Thursday, November 17, 2011

End of week one

A very cool tree nearl Nu'uanu Pali Lookout
Hard to believe I left a week ago! It's been a pretty cool week. Here's a disjointed account of things I've learned about Hawai'ian culture that I'm pretty sure you wouldn't learn if all you did was stay at a resort. For instance, I didn't realize that Aloha shirts are worn by men all the time. That's what men wear to work. There is nothing kitschy abut it. I also learned that only 10% of Native Hawi'ians get a bachelor's degree. Out in remote areas, little kids might get on a public bus at 5:30 am to be able to get to a good school. It rains almost every single night. It's raining right now, but I'm secluded on my little lanai surrounded by vegetation. Speaking of vegetation, bananas and papaya are never tree-ripened. As they get ripe, birds eat them off the trees. So dont complain about green papaya and banana in the grocery store. If the tree was in your yard, you would pick the fruit and let it sit for days to ripen anyway! We have papaya off the front mountainside/yard tree ripening on the counter now! Tomorrow, the movers will come. That means everyone in the neighborhood will be inconvenienced for a chunk of the day. Not sure how they feel about it, but surely anyone who lives on the side of a mountain would understand that a moving truck will have to block a good portion of the road in order to make the move happen. Not sure how the move will affect my weekend plans to go tailgating and stay with Marie. Fingers crossed!

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

I did it!

Since I can't post a lot of pictures, I picked the one that best represents my day. I rocked out some data crunching yesterday and today, and was able to submit another conference abstract. Woot! Woot! Talk about productivity. Tomorrow I will shift back to older data and try to finish a manuscript.

Right now we're talking dish washers. I don't know much about dishwashers except that I hate washing dishes. This is a fantastic learning experience. At first I tight $1000 was outrageous, but given that I really, really hate doing dishes it's starting to sound pretty reasonable. Id gladly fork over a dollar a day to NOT do dishes. In less than 3 years, the dishwasher would practically pay for itself! Who knew I would learn so much about dishwashers today? Did you know Kenmore is made by Kitchen-Aid? And evidently, Kenmore/ Kitchen-Adenis the best brand right now.

Google hates me...

Monday, November 14, 2011

One heck of a fantastic weekend!

I spent the weekend with my friend, Marie. It was not your average weekend in Hawai'i! Well...actually, I suppose it kind of was a pretty average weekend. It was not a touristy experience though. We saw Jack and Jill (not recommended), ate good food, ate more good food, ate papaya picked from a tree in her garden, and today we really crammed it all in. Started around 8am with a 12 mile hike. We were covered in mud, and I have a very sore bum from the tumble I took, but it was worth it for the view at the summit! This isn't the summit view, but it's my favorite picture of the day. A single wild orchid along the trail with the mountains and ocean in the back. Gorgeous! And...since BlogPress is still waiting for iTunes update approval, I'm pretty limited to the number of pictures I can post.

Saturday, November 12, 2011

Tenting

Now this is one of those things you just can't believe unless you've gotten to see it with your own eyes. Tenting. Because bugs are a bit of a problem in the Hawai'i climate, they have to do some serious extermination. Basically, an entire house is covered with tarps. They are even clipped to the ground some way. Then, the insecticide is pumped into the inside. Not really sure how long the whole process takes, but just getting an entire house tarped in the winds has to take some time. The house I'm staying in was tented before my adviser moved in. I would assume that between tenants would be the ideal time. Not sure how more permanent folks handle it. Crazy, right?

Friday, November 11, 2011

This image brought to you by my graduate experience...

Aloha! Sadly, my typical blog app has a bug. The best I can do is to email a post and hope for the best. The picture is of the view from Nu'uanu Pali Lookout which is one of the Hawai'i State Park. At this historical point, King Kamehaeha and his warriors defeated the O'ahu armies. He basically forced them all over the cliff to their deaths. This victory of sorts united the Hawaiian Islands in 1795. The rest of the story is here: http://www.hawaiiweb.com/oahu/sites_to_see/pali_lookout.htm

Wednesday, November 09, 2011

New Adventure

The blogging hiatus was a necessary evil. Things have been pretty cRazY. Just a few things to fill you in...
  • I've worn a different pair of earrings every day since October 3. 
  • I had my first big interview. 
  • I haven't heard whether I will get the position or not, because our lovely Congress hasn't agreed on a national research budget yet. So annoying.
  • I went to a great conference in Baltimore where I tried clam chowder and lobster pot pie for the first time.
  • Our department head was inducted into the Institute of Medicine. Pretty big stuff!
  • Baxter and I both got hair cuts.
  • I managed to get an abstract in for the Experimental Biology conference.
  • I had a nervous break down that lead to a great night with friends at our favorite pub.
  • I knit a gorgeous sweater  for mom in 3 weeks. Knitting speed directly correlated with stress level. 
  • My niece called me Auntie for the first time! She held out for just shy of 4 whole years. 
  • Today I will see my entire family for said niece's birthday. Four is pretty big, you know!
  • Tomorrow I will spend a whoppin' 10 hours on an airplane. Hawaii or bust!
Yup, leaving for Hawaii tomorrow, and I will be there for a month. Time to put the pedal to the metal and get this dissertation done. Finishing a dissertation is never fun, but I'm pretty sure Oahu will be a wee bit more scenic than my office. We used to have a window picture frame with a beach scene behind it, but we don't even have that much scenery down here anymore. I'll try to be better about keeping you all posted on any adventures I have while I'm there.