This was taken from a letter (which I still need to mail - oops!) I wrote my friend while this all was happening (keep in mind that I was a little bitter at the time):
I'm sitting at the Honolulu airport right now. My flight leaves in about 2 hours. However, I was supposed to fly out last night but missed by flight when I was sitting in the airport, in the terminal. That takes real talent, I know. You ready to read more?
You see, the e-mail I had said my flight left at 11:50 p.m. I got to the airport in plenty of time since my ride had a flight that left an hour before mine. . . at least an hour before I thought mine left. Apparently, mine departed at approximately the same time. I was caught up in thinking mine left the time my e-mail stated and didn't catch that my boarding pass said otherwise. I wish I would have and not because I had to pay $150 to reschedule my flight or because I spent the night trying to sleep on a bench near airport security (I tried camping out at the gate, but sleepovers are a no-go there). I wish I would have noticed the time on my boarding pass was different because I spent most of the time 'waiting' for my original flight thinking of ways to politely get away from the guy who'd taken a liking to me. I didn't think I'd been encouraging at all (granted, after several offers I did allow him to buy me a water just so he would quit asking).
Bah! The whole ordeal was awful! He was 42-years old! FORTY-TWO! That is closer to my parents' ages than mine (good thing this took place this year and not a year in the future or I wouldn't be able to say that).
He was in the Army and, according to him, had returned from his third tour of duty in Iraq days before last night. He had headed out to Hawaii for a vacation only to have it cut short when his ex-wife called and told him that she was going to drop their son off at his place the next day so he better be home. . . .something along those lines. That was just one of the many delightful things I learned about my new friend during the course of our conversation. I learned about both his marriages; his past career - supposedly he was an architect in Washington D.C prior to joining the army (remind me to join the armed forces after I prove to be a success and am living in a major world city making loads (as he insinuated) of money. It sounds like the career move of a lifetime); his parents' deaths; hobbies; and future goals, which the longer we talked, the more questions he asked me that seemed to measure whether or not my goals fit in with his. However, he'd formed such a liking to me that I bet I could have told him that I hoped to be a serial killer and he would have figured out how he could best help me accomplish the goal while incorporating it into his plans. He tried to get my number but I refused to give it to him so he made sure I had his. . . meaning he made sure I put it in my phone correctly. If this hasn't kept you entertained, let me share a couple excerpts from our conversation:
Him: I'm very good at telling when people are lying to me. I can read it in their eyes. It's helped me when I've had to interview Jihad. It's also helped me when I talk to women.
Me: Oh, really? So you can tell if I've been telling you the truth tonight?
Him: Well, I don't know with you. You're very senseless. (Yes, that is what he said) You're eyes don't show a lot of emotion.
Hmmm. . . I'll be needing a job in about a year - maybe the Jihad will be hiring. I can work as a trainer and consultant specializing in showing no emotion under duress. Here's another gem:
Him: I can just tell my sister is going to like you.
(Who says that to someone they have just met?)
Me: Why do you say that?
Him: Well. . . (pause). . . she. . . (another long pause). . . I don't know.
Me: Yes, you do. You wouldn't say that unless you knew.
(I was not amused and was not going to let him off that easy. Perhaps I should have.)
Him: You're right. She'll like you because she'll be able to tell you're THE ONE. . . for me.
Again, hmmm. . . if you've been married twice before, chances are that I'm not THE ONE for you. I could be wrong but in this case I'm not. Besides, what were the other two when you married them? Runner-up and Sweet Spirit?
Now, as this is taking place my plane is boarding. Not only that, but once nearly everyone had boarded by name was called over the PA system throughout the WHOLE airport. It only needed to be announced in the terminal since I was sitting there racking my brain for a way to get away even though I wasn't very far from the gate where my flight was boarding. All the while, a middle-aged soldier is bearing his soul to me - at times tearing up at a memory or a topic. If only I had heard my name announced! How could I not? I guess it's because I needed to give him a copy of The Book of Mormon. Are you proud of me? Even better, the copy I had on me was my military sized edition.
Okay, maybe you shouldn't be too proud of me. . . my motives weren't all pure. I gave it to him in an effort to deter his efforts. I pulled it out, set it on the table, and said, "You aren't going to get far with me without this." We ended up talking about polygamy - how it is no longer practiced in the church - and he took the copy and promised he would read it. He also promised he would return it in person. So much for deterrence.
Finally, he had to board his plane but before he dashed off to catch it I found myself in the most awkward hug of my life. I tried to avoid it. Then I tried to make it inconvenient (there was no way I was about take my overstuffed backpack off for it and I didn't). Then I tried pretending I was a dead fish - i.e. was lifeless and acted like I had no arms to return his embrace. After a little while I tried backing out of the hug but it was useless. He was oblivious to my tactics and he hugged his little heart out as I stood there with the most pathetic and defeated look on my face. He let go at last and hurried off to his gate. I went and hid in the women's restroom for five minutes before I snuck over to my gate and learned I'd missed my flight. Bah!
Oh, well. What is done is done. I'll still make it home for Christmas and I have a story to tell. It looks like my plane is boarding and I would like to be one of the first on it.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Friday, December 12, 2008
Trapped: How I escaped from My Bedroom. . . an epic of great proportions
A full bladder may be Mother Nature's way of saying it's time to wake up in the morning. I like to look it more as suggestion and often go back to bed after relieving myself. My intentions last Saturday were no different. I stumbled out of bed, over to my door, reached for the doorknob and discovered that I was locked in my room! Despite the obvious reason, this concerned me since my door can only be locked from the inside. After several minutes of handle jiggling My roommate, Ah, heard my plea for help and stumbled out of her bed to see if I needed help. However, as she had been quite sick the day before and was still recovering that involved sliding a butter knife underneath my door and laying back down. I'm sure I would have done the same if I was in her position.
At this point, Ah suggested we get some outside help. We thought of our next door neighbors but as soon as Ah texted them she remembered that most of them had gone camping and were most likely not back from their excursion. Then she came up with our home teachers. I informed her that had to be the lamest home teachee request for help EVER so she held off on calling them while I placed a call to our landlady. I only got her voice mail. She received a message that included the following:
I've been trapped in my room for at least 40 minutes. It's looking like you may need to get a new door for my room since it's becoming more and more likely that we'll have to break it down so I can get out. Hopefully when I talk to you next I'll be out of my room.
This is when I approved the phone call to the home teachers. However, since none of them answer their phones at 8:30 on Saturday mornings I had the bright idea to escape through the window onto the railing around the porch. . . until Ah, standing underneath with camera in hand as I scrunched through my window, repeatedly told me that I could fall and hurt my back causing me to another semester of school. I realized she had a point.
I sat in the window with my feet dangling over the edge suddenly aware of how horrible some of the fairy princesses - particularly Repunzel - had it. Thankfully, I didn't have to mull on that awareness for too long. My neighbors returned from their camping expedition and were greeted by an amusing text. They hurried over and, after a brief discussion of options, stood beneath my window and on the porch ready to catch me should I fall. I didn't and soon found myself free from the confines of my room. More importantly, I was able to relieve my bladder.
Next task: get back into my room - where all my school work was located (this took place just before finals week).
After wielding the knife for several minutes to no avail, I determined my best course of action would be to remove the door handle. Since I was stuck in my room I was able to accomplish this MacGyver style (my trusty manicure scissors moonlighted as a screwdriver). I soon had a door sans doorknob and I was. . . still stuck in my room. Ah stumbled out of bed again, curious to see how that could be. At this point we paused for a brief photo shoot (which also happens to explain how I managed to remain trapped in my room. . . with a full bladder).
At this point, Ah suggested we get some outside help. We thought of our next door neighbors but as soon as Ah texted them she remembered that most of them had gone camping and were most likely not back from their excursion. Then she came up with our home teachers. I informed her that had to be the lamest home teachee request for help EVER so she held off on calling them while I placed a call to our landlady. I only got her voice mail. She received a message that included the following:
I've been trapped in my room for at least 40 minutes. It's looking like you may need to get a new door for my room since it's becoming more and more likely that we'll have to break it down so I can get out. Hopefully when I talk to you next I'll be out of my room.
This is when I approved the phone call to the home teachers. However, since none of them answer their phones at 8:30 on Saturday mornings I had the bright idea to escape through the window onto the railing around the porch. . . until Ah, standing underneath with camera in hand as I scrunched through my window, repeatedly told me that I could fall and hurt my back causing me to another semester of school. I realized she had a point.
I sat in the window with my feet dangling over the edge suddenly aware of how horrible some of the fairy princesses - particularly Repunzel - had it. Thankfully, I didn't have to mull on that awareness for too long. My neighbors returned from their camping expedition and were greeted by an amusing text. They hurried over and, after a brief discussion of options, stood beneath my window and on the porch ready to catch me should I fall. I didn't and soon found myself free from the confines of my room. More importantly, I was able to relieve my bladder.
Next task: get back into my room - where all my school work was located (this took place just before finals week).
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Saving the World from the Portuguese
"The Portuguese are out so I'm going around hitting them with a shovel."
This was my reminder today that chivalry is not dead. However, it's probably been nearly 300 years since somone associated hitting Portuguese with honorable protection. It came this morning when I was out on a Sunday walk. I was taking a picture when I heard someone say something to me. I turned around to see a little boy holding a fold up shovel and looking quite proud of himself.
"I'm sorry," I said. "I didn't hear you. What did you say?"
That's when I learned of those devious Europeans and a five-year-old's quest to teach them who was boss. Although I'm fairly certain he was referring to these rather than these. . .
Monday, November 24, 2008
Squashed Frog and A Mumu
Sometimes I agree to do stupid things. This week I went ahead and made a cake for a friend's birthday despite the fact that he didn't tell me what he wanted until the day before said occasion. I asked for any requests last week. Oh, well. I'm a sucker for anything that may take me away from doing homework. This time it happenened to be a squashed frog:
(The red squiggly line near its head is supposed to be its tongue.)
(The red squiggly line near its head is supposed to be its tongue.)
By the time I get around to having kids (which means I first have to get around to getting married) they'll be lucky if they get something like this (thank you google images):
Today I wore the mumu I bought at Goodwill this summer. I'm always sure to get several compliments from the Polynesian guys in my ward when I do. I took a picture when I was talking to mom tonight so you can all see what it looks like.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Why I haven't written a post in a long time. . .
This semester has been really busy and I admit that I haven't done well at keeping up to date on my blog. If it makes you feel any better it's been a long time since I've been to the beach as I have spent most of my time being a homework hermit. I thnk I was tanner after spending last semester at home in Utah. Oh, well. At least I may less likely to get skin cancer now.
I've added a couple of posts that I started to write before and never finished. One is from the end of September (you may have to scroll down to find it) and the other is from the end of October.
I've added a couple of posts that I started to write before and never finished. One is from the end of September (you may have to scroll down to find it) and the other is from the end of October.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
international relations
From the end of October:
Last week when I was studying for my international relations mid-term I met with a group several times to prepare. We did well to stay on task, but like most study groups our focus would wane from time to time. One such incident came when another student - a Filipino - was telling us about growing up in - you guessed it - the Philippines when it was still a U.S. territory.
He told us how in elementary school he knew the names and order of all the U.S. Presidents (which I vaguely remember having to learn in 8th grade but now there’s no way I could get them all in the right order even if my life depended on it). They learned the "Star-Spangled Banner" and "America the Beautiful" - he remembered wondering what ‘purple mountain majesties’ were and where in they were located. It was hilarious to listen to him. My favorite part came when he told about the country gaining sovereignty.
"I swear all they did," he said, "was copy the Constitution of the United States, except wherever it said, ‘United States’ they changed it to say ‘Philippines.’ It’s the same thing with the songs . . . now it’s ‘Philippines the Beautiful.’ I finally figured out what ‘purple mountain majesties’ were when I moved to Utah."
Last week when I was studying for my international relations mid-term I met with a group several times to prepare. We did well to stay on task, but like most study groups our focus would wane from time to time. One such incident came when another student - a Filipino - was telling us about growing up in - you guessed it - the Philippines when it was still a U.S. territory.
He told us how in elementary school he knew the names and order of all the U.S. Presidents (which I vaguely remember having to learn in 8th grade but now there’s no way I could get them all in the right order even if my life depended on it). They learned the "Star-Spangled Banner" and "America the Beautiful" - he remembered wondering what ‘purple mountain majesties’ were and where in they were located. It was hilarious to listen to him. My favorite part came when he told about the country gaining sovereignty.
"I swear all they did," he said, "was copy the Constitution of the United States, except wherever it said, ‘United States’ they changed it to say ‘Philippines.’ It’s the same thing with the songs . . . now it’s ‘Philippines the Beautiful.’ I finally figured out what ‘purple mountain majesties’ were when I moved to Utah."
Monday, October 13, 2008
Quirks
I, like many of you that read this blog (on the rare occasion that I make new posts), was tagged by Moo to make a post of six of my quirks. Realizing that I have some homework to do, I felt a strong desire to answer this question instead. The faint of stomache should use caution when reading this post. Ready? Okay!
- When I wash my hair, I ball the loose hair up and place it in my belly button (I have a belly well). This accomplishes a few things: A) The hair is not clogging up the drain B) I always remember to take it out of the shower when I get out and C) It ensures I clean my belly button (a body part I think gets overlooked by the general public when bathing). I almost always remember to take out the hairball when I get out of the shower, but I have been know to forget and find it hours later.
- I randomly smell things - weird things - usually without even realizing what I'm doing until I get a good whiff of the object at hand. For instance, I catch myself smelling my ear wax after I've cleaned my ears. There are better smelling things in the world.
- I refuse to smell milk (I also avoid drinking it). I think that ear wax smells better.
- I freeze yogurt then microwave it for 30 seconds so it's not too frozen when I go to eat it.
- When I have to make official-ish phone calls I'll map out possible conversations before I dial the number. This means I include various responses that the other person may use and what I should say after one of those responses. I don't feel comfortable making an official-ish call until I have done this even though I rarely use maps I have created.
- I'm more likely to write a rough draft for a letter to a friend or family member than I am to make one for a paper I have to write for a class.
I'm sure there are some real quirks that I've managed to forget but these should tide y'all over.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Cupcakes
From the end of September:
One day as I wandered through the school library something caught my eye. It was the September issue of Better Homes and Gardens. I quickly sat down and began happily perusing the latest edition of my long-lost friend. There, sandwiched inbetween a couple of ads, I saw my life change. It was at that moment I saw the monthly Prize-tested recipe contest. I don't usually give the food section my undivided attention since I doubt I'll ever make any of it (no matter how delicious it looks). However, this time my poor college student eyes caught hold of the words: Win Money. My attention peaked. I read on:
Your original recipe could be worth up to $400, and winning recipes will be entered to win the 2009 annual Grand Prize - worth up to $10,000 in cash or merchandise. Enter your original recipes (recipes never before published) which features two new categories each month.
I glanced down to see the categories offered in this issue were for cupcakes and salmon. I don't like fish much, but cupcakes, cupcakes I thought I could handle so I kept reading.
Send us your best, most interesting recipe. Do your cupcakes have a flavorful frosting, unusual topper, or filling? Do you make them from a one-bowl yellow cake with added fold-ins or chocolate cake with surprise fillings? How about mini angel food or sponge cake creations, or a spin on one of these classics: carrot, red velvet, or coconut? The cupcakes can be fruit-filled after-school treats or spicy and elegant ganache-topped cakelets baked in cupcake pans.
As the only cupcakes I could remember making came from boxes featuring doughboys, signed by Ms. Crocker, or stamped 'Duncan Hines,' I naturally thought it would be a good idea for me to enter. I thought my roommate would also enjoy the contest so I told her about it and proposed we work together. If one of our recipes won we would split the money. She was definitely game.
Ideas began spewing from our minds and we soon had a list of different cupcakes we wanted to try making: Cranberry with a white chocolate frosting, panipopo (a take on a Samoan dessert), pumpkin with lemon frosting, peanut butter banana with a light chocolate topping, and on and on. We began contacting friends to make a taste-testing panel. If we were going to enter the contest we were going to be serious. The only catch we could see was that we had a week and a half to make and perfect our recipes. Then we realized we had homework. So, inbetween school, work, homework, and a project or two on curfew and the honor code we found time to whip up a couple of our creations.
The panel we once envisioned was replaced by our co-workers and next-door-neighbors - all of whom seemed more than willing to help. Each batch we would watch their faces as they tested the cupcakes. Then we'd quiz them - How was the texture? the balance of flavors? overall taste? They'd answer then usually ask when the next batch would be ready to test.
We finally settled on two. Ah chose to submit a banana peanut butter with a light chocolate frosting and I chose a strawberry with a sour white chocolate lemon cream frosting.
Now we wait. The winning entries will be published in the April 2009 issue of Better Homes and Gardens so it will be few months before we are notified that we have won the contest. Okay, so our hopes aren't that high but we won't put up a fight should we win.
One day as I wandered through the school library something caught my eye. It was the September issue of Better Homes and Gardens. I quickly sat down and began happily perusing the latest edition of my long-lost friend. There, sandwiched inbetween a couple of ads, I saw my life change. It was at that moment I saw the monthly Prize-tested recipe contest. I don't usually give the food section my undivided attention since I doubt I'll ever make any of it (no matter how delicious it looks). However, this time my poor college student eyes caught hold of the words: Win Money. My attention peaked. I read on:
Your original recipe could be worth up to $400, and winning recipes will be entered to win the 2009 annual Grand Prize - worth up to $10,000 in cash or merchandise. Enter your original recipes (recipes never before published) which features two new categories each month.
I glanced down to see the categories offered in this issue were for cupcakes and salmon. I don't like fish much, but cupcakes, cupcakes I thought I could handle so I kept reading.
Send us your best, most interesting recipe. Do your cupcakes have a flavorful frosting, unusual topper, or filling? Do you make them from a one-bowl yellow cake with added fold-ins or chocolate cake with surprise fillings? How about mini angel food or sponge cake creations, or a spin on one of these classics: carrot, red velvet, or coconut? The cupcakes can be fruit-filled after-school treats or spicy and elegant ganache-topped cakelets baked in cupcake pans.
As the only cupcakes I could remember making came from boxes featuring doughboys, signed by Ms. Crocker, or stamped 'Duncan Hines,' I naturally thought it would be a good idea for me to enter. I thought my roommate would also enjoy the contest so I told her about it and proposed we work together. If one of our recipes won we would split the money. She was definitely game.
Ideas began spewing from our minds and we soon had a list of different cupcakes we wanted to try making: Cranberry with a white chocolate frosting, panipopo (a take on a Samoan dessert), pumpkin with lemon frosting, peanut butter banana with a light chocolate topping, and on and on. We began contacting friends to make a taste-testing panel. If we were going to enter the contest we were going to be serious. The only catch we could see was that we had a week and a half to make and perfect our recipes. Then we realized we had homework. So, inbetween school, work, homework, and a project or two on curfew and the honor code we found time to whip up a couple of our creations.
The panel we once envisioned was replaced by our co-workers and next-door-neighbors - all of whom seemed more than willing to help. Each batch we would watch their faces as they tested the cupcakes. Then we'd quiz them - How was the texture? the balance of flavors? overall taste? They'd answer then usually ask when the next batch would be ready to test.
We finally settled on two. Ah chose to submit a banana peanut butter with a light chocolate frosting and I chose a strawberry with a sour white chocolate lemon cream frosting.
Now we wait. The winning entries will be published in the April 2009 issue of Better Homes and Gardens so it will be few months before we are notified that we have won the contest. Okay, so our hopes aren't that high but we won't put up a fight should we win.
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Checking Blogs
As I sat down to do some homework on this beautiful Saturday afternoon I decided I should check everyone's blogs out again to keep myself up-to-date on the lives of others. I usually go to Moo's blog and work my through her list (I realize I could go to Eliza B's blog and it just shows who's updated theirs but that would give me more time to work on my homework which I ritually avoid for the first few minutes [some may argue days] I sit down at a computer). I was doing just that I caught myself, finger slightly raised and ready to depress the left mouse button on the link to see if I had updated my own blog. Oops! It's hard to live vicariously through myself.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Glimpses of This Past Spring and Summer
At the Dole Cannery. It has now been turned into a shopping center.
Buddhist Lantern Lighting on Memorial Day.
Byoo-din Temple at the Valley of the Temples (a.k.a. nice cemetery). It's designed to look lik the one in Japan. However, I don't know if the original has a gift shop next to it like this one did.
At the Lost set just before we were told to stop trespassing.
Turtle happily swimming in the water.
Near the turtle I was told to stop harassing when I attempted to get a picture when I was standing three feet away from it. I'm obviously further away than that in this picture.
At the beach on of the many times I went. I believe I was planning something and was to getting some phone numbers from a friend's cell phone when this was taken.
Trying to make the Dole Plantation look more exciting than it really is.
A cake I made for a friend's birthday - perhaps one of the sweetest creations ever made. The big "sushi roll" is a Rice Krispy treat, followed by fudge, followed by the cake, followed by frosting. The little "sushi rolls" are made of cake, frosted and rolled in coconut, then wrapped with Fruit-by-the-Foot. The other "sushis" are cake, frosted and rolled in coconut, topped with sculpted Sunburst Fruit Chews (the "egg musubi" is also wrapped with a Fruit-by-the-Foot). The "ginger" and "wasabi" are also sculpted fruit chews.
More celebratory sugar overload: This is a chocolate bundt cake filled with marshmallow cream and Twizzler Pull-and-Peel accents. I don't like dinosaurs and am okay making anything that might portray their demise.
A pretty rainbow over the ocean near my home out here.
A beautiful sunset near Waikiki.
The local edited video store offers edited versions of Charley and Singles Ward.
On a side walk in Waikiki.
The message that appeared when I renewed my driver's license on-line. Classy, yeah?Hard Work, Painting, and Back to School
Summer has come to a close. Classes started yesterday and it looks like my life will be filled with fewer adventures. The past few weeks have been weaning me of my summer play habits anyway. My roommate and I have been de-cluttering and painting our house (yes, we received permission from our landlady first and are receiving reimbursement for paint costs). We've worked hard and been resourceful. We've spent hours emptying out drawers and closets filled with things previous students had left behind.
Last weekend she and I went to a football game with some friends and realized it was the first Friday in nearly a month that we hadn't been working on some sort of project (the only time the house wasn't involved found us helping set up for a wedding reception). However, we expect that we'll be working on the house again this Friday night and we've both been looking forward to it. If all goes well, we'll be able to finish up painting the bathroom and the trim throughout the whole house. Woohoo!
Last weekend she and I went to a football game with some friends and realized it was the first Friday in nearly a month that we hadn't been working on some sort of project (the only time the house wasn't involved found us helping set up for a wedding reception). However, we expect that we'll be working on the house again this Friday night and we've both been looking forward to it. If all goes well, we'll be able to finish up painting the bathroom and the trim throughout the whole house. Woohoo!
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Erasmus and Adventures
I'm tired of sitting at a computer. However, it's been a while since I last posted a blog (last time I talked with mom she mentioned this fact) so I thought I'd attempt to write something. Perhaps it wouldn't seem like such a daunting task but I've been studying for the Humanities 202 course I'm taking via independent study and don't have many original thoughts roaming free through my brain anymore. The ones I do have go something like this:
"Who is Erasmus? Why does the textbook keep referring to him like I should know him? I bet he's not as cool as the sting ray or even the starfish I saw on Saturday morning when I was snorkeling. I really wish the dolphins would have been out then. L, M, and I swam A LOT in search of them. Oh, yeah. I'm supposed to be studying.
"Where was I? Erasmus. Hmmm. . . Why does my professor want me to know who he is for the mid-term? I bet my teacher wouldn't want to inflict such pain on his students if he had seen the sharks the other guys in our group saw. They were only resting under the warm pipe so maybe he still would enjoy being a sadistic educator. The sea turtles were a lot of fun though. Swimming with them may warm his little heart unless. . . well, what if he's related to that sick-o who recently killed one of the big turtles at Turtle Beach by cutting off its flipper/foot and head. No, I shouldn't think stuff like that. Teaching is a noble profession and he probably only has noble thoughts. Then again, Alberto Fujimori was a professor and now he's awaiting trial for human rights abuses. Okay, enough mean thoughts. Crabs are mean.
"Remember that feisty rock crab you caught last week? It kept looking for ways to get your fingers into its claws. It managed to a few times. Lucky for you it couldn't get a good angle. Sand crabs are much nicer and much calmer. They accept the fact that they have been caught. I wonder if Erasmus was a crab if he'd be a rock or a sand crab? Erasmus? What's he doing in my thoughts of last week's adventures? That's right. I have a mid-term I'm supposed to be preparing for. Sigh. I suppose I should be like a sand crab and accept the fact I should be studying.
"Ready, Erasmus. He was considered the. . . oh, no the library is closing. That means I have to stop studying and leave the computer. Good. I'm tired of sitting at the computer."
"Who is Erasmus? Why does the textbook keep referring to him like I should know him? I bet he's not as cool as the sting ray or even the starfish I saw on Saturday morning when I was snorkeling. I really wish the dolphins would have been out then. L, M, and I swam A LOT in search of them. Oh, yeah. I'm supposed to be studying.
"Where was I? Erasmus. Hmmm. . . Why does my professor want me to know who he is for the mid-term? I bet my teacher wouldn't want to inflict such pain on his students if he had seen the sharks the other guys in our group saw. They were only resting under the warm pipe so maybe he still would enjoy being a sadistic educator. The sea turtles were a lot of fun though. Swimming with them may warm his little heart unless. . . well, what if he's related to that sick-o who recently killed one of the big turtles at Turtle Beach by cutting off its flipper/foot and head. No, I shouldn't think stuff like that. Teaching is a noble profession and he probably only has noble thoughts. Then again, Alberto Fujimori was a professor and now he's awaiting trial for human rights abuses. Okay, enough mean thoughts. Crabs are mean.
"Remember that feisty rock crab you caught last week? It kept looking for ways to get your fingers into its claws. It managed to a few times. Lucky for you it couldn't get a good angle. Sand crabs are much nicer and much calmer. They accept the fact that they have been caught. I wonder if Erasmus was a crab if he'd be a rock or a sand crab? Erasmus? What's he doing in my thoughts of last week's adventures? That's right. I have a mid-term I'm supposed to be preparing for. Sigh. I suppose I should be like a sand crab and accept the fact I should be studying.
"Ready, Erasmus. He was considered the. . . oh, no the library is closing. That means I have to stop studying and leave the computer. Good. I'm tired of sitting at the computer."
Thursday, July 17, 2008
'Dog' and White Trash
I don't know if any of you heard, but a few months back A&E removed "Dog the Bounty Hunter" from their line-up when Duane "Dog" Chapman was caught making a racist comment about his son's girlfriend. However, in June they began airing re-runs and last Wednesday was the first new episode aired since the incident. I have never viewed this show and had no intention of doing so but I have a friend (L) that LOVES it.
She's been waiting months for it to return. She wrote an article for the school paper about it (which, by the way, I was quoted in. L reported me saying, "I think he epitomizes white trash to the core." I knew she had only taken a snippet of what I had to say so I just looked it up on-line so I could accurately tell you what I said. In doing so, I also noticed the smorgasbord of reader comments where one lady, very passionate about the show, stated, "People like MG in this article calling him "white trash" is just as guilty of bigotry." I couldn't help but laugh.) My friend also thought that the return of new 'Dog' episodes warranted a get-together. So, last week, when I finished at the temple, that's what I went over to her place - well, the guys next door to her place since they have cable, to watch "Dog the Bounty Hunter." According to the online TV guide it was supposed to air at 7 pm but it didn't come on until 10. It ended up being a good thing. L and I were able to watch the season premiere of Project Runway (a show which I LOVE) and make pigs-in-blankets to eat while we viewed 'Dog.' The guys, who hadn't planned their temple session times as well as I had (or perhaps better than I), didn't get home till nearly 9 were also able to watch with us.
In the end, I found the show to be more enjoyable than I thought it would be. I have a feeling that come tomorrow night I'll be watching it again and I'm okay with that. Although, now that I have actually viewed the program, I still would like to state, ""I think he epitomizes white trash to the core."
She's been waiting months for it to return. She wrote an article for the school paper about it (which, by the way, I was quoted in. L reported me saying, "I think he epitomizes white trash to the core." I knew she had only taken a snippet of what I had to say so I just looked it up on-line so I could accurately tell you what I said. In doing so, I also noticed the smorgasbord of reader comments where one lady, very passionate about the show, stated, "People like MG in this article calling him "white trash" is just as guilty of bigotry." I couldn't help but laugh.) My friend also thought that the return of new 'Dog' episodes warranted a get-together. So, last week, when I finished at the temple, that's what I went over to her place - well, the guys next door to her place since they have cable, to watch "Dog the Bounty Hunter." According to the online TV guide it was supposed to air at 7 pm but it didn't come on until 10. It ended up being a good thing. L and I were able to watch the season premiere of Project Runway (a show which I LOVE) and make pigs-in-blankets to eat while we viewed 'Dog.' The guys, who hadn't planned their temple session times as well as I had (or perhaps better than I), didn't get home till nearly 9 were also able to watch with us.
In the end, I found the show to be more enjoyable than I thought it would be. I have a feeling that come tomorrow night I'll be watching it again and I'm okay with that. Although, now that I have actually viewed the program, I still would like to state, ""I think he epitomizes white trash to the core."
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Bus Fun and Being Rebels at the LOST set and Turtle Beach
Disclaimer: I got really tired as I was writing this and periodically dozed off throughout writing it. I apologize if it doesn't make a whole lot of sense when you read it while you're awake.
One of my dear friends out here left yesterday. She graduated a couple of weeks ago and the school only allowed her to work for a few days following commencement. This meant she had a lot of free time to do things on the island she'd never done while she was in school. She got a copy of my work schedule and would plan her day accordingly so we both could go on adventures. This past Tuesday involved a trip to Lanikai Beach (a.k.a Turtle Beach because of all the turtles that hang-out there) and the set of LOST.
She and I have the worst luck when we take the bus together. Even though buses are scheduled at the stops every 30-40 minutes we almost always end up waiting at least an hour. We don't know how it is possible that this happens to us every time but it does. Anyway, we finally got on the bus and finally made it to Turtle Beach. We decided to walk down to the set of LOST first- appx 1/2 a mile away - then chill with the turtles after.
LOST isn't filming right now so the shacks and other props are saran wrapped and protected from visitors by a bright-orange plastic fence. We walked up to the fence and took a few pictures, then started talking to the two security guards there. They were really nice and told us we should come back the first week of August because that's when the show will resume shooting again. We thanked them and wandered off to see what else there was.
We saw a dirt road on the other side of a bump of sand and decided to check it out. On the other side of the road a sign was posted on a tree that said "NO TRESPASSING." We continued to move toward the road reasoning that if we stayed on the road we wouldn't be trespassing. As we discussed this we walked through a patch of sand that was HOT!!! The bottoms of our feet started burning and we instinctively ran toward the tree and the shade. We pulled out our slippers (flip-flops) and put them on again (it's too hard to walk on the beach with them). My friend decided to creep over by some bushes (always remaining on the road) and take a few more pictures. I started to go with her then stopped. Perhaps some of you are impressed that I didn't sneak around with her, however, the only reason I stayed where I was at was I had received a text from a friend and was replying to it. I was still doing that when she quickly tip-toed passed me and said, "I think they saw me!" We scurried back over the rise and continued to look for more photo options. Once again we found an area that led down to the road. We were near another shack that was covered in the orange glad-bag fencing and could tell that if we took the photo at a lower level you wouldn't be able to see it.
This time I went first. I jumped from the small rise onto the road just in time to be seen by a security truck turning onto the road some 300 ft away. I figured it wasn't in my best interest to run at that point so I stayed where I was at and just laughed with my friend about what we were doing until the truck pulled up by me. He told us we were on government property that was being leased out to LOST. We told him our plans to get a better picture and he relaxed right away. He told us we couldn't go any further though. He also said that they had upped security since last year when they had caught people trying to torch all the shacks and props. He talked to us for another few minutes and then we left.
We walked near the water and took pictures of the sea turtles swimming near the beach. When we got back to Turtle Beach there was a HUGE turtle sitting on a rock warming itself the the sun. Several people got near it to take a picture. I took my friend's picture near it, then, she traded me and attempted to take my picture. Unfortunately, the batteries on my camera were exhausted. She pulled her camera back out and got ready to take the picture when a volunteer beach patrol lady came up to us.
"Step away from the turtle!" she shouted. I was two or three feet from it before she said anything to me.
I moved further away and my friend hurried and snapped a photo.
"You're harassing the turtle! You must remain 5-6 feet away at all times! Get behind the red rope!" We looked and noticed a rope half buried in the sand and stepped on the other side of it.
"These turtles are still considered endangered and you can't harass them like that!" The turtle didn't even act like it had noticed anyone as it basked in the sun, but we had heard enough from the lady and decided it was time to head back to La'ie.
We went to the bus stop and commenced to wait. We decided to call the phone number listed on the sign to get a listing of times the bus was scheduled to stop there. I finally got through to the hold music (which is quite a feat in and of itself - most people are disconnected because the lines can't handle that many calls. My friend and I had been several times before) when we saw the bus off in the distance. We couldn't believe our luck, we'd only been there 20 minutes! I hung up and we waited excitedly. . . until we read the "Out of Service" sign on the public transportation vehicle. Frustrated, we both started calling the information line again. This time my friend made it through. She learned a bus had been scheduled to stop at approximately the time the "Out of Service" bus had passed by and that the next one wouldn't be by for another 40 minutes. We tried to convince ourselves that another one would be coming shortly - that it was following just running late. Our bus-luck proved itself once again and we spent the next 35 minutes waiting for our ride to pick us up.
One of my dear friends out here left yesterday. She graduated a couple of weeks ago and the school only allowed her to work for a few days following commencement. This meant she had a lot of free time to do things on the island she'd never done while she was in school. She got a copy of my work schedule and would plan her day accordingly so we both could go on adventures. This past Tuesday involved a trip to Lanikai Beach (a.k.a Turtle Beach because of all the turtles that hang-out there) and the set of LOST.
She and I have the worst luck when we take the bus together. Even though buses are scheduled at the stops every 30-40 minutes we almost always end up waiting at least an hour. We don't know how it is possible that this happens to us every time but it does. Anyway, we finally got on the bus and finally made it to Turtle Beach. We decided to walk down to the set of LOST first- appx 1/2 a mile away - then chill with the turtles after.
LOST isn't filming right now so the shacks and other props are saran wrapped and protected from visitors by a bright-orange plastic fence. We walked up to the fence and took a few pictures, then started talking to the two security guards there. They were really nice and told us we should come back the first week of August because that's when the show will resume shooting again. We thanked them and wandered off to see what else there was.
We saw a dirt road on the other side of a bump of sand and decided to check it out. On the other side of the road a sign was posted on a tree that said "NO TRESPASSING." We continued to move toward the road reasoning that if we stayed on the road we wouldn't be trespassing. As we discussed this we walked through a patch of sand that was HOT!!! The bottoms of our feet started burning and we instinctively ran toward the tree and the shade. We pulled out our slippers (flip-flops) and put them on again (it's too hard to walk on the beach with them). My friend decided to creep over by some bushes (always remaining on the road) and take a few more pictures. I started to go with her then stopped. Perhaps some of you are impressed that I didn't sneak around with her, however, the only reason I stayed where I was at was I had received a text from a friend and was replying to it. I was still doing that when she quickly tip-toed passed me and said, "I think they saw me!" We scurried back over the rise and continued to look for more photo options. Once again we found an area that led down to the road. We were near another shack that was covered in the orange glad-bag fencing and could tell that if we took the photo at a lower level you wouldn't be able to see it.
This time I went first. I jumped from the small rise onto the road just in time to be seen by a security truck turning onto the road some 300 ft away. I figured it wasn't in my best interest to run at that point so I stayed where I was at and just laughed with my friend about what we were doing until the truck pulled up by me. He told us we were on government property that was being leased out to LOST. We told him our plans to get a better picture and he relaxed right away. He told us we couldn't go any further though. He also said that they had upped security since last year when they had caught people trying to torch all the shacks and props. He talked to us for another few minutes and then we left.
We walked near the water and took pictures of the sea turtles swimming near the beach. When we got back to Turtle Beach there was a HUGE turtle sitting on a rock warming itself the the sun. Several people got near it to take a picture. I took my friend's picture near it, then, she traded me and attempted to take my picture. Unfortunately, the batteries on my camera were exhausted. She pulled her camera back out and got ready to take the picture when a volunteer beach patrol lady came up to us.
"Step away from the turtle!" she shouted. I was two or three feet from it before she said anything to me.
I moved further away and my friend hurried and snapped a photo.
"You're harassing the turtle! You must remain 5-6 feet away at all times! Get behind the red rope!" We looked and noticed a rope half buried in the sand and stepped on the other side of it.
"These turtles are still considered endangered and you can't harass them like that!" The turtle didn't even act like it had noticed anyone as it basked in the sun, but we had heard enough from the lady and decided it was time to head back to La'ie.
We went to the bus stop and commenced to wait. We decided to call the phone number listed on the sign to get a listing of times the bus was scheduled to stop there. I finally got through to the hold music (which is quite a feat in and of itself - most people are disconnected because the lines can't handle that many calls. My friend and I had been several times before) when we saw the bus off in the distance. We couldn't believe our luck, we'd only been there 20 minutes! I hung up and we waited excitedly. . . until we read the "Out of Service" sign on the public transportation vehicle. Frustrated, we both started calling the information line again. This time my friend made it through. She learned a bus had been scheduled to stop at approximately the time the "Out of Service" bus had passed by and that the next one wouldn't be by for another 40 minutes. We tried to convince ourselves that another one would be coming shortly - that it was following just running late. Our bus-luck proved itself once again and we spent the next 35 minutes waiting for our ride to pick us up.
4th of July, cont.
As I said in my previous post we went to Turtle Bay Resort to watch the fireworks. Every year they have booth set-up with people selling things (most likely things people can buy for cheaper at the swap meet) and live music. They scheduled to set fireworks off at 8 p.m. The group I was with didn't realize this and by the time we got everyone out the door, in cars, and going the right direction it was approximately 10 after 8. We all chose to park outside the resort so we wouldn't be caught in traffic and walk to the designated viewing area - which we didn't arrive at until at least 8:35. Normally, we would have missed the whole show, however, at 8 p.m. it had been raining and the show got pushed back. Yeah! We arrived just in time for the start of the show.
Afterwards, everyone ended back at my place. We noticed that across the street in the parking lot at Hukilau Beach people were setting off fireworks. We had sparklers we wanted to do, so we wandered over that way and were invited to watch the fireworks/firecrackers there.
One of the funnest things to watch (which I will never allow my children to do) involved a 6-8 year old boy running in circles and figure 8's with a 15 ft rope of firecrackers, lined up side to side, going off behind him. The rope gradually got smaller as the firecracker at the end would go off, lighting the next one in line, which would then go off and light the next one, etc. He dropped it when it was down to about 2 1/2 - 3 feet and several got lit and went off at the same time. I couldn't help but think of those old movies we have where John spent most of the time just running in circles. I bet if he had grown up in Hawaii he probably would have blown his hand off by the time he was 10.
After we finished with the sparklers we ended up back at my place where we came to the consensus we wanted to end our 'All-American' celebrations with an 'All-American' movie. After considerable deliberation we chose to watch Casino Royale instead.
Afterwards, everyone ended back at my place. We noticed that across the street in the parking lot at Hukilau Beach people were setting off fireworks. We had sparklers we wanted to do, so we wandered over that way and were invited to watch the fireworks/firecrackers there.
One of the funnest things to watch (which I will never allow my children to do) involved a 6-8 year old boy running in circles and figure 8's with a 15 ft rope of firecrackers, lined up side to side, going off behind him. The rope gradually got smaller as the firecracker at the end would go off, lighting the next one in line, which would then go off and light the next one, etc. He dropped it when it was down to about 2 1/2 - 3 feet and several got lit and went off at the same time. I couldn't help but think of those old movies we have where John spent most of the time just running in circles. I bet if he had grown up in Hawaii he probably would have blown his hand off by the time he was 10.
After we finished with the sparklers we ended up back at my place where we came to the consensus we wanted to end our 'All-American' celebrations with an 'All-American' movie. After considerable deliberation we chose to watch Casino Royale instead.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
4th of July
Happy Be-lated Independence Day!
So the 4th of July was last week. Woohoo! That means celebrations and that's what I did - all day long. I started out with a walk on the beach in the morning. That afternoon I went surfing with some friends. When you consider what I did, surfing is a very liberal use of the word. All I did was paddle out on a board until I got close to where the waves were actually starting to hit, then turned around an paddled back in. I didn't want to get pounded by any waves and have them mess my back up. Mom should be proud of me. She once told me that she prays that I'll exercise the common sense she knows I have.
After that a group of us met up to have what we referred to as an "All-American Barbeque." Actually, we met up to shop for the afore-mentioned activity. We decided on hamburgers, watermelon, chips, roasted potatoes, and home-made apple pie with vanilla ice cream.
We went to Turtle BAy Resort and watched the fireworks there. to be continued
So the 4th of July was last week. Woohoo! That means celebrations and that's what I did - all day long. I started out with a walk on the beach in the morning. That afternoon I went surfing with some friends. When you consider what I did, surfing is a very liberal use of the word. All I did was paddle out on a board until I got close to where the waves were actually starting to hit, then turned around an paddled back in. I didn't want to get pounded by any waves and have them mess my back up. Mom should be proud of me. She once told me that she prays that I'll exercise the common sense she knows I have.
After that a group of us met up to have what we referred to as an "All-American Barbeque." Actually, we met up to shop for the afore-mentioned activity. We decided on hamburgers, watermelon, chips, roasted potatoes, and home-made apple pie with vanilla ice cream.
We went to Turtle BAy Resort and watched the fireworks there. to be continued
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Pseudo-Resurrection
I recently noticed a comment to my last blog that stated that no one ever hears from me when I'm in Hawaii. I've also been told that everytime I come back here it's like I drop off the face of the earth. If you ask me, those are not very nice things to say.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Termites. . .
I finally gave in and have started a blog. I can't promise consistency or quality. . . after all I am only a student and most posts will probably be written when I should be doing homework and am looking for ways to avoid doing it (if mom reads this I am done with all my homework for today). Anyway, here it goes:
I'm back in Hawaii and happy that I am. However, if you've ever been a full-time student at BYU-Hawaii you know that the atmosphere on campus is a little different during spring and summer terms. This is when the university gets overrun with termites.
These are not your average wood-eating insects. In fact, they are not even insects. They are students that come to the school only for spring and/or summer terms. They come to "experience" Hawaii. They are the ones that give the rest of us Haole's a bad name.
Termites are only here for 1-1/2 to 2 months and come with a to-do list of everything they must do when they are here. Many of them are easy targets for people on the rebound from a break-up as making-out with someone in Hawaii happens to be on their list of things to do (check off two items if you make-out on the beach; three if you make-out with a Polynesian).
Perhaps it wouldn't be so annoying if they didn't look at their time spent here as one big vacation. However since they do, they tend to expect everyone to cater to them. They don't understand why the rest of us can't always go play (in case you're curious why we can't it comes down to 1. Money and 2. The rest of us are out here to get an education. Living in Hawaii just happens to be an amazing perk). They also get this attitude that the University here is cake compared to other schools. If I were taking classes like hula and surfing I bet I'd also think the same thing. As far as the honor code goes, most just pretend like it doesn't exist.
Anyway I didn't realize I felt such animosity towards termites until I had a couple of experiences this past week. The first occurred as I was buying books for my classes when the bookstore cashier asked me if I was just out here for spring. I can understand why he might have asked that since I'm about as white as a blizzard but, I'll be honest, I was offended a little bit.
Then today there was a group of kids standing around OUTSIDE the library talking. I looked over at them and thought, "Definite termites." That may sound rude but they displayed all the physical signs: all but one of the girls sported bleach blonde hair and all of them were wearing standard issue bermuda shorts with perfectly matched T-shirts.
As for other excitement. . . I found out today that I'm an illegal worker. I'd tell you more but mom found out and said I can't jeopardize my employer by posting more about that on here. If you want to learn more you'll have to contact me personally.
I'm back in Hawaii and happy that I am. However, if you've ever been a full-time student at BYU-Hawaii you know that the atmosphere on campus is a little different during spring and summer terms. This is when the university gets overrun with termites.
These are not your average wood-eating insects. In fact, they are not even insects. They are students that come to the school only for spring and/or summer terms. They come to "experience" Hawaii. They are the ones that give the rest of us Haole's a bad name.
Termites are only here for 1-1/2 to 2 months and come with a to-do list of everything they must do when they are here. Many of them are easy targets for people on the rebound from a break-up as making-out with someone in Hawaii happens to be on their list of things to do (check off two items if you make-out on the beach; three if you make-out with a Polynesian).
Perhaps it wouldn't be so annoying if they didn't look at their time spent here as one big vacation. However since they do, they tend to expect everyone to cater to them. They don't understand why the rest of us can't always go play (in case you're curious why we can't it comes down to 1. Money and 2. The rest of us are out here to get an education. Living in Hawaii just happens to be an amazing perk). They also get this attitude that the University here is cake compared to other schools. If I were taking classes like hula and surfing I bet I'd also think the same thing. As far as the honor code goes, most just pretend like it doesn't exist.
Anyway I didn't realize I felt such animosity towards termites until I had a couple of experiences this past week. The first occurred as I was buying books for my classes when the bookstore cashier asked me if I was just out here for spring. I can understand why he might have asked that since I'm about as white as a blizzard but, I'll be honest, I was offended a little bit.
Then today there was a group of kids standing around OUTSIDE the library talking. I looked over at them and thought, "Definite termites." That may sound rude but they displayed all the physical signs: all but one of the girls sported bleach blonde hair and all of them were wearing standard issue bermuda shorts with perfectly matched T-shirts.
As for other excitement. . . I found out today that I'm an illegal worker. I'd tell you more but mom found out and said I can't jeopardize my employer by posting more about that on here. If you want to learn more you'll have to contact me personally.
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