The Hilo Valentine’s Show that I did this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday went well. The Chinese New Year celebration brought in many customers to my booth. However, on Sunday business was dismal thanks to the decent weather. It was a bit early to be doing a Valentine’s show but it was fun, I made a ton of contacts, and many of my regular customers came out to buy from me.

I managed to convince many men that they should buy gifts for their wives, mothers, daughters, aunties, etc. It is rather humorous to me that men will say things like “What do you think my wife would like?” How would I know? The best men were the ones that took cell phone photos of *everything* I was selling and then waited for a response from their wives before making a purchase. That was great. Valentine’s Day is such an absurd holiday anyway…

To add to the horror of selling at a Valentine’s show, some guy informed me that he was “looking to settle down” and asked if I would like to go to dinner with him. It would seem that I found another potential husband at the show! Brian says this guy has a lot going for him – he’s well traveled, exotic, educated, has a good job, would be less annoying and demanding, and has nicer diamonds in his earrings than I have on my wedding band. Brian has proclaimed that I now have “options.” Apparently, Brian’s other “option” is about 18 and on crack. I think my option is better, thanks.

Tomorrow (Tuesday), I leave to go to Georgia for two weeks to visit my family, scope out potential venues for shows, and relax a bit. When I return, I will have a huge show in Honolulu to do, Brian is having a colleague visit for a week, and then his parents are coming for a visit. It should be a busy month!

Now, if I could just get rid of this migraine…

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Rain is generally welcome here in Hilo. After all, Hilo is the rainiest city in the world. However, about nine inches of rain fell here last night and it continues to fall day after day. It is insane.

While getting gas on Saturday morning, before taking a trip to Kona, we noticed that part of Kamehameha Ave was closed but it was not flooded. I heard the radio announcements from the Civil Defense and they said Kamehameha Ave was closed today. I really could thought it couldn’t be all that bad since we were just there yesterday. But wow, it is horrible.

Many people have flooded homes and businesses from all this rain. I really cannot even believe this is happening here - it is too surreal. Fortunately, our little neighborhood is fine. The lower part of our backyard is a filled with water but it is far away from the house. Also, we have a giant torrent of water rushing down to the ocean which is making a great deal of noise. I am always able to hear the waves of the ocean at night but not lately… I think if someone stepped into the drainage ditch behind the house they would take a quick trip down to the ocean and would most likely not be seen or heard from again. The current is extremely swift and dangerous.

Here are a couple of photos:

Kamehameha Ave / Sunday

The Wailuku River (normally quite calm)

Photos from the Ha Ha Ha! blog

More photos available here

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While driving home from the post office, it occurred to me (as it has numerous times) that Hilo really is a special place - the whole Big Island is, really. I saw the older retired man on his bicycle that picks up trash everyday without fail in Hilo with his “Drive with Aloha” sign and his bulging bags of trash. He does a lot for the Hamakua coastline by picking up any and all roadside trash that he sees. A person like him would never be seen in LA, Atlanta, or New York and even if they did exist they would be labeled as crazy. However, here in Hilo, everyone smiles and waves at him - he’s a fixture around here. Many other people in Hilo do something to help make it what it is, however, that particular individual does something unique.

In large cities, people tend to be fearful of the homeless and worry that they might harm them. Here, however, I feel very comfortable about rolling down the window and giving away food without worrying about something bad happening. People here seem to be genuinely kind and good. However, they are trying to pass a panhandling ban for the whole island (like they did in San Francisco) but it leaves me wondering how these people will get the food they desperately need.

Having previously lived in Atlanta, Jacksonville, and Columbus I can definitely say that I would never have left the doors unlocked or open for any reason unless I was entering or leaving the house. I would freak out about every little noise and worry constantly about being murdered, raped, or robbed by someone. Now, living in Hilo, we tend to leave the doors unlocked (during the day) at the house and I don’t worry about people coming in to harm me.

I really think that the sort of kindness that exists around here is special and unique - this sort of thing can only exist when conditions are right - when people are not constantly threatened by crime, hatred, and cruelty. I never actually saw this sort of kindness when I lived on the mainland or special people doing things they were not asked to do for gain.

I think you can only truly appreciate Hawaii and all it has to offer when you learn to trust and embrace humanity again.

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I was sitting in my office working on the computer when I saw this huge Rottweiler [not on a leash and being chased by a teenager] running through our front yard. I heard this screeching noise (like a cat) and thought that the Rottweiler must be chasing one of the feral cats around here. Wrong. It ripped our neighbor’s Chihuahua off its leash right out of its collar and ran into our backyard. I heard a ton of noise outside and then Brian told me that the dog had something in its mouth and that I would not want to see it. It was our neighbor’s dog that was in the Rottweiler’s mouth. The poor little chihuahua was killed. We were heading over to her house to tell her what happened when the boy who was chasing the dog came with his Dad to bring her dog back to her. It was immensely sad and a horrible way to meet some of our neighbors whom we had not yet met. Now, we are not so sure that we want a dog here anymore. People around here have an affinity for Rottweilers and Pitbulls and they do not treat them well and they often are not on leashes or escape killing animals or harming people.

Brian memorialized this event on his blog as well.

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While this is not usually in line with things I comment about I simply could not resist saying something about Michael Vick.  He must be the most idiotic person in the world to potentially ruin his football career because he was not able to find a proper financial adviser.  Dog fighting?  Is that really the proper place for someone with many many millions of dollars to be putting money?  Was this not obvious to him?  Did he even have a financial adviser at all? Exactly how did he plan to report all of that illegal income?  This guy really must be the absolute most stupid person playing football today and that is saying a great deal, I think.

Here in Hawaii we have not been hit with the tsunami (which is quite good) from the Peru earthquake.  We did, however, have an earthquake at 2:20 this morning which woke us up and sent us into the doorway.  I think it was a 3.8 - something like that.   We are well.

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We have been making hurricane preparations today for Flossie (which I accidentally called Floosie) - filling up the ofuro (Japanese soaking tub) with water, filling up a 5 gallon container with water, taping up our picture window in the living room, moving plants, taking the recyclables to the recycling center (made a whopping $8), took out the trash, unplugged everything (except this laptop), and went in search of batteries (I got the last pack of C batteries at Ace, yay!), etc.   I also made about 20 cups of rice and we have a ton of MRE TastyBite Indian food so we are set for weeks if necessary.  Of course, our neighbor next door has made no preparations and they have a bunch of stuff sitting out in their yard which I hope will not come flying through our windows. They have cancelled school for tomorrow  on the whole island.  The storm surge is predicted to be about 20 feet in Hilo - it could cause massive flooding.  We are hoping for the best.

Also, we had a rather big earthquake here just a couple of hours ago - a 5.4-5.7 just south of Hilo so it was quite close.  It was from Kilauea - maybe a new vent opened - we shall find out soon I am sure.  We have some broken glasses and knicknacks and a few pictures fell off the wall.  A bunch of stuff fell out of the cabinets as well but we are fine.  Also, when we went downstairs I noticed a bunch of water on the floor of the basement and apparently the ofuro leaked during the earthquake.  So, Brian sort of cleaned it up and I moved all of our shoes so hopefully we won’t have to deal with that issue anymore tonight.

The county is pretty much saying that the power (and Hawaii has no backup power) is going to go out which in turn means that the stores will be closed, no gas will be available, no water can be obtained through the faucet - but we shall see.

At least we have one working phone that does not require electricity.

More later…

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Brian’s parents just visited and we had a grand time.  We went snorkeling in Hilo several times and had a great time seeing the variety of fish out and about.  I saw my first snake eel and later snake eel babies.  On Brian’s birthday he and his father went hiking in North Kohala and had a lot of fun exploring Polulu Valley and the neighboring valley.  We also went to the Lava Tree State Park down near Pahoa.  We also visited the astronomy center at UHH (Imiloa) and did star gazing on Mauna Kea.  The evening on Mauna Kea was less than enjoyable for me though - I was car sick on the hour long ride to Mauna Kea which was further exacerbated by taking a 1 mile walk at 9000 feet mostly uphill on the way back at sunset when it was about 50 degrees.  I felt horrible the whole night but fortunately I woke up feeling better the next day.  We also visited the Kaumana Caves but I did not walk very far as my shoes proved to be inadequate for the task.  I think everyone had a good time…

Brian and I also went to an rough water  race while his parents were visiting.  We checked it out and I am currently thinking about doing the 2 mile Kealakekua Bay rough water race.  I surely will not win but I think it would be a lot of fun.  Brian is now using this as yet another excuse to talk me into doing qualifying races for the Ironman.  I think I will pass as I am not interested in dying before I turn thirty, thank you very much.

I was also able to bodyboard at Hapuna and was able to ride one absolutely perfect wave and a bunch of not so perfect waves.  I did get a nasty burn.  While in the water I was trying to remember why I had made such a big deal about wearing my board shorts but I could not recall why - it became obvious to me later when my derrière burned.

While at Kona Bay Books, Brian spotted Da Jesus Book - the Pidgin Bible.  Seriously, I am speechless.

In other news, the Big Island is getting Target, Circuit City, PetSmart (I think), PF Changs, and Office Max all on the Kona side.  I am not exactly excited.  I like Target and would gladly trade in Walmart and Kmart for it but seriously we don’t need all of those stores.

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Yesterday, Brian and I went to the body board shop of his colleague’s boyfriend and I found a new board.  I really like it - it’s a Mike Stewart Science board in blue.  I had fun with it down at Honolii Beach yesterday too.  I did end up with a busted lip and scraped knees but I had a blast.  Apparently, the day before a whale had died off the coast and 14 ft. sharks were seen eating it - I found this out when I was already in the water.  ;)  The absolute coolest part was being able to surf with some turtles - apparently  they really like to surf at Honolii - they are really cute too.  It was great…

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The painter finally came today to paint our kitchen and bathroom.  It really turned out to be a one man operation - the old guy with the paint bucket.  But he’s doing a good job.  I’m not really sure how he intends to finish by today but we shall see…

Now, we are figuring out how to feed ourselves since using the kitchen is not an option…

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So, I got my sewing table yesterday and I also got my dresser as well.  Brian said he would actually help me stain the dresser this weekend, yay!  He’s slightly less anti-dresser but that’s not saying much.  He told me I should keep the dresser in the basement or just store my clothes in the rec room in the basement - yeah right.  I got the dresser from our local unfinished furniture store.  I wanted something that was solid wood and high quality but I was not going to pay one of the furniture stores around here for some hideous piece of furniture made out of 10% wood and 90% crap approximately $800 for just a chest of drawers - no thank you.

Brian has had a sore throat for about a week so we’re going to take him to the doctor today to make sure he is okay.  Hopefully, they will give him something that will help him feel better…

More later…

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While I was making myself some hote tea this morning the door bell rang. I was not expecting anyone but saw that two women were standing at our front door and were staring at me. I answered the door and they opened the screen door (big no-no in my book) and proceeded to tell me how many people have unanswered questions about why bad things happen in this world and then wanted to know my answer for why bad things happen. Had they been offering a cash prize or some kind of free vacation then I would have gladly answered. However, they were offering me the Jehovah’s Witness variety of salvation - you know, the kind that only works for 100,000 people. The Jehovah’s Witnesses must be the most idiotic of all Christian sects - they are basically saying that almost everyone will not get into heaven but you should try anyway. I think they need a new marketing strategy because telling people that they are going to work hard to fail is not a way to win believers. Of course, with me they would have even more problems than just that… At any rate, I asked them if they were Jehovah’s Witnesses and they said yes and I said no thank you and have a nice day.

This incident made me ponder why some of our neighbors have large fences and gates around their properties. I think I know the answer now… We have a Jehovah’s Witness *group* that meets in the village above our house and they don’t want them bringing by literature or dropping by for a faux philosophical discussion about why bad things happen in the world. THIS is one of the reasons I left the South - I can’t stand the people who knock on your door to sell you salvation.

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So, I am annoyed but also really happy.  Go figure.

The Good
We went to ‘Imiloa today - that is the astronomy center here on the island.  Of course, the Big Island has the best telescopes on the planet and the best place to view them and in conjunction with the university they have set up a multi-million dollar planetarium and cultural and astronomy center.  It is amazing - we are shocked.  We spent four hours there and only left because we were starving to death.  They had a restaurant but we did not know it until we left.  That place is unbelievable - it really belongs in a huge city not in Hilo… We are going to get a membership there.  Since Brian is faculty at the sponsoring university it works out to be very cheap - so that is a plus.

Brian got me three servers and also a monitor for free (from his workplace) so now I can have more development environments - yay!  I have 2 dell servers and one custom server.  I am installing Debian 3.1, OpenBSD 4.0, and Mandriva “Mandrake” - so that will be great.  My office is a wreck but it does make me glad that I have all this free hardware which is in great shape.  I only had to replace a power supply, floppy drive, and a hard drive…

My father and I are talking about doing some business together and I’ve got some open source projects I am interested in working on and creating…  More on that later.

The Bad 

Brian is now a “high-powered” executive with peripheral involvement in local politics and he is faculty at the university.  This is great and this should have nothing to do with me, right?  Wrong.  I am doing web development for Brian’s company and issues are arising related to that which are annoying me to death.  I will just be glad to cut ties with these people.  I am still trying to figure out how to do that without hurting Brian - I may just have to suck it up in the long run.  His boss referred to me sarcastically as the “contract expert” and at home he probably calls me a contract nazi.  I work based on the contract, this is a bad thing?  I guess so in “dakine whatevers” Hawaii… Whatever.
I have a horrible rash - probably from weird hormones and blood sugar issues that are still being taken care of…

We had vog here today - it was awful and oppressive.

I feel tired but can’t sleep.

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Click here to read about a story that happened here in Hilo. Brian and I were trying to get to the gym as all this was happening. This guy got shot right across from the gym we go to and they had the streets all shut down. We had to park a long way from the gym and walk down the sidewalk of a ghost town Hilo to get to the gym. You could still see the puddle of blood on the road where they shot and killed the guy. Then they covered it up with some kind of weird powder that got rid of all the guts and goo. It was creepy that they shot the guy in the head - that seems rather harsh since he was barefoot, unarmed, and not even a violent criminal. You would think they would have just shot him in the leg or something…

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Brian has been training me yet again for Powerlifting and Strongwoman competitions since we moved to Hilo. It has been great and I have made a lot of progress. Hopefully, I will be ready for aPowerlifting meet or a Strongwoman competition by this summer… I am putting on a lot of muscle mass, yay! Who said putting on muscle mass for women is hard? I need protein powder, we ordered 11 lbs. of it and I just ran out of my other protein powder today…

I need to start keeping my food diary again but I eat about eight times per day and it makes it too difficult to record everything. I also eat a lot of food. Oh well, I will try to keep the food diary up…

It has been raining here off and on but that is to be expected in the rainiest city in the world. Plus, March is supposed to be one of the wettest months here in Hilo. We did drive over to the Kona side on Saturday to go to Costco - we are SO glad we do not live there - people are incredibly rude and mean on that side of the island. It also takes us two hours to drive over there and then another two hours back but it does mean that we only have to go shopping for groceries once a month, yay.

More later, when I am not so busy…

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We finally purchased our one-way tickets to Hilo, Hawaii for our December move. Our plans are locked in and we are ready to go. Well, we will be packed and ready to go by then…

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