a new yorker’s year in hawaii
I popped my kneecap out in yoga class yesterday. BLLAAAAST. I went back today with Sarah and we took a crushing ashtanga class. I wore a brace and it turned out fine. I don’t want to stop or take a break. If I have the desire to go to class then I’m going to go and just work through it. But I HATE that all too familiar sound and feeling of my knee popping and then collapsing. It’s so disconcerting–even days after it happens.
I drove ALOT today. First, I drove all the way to Chinatown (with K in the passenger seat) to meet Sarah for yoga. I also drove around Kailua for our errands in the afternoon. It felt good except for slamming on the brakes at a yellow light and then driving on the wrong side of the road in Chinatown. While on the winding Pali Highway I just kept reminding myself of what Annie told me:
There was a little yellow VW bug on the road basically riding on it’s brakes. I stayed behind it pretty much the whole way into town. I smiled and told K that I liked her style and I was perfectly content to follow her. As we passed the car closer to town, K glanced at the driver and I said ‘what’s that lady look like?’ He burst out laughing and said she’s an old lady. I’m perfectly happy to be in the driver category of slower-than-an-old-lady. I think a few more times with K and I can probably drive into town alone. Parking is a totally different story.
We were supposed to take class with Murti today but we had a great substitute. Here’s a brief review of our yoga teachers so far:
I think we’ve sampled everyone at Open Space except for 2 or 3 teachers. The three above are people I would go back to again and again. Brigitte also teaches at a place just two miles from our home called Aloha Yoga Kula. I’m looking forward to trying their teachers after our new student discount expires at Open Space.
Here is the cutest padded envelope I’ve ever seen from Kailua’s Post Office:
So little and yet so much happens here in Hawaii. Last night we went to a ‘Januaries’ birthday party thrown by K’s coworkers/friends at La Mariana Sailing Club. Touchingly they included me on the birthday cake. I met Annie there who has been living in Kailua for 2 years with her husband who works with Ken. She was breathtakingly warm and full of kindness. It was really really nice. She stopped us as we were leaving the party and we ended up talking for an hour standing at the exit. It was a small relief to hear her stories of settling in Hawaii and leaving a life and career behind. Two thoughts that I shared with her that I don’t feel anybody else can really understand : how is it when there’s really not anything that you have to do that the day goes by so quickly anyway; and how do you answer the question ‘what do you DO all day?’ when it’s a combination of so much and so little. I like Annie. If nothing else she made me briefly feel like we weren’t alone.
Interestingly K mentioned to Annie that I’m doing yoga and the first three words out of her mouth were ‘ my friend Murti’. –which was pretty shocking because of all the teachers I’ve tried so far in Hawaii (6), Murti is the only one who has made a big impact. From what I gathered he used to do classes here in Kailua. Annie said she would find out if he still did.
I’ve learned and keep being reminded that in Hawaii everyone is someone’s cousin so don’t talk stink. Being from New York, my second language is stink. But not usually for malicious reasons. It’s just a habit of saying something’s weird if its weird or saying someone’s annoying if they’re annoying. That generally doesn’t happen here. People here either live by an Aloha spirit; generally don’t have malicious things to say about one another; OR they know better than to say something openly critical or judgmental about someone else. This is opposite my personality but I’m pretty sure I haven’t really said anything bad about anyone since I’ve gotten here. Except for Alvin at Servco. I yelled my brains out at him when our battery died the day after we bought the car. I do feel bad about that.
Lunar New Year festivities started on Friday. It was pretty neat–lots and lots of lions, very organized and not terribly crowded. Ken said that the feeling could be called iit nao in Cantonese or festive crowded-ness. Wing Tek had a special dinner and lion dance at his office. We weren’t able to go. But it was really nice to see them briefly and wish them Gung Hay Fat Choy!
There was a phenomenon that we encountered that I don’t think really would have happened in NY Chinatown:
That is white people dressed in Chinese costume. This person is not the only one we saw and certainly not the most intricate. You can’t see in the picture but he has a fake queue hanging from his hat. These people seemed oblivious to the fact that it might be weird…much less offensive. K said it would be like white people walking around with an Afro for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. I would’ve taken a picture of the weirdest example but I was too engrossed in shooting them dirty looks–which had no effect on them whatsoever. Ah, me.
We picked up take out from a restaurant on Nuuanu called Little Village. It was so crowded. People waiting for at least an hour to be seated. It seemed like a very nice place and most of the food we got was very good. Much better than Mini Garden just a few feet away. My favorite was the Taro Duck which I’m eating as leftovers two days later.
A centipede ran over my foot the other day and didn’t bite me. I’ve been told that it’s so painful if you do get bit that you have to stay in bed for three days! We scooped it up in a bowl and let it go in the dirt.
Every week here I miss New York in a different way. This past week spending so much time with Sarah was great– spending time with her transcends geography or circumstance. I would like Sarah for a friend whatever city I met her in. But in a way it makes me feel the loneliness a little more.
My friends Calvin and Deanne are coming in a few days. It’ll be nice to see them.
Yesterday for K’s birthday we did the Hau’ula Loop Trail. It was a great hike. It ranks first on my list so far. The second being Maunawili Falls. It took us about 2 hours and the great thing about it was the diversity of vegetation, the level of difficulty (just right), and the beautiful views at the top.
In parts the trees had soft light green pine needles, the ground covered with them so it looked like sand…like we were walking on the beach. And other times it felt like we were in the Rocky Mountains the trees straight as a pin and all the way up into the clouds. There was also trees that had long wide pine branches that dipped down like a tutu. I said they were ballerina trees. It was a beautiful hike.
Afterward we drove along the very picturesque coast and stopped at the Shrimp Shack not far from the trailhead and discovered something unbelievable delicious (I mean other than the shrimp)
Awesome.
I made a big surf and turf dinner for the birthday meal and made K go on a hunt for his final present which was custom-made by larryO at Entermodal. He was so great to work with. And the final product felt like a lot of love had gone into it.
Happy Birthday and I love you K. Here’s a little more WCW for you:
This Is Just To Say
I have eaten
the plums
that were in
the icebox
and which
you were probably
saving
for breakfast.
Forgive me
they were delicious
so sweet
and so cold.
William Carlos Williams
Yoga is great. Sarah is awesome. Tomorrow is K’s birthday and I’m cooking surf and turf. That’s Sarah above on our way to Well Bento for take out dinner and she’s carrying the cutest Bliss Lau bag. Who, I didn’t realize, is from Hawaii.
Happy Inauguration Day:
Hawaiian locals use the shaka for various meanings, like “all right”, “cool”, “smooth”, etc. It is also used to convey what locals in Hawai’i call the “Aloha Spirit,” a gesture of friendship and understanding between the various ethnic cultures that reside within Hawai’i. It can also be used to signal a “hello”, “goodbye”, ” ’till next time”, “take care”, “Alright!” The sign is often followed by waving as a greeting or acknowledgment. It can be used when driving as a signal of thanks to other drivers (for example, someone who stopped to let another driver onto the road from a driveway) – Wikipedia
This is my last post before Obama becomes President. After the election my rabid enthusiasm dwindled but in the last few hours I’ve begun to feel emotional about tomorrow. It’s an exciting time: New Year, MLK day, the Inauguration, K’s birthday, and then Monday is the start of Lunar New Year–like a categorical clean slate.
Sarah and I have gone to yoga at Open Space everyday since Saturday. I’m amazed at how easily I’ve been able to relax back into it. The great thing about Open Space is that the teachers are very present, skilled, and you feel that they really want to help you. It seems like a good mix of skill levels among the students. The fact that I can’t say for sure is really a testament to how well they run their classes. I’m not focused on other people. I’m comfortable enough to concentrate on my own practice and not feel the self-consciousness or competitiveness you find in lesser schools. I miss class with Dharma but this place is very special and I’ll absorb many benefits while I’m here.
I didn’t really understand why the school says it’s in the Historic Arts District of Chinatown but the picture above is Nu’uanu Gallery at Marks Garage one of the storefronts I passed on the way to class. It was small but had really interesting contemporary work. Speaking of which I wish I was in NY to visit this: Can. Did.
When Sarah was driving me home the other day she kept asking me where to turn and I just kept yapping away forgetting to tell her how to get to my condo. I told her it’s because I have this idea that she knows everything about Hawaii. It seemed natural that she would know how to get me home even though she’d never been there. Things that Sarah has shared with me that I find interesting:
and lucky Mochi for New Year to put on your dashboard.
Finally here’s a video I really liked today. Happy Obama Day everyone. I pledge to be more gentle and find ways to help others in whatever way and whenever I can.
Vodpod videos no longer available.
We took Coro into Midas for the works: tire rotation, engine flush, brake realignment. They did a pretty good job. They were really fast and they called us a couple of times to give us updates. In my opinion it seemed to cost alot. But they did things like terra-mist for the ‘cabin’–which sprays a mist into the car through the vent system that kills bacteria and odor.
We walked to Boots and Kimos for breakfast while we waited. We noticed on the way that a new crepe place opened a couple of doors down. I want to go there for breakfast next time. This is what the line outside of Boots and Kimos looks like before 9AM on a weekday:
We had Macadamia Nut Pancakes and a Portuguese sausage omelette. After wards we walked to Macy’s so that I could find some workout clothes for yoga. There was nothing there (as usual). It was drizzling on and off when we came out so we sat under the overhang and waited. K answered emails on my phone and I took pictures of people in the parking lot.
Coro is our first car. When we got him I didn’t really think too much of him. I thought he was a car like any other car. But now, I find myself thinking that he’s a pretty good looking car. Particularly since we put the snazzy Hawaii stickers on him. BTW I call Coro ‘him’ and K refers to him as ‘her’.
I had a really remarkable evening in a couple of ways. First of all, I was reminded tonight of how my heart belongs to writers. Wing Tek brought together around 20 people from Bamboo Ridge together to welcome Kimiko and her husband who are in town for work. We went to Royal Garden and had a delicious 8 course meal. The two standouts for me were the Mochi Duck and the Mango Pudding. gosh. They were good.
To be honest, I was a little reluctant to go because I didn’t feel much like seeing people today. There’s a emergency wind advisory this evening and Rebecca called and asked us to bring in all the patio furniture.
I went anyway and I’m really glad. I met a poet named Brenda and Kimiko’s husband Harold who’s writing, in short, the big book of Death. Brenda shared some very interesting thoughts that I’ll assume are representative of how most Hawaiians embrace the idea and reality of spirits. And sitting on my right side was Harold who shared his very rational (and reassuring) thoughts on why people see and feel things they would call spirits or ghosts. In his opinion it seems to often correspond with great loss.
I’m still not sure. But it’s very interesting how the universe answers one’s questions.
Also an AMAZING thing came back to me. Darrel one of the founders of Bamboo Ridge told me about a Renshi (Japanese linking poem) project they did and I remembered that Pablo Medina, Meagan and I did a renga over a decade ago. It’s so strange the things I forget. The way Darrel described it made me want to try again.
Here are pictures of the parking lot cat trying to make friends with K while we waited for Michelle to pick me up 🙂
Sarah sent me this flier for her boyfriend Steve’s monthly party. It looks fun. He says on his blog : Soul Clap is simply about “making people dance to music they never realized they liked.” I like that.
Vodpod videos no longer available.
I think we’re going to try a different yoga school next week. One is the Manoa Yoga Center and Sarah wrote to me about a place called Open Space.
Went to Kaneohe today for mac nuts and coffee. In comparison to Kailua, Kaneohe is musky, jungly, very very green. I don’t know that I’d like to live there but I love when we drive in. Even in the car you can smell the mossiness. It’s intoxicating.
Driving to Tropical Farm you pass cows, orchid farms, little wooden kiosks selling ice cold coconut, and acres and acres of trees. It takes us about 30 minutes to get there and that’s a long way to drive for coffee but it’s worth it.
When we got home there was a gift from Mary in the mail: a year subscription to Diner Journal. I totally forgot that she told me to keep an eye on the mail so it came as a lovely surprise.
Having dinner with Mary at Marlow and Sons is one of my favorite regular things. It’s funny, the issues they sent have probably been hanging in their restaurant all the way out in Williamsburg. They smell lovely like a catholic school classroom at 5PM. Love Mary! She’s so awesome.
Another awesome thing which I meant to mention yesterday though not on any kind of profound level like Mary is Spoonalicious Hawaiian Fudge for ice cream. It’s really good. It’s not even like fudge it’s more like pudding. Pudding to put on top of ice cream. For lunch the other day I started thinking about it and ended up scooping myself a big bowl of ice cream just to put spoonalicious on it for dessert after my lunch. This is meaningful for two reasons: I’m not that into ice cream and even when I am I’m not into fudge on top of it. So. There you are.
And here’s a picture of the people that take care of the trees and grass around our temporary home.Kinda weird to be Asian with Haoles fixing the yard. They all look like a version of Chris Atkins from the Blue Lagoon.
Three One Nine 