Monday, July 18, 2005

Diary Entry From Above The Pacific

So, I've been away from home for about three weeks now, but I got to go home long enough to have a taste. And it was a good taste, too.

I arrived in Honolulu on Friday night, and was a bit sleepy. On Saturday, Head Chef and I slept in, but of course sleeping in for me is a bit different than it is for him. I slept till 6am. What can I say, I'm on Mountain time. That was sleeping in for me. :)

I had some computery things I wanted to do, and my Head Chef was still tired when he got up. It was still 7:00 and Fred, the contractor we're using to work on the house, wasn't due for another hour, so I upgraded the computer in the living room and Head Chef hung out and napped next to me on the couch with Enzo and Bella and Popoki. I ran the upgrades and then even played the game for a little while during our wait for Fred.

I got some decent pointers from Head Chef on how to play even better, as well as my 25th level. Yay. I like Mormodes, the Shaman. He's a cool dude, and he's powerful when forced to do things on his own. But he's still got a soft side and needs his druid, Kapok, because he just can't do it all himself. Who can, you know?

Fred arrived about an hour late, so we got him set up and then headed out to the beach. We weren't sure which beach we would go to, but we ended up deciding to go Waimanalo beach (say it: Why man ah low). We spent an hour or two on the beach, napping and talking. I enjoyed the sun and Head Chef's presence, and I let my hand rest against his side as we lay there silently.

The beach
in Waimanalo is perfect. Wide and bright with just enough surf and never very many people. I'm always nervous about getting in the water there, but I didn't see any jelly fish washed up on the shore, so we went in and of course it was fantastic. The waves there are very fun and once you're in, the water temperature is really comfortable. We bobbed in the waves for a while and watched a turbo prop plane in the distance silently performing aerial acrobatics. And then as we were climbing out of the water, we spotted not one, but two jellies on the beach. But we didn't get stung, so that's what counts, right?

When we got home a bit after 1:00pm, Fred had made a lot of progress on hanging the new door, but he had to completely rebuild the entire frame because the old door and frame were custom but awful. It had been a non-trivial job, for sure, but it looked good. Head Chef and I hung out and helped a little, talked with Fred about the changes he was making, and then surfed the web looking for a new doorbell ringer and thinking about design for the kitchen.

When Fred got the door hung, it was time to tear the kitchen cabinets off the wall he's going to remove for us, so we helped him to hold stuff and move the cabinet pieces outside. Head Chef was really excited. You could see the energy in his eyes in the way one can... As more and more cabinetry disappeared, he was starting to see the kitchen finished in his mind's eye, and his imagination wouldn't let him leave the room for a while. Fred had a couple of beers while he chatted with Head Chef about other plans they're going to work on. Finishing the flooring, replacing the stairs, and adding windows.

Head Chef's plan is to have it done when I get back. Knowing him, I'll be very impressed.

I busied myself with getting ready for dinner and making sure that everything was in place for my departure the next morning. And then Cindy showed up looking for the package I had brought back for her from Utah. She's my co-worker's wife, and she was nothing like I had pictured her. It was kindof awkward and so we hurriedly exchanged our items. Her husband's package went with her, and the shirt I was to bring back to Utah with me went into my carry-on bag for the next day.

Finally,
Grillardin showed up and it was time to go to dinner. We had chosen to go to Gyu Kaku, a fun Japanese barbecue place that we knew Grillardin hadn't been to and would love. She's new to the island and needs to be shown around a bit, so we took her out for an "E komo mai" dinner, and naturally, she loved it. I leaned forward and reminded Head Chef, "Boulanger's going to LOVE this place," and he heartily agreed. Everything was delicious, including the yakidori dessert. I was content.

But I had a plan, and we couldn't linger to savor the sensation of full bellies. So we headed down into Waikiki to catch the movie on the beach. They never play old classics like "Some Like It Hot," so I was kindof excited to check it out. We got a great area in front of the big screen, and from observation of others, learned a new technique for digging into the sand and getting comfortable. We drank pre-mixed cocktails while the sun was setting. The Honolulu Jazz All-Stars performed magnificently from the movie screen stage, and we agreed that everything was better when enjoyed in the light of a Honolulu sunset.

When darkness set and the movie started, Head Chef nudged me out of sleep. I was still on mountain time, and it was nearly midnight according to my body clock. I watched Jack Lemmon for a while before my eyes closed and Head Chef woke me again. And after a third time,
Grillardin volunteered that she was tired, too, so we gathered our empties and our beach mat and headed for the car. I was all yawns and when Grillardin dropped us off, I had only enough energy to stack my items near my bag and curl up next to Head Chef.

He wanted to chat as we lay in bed, but I must've fallen asleep in mid-sentence at some point. He said something that woke me, and I opened my eyes and he smiled before turning off the light. He has such a nice smile.

Now it's Sunday, and I'm back on the plane on my way to San Francisco to catch my connecting flight to Salt Lake City. All my friends from the area - and many from Honolulu, Portland, Seattle, Texas, and elsewhere - are finishing a week-long camping trip/binge in Guerneville, not far from The City. I've heard from many of them, and it sounds like they're having a good time. Head Chef and I will plan well ahead, and we'll meet them there next year.

Head Chef and Fred are going to tear down the wall today and finish some touch-up work that needs to be done on the new front door - which looks beautiful, by the way. I begged Head Chef to send me pictures, but he wants the new lofted second level to be a surprise for me. Already, the suspense is killing me.

I won't arrive in Salt Lake until almost 8:00pm. My co-worker,
The Butcher Commis, has said he'll pick me up, so I won't have to take a taxi down to Provo. Hopefully the air quality will be better in Utah Valley this week. I'm supposed to have a better hotel room for this next stay, too. Much more like the condos in Waikiki.

In the meantime, I've been listening to the new Coldplay album while I work on the plane. I only have a few albums on the computer to listen to, but this one is a gem. I might never have heard it if it weren't for my friend Tournant, who shared with me one of the two finest tracks on the album. And now I listen to the track and think of the people I'm so far away from, and think about how... I don't know - accurate - it is.