My husband thinks that I can take a week or two off from my blog when on vacation, but I just can't. I am a little obsessed possibly, but I can't help it. Things keep popping in my head and I need to get them out!
For example, I was curious how Hawaiians prepare for disaster. It is so beautiful and relaxed here with the weather sunny and 85 year round, it sure would make it hard to think of anything going bad. But I suppose with the tsunamis hitting recently and a gigantic volcano on the other side of the island blowing out several thousands of tons of lava every day or two, it really should give anyone pause.
Responsibly, Hawaii has a state emergency preparedness site with the usual references to FEMA information but with a little local add on that I really thought was great. Along with the usual list of water, food, medicine, it was noted that it should all fit in a five gallon bucket. Wait, that's genius! Each person could have their own bucket with their clothes, small tools, food and such. Customizing these buckets and making each person in the household responsible for keeping their bucket up to date is a fantastic idea! Of course, depending on the age of the child, he or she would need a little guidance (I can see my daugher filling hers with chocolate -- and shes 16!), but this really would make keeping clothes rotated out and up to date. Even in a disaster, I can just see my teenagers refusing to wear something that I put in their emergency kit. "Mom, what were you thinking when you put THAT in there?!"
So, see, in paradise, you can get some work done. You just need to get away from it all sometimes to discover things you'd never thought of before. Well, that and maybe the mai tai... Aloha.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Prepare for Paradise
Yes, well, this does sound a little ridiculous, but preparedness does not stop at your own door. Regardless of where you are, your little pocket mouse is still there and reminding you of what you need to do to keep yourself and your family ready to face whatever it is. For example, I am writing this blog today from Hawaii. I might add that it is not just from Hawaii (the Big Island to clarify), but from a place sitting right on the ocean, from which I can glance up and see surfers riding curling waves toward a lava rock shore. Honestly, it is awesome.
When packing for this trip, I went through the same steps as I would for any trip in my car. Remember to have water, change of clothes, first aid kit, flashlight. It’s now all in a bag in our rental car. Everyone has orders to have all cell phones charged before leaving in the morning. Gas tank is never less than half full. It is remarkably easy to do. It is just something that is a part of your checklist when traveling.
Kona was hit pretty hard with the Tsunami last March and while most everyone is back in business, you can still see the effects. New walls, a house blocked up and boarded up, new furniture in many downtown restaurants that are on the ocean side of the street. It is so hard to imagine that a wave (several actually) dispatched from Japan could wreak so much havoc so far away.
But it did and it was a reminder to all – residents and visitors alike – that even Paradise can be dangerous. Just remember to be prepared and you’ll be back surfing in no time.
Aloha.
When packing for this trip, I went through the same steps as I would for any trip in my car. Remember to have water, change of clothes, first aid kit, flashlight. It’s now all in a bag in our rental car. Everyone has orders to have all cell phones charged before leaving in the morning. Gas tank is never less than half full. It is remarkably easy to do. It is just something that is a part of your checklist when traveling.
Kona was hit pretty hard with the Tsunami last March and while most everyone is back in business, you can still see the effects. New walls, a house blocked up and boarded up, new furniture in many downtown restaurants that are on the ocean side of the street. It is so hard to imagine that a wave (several actually) dispatched from Japan could wreak so much havoc so far away.
But it did and it was a reminder to all – residents and visitors alike – that even Paradise can be dangerous. Just remember to be prepared and you’ll be back surfing in no time.
Aloha.
Thursday, June 16, 2011
All for a Blueberry Donut
I am not, AM NOT a food addict. I honestly don’t believe I have any fanatical obsessions, except possibly reading and soccer, but they are (for the most part) controlled. So, when I heard about the blueberry donuts, it just started as a curiosity (OK, curiosity COULD be an obsession) to find out what all the hoopla was about.
A student intern brought in said donut a week ago. By the time I got to the front office, there was only one small taste left, but I have to say that it was very tasty and I wished I could have sampled the whole thing. I found that the place that sells these particular donuts is a little shop at Katella and Lincoln (Anaheim, CA for the out-of-towners). Since we are in the age of Google, I soon found a map, Facebook page and an astounding number of reviews – for a donut shop!
This donut shop is odd for two reasons. One, is that the only donut that gets any press at this shop is the famed blueberry donut. Two, is that the hours of this place are 9:30 PM to 12:00 PM. No, it’s not a typo. That’s 9:30 AT NIGHT to noon the next day. For whatever reason they have done this, it appears to work. People line up FOR HOURS in the middle of the night for these blueberry confectionary pieces of heaven, apparently, and still say they will do it again!
This really got me intrigued, so after reading many reviews, I found a few reviewers mentioned other “notable” blueberry donut sources in that same general area, but at normal hours and with minimal wait. Now comes the truly incredible part. I found myself writing the addresses of all of those blueberry donut shops and plotting how I was going to visit them all in the same morning so I could sample them all at the same time—to be scientifically valid. Then it hit me that a single bite of a tasty morsel was turning into an obsession. Even my husband raised an eyebrow when I told him how I was leaving the house at 6 am so I could miss traffic and be at donut shop One by 6:20, then hit No. Two by 7, provided I didn’t have wait long, then No. Three by....
Recognition of the problem is the first step to recovery. What I recognized is that this donut is what I seek. Well, not the donut itself, really, but the bait, the hook, the carrot to get people to start to be obsessed by something – like getting prepared for emergencies! Maybe we need to come up something to be placed in the package of an item that goes into an emergency preparedness kit – a prize, a Golden Ticket, or certificate for one dozen blueberry donuts (with no wait!). Everyone wants one, right?
If anyone has any ideas, I am open to suggestions, no matter how crazy. It might just work. For now, I am just using Google to find the shortest route between three of my newest friends.
A student intern brought in said donut a week ago. By the time I got to the front office, there was only one small taste left, but I have to say that it was very tasty and I wished I could have sampled the whole thing. I found that the place that sells these particular donuts is a little shop at Katella and Lincoln (Anaheim, CA for the out-of-towners). Since we are in the age of Google, I soon found a map, Facebook page and an astounding number of reviews – for a donut shop!
This donut shop is odd for two reasons. One, is that the only donut that gets any press at this shop is the famed blueberry donut. Two, is that the hours of this place are 9:30 PM to 12:00 PM. No, it’s not a typo. That’s 9:30 AT NIGHT to noon the next day. For whatever reason they have done this, it appears to work. People line up FOR HOURS in the middle of the night for these blueberry confectionary pieces of heaven, apparently, and still say they will do it again!
This really got me intrigued, so after reading many reviews, I found a few reviewers mentioned other “notable” blueberry donut sources in that same general area, but at normal hours and with minimal wait. Now comes the truly incredible part. I found myself writing the addresses of all of those blueberry donut shops and plotting how I was going to visit them all in the same morning so I could sample them all at the same time—to be scientifically valid. Then it hit me that a single bite of a tasty morsel was turning into an obsession. Even my husband raised an eyebrow when I told him how I was leaving the house at 6 am so I could miss traffic and be at donut shop One by 6:20, then hit No. Two by 7, provided I didn’t have wait long, then No. Three by....
Recognition of the problem is the first step to recovery. What I recognized is that this donut is what I seek. Well, not the donut itself, really, but the bait, the hook, the carrot to get people to start to be obsessed by something – like getting prepared for emergencies! Maybe we need to come up something to be placed in the package of an item that goes into an emergency preparedness kit – a prize, a Golden Ticket, or certificate for one dozen blueberry donuts (with no wait!). Everyone wants one, right?
If anyone has any ideas, I am open to suggestions, no matter how crazy. It might just work. For now, I am just using Google to find the shortest route between three of my newest friends.
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Misery in Missouri, but not for long
Missouri, the Show Me State, reportedly so called because House Representative Willard Duncan Vandiver, declared in 1899 that, "frothy eloquence neither convinces nor satisfies me... you must show me...” has been hit hard. Our dear Mother (Nature) has been in a real fit this year and took a great deal of frustation out on the people in Joplin, Missouri.
Cars were picked up and tossed miles away, homes reduced to virtually nothing, a hospital came crushing down on its occupants. In the end, more than 130 people died and over 8000 homes and apartments destroyed. How do you recover from something like this? Complete neighborhoods were simply flung away!
In step the people from Missouri. As soon as the storm had passed, the survivors and the lesser affected were out in the streets, in their cars (where they could get around) and extended hands, food and sometimes just a should to cry on. They came out in two’s and by the truckload. With axes and blankets and a willingness to help their neighbors, they came. Some baked cookies while others packed lunches for the workers and the displaced alike.
While we often hear of looters and the dishonest ready to take advantage of that weakened lot, many, many more step up and volunteer themselves, their equipment and their hearts. A dear friend of mine just moved to a little town just south of Joplin last year and has been emailing me an eye-witness account. He’s a big “manly” man, but not immune to the heartbreak. At the end of an exhausting day of cutting down tree branches, hauling equipment in his big pick up and generally anything he can, even he can’t stop the tears. It is just not something you can imagine unless you are there.
So, I will stop now with my feeble frothy eloquence and just say to the people of Missouri, you are tough stuff, and you have indeed shown us that.
Cars were picked up and tossed miles away, homes reduced to virtually nothing, a hospital came crushing down on its occupants. In the end, more than 130 people died and over 8000 homes and apartments destroyed. How do you recover from something like this? Complete neighborhoods were simply flung away!
In step the people from Missouri. As soon as the storm had passed, the survivors and the lesser affected were out in the streets, in their cars (where they could get around) and extended hands, food and sometimes just a should to cry on. They came out in two’s and by the truckload. With axes and blankets and a willingness to help their neighbors, they came. Some baked cookies while others packed lunches for the workers and the displaced alike.
While we often hear of looters and the dishonest ready to take advantage of that weakened lot, many, many more step up and volunteer themselves, their equipment and their hearts. A dear friend of mine just moved to a little town just south of Joplin last year and has been emailing me an eye-witness account. He’s a big “manly” man, but not immune to the heartbreak. At the end of an exhausting day of cutting down tree branches, hauling equipment in his big pick up and generally anything he can, even he can’t stop the tears. It is just not something you can imagine unless you are there.
So, I will stop now with my feeble frothy eloquence and just say to the people of Missouri, you are tough stuff, and you have indeed shown us that.
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