I Could Sing of Your Love Forever

It began to sink in a few weekends ago when I was making the morning drive up to the North Shore. It's so easy to see the beauty of God's creation on this island. From the mountains to the valleys. From the rivers to the sea. Everywhere I look I see life so beautiful that it sometimes takes my breath away. It is beauty I can't capture on film. Beauty that I can't describe in words. Beauty that I'm sure is taken for granted and overlooked every day. Beauty that is all part of God's creation. He is amazing.

I went to the weekly game of ultimate frisbee tonight and had a blast. My instructor class starts tomorrow - the whole reason I'm in Hawaii to begin with. We're going to go 9-4 in the classroom tomorrow, Thursday, and then a little bit shorter on Friday. No idea what we're going to cover but I only have 2 more pages of the 60 pages of worksheets to finish up before tomorrow morning. The manager at the shop called today and told me that she's going to try to get me a time slot next week to work in the shop! Hooray! Experience! I just hope I can remember all the little details of how to use the crazy computer system. Oh, last thing to add. A permanent state-wide cell phone ban begins tomorrow. No cell phones while driving anymore. Now I need to finish my last reading/worksheet filling and get some sleep. It's so hot here day and night. Overnight lows are mid-upper 70s with over 70% humidity.

Where Clouds Are Made

4:25 is certainly an early time to wake up, but when you want to run up a mountain before the sun comes up, you have no other option. This is precisely what Meg and I did along with a friend named Polly yesterday. Equipped with camera, water, headlamp, and my Vibram shoes I love so much, we parked at the base of the trail then proceeded to the Old Pali Road and jogged up the half paved/half jungle route. Lights from the city were blocked by the trees so our meager head lamps were the only things allowing us to have a peek at how steep and how slick the ascent really was.

Upon reaching the summit around 5:45, the sky was beginning to lighten up but the Sun itself was not yet visible. Looking at the peak to my left, clouds were being created right before my eyes. It was a truly magical sight: small faint white splotches appearing from crisp clear air and growing as the wind whipped up from the base of the mountain and carried them higher.
Turning back to my right, the sun was beginning to peek through the clouds in the distance. This is what you see in the photograph. It didn't waste any time as it quickly crawled past the clouds and into the open, warming the mountain as well as the valley below. It may be difficult to wake up before 4:30, but after seeing a sunrise like that, there's no question that it was worth it. What a way to start out the day.

Victory is Sweet

We had the Thursday night race tonight; we came out of the start like a rocket, secured the lead, and never let it go. Not only did we beat our arch nemesis Lazy Stripper, but we actually beat all other 36 boats in the competition (record amount of competitors!). Total domination - nobody else even stood a chance. The tacks were flawless, we pulled a Mexican around the leeward mark with textbook form, and made our way to the finish while holding off a 470 that was right on our tail. Beautiful beautiful beautiful night of sailing tonight. We are amazing.

Living the Dream

The dive count is rising; I'm now up to 77 logged dives. I made 4 dives on Saturday with Larry (the course director at Aaron's Dive Shop). He was taking me out to check out my dive skills and assess what sort of a diver I am. I've been to Shark's Cove in the past, but I never imagined that either of us could fit through such narrow caves and crevices. I would seriously be following him, see him go over a ledge, and then when I came to the ledge there would be no sign of him but a tiny hole in the rocks where he must have gone through. Although it sometimes took me off guard, I was thrilled he went everywhere he (of all people) did because otherwise I would think that those spaces were too small to get into.

On Sunday I went diving on the West side with a friend Sonny. I know him because he's a member of Conor's squadron (Meg is my cousin and Conor is her husband who's in the Marines). We went to a dive site called Electric Beach where the electric company uses sea water to cool their systems then puts the warm (but otherwise unchanged) salt water back into the ocean. The warm water attracts a multitude of marine life. There are so many fish there that I may have just as well been swimming in an aquarium. After a couple dives there we went to Turtle Shell where we saw a half dozen turtles. Of the group (what's a group of turtles called?), one particularly large one (maybe over 4ft long) had a significant chunk taken out of the back of its shell near its rear foot. I thought about worrying about sharks but then decided to just forget about it. After all, there was nothing I could do about it anyway.

On Monday I spent most of the day (8-6) in the dive shop in training. They're trying me out to see if I have what they're looking for. I think I did a great job for a beginner but only time and a hopefully happy phone call will tell. I'm expecting to hear from them very soon.

The final update is my ridiculous computer situation. I ordered a Dell laptop on May 28th and have been waiting for it ever since. I got a call this morning saying that I can either cancel the order or take the computer ... in pink. As much as I like being colorful, I was pretty set on my midnight blue laptop and decided to change the order. After more than an hour on the phone, I got a laptop re-made for me with considerable upgrades as well as a 100 dollar gift card. I suppose it pays off to live with Meg and get tips on how to get your way. The only downside is that I have to now wait until the 17th of July before I get it: almost 2 months since I ordered one. Dude, I'm getting a Dell...but not anytime soon.

Wow, this is going to be the first time since I arrived that I will be in bed after midnight.

Oh, one last thing: USA beat the #1 ranked Spanish team in the Confederations Cup semifinal!!!

Easy as One, Two, Oops.

We have made incredible meals since I've been here. Great pasta dishes, pork chops, grilled chicken, kebabs, salads, fajitas, guacamole, seared ahi, and the list goes on. They have all been delicious and took a respectable amount of planning, preparation, and cooking. Last night we were worn out and thought it would be a great idea to take it easy, pop a couple frozen pizzas in the oven, watch some tv, and go to bed.

Well. Some things are easier said than done. "Take the pizza out of the oven" is a perfect example of this. The first one came out with no problem but somewhere between the oven rack and the cutting board, something went terribly wrong with the second pizza. It flipped over, ripped to pieces, and as it was dropping onto the floor and into the bottom of the oven it decided to somehow take the other pizza down with it. Frantically trying to salvage as much as we could, the cheese that fell onto the burner caught fire. It stopped as soon as we scraped it away, but it was enough of a fire to make us aware of the irony of Meg picking up a fire extinguisher in the store last week and asking if she should get it (and of course deciding not to).

The oven was piping hot. It was open. It was just on fire. There was pizza carnage all over the bottom of it. Gooey pieces of cheese, chicken, and peppers were dripping down into the drawer below onto the clean dishes; there was no question that we had failed. As I tallied the amount of dishes that were dirtied through the entire fiasco, Meg burst out in laughter which immediately set me off too. There we were in the kitchen in the middle of a pizza catastrophe unable to stop laughing. Two college graduates unable to successfully make frozen pizzas. In a situation like that where something is broken beyond repair, laughter is generally the best possible solution.

You win this round, DiGiorno.

Taking on Water

The rain felt like popcorn kernels being hurled at us, pelting our skin, soaking our clothes, covering the deck, and obscuring our vision. The strong winds came in gusts as if trying to catch us off guard while being pitched like a toy boat by the choppy white-capped water all around. Looking up, I could see one tiny blue window in the expanse of ominous rainclouds dominating the sky. I took a breath and allowed my mind to imagine reaching my hands into that hole and ripping it open, pulling away the blanket of darkness. The clouds would give way to a beautiful bright evening with the setting sun casting its warm light over the steep green mountains and then reflecting across the crisp blue water. The moment was cut short when a wave washed over my already drenched feet snapping me back to reality, and not a moment too soon. On cue, everyone prepared to tack and as soon as the sails began to luff we immediately set to work moving, tugging, releasing, pulling, bracing, cranking, and cleating with utmost speed and precision, unhindered by the rocking of the boat or the pelting rain from above.

I didn't hear the results, but I honestly had a great time sailing tonight. Kimo, the captain, is very fun to sail with and he managed his 4-man crew tonight very well. We had a great group dinner afterward (everyone brings/cooks a dish or two). I intend to continue helping him out every Thursday even when Meg goes back to the mainland in July. I love sailing.

The Hiking Continues

There's a guy in a white t-shirt on the nearest peak.

Most of yesterday was spent in the company of sunshine and scuba books by the pool. My skin is becoming considerably darker with every hour outdoors. Last night consisted of a tiring game of ultimate frisbee in an ill-lit park. It was nice to run after a disk for the first time in a month and a half (though the mark on my leg from that time has not gone).

I planned to go for a hike today but got a call from Mark Butin saying that he'd love to go for a hike later in the day. We did Mariner's Ridge which is gorgeous (surprise surprise) and beautiful in its own way. It had very varied terrain with much more cover than the first Pillbox hike but less jungle terrain than the more recent hike to Maunawili Falls. Despite the clouds, the view was stunning. I kept telling Mark at each lookout how exasperated I was that a picture in no way could do the view any justice to which he reminded me that if pictures captured everything, there would be little reason to travel.

Scuba bookwork tomorrow morning and sailing in the evening. Let's see if we can beat our 3rd place finish from a couple weeks ago! Goodnight and God bless.

Welcome to the Jungle

I went for another couple dives on Saturday and saw a few more sea turtles. I am beginning to love and respect turtles for their tame underwater behavior. Unlike fish, they can't shoot away in the blink of an eye so instead they sort of linger and lazily flap around, unconcerned by anything that we are doing.

Yesterday Meg and I went for a hike through a jungle. It's not like the amazon, but it is more of a jungle than the forests that I'm used to. The hike was beautiful and ended at a waterfall with a swimming hole.

Afterward, we picked up some groceries and went to visit Waikiki - tourist central. It wasn't quite as crowded as I was expecting but there were still plenty of people.

Today I've been working my scuba bookwork and ukulele skills. My scuba gear is scheduled to arrive today so I will go to the shop before they close and pick it up. Meg and I don't have anything planned for tonight but that doesn't mean we won't find something fun to do.

Tips

Yesterday I spent a long time at the dive shop picking out and purchasing all my dive gear. Seriously...not cheap by any stretch of the imagination.

I also managed to get on a couple dives today at the same place as last weekend. This time I was helping a couple instructors from the dive shop lead something called Discover Scuba Diving. There were eight non-divers that we gave an hour-long crash course to and then led for two dives. We left the shop around 11, made it to Shark's Cove around 12, finished up by about 5, and made a quick stop for shrimp on the way back. When we got to the shop around 7, I helped the guys (Carsten and Josh) wash, organize, and put away all the equipment, fill the 22 tanks back up with air, and pack a bunch of gear bags for tomorrow. I'm not going to get paid for it but figured I had no other plans so why not help out. After all, they gave me 1/3 of the tips (thirty bucks each!) which was a surprise to me, so I could at least help them out a bit. They got me on a boat dive for tomorrow which is why I need to get to bed.

One of the rental masks today was a piece of junk so I ended up loaning out my brand new never-before-used mask to one of the customers and spent the whole dive adjusting it and clearing the water that was dripping in from all sides. I bought all my gear but they had to order most of it so the only things I have now are the dive computer and a mask.
As I said, I need to get some sleep. Stay tuned for next time.

Filler

This is a picture from the other day when Meg and I went on our hike overlooking Lanikai.

I don't have much to say but thought I would at least throw a picture on the blog. It's 81º with 74% humidity and a UV index in the double digits. We don't use air conditioning because electric bills are through the roof. I'm going to go to Starbucks very soon to work on my scuba homework. I have a lot of reading and questions to answer.

I finally got in touch with Mark today (principal viola of Honolulu symphony, pilot instructor, I know him from the Credo music camp, all around awesome guy) and I'll meet up with him sometime within the next few days. Sometime while I'm here, he is going to fly me out to another island. I'm pumped! As for now, homework time.

School visits all over again

I'm going to try to visit the University of Hawaii today and see if I can talk to some faculty. I went to dinner and a movie with Meg, a friend of hers, and her friend's husband and half brother. It turns out that this half brother, Danny, studies physics at Columbia, is working with engineers without borders in Ghana at the end of the summer, and in the meantime is doing a summer internship in the oceanography department at U Hawaii. What a coincidence! So I got his number and I'm hoping to make a visit to the school today.

I did really well on the dive theory exams yesterday (way better than I expected), picked out the gear that I want to buy, and went for an awesome hike with Meg, finishing up with a short sunset swim at Lanikai Beach. Absolutely gorgeous. I have to figure out how to get to Honolulu now to visit the university.

Game Delay

I spent all morning (7:45-11) trying to work out the details of the dive since the boat was already full. When everything was worked out, Jeff said they cancelled the dive due to rough conditions. That's okay; at least he is going shore diving tomorrow. I'm going to return the rental gear to the military base in a bit - I'll need special permission to get on base or else I'll just have to meet someone at the gate. Meg and I are meeting up with a few of her friends to see a movie tonight since the weather isn't ideal for being outside. No rain, no rainbow though, right? Haha.

Dives #61-64

I woke up at sunrise this morning to drive an hour out to Shark's Cove for a few dives. It's only about 30 miles away but when speed limits average about 35mph on this island, it's best never to be in a rush. I've seen some beautiful scenic drives in my day but the one out to Haleiwa is honestly one of the best. The way the palm trees were lazily blowing in the fresh morning breeze and the open air fruit stands reminded me of some of the best driving through Mozambique except this time I was driving 35 only because it was the speed limit, not 30 because of the massive craters (potholes). Rolling in at 7:55 allowed the perfect amount of time to get situated and set up before the dive. I dove with a couple guys (Jeremy and Mitch) and later Sonny, one of the guys in Conor's squadron, made it out to join us. The caves/swim-throughs were the best I've ever seen and I got to see my first sea turtle up close - way bigger than I expected.

On the way home while enjoying the scenery, I decided to make a stop at an open-air market for a coconut (see above). When I was walking back to the car I heard a loud crunch. I ran back out to the front of the stand (t-shirt, bathing suit, and barefoot with a coconut in one hand haha) and what to my wondering eyes should appear but a bright red mustang and an old guy whom smashed its rear. I called the police before realizing that I had no clue where I was and quickly passed the phone to one of the ladies working the stand while I went to check on the drivers. Aside from substantial shock, everyone involved seemed to be okay. The mustang looked salvageable, but the poor old man's car was in very bad shape and seemed to be fatally wounded.

My exciting day ended with watering the lawn, watching Serbia deny Austria a spot in the World Cup, making dinner, and telling Bruce (Meg's rabbit) he wasn't supposed to eat my clothes, my computer, a cupboard, paper, etc.

I dive Mokolua (the Mokes) tomorrow which should be a lot of fun. However, I need to wake up early so I'm going to slip away to bed right now.

I'm on a BOAT!

Never thought I'd see the day.

Even that parrot made it on a boat - how cool is that? Unfortunately, this boat was competition. We ended up passing them in the final stretch though, so everything worked out.

Yeah, details. Meg has connections with this very extraordinary and extremely outgoing woman who is a long-time member at a yacht club. This woman landed us a spot on a boat for a Thursday night race series: very cool. What's cooler was the event itself. The wind was strong but not forceful, the sun was bright but not oppressive, and though competition got fierce at times, it was generally laid back. As in Cape Town, the backdrop to this race was breathtaking. The mountains dropped to foothills which, sprinkled with palm trees, rolled right into the water. The swift breeze carried with it a freshness I have experienced nowhere before; it was the Pacific salt water mixed with flowers and plant life that can be found on these islands alone. Absolutely stunning.

Meg took me grocery shopping at the Marines base a couple days ago and thought it would be a good idea to do a bit of job searching while we were there. The job search was unsuccessful but I did get signed up with a dive club through the military base. I have my first dive first thing tomorrow morning at Shark's Cove. It's my first dive in about 355 days, so I'm a little bit nervous that my skills will noticeably not match my certification level. Today I also scheduled a dive for Sunday morning with one of the guys at the dive shop I'm working with (Aaron's Dive Shop). I'm bubbling over with excitement despite any concern about familiarity with diving. Also it's my first time diving in the US and the first time diving with the imperial system which I'm very unfamiliar with. I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens. Stay tuned!

Beach Day

Kailua Beach: it is spectacular. Soft white sand leading right into gorgeous clear refreshing water. I took plenty of time to soak in the scenery and the overall experience, slowly spinning in circles to get the complete view in all directions and appreciate every bit of it.
Meg and I also went to the grocery store today but that pretty much speaks for itself.
The only other thing worth noting is that I'm learning the ukulele and know most of the chords after a couple days. It's much easier than guitar and I have already built up a repertoire of about 5 or 6 songs.
The frequency of these updates will slowly die down as I get busier. As for now, enjoy them. It's now past my bedtime so I'd best get to sleep in order to wake up tomorrow.

Let the Sunshine In

That is where I am sitting right now.
6am: the sun has just risen on the other side of the house, filling this valley with brilliant sunlight. After two days I've decided there really is something magical about this island. People here are happy, considerate and patient. I noticed this particularly when I drove to the dive shop yesterday. A 20-minute drive took nearly an hour since I have no experience with the roads...yet. Making quick lane changes to avoid getting lost gave the Hawaiians a chance to show their true colors and they were nothing but pleasant. A sort of character that is so perfectly captured by the cheerful rainbow on every license plate I see.
I don't have a solid plan for today yet so I'm thinking of going to the beach. It may be weird since going to the beach is usually not a one-man operation. However I'm sure there will be no problem having a great time there: it is Hawaii after all.

Aloha!

My adventure has begun! It's been a long time in the works, but it's finally happening and I couldn't be more excited. Meg picked me up from the airport yesterday with lei in hand and drove me back to her place with only a slight detour to show a good view. I knew Oahu was a mountain but I didn't ever realize how jagged it was - the land rises up like an accordion with deep crevices and sharp ridges running up from the ground. Everywhere I look I find green; the island is teeming with life of all kinds. Pictures will come eventually. As for now, it's time for breakfast.