Leigh's Karate Kid II Birthday

Last Saturday we celebrated Leigh's birthday by drinking and singing karaoke at Kona Kitchen. Kona Kitchen is a small Hawaiian-themed restaurant/bar owned by Yuji Okumoto, best known for portraying Ralph Macchio's antagonist in "The Karate Kid II." Needless to say, people were skeptical of the venue. There was many a "What are we doing here?", "Why is the Karate Kid so important to Tom?", and "Wasn't this party supposed to be about Leigh?".

The lack of faith was...disturbing. But, after a touching rendition of Richard Marx's "Broken Wings," I do believe I turned the crowd around and we had a darn good time.

A video montage can be found here.

And in case you're wondering, here are the rest of the songs I captivated the crowd with:

"Every Rose Has Its Thorn" by Poison (duet with Brennan)
"Don't Stop Believing" by Journey (group song)
"Africa" by Toto (solo)

But don't think it was all give and no take. I got my Karate Kid DVD collection signed by Yuji himself. Now, my DVD cover says,

"To Tom: You keep for your collection. I know you'll like."
-Yuji Okumoto

Outstanding.