I'm going to try to pull this entry apart and highlight the crap that will perk your interest, and as I was laying it all out in my head, a bunch of it starts with the Letter H.
Hands > Utensils.
John had been on some kind of strange red-meat kick for a while, and of course I was to play victim to it. Not that I have a problem with eating red meat - but most of the time I have to really crave it to eat it in excess. 90% of that time, I'm on my period (replenishing, I suppose). Trips to the grocery included a special check-out clerk approving the savings total on our bill because there were points where John would buy over $40 in steak at a 50% discount. And then it would be gone from our fridge and resting in our bellies in about 4 days. Gross? Kinda, but not really. I'd hack away at all the good parts, feed him the gristle and fat, and work on the parts close to the bone without ever bothering to use utensils. 90% of this time was after an afternoon of surf/sunbathing, immediately getting to work on the GFG and gettin' it in. Evidence:
Hoofs and Heads.
Explanation in one word? Chinatown. We went. We got pedicures (yes, the both of us). We went into a jewelry store where old women were hand braiding millions of necklaces. We saw animal bodyparts that I'd never want to see again (i.e.: eyeballs and tongues and balls). We ate pigeon... err... quail. Rainbows of fresh vegetables were displayed all over the narrow markets both inside and outside, every kind of fish was available either live or dead for you to take home and cook, and you had to move fast to get through without being stampeded by the other shoppers. No, we did not take home a lobster. But it could have happened.
They exist on rocks in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, too, in their own respect. You'd never tell the difference unless you'd look at the towers of apartments strung with colored lights and unrealistic Santa-cards/decorations at the ABC Stores (souvenir/convenience store) that crowd the corners of block. Santa surfs, apparently, and looks damn sexy in board shorts.
We had a little twerking to do with my Nativity set which for 26 Christmas' or so sat under the Christmas tree in my parent's living room, but would now have to get comfy with the warm climate. We didn't have a tree, we didn't have stockings, but we DID have gifts from family & friends and tons of cards to adorn the apartment with red & green.
We received wonderful gifts, both from family and each other. Whooda-thunkit that fanny packs (one of John's gifts to me) were back in style?!? I got him a pair of Cuban-style (aka - short) cut board shorts with a rad surfboard tail-pattern on them, some shoes because he needs more shoes, and an external hard-drive for his computer. He's hardly removed his neon pink&green sunglasses, and we're still excited to use the coffee mugs that his sister sent (they turn from a colored porcelain to white when hot beverages are added, and they have pictures of John&I being cutesy on them with sentimental sayings like "I Love Yinz!" and "So Gay!" - we love them!)
Havoc.
On the day after Xmas (Happy Birthday, Dad), both John and I worked shifts that took us into not having time off the clock until after dusk. We met up to walk home together, talking about the threat of rain on the Big Island where he informed me that "No, there is never lightning on this island. Maybe little spurts, but nothing like what you're used to. There's no thunder. We're going to be fine." JINKS. Just as we were stepping from the curb to cross the street, ALL of the electricity shut down. All of it. Walking to our building was amusing, to see the tourists seem completely lost of any common sense in walking, speaking, or figuring out what to do. John and I got into the Jeep and buzzed around in the dark, hoping that we would hop on the highway to go to another nearby town to grab dinner - but came to find out that the highway was bumper-to-bumper traffic with people simply going home after work. We returned to our apartment, a generator humming loudly outside of our window, and thought it was rather strange that the air conditioner in the living room was working. Sure enough, we had electricity from the generator in our place - just along the one wall (i.e.: one outlet) that was powered by the generator. So while the rest of the island was in darkness overnight, we listened to iTunes in the lamp-light.
News article on the power outage on Oahu: HERE.
Hello 2009!
Typically, bedtime runs between 10-11pm at the absolute latest so pushing for midnight on New Year's Eve and staying up was a challenge. We were on our 3rd episode of Survivorman when someone started nodding off - but we made it out onto the front street to do as the others: face the ocean. Pretty much, after watching the East Coast countdown from NYC on television, the stroke of midnight didn't seem so important (or was it? Imagine if we celebrated each "midnight" for every time zone leading up to ours). The display of fireworks was set over the waters of Waikiki Beach, right beyond the break walls were ships of some sort (t'was dark) and the shots were fired from there. No countdown, no singing, just thousands of people practically standing on top of one another and facing south.
Hybrids.
The exposure to new foods in this part of the world is absolutely phenomenal. Perhaps, I'm naive and it's really not, but the opportunity awaits here more than I'm typically accustomed. I mean, I'd never have thought that I could really just go to the supermarket and grab a small portion of octopus - but I can now. There are two things that have really twirled my taste buds lately, and coincidentally, both are hybrid-type foods.
Choy Sum is a cross between broccoli and spinach in appearance, and tastes amazing both hot and cold. Related to (one of my favorites for cooking Asian-style cuisine at home) bok choy - if I see it, I eat it. No hesitation.
Apple Pears will have you looking twice because of their ginormous size - they're slightly larger than a softball. We came across them at the grocery and dove in later that night. You practically have to cut them in half before you bite in, they're that huge. In no way could I possibly capture a good comparative photograph of them, until I figured that if I placed a quarter on one, you could guesstimate how big it was if you personally compared it to a regular apple (or pear). And the things are juicy. Not just "Wow, that's juicy" - but "I need another napkin, this stuff is spraying all over my face and won't let up."
Hopping Puddles.
There's nothing more awesome than exploring new things here, and proof for one afternoon (even though the sun wasn't glaring and there was a little drizzle on occasion) was a drive to the North Shore to go hopping around in Shark's Cove. Slippahs (flip-flops) were removed and fanny packs (mine) were hoisted above my boobs to prevent getting wet from walking in the swimming holes amongst dozens of fish and sea-things. Angel fish were skimming around my legs, strange slurm-like creatures were hiding in the rocks, and the tiniest hermit crabs crawled. John - per usual - was attracted to the sea-cucumbers and couldn't keep his hands off them. He never can.
Homage.
The end of 2008's summer was a very trying time for me, personally. Few know about the details that brought about the end of my previous relationship, but the truth is that the distance, the lack of faith, the lack of effort, and the purposeful loss of a child brought the walls tumbling. I'm still unable to properly forgive myself for having given up my first chance at motherhood, though I do think that given the previous situation, it was the right choice for that situation. John knew (not all of the details, but enough) how I was hurt, and how desperately I wanted to pay homage to the child that never happened. For Christmas, he helped with arranging an appointment for me to get tattooed by an artist that we both like a lot (as an individual and for his excellent handiwork with his job). So promptly after the New Year, I ventured to Tattoolicious for my second sit-down with Sean. Before he began working on me, just as the last session on my calf, we prayed together: for the meaning of the tattoo, to bless the work itself, and for all journeys ahead. Sean is the only artist to have ever done this with me, and it brought about a certain calm that I respected and appreciated. He and John were able to talk about surfing while I sat getting my wrist tattooed with the ever-smooth Neuma machine, and about two hours later at most, I had my memorial piece.
I chose a caterpillar because it would be a undeveloped creature that would stay undeveloped forever, yet was gentle and bright. I had a few reference photos chosen, but Sean and I both decided that one that depicted a climbing-dude would be better, as though he was reaching upward to the heavens (and quite oddly enough, he's climbing onto my Virgin Mary & Jesus-esque tattoo). The date of his passing is under the petals/leaves; John and I have been fondly referring to him as Dwayne.
Hiking.
On a leisurely trip to Costco one fine evening, I glanced and saw a mountain that seemed to have a pathway that went straight to the top. Curious, I asked what it was and John told me that it wasn't just a path, it was steps. Being from Pittsburgh and fully knowing the hell of "city steps" that wrap their way around the 'Burgh (enough to go twice around the Earth, is that correct?), I boldly stated "Let's do it." And last Saturday, we did. There are about 1,100 steps to this notorious mountain on KoKo Head - and we took on the challenge.
It sucked. Hard. But we did it, and I'm so glad that I'm not smoking anymore because I don't think I would have been able to tackle the climb had I still been. Now, to do it more often to decrease the number of "breathers" going up!
*WHEW!*
House-warming.
No longer a bachelor pad, Apt 204 is becoming more and more cozy and full of cool shit. And I'm not just talking about how awesome it is because I am here, because that's a given. I mean we really have some awesome stuff that we've been both acquiring and making "grown man choices" about (John is, I mean).
A Keurig Single-Cup Coffee Machine was a Christmas gift from my parents so that we could have snotty coffee at home without having to brew dozens of pots, and so that we could have two different kinds of coffee at once. The novelty of brewing one single cup followed by another still hasn't worn off, and we've dived into reading about samplers and flavor varieties with full intention on ordering a buttload more. PLUS - it came with a special filter so that you can have single cups of regular ground coffee, too, not just from the special K-cups. There goes Starbucks stock declining.
...then there was the intention of getting a BluRay player (thanks to Suzy), but the final decision was to jump forward a few steps, spend a little more, and essentially get more bang for the buck: so John bought a Playstation3 (you can use it for games, a DVD player, and a BluRay player in one). Our first movie to watch in HighDef was The Dark Knight (duh), followed by the most recent purchase of Apocalypto (another great choice) - both viewed on the spankin' new HDTV. Hellllloo home theatre system!
So the crib is looking a little more settled, and it is a little more settled while we spend time doing things here and not just off screwing around and buying more unnecessary clothes. But, yes, we're still buying more unnecessary clothes. ;)
HOMETOWN Pride.
I had to work during last week's Steeler game, but had five people keeping me updated with scores and stats (one person was from Philly, that's how much reputation I have for loving my football team). My fingers and toes are twisted in pretzels with hope that I don't have to work during this week's game - I'd love to cheer the Yinz onto another SuperBowl. I mean, my baby's daddy Santonio Holmes just deserves it, yanno? The Towel will most certainly be in my hand wiping the sweat from my brow for all 60mins of playtime. Go Stillers!
Hell No.
I don't miss this:
(photo of a snowglobe with Pittsburgh inside, sent to me from Tess)
