Catching Up

Things in Hawaii have been going on as normal. I have been working on the other side of the island for some time, but it looks like I will be back to the Windward side starting this coming week. I’m not sure how long I will be here, but that means no more books on tape. I love those. It’s like reading, but you don’t have to burn out your eyes.

A couple of weeks ago I spent a night at the sand bar by myself. It had a been a really long time since making an escape like that. I left right after work on a Friday and ended up staying about 22 hours, which isn’t bad considering I only brought a piece of salmon, a small loaf of peasant rye, and a carton of soy milk. It was really nice to get away. I was hoping that I would be able to escape the sounds of all things human, but the din of Kaneohe and H-3 traffic didn’t subside, despite it being about 2 miles away. The lesson to be learned there is that sound really carries well over water. Despite the traffic when I was topside, it was a relaxing evening. When I went below all I heard was the water and constant cracking and popping sounds of the ecosystem growing on the bottom of my boat.

The next day I slept in until about 9:00am and spent the day reading. I broke my own rule of not bringing non-essential electronics aboard when I decided to bring my mp3 player, but it was a good move. My least favorite part about the sand bar is when people think that everyone within a 200m radius wants to hear their choice music blasted over their tinny boat speakers. Listening to Interpol and Songs: Ohia through my headphones was much more pleasant than listening to the indecipherable jumble of Hawaiian music and modern rock being bombarded at me from port and starboard. All in all, it was a really good day.

I have been trying to get out on my motorcycle a little more. Every since the successful radiator flush and fuel filter replacement from about a month back it has been running great. The problem now, I noticed while traveling quite fast on H-1, is that my back brake doesn’t work. At all. As you might guess, that has kept me from riding very much. I’m hesitant to spend more money on a motorcycle that isn’t worth much in resale, but brakes are a key component of any vehicle. Hooray for my $600 economic relief check. I already spent it (and then some) on a new laptop, but that my laptop was made in China, so I guess it doesn’t really count as relieving the American economy. BMW parts are probably made in China, too, but the $75/hr labor is coming from Americans, so that would be pretty patriotic of me to get the brakes fixed, right?

The other good news I have is that Derek and Nicola are here on island for vacation. They are both doing really well. Derek’s memory is back and he we have been able to rehash some of our old injuries/accidents together. I’ve mentioned it before, but every time I’ve gotten hurt on this island, Derek was there. We have a pretty full weekend planned, so I want to be sure to post this before I break both of my arms or lose a foot in a shark attack.