Black People Don’t Burn, We Just Get Sexy

Yeah, you’re right. I’ve been a bad blogger. It hasn’t even been a week since I’ve arrived, but it seems like I’ve been out here so so much longer.

I dropped off my application by hand at WK last Friday morning. Just walking in the door made me want to work there even more. The office is in a awesome space in an old warehouse—muy metropolitan. I dropped off my application on the desk because the place looked empty (it was 7a), but as I was walking out I had someone ask me, “Are you security?”

…

Pretty funny. Anyways, got to the airport, ran to my gate which just happened to be the farthest one away, had to have them reopen the doors to let me on (ha!), and 6 hours later I arrived in rainy Honolulu. I think I brought the rain of Portland and Seattle here with me because the weather has been “bad” by Hawaii standards, but that eventually passed and has been gorgeous and 80° ever since.

I was talking with Lau trying to remember how the plan of me moving out here even came up, but we couldn’t. I’ve been planning on this for so long it’s weird to actually be here.

For about 5 days straight I cursed myself for not carrying my camera around with me. Seemingly mundane things like:

• New Year’s at family friend’s house
• playing ball
• playing tennis
• and getting some sushi

ended up being…

• I have never seen fireworks like I saw on New Year’s Eve. Seemingly every house had a stockpile of fireworks and was not shy about showing them off. The most impressive were these 20′ strings of fireworks that would explode in succession for a good four or five minutes. Occasionally you’d hear roars off in the distance, that if you didn’t know any better sounded like some Kirkuk firefight.
• We played ball with the best backdrop I’ve ever seen from a court. Lau’s simple statement of “we’re gonna go play ball in the valley,” would have been more accurate as “we’re gonna go play ball in a valley surrounded by enormous tree-lined mountains.” Or something like that. And much to Lau‘s surprise, I continued my streak of not wearing sunscreen, and I didn’t burn.
• Same deal with tennis. Just six stories up on the top of a parking lot gave a postcard-esque view of the Waikiki skyline.
• I have a new favorite restaurant. Genki may be my new Zen. Think diner with tons of counter space, and sushi chefs in the middle. They prepare items and place them on small color-coded dishes that cruise around the restaurant on a 8-inch wide conveyer belt. Think baggage claim, but you can eat any suitcase that cruises by. Genius. Absolute genius.

I’m definitely not settled here yet, but I know that’ll take some time. With all the craziness of moving three seperate times in two weeks (mom, me, ali), and getting my house ready for rent, and the wk12 app and whatnot, I didn’t really have time to realize how much I miss Austin and all you crazy fools. You all should come and visit. Hopefully by then I’ll be able to keep Kapahulu and Kalakaua straight.

Once I find the cable for my camera, I’ll start sharing pictures. Lots of fun stuff to share: shopping at LocalMotion, the place where the “Real World”ers worked, my night out at the place where Ruthie danced on the bar, why the Hawaiian time zone is both sucky and awesome, a sweet basket I made from a coconut leaf, and the pink scooter I’m gonna buy tomorrow. Seriously. heh.