Gladrackets

 Curiosity has become my favorite trait. To put it another way, the realization that curiosity is so fundamental to my being gives me joy.

A man flips a postcard onto the table at a restaurant where I had only moments before leaned over to pet a dog, only to have him nip my face. I grab the postcard, rush to the curb and hand the postcard to the taxi driver, my dinner mates barely jumping in behind me. In half an hour I am cage dancing in a club on the Reeperbahn. A girl steals my purse. My friend finds her in the parking lot and steals it back. I apologize over dinner the next night, and my friend replies “That was GREAT”! 

I step into Beauty 4 You, even though it appears to be for someone else. But how can you know if there’s something you never knew you needed in there, if you’ve never seen it? And surely they have a wide-toothed comb for my  new hairdo and some stuff for curls, right? I am now the happy owner of some African Pride curl mousse. 

My notebook and phone retain curiosities of the now, in trust for the future pleasure. Edward Sullam, who designed the Kaimuki Professional Building also designed the small Diamond Head Apartments, where my friends used to live. Hon Chew Hee designed the cement facade of Holiday Apartments, and now his etching, Wash Day, hangs in our laundry room, which thrills us (and possibly not him).

Curiosity is hope. Recognition of how much I enjoy the pursuit helps me know that I will be ok, no matter what life serves me.

I look up the hill from Beauty 4 You and Annapurna Mart, toward home, where I will enjoy my new purchases.

Note: no photos of the club -- pre-iPhone, and I lost my camera in the taxi.

Sunbeam Toaster

In response to our friend Paul Lukas' post about his Sunbeam toaster, I offer the following:

My oldest friend in the world, who grew up in an Eichler, regaled me with stories of his family's magic Sunbeam toaster. I had to have one. 

Years later I finally found one at Thrift Town, and it was our first family toaster. You had to jiggle the toastiness setting sometimes to get it going, and finally we had to put it out of its misery. Then we got a *reconditioned* one at the Sunbeam store which was a thing that existed at that time. It had similar issues, but lasted us until 2005. An important advisory that *should* exist is that this is not the kind of toaster you use on bread that warps (i.e. thin pumpernickel). I turned my back on the toaster on New Year's Day 2005 and returned to find flames shooting out of it. I unplugged it, carried it into the back yard and emptied the hose into the one slice slot. I walked into the garage, where we had backups to every small kitchen appliance after my father-in-law died, found a toaster, and resumed toasting. I'm not sure where our current Sunbeam came from, but I love the ritual of jiggling the toastiness setting, and occasionally shaking the whole thing to get it to acknowledge my bread. 

Like Paul, I will also replace my Sunbeam when it cacks.

Hawaii 2025, Day 2

Day 2 was an epic day of achievement. Except for the beach. Our beloved beach has wild surf right now. I think it's too windy for me to get in the water. I want to be safe. I'm kinda disappointed but trying to keep it positive. Here's our beach that we love so much, nestled behind Michel's at the Colony Surf:

We went to Ala Moana, cause what would a trip to Hawaii be if we didn't go to Macy's? Mrguy got a new pair of shorts that fit his slimmer hips. I found a great shade hat that was misfiled in the men's sock section. It is perfect except for a dumb patch on it which I will replace, pronto. 

Mrguy also bought two pair of sunglasses at Sunglass Hut in Macy's. Rick, of Sunglass Hut, was soooo nice. From Fresno, Giants fan. He and mrguy talked about the upcoming season's prospects, as you do. And now mrguy has his first sunglasses ever that have no prescription in them because he doesn't need it. Wild. 

My excitement was the Hoka store, where I could try things on in person. I just sent back a pair of Hokas last week that didn't fit. When they do, it's superduper. At the mall I tried on some Bondi 8s, and they didn't fit even though that's what I'm wearing right now. Ended up buying a pair of Men's Bondi 8s. I learned from the salesguy that some styles in different colors end up fitting differently. That seems darned inconvenient.

All missions accomplished, we trudged toward the parking lot. Went to California Pizza Kitchen (a family first), had lunch, talked about the reasons mrguy hates aspects of the Beach Boys and brought home a pizza for dinner.

We sat on the lanai and watched the stories that happen in the park across the street. The green parakeets who screech and flit between the trees around here. I swear that there used to be green, blue and the occasional pink, but I've only seen green. And there was good dog watching. and two boys trying to take advantage of the still-abundant wind to fly kites. But they were running in the wrong direction. One kid ran the other way and got good purchase, but the other kid wasn't as successful and, frankly, didn't seem to try as hard. I hope he comes back. In the meantime, mrguy and I were talking about him making kites, and our shared memory of the local power company's comic book about kite safety. It was part of a presentation given to children every year in certain grades. Deciding to find one on ebay, I instead came across Hi-Flier kites, and their slogan "Playmates of the Clouds". Eventually I found a bunch of the comic books. The aspects I remember in mine were Smokey the Bear, the story of Ben Franklin, and how you could die if your plane touches a power line. Also Reddy Kilowatt and a cartoon character. It was horizontal in orientation. We think that mrguy's era had a different character than my era. Here's one that I might be remembering. Sorry that the link to it will not last into the future...

Another day in Paradise.

Hawaii 2025, Day 1

Sorry but this is gonna be kinda boring. Our Lyft was mercifully uneventful. On so many other occasions there was drama. Like the taxi driver who accelerated down our steep hill and the taxi ride where I looked down to see I was stepping on the remains of a soft pretzel (with mustard). Or the Airporter driver who was a hoarder and wouldn't pull over to the curb at our house. When we looked in the back of his van it was filled with piles of paperwork and he ranted about Richard Nixon.

Our Lyft was not like that.

We went first class, on miles. Every time I take the cats to the vet and pay with my Hawaiian card I remind myself I'm just that much closer to Hawaii. I did some sewing on the rid and watched German Love is Blind.

We were stumped a bit at first. Our usual lunch stop, La Mariana Sailing Club, is closed on Mondays. Hau Tree was closed for shift change. I really didn't want to walk anywhere, but we did and Barefoot Beach Cafe provided the eats. I like their weird curry rice burger thing. I didn't like the Hawaiian Christmas music. A guy named Sam did not pick up his order. Eventually they started taunting him on the overhead "Sam, your plate is getting warm."

On the way back to the hotel we went shopping for breakfast and took a nap.

For dinner we went to Diamond Head Grill instead. It did not disappoint. Love the 'ahi wasabi shoyu plate. Never disappoints. We usually walk across Kapi'olani Park and then up the hill, but it is really nice to just drive there, which we did.

When we got back to the hotel Mrguy just said "I'm going to rest up and then brush my teeth."

New Year's Journaling Prompt

Day 1

I do not believe in magic—how could I?

I can’t but I did

Saw me in half in a box that’s gaily painted

I will show you how. The lingering warmth of a stranger’s hand, on the last grocery cart available at Christmas, transports

So nutmeg. 

Algorithms are not magic. If by magic you mean Add vaseline to coca cola and just watch

Thumbprints in Roma plastilina. I can smell you through the television during Rudolph

The best story is visible in the background