Things I miss when I'm missing things...

As every expat surely experiences, sometimes you go through a phase of missing back home, or homes. Today is one such day. Perhaps this is because I'm supposed to be sequestered away today in my apartment writing up my midterm exam for my Contextual Grammar students...  So, in the spirit of procrastination, I dug up some pictures of happy times in the recent past. To further extend the procrastinating, I will provide a commentary for the pictures. Enjoy:

 

 

 

 

 

 

One weekend some intrepid travelers and myself took the ferry over to Lanai and camped out. We were, obviously, drinking beer on the beer. I am, obviously, at a precarious angle when this photo was shot. I was not, however, passed out... Anyway, this is Hulopoe Beach Park at Manele Bay. The campgrounds are AWESOME. The best I've seen throughout the Hawaiian Islands in fact. Furthermore, Tecate is a totally decent beer to drink when in these types of situations...

Down Haiku Road in... Haiku- my home turf back home on Maui. Driving by this memorial was always a humbling event. I always slowed way down...Nuff said.

I know it seems absurd to miss work- especially manual labor, but I do miss these days. Yes, this is me. It's not Halloween. It was an ordinary day on the job- that job being the most incredible job in the world- ARCHAEOLOGY!!! So yea, I can say that now...

Now what I really miss is Pau Hana Aloha Fridays with the work crews. Usually this entailed being filthy dirty at whatever job site we were working at and partying with the crew. It was a great way to end the work week and bond over all our frustrations! We would do this over beers and a BBQ and lounge around the heavy equipment snapping photographs of the hilarity that ensued! Hey Katie-girl. Hey Cowboy...

uhm yea, that's me again with my favorite hardhat...One of the best things about being an archaeologist is that you get to wake up and fly out the door quickly because you don't have to care what your outfit looks like, or if anything matches. In fact, the more absurd the color combination, the better. Makes it MUCH easier for the heavy equipment operators to see you when you are laying in the sand dehydrated and exhausted from working in the hot sun all day...

yea, I know. I have shit tons of these pictures of myself and my co-workers...

I miss those Marc Aurel/Wailuku Coffee Company days while working in the laboratory. Those really were the days. This was, I believe, taken around the holidays... I could be wrong though...

Jimmy Pawn. Now here is a real hidden gem of the pawn shop world. Wailuku has such characters there. I miss this dude immensely. We started up the now infamous "Coffee Talk" morning sessions before trotting off to our respective work environments... Coffee Talk moments turned into hours at some intervals...

no commentary needed...

I miss those bad hair days in Hawaii when you just reach over and pluck a flower and insert it into unruly hair... Voila!!!

I TOTALLY miss my truck... Need I say more...This car was a man magnet...

yea, rocking up to the job site in this... nuff said. I might also add that it was equally satisfying on those nights stepping out on the town and exiting the vehicle with a pair of high heels on...

I miss family vacations. My brother Curt here is attempting to channel Captain Cortez- Spanish Conquistador of the 16th Century...

I miss all the 'down time' at work when the construction crew would hit a water line, or something else critical... Sometimes it could take days to 'fix the problem.' This was never really a problem for the archaeologists...

I loved random shots like this one outside Takamiya Market downtown Wailuku, better known as Happy Valley, during one of those 'down time' moments/hours/days...

I never tired of watching 'Lil D trying to get out of my truck... heh heh. I always had it in my mind to get her a step ladder... heh heh

I really miss Hana Town. What an incredible place on Planet Earth...

I miss going to monthly full moon sweat lodge ceremonies. Always a good time communing with the Earth through native ways. Always appreciative of how special of a time this was. Always look forward to the next sweat in the jungle

I miss hanging out with dudes- such as Dave. Here he is in NYC. I can't remember the details of this scene. Perhaps Mr. Ed will and can refresh my memory, OR Dave himself...

I miss Forest in the desert of South Kihei

I miss Nissa Nancy's Norwegian roots party every year and skoaling to Leif Eriksson with the crew...

I miss my various garage sales when exiting the country... I know I look half naked here- that was the point to get drivers to stop and buy up my stuff...

 

 

Okay taking a little break from photo editing...
Okay I'm ready for more...

Cody and I pau hana (after work) up at Ophra's Ranch...

I miss seeing what crazy outfit Andree is going to show up in every day... I REALLY miss this...

I miss playing Swiss Family Robinson with the gargoyles at work. I miss cussing with the gargoyles about how hot it is and how exhausted we all are...

I miss my boss Lisa during those times when she is trying to kill a rat in her office with a broom...

I miss visiting my mother back in the UP and snowshoeing with Blood Cousin Maria

I miss those scenes while visiting my mom where she looks like a character out of "The Shining" movie... heh heh. This is up at her property BTW... lotsa snow

I miss my mother's neighbors, Stella and family, and all their winter recreational equipment...

I miss surfing, sunning and rainbows at Hookipa Beach Park

I miss trippy parties at Rainbow Park on Sunday afternoons

I'm not sure what this is, but I miss it... heh heh why it's Jimmy Pawn Shop at Marc Aurel Cafe

I miss camping out in Keanae for the Source 3-day parties...

I miss year long archaeological digs on multi-million dollar strips of beachfront property in South Maui...

I miss this old jungle sugar shack of mine...89

yea, this too...

I miss all my toys

I miss getting my feet muddy in the jungle

miss the jungle and all its wisdom

miss all the crazy construction workers, and Jenny O's silly doggies

haha I miss heavy equipment

I miss taking pictures to add to my "Chicks that Rock Hard Hat Series"

miss all the fun Haiku cottages

I miss my super-fabulous hairdresser Carl and all his shenanigans...

I miss all those crazy graduate school moments in New York City with Spy1- otherwise known as Carolina Ballerina

I miss going to super-fabulous (and cheap) gay clubs in NYCwith Carolina and Lenys...

I miss the street art of NYC

I miss going crabbing with family on the Oregon coast (Yengeci in Turkish)

I miss hanging out on the rooftop of the Metropolitan Museum in Central Park in NYC

yea, more of this...

And another break in the action
 And back at it...

I miss people watching in NYC w/Spy1- For example, this evening we are at a rooftop club and who/what walks in but a couple of REAL geisha girls- followed by a group of businessmen... LOVED it...

I miss snowboarding in Alaska

I miss the Turkish crew and their Chelsea rooftop parties in NYC

I miss a lot of different types of fruit

I miss Upper West Side rooftop parties hosted by my grad school professor John Fanaslow...

I miss trying to get back home on the subway after those parties of John Fanaslow's

I miss all the times Spy1 and I had to wait at 4am for the subway to take us back to our homes after a fabulous evening out- when we should have been studying instead...

I miss NYC subways!

I miss NYC cafe's

I miss NYC art openings w/free flowing wine...

I miss sleepless nights... haha

I miss Friday parties after summer school classes in NYC

I miss Broadway shows

I miss random trips to... Staten Island to check out the culture

I miss Sonia's cooking

I miss Miss Simone

I miss Katie-girl the riviter and our home improvement days at my various jungle shacks...

...and our wine

I miss eating at Cafe Des Amis on Maui

I miss going geocaching

...and staying hydrated

Katie-girl figuring out our wayfinding way...

I miss my Pathfinder- although none of my friends probably miss it...

I really miss this jungle shack!

and this bathroom

and surfboards!

and First Fridays in Wailuku

and hula hooping

and parties

Well, there is really a lot that I miss...
But there's more...

I miss Orchid flower shows and lava flows...

I miss sunset surf sessions

I miss Halloween on Maui

I miss Maui supermen...

I miss pau hana (after work) cocktails in Wailuku

I miss sunsets driving in my truck! Thanks Simone for capturing this one of me! LOVE IT!

you all know how much I miss Baldwin Beach and bikinis...

I miss SAND

Halloween in Paia

post-yoga class breakfast sessions in my jungle kitchen

rock and roll Thanksgiving parties in Kula

outdoor bar at same  rock and roll Thanksgiving parties in Kula...

the late night action at the rock and roll Thanksgiving parties in Kula with live music in an outdoor ampitheatre

I miss watching monster surf sessions at Hookipa

before...

after...

the thrill of being an observer: surfing at Jaws-

I miss the days when Jaws is going off the rictor scale and everybody Haiku side calls in sick to work and instead goes to Jaws to watch the monster surf and the brave surfers who dare to ride...

I miss the spectator parties at Jaws- Guga!!!

I miss doing archaeological inventory surveys with the gargoyles

I miss New Year's Eve parties on the beach on Maui...

I miss parties on Maui

I miss visiting San Diego (my birthplace) with my family

I miss the San Diego Zoo

I miss my mom

I miss Bruce Bruce

And stop... for now.

This is enough. Let's consider this Part I...