Thank you for being here on this tragic occasion to pay your respects to Sei. Many of you traveled long distances to be here and my family and I are very grateful.
For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Tei. You all know Sei and call him or consider him to be family. To me, Sei was not just my brother, he was a TRUE big brother.
Sei was born in San Francisco Children’s hospital on April 3, 1978. Being only 1 year, 4 months and 14 days apart in age, we did everything together. We played with toys together, laughed together, cried together and even sometimes fought with each other. We played soccer, went trick-or-treating and played video games. In 1992, we earned a black belt in Tae Kwon Do together. There was a time when we were small enough to even share the passenger seat in dad’s Corvette together.
Although he was only one year older, Sei instinctively knew the responsibilities of being an older brother. Sei always watched out for me and was always there for me. No matter what the situation, I knew he would have my back.
Sei always picked up things so quickly. When we started working on remote control cars, Sei took me under his wing and showed me everything I needed to know. He taught me how not to get suckered into spending extra money on things that didn’t matter.
Instead of buying the special cleaner for the motor and transmission, he taught me how brake cleaner works just as well and is half the cost. I will never forget how creative he was, even at such a young age.
I found a passion for baseball late in my childhood and missed out on peewee league and started right in the minors. I loved baseball but when I first began to play, I had a fear of being hit by the pitch. Every day after school, my big brother would spend time with me and practice. He would pitch to me over and over again and helped rid me of that fear.
Sei was the type of guy that people loved. They gravitated to him. He had a laugh that most would characterize as infectious. Sometimes it would be the smallest thing but he would begin laughing and we all couldn’t help but laugh until our stomachs ached.
My first day in high school was filled with excitement and fear. Kids from multiple junior high schools came together. I remember seeing freshmen being bullied and picked on, especially during that first week. But not me. Sei and his many friends watched out for me. Sei made it known to everyone not to mess with me. He was always a great older brother like that.
Sei had grown a passion for high-fidelity and was an audiophile at heart. His first car was a 1978 Camaro. He put in two 15” subs in the trunk. He loved the low lows and he loved the crisp metallic highs from his MB Quartz.
Sei loved to drive. It didn’t matter what we were doing or where we were going. He loved the people in the car, their conversation, and loud music. Sei’s love for audio and video electronics and his ability to make people smile were a perfect match with The Good Guys and he quickly excelled working there. Sei was consistently in the top 10% of company wide sales volume and was named Charter Member of the Good Guys Million Dollar Club in recognition for superior achievement and dedication, and completed the Management Development certification in February 2003. He achieved the highest honor of Platinum Level in the Monster Platinum Club Olympics in January 2004 before The Good Guys closed its doors in 2005.
As kids, we would sometimes stay up all night playing blackjack and poker with friends.
Later as adults, Sei invited me to Las Vegas countless times. At the time, I couldn’t afford a weekend trip, let alone to an expensive place like Vegas. Sei offered every time to pay for my flight and to stay with him, at the MGM, of course. He loved the MGM. One time in the MGM casino, I had taken a pretty big loss fairly early into the night. Sei put his arm around me, pulled out a bunch of cash and told me he would take care of me. He was always the most generous person.
Sei loved his Corvette and he loved to customized it. His license plate read 1PHATC5. To back it, he had custom front and rear facias, custom paint, custom rims, and a custom stereo, of course.
After several years, Sei wanted to replace his custom rims with something new and shiny and he offered me his old rims. I tried to refuse him saying he should sell them to get cash but he was insistent and would not take no for an answer.
He knew how much I loved his rims but couldn’t afford to pay for them. Sei was always willing to give everything to everyone, never asking anything in return. To this day those rims still remain on my car.
I will always remember Sei for his love of billiards. Together, we shared many laughs, wins and losses. The days that Sei beat me I felt proud to have given it my all and gotten close. The days that I won, I always knew Sei gave me a few shots because whenever I would call him out on a shot and put money on the table, he would sink it every time. Sei had a finesse with the game of pool that is hard to describe, many times it would be nothing short of magical.
Sei became licensed in accident, health, and life insurance on December 4, 2007. Sei enjoyed helping people. He had an uncanny ability to empathize and bond with people of all different backgrounds and life experiences.
More recently, Sei’s love for sportbikes grew. He loved the feeling of raw acceleration. Sei and I didn’t live close enough to each other but we were lucky to get in one special ride together. He put his bike in the back of his truck and met me.
We rode the entire day covering the East Bay’s best backroads and over Mt. Diablo. It’s hard to describe the feeling to those who don’t ride.
But for those of you who ride, you know. Each ride is special. Who you ride with and where you go are memories you keep forever. And I will forever hold that special ride together close to my heart.
One of the things that I respected the most about my brother was his determination to live his life the way he wanted. Sei touched the hearts of so many.
I will miss my brother more than words can say. He may be gone but his memory will live on in our hearts forever.
Rest in peace, brother.