I'm renting a townhouse from a co-worker. She just bought a new house and couldn't sell the townhouse so she made me an offer I couldn't refuse.
It's a nice place with a view of Diamond Head in the distance. Unfortunately it suffers from the same problems as any apartment with neighbors of questionable cleanliness.
Last night I killed 2 roaches crawling up my walls. Eeeeuuuggghhh! This morning I woke up to find spiderwebs strung across my kitchen! I just wiped down all the counters last night and this morning it's full of WEBS! The outdoor roaches occasionally come in to visit as well.
Now these outdoor roaches are no ordinary cockroaches. The measure a couple of inches long and make some serious noise rattling their wings. And they fly. Into your face, usually. When you confront one, it turns its long antennae toward you as if to say "watch it, lady, or I'll walk on you". I'm beginning to like the smell of Raid. It's a comforting smell that says "No bugs left alive!"
Monday, May 30, 2011
First Surfboard
At my age (55) you'd think I had better things to do than learn to surf. Well not exactly surf but actually paddleboard. Paddleboarding involves a large surfboard (also called a boat) and a paddle. The goal is to stand on the board and row to where the waves are, ride them back to shore, and do it again. And again. And again, etc.
My first paddleboard was a cheap affair from Costco. $500 worth of styrofoam and plastic with a non-slip top. Getting it to the water was like carrying a whale, riding it was like trying to stay on a belly-up whale. The wind kept catching the board on the beach and spinning me around like a bad slapstick comedy. I hope the sunbathers enjoyed the show.
The non-slip top proved to be a misnomer. I launched myself onto the board only to slide completely over the top and off the other side. I KNOW the sunbathers enjoyed that one, I heard them laughing. I returned the board the next day.
The second board proved to be a comedy of errors even before I got it to the water. I placed my order for a pink board at a 'special event' at Costco and it cost twice as much as the first board. I figured pink would show up better against the blue water in case I got blown out to sea and needed to be rescued. I picked up the board a week later. Since I was working so much I didn't open the board bag until a week later. To my surprise, the board was blue - the very color I DIDN'T want. The girl in the store had carried out the wrong bag and I didn't check it. The manufacturer was on Kauai so I had to ship the incorrect board back to them. Another week. They shipped a pink board back to me (and made me pay for the shipping, the turkeys). Another week. SO. A month and $1000 got me a poorly made board with - literally - dirt in the finish, cracks on the bottom, no leash although there should have been one in the bag, bubbles in the epoxy and it weighed in at nearly 35 pounds; somewhat higher than the 17 pounds as advertised. Sometimes you DON'T get what you pay for. Return board #2 to Costco.
I considered giving up on paddleboard ownership, but the call of the waves wouldn't let me go.
Board #3. On a whim, I went to the Surfboard Factory Outlet near my place of employment. Lo and behold! They had ONE PINK BOARD LEFT! I bought it on the spot. Another $1000 including paddle, leash and stickers. Life insurance was extra.
So yesterday, I took my lovely new pink board and hit the waves. The waves hit back. My first spill had me considering how easy it is to drown. The next one wasn't quite as bad but I still hadn't stood up on the board. The wind had been blowing fiercely for weeks and the water was extremely choppy. I struggled back to the beach and did the slapstick 'board in the wind' bit until I got smart. I planted the board on the beach and retrieved my towel, bag and sandals from the other end of the beach - I had been blown that far. The wind was blowing so hard, I was in danger of uncontrolled flight trying to carry the board to my belongings instead of the other way around.
When the wind dies down, I'll try again. When the waves are more than 3' high, I'll sunbathe.
My first paddleboard was a cheap affair from Costco. $500 worth of styrofoam and plastic with a non-slip top. Getting it to the water was like carrying a whale, riding it was like trying to stay on a belly-up whale. The wind kept catching the board on the beach and spinning me around like a bad slapstick comedy. I hope the sunbathers enjoyed the show.
The non-slip top proved to be a misnomer. I launched myself onto the board only to slide completely over the top and off the other side. I KNOW the sunbathers enjoyed that one, I heard them laughing. I returned the board the next day.
The second board proved to be a comedy of errors even before I got it to the water. I placed my order for a pink board at a 'special event' at Costco and it cost twice as much as the first board. I figured pink would show up better against the blue water in case I got blown out to sea and needed to be rescued. I picked up the board a week later. Since I was working so much I didn't open the board bag until a week later. To my surprise, the board was blue - the very color I DIDN'T want. The girl in the store had carried out the wrong bag and I didn't check it. The manufacturer was on Kauai so I had to ship the incorrect board back to them. Another week. They shipped a pink board back to me (and made me pay for the shipping, the turkeys). Another week. SO. A month and $1000 got me a poorly made board with - literally - dirt in the finish, cracks on the bottom, no leash although there should have been one in the bag, bubbles in the epoxy and it weighed in at nearly 35 pounds; somewhat higher than the 17 pounds as advertised. Sometimes you DON'T get what you pay for. Return board #2 to Costco.
I considered giving up on paddleboard ownership, but the call of the waves wouldn't let me go.
Board #3. On a whim, I went to the Surfboard Factory Outlet near my place of employment. Lo and behold! They had ONE PINK BOARD LEFT! I bought it on the spot. Another $1000 including paddle, leash and stickers. Life insurance was extra.
So yesterday, I took my lovely new pink board and hit the waves. The waves hit back. My first spill had me considering how easy it is to drown. The next one wasn't quite as bad but I still hadn't stood up on the board. The wind had been blowing fiercely for weeks and the water was extremely choppy. I struggled back to the beach and did the slapstick 'board in the wind' bit until I got smart. I planted the board on the beach and retrieved my towel, bag and sandals from the other end of the beach - I had been blown that far. The wind was blowing so hard, I was in danger of uncontrolled flight trying to carry the board to my belongings instead of the other way around.
When the wind dies down, I'll try again. When the waves are more than 3' high, I'll sunbathe.
2010 Special Olympics
I've never been much of a charity person, I figure you get what you work for. Observation tells me that we have a lot of people who need lifelong, constant care because of mental or physical limitations. The "only the strong survive" rule of nature doesn't apply to humans. On the one hand, I'm appalled at the way we, as caring humans, not only protect our weak, we encourage them to live 'normal' lives and even reproduce, often producing more incapacitated children. No doubt I'd feel differently if my sister or brother or child were one of them. We do love to cling to life no matter how painful it is.
All that being said, caring for these people gave me an opportunity to do something I've never done before. I got to rappel 330 feet down the side of the Sheraton Waikiki as part of a fundraiser for the Special Olympics. Hence the profile photo.
'Rappel' is probably not the right word. 'Dangle like a spider' is more appropriate. After taking a few practice drops of about 15 feet, we took the elevator to the roof. Several of my co-workers and I nervously eyed the scaffold that would launch us Over the Edge.
The view was spectacular! Diamond Head is a lot smaller than it looks in pictures, but from the roof it dominates the landscape. The young men who connected me to my lifeline were all handsome military men who assured me that the gear we were using was far superior to the junk they got in the military. With my GoPro video and other cameras strapped to my head and body, I stepped out over the void. I was dreading what I considered a Depends Moment, but once I was hanging over the drop, I never thought about it again. You can see from the look on my face in the photo that it was another great adventure to add to the scrapbook. This would prove to be a highlight of being in Hawaii.
Note to self: as you get to the lower part of the rope, it becomes very springy. A sudden stop will seriously bounce you.
All that being said, caring for these people gave me an opportunity to do something I've never done before. I got to rappel 330 feet down the side of the Sheraton Waikiki as part of a fundraiser for the Special Olympics. Hence the profile photo.
'Rappel' is probably not the right word. 'Dangle like a spider' is more appropriate. After taking a few practice drops of about 15 feet, we took the elevator to the roof. Several of my co-workers and I nervously eyed the scaffold that would launch us Over the Edge.
The view was spectacular! Diamond Head is a lot smaller than it looks in pictures, but from the roof it dominates the landscape. The young men who connected me to my lifeline were all handsome military men who assured me that the gear we were using was far superior to the junk they got in the military. With my GoPro video and other cameras strapped to my head and body, I stepped out over the void. I was dreading what I considered a Depends Moment, but once I was hanging over the drop, I never thought about it again. You can see from the look on my face in the photo that it was another great adventure to add to the scrapbook. This would prove to be a highlight of being in Hawaii.
Note to self: as you get to the lower part of the rope, it becomes very springy. A sudden stop will seriously bounce you.
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