Eclipse, Rainbows, and Hoops! Oh My!

Lunar eclipse around 4am

Today started at 4am. I decided to wake up and see the lunar eclipse, which was supposed to be at its peak around 4am. I was surprised that I actually woke up. My sleep has been so jacked up anyway, that my body doesn’t know up from down. I threw on some sweats and went out onto my driveway. The night was perfectly clear and calm, so I laid myself down on the driveway and took some pics. My tummy hurt for some reason, so I didn’t stay out too long. Some people stayed up for the whole thing, but my body was not going to cooperate with that.

My pillow embraced me upon my return to slumber. Aaaahhhh….

And then I had to get up. Again. To get Keely up for school.

No matter. I was determined to enjoy my day. I was planning on riding upcountry with a friend, but it was raining. I knew to get out and head that way anyway, since otherwise I might not have gone. I ended up seeing some great rainbows, and I had a great ride that ended in the bright sun. To top it off, my day ended on a magical note, for sure.

Around 5pm the Hoop Jam started, put on by Hoopnatyze. I had only recently learned about the hoop dancers on the island, and my new bud Celeste actually told me about the Hoop Jam. Basically, there were tons of hula hoops for people to use and live drummers, with electronic music to follow. When Keely and I showed up a bit early, Celeste was taking in the day, gently hooping while watching the expanse of sky in front of her. Such a serene scene to take in. I hadn’t hooped since I was a kid, but it was easy. BUT, doing what some of the others were doing was next to impossible at my stage. Keely did really well, and it was so nice to see her smiling. She is a beautiful young lady, especially when she smiles! I got some great pictures, so I will let them tell the story. Enjoy!

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Are We There Yet?

I made it onto my 11:30pm flight, and quickly realized that I should have gotten an aisle seat instead of my usual window seat. I had a couple next to me who could actually sleep on planes, and I had wine that had hit my bladder. I fussed and fidgeted trying to get some sleep, but the seats and the bladder made it really damn hard. The girl next to me aroused, and I waited with anticipation for ANY movement from the guy. As soon as he moved, I asked them if I could go to the bathroom. Hallelujah!!! One of the best things in life is relief of an over-full bladder.

Flight status:

Kahului  to Phoenix, enough layover to get to my next gate

Phoenix to Los Angeles, again enough layover to get to my next flight, which was in a totally different terminal, and I had to go through security again.

Los Angeles to New Orleans, arrival 4:30pm

Total time: 13 hours

Sleep time: Maybe 1hour

Thankfully, I talked with a fourth year on the last flight (3.5 hours), which was FULL of pharmacists and students.

When I arrived, I grabbed a cab, checked in, went and cleaned up to meet an old friend for dinner. He was even more handsome than I remember. We ate at Mulate’s and chatted the night away. Next day was an early start, but I was still on GO mode. Oh, the marathon starts!!!

Me with Les Krenk, owner of Maui Clinic Pharmacy at their annual Christmas Party

Sunrise coming into Phoenix

Da Gurlz!!

Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop

The marathon called ASHP Midyear officially started today. Wow. With getting my house cleaned so that I could come home to something comfortable, packing my daughter, packing myself, picking up drycleaning, getting a last bit of sun and sand,  and getting a pedicure, I was running around like a madwoman. On top of that, we had the Maui Clinic Pharmacy Christmas gathering from 6-9pm, something not to miss. Last minute, I realized I hadn’t gotten anything for the secret santa gift exchange. Okay, add that to the last minute list. Plus, I wanted to look good, so add in showering, shaving (just my legs), blow drying, primping, etc, etc. It’s hard being a girl sometimes! But, it sure is fun.

Party at 6pm in my slinky dress and high heels, drop off the kiddo at her friend’s house, run home to change and get ready for my friend to pick me up, then off to the airport for an 11:30 (that’s PM) flight. Seriously, one of the longest nights of my life!!! Turn page to December 3rd, folks.

A Turkey Flew Over

Thanksgiving started out with dragging my daughter out of bed for a mandatory 6am  swim practice, then running home to grab her bike, drive it back to her, then go grab my bike and prep for an 8:15 ride from Kula. I took the wonderfully bumpy winding shortcut up Omaopio and the other side street off of that….and saw a guy on an old yellow bike, forearms leaning on the handlebars, calmly pedalling up the very steep road. He was in a cotton t-shirt, had a full beard, but he had a helmet on! Good man. He even had a small basket on the back.  I met up with a bunch of folks that were, well….much older than I. Great group of people and bunches of new faces. Right before we left, the guy on the yellow bike rode up. He had come from Kahului to join us! We rode out to the winery, then up to Star Lookout for some coffee, a good view, and pastries for them, a Lara bar for the gluten-free girl. I swear that keeps me out of so much trouble!! The bearded guy on the yellow bike is named David, and he is really strong. He had normal pedals, and he was killing everyone, but not in a competitive way. He was just out ridin’, bra! We went off the front of the group and chatted a bit. A turkey flew over us, which I found hilarious, considering it was Thanksgiving Day. He said, “the first time I met you, a turkey flew over us”. He also mentioned that our names mean the same, Beloved. Pretty cool.

After the ride, Keely and I lazed around a bit, and then went to the beach to catch some rays. It had been entirely too long. We had dinner that night at her friend’s family’s house. They invited over family and church members for quite a large group. I had fun making the salad. And I made LOTS! I used 6 heads of lettuce my client/boss had given me from his garden, then I used my spiralizer and added green zucchini, yellow zucchini, and apple. I wanted to add beets, but I must have bought turnips instead, because they were white inside. So disappointing! To add color, I sliced some red cabbage really thinly, then added sprouted lentils and shaved coconut. Of course, we ate too much and stayed too late, but there was no alcohol at this party, which was good.

All in all, a full, fun day.

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Need Some Healing

Keely had a swim meet today, and I don’t know how I made it there, honestly. I am so achy, sniffly, and out of it. I live on Maui but am wearing long pants and a black hoodie. Something is definitely wrong. My throat hurts like I have strep too. I can’t imagine it’s just post-nasal drip. I dropped her off and hung out for a bit, then went to the farmers market, then hit downtown to see what was going on. I ended up at this booth of local hand-carved jewelry. I had seen them at an event in Kihei and wanted to buy, but didn’t get the chance that day. The carver is from Tonga, and his whole family has been carving forever. I ended up buying Keely and myself the same style, but different sizes. Below is what it means:

I then drove all the way home from Lahaina, just so I could lay down at home. So miserable. I got there, and as soon as my head hit the pillow, I was out…full on drooling -style out. Not one hour goes by, and the kids above decide to run and jump all over the place. Oh, and scream. It was so bad, I went up and asked them to stop, but they were on their way out the door. What luck.

I tossed for a while then drove the 40 minutes back to Keely’s swim meet, where she was waiting for me. Seriously don’t know why I am so sick…..

 

Thirteen

Yesterday was my daughter’s 13th birthday. Wow. I didn’t know what to do, so I met with her dad, who is visiting this week, and we couldn’t decide even together. BUT, we saw a little place in the Triangle in Kihei that does hair feathers, and we all love sushi. That made it easy. We went to get hair feathers after we picked her up, then waited for Sansei to open at Life’s a Beach, where Keely got a virgin Lava Flow, and her dad and I shared a giant mai tai. Oh boy.

At Sansei, we ate entirely too much, and I think that her dad and I had a bit too much sake. It was all a bit goofy, but especially once we got home. She opened up a few presents we had for her, and then I decided to tickle her. Poor thing. I dated three wrestlers in my day, so she had NO CHANCE. All in all, a good birthday I think. She seemed happy enough.

Although, today her and her dad both tried to get me to drink at dinner…said I was lots of fun on her birthday. I am not sure if that’s a compliment or not. I am going to think positive…

Growing Pains

I didn’t realize how hard it would be to adjust to moving. I mean, it’s easy moving downstairs really. Same house and all. Adjusting to not being a resident on top of moving is taking some adjustment, for sure. Adjusting to sharing a room with Keely and learning to live together without doors, now THAT’s an adjustment, and I think one that was needed. I really feel this will be good for us. It’s all about learning and growing.

One Year Here

Well, today was our one-year anniversary of being on the island, and it was busy. We made it! Sometimes the island picks you up, spins you around, and spits you right out. Not us! We are here and loving it.

I woke up at 4am thinking I could do the Hana ride before cleaning. Boy, was I mistaken! Thankfully, I realized the error of my thinking and started on the moving and cleaning at 5am, after some water and coffee. Then, I must have spent four hours on the kitchen. I bleached the whole inside of the frig. It was yucky! Keely wasn’t a whole lot of help. She was upset I woke her up at 8am, after I had been working for 3 hours. Getting Keely to empty out her room and actually clean anything was like trying to convince a rock it has legs. At some point later in the day, I realized I just wasn’t going to finish and have it all done well, so I contacted a cleaning service, and they said they could come tomorrow, and that I should put my feet up and relax. Just knowing that was on the horizon was such a huge relief!

Keely and I showered and decided to head out to catch the end of the Ukelele Festival, a free yearly event outside at the Maui Arts and Cultural Center. We saw her close friend there, and enjoyed a relaxing 1.5 hours. Then, we headed to WalMart to see if we could find some essentials, like a coffee pot, since my portable range doesn’t boil water. I found something  better! It’s an electric kettle, and it’s amazing!

For dinner, we went to the place we went to on our first night here, one year ago today, WokStar. Love that place!!! I, of course, got my usual Indo Peanut Stir Fry w/brown rice. Then, I throw in about 1/3 of a container of that chili sauce they put out. YUM! Settling in to the new place was a bit weird. I felt pretty lonely, but I realized that was due to the change. I was sleeping in a new place, in a new bed, and the day ahead of me was unknown. In fact, the next three months are really unknown to me. I just have to take it all one day at a time, and keep on trucking!

Fitting it in

What a crazy weekend this is going to be! Keely and I are moving from our 3BR 2BA home with a HUGE living room and HUGE kitchen to a studio downstairs, that doesn’t even have a range. It does have a frig, a sink, and a bit of cabinets. It really needs some love though, and I am pleased with what I have done with it in just a little time. There is a beam across the room, so I put up curtains between the beds and the rest of the studio. We can slide them open or closed as we wish, and I will put a curtain across Keely’s bed so that we can separate our beds and have some privacy. I added a baker’s rack to the “kitchen” so that it looks like a kitchen. Plus, I needed more space!

Now, I have an electric “buffet range”, which takes 20 minutes to boil water, so not sure how much I will be cooking. It might be a good time to go raw! I also plan on buying a bbq and we can grill outside more. We do have a nice little lanai right outside our door, and I am going to line it with a light rope.

The bathroom is normal size, but there is no place for towels, so I put in a toilet shelf. You know, those things that straddle the toilet and add just enough space to put a few towels behind you? The closet is UBER small, with a rod that is hardly worth putting there. It is under the stairs if that gives you any idea of how small it is. SO, I bought a rolling clothes rack normally meant for the laundry room so that we can hang a bit more and roll it out to pick out our clothes. It might be too flimsy, but at least it’s hanging space and doesn’t take up space in our room.

I have always lived in tiny spaces, and I have become really good at utilizing what space I have. Organizing is something I love to do, actually. Sick, huh? I am loving the creative process, and of course it means I get to go shopping! 🙂 It’s fun to make a place yours, and it’s the first time I have done it since I moved here. I didn’t get settled in upstairs because I wasn’t sure if I was staying. I didn’t want to buy anything more than the bare minimum, and most of my furniture was actually free or very cheap. Now, I finally get to make the place homey. I told Keely that when we move back upstairs, we will make her room nice. Poor thing has had a pretty boring room all year. Not come January!!

Now, if only I didn’t have to clean the whole upstairs spotless! That’s the not-so-fun part.

Spinning

Lots of jumbled thoughts today, tonight, lately.

Started out my day very early, hit the snooze for too long, then jetted off to Paia around 5:15am. At Anthony’s, the girl working there showed another customer and me a counterfeit dollar bill. It looked and felt exactly like a real dollar bill, but it had Santa Claus in the middle instead of George. Just one of those fun oddities in an otherwise “normal” day. On the way to Twin Falls, the weather was bad…very wet and windy. Part of our group decided we would join a 7:30am group going out to West Maui instead. Since we had an hour to kill, we went back to Anthony’s. Yum!

It was a good group of riders that headed out. We kept the pace pretty easy, but it was hard not to with the headwinds. One thing I did notice was that people didn’t seem to understand how to draft in crosswind, which means they didn’t seem to know the best place to be when at the front of the line either. I find that on every ride with a crosswind here, the person up front tends to be on the opposite side of the shoulder they need to be on. When I thought about a windsurfer (because most of the cyclists I ride with have a windsurfing background), they don’t want to get behind another windsurfer, because they need that wind. Perhaps that thinking affects their cycling? I like to think of the peleton as a cat and its tail. The person up front is the cat, and everyone after is the tail. You need to leave room for the tail to blow with the wind in the shoulder of the road without it running off the road or into traffic where it could get run over. It would be good to have a clinic on intermediate cycling skills, such as how to ride in a pack, how to draft in a pack, in wind, etc, and tactics for races…… I know a few people who could do that. 🙂

So, the ride was brutal. The headwinds were so tough on parts that I was out of my saddle pumping uphill just to keep myself moving forward. I wasn’t able to hydrate or fuel well because I had my hands on the handlebars all the time, prepared for the next unpredictable gust of wind. We went from Paia to Lahaina, all around West Maui, then back into Paia, with a short stop at the art gallery outside of Kahakuloa.

I made myself some yummy fish tacos when I got home and proceeded to chill, but my mind was racing… I have to move stuff downstairs, and clean the whole upstairs top to bottom. I didn’t feel like moving anything or cleaning anything. I have stuff for work I need to do, but I didn’t want to get in front of the computer right away, and I had questions in my head about relationships. So, I layed on my bed, immobilized by indecision. One must not get attached. It’s that simple. Then you don’t get hurt. BUT, if you don’t let yourself get attached, you are guarding and not fully loving. So, what’s a girl to do? It’s a vicious cycle, but I saw a quote today from Dr. Seuss that pretty much sums up how I look at ANY disappointment in life:

 “I won’t cry because it’s over, I’ll smile because it happened.”

Tonight, my daughter and I fought about her schoolwork. I want her to do well, she thinks it’s boring and thus hard. She said, ” I don’t need this boring stuff for what I want to do anyway. You don’t need this for art.” HA! Little does she know. I pulled up Juilliard and Berklee College of Music to see their admission stats. The lowest GPA of people Juilliard accepted was 3.9. Berklee was not the same, but the % of people below 3.0 was very small. They must have been geniuses at music, or rich, or both.

We battled, and she spun things around, put words in my mouth, talked in circles…I kept  trying to bring her back to what I was trying to say. Then, I explained to her that I believe with all my heart she can do whatever she sets her mind to. She is a very creative, loving, bright girl with the potential to do well at many things. I wanted her to have the opportunity to be all she could be, to really explore her talents to the utmost. Then, I reminded her that I left my family when I was 16 to study ballet, and I experienced some of the most amazing things through my art because I had the opportunity to really take my dancing to the next level. I want that for her, but I can’t do it for her. She heard that, I think.

Then, I told her she had to skip swimming until her homework was done. That was the end of the quiet listening. Oh well. All in all, a good day with lots of spinning….. on my bike, in my head, and in my heart.