Rockets in Hawaii, the battle for Harry, and some Genki Sushi goodness! July 11, 2009

Well today was a nice day out. Selina and I headed over to Genki Sushi for lunch and of course had fun selecting our meals off the Sushi Merry-Go-Round…aka the Sushi conveyor belt. I think every restaurant should do that! Its kinda fun to sit and watch the one item no one wants circle around the restaurant, feeling all rejected…in this case it was the tofu…suchi tofu just doesnt sound appealing to me! And after being stuffed to the brim with sushi, we ventured Ala Moana and I was introduced to the likes of Betsey Johnson, et al…For someone who is as worldly as me, I am apparently a fashion idiot, because 1/2 the stores were new to me! And of course this is probably partly blamed on the fact that I grew up in BFE Ohio…literally its BFE or aka Miseryburg.  The best moment though had to be the Japanese Cowboy Hula dance that I oh so cleverly happened to catch on video…so if you want to see it head on over to my Facebook because for some reason the video doesnt like my blog! And after a nice day of window shopping, and falling in love with a Coach purse that is like $900, we satiated out sadness of not being able to afford anything with a stopover at Liliha Bakery for some Coco Puffs…which are da’bomb brah!  Sadly this is the extent of my social life at the moment. My days are spent reading…and not for fun either…

Hmmm…who said a a girl cant split up two gay guys…well at least two gay penguins that is…at the San Fransisco Zoo, two male penguins,(Harry and Pepper) who have been together since 2003 were home wrecked by a female penguin(Linda)…and now the couple is no more…Apparently the controversy even turned ugly at one point.  My only concern about this news is that of all the zoos in the world, the gay penguins are from San Fran…stereotype much?

Hmm…maybe the Hawaii economy will become even more stable in the future…cause right now the only stable sectors are the DoD contracts! But there are a few out there who envision Hawaii as being the next gen tourist destination, the place where people come high-end getaways, including someday being launched from the sand to the stars, taking island-hopping to new heights. The issues at hand are whether or not the state governor will agree to the funds for a spaceport…but for me the greater concern is that this whole idea was dreamt up by some one in Oklahoma! Has ever been to HI? Infrastrucutre isnt the best here, and Im gonna guess that since they are planning on using existing runwys on Oahu and the Big Island that Infrastructure will be key! Oh well, let the dreamers dream, cause Im definately a dreamer too….

Ahhh…finally a google search that actually hints at me! “naked body art metallic bodypaint”….although Im not sure where or when I blogged about anyof that but somehow I can see myself doing it!

Later!

Murder for Hire, a little Body Paint, and the Pigeon vs Hummer Debate July 1, 2009

Well i have decided that pigeons are some of the stupidest birds alive. I sat on Bethel St waiting on the bus, watching this one pigeon trying to cross the raod during rush hour traffic. Instead of flying over the cars, it kept walking in front of oncoming cars, and then running out of the way. No it wasnt injured, in fact it eventually made its way 1/2 way across the street and discovered it couldnt run back to safety from an oncoming Hummer and finally flew to the sidewalk. The only problem? It flew back the way it came and then started the entire process over again. Either it is a daredevil trying to conquer one road at a time, or its brain has fallen out! Thats not the end of my pigeon stories for the day, but the other one is not as funny.

Since this day was full of oddities, I decided it was time to update everyone on the weird news from around the world…starting with news from Madrid. Spanish police arrested a man today who they suspect of hiring a contract killer to kill his boss to avoid being laid off.  Well, Im not thinking that this man thought the entire thing through. Now he no longer has a job and is facing jail time, rather then just being laid off.  yes the economy is hard right now, but seriously? Killing to maintain a lifestyle? Dang, who thought sociopathism was linked to Wall Street? (Oh and the killing actually occurred, it wasnt a failed hiring!)

Hmm…so if I asked you what Johnny Depp, Garfield, Paris Hilton, and roast pork have in common, what would you say? Go ahead, guess! according to China, they are all bad for your moral health. So, with the new internet filtering system coming online, the Chinese have effectively filtered the oddest array of things/people imaginable. (While arguably Hilton is bad for health, who couldnt stand a little Captain Jack?!)

Like many frequent flyers I tune out the flight attendents and videos during the takeoff check list. I figure if I cant figure out where the exits are or how to buckle a seat belt then maybe I shouldnt be flying…alone. Wel, Air New Zealand has come up with a new technique to keep passengers attention on them during this time..they are introducing domestic crew that are dressed only in body paint. Well, that should make for an interesting conversation with your 5 year old!

Later!

The overthrow of Zelaya, some Kang Nam action, and an uplifted C-Span? June 30, 2009

Well its been several days since I last blogged, and it is mainly due to the fact that the available news has been scarce except that revolving around Michael Jackson, Farrah, or Mays deaths…and honestly, we have been bombarded enough with news on the deaths within the entertainment industry that I couldnt bring myself to even regurgitate anything on the subject! So alas, Im back, and have some subjects to actually blog on!  How exciting!  Oh yes, and If Im typing and an x is left out, for some reason my x on my key board is sticking and when I type fast x has been removed from the alphabet!

Ahh..its nice to know that during all the MJ hoopla, the US military is still able to perform its duties! The Navy has been monitoring the North Korean ship, the Kang Nam 1,which  has changed its course.  The boat is suspected of carrying illegal weapons and possibly missiles, all which was banned under UN sanctions after the nucleur testing that North Korea did a few months back. The ship was heading south and was expected to dock in Hong Kong for fuel, but about 250 miles from HK, it changed course and is heading back north. I am reading a few things into that…and I tell you up front this is just my wild fascination with conspiracy theories running amuck with foreign relations thrown in! When the UN imposed sanctions on North Korea, allowing for any member state to request inspection and board a North Korean vessel that is suspected of carrying illicit materials, North Korea declared that any interception of its vessels and any attempts to board would be a declaration of war.  This leads me to two trains of thought. First, North Koreas declaration implys an interception more at seas then land, and thus docking in Hong Kong, and any  inspection carried out then may not have been upheld under their previous declaration. I say this in respect to them actually seeking a conflict with the US and other countries, and if they launch missiles first without any percieved violation of sovereignty then what little support they might have would disappear. This is also with a basis that they want to start a conflict. Secondly, the Kang Nam was a test of UN sanctions in that the North Koreans really wanted to see if member states of the UN would carry out the inspections that the Security Council approved. This is an apparent no. Well for now anyways. member states are walking a fine line between action and monitoring. There may come a day where action is needed, and that day will probably be soon, but the monitoring is the way to go for now. Now that North Korea knows that its unlikely in the immediate future that ships will be inspected, they can continue trading with Myanmar and all those friendly to Pyongyang. Either way I think this launching of this vessesl was a test on the international community and the sanctions. if North Korea is testing the waters so to speak, then it wont be long that any slight of hand by the UN or US or other Western ally will lead to what Jong il believes is valid reason to restart a war.

Also in the news, Al Franken has been officially declared Senator of Minnesota..making the Senate fillabuster proof for this term…Im happy with thi sresult, as I am hoping that Frankens appearance will at least liven up C-Span!

And in other news from the world, there was a coup in Honduras…which of course left me wondering if all my vacations are doomed to some sort of curse! Im destined for Honduras come December, so lets hope that the country is at least stable enough to visit! But at the moment, it is looking like a long drawn out coup with no end in sight. The UN is backing former President Zelaya, but those who overthrew him vowed that if he returns to Honduras he will be arrested and tried for treason. And of course thicoup drew comments form Hugao himself…who suported Zelaya and is upset about the coup, and even called for the UN to use military force to intervene!  You wonder why? Well its because Zeyaya was pushing for Constitutional changes that would allow him to run for more terms, something Hugo himself has managed to do twice in Venezuala! The last hing he wants is a coup,  or even the thought of one, springing up in his country!

Well Im off to read for Cold War…

Later!

Things Ive learned from TV today June 13, 2009

Well I have spent the day watching travel channel and food network and enjoying Man v. Food and the many food network challenges. Oh how I wish I owned my own restaurant! Josh has decided hes going to have his own travel channel show where he travels the world looking for the best pizza. I told him he had to go to Marions and Rons…

While wactching TV today, I learned that Man v Food thinks that the government should replacing waterboarding with ludafisk eating…Cause its the nastiest thing ever to eat. So if you are ever offered this “fish” just say no!

I also discovered that Hawaiians get tourist ads here. In case no one realizes, the place that locals want to go for vacation is Vegas. They love their gambling and fun. Yet somehow Michigan has decided that Hawaiians need to come to Michigan for a wonderful vacation experience. Um…the fact that I have seen this commercial over 10 times today tells me many things…that Michigan is desperate to replace the auto industry with one made of tourists, and that based off their ad itself they plan on not featuring anything of the state except the GM building in downtown Detroit and some random park scenes. I think they shoulda featured the purple people eater!  That is the best thing there is about Michigan…well at least the Detroit area.

I also have discovered that Hawaii ads on tv tend to be about anything and everything, even if the places they are advertising for aren’t even on the island. Like Outback, Sonic, and Applebees. If they are on Oahu, no one I know has ever seen them, yet we get their advertisements here. My facorite was the Outback commercial offering a Fathers Day special, and in the bottom corner of the screen there was a disclaimer for Guam and Hawaii not being included in the deal. There must be an Outback somewhere on one of the islands, but I have yet to find it on Oahu.

Well Im off to watch more Man v Food

Later!

Todays travels, let there be heat, and where is my AC? June 10, 2009

Well I have discovered that blogging while on vacation in Ohio is non existent as is evident by 1 blog post over the past month. Bad me! Oh well. I am back in Hawaii and it is frickin’ hot! No tradewinds! And that is bad especially since there is no AC either! Stupid Hawaii weather….wait…thats kinda wierd, im usually saying that about Ohio…hmmm.

Well the roomies are happy to have me back. They even bought me beer! Ill take it! And our Tv is working again which makes me happy too! I am exhausted though. I have spent the last 20 hours traveling on planes and lounging about airports…and i only had 3 hours of sleep the previous night. Oh well…im use to being sleep deprived! All in all my travels this trip were relatively uneventful…aka no problems! My flight to HI this time was delayed but I didnt care since it was my final destination! And of course I ran into people I know at the airport…this time it was Russ as he was flying in from the mainland too.

All in all its good to be back. Im dreading the walk to the bus stop tomorrow cause its going to be a bitch after not walking miles for a month! Oh well, ill survive, lets just hope theres wind tomorrow though!

Well im off to finish laundry and head to bed…at least thats the plan…

Later!

The differences between Ohio and Hawaii…. May 12, 2009

Well I made it to Ohio…and for once in my years of traveling, I had noe issues, no delays, no cancellations, no mechanical failures of planes, etc…Its almost like my curse was lifted! Almost.  Im not holding my breath cause I bet the return flight will be full of such problems!  But the flight home went smoothly.  19 hours of travel time and i finally touched down in Dayton.  In fact I touched down early! And once I departed the palne (and waited for my sis to pick me up) I got to sit and people watch at the baggage claim area.  And guess who I saw?!  Dave Chappelle!  Its kinda a weird thing to see someone famous in Dayton, OH, but then again he is from the Springfield area.

There are several oddities about living in Hawaii and then coming back to Ohio. Like for example, the fact that when I went to the grocery store when I got back, I went and bought a “normal” amount of groceries for me for a week, and as I watched the cashier ring things up, I was started that she was almost done scanning everything, and the price was so low!  Im use to paying 3x the amount then what I ended up paying! Also…at night in Hawaii, Im use to watching where I step so that I dont step on the geckos running around my house…and when I got up in the middle of the night, I was watching where I walked…although there was no need!  Old habits die hard. Finally…I didnt miss Ohio…and I was reminded why not the first hour off the plane. In Hawaii, my allergies are virtually non-existent…but here, i rely on allergy meds to breath!  It so sucks! 

Well Im off to see Em and get some much needs TLC of my hair.  Im not sure which color I will be when I leave, but it will be different then what I currently have going.  No more red.

Later!

Sleep deprivation, island fever, and dry heat May 8, 2009

Well, sleep deprivation is something Im use to, but it kinda sucks to begin an insomnia kick right before I begin a flight that will take me 1/2 way around the world! Oh well, I guess Ill get whetever sleep I can, whereever I can.

Well, year one of grad school is done! And in one more month I will begin year 2…at least im getting a break! And a nice visit back to the mainland will hopefully get me away from the insufferable heat on the island right now, because for some reason, the gods are not smiling down on us and blessing us with those infamous tradewinds, so its a very stagnent dry heat…and for all its dryness, the mosquitos seem to still be surviving if not thriving! Hopefully, Ohio will be a little bit better, but Im not holding my breath! I did get to see the ocean for the first time in months…ok yes I live on an island and I may be exagerating (but just a little),  and it was wonderful. But I think the tan I had back in October and December is gone, or at least highly faded, cause my pastiness seems to be coming back. But it is nice to be somewhere the sun doesnt seem to want to immediately burn me! I havent even worn sunscreen once out here, which is just a foreign concept to me! The only other place I was able to pull that off was Togo! Yet Detroit, Florida, Ohio, and many other seem to produce a Kristina that resembles more of a lobster then a human. Oh well, ill thank my luck and take it!

It will be nice to see family and friends, but for the first time in the past 4 months my island fever has been waining…maybe it wasnt so much island fever as it was school fever. My life consists of books, papers, class. I see the inside of the classrooms, library, and my place…all I do is study! So maybe it is a little more cabin fever than island fever, but the sight of Honolulu Harbor today got me thinking twice about my pending flight. Oh well…somehow my 18-20 hours of airplane/airport time may actually be too much for once! Who thought i’d be sick of flying! Hmmm…

Well, Im off to read…but for fun! Im kinda tv/movied out…and for all the reading ive been doing this semester, it actually sounds like fun right now..i know weird!  But since I have no hope of sleep, in part to the insomnia, and in part due to the rooster outside my window who is insisting on making a racket at 6:30am, i might as well do something that will relax me!

Later!

Oh and congrats to my Aunt and Cousin who are graduating tomorrow! I’ll try to watch the grad ceremony online…but it will be 3am out here! But heck, my insomnia may actually be good for something for once!

Vitamin C, Mexican Vacation, and goodbye Souter =( April 30, 2009

Well its been a few days since I last blogged. Its the end of the semester and I am almost done…2 more papers to go! I am working on one right now…well not right now, im procrastinating and decided to update my blog, but I will get back to my prospectus update as soon as I am done here! Class was relaxing tonight, and for once we got out early which was a nice plus! Unfortunately the bus was running late, so I only made it home about 30 min prior to my normal time, but hey, 30 minutes is an eternity in grad school!

In case you havent seen the news…Justive Souter is planning on retiring. Im personally amazed that Justice Stevens is till kicking it! I thought for sure he would be one of the first to retire after Obama was elected , but hey, to each his own.  But for all of you out there who are obsessed with the hot topic issues, a court nomination will bring out all the crazies on both sides of every issue, so it should make for some interesting blogging!

Well earlier today I read an article about how Airline seats to Mexico are easy to come by right now….wanna take that dream vacation to the Mexican Riviera, well this is the time to do it.  While some professionals seem to think that its the flu and the economy that are making an excess of seats available, Im goign to bet its because of Speidi being there…come on, who wants to have to watch those 2 do photo ops all day!

Going along the lines of the ridiculous and needlesss information that seems to be floating around out there… Sarah Jessica Parkers surrogate may or maynot be from Ohio….who cares! Or how about the Jellybean thief…a robber in PA broke into a home, but all he took were some jellybeans….seriously?! How much you wanna bet its a kid who did it! Or how about the coke smuggling Grandpa in Italy…you have to admit it was pretty genius to put the coke inside of his oranges, and then tell the cops he needed the oranges for vitamin C. Regardless, news seems to be full of random and stupid things these days…maybe its the gecko flu…

Later!

The Mans Playground, a non-religious America, and the washing machine March 9, 2009

I have been missing days of blogging, mainly due to a lack of interesting news or lack of interesting life events out here in Hawaii.  Yes I may be in “paradise,” but it is raining, and raining, and raining some more. Which means beach days, fun in the sun, and even venturing out is limited. Since I walk everywhere, if i go out, then i look like a drenched rat the rest of the day.  While not a stop all to my social life, it does make me think twice.  Oh well, I love the rain, just not when I have someplace to be.

In a recent study, the level of those Americans claiming to be religious is on the decline, while those claiming no religion (not necessary atheists) is on the rise.  Which I find enlightening! Since I am not religious in any way myself, it is noceto see the cultural ideology in America slowly shifting away from evangelical principles.  Who knows, one day there may even be an non-religious President!

I am loving that a hoax on the web has led to false reporting by major media outlets, including Fox news! Apparently someone posted online that you can get Herpes from playing beer pong, which wsin turn picked up by a college newspaper, which continued to be picked up by larger and larger news organizations, and passed off as valid!  Um…hello!…you may get a cough, but Herpes?!  This is just too funny! Too bad it wasnt April 1 yet!

Liberating women the most was the washing machine?  Really?  While yes it may have been a time conserving appliance for the household, it didnt exactly liberate women, well not in the sense that the Vatican is implying. they believe women were more liberated by the washing machine, then the pill and the right to work!  Hmmm, im going to have to respectfully have to disagree. Washing machine may have saved time, but it still meant that women lived in a patriarchal society where family responsibilities were the primary  focus. the pill and the right to work meant family planning on the womans terms, and a capability to leave the house for more opportunities…but it doesnt surprise me that the Vatican would choose the washing machine over the pill….

There is a new playground…for the men. In Germany, there is a new Mens Playground where testosterone-fueled office workers can get in touch with their “inner ditchdigger” and play all day long on 29-ton backhoes, 32-ton front-end loaders, jackhammers and various other vehicles for a cost of admission of $280/day.  Yep, Im somehow guessing that Germany didnt get the memo that the world is in a recession!

In case anyone hasnt seen the new trailer for Public Enemies…check it out!  Johnny Depp as a bank robber…who could ask for more!

Updates on Sally for anyone interested….she has been to Disney and ridden the tea cups, been to New Orleans, and is next on her way to Italy, specifically the Vatican and Rome…shes doing more traveling then me! And Im jealous!

Later!

The curse of flying continues, mildew bedding, and pink polka-dot swim trunks January 12, 2009

Well…remember awhile back when I said I was a cursed flyer?  Well it still holds true. My flights actually started out fairly normal for me…Delta couldnt find my reservation but did finally, and then my bag was heavy but she didnt catch it or charge me until the TSA people lifted it and brought it to Deltas attention…oh well…everything else was smooth…until I landed in Honolulu…where the airline lost my bag…and so now Im bagless…Which I could totally deal with and can deal with…I wasnt too stressed actually…I will stress if they cant find it in a couple of days!  Then they will pay…until then it just sucks but Ill deal.

The real fun started when I got home…the daunting 82 steps aside (boy how I didnt miss those!), when I walked in the entire place smelled of lemon freshy goodness…That should been a trigger, but it wasnt…My housemates arent exactly slobs…they clean up after themselves, but our place never smells like lemons unless our landlord has had the cleaning lady in, or well there was a major need to clean…which there was.  Apparently while Ive been gone, the rains have not stopped, and the blackouts, etc have allowed the mildew to creep into our house like a miniature plague…my room included.  I walked in and there was mildew all over my bedding, and my side table, and floor…it was gross.  So instead of climbing into bed, I am currently doing laundry so that eventually I can sleep…eventually being the operative word. I have cleaned my tables and floors, well cleaned them as much as the light in my room will allow me to see the pesky dew…so tomorrow will have to be a better cleaning day…all I want is fresh clean sheets for me to curl up in! 

Well, at least out of the day… a few good, fun things happened.  I sat next to some funny guy from Cali on the flight to Honolulu.  Hes coming out here for a month to surf…so I told him of some places to check out while here…we actually talked almost the entire flight…about stupid stuff of course, like sci-fi (hes a fan of the twilight zone), playing spot the hooker in Waikiki, and his new pink polka-dot board shorts…I told you it was strange and stupid.  And of course its always nice to be surprised with the fact that I didnt have to take a taxi home, Erik showed up and gave me a free ride…and made up for lost time on the conversation front…well as much as can be made up in a 15 minute car ride, and 10 minute chat session in front of the house…I have a feeling it will only grow from here!

Well Im off to check on my laundry….

Later!