What's wrong with you women?


We had "girls night out" recently to celebrate Kelly and Jennifer who are getting married soon. This sort of event is usually not right up my alley. But we started at the Brew Pub and I always feel at home there. Next we headed to My Best Friend's Closet to try on what Kestral called, "super, super cute clothes." I usually feel pretty out of place in a group of women doing "girl things" but I admit even the clothes store was fun. I tried on a slinky black dress that I'd never be seen in public with. It amused my co-workers who know this type of dress is not likely to join my wardrobe.

After some champagne we hit the Fun Factory- a Chucky Cheese-like family fun center. Ski ball and air hockey went off without a hitch. That's before Ilona exhibited inappropriate behavior and we were all thrown out. I never thought I'd be 86'd from the Fun Factory! If that wasn't bad enough, the woman kicked us off the sidewalk as well; we had to wait across the street. That's when a homeless man gawked at the ruckus we were making and remarked, "What's wrong with you women?"

The rest of the group finished off the night at the bars. But I hit Magic Sands with Chris, James and Lisa for some moonlight boogie boarding. It's creepy and exhilarating to take off on a wave that you can't see.

Will it float?

I watched the History Channel's Modern Marvels: Monster Trucks last night on Netflix. I definitely recommend it. In my favorite stunt, a 10,000 lb. truck jumped over a 727 jetliner that was, of course, on fire.

The history of the monster truck and its mechanical revolution was revealed. The documentary featured interviews from drivers and fans which really helped me appreciate this fantastic piece of Americana.

My favorite fact I learned in the film? Monster trucks float. The discovery was made accidentally at a photo shoot on the edge of a lake. Apparently, huge tires are buoyant enough to float the 5-ton truck. David Letterman definitely needs to get Big Foot on his show for a special segment of Will it Float?.

Non-events

Despite a hurricane, a tsunami and some earthquakes, last week was pretty uneventful. Flossie broke apart as she approached the Big Island. We got some clouds and a light sprinkle. My side of the island didn't even get any surf, so my board is still sitting lonely under the house.

There were several earthquakes throughout the week. A 5.4 rattled the house little, and a 3.8 woke me up two nights later. But they were on the other side of the island and we barely felt them.

Then we got news of a tsunami watch after the earthquake in Peru. East Hawaii was hit by a small tsunami in the middle of the night while most residents were fast asleep. The only reason we know there was a tsunami was because the newspaper told us there was one.

All that fun and a sinus infection didn't keep me from dive classes. I am finally getting certified for scuba. We have two more classes this week and a boat dive Saturday, then I'll be open water certified. It's about time I got around to it!

Hurricane Preparation

Flossie, a category 3 hurricane, is 300 miles southeast of Hilo and headed this way. We should start getting wind and rain tomorrow as it passes to the west of our island. The whole island is under a hurricane watch and a tropical storm warning, but the south and east portions of the island should see the strongest winds and plenty of high surf. (we live in West Hawaii)

People today stocked up on bottled water and filled their gas tanks. We prepared by eating the Hagen Daz in the freezer. With all that expensive ice cream a power outage would be devastating.

What I've been reading Part I

I previously posted my intention of reading through the Bible in the next year, and Chris has asked how that's going. I thought, "Why not blog about it?"

Well, I doubt I'll finish in a year, but who cares? At least it's a goal that keeps me reading everyday. Since June I've read Genesis- Numbers and Job.

In Genesis, God creates the heavens and the earth, plants, animals and people. Adam and Eve live in paradise and walk and talk with God in the Garden of Eden. Everything is going great until they eat the forbidden fruit and introduce sin into the world. Humans have been cursed to live in this fallen world ever since. Now we see all kinds of bickering, murder, adultery, etc. When it gets really out of hand God wipes out the sinners in a flood. Only Noah and his family survive. Noah's descendants repopulate the earth and the rest of Genesis is filled with the type of stories your typical grocery store tabloid will pay big bucks for. A man is tricked into marrying the wrong woman, jealous siblings sell their brother into slavery, two particularly sin-ridden cities, Sodom and Gomorrah, are destroyed.

In Exodus, the Israelites are slaves in Egypt- descendants of family that sold their brother to be a slave there. God selects Moses to lead his people out of Egypt and into a promised land. God brings nasty plagues on Egypt until Pharaoh finally lets them go. God leads the people through the desert by a pillar of fire, feeding them with bread that falls out of the sky. In an awesome display of smoke and fire He leads Moses up a mountain and gives him the ten commandments. Despite the display of God's mighty power, the Israelites grumble about the food and start worshiping idols. So God lets them roam around in the desert for 40 years until a new generation rises up to take over the promised land.

The books are full of wild stories and weird regulations meant to set the Israelites apart from the rest of the nations. Sin has made a mess of things. The sacrifices required of Israel prove there is now a huge chasm between God and man. This holy and righteous God is "untouchable" to the filthy, sin-ridden humans. From the very first pages of the Bible the need for a Savior is evident.

Hit the road, Mark

It was hard to drag myself out of bed to face today. It was a sad and solemn occasion: the lunch wagon's last day. Mark is moving to Washington. West Hawaii Today employees turn into Pavlov's dog every morning at 8:55 AM when we hear the toot, toot, toot of Mark's horn. For year's Mark has faithfully filled our tummies with good food, our faces with smiles and our spirits with inspiration. We'll miss you, old pal.

My typical lunch time routine: a lunch wagon meal and WHT comics.


Mark and his niece pose in front of our beloved "roach coach."


I dressed up as the lunch wagon for Halloween two years ago. It was my best costume ever.

Morning Has Broken

I camped at Makalawena Friday and Saturday night with Sierra Club. We got the campsite I was hoping for- the one inside the gate under the Ironwood trees. A gentle breeze whispered through their long pine needles throughout Saturday night. I tried my best to stay awake so I could track the almost full moon across the sky. It finally set over the ocean, then the sun started to rise a few minutes later. That's when I took this picture of Kuili cinder cone and Mauna Kea with a queen's bath in the foreground.