Falling Back

I've never liked Daylight Saving Time. It has always seemed so unnatural, like here we humans are thinking we know so much better than mother nature that we are going to adjust time since the sun doesn't rise and set at a time convenient for us.

This is my first year not having to go along with the practice. Yep. That's right. Like so many other things, Hawaii bucks the trend. No time changes for us Sunday night.

Plus, it's just a pain in the butt to reconfigure my schedule around this arbitrary adjustment. No one tells the pets about it either, further complicating the household. It takes them months to adjust to new feeding times. So, right when they are settling in...boom...it changes again.

According to a study done by the DOT, 68% of Americans like DST. Not exactly overwhelmingly popular, but beats out the president.

Speaking of the president, he has approved the moving of the Fall change from the last Sunday in October to the first Sunday in November. Now that's his time and our tax dollars well spent. Ha! Maybe some well-meaning person put that in front of him just to keep him busy and to keep his pen off of other, more potentially dangerous approvals.

Anyway...now we are two hours earlier than mainland west coast time now, rather than three.

Rock Star

Like many people, I've wondered what it would be like to be a rock star.
My cat, Oscar, knows.

Our little visitor, Teeny, has stayed. He's a good kitty: doesn't bite, likes to be pet, purrs a lot, doesn't hurt anything other than some wayward skinks.
For the first few weeks he confined himself to his box under the eaves and a small mound outside the kitchen window. He only ventured beyond that when threatened by one of the bad cats* in the neighborhood.


More recently, Teeny has been venturing beyond his self-imposed domain. Most often it is to follow Oscar around. He seems fascinated by what Oscar is doing and might do next. Keep in mind that what Oscar is "doing" is usually napping or sunbathing. Teeny lies in wait, ready to participate. When Oscar doesn't do anything exciting Teeny will run up to him quickly, tap him with a paw and run away. It reminds me of a groupie running up to a rock star to later be able to claim she touched him.

Teeny has also decided that Oscar shaking or wagging his tail is an invitation to pounce. A bit ironic since, for Oscar, this is a gesture of high irritation. Needless to say, Oscar doesn't like having his tail pounced on and communicates this to Teeny through hissing and moving to another dozing spot. Undeterred, Teeny follows Oscar to the new spot and waits with great anticipation for some invitation to play.




*"Bad cat" in my book is defined as any cat (feral or tame) who comes on to our property and tries to beat up on any of my animals. There are quite a few real bruisers who have taken to strolling in and trying to beat up Oscar or Teeny. One even has come into the house...much to Bandit's amazement.

Another Year...(sigh)

Birthdays are a mixed blessing.

Its great to have my day. A day to celebrate my existence. How cool is that?

It is also a great opportunity for reflection. My 32nd year was a year of many changes. Mark and I finally made the move I had been too cautious to make. Letting go of Oakland and many of the possessions we had amassed turned out to be quite liberating. I'm loving it here in Volcano. The change in pace suits us well.

On the other hand, I am a year older than I was just yesterday. Bummer.
There doesn't seem to be a way to get around that.
Wrinkles are multiplying. Grey hairs are just around the corner. Gravity is setting in.

Mahalo for all the birthday wishes. The day wouldn't be the same without sharing it with my friends and family.

Nature's Sense of Humor

Good ol' Mother Nature either has a weird sense of humor or is on a bit of a power trip.

Sunday we had a couple of major shakes followed by dozens of after shocks.
It was amazing to me that there were no major injuries or fatalities. Could be an added benefit to living in less congested areas. A 6.6 in the Bay Area....well, we know what a 6.9 did in '89. The impact on the Big Island was a bit of a wake up call perhaps, but nothing too major.

So after a day of CNN-watching and airport assessment we had an exceptionally lovely day on Monday. Bright, sunny and warm. While this is a constant in Hawaii tourist brochures, my recent visitors can attest that days like these are not to be taken for granted in the Fall.

Then there was Monday night...
This is where the sense of humor/power trip comes in.
It rained over 5 inches between 7 pm and 5 am. Thunder and lightening played supporting roles.
My faithful readers will recall that the lovely canine, Bandit, has a bit of a breakdown when thunder shows up. Last night was no different in that regard.
What was new was Oscar's reaction. Normally, a ferociously indifferent kitty he found the relentless deluge of rain on the roof unnerving. Oscar being unnerved makes Bandit very anxious.
So, there I was: a dog beside me barking at thunder, a kitty wandering the house meowing with displeasure and the same dog watching anxiously for some unknown kitty attack.
Lovely night.

I did get a few hours of sleep after things let up a bit after midnight.
THEN (here's that Mother Nature sense of humor again) just as I was slipping into REM sleep, another earthquake hit! Sleep over.
It wasn't a big shake up. Reports vary on the Richter rating, but it was in the 4's. Just enough to get me up again.

The eventful night and early morning was followed by a bright, sunny, warm day.
Like I was saying....either sense of humor or power trip. Not sure which.
We'll see what tonight brings.

Whole Lot of Shakin' Going On

There was a BIG earthquake on the Big Island today.
All is well here in Volcano. Power, phone/DSL and satelite were never interupted.
It was centered on the other side of the island. There were a series of quakes. The biggest was 6.6....Wow!...and many, many after shocks.

We sure felt it here. A few big jolts and a rolling that made me feel sea sick. The water tank did a fancy dance and everything rattled. The birds stopped singing and the pets looked confused. Everything in our sturdy little house stayed tight.

News of what's going on over on the West side is still coming in. The local news stations were out of service for a few hours. They are back up now. Airports are taking incoming flights. No outgoing flights yet.
Power is coming back on in West Hawaii and Oahu. Many of the resort hotels were damaged. The Kona hospital evacuated due to structural damage.
The good news....no tsunami expected.

Fun precursor for all those triatheletes preparing for next weekend's Ironman.

Again, all is well here in Volcano.

More later...

California Comes to Volcano

The parade of visitors has ended. It's a bittersweet feeling - wonderful to have seen folks and nice to be back to our routine. Having friends and family visit was great. It was an opportunity for us to show people this place we have chosen to live. I hope that they better understand that in some way moving here made sense. It isn't THAT crazy of a thing to have done. Having our California peeps come and enjoy themselves here made me feel that now we have this contingent to confirm our sanity back on the mainland. Weird, yes. But, hey...this is me we're dealing with.

The visits were great. Each with a totally distinct personality - - just like the people visiting.

Mom came for the longest time. Lots of adventure. Up for anything. Hanging out and doing nothing also a popular pastime. We explored almost the whole island. I took the liberty of falling into tourist mode and learned about some great new places (new to me...not the island).

Mark A. came for a week and a half. Arrived with fantastic wine and a will-do-anything attitude. Mark (S.) sure took him up on that! Pictures in the photo album have titles like "Death March". Joking references to the trip as "Fat Camp" aren't even much of an overstatement after the miles of running, hiking and cycling...all on the same day.

Michael and Fumiko had the shortest trip. Only four days to pack in the whole island. My skills as tour guide were tested. A bit of a whirlwind. The rain made planning activities a bit tricky, but true to Volcano form the weather came through for us on the last day. The rain stopped, the sun and blue sky appeared and we were able to show off the great national park and ... well ... the volcanoes.

We are back to the quiet of our forest now, complete with neurotic pets (we are counting the number as 2 1/2) and even more neurotic people (hey, we're honest with ourselves). Volcano is a bit of a wacky, weird, wet place. Feels just right. It was great to be able to share.