Pigonastick!

Really, I did not die…

2008-06-16T06:15:56Z

I am back with an update. I seem to go through cycles of posting every year or two.

I have been very busy working. Things are going really well and I have some interesting opportunities that I am pursuing. My Kona coffee spa line has been a big success. Plus, it is fun to create something that you really enjoy. It also gives me something to do with the coffee & espresso grounds! I have also been spending a lot of time working on developing a clothing line (just tees for now) to accent the handbags, jewelry, and footwear that I have been creating. I think I am really going for a “lifestyle company” concept. It is great fun…

Not much else is going on right now - things are just sailing along smoothly. Alternatively, I have been working so much that I haven’t paid attention to much else! At any rate, things are going well.

I just finished reading Cyrano de Bergerac and Lady Chatterley’s Lover. I enjoyed Cyrano greatly and disliked Lady Chatterley’s Lover. It is most certainly not Lawrence’s greatest work. Why do most people actually enjoy it? I thought it was extraordinarly shallow and lacked the depth that The Rainbow had in great amounts. I still think The Rainbow is his finest work only equaled by Women in Love. Sons and Lovers was very good but it was not of the same caliber as The Rainbow. Any opinions or thoughts?

The only other thing that I have been doing is creating new and unusual beads and strange art with polymer clay. I will have to post some of the things that I have been creating. I am thinking about getting into making stained glass. I talked with a stained glass artist and he passed along some suppliers and other people to talk to about it. It seems like it would be very interesting. Unfortunately, I don’t have a kiln so I would not be able to do some of the things I would want to do. I might think about getting into using a torch. We shall see!

I did have to check myself into the hospital last week for some tests. That was a thrill. I was having some gall bladder pain (definitely not the first time) and went to the doctor to chat about it. They did a ton of blood work and sent me to get an ultrasound of my gall bladder. That was a total waste of time. The idiotic technician at the hospital spent an hour and a half probing my abdomen and she couldn’t locate my gall bladder! She found my liver, spleen, kidneys, and stomach. She even built a 3d model of my internal organs but she could not locate my gall bladder. She asked me twice if I was there because I had it removed! She also lost my file and had to go search for it. She did the ultrasound in some hallway with a half curtain - I had to get undressed in front of people! It was my first time at the delightful Hilo hospital and hopefully my last time. When she finished the ultrasound she did not know what she was supposed to do with me. She said she wasn’t sure if she was supposed to take me to the surgeon for a consultation or if she was supposed to release me. She decided to release me since she couldn’t find my gall bladder and therefore it must not be a problem! That place is a hell hole. Anyway, I did all of my labs and I am waiting for the surgeon to call me and setup an appointment. Of course, I will never let anyone cut me open on this island for any reason. They would kill me. In the mean time, the doctor said I could develop gangrene of my gall bladder from the chronic swelling and infection. Or I might already have it… Good times!

Anyone else taking up any new and fun hobbies? Anything exciting going on? Any interesting politics, books, or information to discuss?

My return to the blogosphere…

2008-04-29T04:41:36Z

>???????? ????? ????????????????ve returned! I have been extremely busy and have not had much of a chance to update nor have I had much desire to do so. I am in the midst of preparing for a couple of shows that are coming up over the next two weeks as well as trying to fulfill several custom & wholesale orders. Nonetheless, I am back.

I will post more of an update later when I have the time and energy. For now, I am simply posting that I have returned…

Singing the Hard Drive Blues…

2008-03-30T10:27:06Z

I have not posted in quite a while since things have been kind of crazy here. I got back from a big show in Honolulu (Honolulu Festival), Brian had a colleague in town, and then his parents came for a visit. Now, I have several shows (Merrie Monarch et al) coming up this week through next month. I haven’t been getting much sleep lately but at least I am getting a lot done!

One of my main hard drives decided to stop working today. I think the MBR is fried but I’m having trouble diagnosing the problem since I don’t have any other MBs that support SATA that I can hook up to to diagnose. I am having fun installing a fresh OS on a separate drive that is IDE. I even had to put in a temporary floppy drive just to get everything to work - fun fun. Hopefully, I can copy everything off the drive. I’m really annoyed that the drive is not working - it’s such a bad time for this to be happening.

Anything exciting going on with anyone?

My return from Georgia and my subsequent trepidation…

2008-02-28T07:04:12Z

I have just returned from a two week trip to Georgia to visit family and procure new business and personal goods. I had a nice time and was able to spend several days in Savannah and Tybee. I had a nice visit with my parents and grandmother…

I was able to do quite a bit on my trip and had a really good visit with everyone. As usual, I was able to go shopping and get all the things that are impossible to find here. After a long 10 hour flight to Honolulu from Atlanta I was able to get home to Hilo in just under an hour and finally arrived here ready to fall asleep.

I will probably write more about this later when I am not so restless and agitated…

I also received an email today from the company that is searching for my birth parents. It would seem that I was not born in Florida but rather that I was born in Colorado. My parents knew nothing about this - they were shocked when I told them. This is just totally out of left field - we had no idea. I even have a Florida birth certificate (not original, of course).

I am dumbfounded. This whole situation has me wondering what other information surrounding my birth is untrue. I don’t even know what to say about this. Everyone around me keeps telling me it is not important but no one understands - they aren’t adopted , they know without a doubt where they were born, no one keeps their birth certificate locked up in a courthouse that would require them to go to court for months just to open the record, no one told them that they were born in one state when they were actually born in another, and they don’t have to wonder if everything they knew about how, where, when, and why they were born is entirely untrue. I’m irritated, frustrated, and angry. But what can I do?

Valentine’s Show and Other Fun

2008-02-11T11:39:56Z

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…

Rain, Rain, Go Away…

2008-02-04T10:46:18Z

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

Cataclysm of Thought

2008-01-28T10:18:23Z

I am rather unsure as to the reason why I was just thinking about D.H. Lawrence’s book, The Rainbow. I think I can easily say that it is one of my top ten books. I have not read it in some time but it occurs to me how rare it is to read a book that speaks to the mechanism with which I ideate. Does anyone else have a book(s) that speaks to them in the way that they envisage themselves?

When Grendel Attacks!

2008-01-19T11:03:01Z

We went to see Beowulf this evening at the theater. Such outings make me long for the culture of a large metropolitan city. Nonetheless, this foray into “entertainment” was my idea. We read the critical reviews of the movie and it seemed like it was well received by both critics and the common folk. This movie was so terrible it was like watching 300 meets Shrek. I actually enjoyed both of those films but Beowulf is not intended to be a comedy. They glossed over everything of relevance to the story and created a nude scene with a proverbial fig leaf when Beowulf fought Grendel. The worst thing about the movie is that it was animated but not in a way that enhanced the film - like 300. All in all, I am glad that we only spent two dollars watching that movie. Unfortunately, we wasted two hours of our lives that we will never get back…

Hilo is a special place…

2008-01-16T05:16:10Z

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.

A real gem - Huckabee says wives should submit to husbands

2008-01-16T00:34:15Z

Mike Huckabee, card carrying misogynist, says that wives should submit to their husbands. He says that women should do this because the Bible says to do so.

Well, the Bible also says to kill people from other faiths (Deuteronomy, Chap 17:2-3, 5). So, is Huckabee going to kill everyone who isn’t a Christian too?

Is he going to just pick and choose what he wants to see as “truth” from the Bible?