The long (free) ride home

Location: Lihue Airport, Kauai, Hawaii
Time rental car due: 7:30pm
Time of Andrew’s flight: 8:00pm
Time of Rachel’s flight: 11:30pm
Updated time of Rachel’s flight once checked-in: 12:15am
Current time: 10:21pm

Hmm. This sucks.

So here I am at the Kauai airport. I’ve been here nearly three hours already, and my flight doesn’t leave for another several hours.

Despite the fact I am INSIDE the airport and have gone through airport security, I am actually OUTSIDE. This airport is an open-air design, probably intended to make visitors feel the island vibe immediately upon disembarking. Likely cuts energy costs, too. Still, I feel like I’ve been sitting in a public plaza for three hours. And by “public plaza” I mean a place with aging and worn furniture, dim lighting, cranky people, little to no back support, no wifi, and fewer than 3 power outlets for those of us who would like to keep our laptop batteries charged.

I can’t say it’s the perfect end to the perfect vacation, but I suppose it could be worse. I could be stuck in the Vegas airport where instead of the smells of island breezes and plumeria, the mixture of cig smoke and cheap booze is the prevailing odor.

Kauai is a fun place, and I am really glad I had a whole 10 days to experience it, and with the best company one could hope for. I did a lot while I was here, and I drove a TON – maybe around 550 miles – so I have certainly gotten my fill of the garden island. There are a few things I learned about that I would like to share with my reader.

1. Do not expect peace and quiet on Kauai. This place is NOISY – mostly filled with the sounds of chickens and roosters, helicopters, leaf blowers, mowing machines, weed eaters, etc. The only peace and quiet is found either at a swamp that takes 2 hours of hiking to get to or at the beaches. Both of these places have no chickens, which I appreciated after listening to them talk all night long, every night I was here.
2. The best things to eat are kalua pig, shaved ice (with ice cream at the bottom), and spicy tuna poke. You can eat these three things relatively cheaply, too, if they are purchased from budget vendors.
3. The beaches don’t disappoint – lots of choices – swimming beaches, surfing beaches, snorkeling beaches, etc.
4. Avoid Princeville. This place is boring, but the shopping center café area has a good espresso shake and fish tacos. Lots of golfing types hang here, so it definitely doesn’t get my thumbs up.
5. Stay with Connie and Major Inch. Their place is clean, cheap, has a drooling cat, an old horse, has lots of amenities like boogy boards to borrow, etc. However, sadly, they do have loud chickens. Can’t win ‘em all.

I’ve learned other things, but I will not share them quite yet. I am tired and being at the airport is making me less inclined to share all the good nuggets at this time. The above 5 points should satisfy your hunger for awhile.

Aloha from Kauai and signing off.

Time of sign off: 10:51pm
Time of flight, updated: 12:30am

Welcome, 2010: please be a better year!

Two full days into the new decade and I am getting ready to get on one heck of a long plane ride. We fly from RDU-ATL-LAX-LIH. Andrew and I have a TON of baggage and heavy winter clothes in our suitcases. We have an immense amount of woolen under clothes that will make a chance jaunt across the world only to sit inside a suitcase for another 10 days. We are hoping for balmy 80 degree weather. Right now it is 30F in Durham.

A trip calculator reveals the travel is about 4906 miles. The longest flight I've been on is from SFO-NRT-BKK....about 7900 miles. SO this one should be easy peasy.

Snobama '09 DC

I arrived in DC safely on Thursday evening. In less than 24 hours, the city was awash in a fine coating of icy snow, a condition which has not improved in the last 24 hours.

My current status is stuck inside the Marriott Residence inn of Pentagon City with my boyfriend Andrew's family. We left Capitol Hill at noon, and we soon realized our vehicle was not road worthy by 12:30pm. We may try to leave around 2pm tomorrow if conditions continue to get better. RIght now, the snow has stopped but temperatures are likely only in the upper 20s. More snow may follow....

Highlights of the last two nights included a 3 miles jog from Capitol Hill to Foggy Bottom along the Mall. Deserted and beautiful, I had an amazing run along sites I've passed by countless times when I lived in the nation's capital from 1997-2004. Whenever I am in town, I do a similar run and it is always a reenergizing highlight to my visit. Other highlights included meeting a good 50% of Andrew's extended family during a memorial service for a recently departed uncle. Sad, but uplighting the same time.

some holiday news....

Some album news:
Soldier of Love, Sade....first album out since a long ass time ago.

Fall Be Kind, Animal Collective.....supposed to be a quirky followup to two of the best albums of 2008-09. Look forward to their antics.

Some job news: I'm still generally unemployed, but I have seasonal employment with a start up and my friend Kim through the SF Dept. of Public Works.

Some gift news: No one is getting any gifts this year for Christmas. Sorry. See "Some job news" for detailed explanation.

Some sublet news: I'm looking to sublet my room from Feb. - Apr. while I'm trekking through the South. Know of any good, clean, and nonsmoking friends?

Some rodeo news: Just got my ticket purchased for the grand finale of my travel fellowship adventure. This is certainly the way to do it right!

Some kitten news: The kitten I almost saved in October was reunited with its family right before Halloween against my wishes and best intentions. Since that time, I've gone past her house and it appears the owner has been evicted - all the furniture and possessions are on the sidewalk being rained on. I just hope the kitten found a dry place to sleep.

I have staff

In two weeks of working I got promoted and now I supervise people. The nature of my work has changed and I don't really make anything anymore. I simply review other people's work and tell them to fix stuff. So much for creativity.... After giving critiques all day long, I come home and feel like I've been nagging someone all day. The sad truth of it is that I HAVE been nagging people all day long.

A sample of my very enlightening work dialogue:

Me: Um, let's see, to stay true to the design of the product, you should nudge that text box two clicks up. The photos aren't edited right either. You need to open them up in Photoshop, apply a levels mask, and only brighten the photo's background. Oh, and you need to change the font from Garamond to MrsEavesAllSmallCaps. Don't forget to do that.

Staff: Hmm, well, sure, I'll get on it.

Me (10 min later): You still haven't changed it to MrsEavesAllSmallCaps. It's now in MrsEavesSmallCaps, if you look closely. They are two different fonts. Details, I know, but just change it.

Staff: Right.

Me: (10 min later): Ok, I just rejected what you sent me over the website because you forgot to relink the photos and embed them in the file. And the character tracking in "Happy New Year" is too tight. Make it breathe more.

Staff: Right.

Imagine having to reiterate this exchange 50-60 times in one working shift, each time with a new, somewhat reluctant employee, who rightfully questions your so-called knowledge of the product line this company sells to the public. It's a big sham, but someone's gotta do it.

This position has two saving graces. One, I make overtime rates ($27/hr) after I work 8 hours on a shift. The other good thing about it is that it tidily ends on the 16th. Andrew and I leave for Durham/DC on the 17th. And so the chapter of my life as a seasonal dot.com employee comes to a happy ending.

Happy holidays.

I didn't need to see or hear that, Oprah.

I spent the last 15 minutes watching Palin-Oprah clips on Hulu. I didn't learn much from it. Perhaps it was all the leaked interview clips that came out online and over radio the past weekend....or perhaps it is simply because this woman spouted the same crap to Oprah that was oozing out of her mouth more than a year ago. A year!

Ahem, forgive me: Her hair is bigger and more highlighted. I reckon that is the biggest thing different about her at this point in time.

Other news: I am earning wages being a seasonal graphics monkey. It isn't ideal, yet it pays the rent. When is the stimulus money gonna come through the pipes and save my profession(s)? This is getting ugly.

Other other news: South trip planning is making headway. I have all critical reservations accounted for. Presently, I am about $300 in the hole in the accommodations category due to the fact that all of Baton Rouge's mid-range hotels are decrepit, filthy, louse-ridden, and overused since Katrina. Instead, I'll stay at the Capitol Center Hilton which some claim to be the nicest bed you'll find in the ENTIRE city.... That is sad. You'd think Big Oil would need nicer hotels to put up its traveling employees. Perhaps they are slumming in BR along with everyone else.

The Costume Info

Halloween. Yes, every year it gets a bit stressful around this time. People are worried about what their costumes will be. Will they be the funny one? Will they be sexy enough? Will people recognize what obscure movie character I am playing? Is is going to be cheap to do?

These and other questions loom in our minds.

This year I had the luxury of borrowing a costume of my sister's. She went as a roller derby girl a few years ago and told me it would be "no problem whatsoever" to put the costume in the mail for me. Fast forward three weeks and I have no roller derby costume. She flaked. So I began perusing the internet for non-skate requiring costume ideas.

This weekend I put the final touches on an new, even better costume, much of it hand-stitched by me. Since no one reads this blog, I will spoil the surprise. I am going as a black widow spider. I found a costume template to follow on some obscure DIY sewing website. Anyway, so far the costume has cost me about $40.

$6 skirt
$14 shirt
$5 two bags of black tissue paper
$2.50 piece of red felt
$5 cobweb stockings
$4 white hair paint stuffs
$2 little bugs
$1 ribbon
three pairs of old black nylons (free!glad to get rid of those)
Tax (@9%)
Total $43.05

I told myself that I would spend only $25, but whatever. This is Halloween. The paper supplies stores likely use this holiday to gather 11% of their annual revenue (right behind Christmas, V-day, Mother's Day....). Halloween should have been promoted more heavily by the Feds as a fiscal stimulus target.

New Animal Collective Album!!!

Can this be? Less than a year ago we were gifted with Merriwether Post Pavilion. This new album proposed promises to be different, maybe darker, but surely amazing. Watch for "Fall Be Kind."

See article: click here

musicmusicmusicmusic to my ears

Oct. 13, Mon, Junior Boys, Mezzanine, SF
Oct. 21, Wed, Blind Pilot, Great American Music Hall, SF
Oct. 22, Thurs, Noah & The Whale, Swedish American Hall, SF
Oct. 23, Fri, Islands, Bottom of the Hill, SF
Oct. 30, Fri, Regina Spektor, Fox Theater, Oakland

small world, big camera

Below is a series of emails I just received from friends and family of the lost camera owner:
*******************************************************************************

Rachel

The world is SO small. We found the owner of the camera. He is the brother of a member of the Arab Horse society here in South Africa. He lives in California and was on holiday in Italy.

I forwarded your letter to a council member who recognized the man in the photo. I am sure they will contact you. Thank you so much for your excellent detective work !

Kind regards

XXXXX XXXXXX
Secretary
Arab Horse Society of South Africa

*****************************************************************************

Dear Rachel

My goodness! What a small world this is. Thank you for your ‘detective work’ regarding the lost camera!

My husband was visiting his brother and sister-in-law in Huntington Beach in June/ July of this year, when that photo was taken. I know that his brother, XXXXX and XXXXXXXX (our sister-in-law) have recently been on a trip to Italy and so am assuming it is XXXXXXXX’s camera! I will forward your email to her and she can contact you directly.

Many thanks again

XXXXXXX XXXXXXX

Lost and found

Dear Mr. XXXX,

I am writing you on the behalf of one of your members (or a friend of one of your members) who may have lost a digital camera while vacationing in Italy a couple of weeks ago.

I found a camera in a shuttle bus connecting Naples airport to Sorrento on Tuesday, Sept. 15. I took the camera home (to California) and today I looked through the photos more closely to try and find some clues as to who this thing belonged to.

I found a photo of someone wearing a shirt from your organization, Arab Horse Society of South Africa. See attached photo. I was wondering if there is anyway you can identify this person for me? That way, I can contact him directly. He is likely to know who owns this camera, if it isn't his own.



I also attached a photo of the camera itself in case that is of any help.




Thank you in advance.

Sincerely,

Rachel XXXXXXX
Graduate Student, University of California at Berkeley
Berkeley, CA

****************

Dear Rachel,

Thank you very much for your efforts to get hold of the owner of the camera. I will do my best to establish who the person on the photograph is and provide you with his contact details.

Regards,

XXXXX XXX

51,396...

The mergers between NW and Delta airlines have created a frequent flier situation that is SO on the verge of being redeemed. It is hard to contain my excitement. That said, I am still 1,104 miles shy of a free round trip ticket to Hawaii.

With a target number of 52,500, my goal seems SO far away. Perhaps mummy can help out. We will put in a request, asap, for mileage transfer....update to come.

Album to watch for....

Last week, while driving some country roads through Tuscany with my mom, I heard on the radio the voices of some very familiar musicians who haven't put out an album in a LONG time. Years. As the tune ended, I made it out in Italian that there is a new record out. Wow. I should have bought it then and there.

Us unlucky Americans don't get the release until Oct. 21.

Watch for it!

The Kings of Convenience, Declaration of Dependence.

Ah, Tuscany....

This is the pool at the agriturismo I stayed at, Locanda Rosati, outside of Orvieto. I recommend this as a place for day trips to Villa Lante, Sacro Bosco, Villa Farnese, etc.

They make good group dinners, too. We drank a hell load of '97 grappa on the house.

In Venice suckers

I write this morning from Venice. I will be trying to eat well and taking good photos. More to come...

Old friends, again!

I am the proud owner of my THIRD ipod photo 30GB music listening device. My first one was acquired the spring of 2005. That one died after I knocked it off a railing onto a concrete floor 15 feet in the wrong direction. I got it replaced using a questionable equipment insurance maneuver, which set me back $69. The refurbished ipod lasted up until last week, aged just over three years. The most recent death was in no way my fault. The hard drive just cracked and died with absolutely no notice. It was making terrible noises in there. Just dreadful.

Forlorn at the prospect of having to purchase a similar device when I am more or less unemployed, I gathered the misbehaving equipment and headed to the nearest genius bar: Bay Street, Emeryville. Perhaps these smarypants hipster cranks can help me out. I was not optimistic, but it's worth it at this point. I am unemployed, so I have plenty of time to fight these petty battles afterall.

I expected little more than a referral to their shelf of newest ipods and "touches" (dumb name). But I was surprised. Way surprised. In a good way!


The ipod photo is a far superior model than most would ever admit! I love this thing!

The helpful genius bar worker told me I could get a replacement piece of equipment, but it would require a transfer fee. The cost? A reasonable (and more importantly), doable $59! Bingo. Bingo. Sign me up! Added bonus is that the replacement is the exact same model as I had before. I don't get video, but that's a good thing! Such technology would just create problems for me at this point. I'd end up wanting to watch episodes of Arrested Development or the Office while I am out running. With that distraction possibility, I might as well just throw myself in front of that garbage truck and get it over sooner that later.

Now I will get to the part of this posting that relates to the title of this posting.

Getting a new ipod required me to clean up my itunes, and by doing so, I located many favorite albums that had for some reason or another been erased from my former device. I re-added Pinback's albums (haven't listened to those in 2-3 years!). Listening to Rob as I type and loving it! I also erased a bunch of other worthies: Rilo Kiley, Martha Wainwright, INXS! Good Lord, the riches of having these friends back in my life.

Fridge purge

I certainly know how to spend a Saturday! After clacking away on the computer for 6 hours, I left school with the intention of going on a run when I returned home. I even changed into my running clothes before leaving school to ensure that the deed would be done. However, during the short ride home I got a massive headache which seemed to intensify when I performed even the most menial of physical exertions (like getting out of the car and unloading the trunk).

With my good intentions spoiled, I did the first thing that I thought might relieve my aches and pains: I downed a glass of white sangria. I made a big batch of it last night, so the dregs of the pitcher were especially well-infused with cheap white and a splash of Christina Brothers brandy.

While fishing the pitcher out of our crammed fridge, I noticed that the shelves on the door were well over full occupancy. Quarter-filled jam jars, countless bottles of aging salad dressing, even a bottle of mango chutney that belonged to my ex-roommate Garrett. Apparently he didn't trouble himself to take it with him when he vacated last October. I began to wonder, "Just how old are all these jars and bottles?"

And thus began my long and thankless evening...

The question had popped into my head many times before - usually at periodic intervals when I had free time. Something always seemed to get in the way of me actually acting on the impulse to purge these shelves. And every year, it seems that new small jars of spicy mustard, olive tapenade, mole sauce, and chutneys are added ad nauseum to the rotting spoils.

Tonight I put all that jar procrastination to and end. This evening I purged no fewer than 25 jars, bottles, and other fetid containers of food stuffs. I decided to empty them in the trash as much as I could before rinsing the contents down the sink. Good idea, considering the age and peculiarities of our plumbing system over here on Grove Street. This strategy, while saving the pipes, also created a dirty bomb of a mixture in the trash can. Towards the end I had to pour nearly 30 ounces of 4 year-old Hershey's syrup on all of it - kind of like a dessert topping for a meal of pungent, intermingling condiments that should really never be mixed together. Under no circumstances whatsoever. The smell was nauseating.

Now the fridge door has an occupancy rate of nearly 40%. I am very proud that I didn't wimp out and just throw all the bottles and jars directly into the trash. My recycling conscience is at least proud. I apologize in advance to the waste management personnel that will take charge of this stinky soup on Tuesday morning. I can't even imagine what this stuff will smell like after three more days in the heat. Aye.

Riding his hog

Greetings after a long spring and summer hibernation.

It is well into August. What a summer so far. I've seen quite a bit and witnessed some tragedy along the way.

Today there was some action going on at the Grove Street garage. My landlord Neal pulled out his 1987 Harley from one of the storage lockers out back. He's been working on it the last day or two. This afternoon he took it on a spin to test out some improvements he's made on it.





I took out the garbage and Neal asked me to come look at it. On the front wheel cover, there is a large, steel hog - sort of like a motorcycle hood ornament. I can practically see Neal wearing all the biker regalia that this bike demands of its driver - fringe chaps and suede vests are a minimum.

Update BLAST!

Apologies for nearly three months en absentia on this approaching-pathetic blog. Just a lot has been happening. Here are the highlights!

1. I graduated....five years of graduate school....two masters programs later....and I remain UNEMPLOYED. The irony!

2. I've remained underemployed. I have an internship that is unpaid and a well-paying contract job that I can only ethically bill so many hours for.

3. In June, I went to Death Valley, Mono Lake, and Manzanar Internment Camp. Fun vacation!

4. I was awarded a travel fellowship I applied for in May. I won't travel until the spring, so I remain unemployed until after that.

5. Going to TRY to apply for unemployment with the State of CA. One of my friends did it, and I want to try, too. I was previously employed by UC, so it's legitimate!

6. The State of CA is broke, and strung out like a hooker on a 4 day bender. There is NO money here. I will be lucky if I don't get an IOU for my unemployment claims!

7. I went to the Alameda Co. Fair this weekend. Have you enjoyed your local county fair??

8. I went to DC last week and there was no humidity. Scary!

Spring Break junk

Sorry for the lack of postings. I've been lazy as you can guess. Here are some images from a spring break painting trip.

Graduation in less than 6 weeks...


Pinnacles National Monument, Spring Break 2009




Mission San Juan Bautista, Spring Break 2009


Lettuce Fields, Salinas, CA, Spring Break 2009




Diablo Range, San Benito Co, CA, Spring Break 2009


Beech tree, Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, DC, July 2008