THE LAST HAWAIIAN WEEKEND

Every time someone mentions that I'm going home in a few days (as of today I have approximately 3 days left, I think), all I can say is "Yeah! Isn't it crazy?" And I get tired of hearing myself say it, but I can't seem to express it in any other terms. I've spent an entire summer here, two plus months, and all the sudden it's time to go home, and back to school. It's just crazy. But I know it's time to go home. I feel ready to do that, but at the same time a bit sad to be leaving. I know I'm going to get home, and think of all sorts of things I should have done, and my stomach will grumble for raw fish, and there will be nothing I can do about it. So what has been happeneing in the last handful of days?

Wednesday: it was rainy when I got up, and so we did not go to the Aloha Flea Market as planned. Instead I came in to work, eventually got to run away and play hooky I think. At the very least I walked to Subway and made friends with the little old lady who works there. She's a sandwhich artist and she likes my purse. So I consider us friends, of a sort. The day was rainy, cloudy, and utterly dark all day. It was like being back on the mainland!

Thursday was very uneventful. The weather continued to be rainy and dreary for awhile but soon showed signs of clearing. Kenneth bought all the undergrads bento boxed lunches--local food. Basically alot of white rice, with heaps of fried chicken with gravy, breaded shrimp, kim chee, and SPAM--all in their own individual corners of the plate. It was very filling, quite good, but definitely not good for you. Kenneth refused payment from all of us. And alas, there is no diet pepsi left in the machine, but Sam buys me a coke. I was so happy for the generosity.

Friday was the last day of work for undergrad workers Sam and Dana. Kenneth was very quiet--the workers usually do their work together, chatting and laughing as they go. It's going to be a little less cheerful with Kenneth doing all the work alone. The entire lab went back to The Legend for dim sum again. Oh baby, it's SO delicious. Especially the sesame buns, which are rolls filled with sweet bean paste and rolled in toasted sesame seeds. . .mmmmm! I also had some delicious taro shrimp, which was just grand and filling. Debbie brought little baby Keenan, and so we had endless entertainment. She's one of three post-doc's in the lab, and I found out she has also been a world-ranked competitive surfer. My lab rocks.

Once we got back to the lab, Cheryl drove me out to Ala Moana Shopping Centre. All the buses drive through this central point, and so I hopped a bus to Waikiki, because Dammit if I don't see the beaches of waikiki I'm pretty lame. It was very very very hot (the trade winds are still picking up from when they halted on Wednesday), and it took me a good long while to find a bathroom to switch into my bathing suit. I then decided to walk all the way down the strip of road lining the beaches, to see if I could see any neat hotels. The best two were the Royal Hawaiian and the Sheraton Moana Surfrider. The Sheraton had a big, beautiful lanai (porch) on the street side, lined with white rocking chairs. The Royal Hawaiian, being a big, pink building, tempted me with open hallways. . . so I decided to play guest and walk around the halls for a little bit. Mom and Dad said when they were in hawaii this was one of their favorite things to do. Nobody bugs you, and so for free you can wander around the lush gardens, the warm and decadent receiving rooms and lobby, and perhaps even jump in the pool. I didn't jump in the pool, since getting in trouble wouldn't really be so much fun. but i think I COULD have, if I had the guts!

After my hotel adventure, I bought some water and found a less-crowded spot on the beach to read and get more freckles. I've gotta say, Waikiki is filled with beautiful people, strutting their stuff and lazing about. And kajillions of japanese tourists, floating in their cartoonish inflatable beach toys. I've ALSO gotta say, it was nice to just lay down and read for awhile. I got to just relax and eavesdrop on folks around me and read about UFO/Psychic Phenomena. Out on the waves, folks were *trying* to learn to surf, and on the coast, a lady was calling her friend to let her know she may have lost their two girls. Altogether, very entertaining and relaxing for me. However, the beach I was on was entirely too crowded. Of all the things I've seen on Oahu, this wouldn't be very high on my list. But that's ok. It's free.

Rode the bus home again. Cheryl cooked fresh Au (marlin) fillets for dinner, and damn was that good. We had Ben and Jerry's "Phish Food" icecream for dessert, and with the "Law and Order: Criminal Intent-athon" going on tv, life was quite good. I fell asleep that night and dreamt I was being abducted with aliens and other general mind-fucking things that made me wake up very nervous and glad to see that Chery'ls dog Buddy had trotted into the kitchen and fell asleep by my air mattress. That's what I get for reading that crazy book!

And today was the flea market! It's basically stall upon stall of hawaiian stuff, chinese stuff, and generally cheap things. and it surrounds a stadium, looping sometimes in double-rows of stalls. It was overwhelming, and hot, and I spent alot of money there. And I could've spent more! But I got all my family's gifts INCLUDING a decent ukelele for 25 bucks! And so now I'm satiated, but sleepy, but still at work. BAH. Where am I going to pack all this stuff?!