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Hawai’i: Day two

Nancy is the best, super smart and fun

Nancy is the best, super smart and fun

We woke up today around 8am to the sound of a dog racing around upstairs.  Once the confusion faded, I padded upstairs to find Bella waiting for me; she barked just before I came into view, and gave me an excellent good-morning freak out.  Turns out Bobby had intentionally let her into the cottage, knowing she wouldn’t go downstairs (where the bedrooms are), and figured that would be a good way to wake us up.  Bobby is nothing if not a trouble-maker, so this surprised no one (although he did receive a gentle reprimand from Nancy, bless her heart).

Boyfriend and I went with him and Bella on a walk down to the beach.  His emphysema is slightly better, but he had to stop at the top of the driveway on our way out to catch his breath before we went on, and he kept our pace a bit slow.  It’s so nice to see him and Nancy.  I’m looking forward to seeing loads of them throughout the trip.

Once we got back from the walk, Nancy said, “We have to hurry if we want to get to the farmer’s market!”  We headed out and meandered around the stalls set up in the Lanikai Elementary School parking lot.  The very first stall we encountered had a couple dozen types of salt, which made Boyfriends eyes bug out of his head because I just got him a book called Salted so he’s kind of obsessed with salt right now.  We ended up getting two kinds: Boyfriend wants to use the red one for steak when we get back, and the spicy black one for seafood (I’m thinking salmon).  I got a Belgian waffle with pumpkin spice paste and whipped cream and cinnamon, so fucking good.  Boyfriend got a large breakfast burrito, along with Bobby and Nancy, and we all sat down next to the spot where the musicians had set up (bunch a’ hippies).

salts from Salty Wahine

salts from Salty Wahine

We headed home, and Nancy recommended Waimanalo for a beachy place to relax, and a little restaurant just down the road from the beach, called Home Sweet Waimanalo, for lunch.  The beach was, of course, beautiful.  On the way we saw four wild pigs!  They were black and hairy, and looked big enough to eat, so I pulled over with every intention of grabbing one and stashing it in the car.  Boyfriend thought they were too cute to eat (he’s probably right).  They all ran into the underbrush once we pulled over, and came back out as we left (clever bastards).

The beach wasn’t too crowded, and we had fun getting smashed by waves for a while, then laid out and dried off.  We got fish tacos and a beet salad with hibiscus mint iced tea for lunch, all delicious.  I texted Bobby and Nancy to let them know we were on our way back, and they said not to hurry since Bobby had to deliver some paperwork or some such.  So we stopped by a little Hawai’ian ice cream shop with every intention of getting the Kona coffee flavor, but I had to try their azuki bean ice cream and omfg it was amazing.  It might be some of the best ice cream I’ve ever had.  Usually I get accustomed to the flavor and get a little tired of it by the end of the cone, but this one was amazing.

azuki bean ice cream, yum!

azuki bean ice cream, yum!

Then we stopped in a shop next door and I FINALLY found the type of li hing mui-covered stuff I’ve been looking for going on seven or so years now: turns out it was some kind of ginger (I don’t like ginger, I wonder if my taste has changed that much since I had it last).  I haven’t broken the bag open yet for fear that it might actually be awful, and not as good as I remember it (how could it be, though?).  Tomorrow I’ll break into it and we’ll see.

The four of us grabbed dinner at some golf club (totally overpriced, and the waitress was annoying and flirted with Bobby the whole damn time), but the conversation was good.  Boyfriend says he enjoyed watching Nancy and I hating the waitress while Bobby grinned and enjoyed the attention.

We chatted earlier with Nancy about the Danish TV shows she’s been watching on Netflix, and we mentioned Sherlock, the series from the BBC.  When we came back home we all settled in and watched the first episode, which they enjoyed very much.  Bella came in midway through and wanted to play, and made it halfway onto my lap before getting shut down by her folks.  I find her enthusiasm infectious.  It’s gonna be tough to train my future dog properly if all I’ll want to do is play with it and watch it be hilarious.  Bella rolled around on the ground for a while today while Boyfriend and I were on our laptops at the house, waiting to put more time on the roast in the oven.  She looked like she was having an awesome time chewing on some toy and thrashing around, then sprinting back and forth for no reason.  I wish I was a golden retriever sometimes.  This afternoon was one of those times.

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Hawai’i: Day one

photo 1 (2)Boyfriend and I are in Hawai’i!  We arrived in Honolulu last night and will spend ten days here.  I’ll be speaking at a social sciences conference next Saturday, June 1st, held at a hotel in Honolulu, but until then, Boyfriend and I are bumming around the island in my uncle’s old Kia.  There’s no air conditioning, the breaks are crap, and the interior reeks of wet dog.  Neat!

Uncle Bobby and his super cool wife Nancy picked up me and Boyfriend from the airport and showed us around their guest house (they call it the cottage, and it’s fucking amazing) where we’re set up to stay for the first five days.  They gave us some eggs, milk, cereal, fruit, and macadamia nuts, so tasty!  This morning we woke up around 715, got dressed and went over to have breakfast with them and their adorable golden retriever puppy, Bella (we’re obviously best friends now).  After cereal with banana, some tasty mango, lychee from a neighbor’s tree, and tea, we discussed our plans for the day.

the leis Nancy gave us when we arrived

the leis Nancy gave us when we arrived

Nancy, Boyfriend and I took a walk with Bella down to Lanikai beach where we walked waist-deep in to the water for a while and threw a stick for Bella.  On the way, we ran into Barbara and her mother, Mrs. Fox.  It was nice to see them.  Barbara’s niece will be moving to LA soon and wants to be part of the industry, so I’ll introduce her to Boyfriend and our friends who will show her the ropes.

After our walk, Boyfriend and I drove into town for malasadas (a family tradition), then got lunch at K and K, then sat on the beach a while to digest.  it was super windy today, so there were a bunch of kite surfers out (Boyfriend and I liked it when they would go up high, then crash down into the water with a splash).  Then we headed back to the cottage to dump our stuff so we could head back down to Lanikai beach to swim around.  The water was really choppy due to the wind, so we got tossed around a good amount.

colors like a cartoon paradise

colors like a cartoon paradise

At one point, Boyfriend said, “Ow!  I think something stung me!”  He said it didn’t hurt much though, so I figured he was hallucinating or something.  Turns out he was definitely stung by a jellyfish, probably a man-o-war, since we saw about a dozen of them floating around today, but neither of us saw what got him.  He has a very faint red dotted line along his right trapezeus that flows down toward his shoulder.  It doesn’t hurt or even itch though, so he’s just excited to have had a new experience.

After we rinsed off and changed, we drove across the island to Shimazu’s for shave ice (Matsumoto is good for tourists, but Shimazu’s is a local favorite).  Even their small size was WAY too big (as big as my head!), but it was pretty tasty.  I called my dad to see how he usually gets it, and ordered one of the same: azuki beans, ice cream, and green milk tea royale.  It looked like an unripe, mishapen, frozen coconut, but tasted pretty good.  Boyfriend got orange and milk tea with mochi cubes.

photo 4

traditional male and female hula

On the way back to the car, boyfriend’s sandals started irritating him, and he had to take them off 😦  So we headed toward our next destination and bought him some $8 sandals that he’s super happy with now.  Then we speed-walked to a spot on the beach where there was a free hula demonstration.  So cool!  Boyfriend and I really liked it.  He particularly liked this one old guy who was amazing, and clearly the instructor for the men, who wore long, royal blue loin cloths that they constantly pulled at to make sure they hid their junk, haha.

Then we walked a couple of blocks to a great hole-in-the-wall sushi place called Hanna no Sato.  Delicious.  After a long drive back across the island, I’m totally pooped (and a bit sunburnt) and ready for bed.

delicious tuna

delicious tuna

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Renaissance Faire: Ultra Success!

I went to the Renaissance Faire with friends this past Saturday.  I was the only one to dress up because Treehouse Friend was lazy and his girlfriend, Ballerina Friend, couldn’t find her costume.  I invited a couple of students who work in my office who are from China and have never experienced anything like the Faire (one had never even heard of the Renaissance).  One came and brought two more Chinese friends, who seemed to have an amazing time.  One of them decided she wanted to rent a costume at the last minute, saying, “If I don’t, I will regret it.”  She took forever to pick something out and got some help putting it on in the dressing room by a woman working the tent.  When she finally had a look in the mirror, she jumped up and down and did her best impression of a boiling tea kettle.  Her enthusiasm lasted all day, and frankly, she looked beautiful.  She sashayed around the Faire and threw her skirts around in front of every reflective surface we passed.  She took loads of selfies and smiled all day (they all did, actually).  We moved through the Faire at a snail’s pace to make sure they didn’t miss anything, and I enjoyed answering their questions about people’s costumes, weapons, and common old English greetings (“Good day, my lady”).  I really enjoyed moving slowly through the Faire and interacting with more attendees and workers than I ordinarily would have.  I didn’t look at my phone more than a few times, and even then only to take a few photos.

the washing well women were doing less heckling of men this year, though just as much splashing

the washing well women were doing less heckling of men this year, though just as much splashing

And then things got epic.

Just as my Chinese guests asked about where we could eat, we came upon the food court.  I scouted out some shady seats and we all separated to hunt for hearty meats.  I went to buy a sausage/hotdog at one of the stands.  The guy cooking sausages was calling out to people passing by, “Come get your hot sausages!  Everyone loves a hot sausage, right ladies?”  As I approached I pointed at him and nodded with a completely straight face.  He laughed, “Hey!  This fine woman likes her sausage, don’t you m’lady?”  I put in my order with the woman at the front and gave a tip (which resulted in the standard bust waggling and HUZZAH! from her), and was about to walk away with my brat and sauerkraut when suddenly the woman running the stand came out from the back, looked me up and down and said, “You’re beautiful. You should be working for me.”  I thought she was kidding, so I said, “I’d be honored, m’lady!” and gave her a little curtsey.  She came right back with, “Great, come get my number at the end of the day, we’ll be in touch,” and I’m standing there with a giant sausage in my hand like ‘oh shit, she was serious.’  So I’m totally selling sausages at the Faire next year, LOL.

Overall it was a hallmark year.  I got to share something I enjoy with foreigners (which I love doing), and I might finally be able to work the Faire, which I’ve wanted to do for years.  Plus, among all the harmless flirtation you get from the men at the Faire, one guy said, “You’re looking lovely, lady green,” as I rushed past to catch up with friends, and gave me a small bow.  Naturally, I slowed my pace, dipped and offered a quick, “Thank you m’lord.”  Huzzah for nerds!

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Beautiful comb

Dad and I checked out the hive yesterday to see if the queen was still there since half the colony seems to have absconded.  We found her!  He pulled out three bars with comb on them before we found her.  The comb looked gorgeous.  The honey glowed, and there were a few spots where you could see actual larvae.  Very exciting.

Technically it’s illegal to keep bees in Los Angeles, but who’s going to stop us?  Seriously:

“You can’t keep bees here, that’s illegal.”
“Oh ok, go ahead and move them then.”
“…”
“Right.  We done here?”

clean empty comb around the border, baby bees at the bottom, honey at the top. so pretty.

clean empty comb around the border, pollen storage at the bottom, honey at the top (some of which is capped at the very top). so pretty.

We also biked up and down Venice for the CicLAvia event which was way too crowded, but otherwise fun.  My butt is sore and the back of my left leg hurts.  Blerg.

UPDATE: April 23, 2013
There’s the queen at the top left!  She’s long and brown with no stripes.

ALL HAIL HER MAJESTY

ALL HAIL HER MAJESTY

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Supernaturally hooked

So *sigh* I’m definitely kinda super hooked on Supernatural.  It is my new X-Files: ridiculous in premise, and demanding of a good amount of willing suspension of disbelief, but it’s got its hooks in me, and it doesn’t hurt that the protagonists are both straight males (which rules out the chance of every episode being injected with a will-they-won’t-they love story that derails the whole plot, thank the FSM).  Plus they’re fun to look at, so that helps.

There are a good number of genuinely funny moments, and there are no topics the characters won’t address.  If something should be bothering them, they bring it up and have an actual, believable conversation about it.  The series’ formulaic nature is well-hidden behind solid dialog, believable effects, genuine brotherly love and pretty faces.

Plus, every sign points to the actors not being dicks, which is always good.

yes plz

yes plz

UPDATE: April 17, 2013
And now I’m spending too much time watching random gifs from the show on a tumblr site dedicated to random gifs from the show.

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Street art: Robot edition

I’m not a fan of graffiti so I’m pretty pleased that street art is starting to take its place, especially in Silverlake (of course, lol).  I especially enjoy reactive street art, anything that interacts with its environment to give it meaning in addition to being weird and fun.

psh-OW!!

psh-OW!!

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Squirrel thief!

I was in the kitchen yesterday morning when I looked outside and saw a squirrel walking along the brick wall, and stop behind a rose bush.  He smelled it for a minute, then started tugging on it, and plucked a flower clean off.  Then he stuck it in his mouth and scampered away.  What a thief!

Boyfriend said, "It's for his squirrelfriend." lol

Boyfriend said, “It’s for his squirrelfriend.” lol

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Japan, you sexy weirdo

I found an app a while back called Sleepy-time Boyfriend, and yes, it’s just as amazing as it sounds.  It consists of about a dozen anime-ish drawings of Japanese men in various states of recline, each of which have a series of phrases that match their persona.  One is a flirty girl-boy named Sosuke (“Just being with you makes me very happy” and “I guess I should get into bed so you don’t feel lonely”).  Another (and my personal favorite) is Sei (voiced by Takaya Kuroda), a kimono-wearing DREAMBOAT with a voice like butter (“Come closer.” YESSIR).

But the one that gave me pause (between laughing hysterically and legitimately getting a little turned on) was this guy, Satoru, whose quotes have to do with being stressed at work, and how he wishes he could spend more time with you, his favorite lover:

he's a slave to his job... and his heart

he’s a slave to his job… and his heart

Is this a thing?  Do Japanese men fly off the handle at their partners when they have a bad day at work so often that apologies are a sexual fantasy?  And seriously people, up your standards.  My dream man does not apologize for getting angry at me for forgetting shit.  He doesn’t get angry at all.  In fact, there’s very little talking involved.  He’s more a man of action… *cough*

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What’s taters, precious?

Dude, how awesome is Gollum?  He’s hilariously, lovably tragic, and is the one thing that Peter Jackson managed to actually improve upon from the books.

Then I drew him!  Hooray!  I am so pleased with this shitty little drawing.

FAT, STUPID HOBBITSES

FAT, STUPID HOBBITSES

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