Fear the Crab

Spent the day at LCC with Maile, as she worked on her ceramics project. She’s making a lamp. How cool is that?! She’s already got the hardware and wiring ready, and now we’re just waiting for the firing of the clay, which will end up being the fancy lamp thing. It’s way more than what I could ever hope to accomplish.

While waiting at the ceramics room, I spent my time trying to figure out my homework assignment. It basically works, but I haven’t really tested it out. That will be later, possibly tonight. I also must remember to ask the professor about a few things on Thursday.

I burnt three of six CDs so far. I must say I have prioritized my time very well, yes indeedy.

I’m looking forward to tomorrow, not because of work, but because of the possibilities after work. I may go out, I may not, but I will definitely see Maile. That makes all the difference in the world.George gave me more CDs. I will work on those when I have the time. I thought I could get a jump start on them, but I just received a new homework assignment for my programming class, and that might take some of the hours I would have had to do more productive things. It’s a shame I can’t do these things at work; I have more spare time there than anyplace else (but isn’t that always the case?).

Today was an ordinary day at work. Finally was able to give George his Kikaida DVD, and now we both can’t wait for the 2nd disc to be released.

My cough has gotten better, though I am still prone to fits now and then. I don’t cough very well and it always feels terrible in my chest and my throat. Sometimes I even bring myself to tears when I cough like this.

UH athletics had a big day today. The volleyball Wahine swept Fresno State in 3 games, and the football Warriors went into the 4th quarter against Fresno State down 21 to 9, and came back to win it 31 to 21. A very big game for the football team, since they played in Fresno, probably one of the most hostile environments to play in. The Warriors showed great poise and concentration, stringing together some fantastic plays and never giving up. This game was televised nationally on ESPN2, so it’s great exposure for the program, especially with a win on the road. Not to take away from the volleyball game, who haven’t lost a single set since September (I forget the number of consecutive sets), but everyone already knows how good the volleyball team is. They’re number 2 in the country! So the football team proved themselves to many critics tonight.

I talked with Maile a bit tonight, casual conversation like we are wont to do on those days when we don’t get to see each other. It’s been over a week since I last saw her, and Maile mentioned that it almost feels like we’re in a long-distance relationship. I don’t like long-distance relationships. Still, our daily schedules hardly match nowadays, and since I was sick this past week, it’s easy to see why we’re hardly around. I hope to change that soon.

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.

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.

Went over to Maile’s house to hang out and spend some time with her. We went shopping for an office chair for her room, but the only one we liked was sold out. Instead we had to settle for some ink cartridges for her printer, and overall it was a disappointing venture. The reason we need a new chair is because the old one is, well, old, and we wanted a chair that was lower than the desk itself, so we could sit more comfortably. Right now the armrests on the old chair get in the way of the keyboard panel, which slides out but hits the top of the armrests.

We watched a bit of Moulin Rouge because it was playing on HBO, but we missed the beginning. It was pretty good, though after watching it I got a headache because I was staring at the television for so long. We ate dinner at Ricado’s; both of us having the chicken piccata and I had a glass of red wine. I forget the name of the brand, but it began with Bolla.

While we were out, it seems Keoni was using Maile’s computer, even though he’s been told countless times to not do that. We can tell he’s been using it because he doesn’t turn off the computer, and before we left I had shut down everything. He only turns off the monitor, thinking that nobody would notice. If there’s one bright spot in that bit of news, it’s that he doesn’t just push the power button to shut off the computer. Doing that is a big no-no amongst users, because it doesn’t allow the OS to properly close. I mean, you can do it, but it’s preferred you not.

I’m really afraid that he’ll not only break Maile’s computer, but he’ll download or open up some virus that will cause havoc later on down the road. Given his stupid lack of sense, he wouldn’t think twice about opening unknown applications or visiting porno sites and getting the hard drive infected. We could use a password to start the computer, but that really complicates things and doesn’t solve the primary issue of him just not using it when he’s not supposed to. I think the only viable solution here would be to duct tape him to his bed and close the door.

All in all, besides that one dark and dreary moment, the day was a good day.

Did the laundry, but when I left for work a lot of it was still damp on the line. Did some of my math homework, so the day saw some progress.

I’m finding the quitting of cigarettes cold turkey has started to reach its difficult point. I see people smoking at school and at work, and just seeing it brings back the urges. The toothpicks help. Part of me is thinking that perhaps I could buy a pack and keep it at home, only smoking when I am at home. The reasoning behind this is that I only smoke one or two while at home; a majority of my smoking was whenever I was out. The drawback to this is that the mere act of smoking will likely heighten the urges and make it worse down the line.

The lockout of the shipping ports on the west coast has worried me as to the expected delivery date of my truck. There are a lot of questions unanswered regarding the whole deal. The biggest is whether or not they built the darn thing. Toyota City showed me a list of the different models and how much of each were going to be received, but I don’t know if that meant they were already built or they expect that much to be built and shipped. If it’s already been built, it’s highly likely that their delivery will just be delayed. But if it hasn’t been built, the delay could be way longer than ever thought possible. I say this because I just saw in the news that the factory that builds pickups has stopped production because the parts from Japan haven’t or can’t arrive. There is some consolation, though. I already have the paperwork that basically reserves my truck in my name, so whenever it does arrive, it’s mine. I just gotta remember not to spend the money I have reserved.

Tomorrow I plan to see Maile. I think she’s going to visit me at my house, since I’m pretty much all by myself now that the folks are in CA visiting my brother. We’re not going to do much because we both have a lot of studying to do, but it will still be nice to see her.

I went to bed at 2100 hours, but I kept waking up. The first time I woke up was an hour later, then again about an hour after that. Now it’s midnight and I’m awake again. I don’t know if it’s because I have something on my mind (like my upcoming exams) or something else all together. I had a few dreams in the meantime, but at this point of waking and sleeping, I’ve forgotten them all. I just hope this doesn’t affect me later on in the day.

Irene mentioned that she’s never been in a Corolla with power anything. I gave her a ride to her training class because I was off work and heading home, and she had to head out at the same time to attend. She also mentioned something about my car smelling good, but that’s only because her brother’s Corolla smelling like “a gym locker.” She must lead a very sheltered life, to not have experienced a ride in a Corolla before. Of course, she’s normally been exposed only to Hondas.

I may get a chance to deliver some dinner to Maile tomorrow. She mentioned that she was going to stay on campus to study because she has an exam coming up. Normally during her break she goes home to eat, since it’s only 5 minutes away. I asked her what she wanted, and as of now she wants a burger, maybe something from McDonald’s. I’m thinking that whatever she gets, I’ll get one, too, and maybe we’ll eat together.

My parents leave for CA Wednesday, to visit my brother. That means I’ll have the entire house to myself until the following Monday. It doesn’t mean that I’ll be able to have parties or whatnot, since most of my time will be spent at school or work. It also means that I’ll have to find my own food, but that shouldn’t be a problem.