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10/17/09
Day 35: Stranded at Safeway and B-day Dinner at the Diner (J)
So, the whole house piled into the family beach van to go for Chana's (Cousin of Tami and Justin, frequent house visitor and mommy to little boy house mascot, Kayden) birthday dinner at a diner. Unfortunately, the van broke down at a Safeway parking lot, and we all piled into the back of a pick-up truck. Fun, different, somewhat local way to get around!
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Above is the Birthday Girl and her baby Boy. To the right is the "Loco Moco," a local favorite. Sunny side egg over hamburger steak and onions, over a pile of rice. Gravy dolloped all over it. Lots of meat + lots of rice + lots of rice = happy night. 10/12/09
Day 31: Happy Anniversary, Hawaii! (J)
Today marks the one-month anniversary of my landing in Honolulu. In honor of this momentous occasion, and Matt's burly poetic offering in a previous post, I will "remix" one of my favorite poems as a child (or at least the one I was forced to memorize and still remember), into an ode to Hawai'i. With humble apologies to both the aghast spirit of Walt Whitman, and those literary luminaries and snobs that may peruse this post, here is: "O Hawai'i! my Hawai'i!"
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"Oh Hawai'i! my Hawai'i!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"O Hawai'i! my Hawai'i!,
Our wondrous trip has begun.
Debit card passed every test,
The prize we sought is won.
The beach is near, wahine's I hear,
The people all exulting.
While follow eyes the ready meal,
The feasts, full and daring.
But, O heart! heart! heart!
O the the bleeding drops of red,
Where on the floor,
My will to leave lies,
Fallen cold and dead.
----------------------
O Hawai'i! my Hawai'i!
Rise up and hear happy yells,
Rise up- for you the fun is flung,
For you the conch shell trills.
For you bouquets and wreaths,
For you the shores a-crowding,
For you we call, the swaying mass,
Our eager faces turning.
Here Hawai'i! dear mother!
Your arms beneath my head,
I dream that on your shores,
My hungry soul is loved and fed.
----------------------
My Hawai'i only smiles in answer,
Her lips rainbow hued and still,
My mother cools my fiery heart,
She soothes my lagging will.
My heart anchored safe and sound,
For it's voyage of sea and sun.
From fearful trip, the victor ship,
Comes in with object won.
Exult, shores, and ring, O bells!
And I, with lively tread,
Walk the shores,
Where my mother lies,
My hungry soul loved and fed.
--------------------------------------------
"Oh Hawai'i! my Hawai'i!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"O Hawai'i! my Hawai'i!,
Our wondrous trip has begun.
Debit card passed every test,
The prize we sought is won.
The beach is near, wahine's I hear,
The people all exulting.
While follow eyes the ready meal,
The feasts, full and daring.
But, O heart! heart! heart!
O the the bleeding drops of red,
Where on the floor,
My will to leave lies,
Fallen cold and dead.
----------------------
O Hawai'i! my Hawai'i!
Rise up and hear happy yells,
Rise up- for you the fun is flung,
For you the conch shell trills.
For you bouquets and wreaths,
For you the shores a-crowding,
For you we call, the swaying mass,
Our eager faces turning.
Here Hawai'i! dear mother!
Your arms beneath my head,
I dream that on your shores,
My hungry soul is loved and fed.
----------------------
My Hawai'i only smiles in answer,
Her lips rainbow hued and still,
My mother cools my fiery heart,
She soothes my lagging will.
My heart anchored safe and sound,
For it's voyage of sea and sun.
From fearful trip, the victor ship,
Comes in with object won.
Exult, shores, and ring, O bells!
And I, with lively tread,
Walk the shores,
Where my mother lies,
My hungry soul loved and fed.
Day 30: Five Senses in Manoa Valley. (J)
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After my internship some days, I head to Starbucks to get a little reading done. Walking home from there around 7 or so, I stopped for a moment as I felt the playful breeze swirl around me and dry the beads of sweat that had formed on my neck on this seasonably warm night. I listened, and heard the myriad songs of crickets and night birds, the soft, friendly chatter of a family sitting around a small backyard grill and, in the distance, the small black pug on the corner's daily warning bark reminding me that I was close to home. I took a deep breath, and felt the clean, revitalizing forest air of a recent light rain fill my lungs. I looked around, and saw lush green life in every glance, the glittering firefly lights of homes begin to slowly flicker to life as greeting to the approaching evening and I saw my home, for now. My home.
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This place fills you. Alone, standing with backpack on shoulders and flip flops on the grass, Manoa Valley filled me. With so much abundant nature embracing you, so few cars and horns zipping around and your mind clear of the day's onslaught of stresses, it just feels like your senses are so much more attuned to everything happening around you. You feel strangely at peace, and you can then feel everything else.
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Oh, what about taste, you ask? Did I forget about that? Nope. As I shake my head slightly out of its reverie and begin to walk again, I smile, knowing that my housemate's recently cooked corn and ham chowder and a tall can of Guinness patiently wait for me at home. Although not native to Manoa Valley, chowder and Guiness also fill me just as well...
After my internship some days, I head to Starbucks to get a little reading done. Walking home from there around 7 or so, I stopped for a moment as I felt the playful breeze swirl around me and dry the beads of sweat that had formed on my neck on this seasonably warm night. I listened, and heard the myriad songs of crickets and night birds, the soft, friendly chatter of a family sitting around a small backyard grill and, in the distance, the small black pug on the corner's daily warning bark reminding me that I was close to home. I took a deep breath, and felt the clean, revitalizing forest air of a recent light rain fill my lungs. I looked around, and saw lush green life in every glance, the glittering firefly lights of homes begin to slowly flicker to life as greeting to the approaching evening and I saw my home, for now. My home.
-----------------------------------------
This place fills you. Alone, standing with backpack on shoulders and flip flops on the grass, Manoa Valley filled me. With so much abundant nature embracing you, so few cars and horns zipping around and your mind clear of the day's onslaught of stresses, it just feels like your senses are so much more attuned to everything happening around you. You feel strangely at peace, and you can then feel everything else.
-----------------------------------------
Oh, what about taste, you ask? Did I forget about that? Nope. As I shake my head slightly out of its reverie and begin to walk again, I smile, knowing that my housemate's recently cooked corn and ham chowder and a tall can of Guinness patiently wait for me at home. Although not native to Manoa Valley, chowder and Guiness also fill me just as well...
Day 29: Birthday Cookout (J)
Cook-out for Justin's birthday. His parents came in from Kaua'i, brought a ton of fresh fish, grilled various types of meat and basically gave the house leftovers for over a week. Top Picture: Justin, Elsa and his parents (taken from Facebook). Middle: the lovely spread. Bottom: perhaps my new favorite dessert-- the coco puffs from Liliha Bakery! It’s a small puffed pastry filled with a creamy chocolate pudding and topped with a thick, semi-hard, vanilla and coconut frosting. It's like an eclair and melts in your mouth. I think the secret, though, is that the vanilla custard on top is a little salty, so you don't get the overly sweet richness of some desserts. Soooo gooood....
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