Fear the Crab

I’m still sick. I’m glad I didn’t go to work today. My nose has been runny all day, and the plugged-up sinuses gave me a major headache. Now I get to look forward to a phlegm-filled day at school tomorrow, since I still have to go in and learn the material.

I feel like shit. I’m not going to work tomorrow.

This morning Maile’s mom gave the grandmother some instructions, because Keoni called and wanted money. The grandmother said no, so Keoni wanted saimin packages, so the grandmother said yes and wanted to make some kind of arrangement to give it to him, because he can’t come to the house. The mom got really upset, and told the grandmother and aunt that Keoni was not to come to the house and not to get any help. Well, he called, and the aunt answered, and told him what was going to happen.

Then he shows up at the house. The aunt answers the door and tells Keoni again that he cannot be there. What does the fucker do? He just smiles at the aunt, runs into the house, into his room, and takes the mail that was there. Now we’re worried that whatever mail was there (under his name), is more credit card fraud. At least Maile has that fraud-alert on her accounts, to notify her of any activity using her name, so it’s safe from that end. Still, it’s a big hassle when it does happen, and we’d like it better if it just didn’t happen at all.

I think I have a cold. My throat is feeling a bit itchy.

I didn’t post yesterday because I fell asleep early. I guess I was just that tired. I woke up 11 hours later and had a nasty cotton-mouth, which is odd because I never drank anything. I think it’s all the vog in the air with the Kona winds blowing in.

Yesterday was a bit eventful, too. On my way in to work I nearly got into a traffic accident as a truck got a flat tire. Unfortunately, the driver decided to slow to a stop as he tried to move to the shoulder, and nearly caused a chain reaction as we all tried desperately to avoid him. Given the heavy rain earlier in the evening, the roads were still slick. It’s a miracle nobody hit anything.

I bought the Kikaida DVD as promised. Not much else to say about that.

Last night Maile and her mom gave Keoni an choice. He could either stay at the house under strict rules (no stealing, lying, or drugs), or he could go out on the street and face whatever consequences there. He chose the street. He explained this choice by saying that since he was eventually going to jail, he might as well do what he likes before then. Unfortunately, his likes involve stealing Maile’s jewelry and trying to swindle the other family members out of money. And he likes crack.

Discovered today that he came back to the house. His excuse was that he wanted to do laundry, and he wanted money. He also gave some sob story about how it’s so hard on the street, but Maile just reminded him that it was his choice. Tonight he’s going to return and the mom is going to have a “chat” with him.

I’ve decided that I will drop my math class, or at the very least, talk to my professor about it. I’m so borderline it’s scary. I’m really worried that the exams will sink me below the level of passing, so I figure I will drop the class now and get a W (for withdrawal), but still attend the rest of the classes so I can get the material. I’m going to ask if I can also continue to turn in the assignments and take the exams, just to get an idea of whether or not I understand this shit. It’s too bad I can’t get my money back, but it’s better than getting a D or F in the class.

Ate dinner at Assagio’s in Mililani. I had a chicken and shrimp special with a spinach garlic wine sauce over a bed of linguine. Maile had the chicken linguine anchovy olio, or something along those lines. Not bad.

Today was an okay day at work, though everyone seemed to be grossed out by my bug-in-the-ear story.

Finished working on the next batch of Maile’s notes, rewording them so they don’t resemble the book too closely. Maile also finished the rest of her book, enabling her to write her summary paper for history. Good progress, I must say.

Woke up this morning because my ear was itchy. I stuck my finger in, scratched little bit, and tried to go back to sleep. It was still itchy. So I got up, got that ear pick thing, and went to work. Everything went fine and good until the pick brought out two of those flying ant-like bugs. Ew.

Christopher’s 1st birthday party was decent enough. There was a lot of food for a lunchtime party, enough to make one believe it was a dinner. Three types of salads, jello, cheeses, fruits, chicken, fish and smoked fish, shrimp, crab legs, and prime rib. In addition, there was a dessert table with mousses, tarts, eclairs, and other goodies. One person at our table filled her plate with nothing but desserts.

Frank DeLima made an appearance. His act was pretty good, though it was very tame compared to his other works. It’s natural, of course, considering that this was a children’s party and he really couldn’t let loose. Maile and I left shortly after Frank’s act, because we were tired and I had to work later in the evening. Actually, we both didn’t want to go, but because it was at the Hale Koa and Henry paid by guest, we would have felt really bad if we didn’t attend. I’d say it was worth it.

At work, however, I began to wish I had taken a nap. It was really slow, and that only made me feel more tired. My feet began to hurt and the rest of my body felt tight, as though I could crack every bone. I barely made it home, and I think I drifted onto the shoulder twice while driving.

Tonight and tomorrow I will help Maile with some of her history notes.

…as is the usual. I was in the duty free section tonight, and made a few sales, but nothing spectacular.

I’m going to sleep over at Maile’s house. Tomorrow we’re going to a birthday party for one of her co-worker’s child.

The interview went well. They asked questions, I answered them clearly and precisely. I think I made a good impression.

The test was dubious, at best. The multiple choice questions were all based on what is public knowledge of the department’s operation. For example, the tax year for real property is July 1st to June 30th. Real appraisals are conducted as of October 1st. You can file an appeal by January 15th. Stuff like that. I totally bombed that part.

There was a bit of math in the test, but only two questions. The first dealt with statistics. I had to find the median, mode, and mean of nine numbers. Unfortunately, I didn’t know what a mode was, so I got that part wrong. The second question was simply finding the area of the different parts of a house.

So the test has me worried about my chances of getting this job. I don’t know how much weight the test holds, so there’s a possibility that no matter what kind of impression I made, my score on the test would be the ultimate factor to decide whether or not I’m hired. If there’s one silver lining to this cloud, it’s that I told the interview panel that I am easily trainable and a quick learner, and I cited my experience at duty free when I first started (I hardly knew Japanese, and I didn’t know anything about duty free regulations). It is my hope that they will take that into consideration should they look at my test score.

In other news, Maile’s mom finally gave Keoni a choice. He can go to a rehab center and clean up, or he can live on the street. The mom will basically drive down to the psychologist’s office with Keoni and ask what options the idiot has. He’s been acting really weird, and it’s very likely he’s back on drugs. We suspect he even stole a Macy’s gift card we bought for a friend. So this development has put Maile more at ease, because now it seems like there’s a light at the end of the tunnel. Basically he’s going to be out of the house (which is all she really wants), and he should be getting the help he needs. The rest of the family is sick and tired of helping him out; even the grandmother is beginning to get irritated.

A part of me wonders if Keoni will actually go through with rehab. Ideally he would, and clean himself up and live a peaceful life. Unfortunately, the pessimist (or realist) in me highly doubts he’d go through with it, because he has a problem with rules and with authority. Namely, he can’t handle it. However, regardless of whether or not he goes through with rehab, Keoni will not be at Maile’s house giving her stress, and when it all boils down, that’s the bottom line.

I’ve found that doing the homework assignments immediately after covering the material in class greatly helps my understanding of it. Of course, that’s probably a given to many studious types. Still, it bodes well for my hopes of passing the class. Right now I am .02 points below 50, and according to the professor, anything below 50 means I’m in trouble. Hopefully I will do well in my assignments and have some modicum of success with my exams. The material we are covering now seems a bit more straightforward than previously encountered, so I don’t know if that’s the only reason why it seems I’m doing okay.

Tomorrow is the big interview with the City. According to some inside sources, the interview part will likely consist of questions pertaining to the office’s function of property assessment, such as tax rates and basic exemptions due to age, disability and low income. I understand all of that for the most part, though technical aspects (like the exact amounts) are unknown to me at this time. The written test may possibly involve some basic math and blueprint sketches. The math I’m not too worried about, since it deals primarily with geometry and areas. I know how to read blueprints, though if you were to ask me about details I wouldn’t know oak from redwood and the differences between a house built tongue-in-groove versus otherwise. Aside from the test and office knowledge, the rest is pretty much up to me and what I answer. So long as I give the impression that I’m a hard worker, easily trainable, and willing to learn and work well with others, I have a shot at getting this job.

My dad says they may also ask me which softball team I want to play in. I’m shooting for team A, because I already know a lot of the guys there, and my dad says they’re pretty cool when it comes to playing badly (ie they laugh at you instead of yelling).

The Kikaida DVD is set for release on Oct 15. It will have episodes 1 through 5, and if I get it from Costco I can look to spend about $20 for each. The 15th is a Tuesday, which means I can pick up the DVD after school. I’ll likely buy three if I can get away with it; one for George, one for my brother, and one for me. This also means that I no longer have to worry about taping the darn episodes and missing any, but it also means that my brother will likely have to wait longer for the entire collection. I’m sure he can handle it, though.