Category: creatures

Errand Day

thethreeonenine1 Comment
it's fo real

it’s fo real.

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.

I like the word Calabash

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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

Basic Hamburger (delish)

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.

Kailua Bird and Fax

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Hawaiians are very into 'garden goddesses'. Not sure what that's about yet.

I woke up this morning and heard ‘tschicka-tschicka-tschika-tschicka’. I walked to the stairs and saw by the window a fluffy gray and black baby bird on the ledge of the window repeatedly flying against the glass as if to come into the house. It lasted for a long time. I even tried to walk past to get my camera and it left only to come back and tschicka-tschicka some more. It was surreal and cute. I was sort of still half asleep.

A local cat stalks rats on the roof. Crazy.

The creatures in this place are crazy. The other day we saw a rat CLIMBING A TREE. Sheesh. And as I reported earlier a gecko dropped on my head IN OUR HOUSE. And while K and I were benignly reading on the couch a gecko pooped on my arm. Crazy.

Despite this, I love our home. I love Kailua Beach. We drove to Ala Moana Beach to swim in more placid water and hone the swim strokes we’d been practicing at Kailua Beach. We hadn’t been to Ala Moana in weeks. I didn’t like it so much. I couldn’t swim for some reason even though the waters are 80 % calmer. We came back to swim at Kailua Beach a couple of days later and I realized the higher salt content of Kailua Beach water helps me float better and makes swimming a much nicer experience.

Practical issue note: K had to fax some papers today. I didn’t find anything on yelp but we found that The UPS Store on Hekili across from Foodland does copies and can send faxes.

Also as an Asian American looking for community here in essentially the most Asian American rich land in the whole country, I find this very interesting!

HIFF and I love driving!

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I got to take the car out this morning! Kind of exciting because I don’t drive in New York and I’d resigned myself to being uncomfortable in the driver’s seat. But driving in Kailua is awesome, mainly because you only really have to make two turns to get anywhere. Today I had a meeting at Morning Brew so I woke up early, grabbed the GPS, jumped into the car and turned up the radio really loud to sing along… to drive half a mile.

It was pointed out to me by a friend that there are similarities between my arrival in Hawaii and scenes from Jerry Maguire. The scene where Tom Cruise secures Cush as a client and he’s trying to find a song to rock out to on the radio but he can’t? That was me this morning.

My meeting this morning was with a staff member of the Hawaii International Film Festival (HIFF). I was introduced to them by a friend and will likely be helping them out for the festival in October. It was really great to meet with him. They seem super nice and I’m looking forward to getting to know them and working the festival. Visit HIFF

The only other notable event today would be another episode in my ongoing drama with Hawaii creatures. I went to close a screen door and something soft but substantial landed on my head. Apparently I took the gecko by surprise when I slid the door closed, rousing him out of a mid-morning nap. He landed on my head, then my hand, and after I screamed he landed on the ground and seemed as shocked as I was as it took him a few minutes to scurry under the washing machine.

one of my many gecko friends.
one of my many gecko friends.