this one's for my honey

He's been bugging me for a while now to post pictures of his Don Ho souvenir from Hawai'i. See, we'd been planning our trip to Hawai'i for months before we learned of Don Ho's death in April. S. really wanted to see him on our trip. It would be untrue to say that that was S.'s entire goal for the trip, but close. He couldn't find a Don Ho bobblehead, so he settled for the next best thing:

He's made of ceramic, and his head is open, so you could technically drink out of him. On the back it says "Ho-waiian." Yeah.

Our hotel was not far from this road, which was alternately

and

Our own small tribute to Don Ho. Rest in peace.

ketchin' up

One thing about the blog I have to say: it does seem to be a nag when I've gotten back from a trip and don't really want to recount the entire thing. I feel like I can't move on to blog about other stuff until I've finished this. So, because I can form no narrative of the trip (mainly out of laziness), I offer this list.

1. The 9 1/2 hour flight from ATLANTA. Yes, we flew from Bloomington to Atlanta, only to double back so that we could be on the plane for 9 1/2 straight hours. This made it easier to torture us with films like Georgia Rule and Fabulous Four. Pain, I tell you. Pain.

2. The limo ride to the hotel that came as a result of waiting in line for no less than an HOUR for a cab. When it was our turn to get one, it just so happened that the next one to show was a limo. we shared it with two guys going to the same place, and I stretched out and watched the drive from my back.

3. The way I fell into complete despair after having been up for TOO MANY HOURS in a row. When we got to the hotel, it was approximately 3 am our time. I'm no good past midnight. NO. GOOD.

4. Am I just going to complain about this trip? No.

5. The beach. The glorious sea. It was fantastic. My favorite day was spent sitting by the water with fruity drinks in front of us as we watched the sea turtles swim-swim-swimmin'. I shrieked every time they popped their cute little heads up. Impossible to take any pictures.

6. The trip to Pearl Harbor was moving. Here's my favorite pic taken from inside the USS Arizona memorial:

7. The hike up Diamond Head was exhausting but rewarding. Felt good to have made that climb in the middle of such a hot, sunny day. And the views were incredible.

8. S.'s CPCU conferment ceremony. I was so proud of him. And the food was fantastic, the drinks were free.

9. Speaking of food. Holy fresh pineapples, batman. Oh my god I love them. We even made up a song about pineapples when we bought a box to take home with us. It goes something like this: Pineapples, pineapples. We love the pineapples.

10. The pathetic little beach umbrella we purchased for $15 because we couldn't, on principle, pay $40 to rent one for ONE DAY. It didn't give us very much shade, and we barely used it, but we still felt like we made out better that way. I wish I had a picture of us squeezing together under the umbrella, trying to keep important parts of us from the sun.

11. The aborted attempt to eat dinner on our last night at Ruth's Chris steakhouse. We thought there was a special for a $39.95 three-course dinner, so we made reservations, only to get there at 8:30 to realize that the special was from 5-6 each night. We took one look at the menu and, even though the Big Corporation was going to reimburse us for the meal, I could not, on principle, pay $41 for a steak that didn't even come with a vegetable. The side of broccoli, folks, was $8. Um, no.

12. Missing my girl like crazy. So so good to be home. Time to get myself into some kind of routine. Lots of reading to do for my classes today. Cubbies are on at 1. Don't know if I'll be able to watch them. But oh how I love them so.

I know how much you miss me

And I miss you, too.

But this will have to suffice until I find the energy to organize the Hawaii trip into some kind of narrative.

once again, she's back

Lots of small trips planned this summer. We're going to see the Cubs again in mid-July, then Keita will be in Chicago the following weekend for a conference, so I'll go stay with her and then bring her back here for a visit. Then in early August, we're planning a two-day trip to the Toledo Zoo to see the hippoquarium. Hippos! And finally, in September, my friends, it's Hawai'i! S. earned his CPCU designation by finishing up his exams this spring. Each year there's a CPCU annual meeting where new designees are recognized. State Farm pays for the entire trip, including a guest, and this year it just happens to be in Hawai'i. Holy shitters. Next year it's in Philadelphia or something. He picked a good year.

So, yeah, the Cubbies lost BIG TIME on Sunday. It was actually kind of painful to watch. But I had my hot dog (yummers) and I had my beer (or two) and we had a fun time in spite of their big loss. I took a few pics but haven't had time to upload them yet.

Oh, and the teaching anxiety dreams have begun. Class was in session, I told students I'd be back in five minutes--I just had to make copies--and it took me more than an hour. I got lost or something. Stuck in a ridiculously long line. And they desperately needed whatever it was I was copying. Ugh.

and she's back

You know how there are certain friends that you can never seem to reach, and then when you do reach them, there's never enough time to catch up, so that eventually talking to them seems almost like too much work? I had that feeling about the blog this morning. How can I ever catch the blog up? And my devoted readers--how shall they ever recover from an entire week without lyings or tirades or fears or Belly?

S. and I went to North Carolina (just outside Raleigh) to visit his dad and stepmom, both of whom I like very much--and they seem to like me, too. Sometimes S. was feeling like they liked me better than they liked him. Poor S. As an only child, he never had to compete with siblings for attention. Have I ever mentioned how desperately I wanted to be an only child when I was a kid? But that's a whole other story, as they say.

On Friday night we took in a Durham Bulls game, one that began and ended with a home run. We visited with family, shopped, ate a whole whole lot (and I've only gained 2 pounds, it seems, unless my scale is feeling sorry for me and is thus lying), saw The Waitress. Holy shit. This deserves its own sentence.

Shit, it deserves its own paragraph.

I loved The Waitress. I didn't realize until after the movie was over that Adrienne Shelly was in the movie, and knowing about her horrible death before seeing the movie made the last scene that much more poignant. What I appreciated most about the movie was how scarily real Shelly portrays domestic abuse. Like an essay brought to screen, the movie implicates all of us who have ever said "Why doesn't she just leave?" Amazingly, the movie is playing here in Bloomington, too. And I thought I was so smart by seeing it in Raleigh, sure that it wouldn't get here until DVD.

This trip constituted the longest amount of unbroken time S. and I have spent together. We did good. We did real good. One small disagreement that we worked through in a very adult manner--look at us go. One thing I'll never ever ever get used to (okay, maybe I will, but it will always carry a hint of the strange) is family members who actually want to be in the same room together, who go out of their way to see one another. Who love each other. Who enjoy spending time with one another. I envy that.

Belly was mostly a good girl while I was gone. Oh, how good it was to see her yesterday, to take in that black doggie scent. To hug her and snuggle her and brush her. It seems like every time I leave, I miss her even more.

S. discovered coffee on this trip. He's mighty proud of himself. Don't ask me why it took him this long to figure out that coffee'll give ya an extra little bounce in your step. I'm just happy he did.

The exhaustion I'm feeling is unlike anything I can remember recently. I wish I was one of those people for whom sleep wasn't so crucial. One night of not sleeping well throws everything off. That's what Monday is for: catching up on my Zs. Can't wait.

sunny, sunny North Carolina

It's raining in Bloomington, and has been for days. So S. and I chose a good week to leave, it looks like. Have I mentioned that I miss my bug-bug? Oh how I miss my booda booda girl.

We're having a very nice, very relaxing time. I'm usually not very good at this "vacation" thing--but I'm learning how to not feel guilt about sleeping in every morning until 9, about not constantly worrying about what I should be doing (though I confess to having thought about my book a few times), and I'm learning how to just sit and visit with S. and his family. So so good and relaxing. There'll always be a part of me, of course, that stands back in pure amazement at families who actually like each other and enjoy spending time together. But I'm getting there.

This morning after breakfast, as she was sitting upstairs playing solitaire on the computer and listening to me and S. and his dad talking, S.'s stepmom told me how much she enjoys hearing our laughter in the house.

Ah, and I made a pop culture reference yesterday that S. didn't get--let me repeat. I made a pop culture reference that S. didn't get. I was talking about how stupid Grey's Anatomy has jumped the shark this season. This was a moment to remember.