the beat goes on

Just before we landed back on Canadian soil, I looked out the window in time to see vancouver island waking up. snowy mountain ranges, with here and there spots of light where households were arousing. I've never seen the island from the air before. Shawn and I both left little piles of sand in our plane seats. It was 6am when we landed. We missed the bus to the ferry, and had to wait, exhausted and shocked from the cold (which I, in my spring jacket, was not prepared for) at the casino at Bridgeport station. We bought a little pizza and wolfed it down, and shared a coffee which seemed to do nothing. Finally on the ferry home, we tried to sleep fitfully on the un-accomodating slippery seats. But during the last stretch I stood at the front of the ferry and watched the view with sentimental eyes. I am such a part of this land, and coming home always feels like returning to myself. Every time I return the feeling is stronger. I live in the most beautiful place on earth! Hawaii's got nothing on vancouver island. (a 'fub is nothing if not loyal, but it's true even beyond my personal bias..which I do admit to freely).

I am STILL tired from the trip, even though I did nothing but sleep and eat the first day and a half back.

When we arrived in Honolulu, the sun had just set. Before us was a complete unknown. We had no plan whatsoever, beyond that we were going to catch a bus to Waikiki, where we figured it would be easiest to find a good place. The airport was open to the air, and warm, moist wafts embraced us immediately. I immediately spring into a comfortable sweat. (what?)
On the bus, a man started complaining to me about people that made traffic wait in dove talk. I could hardly understand a word, other than that he was being negative. I do NOT have to cooperate with this, I thought, and turned around, refusing to listen. He just kept muttering away. Shawn and I watched dark, foreign streets go by. Finally, the bus was announcing Waikiki-everything, and we got off. We walked into one hotel and asked the cheapest price. $166/night. We decided to keep looking. That one was close to the water.
Let's go back a bit from the water...the prices will probably go down, I suggested. So we turned around and walked in the other direction, only to find ourselves confronted by waterfront again. What the...? How can the world be doing this to us?? I remember thinking in confusion. Of course it was simple...one one end was Waikiki beach, and the other, only a few blocks away, was the Ala Wai channel. But in the dark, we couldn't tell it was a channel we were walking up to. Anyhow, I'm making this too long. We ended up finding a good place on our 3rd try, for only $85/night, and our room was overlooking the Ala Wai channel. Very nice. So finding a place ended up being quite easy.

Actually, we did not do very good at taking pictures. I wish we'd taken less of ourselves, and more of Hawaii. But there it is!

Our hotel offered a complimentary breakfast each day consisting of toast, a little croissant, a tiny cup of pineapple, and juice n' coffee and all that. The croissant was usually soggy and mushy from the server's glove (wet with pineapple juice). But when one is travling in Hawaii with no real budget to speak of, one does not turn one's nose up at free food. Little baby-sized pigeons hopped about the tables picking up crumbs. The bottom level of the hotel was open to the air, so pigeons were everywhere.

We didn't go on any tours. Our enjoyment of Hawaii was simply soaking it all in. Our first day, we wondered around Waikiki - went surfing at the beach, and swimming, and checked out the international market place. Everywhere were t-shirts (6 for twenty dollah) and jewellery made from shark's teeth, boars tusks, and koa wood. Little dancing hula girls for your dashboard (gosh dang it, forgot to get one of those for Truck Filbert) and cheap ukeleles. And then - while crossing the street to the beach that first night - I got lai'd! (lae'd?) And it was made of real flowers! I think they were orchids. They were white and touched with lilac, and there was a white satin bow holding it together. It was a little old Hawaiin lady who simply walked towards me smiling, and put it on my neck. It was amazing!! Everything I thought it would be and more. Here is me right after the fact.

Here is me swimming at Waikiki beach for the first time. You could stay in that warm water all day! And it was so salty. I could float on my back, and even my legs were held suspended right on top of the water. (usually they are like bricks, sinking me down.)

Our second day, we ventured to the other side of the island. The famed North Shore. Specifially, Hale'iwa (which means house of the big bird), the arts and cultural centre of the  north shore. The bus ride there was very, very long. It took us 3 hours in total, but there were two guys on the bus who started acting like our tour guides, and telling us about everything we passed. We were starving when we finally got there, the meagre bread + pineapple breakfast having long been hungrily absorbed. It happened to be the first day of the Thanksgiving weekend, so a lot of places were closed, but we found a restaurant called Pizza Bob's, and got a table outside. It was cloudy, and the air was warm and wet. This is were we were introduced to loco moco. I'd seen it mentioned for the first time about a week before on a special Hawaiin Iron Chef, and so when I saw it on the menu I told Shawn he HAD to get it. Two over-easy eggs a-top a beef patty on a bed of rice, smothered in spicy gravy and sprinkled with green onions. Add ketchup and hot sauce, and you have a major comfort food on your hands. It sounds really simple, but the ingredients all together are rather luscious, and if you are super hungry...I don't think you could do better! I forgot to get a pictue of it unfortuneately, but it was huge. Two different people approached Shawn and asked what he ordered. My own cajun fish sandwich was quite forgettable. The fish was soggy. But I didn't care. I was just so happy to be adventuring in a new place and on vacation.

After our meal, we wandered around the town weighed down with full tummies. We ended up at the beach where there was supposed to be a surf competition going on - but there wasn't. The waves weren't big enough. The sun came out hot, then dissappeared. A smattereing of rain refreshed us.

The rest of our time, we spent mostly in Waikiki, returning once more to the North Shore - Waimea - the most beautiful spot I saw. We hung out at pipeline and watched the surf, but it was pretty small that day. Definitely no signature huge, hollow waves breaking. The wind was onshore, meaning it was pushing the backs of the waves, causing them to collapse before a hollow tube could form. But the waves were still big and close to shore, which was neat. In Tofino when the waves are big, they always break so far off shore that you can't tell how big they are. So it was neat.

At the bus stop waiting to go back to Waikiki that first time in the north shore, we came accross a humorous spectacle. There was a couple from Germany - he was short and bald, and she had thick frizzy black hair - and they were waiting at the bus when we got there. The thing was, he had a fluffy pink lae wrapped around his shiny bald head, and two colourful ones around his neck - and she was the same!! They were totally decked out. Anyway, we started talking, and turns out they'd been to Tofino!! They were very cheeful and funny and actually, quite delightful. They had met some friends from Chilliwack in some earlier travels, and those friends had invited them to stay for free in the condo they owned on Maui, but they were staying for a couple days in Waikiki first. Lucky buggers. We rode on the bus with them, and got pictures with each other when we parted ways.

In Waikiki, we often found oursleves wandering the main strip at night, enjoying the warm air and performers everywhere. There was a man walking around with two parrots, and he wordlessly came up and put one on my hand, and one on Shawn, and took a picture. Give it a kiss! he told me, and as I did the parrot stuck out it's tongue. It was dry - it felt like a thumb on my lips. The pictures he took were super blurry, so I won't even include them. I also got a picture with a mime!

as you can see, I am a little over-exited to be 'hanging loose' with a mime..

Shawn and I in total vacation mode (hair still wet and sticky from the ocean and the pool):

 The ramp outside our hotel. I get sentimental about weird things.

This was me on our first day. I don't have a tan yet.

Shawn enjoying an iced coffee, with feet in the ocean at Waikiki. (he's wearing the cheap sunglasses I bought for myself while there)

I am modeling my new Hawaiin Island Creations top I got for 40% off at a black friday sale. It is my one Hawaiin momento, along with a small packet of polished shells me and Shawn plan on making into a picture frame. Also note the lovely pearl necklace made special for me by Verushka. She's Shawn's mom's best friend, and a good friend of mine now, too. She makes jewelry and essential oil potions for a living, and her especial thing with jewelry is pearls. She gave this necklace to me as a surpise gift after I picked out my favourite pearls (freshwater black ones - they are a coppery brown) and style - right before our trip. I thought I was going to buy it from her later, so it was super sweet of her. They are hung on brown silk. Anyways. Random.

Well, that was pretty much our vacation. We met another really nice old couple in our hotel, and kept bumping into them. They were in their 60's and she reminded me of a young grandma B. They had twin girls who married twin boys. We never got a picture with them, though. But they were lovely.

Our last day we spent almost entirely at the beach, swimming and sitting on the low stone wall that extended out into the water, seperating sections of beach. waves would come in and roll over the wall and you. There were also sooo many turtles. HUGE turtles. We were fascinated by them. Once, one came up for air right beside us while we were swimming. We literally spent hours watching them, and at one point a woman came up to us and showed us the amazing close-up photos she'd been able to take on turtle beach when one [turtle] came right up on the sand. She chatted with us for about an hour. She was Canadian, but had married a Texan and was living there now. Shawn and I did not realize how often we said "eh" - but people kept pointing it out to us while we were there, guessing we were Canadian. Well, it's just such a conveniant little word..! right?

Alright, I believe this does conclude the post.

Hawaii 'fub checking in

This is our last day here. I'm writing from the hospitality room in the hotel. We've already checked out, but our plane doesn't leave until 11:30 tonight. It's kind of nice I guess, because we still have all day to do stuff. After I write this, I am going to go swimming at Waikiki beach. The gentle turquoise water...sigh. I am going to miss that.

I have gone swimming every single day we've been here, and most days I've gone twice. I feel as if I've made up for a whole year of hardly swimming. Our hotel has a really nice pool, and hardly anyone uses it at night. I like floating on my back and seeing the moon and thinking of how this is the sky in the middle of the pacific ocean, and we are floating with it, so far removed from everything.

I even tried surfing here. I didn't manage to catch a wave though. Not for lack of trying. I didn't have a big enough board. The waves are so gentle at Waikiki that they're hard to catch. I paddled and paddled and paddled, but they just washed over me. Still, it was fun. but for a  'fub, nothing beats being immersed in silky, smooth, ripply water and just gliding through with nothing but my 'fub body. that is paradise for a 'fub.

We have done a lot more, of course, but I will wait until we get home and I can post the pictures, too. Aloha!!! :D

A Young Grasshopper:Tales of Bravery

I just had a good work out/iron chef session. I'm up to 15 minutes! Afterwards I felt the glow of my beating heart, and distracted myself with looking up other work-out moves to add to my routine, when I knew that I should be preparing for Hawaii....*gulp*. It's just that there's kind of a bundle for me yet to do. And the e.i. situation has not been helping. I know I said it went right through, but that turned out to be a lie. Fact is, my old Groovy Movie employer marked down that I quit - when I didn't. I remember clearly Shawn coming home right after having left for a shift, saying that Mike told him he didn't need us anymore. Anyway, blah blah blah - it has delayed a decision being made on my claim for over a MONTH. meanwhile, my funds have been dwindling into a tiny stub, and Hawaii has been zooming towards me. ZOOMING. After calling and talking to a few different agents, who all told me the same thing, I finally got a call from the head office today. So I explained things to her and she explained things to me and we got stuff figured out. My claim will almost certainly go through with or without the measly amount of hours I got from Groovy ...and I'll probably get the money the second day I'm in Hawaii.

I KNOW. what you are all thinking. Heck, I've thought it myself a thousand times. Impulsive, silly, irresponsible...and yet, everything is going to work out. I just know it. And next time, I will plan with more intelligence. Sigh. That is ALL I will say.

This has been a confessional, and I expect it to be treated gently. as if with a soft hand, subtly squeezing a knee.

The other day, chatting to Shawn through the shower curtain as I showered, I mentioned how I want to write a book. But what to write of? I know there's something emerging - I can feel it! I exclaimed. Pause. "Maybe...you should write about grasshoppers." Shawn offered from the next room.

wednesday night philosophizing

Winter has settled in full force. I'm gradually settling into a new routine. To compensate for not having running shoes, and in order to stay sane, I've been working out. I use the exercise ball and two cans of chick peas. I've found that it always works best if I'm watching the iron chef while I work out. If the iron chef isn't on while I'm working out, I'm apt to just quit. But there's something about that show...the fast pace probably.
The Hawaii trip looms nearer. Thankfully for my heart, my passport has finally arrived in the mail! Me and Shawn have decided to camp. We want to go to sleep hearing the waves roll up on shore, and wake up and be able to just roll out onto the sand and go for a swim! We're both super excited about it. Camping is the way to go! I camped almost the whole time I was in France and Amsterdam and I loved it. Each day felt so adventurous. There were some times...like having to air dry in the ...pretty much outdoor...showers in Amsterdam, (until Andreas was able to run and grab some toilet paper...yeah. It wasn't pretty.) And there was having to air dry in the showers in the campground outside Paris...there was a lot of air-drying. anyway, I'm not too worried about that, because we've been keeping updated on the weather forecast, and it looks to be sunny every day we're there except for one day. There might be a thunder and lightning shower expected that day...but...what more could we ask from our trip than such an extreme weather demonstration? Anyway, it'll be fun, and I can't wait to bask in the heat!

Eastre is stretched out - a fluffy carpet. She has a secret fluffing technique - subtly puffing out her fur -  that she employs to make herself irresistible. She does this to tease the weak-minded humans that happen to be around her.

Me and Shawn went out to open mic night again this week. We met up with some people that Shawn works with at Tony's. It was really crowded, and at first we were forced to stand by the bar for about 20 minutes before a table opened up. I am fascinated by how life decides to flash seemingly random things at you, glimpses of other people, like puzzle pieces. There is this girl who has always stood out to me at the co-op where she works as a cashier. Perhaps it is her hair - there's a stylized buzzed patch on one side of her head, and the rest of her hair is long and black. Pretty recognizable, is what I'm saying. Anyways, at Open Mic, she seemed to know all the people we were hanging out with, and eventually me, Shawn, her and one of Shawn's work friends found ourselves outside on the dock in the harbour. It was raining, so we were all huddled under the roof overhang of a little building in the middle of the dock. She began animatedly talking to me about mountains and energy and geographical connections. She talked and talked and talked...I listened. We had an interesting moment. Don't you wonder at the significance of seemingly random paths crossing and intersecting? Like the tapestry metaphor, if you could see all the connections from a high places, like little threads, it WOULD weave a design - a design of perfection. And so, no intersecting path can possibly be random, in my opinion. It's all part of the tapestry, and there isn't a part of the tapestry that is not perfect.

A philosophizing 'fub, out.

open mic night

The other night, Shawn and I went to open mic night at Jack's pub. We'd never gone together before. We rarely go out on the town, quite frankly. It's something I want to change, because it's so much fun to go out there and meet people and see familiar faces in that kind of environment and feel more a part of the community. But, it DOES usually end up costing a chunk of money. Thus why going out more remains a dream at this point. But open mic was a lot of fun! Tony, who owns Tony's pizza (shawn's new boss for the winter) was having his staff party and they joined us after a few hours - which meant free calamari and chicken wings - yay. The music was actually enjoyable too. I wasn't sure what to expect. A local guy, Chester, and the radio DJ, Geoff, pretty much dominated most of the night. Word on the street is that they dominate pretty much every open mic. But they were really good. They played some solid covers. Chester makes me and Shawn laugh because he acts like a rock star about his open mic status. Oh, and did I mention that the evil white cockatoo on Rio IS Chester? Not only does he have the exact accent, but there is something more...essence of Chester....in that character. i'm not sure how they did it, but they did.
At the end of the night when we got up to leave, an incident happened when I got up and attempted to walk over to where Shawn was standing, waiting for me. I found my way suddenly and squarely blocked by a tall dude with a pony-tail (I recognized him from his singing earlier in the night). I literally could not walk around him - I tried, and then gave up, and resigned myself for an awkward experience. Who does that?? Who TRAPS someone so they can talk to them? I mean, he had to have seen how I was peering around him for a way out. Anyway, as soon as I mentioned Shawn he was gone as suddenly as he had appeared, side-stepping neatly onto the dance floor and melting into the crowd of dancers. Aside from that brief awkward interlude though, it was a fun night.

I have a craving to make something super yummy. like a hearty french onion soup.