What a Weekend!

My Friday morning began with a brief meeting with Acacia about the HP Alliance web site. The last week and a half to two weeks I've been running on all cylinders work wise and Acacia said, "Dude, you NEED to have a weekend. Start early. Start immediately." I plowed through my list of things to do like Superman and by the time it was 2 pm, and had finished more than a normal day's work, I was soon out of the house and getting my butt on the Number 1 bus to Chinatown. 

It was a much longer ride on a Friday afternoon! But by 4 pm, I was at Indigo, drinking a Happy Hour Cosmopolitan. Only 3 dollars! Well, I soon found another bar that offered the same deal. So another few dollars, another Cosmo. Mmmmm. Then on to Ong King for an awesome art exhibit as well as drinking a couple shots of vodka and soda. This time it was donation only, so one dollar. After the art exhibit, I had some nice flirtatious time back at Indigo before going to a Vietnamese restaurant for some Chicken Pho (I realized at this point that if I didn't eat with the amount I had drunk, my time feeling good was minimal). Then to the art galleries! Yes, another First Friday. And with it came art galleries that included some awesome art, some awesome crafts, some naked people covered in artsy paint, and some amazing dance. And speaking of dance, after absorbing a lot of wonderful art work I was soon at a club dancing, flirting, all that fun stuff. But then left to go back to Ong King where a singer/songwriter made me cry with his music. I got into Ong King for free on account of being on the guest list courtesy of one of the musicians in Quadrophonics, who I have become friends with. That band is absolutely amazing! WOW! Ong King had wine this time, and so that made it even more fun. Soon I found myself back at a club before going back to Ong King, having missed the last Number 1 bus back home. But a wonderful guy at Ong King offered to drive me home. After dancing to some awesome live hip hop and then techno, this guy dropped me off at Zippy's where I ordered a double cheeseburger - knowing that I would need that to metabolize all of the alcohol while I was sleeping. It was so late where I was that I realized that my mom, who gets up pretty early, would probably be awake. So I called and wished her a good morning as, it turns out, she was on her way to the gym. 

I slept a very long time, woke up at noon and met up with Layla and Benjamin. We went to Aquarium and it was awesome! Benjamin found the fish to be enthralling. But he also found the people to be equally enthralling as well as things like stairs, seats, little rocks on the ground, and just about everything. So he's a good audience. :-) We then went back home before Mala picked us up and took us to a gay rights rally, for Hawaii to have legal civil unions. I found out about the rally at First Friday and it was nice to be there. Then Mala, Layla, and Benjamin dropped me off at the East-West Center where I saw the first Noh play I have ever seen. WHOAH! What an experience! It was a very sad play. So slow moving you wouldn't believe it. Fortunately my date who has the same name as Spiderman's girl friend helped me enjoy this really interesting experience all the better. The night ended with Layla and I having a really nice conversation after she had put "the boy" to bed. He is finally learning to fall asleep in his crib! Way to go Benjamin!!!! :-)

Sunday morning I woke up and got ready to go to Haunama Bay which is nothing short of a tropical paradise. WOW! The snorkeling was amazing. I ran along the beach and danced with the wind and the ocean. It was unbelievable.

I came home thinking I would go to Ong King tonight to do my very first live performance of "Barack Jewbama" but decided after some meditation that after such an exciting weekend it would be better to just sit with myself, then clean and organize my apartment. So thank you Acacia for reminding me to take time for myself!

I am excited to start work tomorrow with an exciting phone appointment at 7 am with a group in the UK!

I'll write more soon! 

The Ends of the Earth

According to this world clock that lists a whole lot of countries through the entire world, Hawaii is the only place where it's still Sunday. Every single other state/province/city in the entire world is experiencing Monday. But here in Honolulu, it's still the weekend.

What has two thumbs...

and just became a member of the Academy of Art in Honolulu. Give up? This guy!

I kid you not, I did work today from a beautiful art museum in Hawaii. Life is good.

The sounds of cats mating

I never would have known it. But when they are doing it and doing it and doing it well, cats make a lot of noise! Almost every night a certain female cat, who for her own anonymity will go unnamed (also I'm not even sure if she has a name) gets it on with a male cat. And either cause she's in heat or because she's experiencing some strange mix of pain and pleasure, this cat starts crying LOUDLY.

So loudly that I woke up for some reason early on Sunday morning (I went back to sleep) at around 4:30 am. And I heard the crying. I couldn't tell if it was a person or an animal. but I decided after some hemming and hauling to call the police. The police asked me if it sounded like a cat mating. To which I replied, "I have no idea what a cat sounds like when they're mating." Well now I do. I told some neighbors about it the next day. It's a cat mating. The same one. Almost every night. We should all be so lucky.

In the mean time, some other neighbors of mine are playing some very loud club music. It's a little obnoxious. But I wouldn't be surprised if they're having a bumping and grinding dance party and the cat outside is there ready to pick up some male um...(insert obvious/corny/offensive pun having to do with cats).

First Cockroach

The first and hopefully last cockroach appeared in my apartment today. It was huge! I think it was about six inches long but the good news is that I got it out of my house without having to smash off it's head. I know, I know. That's what she said. :-)

First Friday

Back in Philadelphia, First Friday - taking place on the first Friday of every month is a thing to celebrate. Old City becomes newly alive as art galleries stay open late and people are coming in and out and in a vibrant mix of urban, bohemian, artistic, yuppie, and hip elements. The same is true in Honolulu.

Only in Honolulu it's not "Old City" but Chinatown that comes alive. Last night, I went alone to First Friday as Layla and Jon wimped out because they have a baby. As did Layla's friends. So I ventured out alone and am so happy that I did.

The art was beautiful, so many nice and cool people that I met. Drinking wine. Drinking beer. Looking at art. One exhibit that stood out for me was The Aloha President, where a photographer took pictures of Barack Obama when he was staying here last year on a break from the campaign trail. Incredibly, he was staying across from her house so she had great access to him and the pictures are beautiful and moving. She said she looks at him as a work of art. And while I don't believe in deifying Barack, I do believe that people are art and that he, who is so beautiful, so pensive, so passionate, and so inspiring with those dashing good looks that stands for Global Citizen is certainly a fantastic figure to photograph. There were so many interesting people and artists.

There was also these awesome dancers in a Chinese dragon outfit with fire and people surrounding them playing percussive instruments.

Eventually as the galleries closed, the bars and clubs opened. A little drunk, I went dancing at a club. And as far as being single in Honolulu, it was certainly a good night. Oddly, I ended it the same way I started my morning: having a cheeseburger at a place called Zippy's.

Any way, it was a fantastic First Friday.

Sheraton, I Know Ye Well

To your left is the Sheraton Hotel at Waikiki. I can't tell you nor will I in this blog all of the many mischievous things I have done in Sheraton Hotels. In fact, today was on the lower end of my Sheraton mischief.

I woke up at 5:30 am, in part because it was cold with my windows open and in part because of the energy work that I had done the night before. By 6:30 am I was at work emailing the wonderful people I work with in the HP Alliance. By 8:40 I was out the door and taking a bus and then a nice walk to Waikiki beach - possibly the most touristy beach in Honolulu. I walked for a while along the beach and just seeing that wonderful ocean and having it's cold water hit my feet is so incredibly refreshing. Then I came to the Sheraton. I simply walked in as if I were a guest, swam in the pool and chilled out in the hot tub for a while. Or perhaps I should say, "warmed up" in the hot tub. Any way, everyone is supposed to have an orange bracelet signifying they are a guest at the hotel. I just kept keeping my wrists down in front of the guards and going about my business of relaxing and talking to some guests. It was fun! Then to the ocean where I had a nice swim and a real nice pee.

I later went to a nearby mall that has a movie theater and an Apple Store. I always forget how despite the fact that I am surrounded by beautiful vibrant tropical aliveness, I am living in a modern Western major United States city. And a city, mind you, that has Sheraton hotels to take advantage of. You gotta love it.