Getting LOST... (part deux)

So... sorry about the delay in posting. Think of it as if you were watching the real season of LOST and they started showing re-runs mid-season. Anywho... where was I? Oh yes, Friday I was totally worthless as a productive member of society. I didn't get any laundry done, I didn't clean or cook or even think about providing sustenance for my offspring - I just passed time until it was time to leave. 4 o'clock rolls around and we (Cheri, Laura, Elisa and I) we all a bit antsy to get our adventure underway. None of our husbands were home to watch the kids, so we pawned them all off on Z & A until the men came home from work. We piled into the car and braved traffic up to the North Shore. We were all still a bit skeptical as to if this was really going to happen... were we really going to get a glimpse of Sawyer? Was it possible that this was just a sham? Was "E" legit? Well, hold on to your leg-warmers, because here begins to craziest night in Hawaii yet.

We opted for dinner first, based on the instructions we received from "E" and decided on Haleiwa Joe's, (Two thumbs up) where we watched the sun set while we enjoyed a fantastic meal; all the while mildly freaking out about the possibilities still to come. As we left the restaurant, Cheri "Stalker" called both numbers "E" left for contacting him, but he didn't answer either one. We decided to drive up to a beach a bit further down the road and give him 10 minutes before we tried to call one last time. 2 minutes later, "E" called "Stalker" with instructions to meet him at "the opening". It was dark by this time, but luckily we had scoped out the meeting area before dinner. We arrived and waited about 10 minutes. In the meantime, one of us (name withheld to protect our identity) had to urgently relieve our bladder and hemmed and hawed about going in the bushes, finally opting for immediate relief. As said nameless person exited the vehicle, the door slamming drew the attention of the posted security dude who soon came to see if we needed assistance. Fortunately, said bladder was already relieved and personal parts protected. We replied that we were waiting for "E" - who promptly arrived in his awesome car (details also withheld to protect his employment status). We followed him passed the security dude to where he determined we should park, at which spot we piled into said awesome car to begin our crazy adventure.

(Sigh) I have to go make dinner... stay tuned for part 'teen' (That's Hindi for three)...

Getting LOST...

Thursday evening (Nov 19) about 8pm I received a phone call from my neighbor which basically said "You wanna go see LOST being filmed at the Bowfin?" WHAT!!?!?!?! Apparently, the LOST crew was filming at the Bowfin submarine just across the street from where the kids have swim team. In fact, all the trailers were parked in the pool parking lot. My reply was something like "DUH!" and 5 minutes later, Cheri, Elisa, Laura and I were piled in the jeep hopeful for a glimpse of Sawyer who was reportedly seen crossing said parking lot earlier that evening.

Upon arriving at the pool, there were indeed several trailers with obvious LOST connections, but no Sawyer to be found. They had already finished shooting and were packing up. One of us bright ladies suggested that someone should 'go ask if anyone was still here.' (NOT ME! are you kidding me?) Fortunately for all of us, Cheri has no fear, and turned the jeep around and rolled down the window. It was a tie between the security guard and the 'other employee' as to who reached the car first, but luckily the 'other employee' waved the security guard off and engaged us in a fantastical conversation that sent all kinds of bells and whistles off in our heads. Let's call him E, to protect his identity and his job. E gave us his business card (Yes, official LOST business card WITH phone number) and invited us to the shooting on the North Shore the following night. He even put Cheri's phone number in his phone under Cheri Stalker (HER new nickname). Then we headed home.

So... at this point, a thousand thoughts go through your head. 'Who is this guy?' and 'Why is he doing this for us?', 'He's totally NOT going to call', 'BAAAAAAA! I'm going to a shooting of LOST with Kate and Sawyer!', 'This guy is probably some nutcase, and we should be afraid for our lives', 'WHO the heck IS this guy?', 'OH MY GOSH! This is freakin' CRAZY!'

I walked in the house and told Dave that I'd need a rain check for our Date Night because "I had a date with SAWYER!"

Later that evening, Cheri actually DID get a call from E who gave her some directions for the next evening: Drive up to Haleiwa, get some dinner, call E after dinner, don't drive the jeep because you look like a tourist, and don't dress like hookers. Sounds simple enough.

Needless to say, I was totally non-functioning Friday. I got absolutely NOTHING done. Stay tuned the exciting conclusion to.... "Getting LOST!"

Housing Update

I know I promised an update a few weeks ago, but it's been smoldering around in my brain and I still don't have any real answers - but here's the update regardless:

We are 3rd on the list for new 5 bedroom homes being built right now. Great news! Except for the fact that there are only 2 - 5 bedroom units being built. So that puts on down on the 4 bedroom list chronologically according to move in dates. We're farther up than most people because the first determining factor was those families who had children attending the middle school or high school, however, we are still 11th on the 4 bedroom list. Great news! Except for the fact that there are only 10 - 4 bedroom units being built. Sigh! A personal visit to the housing office has given no new answers yet.

So, what are are options? Good question! We have the option of staying in this AMR area where they have begun building more new housing which should be available late summer '10. But, the kids would have to change schools, which is the biggest decision factor for us. (sigh) So, as has been our practice for Dave's entire Air Force career, we wait for someone else to tell us where we'll end up. And that's where it stands right now.

Furlough Fridays

I mentioned earlier that I would write about Furlough Fridays. What, you may ask, is Furlough Friday? Well, to put it in terms everyone can understand: The Hawaii State Budget is so messed up that the Department of Education (DOE) is facing "unprecedented budget cuts totally $468 million over two years". Their solution to this ridiculousity is "Furlough Fridays" - or 17 Fridays throughout the rest of this school year in which there will now be no school. That's more than 3 weeks less of school! Hawaii already boasts one of the worst public school systems in the country.

(visualize Ange getting up on a soapbox now)

I understand that we are in a global economic crisis, and that with these budget cuts it might require job cuts, but this is asinine. In order to save jobs, which I do not disparage by the way, they have opted to take a pay cut by working fewer days throughout the year. From my perspective, which I recognize might be skewed, it seems that the DOE is opting for more time off resulting in less pay. (Who wouldn't want more time off?) Hawaii's keiki (children) are the biggest losers in all this. Not only do they have the worst (okay, California was pretty bad too) education system to begin with, now they have less time to learn the stuff they are supposed to learn, which they aren't learning anyway. The Elementary schools already have half-day Wednesdays; so now, B & D will have 3 1/2 days of school most weeks left of school. I've just re-looked at the new school calendar, and determined that there is only one full, five-day week of school in February, April and May. Count 'em... 3 full weeks of school for the rest of the school year. UNBELIEVABLE!

But wait... there's more! Believe it or not... it's buy one get one free! That's right. This will affect the next school year too!

Obviously there is a positive here. The kids will have more play time... more time at the beach, more time to enjoy this beautiful place we live. However, give them enough time here and they won't know how to read the signs at any of the places we visit.

Moving?

(sigh) Sighing seems to have become a regular part of my life lately. A sign of my discontent?.. maybe. Or maybe it is just an indication that I have accepted the fact that I am not in control of my life.

We've been in Hawaii a little over two months now, and last week attended a housing demolition meeting. Our little section of Ghetto-dise is slated to be demolished and must be empty no later than October 2010. At this meeting, we were told that there are 78 new homes nearing completion on Ft. Shafter, just up the way a little bit, with the first of the new homes being available for occupancy as early as November (next month). These 78 homes should be occupied by the first few weeks/months of next year. In determining priority, the housing office has decided (wisely) that it is important to keep continuity for kids in the Middle Schools and High Schools, so families with children in Moanalua Middle, and Moanalua High, will have priority for these new homes. We have one in each school. (sigh) There is another meeting on Monday with more details and possibly a more specific timeline. Here's my understanding so far...

We will be moving sometime in the next 3 months.

Cons:

• leave fantastic neighbors
• we live in a great location with proximity to swim team, schools, Target, base shopping, etc. Moving will put us farther away
• car-pooling will be way messed up!
• change wards
• B & little D will have to change schools
• I HAVE TO MOVE AGAIN!

Pros:

• brand new, bigger house with a garage
• if all MS and HS kids are priority, then A & Z will have lots of friends in the neighborhood
• did I mention new, and bigger house?
• the sooner we move, the longer we get to stay in the new house before we have to move again.

Well, there you have it... at least for now. I'll update again after Monday's meeting. (sigh)

Waxing & Waning

No, this isn't about the cycles of the moon, more like my mood. It's been a wild ride the past few months emotionally, physically, mentally, etc. And you can blame (or thank) blogger for the lack of descriptive details of the whole crazy ride. I really can't stand the interface, especially adding pictures. I sure miss the old website. (sigh) It's still there, just in need of serious life support in order to continuing posting to it. Obviously a project for another day, frame of mind.

So, now for those casual readers that's the end of the post, but if you really want to glimpse the warped inner workings of my mind then, by all means, read on.

I would first like to acknowledge that I am aware that I live in paradise. Yes, the weather is perfect every day. Yes, the skies are blue and clear. Yes, the ocean is more beautiful than the pictures I post, the water temperature is ideal, and snorkeling, boogie boarding & surfing are really that fun. Yes, I could do any or all of these things every day if I wanted to. Yes, there are gorgeous waterfalls, prehistoric looking mountains, and fantastic flowers everywhere you look. yes, LOST is filmed here (no, I haven't seen anyone yet). And Yes! I am very grateful to be living here.

However...

Just like many who haven't been to India thought I was super-spoiled by having a cook, housekeeper, gardener, sweeper, tailor and driver; so also is there the perception that I live on the beach, sipping fruity umbrella drinks, served by 'Sawyer' in a 'bond' bathing suit. Let me assure you all... that is not the case. Don't get me wrong, we are all bound and determined to enjoy our 'beach living' as much as possible; but, life is life, and requires that we actually DO stuff to survive (laundry, cooking, shopping, chauffeuring, school, etc). And, at the risk of having one of the few readers still here conclude that I 'need help,' I will delve a little deeper.

Adjusting back to 'normal' life has proven more challenging that I anticipated - and not because I'm cooking and cleaning for myself again. It's remotely possible that these challenges could be linked to the 10 lbs I've gained from having Maui Caramacs (chocolate & caramel macademia nuts) for breakfast everyday, but I'm thinking not. We all go though life trying to deal with the 'issues' of our past, our personality quirks, character flaws and haughty hubris. We contend with these things usually as a part of life, little by little, overcoming and improving. Sometimes we choose not deal, instead we avoid. We mask these issues with coping mechanisms we develop over time. For some it's retail therapy (gosh, India was SO great for that). For others, entertainment, food, facebook. (hee hee) Some may even escape into a good book (if Jean Valjean can do it... so can I!). However, from my observation, this is like putting a band-aid on a person suffering from skin cancer. Band-aids do little but mask the wound, hide it from sight. In many cases, painful surgery is needed to remove the disease, and then chemotherapy and radiation.

This move, for me, has been one of those moments in life where I can choose to put another band-aid on, or elect to have surgery. After 3 years of 'oh my gosh, I'm going to live in India', 'oh my gosh, I live in India', 'oh my gosh, I lived in India'... now it's over and we're back to 'who the blazes am I?' and 'now that all my kids are in school, what the heck am I going to do with myself?', 'what is my purpose?' This, and more (stay tuned for an update on housing and schooling), has been running around what is left of my brain causing all kinds of unpleasantries. However, I have elected for surgery. (big sigh) And while the process is proving quite painful, I am hopeful it will prove most beneficial in the long run. 'Slow & steady wins the race...'

Enough blogging... now I'm back to lazing about the beach in my modest bikini, sipping virgin Daiquiris, reading trashy novels.

Upcoming blogs... Our upcoming move & Furlough Fridays

Under the Sea...

Diamondhead

While Joan was here, we decided to try something new. Dave, Joan & I booked passage on a submarine for some fish-seeing adventure. It was a 15 minute boat ride out to the sub with gorgeous views of Waikiki and Diamondhead, followed by a 45-60 minute underwater tour of sunken planes and ships and artificial reefs all placed for the purpose of the tour. It did not disappoint. We saw many, many fish, and even a reef shark and 4 hono (sea turtles).

The Atlantis XII (our submarine) surfacing to pick us up

Sunken plane

Reef shark resting under the wing

Joan & Dave in the sub

Large fish

My favorite - the hono