Saturday, June 21, 2008
Summertime, and the living is easy.
Amidst my commitments to my twin mistresses of Academia and Recreation, I've been miserably inattentive to this forum for my musings, stories, and photos. Apologies. Sad to say, a rival for the latent narcissism that I once semi-regularly funneled into a blog has been that breed of petty demon known as the "social-networking website." But thankfully, Facebook hasn't taken up enough of my time to substantially damage my relations with my two current loves: the spring semester ended strong, with too many nights spent beneath my towers of books accruing too-few hours of sleep on the office couch, dreaming of term papers. The ethanol-fueled engine of this writing machine, went into overdrive, and the controlled blaze of productivity soon grew into exuberant flames of celebration.
After finals, my sister came out for ten days and we both took a much-needed Hawaiian vacation. Having just returned from a business trip to Germany (you won't read about it in the Times for a few more years, but Lizzie's been quietly taking over New York's art world), she continued her westward course to Oahu, where I eased her transition to the Pacific with 3 "K"s: sake, poke, and karaoke. It was a night for the books, replete with feasting, drunken mayhem, and a heartwarming brother-sister duet of "Mama Look A Boo Boo." Much to my relief, Lizzie and my friends got along famously, and I'm still questioned as to when she's relocating to Honolulu. After some beach time, a bit of reggae festival, and more ono grinds ("yummy eats"), we went to Kauai for four days where, in spite of the vog, we hiked in Waimea Canyon, snorkeled on the north shore, and camped on the Na Pali coast -- it might have been physically impossible to have been more active or had a better time. We came back to "town" for a few days, bid farewell to my roommate Scott with a BBQ bash (when I accidentally bashed in my front screen door), and toured some of Honolulu's finer cultural attractions, including the amazing Bhutan exhibition at the Academy of Arts (coming to NY and SF soon!) and Liliha Bakery. Mmm... bakery...
Lizzie's last night here we camped at Waimanalo Beach, probably the most beautiful place I know, for a Memorial Day blowout. Since then, I've returned there every weekend (tonight will be the fifth consecutive Saturday) because, really, why wouldn't I want to spend as much time there as possible? Mountains surround the miles of soft white sands which, descending into shallow waters, makes the sea an unearthly vivid turquoise. Islands frame the seaside view and provide interesting foreground for moonrise (haven't been awake for sunrise yet). There's an intense shore break, but the waves don't get that big, so there's lots of quality playtime to be had, and the forest is full of deadwood for fires. It's all pretty ideal at our summer home, really.
During the week, all is well. I love my summer intensive Japanese class and, though to wake so early has been a little taxing, I'm also having fun taking an intro to Aikido. In a couple of weeks even these minimal time commitments will end, and I'll have some time to get thesis research done before I start a gig teaching English to students from Japan.
Well, I must be packing up for another summer home excursion. I must say that, as much as I miss New York and my peoples, there are some fantastic things about my new home (one year next month!). Our tree is fruiting again, the trade winds keep my house cool, and Waimanalo is a short drive away.
Happy solstice, wherever you are, and I hope the summer is treating you right!
After finals, my sister came out for ten days and we both took a much-needed Hawaiian vacation. Having just returned from a business trip to Germany (you won't read about it in the Times for a few more years, but Lizzie's been quietly taking over New York's art world), she continued her westward course to Oahu, where I eased her transition to the Pacific with 3 "K"s: sake, poke, and karaoke. It was a night for the books, replete with feasting, drunken mayhem, and a heartwarming brother-sister duet of "Mama Look A Boo Boo." Much to my relief, Lizzie and my friends got along famously, and I'm still questioned as to when she's relocating to Honolulu. After some beach time, a bit of reggae festival, and more ono grinds ("yummy eats"), we went to Kauai for four days where, in spite of the vog, we hiked in Waimea Canyon, snorkeled on the north shore, and camped on the Na Pali coast -- it might have been physically impossible to have been more active or had a better time. We came back to "town" for a few days, bid farewell to my roommate Scott with a BBQ bash (when I accidentally bashed in my front screen door), and toured some of Honolulu's finer cultural attractions, including the amazing Bhutan exhibition at the Academy of Arts (coming to NY and SF soon!) and Liliha Bakery. Mmm... bakery...
Lizzie's last night here we camped at Waimanalo Beach, probably the most beautiful place I know, for a Memorial Day blowout. Since then, I've returned there every weekend (tonight will be the fifth consecutive Saturday) because, really, why wouldn't I want to spend as much time there as possible? Mountains surround the miles of soft white sands which, descending into shallow waters, makes the sea an unearthly vivid turquoise. Islands frame the seaside view and provide interesting foreground for moonrise (haven't been awake for sunrise yet). There's an intense shore break, but the waves don't get that big, so there's lots of quality playtime to be had, and the forest is full of deadwood for fires. It's all pretty ideal at our summer home, really.During the week, all is well. I love my summer intensive Japanese class and, though to wake so early has been a little taxing, I'm also having fun taking an intro to Aikido. In a couple of weeks even these minimal time commitments will end, and I'll have some time to get thesis research done before I start a gig teaching English to students from Japan.
Well, I must be packing up for another summer home excursion. I must say that, as much as I miss New York and my peoples, there are some fantastic things about my new home (one year next month!). Our tree is fruiting again, the trade winds keep my house cool, and Waimanalo is a short drive away.
Happy solstice, wherever you are, and I hope the summer is treating you right!
