Up to Aug 19

Weave left us on our island to go work for the man. Of course, I hear that they have real restaurants in Chicago and they actually pay enough that he's already bought a house. Whatever. I bet they don't have all you can eat papaya there.

To date, Weave's going away party was the last event that the Assciation actually organized and did anything somewhat planned.
The Friday before Weave's Sunday flight, Nate took the day off work and decorated my porch like a Samoan fale would be decorated for a fa'lavelave. A fa'lavelave is pretty much any big family event, but is usually a funeral or wedding. The whole practice is now a cause of many problems because people are expected to give a ridiculously large portion of their income to these. For example, I had to give $200 for my deceased boss's fa'lavelave even though I hadn't been paid yet at the time and had never met him. Then when it was over, they gave us back $40 and a bag of frozen chicken...very strange, very complicated. Family members that make much, much less than me had to give much, much, much more. Partially for this reason, you see a ton of brand new $45k trucks around the island because if you have the money saved, you'll have to give it at a fa'lavelave so they figure they might as well get something for the money.
Anyway, Nate did a great job getting the place together.


The idea was to treat the going away party like a funeral. We picked up Weave at his house and had a funeral procession around Tafuna. He got to ride parade style in Barbie. Don Shaw provided "police escort" with his scooter.


When someone dies here, you make a t-shirt and buttons to memorialize them. So Nate set that up for everyone as well. Pretty great.


Everyone took turns giving offerings to the spirit of Weave. In Samoan style, the host gives some things back to the offerer. Weave usually did this in the form of making people drink.
Nate served as high bullshit talking chief and was hilarious... and did a fairly accurate representation of some Samoan speeches I've seen. The key there is emphasis by repetition emphasis by repetition emphasis by repetition emphasis by repetition emphasis by repetition, like you say the same things over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over until the audience gets it and/or falls asleep.




We tried to make it as authentic as possible, so Nate also got a #2 size pig for the event:


Everyone brought a ton of food:

There was also plenty brought to drink as well:





The next night, we played poker and Weave won.

Sunday night there was another really big turnout for his final going away before catching the plane...and then he was gone.

Everyone already really misses Weave. The Association now has no direction. So get on it Mike and tell us what we're doing this weekend!

On August 19, the M's were in first place in the wild card and 2 games behind the Angels in the west.