Waikiki
I woke up and went about the business of getting ready for the flight back to the mainland.
Aloha!
Epilogue
My trip to Hawaii served as a turning point for me. Before the trip, I had poor job satisfaction and reduced motivation. I think I was still grieving too. Living my life had become a chore. I didn't admit it to myself at the time. There are many reasons for these issues. I'm not going into them now. However, after the trip I was able to focus and self-motivate again. Over time, subsequent events and changes grew to be even more drastic, allowing me to free myself from the shackles of my past. My grieving ended. I finally opened my eyes to religious truths which, ironically enough, allowed me to have no need for religion in my life. I had a progressively better outlook on life. What does this have to do with the trip to Hawaii? As far as I can tell, nothing. Yet, there it stands at my crossroads, like a strange figure giving me a wink and a nod as he watches me walk past and continue towards the horizon along my path.
Final Entry
I'm going to end this series with a brief annotate from Hawaii that wasn't included in my written journal. I made it my mission to try authentic Polynesian Hawaiian food. I spent a lot of time tracking down a place. I quickly found that no Hawaiian restaurants exist in Waikiki. Finally, on day three, some locals pointed me in the right direction. I found this little-hole-in-the-wall called Ono's. I told the owner that I had been trying to find a Hawaiian restaurant for days. He seated me and then walked me through the menu. I remember having a large meal of many different Hawaiian dishes and sides. I don't remember the names of the food, but I remember my experience was enjoyable. One dish I remember is poi. It was a Polynesian staple for thousands of years. I didn't like it. It tasted like flavorless applesauce. For the main course, I had pork steamed in leaves. I really enjoyed that item. Overall, the meal had way too much salt. It tasted good, but I think all that salt it through my body outta wack for months. Next time I have a Hawaiian meal, I'm going to remember one word, moderation.
Tuesday, March 29, 2005
Brilliant idea for new IM software at Hey Freak
Note: Bizarrely, this post was flagged for violating guidelines. It's just two links to abandoned website addresses, nothing more, and nothing in violation of any guidelines. Supposedly, this article was reviewed before being flagged. Somehow I doubt that. BTW, any supposed guidelines didn't exist when this post was made, so wouldn't apply anyway. The cracks in Blogger are showing.
Also, http://minibikini.blogspot.com/
Monday, March 28, 2005
Big 2001 Vacation: Part 11: 11/17/01 Night
Clubs in Waikiki
Well thangs with Nicole fell completely thru. So, I went out. Two girls from the hotel [I stayed at] and I went looking for a club “W”. That ended [up] not being open on Sat night, so (after walking clear out of Waikiki [to find it]) we got a cab back and ended up [at] the Maze in the hip hop room.
[We] danced the night away. {Sheeze, why did I feel so compelled to write such completely lame statements in my journal?} [Their] names were Morgan (a model) and Andrea. {I remember that Morgan was a cute, petite brunette. I was a little attracted to her, but at the time, I had no game. In fact, I had negative game. lol More than a few times in the past, I’ve been able to turn away interested females with the dumb cunning, all against my actual wants. Damn, I was such a dork. Of course, the fact that girls are so easily scared off is another problem. lol Anyways, if anything at all might have happened with Morgan, I soundly blow my chance at even making a friendship that would last beyond the night with her. We did have fun though, with an eventful night at the various clubs and wondering around the streets afterward. I lost Morgan and Andrea for a time, but when they found me again, Andrea had collected a few men to entertain her. :) Later on, I sensed I scared or annoyed (or sumfin) Morgan beyond repair, so I choose the right moment to graciously call it a night. Over all, it was a great night.}
Well thangs with Nicole fell completely thru. So, I went out. Two girls from the hotel [I stayed at] and I went looking for a club “W”. That ended [up] not being open on Sat night, so (after walking clear out of Waikiki [to find it]) we got a cab back and ended up [at] the Maze in the hip hop room.
[We] danced the night away. {Sheeze, why did I feel so compelled to write such completely lame statements in my journal?} [Their] names were Morgan (a model) and Andrea. {I remember that Morgan was a cute, petite brunette. I was a little attracted to her, but at the time, I had no game. In fact, I had negative game. lol More than a few times in the past, I’ve been able to turn away interested females with the dumb cunning, all against my actual wants. Damn, I was such a dork. Of course, the fact that girls are so easily scared off is another problem. lol Anyways, if anything at all might have happened with Morgan, I soundly blow my chance at even making a friendship that would last beyond the night with her. We did have fun though, with an eventful night at the various clubs and wondering around the streets afterward. I lost Morgan and Andrea for a time, but when they found me again, Andrea had collected a few men to entertain her. :) Later on, I sensed I scared or annoyed (or sumfin) Morgan beyond repair, so I choose the right moment to graciously call it a night. Over all, it was a great night.}
Friday, March 25, 2005
National Annoy Matt Week
I'd just like to say a few parting word to National Annoy Matt Week. This week has been filled with little annoyances. Good riddens to this week. Well, the week hasn't been bad. I've spent some quality time with my g/f, a couple of my best friends and m...ok...I'm starting to figure this out. It's not National Annoy Matt Week. It's National Annoy Matt During the Day Week. Honestly, my evenings have been pretty good. It's the daytime hours that are annoying. So, good riddens to the annoying times at day. A fond ado to the rest. Please hurry up and get here, oh weekend!
Big 2001 Vacation: Part 10: 11/17/01 Evening
[I took the] catamoran off the coast [of Waikiki] for the sundown. The mai tais were flowing nonstop. [Everyone] watched the sun set.
A group of us sat on the netting in the front and talked and took pictures and had a good time. Two friends were named Jenn and Jenn. Kinda funny, even if it wasn't [their real] names. I enjoyed relaxing [on the] ride. {Relaxing, downing mai tais, watching the sun set, and chatting made for peaceful and relaxing evening. I did feel a bit out of place at times though, going stag and all. Plans to meet up with a couple of people had fallen through on the trip, so I made the best of it. Thankfully, it wasn't an issue often. There are a lot of friendly people in Hawaii. Side note: the corrections I made to this journal entry are more for clarity than the fixing of errors.}
A group of us sat on the netting in the front and talked and took pictures and had a good time. Two friends were named Jenn and Jenn. Kinda funny, even if it wasn't [their real] names. I enjoyed relaxing [on the] ride. {Relaxing, downing mai tais, watching the sun set, and chatting made for peaceful and relaxing evening. I did feel a bit out of place at times though, going stag and all. Plans to meet up with a couple of people had fallen through on the trip, so I made the best of it. Thankfully, it wasn't an issue often. There are a lot of friendly people in Hawaii. Side note: the corrections I made to this journal entry are more for clarity than the fixing of errors.}
Thursday, March 24, 2005
Big 2001 Vacation: Part 9: 11/17/01 Morning
Hanauma Bay
I snorkeled for hours. There were tons and tons [of] schools of tropical fish. Beautiful. The reefs were beautiful. There was a [small] shark and eel too. I didn’t see them though.
It was very fun. I was able to swim in deeper waters and in the reefs. The fish were everywhere. It was incredible.
I made sure I was well protected by sunscreen. There are a ton of new freckles. [M]y back shoulders look like I’m a [cheetah].
{This is a surprisingly short and poorly written journal entry, given how much I enjoyed snorkeling at Hanauma Bay. I’ll go into more detail now. I got to Hanauma Bay very early in the morning. If one doesn’t get there early, one will have to wait in line behind large crowds of people all waiting their turns. I snorkeled for about an hour, then sunbathed for ½ hour, on and off all morning. Hanauma Bay has two reefs areas.
The inner area is very rocky and shallow. The number of fish is moderate, prolly because this is the area where most of the human kids cause a ruckus daily. However, I so amazed by the variety of fish, clarity of the water and rock/coral formations, I used up my underwater disposal camera there. One time I played with this poor little baby flat fish (I forget what type). It was the color of the sand. To hide, it simply laid down on the sandy bottom and fluffed up sand over itself. I remember seeing a huge, full grown version of this critter in the submarine ride the day before.
I wish I hadn’t used up my camera in the inner reef area because the outer area was
even more incredible. Large schools of all kinds of small and large fish were on patrol. I managed to swim into a couple of schools a few times. I wish I had pictures of the outer reef area. I remember looking down from the surface to see schools of fish swimming around the coral reef formations that stuck straight of the unspoiled sand 30 feet below me. At about 11:30am, the beach and water got too crowded with people. It got hard to swim without some dumb kids bumping into me. After sun-drying myself, I took off. On my out, I noticed this one golden skinned girl blatantly take off her top to sunbath topless on the beach. I had to mention that cuz it’s not a common site in the U.S., regardless of location. I think she wasn’t American. On the tram ride back up to the parking lot, I looked back to take in the beauty of Hanauma Bay from high up. I’m sure there are much better places to snorkel, but even this lowly experience blow me away.
The photos in this blog entry are links to their full size versions.}
UPDATE: By complete randomness, I just came across this blog entry of Waikiki pics.
I snorkeled for hours. There were tons and tons [of] schools of tropical fish. Beautiful. The reefs were beautiful. There was a [small] shark and eel too. I didn’t see them though.
It was very fun. I was able to swim in deeper waters and in the reefs. The fish were everywhere. It was incredible.
I made sure I was well protected by sunscreen. There are a ton of new freckles. [M]y back shoulders look like I’m a [cheetah].{This is a surprisingly short and poorly written journal entry, given how much I enjoyed snorkeling at Hanauma Bay. I’ll go into more detail now. I got to Hanauma Bay very early in the morning. If one doesn’t get there early, one will have to wait in line behind large crowds of people all waiting their turns. I snorkeled for about an hour, then sunbathed for ½ hour, on and off all morning. Hanauma Bay has two reefs areas.
The inner area is very rocky and shallow. The number of fish is moderate, prolly because this is the area where most of the human kids cause a ruckus daily. However, I so amazed by the variety of fish, clarity of the water and rock/coral formations, I used up my underwater disposal camera there. One time I played with this poor little baby flat fish (I forget what type). It was the color of the sand. To hide, it simply laid down on the sandy bottom and fluffed up sand over itself. I remember seeing a huge, full grown version of this critter in the submarine ride the day before.I wish I hadn’t used up my camera in the inner reef area because the outer area was
even more incredible. Large schools of all kinds of small and large fish were on patrol. I managed to swim into a couple of schools a few times. I wish I had pictures of the outer reef area. I remember looking down from the surface to see schools of fish swimming around the coral reef formations that stuck straight of the unspoiled sand 30 feet below me. At about 11:30am, the beach and water got too crowded with people. It got hard to swim without some dumb kids bumping into me. After sun-drying myself, I took off. On my out, I noticed this one golden skinned girl blatantly take off her top to sunbath topless on the beach. I had to mention that cuz it’s not a common site in the U.S., regardless of location. I think she wasn’t American. On the tram ride back up to the parking lot, I looked back to take in the beauty of Hanauma Bay from high up. I’m sure there are much better places to snorkel, but even this lowly experience blow me away. The photos in this blog entry are links to their full size versions.}
UPDATE: By complete randomness, I just came across this blog entry of Waikiki pics.
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