veiled exuberance

none shall pass.

spam, eh?

every now and then i get messages on okc that just don't sound legitimate.  this one could go either way.  it's either spam, or someone sending the same general message to a bunch of people (could also be described as spam), or someone who just doesn't know how to start a random conversation without bludgeoning you over the head. 

it goes like this:

Him: Hiya :- I felt somewhat lonely so I went online to see what felt going on. I came across your profile page and wanted to send you a little message. I'm searching for something more on the friendly side at the outset and would like to play it by ear. I recently became single again after a long relationship. I carry no emotional baggage so don`t worry! I'm smart, good-looking and in very good shape. I work out often. but I'm not crazy-obsessed about it. I also like watching TV and going to the movies. I also love drinking coffee and hot chocolate. I hope you'll want to get in touch with me. plz,send me your email so that i can mail and tell you more about me
i care"

it irritates me.  enough that i almost responded.  but.  i don't really want to respond, in the event that it becomes grief-ful.  so, instead, i'm going to respond here.  because then i get to, you know, have my say.

Me: This sounds a bit like the spam.  But in the event that it's reeeal.  Thanks for the message.  I'm not looking for anything in particular.  And it really kind of puts me off when people send me messages that lay down what they're looking for instead of, oh, I don't know, having a conversation.  Can't people just talk without declaring their intentions immediately?  You don't respond to anything that's in my profile, which leads me to believe that you a.) didn't read it or b.) don't have anything to say about it (and that'd be weird, because it's way long and takes a good 15-20 minutes to get through).  I never send out my email to people who message me once.  Never, never, never.  Nor do I send phone numbers.  Nor do I do anything I'm not comfortable with.  I don't know anything about you, Mr. Possible Axe-Murderer!   (Not, understand, that Axe-Murdering is not a respectable profession - I *also* have an axe, however, mine's set to Stun.)  Hm.  Actually, your message is all "ME ME ME" and with all of that Me going on there's no room for anyone else.  Anyway, good luck.  I'm sure there are one or two other people on here that have more serious intentions and are more seriously looking to get entangled and involved.  They'd probably be thrilled to hear more about you.  Cheers.

edit: oh, and for those who don't know, okc has a matching system that tries to guess how compatible you'd be with others based on the ways you answer questions, etc. - this is not foolproof.  but, it's also not completely wrong, either.  based on *their* calculations, me and mr. nice are about 35% compatible.  whee. /edit

posted by: juuitsu at April 30, 2008 07:50 | link | comments (3) |

monkeybaby and i went to see the local high school's production of Grease tonight.  the kids in one of my teen groups told me that it was phenomenal.  or maybe they said "amazing" - that's their favorite word this month.  so i decided to go.  now, i haven't been to a hs show since i *was* in high school, and i can't even recall what all i saw back then...but it seems to me that things have changed a bit.  like, you can buy tickets online.  and they're ASSIGNED seating.  in an actual auditorium.  oh, i guess we had one of those, but we also had like 7 different gyms.  and lots of things happened in the gyms, too.  actually, i think i missed most of the drama stuff because i was so busy playing badminton and more badminton and MORE badminton.  i had priorities.  anyway, i wasn't sure what to expect after i ordered up our tickets (for the *best* available seats - what the heck?  are we seeing Cirque du Soleil?).  even monkeybaby commented when we picked up our tix at Will Call - "wow, these are really high class and professional-looking."  they were.  i told her to save her ticket stub for her scrapbook.  "uh-huh." 

i don't remember much about the movie Grease at all.  this is not an isolated incident.  i regularly fail to remember the details of lots of things i see.  i've decided that i must be using my brain for other Really Important Tasks.  i'm just not quite sure i can identify those either.  mostly, i don't want to worry too much about it.  at least everything will be new when i lose my mind entirely.  :)  monkeybaby was able to point out where they'd changed words in the songs to be more...family friendly.  (so, no more 'pussy-mobile' or girls 'creaming' themselves over said pussy-mobiles.)  in my defense, i've probably only ever seen the movie Grease once.  and the musical/play/live-doodley?  never. 

it was decent-ish.  some of the kids were really good and really got into character.  the girl who played Sandy had an excellent voice, but she was so stiff - even when she turned into badass Sandy at the end.  some could dance well, some had the acting bits down, but most lacked the complete package.  the material is really fun to watch/work with though - so many goofy bits (like the beauty school drop out angel scene...hee!).  we had a lovely time.  i was surprised that so many people brought tiny, tiny children - who did not *get* the play at ALL.  and then the adults were horrified by some of the humor.  i think one of the actors mentioned his "buttocks losing their rosy bloom" - in a song all about mooning.  the little girls in front of us kept turning around to stare at us every time we laughed (and it wasn't even the case - this time - where we were the loudest and most annoying people in the theater; although, i can easily see this happening), like we were some kind of exotic and strange creatures. 

anyway.  like i said, enthusiasm was somewhat lacking in some of the performance.  but when i got home, i found the following video on cute overload:

posted by: juuitsu at April 27, 2008 00:53 | link | comments (6) |

i wish i remembered the conversation that led up to this line:

"Thou Shalt Not Get Thine Freak On."

but i don't.  i think it had something to do with Craig's list...and sex toys. 

i really need to get more sleep.

posted by: juuitsu at April 27, 2008 00:22 | link | comments |

not enough sleep...

as a result this is the conversation i had with one of my coworkers today:

her: did you know that an elephant can pee up to 13 gallons in a day?

me: wow.  that's a lot of urine.  you could fill a swimming pool in almost no time at all with that kind of output.

her: um.  why would i do that?

me: oh, i don't know.  you could use it to tan hides or something.  it would keep the latin kings away.  [she is deathly afraid that there are latin kings - the gang - living in or hanging around her neighborhood...i think it's part of her natural paranoid charm.  and now i wonder if that's even possible.  'paranoid charm' must be an oxymoron.]

her: ...

me: leather processing/curing is a smelly process.  i think.  they would stop hanging out in your 'hood.

her: OK.

later...

me: i'm going to Red Robin tonight.

her: oh!  i was there last night.  i ate so much i thought i was going to throw up.

me:  that's...nice.

her: i got this bottomless blueberry-pomegranate drink.  it was like $4, but i made sure to get my money's worth.

me: how many of them did you drink?

her: 4.

me: [wait for it] did you then pee 13 gallons?

her: ...yes.  yes, i did.

posted by: juuitsu at April 27, 2008 00:18 | link | comments |

oh.  ok, then.

at the bookstore last night i got roped into an impromptu reading of someone's play.  she wanted to hear/see how it sounded/looked when performed, and, since i wasn't reading anything of my own, i got drafted.  i was a little nervous about a cold read, but it ended up being a lot of fun.  the casting was...completely accidental.  i asked for a short part, was given a little direction about the character i'd be playing, and then went with it.  oberon commented afterward that the playwright couldn't have chosen better.  while that was flattering, i wonder how much of it was us being us, and us being whatever she told us we should be (you know, that brief direction i mentioned).  it was way more fun than i'd thought something like that could be.  i had a really good time with it.  and now i have a better appreciation for reader's theater, which is also script-reading - tho, i suspect the actors sometimes get a little more time to go over the work. 

you can't ignore my techno...

the play was about some folks who have a bit too much to drink on Christmas eve.  a drunk guy dressed in robes shows up at their house and tells them that he's Jesus - then passes out.  They believe him (at least initially), and get the media to come out and cover the story of Jesus' reappearance on the eve of his birth so many years ago.  Then, Jesus' mother, Mary, shows up and claims that he's just her son Christopher, and he has an itsy bitsy problem with the alcohol.  Mary is eventually confined to a closet so as not to spoil their story when the press arrives on the scene.  Meanwhile, a teenage girl shows up on their doorstep with her newborn baby...and gets cast as Jesus' wife (her baby is Jesus' son - the next Messiah).  the media arrives and makes an announcement - live - that Jesus is back.  then all hell breaks loose as the story unravels.  since the story's already been broken, they decide to just go with it and make sure that the world *really* believes that the Messiah(s) has(have) returned. 

posted by: juuitsu at April 27, 2008 00:11 | link | comments |

pretty good day.

i was thinking this morning that this might be one of those days filled with promise that quickly deteriorates into an "i just don't know what to do with myself" kinds of fiascos - not because there isn't anything to do, but because there is so much!  decision-making can just suck the wind out of my sails sometimes.  but i was mistaken - there was plenty of time for everything (even the laundry - it's going on now).

so.  a list.

1. i finished Howl's Moving Castle (the book, not the movie), and it was delightful.  funny, ever-so-slightly plot-twisty, and enjoyable in a warm and fuzzy way.  sophie, eldest of three sisters, is left behind to mind the hat shop when her father dies, her sisters get apprenticeships elsewhere, and her stepmother has other business to attend to.  she thinks she'll never be much of anything, and then the witch of the waste comes along and turns her into an old lady.  and suddenly sophie has options (funny that it's being old that helps her see that).  so she leaves her hat shop life and goes off in search of adventure and ends up at the wizard Howl's castle.  which moves.  she pretty much inserts herself into Howl's life and pokes her nose into everyone's business - because this sort of thing no longer bothers her now that she's old.  she gets LOTS of things wrong, and lots of things right, too, and it turns out that she's a brilliant sorceress in her own right.  i just liked all of the characters so much.  they are good-hearted people.  messy, disorganized, strange, but delightful.

2. First Bike Ride of the Season!  woo!  i think i still have bug carcass embedded in my eye.  ew!  this also involved decision-making.  do i do a shorter ride in the shade (forgot to put on sunscreen before i left) BUT have to deal with LOTS of people traffic because that section of the trail is highly used OR do i do a longer ride in the sun (i *could* theoretically turn back before it becomes a really LONG ride) on a less congested section?  which is also partly unpaved...and how much rain have we gotten recently?  hmmm.  i did the longer trail.  there were quite a few people out on it (it's one of the first super nice weekend days), but it wasn't too crowded by any means.  they seem to have done some trail maintenance since last fall.  there was this section that was regularly under water (not good) and i'm sick of biking through it - while it's a good workout and the sploosh is initially kind of fun, the water has been standing around for awhile and it's smelly and once you sploosh through it you're soaked for the rest of your ride...which is still about 15 miles.  this area was REPAIRED!  i avoided it by using the Alternate i invented last year, but noticed it seemed to be clear on my way back, and rode through to investigate - they've done a lot of digging and it looks like there are pipes and drainage and gravel and all sorts of Things of That Nature which will hopefully drain all of the rain better.  while i was biking the alternate route someone called out "HEY SEXY" from their truck.  at least, i think that's what he said.  if not it was something like, "HEY!  TAXI!"  which wouldn't have been out of place if, say, i'd been in kenya.  or walking.  or trying to hail a cab.  or if they'd been driving a taxi.  so i'm going to go with "sexy" and i'm going to take whatever pleasure i can out of that.  yay.  there were a lot of flying insects.  i noticed them particularly when they hit me in the eyeball.  there were also lots of those 13-lined ground squirrels - BUSY!  SCURRYING!  ABOUT!  doing the sorts of things that 13-lined ground squirrels do.  i biked past this really pretty section of trail that looked like it was abloom in daisies and violets...when i stopped to check it out i noticed that they were actually bloodroot and violets (i'm relatively certain this is what i was looking at...i plan to go back and take some pictures of my own, so i can verify.  better do that later this week, just in case it flowers only briefly).  i was a bit tired when i got back to my car, but not completely worn out, so i guess whatever i've been doing over the winter has been sufficiently bike-active.  my butt's probably going to hurt a bit, but that's more an issue of getting accustomed to the seat again than it is a muscular/endurance issue. 

3. picked up a few things from the store on my way home AND got change so i could do some laundry.

4. did some laundry!  and am still doing some laundry.

5. had dinner, a shower, and went for a walk (wait, should these all have numbers?) while the laundry was going on.

6. i'm now going to put away some winter things and bring out some summer ones (since i'm washing stuff anyway, and thinking i probably hopefully won't be needing the long underwear for awhile).

not too shabby!

posted by: juuitsu at April 20, 2008 20:57 | link | comments (4) |

when i hold out my hand in front of me, i can almost see the faint, indigo numerals - his phone number carefully tattooed on my skin.  i might actually be able to read it if i examine the remains closely.  the other two (he must *really* have wanted me to call him) are completely gone - rubbed away when the player with the magic fingers and the even more impressive tongue licked them from my flesh.  a delicious shiver runs through me.

earlier...
a large group of us are walking through the mostly deserted streets late, late at night.  we're on our way to Uncle Anthony's game.  he runs high stake, complicated, often dangerous poker games - outside the law, of course - from an office space he rents downtown.  all the games take place in a glass-walled room, and most spectators watch from beyond the glass.  Anthony only allows the players themselves and a select few guests inside the room.  sometimes he sits in on the games - if they're interesting - and other times he watches from one of the private rooms in the back (off-limits to most players and guests, unless he's feeling magnanimous, or unless they work for him).  the downtown area is usually quiet at night - people start their mass exodus around 3:30 in the afternoon - and by the time we hit the streets, there's practically no human life to be found.  we turn down a well-lit alley, and *they* turn down one that runs across it, so we arrive at the junction at the same time.  our group, their group.  us, with our destination planned, them, looking for some kind of trouble. 

even though our numbers are about even, my people immediately back off.  their group *notices* and steps up into the void, shoving each of us in turn, getting in close to our faces before cussing us out.  how...predictable, how boring, how annoying.  when they push Marilyn into a wall and call her a "fucking cunt," i find that i've had enough.  "hey," i say, walking up to them.  two of them are well over 6 feet tall, and the rest are big - considerably bulky.  "hey," i say again, as they ignore me and laugh at Marilyn.  "that woman could be your mother.  show some respect.  there's no reason..."  the tallest turns to me, scowling, and pushes me hard.  "you've got Nothing to say, bitch.  do you understand?"  they start walking away.  Marilyn and the rest hurriedly scoot along the alley in the opposite direction.  i should let this go.  they're done here, we were never going to begin.  but i can't do it.  my people are hissing at me to "come ON, already," but i'm following the tall guy.  when i'm behind him, i push him hard, "HEY. i was talking to you.  you're going to listen to me."  his friends laugh and keep on walking, but he stops and grabs the collar of my shirt, twisting it tight against my throat so i can barely breathe.  "i already told you," he hisses, "you've got nothing to say.  Bitch."  he releases me slightly and i continue, "look at you.  you're huge! [he's probably almost 7 feet tall and i have to look up and up to meet his eyes]  you're like a wall.  those people with me were scared to death of you.  why do you have to do that?  that woman you slammed into the wall is someone's mom.  she could be your mom!  why would you hurt your mom, *say* those things?" 

he's studying my face now, looking uncertain - obviously this is more conversation than he'd planned for.  i look back at him for a moment, then put my hand on his arm - still outstretched, fingers still wrapped in my collar.  "do you always do this?"  i ask quietly.  he looks deep into my eyes.  "because, you don't have to.  you could...i don't know.  try being friendly?"  his left eyebrow shoots up and i grin slowly, "or, at least be...um...more non-confrontational."  he smiles a little then and releases his grip on my shirt.  he doesn't agree or disagree.  he takes my elbow and jerks me in the direction of my group, then he takes my hand and says, "i'll walk you back."

my people are waaaaay ahead of us.  walking fast.  they take turns looking back at us, but no one wants to interfere.  i don't *seem* to be in immediate danger, and none of them wants to be late to Uncle Anthony's.  i'm pleased, but perplexed by the turn of events.  his hand is warm and gentle in mine, not crushing and cruel like i'd expected it to be.  his stride is a lot longer then mine, so i find myself half-jogging to keep up.  the silence is kind of awkward, so i try to fill it.  "so...do you have any pets?"  lamest, most obvious conversation bid EVER!  but he takes it.  he doesn't even mock me.  "yeah.  fish."  i'm so surprised i almost let the ball drop.  "oh...fish.  uh.  so are they freshwater?  saltwater?"  thank goodness we're talking about something i know something about.  i'm so relieved i miss his response.  "what kind did you say?"  "Plecostomi."  "huh."  he goes on to describe how his plecostomus is nearly as big as its tank, how he loves the huge dorsal fin, the mottled browns and blacks of its skin.  he's much more intelligent than i would have thought - judging from his previous behavior.  "those are pretty cool.  i have a small one in my fish tank.  what i really like are loaches.  you know, clown loaches?  i also have lohachata and striata botias - they're in the same family.  they're all kind of long-bodied, with the mouth barbels - bottom feeders.  they're really feisty and aggressive.  but, i think they'd get along well with cichlids.  have you ever had those?  i was thinking about getting some..."  i realize i'm babbling.  but he's also listening to my babble with a great deal of interest.  we pass my group and keep on walking.  they cast horrified looks in my direction, but when i glance back, they've all disappeared into Uncle Anthony's building.  great.  so much for their support.  now i'm free to be murdered at the giant's leisure.  but he doesn't seem to be inclined.  to murder me.  just yet.  we keep talking, keep walking until we're under the lights of a movie marquee.  "i have to get back," i say.  "i've got a prior engagement...but it was nice talking to you."  we've stopped now and he looks down at his feet for a moment.  then reaches into his jacket pocket and takes out a pen.  he raises our hands - still clasped together - and then, with his other hand, carefully writes out three phone numbers across the back of mine.  he smiles, "you should call me some time."  then he drops my hand, and walks away.  he turns around once and waves at me, then disappears around a corner.  that was...incredible.

when i get back to Anthony's, Marilyn is standing just outside the door, smoking furiously.  "thank god!" she says, when i appear in front of her.  she hugs me hard.  "i thought you were dead."  no, i reassure her.  "you won't believe this.  but he was actually nice.  look!"  i show her the phone numbers on my hand and she laughs and laughs until she practically chokes on her cigarette.  "that is UNbelievable."  she pushes me gently toward the door.  "you'd better get inside.  you know how Anthony gets if anyone is late."

Anthony gets ugly is what Anthony gets.  he runs a very tight ship and anything that messes up his schedule or the smooth operation of his business is frowned upon.  a lot of games have had unfortunate (for the players) consequences.  Anthony is never on the unfortunate side of these transactions.  but players?  well.  let's just say that our regulars know what's expected of them.  it's the newbies, the ones who think they can call the shots, who often find themselves holding the wrong end of the stick. 

when i get inside, the game is about to begin.  casual observers are gathered around the glass room.  most are sipping drinks from the bar.  there's an empty chair in the room across from Uncle Anthony.  he's already seated on a red leather foot stool, elbows propping his head up over his knees.  i'm not quite late.  but i'm not on time either as far as he's concerned.  he lifts his head and jerks his chin toward the empty chair.  that's for me.  i nod at him and take my seat.  we both focus our attention on the players in the center of the room.  there's Trina, a house player - she's one of Anthony's "staff."  and there's another guy.  he's sitting cross-legged in the center of the floor, shuffling the cards expertly between his hands.  Uncle Anthony's made a personal appearance.  so...this guy must be important.  or arrogant.  there's no time to discuss it now; i'll just have to watch him and see.

the cards fly between his hands and flit in and out between his fingers as he shuffles.  i've never seen anything like it, and i've watched more than a few of these games.  his skill is unreal.  inhuman, even.  he smiles up at me from beneath thick, expressive eyebrows, and my breath catches.  hot damn, this man is fine!  he knows it, too.  and i've obviously given away *my* thoughts, because he grins at me widely,  openly.  he's doing the cards one-handed now - as agile with a single hand as he was with two.  he stretches the leg of his grey jeans taut with his free hand, drops the cards from his shuffling hand into the space he's created, we all watch as the deck falls and stacks up perfectly.  my mouth drops open in unconscious awe.  if possible, the player grins even wider.  he takes a second stack of cards and works his magic fingers on them.  there's some scattered applause from beyond the room and the player looks up to acknowledge his audience before refocusing his attention on me.  he sets the decks of cards aside, shuffling accomplished, and crawls on hands and knees over to me.  he raises himself up onto his heels and moves forward until his hands are resting on my knees.  i've unconsciously pulled myself back into my seat to accommodate this.  our eyes are locked together and he maintains this contact as he takes my hand and kisses it, deeply.  "my lady," he says.  i can't make myself form words, so i nod, once, imperceptibly.  his smile envelopes me and i forget about our audience as he kisses my hand again.  his lips remain pressed against the back of my hand for a moment, and then i feel the heat of his breath against my skin as he turns it over.  his mouth brushes ever so slightly against my palm, it moves over my wrist and my pulse nearly leaps from my veins to meet him.  he returns to my palm, his lips part, and he places a sweet wet kiss in its center.  i pull my arm back slightly in surprise, but he anticipates my reaction and holds me steady.  he plants his mouth firmly over my palm and sucks gently.  i gasp as his mouth moves up my arm, slowly, tonguing, licking, sucking, kissing until he reaches the bend of my elbow, the sensitive crease.  he lingers there and reaches up with his other hand to caress my bicep.  i shiver.  he works his way back down to my palm, turns my hand over and licks, his tongue a muscular hard wetness against me, from my knuckles to my elbow once more, then releases me.  there is absolute silence in the room.  his eyes hold me still.  a heartbeat.  another.  and then, the sound of Trina, working her own shuffling magic behind us.

i can't concentrate on anything after the player's kisses.  i don't see the game, I barely notice the players - even that fine man who's left me all quivery inside.  i don't even notice Uncle Anthony.  this lack of awareness could be dangerous, fatal.  my inattention is probably pissing him off, but i'm too lost in my own senses to remind myself that a pissed Uncle Anthony is a bad thing.  the only thing that probably saves me is my youth and inexperience.  and the fact that Anthony likes me so much.  he's not what you would call forgiving under normal circumstances.  if i'm here at all, in the room with the players, there's a reason for it.  and i'm fucking it up.  we'll probably talk later.  Anthony never misses an opportunity to speak his mind.  but i can't think of any of that now.

when i settle down some, i notice how the light plays off of Trina's blonde hair.  her face remains in shadow, but her hair has this translucent glow, like some independent living thing.  the player's attention is wrapped up in the game - he hasn't looked away since Trina's shuffling.  Trina is sublimely cool.  confident.  she's Uncle Anthony's machine.  he watches her, with an unreadable expression in his dark brown eyes, but i can tell he's pleased.  the game wraps up as Trina lays down a succession of 2s.  the player loses.  his expression clouds over with frustration, and anger for a moment.  but he collects himself, nods at Trina, and shakes Anthony's hand before leaving.  he does not look at me.  would it have been different, i wonder, if he'd won?  would he have smirked, twisted his long fingers in my hair, led me out of the room in a daze?  instead he disappears as if he never was and my fingers close around my empty palm.

later, in the back, i'm collecting some things.  i'm so irritated with himself for my behavior during the game.  i don't know what's wrong with me tonight.  why everything is affecting me so much.  Anthony comes in and asks me if i need some help.  i apologize for being so disorganized and he frowns at me.  "you're not usually like this.  what happened tonight?"  i tell him about Marilyn, and the gang - the giant i tamed.  and in the telling, my enthusiasm returns.  "i just can't believe i did that.  went after him like that, and then changed it all around.  i neutralized the situation!"  i look up at Anthony and realize that i'm forgiven.  Anthony's proud of me.  he reaches down and ruffles my hair.  "good job, kid," he says, and means it. 

posted by: juuitsu at April 18, 2008 12:17 | link | comments (2) |

i promised some good bits from hawaii...

when i got off the plane in honolulu (before catching my flight to hilo) i strolled through the airport (getting from the international/continental terminal to inter-island is a nice, long walk), much of which is open to the air (not air-conditioned).  there are a number of japanese gardens you can look out over, or walk down and explore (didn't have time to stroll *in* them while i was there), and i just felt so happy to be there.  i'd left chicago with several inches of snow on the ground and temperatures still in the 30s, and here i was basking in 80 degree weather.  it also smelled great (flowering trees perfuming the airport sure beats jet fuel). 

i got into hilo in the early evening and discovered that my luggage was missing.  i didn't care too much.  i figured it would show up eventually, and i was just happy to be done with all of the long flying bits.  we filled out some paperwork and then went to my aunty's house to celebrate her mother's 90th birthday.  there were a bunch of people there i didn't know.  [note: i'm following a japanese/hawaiian tradition and just calling all of my *elders* aunty and uncle here - we do have some family in the islands, but none of the people we visited on this trip are actually related to us; they're all friends of mom or dad or related to friends of mom and dad.]  and plenty i did, and plenty more who introduced themselves to me.  we all started talking like we'd known each other for years anyway.  one of my uncles was frying up some freshly caught mahi-mahi, which we ate right out of the pan with his special sauce (seemed like it was shoyu - soy sauce - based, but he wouldn't tell us what exactly was in it; special = secret).  and one of my aunties made this amazing crunchy salad that had a cayenne dressing that was just delicious.  another aunty brought sushi rolls she'd made by hand that afternoon, and there were many other wonderful things to eat.  [mom's on weight watcher's and she was just devastated by all of the buffets that people threw together while we were there.  *grin*]  they kept me up until what would have been about 4am chicago time.  ugh.  good thing i slept a lot on the plane(s).

the next morning i got up early and went for a walk down into town.  my folks slept in until i got back and then we all had some breakfast.  i talked them into walking down with me (again) and they were enthusiastic about the walk *down* the hill and the poking around we did into various little shops, but the walk back *up* the hill nearly killed them.  i think we stopped about 4 times on the way up.  they both wore their hiking boots.  [i'd told them that i wanted to do lots of hiking/walking while we were on vacation and they really tried to prepare for it - thus the boots - but neither one of them is really up to the amount of walking i like to do.  mom has problems with foot pain and dad has asthma.]  i decided to keep going after they stopped again.  i think it's much easier to just keep plowing on - especially if there's an end in sight.  this doesn't work so well in the mountains where you're just going up and down and then back up again ALL the time, but when there's a nice, cool house to get back to, it's definitely the way to go.

uncle fish fry called us that afternoon and wanted to take us out hiking (whee!).  mom and dad felt up to it, so we headed out on the saddle road and passed the first few trails (it was kind of rainy and wet up there).  we stopped at a trail at the base of mauna loa (i forget what it was called).  all of us started trudging up a steep path to the left.  things were going well until my dad stubbed his toe and nearly fell (he thinks that he actually sprained something when this happened), and then mom looked down over the edge and noticed how far the ground had dropped away.  there was much clutching of grass and other plants at that point, and then they said they were going to hike around the other way as it looked a bit less steep.  we continued on to the top of the hill and then wound around down into the forested area where we surprised a pheasant.  not sure if mom and dad ever did make it up to the top...  my...cousin [going by the same convention as above] ran straight up the side of the hill - up a lot of slippery sliding debris.  he said he almost hurled.  uncle fish fry went down the same way, and the rest of us, after considering it briefly, decided to take a more leisurely route.  short-ish hike, but nice views from the top.  [i'll try to post some pictures later.]

on tuesday, after my walk down to the post office, we drove out to the botanic gardens.  now, i went to what i thought were the botanic gardens last year when i was in hawaii, and this place was completely different.  so i'm thinking that there are probably several places with similar names.  this one was a bit wilder than the one i'd been to last year, and not as well established (there's still a lot of work being - and to be - done).  there was a nice view of a waterfall (that's probably where i picked up my first 15 mosquito bites), and a tramp through the "rain forest."  dad was wearing his new aqua socks because his foot was really bothering him and he looked quite the tourist - dark socks dark "shoes", green shorts.  :)  aw.  there was a continuation of the trail - unpaved - that i followed for another 30 minutes or so (it led back to the road), and mom and dad turned back and had lunch.  i took out my video camera and got lots of footage of the trail (which, isn't all that exciting), and me talking about random stuff.  i felt very much in touch with my inner david attenborough.  we also hiked around one of the other trails and then i got us lost in the children's maze.  mom *found* us again by walking through some of the "walls."  she was of the opinion that we'd spent Enough Time Already Doing That.  heh.

later that night, i drove out to see the volcanic eruption with some aunts and uncles.  they let you drive out onto the lava flow (part of it has crushed lava/gravel road) and park, then you hike in to see the eruption.  there are actually two parking lots and you can either park in the first and hike about a mile and a half in, or park in the second and hike the last half mile.  they only let so many cars into the lots at a time and we didn't really want to wait around to get to the second lot, so we set off for the longer hike...and plans quickly changed when a woman in a pickup truck asked our group if we wanted a ride.  pretty much everyone defected and jumped in the back of her truck.  all except for me, uncle fish fry, and uncle bird guy.  we decided to get our damn exercise.  it was almost full dark when we hit the last half mile.  everyone has flashlights and stumbles along a course plotted out by park volunteers.  the lava flow there is old and hardened, but it's still really hard to walk on.  there are all kinds of ankle-twisty bits, and even large cracks/holes in the ground.  i was glad my folks stayed home, as i can imagine all kinds of disasters befalling them!  they have the area roped off where they want people to stop, and everyone kind of crowds around and peers out at the lava shooting out of the ground.  the action is still a good mile away, but you can see bright orange hot stuff oozing, exploding, and flaming into the night.  it's very cool.  i tried to get some video of it, but i may have been too far away.  one of the park people had set up a telescope so that  you could get a close up look at what was happening.  set against the clear, starry, night sky, it was all very beautiful.  we hiked back, had some dinner out the tailgate, and then drove back to one of my aunties' houses for dessert. 

went for a walk into town again (early early in the morning) on wednesday, then  mom and dad and i went to imiloa - the planetarium - to see the afternoon show.  it was really cool!  it was about the history (and future) of space travel and was 3-D (the first of its kind, they said).  things really did jump right off the screen and it seemed like you could actually touch them.  the glasses they made us wear were fantastic!  i snapped some pictures with my dad's camera of us looking all alien with the blue lighting of the planetarium reflecting off our 3-D glasses.  i think those are my favorites of the pics i took.  dad probably has *not* gotten them off his camera yet, as he's still sick sick sick.  that night we went to one of my favorite restaurants in hilo - Miyo's.  it's this little place that's on the second floor of this building that over looks a pond.  it's always really crowded and the food is usually excellent.  we all got various fish dishes and ate and gabbed until late.  came back to aunty whom we stayed with's house and watched harold and kumar go to white castle.  mom and dad have never seen this (i'm not surprised) and mom was terribly, terribly shocked by parts of it.  aunty fish fry, who loudly proclaimed it to be one of her favorite movies before we watched it, admitted that she wasn't really sure why she'd liked it so much the 4 or 5 times she'd seen it before.  mom was scandalized.  she may never recover. 

thursday morning, mom had planned a get together with a bunch of her school friends.  they all met us for breakfast and we monopolized the restaurant for a good 3 hours.  aunty green drink talked to me most of that time.  she was really cool; i'm glad i got to meet her.  don't think i had a chance to really talk with anyone else, as we rather monopolized one another the whole time.  [i think it's kind of fascinating and fun to be thrown in with all of these people that i don't know and find out that we have all of these crazy things in common.  for some reason i feel/felt immediately at home with these friends of my folks.  and some of them *they* don't even know very well.  the aunties with who i traveled to new zealand last spring were people my folks barely know, but we got along really well while we were traipsing around together.  it occasionally strikes me as odd that i should feel so comfortable so easily, when other situations are  anxiety producing.  *shrug*  i guess i'll just enjoy it!]

the Merrie Monarch festival was going on (started wednesday night), and there were lots of craft fairs and performances going on in conjunction with that.  [if you didn't know - and i didn't - the Merrie Monarch festival is a big hula competition/event where dancing groups/schools from all over the world come and compete for prizes and honors.  it was supposedly named for the ruler who tried to repopularize hula and hawaiian traditions.]  after breakfast, we went over to look at one of the craft fairs, but i got caught up in the performances, so i told everyone i'd catch up with them later and just watched the dancers for the next hour or so.  very cool stuff.  there were some dancers with traditional costumes that just looked like someone had taken a large, stiff piece of fabric (or an enormous leaf) and tied a bow around their middles.  amusing.  there was lots of chanting while the dances went on - groups had at least one person singing who *just* sang, and sometimes the dancers themselves would sing or chant while they were dancing.  we watched some of the competition on tv - i think i like the traditional dances best.  the men's dances were really cool, and some of the women also did powerful, stomping, active dances as well.  i much preferred the group dances to the individual ones, and traditional over modern.  i have no idea who won in the end - the competition went on for HOURS.  none of us made it until the end.  [lunch was at this place called the Hilo Bay restaurant - i think - and it was delicious.  last year i had this spinach-apple-bacon salad that was amazing.  i tried an ahi-caesar this time, and it was also very yum.]

friday was a quiet-ish day.  mom was really starting to feel ill, and dad and i mostly rested.  i went for a walk in the evening down to the post office and back. 

saturday we made the quickest trip to (kailua) kona EVER!  one of my aunties came with us and she had to be back home by 4, so after leaving a bit late, we drove over to the other side of the island (took about 2 hours), and hiked around down by the ocean.  it was beautiful - deep, deep blue, lots of sunshine, wind.  all sorts of ritzy resorts down there.  there was supposed to be a cultural exhibit in one of the hotels, but it was closed on saturdays - aunty must be back by 4 and i found it, and peered in the window.  "looks nice," she said, and we laughed and went back to find my folks in the car.  we meant to walk around the touristy bits for awhile, but dad parked way up on top of the hill that leads down that way.  mom was muttering something, "do you know how FAR it is down to the shops?"  grumble grumble.  the important thing at that time was LUNCH, so a couple blocks down i spied a sign for a thai restaurant and we ducked in there, which abbreviated our death march and removed the necessity of actually getting to the touristy bits.  after lunch we turned around and drove home.  we were back by 4.  ;)

saturday night the cold struck and i spent most of the night blowing my nose and being nauseous in the bathroom with the tailless gecko.  sunday was basically a repeat of saturday.  monday i stayed in bed all day and felt slightly less nauseous.  tuesday-wednesday i flew back to chicago, nearly dying in the process.  and if you'd like a rehash of what that was like, scroll down and reread my sick entry.  :)

posted by: juuitsu at April 17, 2008 23:32 | link | comments |

i think i'm mostly well.  i still can't hear properly, and i'm hoping that that clears up soon, as it has been by far the most irritating part of being sick.  bleh.  mom's in the same boat.  still, it has its advantages.  for instance, i haven't been able to hear the people at work who mumble or talk under their breath or have the sorts of conversations with me regularly where they face the other direction.  and i'm not worried about what i'm missing.  it's kind of liberating.  plus, it reduces piercing irritating voices to a point where i can ignore them.  there's something to be said for being TEMPORARILY hard of hearing.  and i've said it. 

this morning i chugged down green drink number 2.  i had green drink number 1 last night while i was making dinner.  the green drinks idea came from a woman i met in hawaii.  mom invited a bunch of her school friends out for breakfast one morning, and i spent most of the meal talking with a friend of hers from college.  this woman has been going to a class/group where they talk about different things you can do to improve your health.  one of their classes focused on green drinks.  basically, all you need is a blender, some dark leafy greens, and some water.  then you puree, then you drink.  voila.  they say a "handful" of leafy greens and however much water you want to blend that into.  i'm not sure what my proportions ended up being.  i threw in a whole bunch of parsley (after cutting off the stems) and some water, and then pureed it for not long enough.  my first "sip" was like eating an enormous clump of moss.  when i was finally able to swallow i pretty much felt like i'd eaten ALL of the parsley in one gulp.  i pureed the remainder some more and refrigerated it for later.  pureed parsley isn't so bad.  just keep in mind that it isn't so fantastic either.  :)  i'm not exactly sure i remember the "science" behind it, but it had something to do with keeping your body in its natural alkaline state.  i've heard enough things about dark leafy greens being good for one, that i'm inclined to believe that there's something to it.  we'll see.  i also have some spinach to try.  not sure how that will turn out.  maybe a spinach-parsley mixture would be tasty.  actually, i'd like to get some basil and mint and throw that in there, too.  the grocery store i went to last night didn't have either of those fresh, though.

dinner was pan-fried tilapa (no breading, as i was unable to locate the fish seasoning i like), with pesto and tomatoes and avocados.  it was delicious.  i don't know why i don't buy more fish.  i certainly tried to make up for it when i was in hawaii.  i had fresh mahi-mahi, and ahi, and ono, and shrimp, and sashimi.  i was really, really, really happy. 

posted by: juuitsu at April 17, 2008 22:27 | link | comments (1) |

frabjous day!

i can hear!
in one ear!

the clouds of mucus are clearing!

posted by: juuitsu at April 12, 2008 15:55 | link | comments |

a friend of mine sent me this:

The Shortest Fairy Tale....
    
Once upon a time a guy asked a girl 'Will you marry me?'
The girl said... 'NO!'

And the girl lived happily ever after and went shopping, dancing, camping, drank martinis, always had a clean house, never had to cook, did whatever the hell she wanted, never  argued, didn't get fat,  traveled more, had many lovers, didn't save money, and had all the hot water to herself.  She went to the theatre, never watched sports, never wore fricken lacy lingerie, had high self  esteem, never cried or yelled, felt and looked fabulous in sweat pants...

- THE END -

posted by: juuitsu at April 09, 2008 23:27 | link | comments (2) |

all i want to do is check my email.  and this !()^%(_^# computer/site/etc. won't load it.  it's driving me batshit.  but right now it's not taking much.  i have the mother of all colds, which, appropriately, i received from my mother while we were vacationing in hawaii.  it sucks to get sick on vacation.  it sucks even more to fly home when you have a sinus infection.  oh my god.  that was 9 hours + torture.  [i'm going to apologize now for being cranky and ranty and sick...i'll write about the good stuff later, when i'm feeling less cranky and ranty and sick.]

mom picked up this bug in honolulu and didn't express any symptoms until a few days later.  meanwhile, she'd already shared her toothbrush with me (they lost my luggage on the way to hilo) - never, never do this.  just go out and buy a new one or wait for your freakin' luggage to arrive.  not that i wouldn't have gotten sick anyway, but it's not like i couldn't have avoided sharing the same toothbrush.  stupid!  i felt pretty ok until friday and then my nose started to run (and run and run and run).  we went to the other side of the island on saturday, and on sunday i was so sick i could barely move.  everything hurt.  then i got nauseous.  then i threw up into my hands.  then i stared at the tailless gecko on the bathroom wall (it'd obviously had a rotten day, too) and asked it if i was going to live.  no response from the gecko.  i spent monday in bed, and tuesday morning i thought i might be starting to recuperate...but i also had a plane to catch - several planes.

the first flight was a short hop between islands, and it wasn't horrible, but it wasn't comfortable either.  next, from honolulu to los angeles.  terrible.  i think my whole head nearly exploded from all of the horrible things that were happening in my sinuses with the pressure.  when we finally landed i wanted to run off the plane and find somewhere to quietly curl up and die.  i could barely hear anything (still can't - everything sounds echo-y).  i seriously thought about just staying in LA until i had recuperated.  turns out, my luggage had the same idea - it stayed in LA when i continued on to chicago.  i bought some of those ear plugs that are supposed to help with pressure.  i've never had this problem before - when i was well - but there was no way i could yawn or chew gum or do ANYTHING to adjust the pressure in my head.  it also made me nauseous - either the cold, or the flying, or the stress or some combination, so i was afraid to eat anything that, you know, might end up on my seatmate.  i bet the guy i sat next to on the way to chicago was real happy that the flight attendant reseated him next to me.  seemed like a decent guy, and under normal well-juuitsu circumstances i would have had a lot more to say to him, but i just didn't have the energy to be social.  i exploded off the plane in chicago to find that my luggage was missing AGAIN.  the guy at the desk was eversohelpful...i think his initial comment was, "and what do you expect ME to do about that?"  uh, i don't know.  your job?  after some really fantastic exchanges where he first claimed that i'd never been on the plane from LA to chicago, and then asked me if i wasn't supposed to be going to cleveland (??), he told me to go to some other baggage carousel because *maybe* they'd put my bag on the nonstop flight.  i don't know if crying would have helped matters, but i was ready to.  my folks were on the nonstop flight and they came down and found me draped over baggage carousel number 11 (or whatever the unclaimed luggage holding pen is called).  while waiting in line to file another baggage claim, the woman at the desk abruptly left, saying her shift was over and that someone else would be there soon.  some other woman in line went up there and started shouting into the microphone they have behind the desk and shortly thereafter someone *did* appear who was actually helpful.  but you know what?  it was my DAD who figured out what happened.  we looked at my baggage claim ticket and saw that there was nothing about chicago on it, so we figured that my bag might have made it to LA, but no further.  that turned out to be the case.  but none of the agents were able to tell me that much.  which makes me wonder if any of them are literate?  if we could just eyeball a claim ticket and suspect that, why couldn't they?  and where the hell does cleveland come into it? 

my brother picked all of us up and dad drove us home.  i was nauseous all the way there, and fell into bed almost as soon as we got home.  the dog was very concerned.  i'd said something about wanting to take a hot bath, so mom decided to clean the bathroom before i went in (apparently my brother had left a huge mess in there).  she started to vacuum and i just started crying.  my head was pounding, my cheek bones, my jaw, and even my teeth hurt.  any noise was more than i could take, and i'd used up all of my energy just DEALING with things up until that point.  she stopped.  i had my bath.  didn't feel better.  tried to sleep.  couldn't rest with all of the pounding.  a few hours later i caved in and took some of that theraflu stuff.  the acetaminophen dulled the pain enough for me to finally rest. 

meanwhile, mom and dad fought some kind of battle with the sump pump - it had been running pretty much constantly since they'd left and bro mentioned that he'd had to use the backup pump several times to help it keep up (so there was water all down the driveway when we pulled up).  they haven't been able to find anything wrong with it, so the plumber is coming out tomorrow to see what he can see.  neither one of them got to sleep until tonight, as a result.  dad made some fantastic chicken soup - the first actual meal i've had since sunday!  yay!  i've been living on toast (plain) and a few crackers here and there.  my aunty brought me some fresh squeezed orange juice, too, that was heavenly, and i woke up in the middle of the night on monday and had an apple that was divine. 

mm.  i think the moral of this story is never, under any circumstances, borrow your mom's toothbrush.  night.

posted by: juuitsu at April 09, 2008 22:52 | link | comments (5) |

Template by motime.com  |