to keep tabs on your classmates? If not, please contact me, and I'll add you to the mailing list.
DO WE WANT TO CONTINUE THE MENTORSHIP PROGRAM NEXT YEAR?
Yesterday, Dez Miyahira and Mrs. Reed helped me test our our photo prop signs for our 15-year reunion. Note my sign with Mrs. Ikeda
Who is Daniel?
According to your Facebook page, “ He is an in-demand national speaker, author, and
educator and has served dozens of clients in the public, private and non-profit
sector, including government utilities, universities, real estate, healthcare, avocados, and lifestyle brands.” I don’t know what he served the avocados or
why he served the avocados but I am sure that when he did serve them, the
avocados were impressed with his level of detail and service. I once asked DMJ what he did in SF and he
replied in mumbo jumbo. I didn’t
understand what he said (and I still don’t) but what I do know is this…if Mrs.
O’Leary’s cow kicked the bucket of coal again,
DMJ has made the city of San Francisco safe. 
