Mele Kalikimaka!

Thanks to internet airfares, I was able to afford tickets to fly to Hawai'i for the holiday season. After celebrating with my family on the 16th, I boarded the plane on the 17th and voilá... Here I sit in sunny Honolulu.

I got a great rate at Kathy's Bed, Breakfast, and Bakery! For the flat rate of an occaisional foot massage, I managed to book this exclusive (private) resort until my departure on the 9th of January!

During the week leading up to Christmas, I walked 10-15 miles in Hawai'i Kai. To help me remember the beauty, I set up my Flickr site.

Of course, I had to stop in downtown Honolulu to have Kathy capture me in front of The Dawg's Office...

And, I could not resist taking a picture of Chow Funn Noodles... which I enjoyed in Kaimuki... I have tried (unsuccessfully) to get this treat at any number of "Chinese" restaurants in the midwestern and southern states... Now I have a picture to show to those who don't seem to understand what I am asking for!

Kathy and I heard Santa rush in and out of the house shortly after midnight last night... I missed catching him to punish him for the joke he played on me... (you know, giving me a return-trip ticket back to the continent! I had specifically asked for a one-way excursion! Haha!)

But he was nice to us both... I got the latest book from Obama... some wonderful lotion... and other great treats one can only get in Hawai'i... Of course, Kathy got a nice array of treats as well.

The weather has been awesome... I've successfully reduced my nicotine intake by more than half... I have 2 weeks left... I'll be meeting with Rebekah on Thursday... and Max, Maya (his son) and I are having dinner that night... Friday and Saturday are, as yet, kapakahi...

I look forward to seeing 2006 close and starting a new year... Let's see what it brings...

Finally, I just want to record my hope that each of us living could dedicate a moment (or many moments, if possible) to envision peoples of the world at peace. Every dream begins with a vision... and by envisioning this, we can take the next steps to achieve it.

May peace be with us in 2007!

Merry Christmas!

India

I've recently been obsessing on all things Indian. No, not the Cherokee kind... the authentic Indian. See what Columbus has done! We have to spend so much time explaining context when we mention Indian... all because of his ignorance... and the ignorance the world has perpetuated for the last several centuries! When will we begin referring to indigenous peoples as such and leave the word "Indian" to describe what it had described for the many millenia before Columbus' error??!

Wikipedia has been a great resource. I've been reading the Kama Sutra, Indian langauges (Malayalam, Tamil, and Hindi), and the Indian state of Kerala.

In honor of my friend who's decided to become an American citizen, I have found a funny comedian who speaks of what it's like to be an Indian immigrant to the U.S.

His name is Vidur Kapur. His videos had me laughing so hard...

Enjoy the show!

Holidazed....

Well, for me the holidaze are beginning effectively Monday, Dec. 11. Dad and I will caravan up to the Hoosier land, effectively kicking off our respective seasons...

Throughout the week, we'll ready for the the chaos which is scheduled at Tina & Jeff's on Saturday, Dec. 16. On the 17th, I depart to Honolulu. Later in the week, Tina & Jeff will fly to Vegas... and that's all the plans that I'm aware of at this time...

After that, my mind is a blank... and it probably won't be lucid again until my feet hit the pavement at O'Hare on the 9th of 2007. Kathy has managed to have off the whole 3 weeks that I'm there; but, I have scheduled 3 "self-days" in the middle of it all, to give us both time to re-group... :)

While she and I generally get along... we are both extremely independent and are equally adept on getting each other's goat... We've talked about a lot of cinema... and very likely a whale-watching expedition... Oh yes, I'm sure she'll have chores for me... I'll probably fill in for her lawn and tree men... I wish it were the season for mango... I remember intimately the big ol' mango tree she has in her back yard... And if I knew how to make tuba (filipino coconut wine)... I'd do it... but, I guess I'll have to settle for the plain coconut milk...

I've contacted a couple of other friends who I'm hoping to make contact with... but, for the most part, I'll be Kathy's shadow... It's hard to believe that it's been 4 years since my last visit... I hope it's not that long before the next one...

So, I'll be commenting about the movies that we see and (hopefully) the whales, too!

Happy Holidays to those who are celebrating holidays...
Merry Christmas to those who (mistakenly) celebrate Christ's birth on the holiday which Romans had set aside for Zeus...
Happy Hanukkah to those who celebrate that...
To everyone else... just enjoy your lives!