Just Another Day In Paradise

I must say, it's really disappointing how having a "real" job interferes with the very things that I hold near and dear to my heart, the things I consider to be the very essence of my being - frolicking in the sunshine and chatting with my friends and family online. I'm now into my 3rd week of working and it's really putting a damper on this little "pretend" vacation I've blissfully been on the past 3 months. It's not that I don't like working; I do. I like the sense of accomplishment of learning something new, meeting new people, and making a bit of money. However, I don't love what I do and that makes it hard to be excited to go there for 8 hours per day. Another thing that slightly bums me out about having a job is that it means I'm putting down roots here, 6000 miles away from everything and everyone I know and that makes me want to mess my human suit! Seriously, it's some scary stuff. As I mentioned earlier, there is no driving from here to there. There's only a 15+ hour plane ride, and that is not so fun for the hiney.

The very first thing I did today after getting out of work was drive home, take the work clothes off, put the beach clothes on, grab my book and a towel and drove the 2 blocks to the beach. All of this happened in a matter of 15 minutes - like a caged animal let out at feeding time...it was that sense of urgency! (Normally, I would walk, but it was already after 4pm and I needed to consume every possible ray of sunshine that I could.) And it wasn't even that I was really so hot and needed to go directly into the water, but I threw my towel down on the sand, not-so-carefully throwing my phone and keys into opposite corners so as to keep the wind from blowing it up and away, and headed straight into the water. Now, I'm willing to bet that most people get that "eek, this is chilly", suck in your tummy, jump up so the incoming waves don't go past the equator bit. Well, if you don't, then you're lucky. It was probably about 80 degrees and I still did this water dance! But, one wave was just high enough to hit above the equator so there was nothing left for me to do except dive into the water, and then stand up, facing the beach (so no big rouge waves blast me in the face as I open my eyes - that sucks), and quickly glancing to make sure the bikini is still where it should be - on, and covering the necessary parts (it was). And then I frolicked just long enough to catch a breeze and get chilly, so I got out and went to the towel (still intact), read my book and relaxed. It was perfect. Another perfect day in paradise.

In case you're reading this, wondering "Wow, it sounds pretty great. Are there any downsides of living in Hawaii?" Let me tell you, there are. Take for example, my very first unpleasant experience that I had here. It was probably about 3 weeks after arriving on the island and I was making my trek - the 1.7 miles - down to the post office to send out another batch of post cards. I had gotten a late start so it was nearly 5 by the time I got there and decided to turn around and come straight back to the house instead of moseying around any of the little shops. As I'm walking back home, I pass a juice store, touristy shops, Salvation Army and bank. Now, I do the proper bit and stop to look and make sure no cars are coming out of the drive-thru lane (I prefer not to get hit by any cars, if at all possible), and what do I see? There were no cars, scooters or trucks, but there was something frightening that caught my eye. There, in the very corner of the bank drive thru lane, facing the main road, was a man relieving himself, looking at me as I walked passed. It was so creepy, perverse and dirty! It was like a slow-motion train wreck in that I didn't want to look, but I couldn't not look! I immediately felt the need to shower with clorox upon arriving home because Johnson's Body Wash just wasn't going to cut it. And all I could think was "Seriously, dude. I don't know what your situation is, maybe you're homeless and that is sad and I feel for you. BUT, your kibbles and bits are NOT homeless. Those puppies should be kenneled inside their Wranglers at all times, especially during daytime hours. Nobody (ie: me) wants to see you watering the bank's bushes....eww." I mean, jeez!

And so to the conclusion...yes, even though I love being here in beautiful Hawaii, there are some downsides (public urination and exposure to some random dude's junk). And for that, I give NH 1 and HI 0. After all, I've never seen anyone peeing in the drive thru of Mascoma Savings Bank.