Here's One Keeping Me Out of the Water

"We're gonna need a bigger boat...."
Um. Yah. Caught off the coast of Molokai. Why don't you stop now and see where Molokai is...what the HELL?!!!!?? Its a small, SMALL consolation that this 18' bad boy was caught on film at 3200 feet. Apparently, this little fella is amazing for more than his size, he is also a freak of nature: 6 gills instead of 5. Yah. THAT'S what I noticed too.

The Truth About Hawaii ..and my rambling impression of it

So, its true. There are lots of fabulous things to do here and we aren't anywhere near done. BUT..as joyous as that is...

Here are the dirty little secrets about Hawaii that you won't find in the travel brochure:

TOTALLY true that food is so damn expensive that you will lose weight simply by moving here (how much asparagus from Costco can a girl really eat in a week?!).

TRUE: Its CRAZY here. Its funny crazy, but crazy. This is the 70th largest city in the country (PHX is the 5th), and yet the 4th most expensive place to live (damn international land investors) and its also very insular. By that I mean, its a small damn island and I get the feeling that its a little like living in Green Bay again..eventually, you realize that everyone knows each other...

TRUE: There is no Target here. Nope. Not One. None. Nada. Neg-a-tive.

TRUE: its also a little weird that the first thing everyone asks you (who is from here) is where you went to High School (and the newspaper ALWAYS publishes that info when referring to a co-islander.) The High School thing is their way to weed out the newbies who are much hated for buying previously mentioned overpriced real estate.

TRUE: The funny thing is, people are quite nice (despite hating you). For instance:today I went to the post office. The dreaded postal worker. But MY neighborhood postal worker doesn't hate me - oh, no. He went OUT OF HIS way to suggest that I package my shipment more compactly, saving me $20 and then, letting me "butt" to the front of the line when I was done repackaging. THEN, I asked if they needed appointments for passport photos...he said yes. I asked what days and he said "well, do you have a minute? I could do it now." WOW. THAT would NEVER happen at my post office in Scottsdale. The post office for 85254 in had postal workers who could best be described as HOSTILE. To the point that I used to get chastised when I had to pick up mail there because my angry postal carrier refused to stop stuffing my mailbox with more mail and just left me a card telling me that its too much work to put all the mail I didn't ask for in a larger postal box, and that I need to drive to the post office to pick it up. Essentially, my postal carrier would go on strike.
But I digress...(my bitterness still lingers though)...

TRUE: its also funny that there is one freeway through Honolulu.

TRUE: (according to a new friend) that my husband is the only white man in Hawaii Kai to have married a white woman (as opposed to the old white man - young Japanese pairing so oft seen at our Safeway.) This same friend went on to tell me about teen pregnancy and meth use here, which left me unfazed as I have just arrived from the capital of those two things. Additionally, "island time" is not a myth...but that doesn't faze me either as I have just landed from the "land of manana"

TRUE: Barak Obama (Punahou '79) is from Hawaii and you will never, NEVER, see an article about him here that doesn't tell you that.

TRUE: If you are not from here, people will view you with suspicion, assuming that you will not permanently reside here, leaving me to ponder: "do I tell them I am renting" (so they know that it is not I who is driving up the real estate) or not (as they will view renting as an impermanent situation?)

AND the FINAL TRUTH ABOUT HAWAII:

You get to hang out with the turtles who really make you glad you came:

Hawaii Photo Update

Well, well, well - moving to Hawaii is the blog equivalent of winning an Academy award...suddenly, people are visiting the blog, (rather than being guilted into doing it). For those of you commenting on the fact that I haven't posted anything...you know..my life wasn't TOTALLY boring in AZ. Although, the weekends are totally worth living for here, and so here's an update.

Last weekend, Valentines Day. Jeff made me a beautiful dinner and brought me a lei, instead of flowers (see photo). We learned that this type of lei is the kind you get to wish you well on a journey. Since we are on a journey of sorts, we thought that was kind of cool. Its still beautiful and a very "Aloha" greeting to opening the fridge. I wore it all evening. Well. Not ALL evening.

On Friday evening, we went out with some people from Jeff's work. Roopal, who Jeff has known for years, and was instrumental in his move here, has been incredibly welcoming. We went to a place called "Pearl Ultra Lounge" - I found it kind of funny, because it was very "Scottsdale", sos we felt right at home. It was at the Ala Moana Mall, which is the big mall in downtown/Waikiki. Its the mall that has it if it is to be had here (Nordstrom's opening March 5th). We got lost, and I kept telling Jeff if he would just listen to me, I could find the mall, dammit, and..I did. We had a nice time at Pearl, made some friends, (Roopal sitting next to me in picture); we met another nice couple, the girl is from Moscow (I don't know, but I wondered the same thing) and she "gets a little chilly" here; the irony there is rich indeed. The other thing I learned at Pearl...is that unlike Scottsdale, being a blonde is unusual...almost no one else was blonde (except the Moscowvite turned Hawaiian) All in all, a nice night, until we had to leave because Jeff was wearing "slippers" (flip-flops) which kind'a made me laugh for two reasons:
1) he was all dressed up everywhere else (nice shirt, nice pants)
2) when you wear ANY kind of shoe here its a big step towards dressing up.

On Saturday, we took our hike (the lighthouse one), which we have vowed to be able to run up and down and on Sunday, with the "Pearl gang" we went on a Catamaran ride. THAT was cool, we saw Waikiki from the ocean, saw some dolphins (even jumping out of the air!!) and even the big daddy: humpback whales. Although the whales were about a football field away, but we COULD see the tails. It was amazing. Now, naturally, I no longer had memory on the camera but I did get some great shots anyway:

Jeff - the Catamaran behind him. It holds up to 80 people!!


Weather on the water is GREAT - raining on island

And the GRAND DADDY Photo: Look CLOSELY...DOLPHINS!! It was DAMN hard to get that picture...there are about 8 pictures of just the ocean...


So that was our 2nd weekend here...next weekend, North Shore!! Hoping to see (but not catch) some of those legendary waves!!

Mahalo!!

1st Weekend in Hawaii

Well, I have to say, it was pretty awesome...it was so awesome that I am not in the least bit bothered about the fact that our house is still no more unpacked than it was on Friday. Instead of unpacking, we got outside and did somethings.

We went to Sandy Beach on Saturday, after telling Jeff that I could stay there until 6pm, he insisted we come home, and it good we did: Hawaii's sun did get us both! No swimming here, the tides are incredibly strong and only the locals, brave or stupid go in the water here. It is a

popular surfing and body surfing place, and the "Beach Biscuts" are out in full force! I didn't miss swimming, the sand was perfect, the breeze was awesome and the "talent" kept me watching!! The life guards here are said to do more rescues on this beach than anywhere else on the island. After our tour at the beach, we took a quick drive to Kaneohe. The bay there is absolutely stunning and you'll see pictures in the near future, I promise! The weather there was rainy, so we didn't get out of our car, but we did see some amazing cloud/mountain action.



On Saturday evening, I made dinner: Ahi with Wasabi, Rice Vinegar and Soy Sauce dressing on a bed of lettuce, and the starch of the islands: rice! That dinner was SO yummy. On Sunday, we went to Makapuu Lighthouse Road for a walk with Rudy. Its a good 3 miles up and down; its paved and we expect that we will take all of you there - it features some BEAUTIFUL scenery, it overlooks the whale sanctuary (and supposedly, its a good spot to whale watch). Its also got some history: still remaining are WW2 bunkers. From the top, you can see the lighthouse and Kailua. One of the more bizzare discoveries of our walk was the realization that Cacti grow here! We had heard that this was the "dry " side of the island, but at 70%+ humidity, it didn't feel all that dry to us and yet, the Cacti flourish.



Our walk took about 1.5 hours, but it was beautiful and we stopped in several places along the way. In fact, I think it will be a joint goal of ours to be able to run up and down it...something neither one of us feels in shape enough to do right now. After that, I guess Jeff was sort of "done" because we went to a movie. It got out too late to take the bike ride around Hawaii Kai that I wanted to take. Its OK, though, because there is always next weekend! Who KNOWS what adventure it will bring.


Here are 5 things I learned about living in Hawaii this weekend:
1) Pineapple is cheaper than oranges (per pound)
2) Locals DO say "Aloha" and "Mahalo"
3) "Hang Loose" symbol is an acceptable way to say "Thanks"
4) Everything is in limited quantities, EXCEPT at Costco
5) Haunama Bay appears to be less crowded on Sundays, judging by the fact that the parking lot was never closed today.


Here's a little map of this weekend's adventures (you can click on it to see our notes of each location and zoom in/out:


View Larger Map

Year of the Rat

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR!!!

Chinese New Year always creeps up on me, but this year, several things converged to make me notice more: Mom is in Singapore for Chinese New Year, we are in the Pacific and in a place with a heavy Asian population, my Singapore client is planning CNY celebrations and unable to speak with me, and I missed the deadline for ordering my ducks (from our factory in China) before CNY and thus will probably have to wait until May to receive them, and finally, the reason its of particular note this year is that it is the year of the Rat, and I am a "Rat". Quit snickering. I mean it - quit snickering, I am in EXCELLENT company: Shakespeare and Mozart were both Rats.

Here are some facts about the year of the Rat and the noble traits of those years and people fortunate enough to be a "Rat" (this always reminds me of the paper placemats that Chinese restaurants used to put out with the Chinese Astrology definitions and dates.):
The year of the Rat is the first of the 12 Chinese Astrological signs, generally one of activity,
and financial abundance, for those who have worked for it or are positioned for the abundance.
Rats are typically hard workers, pioneers and leaders (much like LEO's), they are also very loyal to their "pack" and although considered thrifty, can be quite generous with the selected few. Rats are quite fair in their dealings, expect the same from others and are deeply affronted when they feel their trust has been abused. Rats are keen, can be slightly manipulative, gossips and shameless promoters of their own agendas. They need to learn to relax sometimes and tend to be slightly obsessed with controlling the people and environment around them.

May this year bring you much financial abundance, activity and goodness and may you encounter many "Rats"!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR to MY PACK!!

Never Say Goodbye...Venture On...

My Dad used to spend alot of time in their backyard, it was actually a passion of his to take care of the yard and along with that came an appreciation for nature, especially birds. Many times I would walk into my parent's house to be immediately greeted with an update on the avian visitors.

One night, my sister, Brooks and I were sitting in my parent's backyard and a HUGE barn owl flew over the backyard and landed in one of the trees. His wingspan had to have been 3 feet. I told my sister and Brooks, "Wait until we tell Dad! He'll be amazed!" My Dad passed away the next day, very early in the morning. I never got to tell my Dad. That night, we knew my father was terminally ill, but we did not think his passing would come that night. The owl flew over our house just as my Mom rushed out of their bedroom to get a towel because my Dad was coughing up blood. It was probably then that he started dying, then that the owl flew over.

After I moved into my place on Bell Rd, which was right around the corner from my parent's old house, the house he passed away in, I heard the owl -- regularly. I always thought that it was my father saying goodnight. The owl came throughout the second year after my Dad passed and he tucked me in. He gave me peace. He gave me an on going connection to my Dad. It was as if he saw me through the darkness. Then, he left, just as Jeff and I were falling madly in love.

The night before Jeff and I left, he made a reappearance. He came once more. I have been wondering what my Dad would say about our leaving..and I had decided that he would support it in the name of adventure. I felt the owl's visit was my Dad again. I felt it was him seeing us off. I felt it was him reminding me that "good-bye" is only what you make of it...it is only good-bye, if it is so in your heart.

With this blessing from my Dad, I am reminded to appreciate the journey, empower the heart and go boldly, with his blessing and love into the next stage of my life, and spread my gigantic wings.