less than epic, did I jinx myself??

So I know I swore to have the best day ever Saturday, and BELIEVE ME, I tried!!!!!!!


I woke up early, did my laundry, cleaned some house, got the boring stuff out of the way. Went to get into my car to take it to get the tire changed. (My tire incident, refer to earlier blog post). The last few days I drove a room mates car, so my car sat for a few days. I was apalled when I glanced into the backseat. On the passenger side floor of the back seat was a freaking bathtub of water. A solid 4 inches. I know you are thinking about how much this sucks, but just wait a second. My car is an $800 '92 escort wagon. She has seen better days for sure. A little water is something I can deal with. Here is the part that tears my heart up. Behind my passenger seat, in its case, and then wrapped up in a towel is where I keep my camera. My fairly expensive Canon Rebel XTI. My baby. Yup. You better believe it. My camera took a 2 day bath. Soaked down to every last light sensor and wire. I took it apart and set it out to dry, used a cup to scoop the water out, and all my beach towels to soak up the last of it on the floor. I didn't get upset, I didn't freak out (on the outside). I started my three legged car and drove a slow 45 mph down the hill.

I went to walmart first to check on the tire situation. Walmart is usually pretty cheap. They quoted me 100 bucks for one freaking tire. No way. Next I went to the tire place by Safeway. 65 bucks. That sounds a little better, and should be done in 1 hour. Rocko and I took a walk around the block and people watched in front of Safeway. 1/2 hour into the wait, my phone rang. Apparently things were busy, and 1 hour really was going to be 2 hours. AAAGH!!!! At this rate I would miss all the good wind at the beach!

Finally, my tire was fixed. Straight to Sprecks I went. I looked out over the water, and saw everyone fully powered and planing. YAY!!!! In case the wind got lighter, I wanted to be prepared so I rigged my biggest sail, a 4.8. I downhauled it extra incase I was going to be overpowered. Of course, as soon as I get out on the water the wind goes weird. Weird directions, super gusty, slogging one minute, blasting another minute, and then fall back into the water.

Despite the somewhat awful conditions, I proved to myself that I really do enjoy self-punishment. Every run out to the reef I swore that all I wanted was enough wind to make it back to the beach and I would be DONE. De-rig and go home. Nope. Silly me. Everytime I made it back to the beach, I itched for one more chance at planing across the choppy messy water. I kept going and going, even though I technically wasn't having too much fun.

But did you SEEEE the beautiful rainbow?!?!? Did you FEEL the wind on your face?!?! Didn't the water feel GREAT?!?! I couldn't help but have fun. I loved it. I hated it. I wanted more of it. So confusing, don't you think????

I got out of the water and the rain came down hard. Of course, solid super wind came as well---AFTER I de-rigged my stuff. Oh darn. Besides, with the strong wind came strong rain. I got into my dry clothes just in time for the rain, and hopped in my car looking like I just got out of the shower.... in my clothes.

Ooohhh Maui. How I love you so.

Post-Christmas thoughts

I survived my first Christmas without my family. Not too bad, only a quick few tear drops after I talked to my little sister on the phone. She is growing up so fast :-(
My day was good. I didn't get on the water, but I heard from others that the wind was super gusty and not so great anyways. I actually spent the day indoors watching re-runs of Ice Age.

Now that its over (whew!) I can move on. I am feeling kind of accomplished about it, and if I have to do it again, I think it will be easier the next time.

Today I worked all day. It was an excellent day of work though! At Hot Sails we did inventory so my brain actually took a nice break from the more monotonous things I do behind a desk. I got a kick out of watching Glenn and Tom dig out piles and piles of sails. So many sails piled up I couldn't even walk by! Luckily, Diony scooped me up and used his long grasshopper legs hop over the sail piles and carry me across the shop. I felt like a princess!

The restaurant was slower than ever, but it made for a pleasant atmosphere. The girls I work with are so different from me, but I love each of them dearly, for so many different reasons.

Tomorrow is going to be a splendid day, I just know it!!! Here is why:

1. I don't work AT ALL!

2. I am going to clean my entire house. Tomorrow evening, I am going to light all the candles and relax, hopefully with the sound of rain outside.

3. I have a list of songs I really want to use my poi and fire dance to, and I always feel like a million bucks afterward.

4. There is allegedly going to be trade winds. I don't care if the rain blows the wind crazy directions, I am getting in the water! If it's super gusty and I get catapulted again and again, so be it! Or, if I end up slogging around in a light breeze, I will snag a board from Kanaha Kai and cruise on a tanker.

5. There is definite possibilities of making chocolate chip cookies.

6. I reallllly want to see the movie Marley and Me. Problem is, nobody wants to see it with me. So maybe I will pull a Rachel Delforge, and take myself on a date. Yup. Thanks Rachface :-)

7. I don't have to stress about school yet! That makes any day worth being happy about!

8. Today I stumbled upon something great at the store. I randomly found Rockos favorite brand of squeaky ball. I haven't been able to find this particular brand in months and months! He doesn't like toys, but he goes CRAZY for this particular squeaky ball. He's gonna be stoked! Playing fetch with him at the beach is going to be great fun.

8 reasons. There you have them. I'm telling you, it really is going to be a good day. I can feel it in my bones!!!!!!!!!!!

Sicko

Have you seen Sicko? By Michael Moore? If you haven't, then you should. I watched it last night for the first time.

Umm... universal health care??? I'll pay half my income to taxes every month if it means I can rely on my family having health care for the rest of their lives. Sign me up!

"be happy and have a grateful heart"

When I heard her voice distantly through the phone, I have to admit, that elephant teardrops sprang into my eyes. Mostly happy tears, but still that clenching pang in my stomach. Its weird how you adjust to people, almost take them for granted. And then when they are not around, you realize how much you miss them. After I hung up the phone I felt happy that they get to be together for the holidays and I imagined them strolling through the quaint shops of downtown Chico, sporting their Christmasy hats and scarves, picking out just the right little Christmas gift for me. That was Monday morning. My tears were happy ones.

Monday night was the night after the first day of winter. I think that makes it the second shortest day of the year. It was dark early, and I could hear the raindrops on the roof of the restaurant. I busily waited on table after table, grateful for the consistent flow of work to keep my mind off the feeling in the air. When I paused for even a second, I was overwhelmed by the sensation of feeling the season.

On my way to work this morning I blew out a tire. The Haiku rain was so heavy I opted to wait in my car for it to pass before viewing the damage.

With optimism I headed through Paia and emerged out of the wetness. The sun warmed air of Kahului was comforting and I went about my work without any significant emotion. When I saw the trees outside my office window swaying in the wind, I got excited. I anticipated good wind and had a 2 hour session with the nicest wind I have felt in months.

On the water is when I decided that I wouldn't be sad. I wouldn't think about my friends gathering for dinner and drunken stupidity, immersed in the holiday season night life of Chico. I wouldn't imagine my little siblings racing to the couch to be the first to sit by me. Or tackling eachother to get into the car to have the seat clostest to me. Or my little tiny kindergarten sister making up her own songs to the tunes of my older brothers acoustic guitar. All thoughts of my grandparents amazing holiday cooking were going to vanish. I wouldn't be sad knowing that my friends were going to go ride horses together, like we do every year we get together for Christmas.

Despite all that I am missing these days, it was easy to look around and appreciate what I am not missing. A lot of people still dream of even visiting where I get to live. The water was warm, the wind was magnificent. I spent two hours soaking up the sun, and finally came in when it began to disappear behind the West Maui Mountains. Rocko and I spent some quality time together hunting crabs on the beach. I observed his mad dash to Kite Beach, and could share his excitement as he sprinted back to me. The grin on his face and his ears flying back in the wind was a sight worth paying money to see.



For some reason I feel patient today. The tropical rainstorm in Haiku didn't bother me, the traffic through town wasn't a problem, and spending an hour at safeway to buy just a couple of things was mellow. Everyone was in such a hurry and so busy. I patiently waited my turn in line and through a little bit of chaotic traffic, I found my way into the Haiku rain again, and back home.

Supersize it.

Okay. So here is a somewhat random post.

On several occasions this weekend, I encountered conversational topics regarding obesity, overeating, and healthy v. unhealthy food. One conversation was a somewhat humorous story that actually had a really good ending. Despite the positive ending to the story, I had a difficult time laughing along the way. Why would I have a hard time laughing at a story about an obese person?

Believe it or not, obesity tends to run in family. And yes, it is a disease. It is a disgusting mind game. It is something I can completely relate to, because even at only 21 years of age, food has filled my head to an extent that can't possibly be healthy. But look at my genetics, and you can understand the constant source of my worry. I have never been a skinny person, and don't consider myself to be small. I am "pleasantly plump". And I am okay with that, really. But what about in 5 years? 10 years? 20 years? I need to be aware of these things now, so I don't have to fight them in the future.

The difference between myself and some of my family is that I have been raised with a good amount of education on what a healthy diet consists of. I live in a part of the U.S. that in my opinion, provides a lot of access to healthy, fresh foods. It is my hope that I can look at the mistakes of my family and learn from them, apply the educational value of those mistakes to my life, and someday raise my own children to eat the right foods.

Here is my biggest dilemma and cause of frustration:

Most students gain 10-15 lbs during college. This is partially a result of exercise. But it is also because of the college students' diet. Lets face it, most college students are broke. I have been lucky enough to have well paying jobs the last 2 years. Buying whatever food I want has not been on issue or even a question. If I wanted healthy food, I bought it. Unfortunately, in the face of a failing economy, my waitress job is paying 1/3 of what it used pay. My tips are just enough to pay my rent, utilities and gas. As each month goes by, I am forced to grocery shop more and more by what is cheapest. When I start nursing school in January, I have no idea how I will be able to by healthy food.

So here I am, a typical college student. Obesity is a huge problem in the U.S., and yet the cost of healthy food is obscene. I am constantly being directed to eat the right foods, but how can I do it when I can't afford it? Am I supposed to give up my good and healthy eating habits so that I can afford to make my rent every month? How is this fair? Am I really supposed to start trading in my fresh Kula greens in for a 50 cent package of Ramen? And its an accepted way of life for the college student!!!! People tell me that its what I am supposed to do! Live off of Top Ramen Noodles! And Macaroni and Cheese! And its okay!

Why is it, that in this country, it is so difficult to eat the right foods? Didn't obesity take over alcohol as a leading cause of liver disease? What about diabetes? High blood pressure? Heart disease? Cancers?

This is really scary to me. Americans put really nasty, unhealthy food in their mouths without even thinking twice about it. Most Americans probably don't even realize the food they are eating will slowly kill them.

And why is it so difficult to change this????? Why does healthy food have to be so expensive?

The best thing I can do for myself at this point is eat in moderation and keep trying to get in decent exercise. But Im telling you, based on my genetics, I need both a good diet and exercise. I really can't have one without the other, or I won't stand a chance.

Kind of a frustrating topic for me.

Here is a picture from Maria and I going tandem.... for some reason uploading to blogger makes the colors look pretty washed out. The original has amazing color. You can click on it to see it bigger too. And too bad there wasn't more wind that day. Tomorrow might be windy though!

Good Quote

"If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude. Don't complain."

-Maya Angelou