ono pono

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We had dinner at Ono Hawaiian Food the other night with Sarah and Steve. I’ve been hearing about this place since we got here and I have been wanting to have real Hawaiian food for months.

It may sound weird given my curiosity for local culture, that we haven’t had Hawaiian food until now but it’s not as easy to find as you might think. We’ve had bits and pieces here and there but it’s been mostly fusion style, like Alan Wong’s (which is super fancy).

I loved it. I even wanted to go back the next day for lunch. On the door was a sign that instructed people to wait online to the right of the entrance and encouraged them to be patient–on a hand-written sign ‘no get mad’.

The highlights for me were the lau lau (pork wrapped in spinach leaves), kalua pork (pulled seasoned pork), and haupia (coconut jello-ish). I loved it. It was so yum.

We went for drinks down the street afterwards and we had a really great conversation with them about the idea of locals vs tourists and Hawaii’s multi-faceted relationship with tourism. I even tried to video some of our conversation which I’ll post and write about later.

In the meanwhile two interesting links: A Washington Times article about Hawaii turning 50 this year and a Hawaii agency dedicated to helping tourists in trouble (via Sarah).


Dress code

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When we first got here I had to get a new bathing suit because I’d left mine in NY. We wound up in the swimwear section of Nordstrom’s at Ala Moana Mall. Along with a wide variety of swimsuits they have all manner of beach cover-ups. This is generally somthing you wear over your suit when going to the beach, sitting at the beach, or leaving the beach.

I was so enamored by these light loose fitting garments that I got a few. I think I believed that these dresses would help me ‘fit in’ to what felt like an alien sunshine-filled culture. I don’t think I’d ever owned a beach cover- up before this. I also got three pairs of glittery flip flops.

I proceeded to wear these dresses not only to the beach but everywhere else too. I think I wore one to my first staff meeting at HIFF. I was always confused when people in non-beach situations would say to me ‘oh I like your beach cover-up.’ I always thanked them but then wondered how on earth they knew it wasn’t just a regular dress.

Now that I’ve had a little time to mull it over I realize it’s because of several reasons:

1. they’re usually see-through
2. if they’re not see-through they’re made of terry cloth
3. they usually come in offensively bright colors and patterns.
4. and often times they’re held together by drawstring, ribbon, or elastic.

I started to notice that outside of Kailua, people wear very normal non-beach clothes. Honestly I don’t know what took me so long to realize this. I also realized that although flip flops are pretty prevalent out here it’s not really appropriate to wear them everywhere. Say, dinner at a fancy restaurant.

So this time around I left half of my beach cover-ups back in NY so that I wouldn’t be tempted to wear them everyday. I have a new one that’s all black and doesn’t even look like one. Honest. I only wear it around Kailua and the times I wear it into town are times we’re actually going to the beach.


Slow burn

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We had friends in from out of town recently. Last year only a couple of people came to visit. This year there’s a steady march of people coming in from NY.

My friends, at our suggestion, came into Kailua one afternoon and because of a combination of unfortunate circumstances lost their wallet, iphone, license, money, and credit cards. We felt terrible for them.

They believed that they were bamboozled by locals that had the stereotypical signs of being crystal meth addicts. I have no reason to disbelieve them–they’re very reasonable, level-headed people. I’ve been thinking about it alot because it’s so different from our experience of Kailua. Would I feel the same way about this place if I hadn’t had the opportunity to slowly develop a love for it?

Their misfortune left me a little sad about Kailua but more sad that they would leave associating it with unhappy things. My friend encouraged us to get a guard dog in our new place. His wife added that we might consider a pitbull.

On the flip side we went to a dinner party the other night for a writer that was also visiting from out of town. He and his family had spent his two year sabbatical on Oahu. After his sabbatical ended they came back a couple of months later. This visit is their second vacation here in less than six months.

I asked K if he thought we would be like them after this year is done– coming back to Hawaii every few months because we miss it so much. He answered that he thought we’d probably be busy trying to establish a real home for ourselves in NY.

In the meantime, Kailua continues to be a revelation to me. I’m pretty certain that wherever we go and whatever happens to us I’ll always see this time as key in shaping my idea of home.   Despite bouncing from place to place, I feel a sense of belonging here that I haven’t felt anywhere else.


Something

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Yesterday morning I realized that I suddenly felt at home in our temporary sublet. I thought the shift was worth noting because it’s not an unfamiliar feeling. I’ve felt it before –pretty much every time we return to NY.

A couple of days ago when we arrived at the rental, I felt a little nutso. I kept asking myself how I could feel so uncomfortable when my circumstances are basically like I’m on a permanent vacation. I’ve mentioned that the place felt cold. But it’s more than that. All my germaphobe tendencies were kicked into high gear and I hardly wanted to touch anything. Much less put any of my belongings in the drawers or closets.

It happened yesterday while I was sitting on the couch sketching and watching CNN. All of a sudden I realized I was comfortable. I spent the rest of the day making macaroni salad and putting things away as if we’re going to be here for more than the week we have left.

I guess the good thing is that since we don’t really have a place that our things can stay for more than a few months at time we don’t feel homesick for one place. The closest place we’ve felt that way about was our rental last year, which was very much someone else’s home.

I said to K a couple of days ago that for two people that need such specific circumstances to feel comfortable we sure do challenge ourselves to constantly adjust.


Washa Washa Washa

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We’re in a sublet for the next two weeks. It’s designed to be very utilitarian and easy to clean. Primarily because it functions as a short-term beach house. All the appliances are super new and have a solid feeling about them but the result of all these smooth surfaces feels a little cold and not homey.

With that said, I love this washing machine. However discombobulated I feel the way we’re living right now is no comparison to our quality of life in Manhattan.

Like most, we have to take our laundry to a public laundromat. Sometimes you’re washing your clothes next to a homeless person who is basically sitting there in as little as he/she can wear. Once I watched a homeless man ask a young girl folding her laundry if he could have a shirt. Luckily a man close-by (who was more compatible size-wise) gave the guy one of his shirts.

Psychologically it makes a huge difference to wash your laundry at home. For me, it borders on pleasurable to use this washing machine. First off, it’s shiny. It has lots of settings. It has wrinkle guard. And when it’s in use, it’s so quiet it sounds like a cat purring.


Hotel Renew review

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At the end of last season we gave up our rented condo and returned to NY. We loved our Kailua home but wanted to start fresh when we came back. This meant that we had to stay in a hotel when we returned. My friend Sarah recommended Hotel Renew, a very affordable boutique hotel in Waikiki.

A quick scan of hotel rates in the area confirmed that Hotel Renew’s nightly rate was exorbitantly less than most…at the very least competitive. We stayed at the hotel just shy of two weeks which, if you’re not on vacation can feel like an eternity. Waikiki’s throngs of tourists and over-the-top vibe can be draining. In contrast Hotel Renew’s low-key polish is an oasis. The hotel staff’s attentiveness is genuine and warm. Wil, one of the valets, was particularly helpful and cheerful which made a difference when coming home from a long day of looking at rentals.

The hotel itself is lovely. You can feel the thoughtfulness in small details–from FACE Stockholm bathroom supplies to the beautiful reflecting fountain in the lobby. The rooms are very clean, well laid out, and quiet. My favorite part was the giant TV that could be angled to face almost any part of the room.

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There’s no hotel restaurant, bar, or pool. But Hotel Renew does well with what it has. The continental breakfast is small but satisfying and the lounge serves wine until 9:30 PM. We’ve already recommended the hotel to two sets of friends coming in from NY this month. We’ll recommend it to anyone else that asks.

pros: thoughtful Contemporary design, giant TV, great staff, warm vibe, great location, very clean.
cons: no self parking, decent but at times spotty wi-fi service (no big downloads).

an example of Hotel Renew's clever marketing.
an example of Hotel Renew’s clever marketing.

Wai(not)kiki

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It’s moving day! That is, we’re finally leaving the hotel and Waikiki. Granted, we didn’t end up spending alot of time here. In fact most days we found excuses to drive to our old neighborhood and spend the whole day far from here.

One night, I really wanted a drink and the only options were rowdy hotel bars. At the ABC Store next to the hotel, we found this fabulous and definitive collection of little bottles of liquor and wine. I was blown away. Ken wasn’t. He said to me ‘they [Hawaii] want you [tourists] to have the greatest vacation possible.’ That’s pretty much Waikiki in a nutshell for me.

Here’s a picture of a liquor leis:


Lost in Transition

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We’ve been in our hotel for a week and two days. Our hotel is perfectly lovely. It’s comfortable enough and everyone here is very nice to us. They also serve this juice at their continental breakfast which is basically like a non-alcoholic pina colada–pineapple juice with a little coconut flavor. It’s yummy. Every morning as soon as it turns 7:30 I put a dress over my pajamas and go downstairs to fetch a coffee, three pastries and this juice. I’ll miss it when we’re gone.

K and I are no strangers to hotel living. Once in Vancouver we lived in a hotel for over three months. Our apartment in Manhattan is smaller than alot of hotel rooms. I feel it’s a testament to how good we get along that we can live in these tiny places and not kill one another. In fact we take alot of comfort in each other’s companionship.

I used to say when K was my best friend and not yet my boyfriend that we would be ok in a cardboard box together. We’d never run out of things to talk about.

With all of this said, this week has been at times very frustrating and hard on us. We can’t wait to move into our new place. We can’t wait to cook our own meals. It would simply be great to unpack our bags.

It’s far from a bad life. But believe you me, I’ll be psyched to write a post in two weeks announcing that we’ve arrived and we ain’t leaving for awhile.


No Mad

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We’ve found a home! But we can’t move in for a few weeks. I think it has the potential to be a real home in that, unlike every other place we saw, it doesn’t feel weighed down by it’s prior inhabitants or their lives in it. It was built fairly recently (less than 10 years) and it has an airy feeling of possibility about it– it’s a happy home.

The other night I dreamed about moving in. But that’s days and days away. Until then K and I have a couple of days left here at the hotel to figure out where we go next.