Hana mao 'ole ka ua o Hilo.

So it's been raining a lot recently. Normally rain doesn't surprise anyone here, even when it rains for several weeks straight. But this is a bit out of the ordinary.



All of these pictures are from my friend S.' very nice digital camera. This first one is a picture of the soccer fields near downtown Hilo, the bay, and the Kamehameha statue. Some people were taking their bodyboards out in the water.



I've been told that over four days, we got about 40 inches of rain. And it's been raining pretty heavily for a couple weeks before that, and for a week since.



There are flood channels here, and for good reason: when it rains a lot, they turn into small rivers.




We got a little wet taking several of these pictures, but that's just the price you pay sometimes. I think they turned out pretty nice.



This last picture is from Rainbow Falls, which is usually a relatively small trickle down what in this picture is the center column of water. The pool below the falls is probably about 5 feet higher than usual.



From most of the stories I've heard, this is one of the heaviest rainfalls to come through the area in several years.

Post-emptive sabbatical announcement

Well, it's been about six months since my last update here. It doesn't feel that long. This past semester flew by, and I stayed pretty busy between my classes and jobs. I hesitate to say that it's been fulfilling (It can be hard to find an environment in life that fulfills all your needs), but I'm having a good time.

Currently I'm facing a decision about what degree(s) I want to pursue. From a long-term perspective, it's not a terribly important decision, but it's given me pause. From what I'm told, the Computer Science degree I've been working towards will take another two and a half years of work to finish. Now, I've already invested five and a half years of work (mostly part-time), and I'm only 15 credits from the minimum graduation requirements. I'll be done with that this semester, and so a shortcut - any shortcut - is looking awfully tempting. I can think of a lot of things I'd rather spend a year and a half doing than going to school. As a result, I'm thinking about dropping this CS major for the Linguistics major I've also been working on. It'd be abandoning a tedious degree with an obvious career attached for an easier degree with much less promise. Normally I'd pick the harder choice every time, but... I feel like I've been on a tough path for a long time now. I'm soliciting advice, though, so if you feel like offering your opinion, feel free to call or email me.

In other news, I've been adding more hats to my plate recently. Along with the three part-time jobs and six classes this semester, I just started providing tech support to one small local business, and I'm starting work on another web design project for a client. There's more haberdashery in the works, but nothing solid yet. I'll try to keep you posted on any developments.

Oh! Look at that, I'm another year older.

Retraction

Sigh.

I've told several people, since moving here, that there are no snakes in Hawaii. Apparently, I was technically incorrect.

That page, as well as others on the internet, will happily tell you that "no snakes in Hawaii" is a myth, because there is one species of snake that's managed to make it here. It goes by many names, including the "island blind snake". And it ranges in size from 2 - 6 inches. That's right, it's the size of an earthworm. It also lives underground, like an earthworm, feeding on ants (unlike an earthworm). It's a common creature in many parts of the world.

Well, okay. It might be a snake in the sense that it has some traits that classify it in the snake class... but it's not a snake in the sense that it's not dangerous, or even scary, and oh right: it's so small that it looks like a WORM.

I might have been wrong, but I'm not apologizing. :)

Slight Return

Hello everyone! I hope you're all doing well. I know I haven't talked to most of you in a while, so here's an update on my life.

I don't really have any major news, just a bunch of little things. These pictures have been piling up over the summer and I thought I'd share some with you.

The first one is a picture of a linguistics class I was taking in the early summer. They're all a great bunch of people, really friendly. This was one of the last days of class, when we all brought in food. I'm excited about exploring the linguistics program over the next couple years; it's a fun, fascinating field. I think most people consider linguistics a hard and intimidating major, but from my experience linguists are mostly just language geeks who like a good joke. (What kind of noise annoys a noisy oyster? A noisy noise annoys a noisy oyster.)

This next one is from the Fourth of July, when I was helping one of the local Jaycees chapters set off the town fireworks from a tiny island in the bay. The barrel contains a 5" pipe (a mortar, basically). There were also a few 4", 6", and 8" cannons placed around the island, and a big 10" for the finale. The fuse sticking out the top is attached to a firework shell that's in the tube. After each shot, we quickly cleaned the cannon and loaded a new shell. The thing I'm holding is a flare attached to a bamboo pole. As you can see, very high-tech stuff. Those things were awesome, though. Best 4th of July ever.

Later in July, my friend G. came to visit. I think he was just trying to relax after spending several weeks in London, but S. and I still took him around to see the standard sights here. He got some nice pictures out at Kīlauea, although there wasn't any fresh lava to see. I'm still waiting on him to send me copies. (It's not like it's hard... email would work fine, slacker.)

Anyway, here's a picture from when we drove up to the top of Mauna Kea. You can see several of the observatories in the background. Yes, I know I look like a dork with those shades on.

As it turns out, it's pretty cold at 13,000 feet. One of these days, I'd like to hike up to the top (or maybe up Mauna Loa, which seems to have better trails. It'd probably take a couple days, but it's been forever (seriously, like five years) since I've been camping, and I kinda miss it.

Anyway, about a week ago, we moved into a different house. It's owned by relatives of J.'s friend J.S., who's our new roommate. The fern jungle is deceptive; it's only about ten feet wide, and divides our house from the one to the right.

The pics of the backyard, however, don't do it justice. We have a lemon tree, several Okinawan orange trees, a pair of navel orange trees, a pineapple patch, a pumpkin patch, and a couple sprawling tomato plants. There's also a ton of old unused pots sitting around the side of the house. I've been trying to fill them with plants as quickly as possible. It's a lot of fun. The house itself is quite spacious, with four bedrooms and 1.5 bathrooms. The full bathroom is actually pretty interesting - this house was custom-built for a Japanese family in the 1950's, and as a result the bathroom is Japanese-style, with a shower and ceramic tile ofuro built into the floor. I think it's comfortable, but I can see how it could easily be awkward for larger people.

Well, I wish I could say I've been working hard this summer, but I can't. I've been slacking off, dorking around the house, and reading books at the beach with S. & J. Don't get me wrong, I've been applying for jobs all summer. It can be hard to find part-time jobs that won't conflict with my class schedule, but even so, the fish just aren't biting. Still, it's hard to complain. I've been getting by, and I think I've got a few part-time jobs lined up for the fall when classes start again. I'll try to keep y'all posted. Take care.

Ono grinds

I've been keeping pretty busy lately between work, classes, and looking for a second job. I got 4 days off between the spring & summer semester (including the weekend). It was nice, but not much of a vacation.

In other news, our household has not been lacking for delicious food. Sushi is pretty popular in Hawaii: there are two sushi places downtown, and one down in Prince Kuhio Plaza. All of them are usually packed. Fortunately for me, S. has been making sushi as a hobby for the last few years. Here's one of several sushi feasts that S. has made over the last month or two. The bowl of green stuff in the background is some wakame (a type of seaweed) salad. These sushi rolls included: carrots, eel, avocado, clover sprouts, cucumber, spicy clams, cream cheese, spicy tuna, surimi, and asparagus. The sashimi on the foremost plate is eel. J. and I would've preferred more vegetables, I think, but coordinating the preparation of just ten different ingredients is challenging enough. Also, it's hard to argue with anything this delicious.

On the breakfast front, I'm a big fan of pancakes. I've been trying to make some tasty banana-and-chocolate-chip pancakes for about a week now, but someone keeps eating my bananas. Last week I made some pancakes with some purple ‘uala (Hawaiian sweet potatoes) added. They were some good-looking purple pancakes... then I added some baking powder. The result was what you see here: bright green pancake batter. Fascinating. And tasty, yes. It might look nauseating, but I even managed to get J. to eat one, and she is not someone I think of as an adventurous eater.

I really love these purple sweet potatoes. It just brightens up my day a little bit every time I get to eat something purple.

Well, now I'm hungry, so that's all for this post. Maybe next time I'll write about something other than culinary adventures. Until then...

the Tribulations of Paradise

I just moved into a new house (along with S & J). It's a pleasant old house, the kind with large rooms, hardwood floors, 10-foot-high ceilings, 2-prong electrical outlets, no dishwasher, and a giant ceramic-coated steel sink. I'm guessing it was built in the 50's. It's exactly the kind of house I like. Our neighbors include an old Japanese man, a young Hawaiian couple, a mixed house of Californian surfers, and several reclusive people that I have yet to actually see leave their houses. The only two real flaws are that we have a month-to-month lease and that the house is about 5 feet from the road. In case you've never lived quite that close to a street before, the implication is that passing cars are very loud. Here in Hilo, "passing cars" usually means "raised trucks with mud tires", so it's hard to sleep without earplugs. Still, I like it.

Another thing I like: good libraries. Here's a short list of the books I currently have out:

• The fairy tales of Herman Hesse
• The teachings of Don Juan
• Gypsies: the hidden Americans
• Cannibal Jack
• Every girl's Judo
• Can such things be? (Ambrose Bierce)
• String-figures from the Gilbert Islands
• C++ for real programmers (Jeff Alger)

I've cracked open all except Don Juan and Cannibal Jack, and although it's hard to find time to read these days, none of them has disappointed. If any of the titles strike your fancy, I recommend following up on it.

So far, I've managed to avoid buying a car. This is abnormal behavior in most of the U.S., and Hawaii is no exception. The vast majority of people drive everywhere, and there's no mass transit system within town. It can sometimes be a bit alienating to deviate from societal norms: you might feel like a spectacle, weaving between the accepted social roles of driver and pedestrian, negotiating a lonely path down the uncertain margin between power and passivity, conquest and acceptance; you struggle and curse and sweat to the crest only to dive back down with the wind in your hair, laughing and leaving commuters and tourists alike tangled in baffled traffic laws and red lights.
In short, it has ups and downs. I like it. When it comes to moving furniture, though, it's hard to beat internal combustion.

Retraction

Yeah, so I lied. Not intentionally, but as it turns out, there are some beautiful beaches on Hawai'i (the Big Island). This is Mahai'ula Beach, a little north of Kona. (I didn't take the picture; click on it to get the site reference.) When J. was in town a couple weeks ago, we drove about 2 hours across the island to Kona, which was probably quite lovely before it was converted into an amusement park.

I'm just kidding, it's not really an amusement park. From what I hear, it used to be quite different about ten years ago. These days, though, the brightly colored shop facades, wide comfortable sidewalks, and wall-to-wall pay-to-park lots reminded me of Six Flags. It's a carefully cultivated tourist experience, designed to make visitors feel comfortable. *shrug* I think it's creepy.

Kona is opposite of Hilo in more ways than simply being on the other side of the island. It rains a lot in Hilo; it's always sunny in Kona. Hilo holds onto a small-town atmosphere and is mostly Democratic; Kona embraces commercial interests and is primarily Republican. Hilo is lush and verdant; Kona looks like Nevada.

And where the beaches in Hilo are rocky, in Kona they're soft, beautiful, and... well, just about perfect. You know, if you're into perfect.