pity party with margaritas

I don't know if it's the jet lag, the post-vacation letdown, a migraine prodrome, or real sadness.  I'm willing to entertain all options.

I'm treating more skin cancer on my face, and I look hideous at the moment, so it could be genuine fear and sadness.  I waited until I got back from Hawaii, so I wouldn't get sun on fresh scar tissue.

I feel unwilling to venture outside looking like this.  Plus it's unseasonably hot this week.  And, I'm cranky and miserable.

My sister persuaded me to bring home the giant sized bottle of tequila in my checked bag.  It was almost full, and it's pretty damn good.  I have a tree full of fresh mangoes, so mango margaritas seemed the best option.

mango margarita

welcome home, Wendy!

I forgot I had my last clinical trial appointment the day after I got home.  I was so jet-lagged and backed quickly out of my driveway and almost ran over a giant iguana.  He was easily four feet long and hanging out on the warn asphalt.

I drove the hour each way to my doctor and found out the weight loss was accurate.  Oh well, new goals.  Also I think jet lag lowered my blood pressure even further.  

I stopped for sushi as a treat and because I had no food in my house, and then I got super tired with a full belly.  When I pulled onto my street, all I wanted to do was park my car and go back to bed.  

I pulled up to my house and interrupted a slaughter of iguanas holding a committee meeting in my front yard.  Several smaller ones were all just hanging about.  I slowed down because I didn't want the extra work of cleaning dead ones off of my car.  They eventually scattered , and I had a glorious nap with Kitten.

naps on a plane

Why do they call it a catnap?  My cat sleeps longer. 

It was the red-eye, and I got as comfy as can be expected, but I slept only an hour.  Maybe two tops.  I took the preemptive Excedrin, which has caffeine and probably didn't do me any favors.  But then I countered it with the free Mai-Tai, which has alcohol, combined with a boring movie and noise-canceling headphones.  

Mai-Tai

My insomnia helped me a little because I wasn't too tired when we landed at my layover.  Until two hours of riding moving sidewalks later, playing Pokemon Go and looking for a mailbox.  (Mailboxes have really gone out of vogue.  But I had a Hawaiian postcard to mail, that I forgot about when I was killing time in Honolulu airport.)  Anyway, after two hours of playing and questing, I got sleepy and needed to sit down.  

I hung out at my gate until boarding time, and then I caught my connection home.  No more sleeping, not even a non-cat catnap.

Buddha says pain is certain, suffering is optional

My last full day here started with beach sunrise, of course, and then a mellow trip to a Buddhist temple. 

“Thousands of candles can be lit from a single candle, and the life of that candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared.”                         

                                                             – The Buddha

“Life is so very difficult. How can we be anything but kind?” 

                                                              – The Buddha

Byodo-In Temple

Buddha

another glorious sunrise

sunrise in Hawaii

diamonds and pearls, redux

One of my sisters and I decided to hike Diamond Head Crater.  Apparently it's famous, although I'd never heard about it.   We drove through a tunnel bored into the side of the mountain to get inside.  I paid the extra money to park there instead of walking in.  I recognize and acknowledge my limitations.  I figured the hike would take enough out of me -- I didn't need to add extra onto it.

We started at a fairly brisk pace, which was way too fast for me.  I walk most days in Florida heat and humidity, so technically this was the same.  Except for the elevation.  I couldn't breathe!!!  It wasn't that high, under a thousand feet even at the summit.  But I live at 4 feet elevation.  I'm also blaming the prodrome of a migraine for stealing my oxygen.  Plus it's kind of a rapid ascension.

Diamond Head Crater

My sister was patient and stopped frequently for me to rest. 

I briefly felt like a loser every time I had to ask my much older sister to slow down.  Sigh.  But I know I'm doing my best with what I've got.  

The incline was fairly steep and the trail very uneven because of lava formation.   Yes, I did play the ground is lava, but only in my head because talking was hard.  I was glad I'd brought my good hiking boots.  They helped me keep traction immensely. 

The view at the top was gorgeous but admittedly not as grand as some of the scenic overlooks along the highway. 

Did I mention we wore our matching sister hats? 

Once I got close to the top, either my adrenaline kicked in or the prodrome ended, and I felt fine the rest of the hike.  

When we got to the bottom again, I was a sweaty mess, but it felt just like any other day I go walking in Florida.  Minus the iguanas.  My sister went and played in the sprinklers to cool down. 

We stopped for kalua pig on the way home at Fatboy's.  Yum!

Kalua pig

hawaii 9-0

My sister ordered matching reunion t-shirts again this time.  The past ones have been quaint, if you will.  I was pleasantly surprised that this one wasn't embarrassingly personal.  The original concept had a photo of my dad on it.  Luckily, she came to her senses. 

After I recuperated from the helicopter ride, I went to the beach of course, and the fresh air and cool water performed its magic on me.  I was fully recovered in time for the birthday celebration dinner.  Pops was very touched that some of his friends and former colleagues had written letters to congratulate him.

Reunion matching T-shirts

helicopter parent

A few of us went on a helicopter tour of the island.  It was my first time in a helicopter, and I wasn't sure what to expect.  Spoiler:  It was fantastic.  Up until I got queasy.   

My sister wanted doors off which made it windy and cold.   My hair was a clusterfuck, so all of my selfies sucked.  But the rest was incredible.  We had to get weighed, and they distributed us accordingly.  Which meant I had a middle seat because apparently I've lost weight.  Sadness.  

I took lots of pictures although I think most didn't come out great because of the angles and movement.   He flew us all around the island for an hour.  And over Pearl Harbor he went even lower and circled when Pops told him that his father had served on the Utah.   

USS Utah

They seem kinda lax on flight restrictions because Hawaii.  Or maybe he's a known quantity and can get away with extra since he flies several tours a day.   We even flew over the Honolulu airport runway.  

Towards the end, we hit some winds and rain, and my stomach decided to make itself known.  I stopped taking pictures and concentrated on my breathing.  Unfortunately, there were no airsick bags in sight, and I was sitting next to the pilot.   I made an executive decision and decided I would puke on the floor if necessary (it wouldn't be the first time sadly). 

Happy days, I was able to rein in my nausea and hold down the coffee I had ingested earlier.  But I wasn't up for more socializing or fun activities right away.   My sister quietly drove us home, and I went to lie down.   I ate a cricket bar on the way, which helped a little.  

shopping?

My sisters and I planned to drive into the city to shop.  Normally I'm not fond of shopping, but I was looking for souvenirs and gifts.  Plus some sister bonding.

They don't get along perfectly, so I tried to do my part as intermediary and organize everyone.  Pop was supposed to drive us because the rental car was in his name.  That was due to last minute arrangements made at the airport after my sister and he missed their flight because blah blah blah family drama.

Anyway, after much texting back and forth, both sisters said they would be ready within five minutes and meeting by my cottage.  Ten minutes later, one sister knocks on my door and is wearing her swimsuit.  What?!

Me:  "I thought we were going shopping?"
Her:  "We are."
Me:  "Why the swimsuit then?"
Her:  "Because Waikiki"
Me:  "Huh?"
Her:  "WAIKIKI"
Me:  "Right, but I thought we were going shopping?"
Her:  "Wendy, it's Waikiki Beach though"
Me:  "So we're still going shopping, right?"
Her:  "Yes"

At that point, I felt like I was in a bad comedy sketch and decided to roll with it.  She told me I could bring my suit, too.  I declined because we're staying on one of the world's best beaches ever.  Why would I want to go elsewhere?

We walk over to my other sister's cabin, and she answers the door in her bathrobe.  What?!

Hadn't I just been texting with both of them that we were going shopping and everyone would be ready 15 minutes ago??

Whatever.  We finally get all situated in the car, and are on our way.  Halfway there, I realize how absurd it is that our 90 year old father is chauffeuring us around.  But he's an excellent driver with more experience than all of us combined, so I guess it's fine.

I couldn't resist piping up from the backseat that she was hitting me.  (She accidentally bumped me on a pothole.)

We drove into Waikiki and passed the high end shops, where we all decided to park and take a look.  One sister was looking for a handmade Hawaiian quilt, which turned out to be gobs of money.  She was going to think about it.

Tiffany & Co, Waikiki

I quickly lost interest in the quilt store and wandered into Tiffany's, Louis Vuitton, and Hermès.  One sister met up with me in Hermès, and we browsed until I was asked not to photograph their dishes.  What?!  What if I had been shopping for real and wanted to ask my partner if he liked them, too?  I'd assume before spending thousands of dollars on housewares, I'd want mutual agreement.  Maybe that's not how the wealthy operate.  They were marvelous dishes.

We went for lunch at the upscale food court and got Vietnamese.  Yum.

Then, my sister and Pop went to Waikiki Beach, while my other sister and I relaxed in the nearby air-conditioned Starbucks, where she explained to me that it was a generational thing.  Apparently Waikiki Beach was a huge thing for them as kids.

diamonds and pearls

It seemed apropos to tour Pearl harbor with a migraine.   It kept me somber.  Probably it kept me more cranky than somber, but I'll tell myself I was somber.  I woke up at 4am with a migraine on my second day in paradise. 
  

I made coffee with my newly acquired Costco supplies and hoped the caffeine and the hot shower would help.  Then I dressed and walked 100 feet to the beach to watch the sunrise. 

It was so glorious.

sunrise

The water was the perfect shade of blue, what I've always called Caribbean blue.  Now I know it's also Hawaiian blue.  The trade-winds were blowing.  And just as the sun crested the horizon, a cast of crabs started poking inquisitive heads out of tiny holes.   One mutually scared me.  I yelped and he retreated quickly. 

I reluctantly left and walked back to my cottage.  My head wasn't getting better, so I popped some meds.  And got bombarded by a flood of texts about family drama -- missing car keys and missing cellphone. 

Off to breakfast and then an 8am tour of Pearl Harbor.  

As one of the few people with a working cellphone, a sense of direction, and the address of where we needed to be, I sat up front and navigated.  With a migraine.  Oh well.  I've faked it through worse scenarios.  I got us there and met up with the rest of our party.  Only 10 minutes late.   I'll call that a win. 

Walking in from the parking lot, I took more meds.  The pain was up to a 6 by now.  We had to take a shuttle onto Ford island to see the USS Missouri.   I used most of my concentrated powers not to puke on the bus.   Yippee.  It worked. 

USS Missouri

The battleship was huge and impressive, but I wasn't in the right frame of mind to appreciate the significance yet.  I took pics as I could in case I wanted to see where I'd been later.  

Pops said he didn't want the guided tour, so we humored him and wandered on our own.  And then joined the guided tour ahead of us already in progress.  After posing for family pics.

I had zero knowledge of what importance the USS Missouri had and was surprised to learn it's essentially where the Pacific theater part of WW2 ended.  It was very humbling to see the spot where 74 years ago, one side formally surrendered to the other.

Surrender formally signed

Instrument of Surrender

They erected a plaque there.

Surrender marker

The second bunch of meds were kicking in and mellowing me.  And I ended up hanging with Pops.  He said he'd been on the Missouri previously right after the war ended in NYC harbor.  And the stories continued from there. 

He and I toured the underbelly of the ship, with him reminiscing and explaining everything to me.  I took tons of pictures and learned more about his father and brother who were both in the Navy.  He was the rebel and had gone Army. 

One of my sisters found us halfway through and we started clowning around and taking pics.  I also got the welcome news via text that both the car keys and cellphone had been located.  But mostly I wasn't getting any texts because of being inside so much metal. 

When we finally surfaced, my phone blew up again with "Where are you guys" texts?  Apparently they had all skipped the underneath part of the tour, which was considerable, and had been waiting an hour.  Oops.

We got back on the bus to tour another museum but our tickets didn't work there, so we cut the trip short fortunately.  I was done in.  And ready for lunch.  So was Pops.  I think this took a lot out of him emotionally. 

We had a delicious lunch of Hawaiian pulled pork, and I navigated us home and bailed to go nap.

menu

Pork Plate Lunch

I woke much better but still groggy and went to the beach for fresh air and exquisite water.

resting in the shade and fresh air

family Costco trip

Because we were all staying at places with some sort of kitchens, we decided to go shopping for food for the week.  And what better place to buy in bulk than Costco??

It was way more fun than it sounds.  And also stressful.  My two sisters, Pop, and I went to acquire food stuffs.  We didn't have any coffee at the cottages yet, so we stopped at Starbucks first.  Also, Costco didn't open until 10am, and we'd all been awake for hours because of time zones, so we had time to kill.  Believe it or not, this was my very first cup of Starbucks coffee ever.  It was anticlimactic.

very first Starbucks coffee

One sister found a nice floppy sun hat, which we all thought was cute, so we got matching sister hats.  YAY!!

matching sisters' floppy hat

We bought tons of food to feed 15 people, who may or may not ever be eating the same meals.  Mostly not. 

second flight

I met up with my nephew and his girlfriend for the looooong leg to Hawaii.  We hadn't figured out ground transportation for the three of us to our cottages.  My sister, her daughter, and Pop were supposed to arrive an hour before us and get a rental car.  When we landed, my phone blew up with so many text messages from everyone letting me know they had missed their flight. 

There was a medical emergency when we landed, so while I was waiting to deplane, I texted a few times back and forth and arranged our ride.  My niece's boyfriend had flown in prior and had room for us and our luggage in his rental car.

I had taken more migraine medication on the second leg, and I was in less pain but definitely cognitively impaired.  We both used our phones to navigate to our accommodations, and between the two of us, we found it okay.  I had previously helped my sister figure out the logistics of where everyone was sleeping, so I directed them to their respective cottages.

As soon as I got to mine, I changed into my bikini and hit the beach.

My cottage

on the plane

My seatmate seems really nice and interesting.  She's flying on to Tokyo.  I want to make friends with her.  Can I just say hi, I'm Wendy, wanna be friends?  Does that work ever?  She's very busy reading her trashy magazine.  It doesn't seem like she wants to be social. 

I popped a preemptive Excedrin before takeoff.   Fingers crossed no migraine. 

The captain came back to say hello personally and thank me.  I wonder if he's under the influence.  Whatever, as long as he lands me safely. 

here goes nothing

Day one is a test.  How am I going to to do traveling these days?  Specifically with flying.  It's been so long since I've put myself through this, but Pop's 90th birthday family reunion seemed like a damn good reason.

Of course somehow it ended up being the longest plane trip ever,  except when I flew to the Middle or Far East.  Here I am jumping in at full throttle again.   It seems my only two speeds are idle and pedal-to-the-metal.  We won't talk about reverse.   

And because I'm flying so far, the first flight is at 7am.  I set my alarm for 4:45am.  Let's see how many triggers I can do before I get a raging migraine.

Spoilers: The answer was four.  

no more dishpan hands?

This is why I put off buying a new dishwasher for so long.

The delivery and installation did not go smoothly.  My friend was here to chaperone the scary delivery men.  That was only semi-useful, as it made me feel safe, but it didn't help as much with the installation since the main installer didn't speak English.

Something something water line.  Next thing I know, Home Depot is on the phone scheduling one of their plumbers to visit me to remedy my deficient line, which was working just fine until the old dishwasher itself broke.

Unbeknownst to me, the non-English speaker had created a small leak under my kitchen sink, which I discovered two days later when I moved all the cleaning stuff under my sink for the plumber.  The plumber took pics and documented it somewhere to someone.

The plumber (who thankfully spoke English) fixed that leak and then decided to install my dishwasher, which my friend had fortunately advised me to keep on Saturday, even though they wouldn't install it.

He called me into the kitchen several times to advise me of problems.  Sigh.  Yes, I know my countertop is nicked right there.  And there.  And there, too.  Maybe you could also point out the spider living under the cabinet.  And the cobweb in the corner of my tall window that I can't reach to clean.  And while we're being judgmental, how about pointing out the bags under my eyes from not sleeping enough.  I understand it's his job, but my anxiety was not being kind to me.
 
Then he let me know that my oven is extremely close, and he can't open the dishwasher fully.  I explained all of that when I bought the damn thing and was told they're all the same size.  The plumber agreed with that statement, even though he was clearly looking at evidence to the contrary.  Fuck!!  After I dropped several F-bombs, he decided to take some initiative and installed the dishwasher a little off-kilter.  It opens just fine now.  Problem solved.

He tested the dishwasher, which started filling up with water and not leaking everywhere.  Yippee.

However, all of the manuals were still inside, along with some Styrofoam packing.  Oh well, who reads paper manuals?  Then, when I opened the dishwasher to inspect it, I noticed the top rack was rickety as hell.  I called him over, and he played around another few minutes and tightened something up.

At that point, I was eyeing my liquor cabinet and the rum bottle sitting temptingly there.  It was 8:30am. 

He left the old dishwasher for some future team to pick up in a few days.

I tipped him and shooed him out the door.

As I was opening the liquor cabinet, he knocked again and came back for forgotten tools and his flashlight under the sink.

I am proud of myself for taking only one small swig from the rum bottle.  It was medicinal obviously.

I didn't have more medicinal liquor until 6pm, when I made a strawberry yogurt protein smoothie, with a splash of rum.  I excitedly used one of my new crystal glasses, which does not fit in the dishwasher.  Sigh.

I'm using all of my dishes and mugs and bowls and utensils, so I can hurry and fill my new dishwasher and see how well it cleans.  Probably I don't even care anymore.