Author: thethreeonenine
It arrived!
HIFF starts
Today was a pretty unique day in my newborn Kailua life. The LVHIFF officially started today and it was the first day that I spent a chunk of time with the staff. This morning I woke up late and made both Chuck and Sean late for the press conference. I was mortified when I woke up at 8:17. Chuck was picking me up at 8:30. Egad.
Eventually everyone arrived where they were supposed to and the press conference was really lovely. I’m glad I didn’t miss it. I saw Sarah there and had a great chance to chat with her and Anderson. Sean had told me earlier that Cliff Curtis was going to be at the press conference and I didn’t really make much of the fact that I didn’t know who he was talking about. As Sarah and I were chatting by the entrance he came in and I realized that I’m a total fan of his work. So that was really nice.
I ended up spending much of the day with Sarah. I had such great time, particularly because I’ve been missing my girlfriends back home. She took me to lunch at Nicos (my second time) and rather than ordering the special of the day I ordered what Sarah orderd: the Furikake ahi. It was deeelicious.
I’ve written about this before but Sarah is the Art Director for a really unique magazine out here called Smart. She described it as a Hawaiin Lucky but I find it to be much more than that. As a newcomer to Hawaii it’s so refreshing to find a publication that goes deeper than the rest—an inside perspective to local talent as well as fashion insider favorites. I picked up a copy at the hospitality suite and will definitely send away for a subscription.
The festival staff is so nice. I don’t really know how else to put it. I suppose it’s what everyone refers to as Aloha spirit. Even under stressful circumstances they’re friendly and unfazed by last minute obstacles or tight spots. I really respect what they’ve built.
Not much else is new. we had to burn the bunnies when Rebecca came over for dinner. She was an ideal first guest. I can’t think of better circumstances in which to sacrifice the heartbreaking cuteness of wax lagomorpha.
Beautiful Saturday
Let me say a couple of things I hate about Kailua:
- giant roaches
- gecko droppings
- portuguese man o war
- rats that climb trees
- and finally living in a place that is bookended by screaming children.
The final item has been particularly irritating the past couple of days. On the one side it’s unavoidable: a family with young kids one of which is a baby and it can’t help screaming. On the other side is a schoolyard which sometimes makes me want to tear my hair out. I love kids. I mean I even want kids but until you’ve heard kids playing together and screaming like individuals on the verge of a nervous breakdown, I don’t hink you’ve really heard kids. I mean we think they’re so sweet and innocent and spontaneous and we should strive to be as uninhibited as they. But the way kids scream in a schoolyard, you know I think it’s not a good thing. I think they’re in existential pain. Anyhow, I would take the noise of a troop of drunk adults coming down an East Village street over a group of 9 year olds running amok in a school yard.
My intention was to write about how lovely today is (see picture above). We are, in fact. having our first guest over for dinner. I’m excited. The house is clean; all the food is prepped; and the wine is chilling in the fridge.
Too bad there’s an army of rabid boys playing basketball in painful earshot.
Creature!
Errand Day
Today was errand day. Here are my notes:
BLOOD
K and I learned from the lady posted in front of Foodland that Hawaii needs blood! So we signed up to donate blood. It seems that they have a monthly blood drive at the Bloodmobile at Don Quijote Kailua. You can call 808-845-9966 to make an appointment.
Here are other people parked out in front of Foodland:
YOGA
When I got my hair cut at The Fix there were fliers for a yoga place in the same complex. I’m trying to find a good yoga school and as far as I’ve assessed Koa Yoga is as good as any of them. What it seems to have above the other schools is Sunrise Yoga with breakfast on Lanikai Beach.
KAILUA SHOPPING CENTER & GIFTS
Under the Hula Moon at Kailua Shopping Center in Kailua Rd. is a great place to find odd little gifts like hula mouse pads, turtle drawer pulls, handmade Kailua cards, and starfish.
Today we also bought a birthday present for my mom at Lanikai Bath and Body. I haven’t personally tried their products or even heard about them but they seem to be all natural products made in Hawaii. I particularly liked the Pikake lotion we got for my mom which is a combination of kukui, noni, and macadamia. As we were leaving a curious shopper came in to check the place out. I asked her to pose for a picture:
Finally we went to Lanikai Juice in the same strip of stores. Matthew Fox took Oprah and Gayle there as one of his favorite places in town which naturally gave the place a higher profile. It was fine. I’m not crazy about complicated juices. I like plain pineapple and kalamansi juice or sweet soy bean milk. I got the Ginger Snap which was perfectly fine. Maybe I’ll try the popular Monkey next time. K got Coco Champ and he said it was good enough for him to finish the whole thing.
At Lanikai Juice we ran into some Aloha overload:
Afterwards we went to Kailua Public Library. It was quite nice. Though I don’t know many libraries that aren’t.
Kailua Kisses
I haven’t posted in what feels like a long time. But it must only have a been a couple of days. We tried the restaurant Baci the other day before we headed to a work party for K. Baci was alright though oddly filled with Haoles: the staff and the patrons. I ate veal which was weird. I never eat veal. I only ordered it because it was the waiter’s recommendation. Everything was perfectly nice but seems to exist in Kailua more like a novelty. I’m not opposed to going back again.
The party was in Waikiki in a lovely two story house. It was a moving party for one of K’s coworkers. It was fine. The most notable thing being how pretty the house was.
I miss New York.
I thought I had alot to write but I don’t really.
The Fix, Boots and Kimo’s
Today was a Kailua-rich day. I finally got my haircut–thank goodness. The head of the hair dept where K works recommended this woman Dana at a Kailua hair salon called The Fix. I spent hours online trying to do my normal sleuthing separating the best from the rest to no avail. There’s very little editorial coverage of Hawaii services and talent that isn’t tourism based. It’s like looking for a good piece of Wagyu in a town that only advertises Outback Steakhouse. The ‘Wagyu’ exists but it’s not being written about online. As opposed to New York you’ve got people in Idaho writing blogs about a clothing store on a remote corner of Billyburg Brooklyn.
What I’ve come to understand is that this is a word of mouth town. You have to talk to people to navigate your way past the layer of generated for tourist services. I had had an appointment at Salon Blanc in Honolulu on the recommendation of Sarah from HIFF. She didn’t have personal experience with them but she had heard good things. Unfortunately she didn’t have a stylists name to recommend so I had an appointment with ‘Sam’. I felt wary of that so I asked Ken to ask his colleague and that’s how I found Dana. The Fix is a tiny salon in Kailua Square. It’s spacious, quiet and pretty busy for a small town salon. Caddy corner to it is the Kailua Paul Brown Salon, arguably the most distinguished hairstylist in Hawaii, though pretty franchised.
Dana was great. She’s technically skilled and a good listener. She took my comments seriously, made an assessment and basically delivered what I pictured. My hair looks 75% better and based on one visit I would go back to Dana again. But if I get another haircut in Hawaii I’ll try someone new for comparison. Dana’s very likeable and definitely skilled, but her style is a little 1st generation Asian for me- less curl more straight with a bit of flip, assymetrical bangs. I like hair stylists that are technically on point but more loose and poetic with their approach: shaggier, messier, imperfect. With all of that said my hair does look dorothy hamill-ish just as I wished for yesterday.
After the hair cut we FINALLY went for breakfast at Boots and Kimo’s. The macadamia nut pancakes are about the most pospular thing in Kailua second only to the beach. If you look it up it’s catgorically popular–people even claiming to drive from the leeward side of the island just for the pancakes. Well, they’re freakin’ right. Those pancakes are GOOD. K took a bite and said ‘is that ice cream?’ 😀 Sweet but not too sweet. rich buttery macadamia nut sauce over thick fluffy pancakes. We also had a portuguese sausage omelette which was delicious.
I like the word Calabash
This morning I found a dead baby gecko under the table I work on. It was so tiny! On the opposite end yesterday while I was working on HIFF fliers I heard a lawnmower buzzing from far away. Then I realized that’s not a lawn mower! I walked to the back door and there it was a GIGANTIC bee that was as big as a gob stopper. I tried to take it’s picture and totally missed it.
I’m getting my haircut tomorrow. I’m nervous as hair is such an issue for me. Sarah at HIFF recommended 2 places beyond the two that I’d found from user reviews etc.
Hair Salons in Honolulu & Kailua
- Paul Brown
- J Salon
- W Salon
- Salon Blanc
- Chop
- The Fix
I’m going with Salon Blanc and we’ll see how it goes. I was talking to Sean at HIFF and he said that he’s getting his haircut on Saturday and he goes to the same person that Barack Obama’s sister goes to. Sean has great hair. It’s like Sean Cassidy circa Hardy Boys (sort of shorter). Which is coincidental because my hair is in an awkward growing out stage I was going to tell the person I’m going to that a Dorothy Hammil-ish style might work for me.
Two great recipes:
Macadamia Nut Crusted Mahi Mahi
Hawaiian Word of the Day, from answers.com:
In Hawaii a calabash is a large serving bowl. It is usually made from a hardwood, rather than from the Calabash Gourd as in Maroon cultures. It is used on a buffet table or in the middle of the dining table. The use of the calabash in Hawaii has led to terms like “Calabash Family” or “Calabash Cousins”. It indicates that an extended family has grown up around shared meals and close friendships. Food is very important in modern Hawaiian culture. “Komo E Kaukau”, meaning “come and eat”, it is the most expected greeting in a Hawaiian home.
Fall 4 U
This morning I woke up missing New York and feeling a little blue. But we got ourselves together mid-morning pulled out our copy of Oahu Revealed and headed to Maunawili Falls for a hike. The trailhead starts at Maunawili Road and Kalewina Road only a handful of miles away from our home. I had a great time but it was definitely a little harder than the previous hikes we had done (Diamondhead and Manoa). The main obstacles are crossing streams on slippery boulders (4 each way) and inclines that are slippery (mud), and a bit steep at times. I said to K at one point ‘my heart is beating so fast I can hear it in my ears’. But I’m also out of shape.
Things I would make sure to have on our next hike:
- a good walking stick
- good hiking shoes
- bug spray
- water
- knee brace (because I have bad knees)
At the end of the hour long hike is a seimming hole with a waterfall. There were a whole mess of local kids there. Alot of them ran past us up the mountain. Mostly boys with their shorts hanging down total indifferent to their butt cleavage. One of them was carrying a little knapsack with a radio playing inside. They were loud and rambunctious but totally fine. On the way up the mountain I would hear a large ‘boom’ like a bomb. and when we arrived at the water fall i realized it was the kids catapulting themselves off of a cliff and landing canon ball style in the water. it was impressive.
There were many pretty things to see on the way up but it was hard to see them because I was looking down all the time.
It was very satisfying. I wish it was possible to do things like that everyday. The only thing I would change is that I would bring a bathing suit and I wish the swimming hole wasn’t so exclusive. Oh and that I could swim.
Three One Nine 
