Kokua Festival

This past weekend I had my first visitor. Ford Gunter came to town to see what big city living is all about out here. He just recently moved to Kauai and apparently he saw more people at the Kokua festival than he has on his entire island since he moved there. I also must note that he said he has around 600 roosters living on his property and they wake him up just before the sun comes up. Apparently it is also legal to kill chickens to eat over there. I expect when I visit him I will be having chicken for breakfast, lunch and dinner, which will be a nice break from the spam here.

Anyway, he and his roommate and a couple of their friends got in on Friday. We didn’t do much that night and Saturday was pretty much a waste too until we started tailgating for the festival. The Kokua festival is something that Jack Johnson puts on every year to raise money for environmental awareness in the state. It started around 4 and was in the Waikiki Shell which is basically a smaller version of Miller Outdoor Theater. There were about 6 or so bands – a couple local bands and then ALO, Ben Harper, Willie Nelson (who very few people really knew about out here, so I had to give a crash course on just how excellent Willie concerts can be), and Jack Johnson. I must say that my new friends out here loved Willie. The weather was perfect, and the beers were cheaper than at Astros games, so all in all it was a great day.

Sunday was a little more productive. I had to get up early for paddling and then we went to the beach all day. I got to try out my new surfboard and Ford and I both got up a few times on it, which was really exciting because it was a shorter board than we had ever been on. Hopefully by the time I make it out to Kauai he will have his own. Other than Ford spotting what he thought to be a supermodel, the day was uneventful, but very relaxing. However, today I woke up with two infected cuts on my feet and the hypochondriac in me thinks I have typhoid, gangrene or something equally as bad due to the contaminated water. I know you all are glad that I am not there to complain . I am going to be doing some research on the potential diseases tonight, and I will have a diagnosis in the morning. Of course, I will never make it to a doctor since whatever I have will clear up on its own.

Ok, I’m off. I have left you with some pictures, so take a look – one is from the festival and one is from the beach. I hope everyone is doing well. I think I might be coming back in town for the UT/Rice game for a few days, so hopefully I can see most people then.
RR

While everyone back home is sleeping...

It is about 9:30 out here, and I have just finished watching the O.C. after a 6 week hiatus, and not one thing has changed on the show. Because of that I am back on my no T.V. kick. I have finally moved into my new house. This is my third night here, and I never thought I would be so happy to get out of a hotel suite in my life. The hotel was very nice, but not having my stuff was getting a little old. I have spent the past week unpacking and getting stuff organized, but it actually doesn't look too bad. The one problem I have is getting back home. The streets are all one way and sound alike and every time I come home I have had to circle around a few times before finally getting the turns right.

Things are still good here. The weather finally cleared up and people are starting to get back in the water again. Although I have yet to get in, I am starting to rethink my 3 month waiting period. Hopefully next weekend I will be back in. I actually sort of got in the water tonight. I had my first paddling practice this evening. I didn’t know what the hell this was, but outrigger paddling is a huge deal out here and there are tons of teams on Hawaii and internationally that race. I decided to test it out, and it was really fun. All the people on my team are really nice. It is pretty competitive and I was worried about messing up the rhythm when I got out there, but it wasn’t too hard. We have a blessing of the boats on Monday before the season starts, which should be interesting. I will try and take pictures.

The other big thing is I finally bought a surfboard. I found one for sale on craigslist and went to pick it up. This college kid was selling a basically brand new board because he had to go back home. He lived in the worst neighborhood in town and when I went to pick it up, I walked into this tiny room with about 5 people living in it. The second I walked in I got so high from all the pot smoke in the air. This guy told me that he and his friend had to go back home because they flunked out of school. I can’t imagine why. Mom, don’t worry, I went when it was still light outside, so it was safe.

This weekend is the Kokua festival. Some big day concert deal headlined by Jack Johnson, that is supposed to be really fun. I am really just going to see Willie Nelson play. I am desperately missing the Mexican food back home. I have tried a few places out here. One in particular has $1 taco Tuesdays and it isn’t bad, but nothing compared to Texas. I have yet to try queso because I haven’t found anywhere that serves it.

I hope everyone is doing well, and write back when you get a chance. COME VISIT!

A sad day out here in Hawaii

So i thought it fitting that my first post would be the same day of something somewhat traumatic for me. At 8:04 AM HT I had to surrender my Texas Driver's license in favor of a much more colorful Hawaii version. Not only that, but I now have Hawaii license plates. Although I am loving it out here, this was a little much to handle. However, the good news is that I have a picture on my license that looks much more like me instead of the puffy college version I had on my Texas one. But seriously, the license is a little scary looking. I will try and take a picture of it to show you all what it looks like.

So anyway, this blog is going to serve as a reminder to me of what I have done and will be doing while out here, and to let everyone back home know exactly how I spend my time. Thanks to Christina, Maggie, etc. for making me do this. I will try and make you all so jealous that you come visit me every chance you get.

Since moving here I have really only been on the island about 3 weeks because of various travel, but in those three weeks i have done a fair amount. The first weekend out here I learned to surf, although that has taken a backseat to other activities since the water out here is completely contaminated. For those who didnt hear, there was a 50K gallon raw sewage spill in the ocean due to the unusual amount of rain. So the only safe place to go in the water now is on the North Shore, which means I can really only get in the water on weekends. Other than that, I have been trying to make friends, learn my way around the island and figure out what the hell is going on out here. My stuff finally made it out here today from Houston and supposedly the movers will be moving me into my new place tomorrow, and not a moment too soon. the hotel has been nice, but I didnt expect to go 6 weeks without anything, and wearing the same thing every day is getting a little old. The house i am moving into is in an area of town called diamond head, which is right outside of waikiki on a mountain on the southeast side of the island. Hopefully everything will get here safely.

Everyone told me before I got here that Hawaii was different than everywhere else in the US, and I am starting to see that. Some things I have come across:
1. Everyone takes their shoes off before going into a house no matter what
2. When saying hello to someone (even if you are meeting them for the first time) you get a kiss on the cheek
3. There is a dialect out here called pidgin that I think is some form of english slang, but i cant understand a word of it
4. The traffic out here is TERRIBLE - worse than anywhere i have ever seen. It can take a couple of hours to go 12 miles here. The freeways are basically 2 or 3 lane roads with a speed limit of around 50. There are no feeders and you have to go through neighborhoods to get onto the freeway. Plus there really are only 3 or 4 freeways on the entire island.
5. The food here is really good. I have ventured out and tried poki (raw tuna mixed in some sort of seasoning). However one big thing that didn not realize is that Hawaii is the spam capitol of the US. Apparently there is more consumption of spam here than anywhere else. And they love it here. There is a dish called musubi that is a basically spam sushi - a chunk of spam on top of rice wrapped in seaweed. I have not had the stomach to try this yet.
6. People out here are Really really nice. I think the first week i was here I had four offers for a ride to the airport, and people really have gone out of their way to take me out. Mostly friends of friends, but all have been incredibly nice.
7. I have no clue what is going on in the world of gossip (megan, Im sure anything you tell me now would be news), because we get magazines a little later than the mainland.
8. The lifestyle is very active. People are up at the crack of dawn here. Even on the weekends I will get up and run, hike or whatever and the city is packed with people on the beach or in the parks. however, everyone is completely laid back. i have not worn anything besides jeans or shorts outside of work since i got here.
9. The Hawaiian language is a little different. The alphabet has something like 13 letters and every word has about 10 Ks and 33 vowels. This makes learning the street names a little hard because they all look and sound similar.
10. Those skilled with chopsticks use them to eat everything, including salad. I am challenged when it comes to chopsticks, so i will either lose a ton of weight from not eating, or will learn quickly how to use these tools.
11. I am keeping an eye out for famous people. I think I saw Johnny mosely and his wife hiking today, but I cant be sure - anyone know where they went for their honeymoon?

Other than that, work is great - people there are so fun, and the hotels are amazing. I was in Maui at our hotel last weekend, and am headed to the other islands and Tahiti in the next few weeks. I will attach some pictures next time i log on.

I will try and keep everyone updated on what is going on as much as possible and let you know of any important events that go on out here with me (marriage, pregnancy, booze cruises, etc).

I miss you all! Have a drink in houston for me, and if you get the chance, come out and see me. Happy Easter to everyone and keep in touch!
Love RR