Scavenger Hunt: Part 2

I know you are dying to know how we did. We started racking up points so quickly that Joe changed the total to 1250 points. Here are the pictures:

Somoene Dancing - 100 points

An object with at least four distinct colors on it. - 50 points

A limo - 50 points

A street sign without an "K", "P", "I", "L", "E" or "A". in it. - 200 points.

We were told "Ave" and "Street" wouldn't count against us, but Joe told us 4th Av was cheap.

So we found other street signs.

A garbage can that says "Thank You" on it (Not "Mahalo") - 50 points

Joe didn't count this. The paper says "thank you," not the can.

Novelty Mailbox - 100 points.

Lucky find: we pulled into this driveway to turn around when Murray spotted this gem.

Vanity Licence plate - 100 points

We found this, but I didn't get the picture, sadly. It said "TRILL"

A pepper container that says the word "Pepper" on it - 50 points

Advertisement for children's clothing - 50 points

 Want to know how we did with the guy and the duck? Stay tuned...

Scavenger Hunt: Part 1

Yesterday, Murray and I were supposed to be at the beach. Unfortunately, Hawaii didn't seem to agree with us on this, because it poured rain all morning and threatened to continue for the rest of the day. What to do when beach day plans are suddenly derailed? Murray suggested an adventure.

You'd think coming up with an adventure when one lives in Hawaii would be easy, but having rainy weather and two bad knees makes that much more difficult. While asking the internet, I stumbled upon Treasure Hunts Hawaii, which gave Joe an idea.

Joe created a scavenger hunt for Murray and I. Each item had a point value and we had to find 1000 points worth of items and text pictures to Joe within a two hour time limit. It was us against the clock (and Joe). Here is the list of things we had to find:

A Sunburned Tourist - 50 points

 

A half eaten Sandwhich - 50 points

 

Somoene Dancing - 100 points

 

An object with at least four distinct colors on it. - 50 points

 

A sleeping person - 100 points

 

A limo - 50 points

 

Animals having sex - 50 points

 

A street sign without an "K", "P", "I", "L", "E" or "A". in it. - 200 points.

 

A non-yellow fire hydrant - 100 points

 

A garbage can that says "Thank You" on it (Not "Mahalo") - 50 points

 

Novelty Mailbox - 100 points.

 

Vanity Licence plate - 100 points

 

A surfer or wake boarder wiping out - 200 points

 

A pepper container that says the word "Pepper" on it - 50 points

 

A skateboard with noone touching it. - 50 points

 

Asian Wedding - 50 points

 

Advertisement for children's clothing - 50 points

 

Woman in a suit (or man in a dress)  - 100 points

 

Man upside down with a duck balanced on his feet.  The duck must be wearing a hat - 1000 points

 

Empty Soy Sauce container - 50 points

 

Used chop sticks - 50

 

Person practicing martial arts - 100 points

 

Beach Ball (not on the ground) - 50 points

 

Frisbee - 50 points

 

Car with only one hubcap on one side - 100 points

 

Animal in a tree - 100 points

 

Animal wearing clothing - 100 points

 

Sign written in spanish or french - 100 points

 

A printed scavenger hunt list that wasn't printed on our printer - 50 points

 

We geared up and headed out at 10:45am. How did we do? To be continued...

Sonnets for an Old Century

Go see this show! I'm not usually this emphatic about shows. To be honest, I've not seen a lot in my time in Hawaii that has wowed me. Go see this one!

Sonnets for and Old Century is the UHM Late Night Theatre show currently playing. The script, by Jose Rivera, is one of the most beautiful and touching things I've ever read. Brought to life on stage by Brittni Shambaugh and her talented cast, it is one of the most poignant, funny, real, pieces of theatre I've seen.

I saw this show on opening night and I really couldn't have been more delighted. The cast was a diverse group, all students in the Theatre and Dance department, and all clearly passionate about what they were doing. Their chemistry was real, their stories were clear, their need to share was immediate. I don't want to give away too much; I want you to see this if you are on Oahu, but as an incentive, here are some highlights:

The vibrant Melissa Schmitz opens the show with a monologue about dancing with life on other planets which instantly had the audience engaged. Amanda Stone shared the story of a woman and her lover, seeking connection despite the mundane and the earth shaking distractions in life that seem to separate us. Tristan Holmes was a man unsure of which afterlife he was destined to, seeking identity in a world of mixed ethnicity and aided by some advice received from childhood "friends" in El Paso. Throughout the show all of the cast members are always present, supporting, encouraging, commenting, and breathing life into the stories. Everyone was a pleasure to watch, but I won't tell any more so you can see it for yourself.

I also have to mention the lighting design, by Chesley Cannon. Late Night does not get much to use in the way of technical elements, but Chesley has really worked magic with the lights. This is such a beautiful show to watch and the lighting ebbs and flows with the movement of the actors, highlighting, supporting,and enhancing each moment.

You have two chances left to see this show: Sept. 28, 29 at 11pm at the UHM Earnst Lab Theatre. The show is only 40 minutes, though you will wish it was longer. Please come support the amazing work of these performers and celebrate with Late Night Theatre as this show marks the 20th birthday of this student run theatre company.

Harry Potter and the Memory of Sunlight

One of the perks of House Management is having an office. Now that I have it, I seldom leave it. I hear that there is such thing as sunlight, but I'm not sure I believe it.  Matthew (my office mate/roommate) lives in this office with me (there is more to this room than pictured, I promise). One of us is always here and when we are both here we share chocolate and potato chips.

This is my desk, in my office at the theatre. Under the stairs. You can see all the essentials are there. Thermos full of hot coffee? Check! Mug and warmer to keep that coffee hot? Check! Speakers for blasting the sultry sounds of Adele while working? Check! Gently sloping roof for maximum space enjoyment? CHECK!!

In the back you can also see my yoga mat, always conveniently on hand, and in the foreground is my laptop on top of a text book. Missing from this picture? The huge pile of library books that is now ALWAYS on my desk because it is too much to take them all home (and who goes home, anyway?). Also missing from this picture? My house elf. Obviously.

Want!

Romance: Part 3

This weekend, Joe and I celebrated 3 years of marriage/6 years of being stuck with each other. In honor of that achievement, I'd like to share a conversation that we had:

Me: Hey, that's more than half a decade!
Joe: It's 6/10 of a decade. 3/5 of a decade.
Me: Up top! (we high-five). I don't know how we're going to make it to a decade.
Joe: I don't know how we're going to make it to tomorrow...I never do.

How crazy are we about each other? Remember those secret projects?

I created the Winskinarypedia (Winskye Dictionary-Encyclopedia). It took almost four months and I've been compiling notes for several years. I also made a meat cake.

Meatloaf iced with mashed potatoes with cheese sprinkles and BBQ sauce writing. Mmmm!

Joe wrote a novel for me. A NOVEL! In a month. The man is amazing. I won't reveal more about it yet, because we are working on it and hopefully getting it ready for publication, but it is a young adult adventure book and it is VERY funny. Also, he built me a fort.



Thanks to all our friends and family who constantly support us. Special thanks to Cher, Elise, Ray, Nicole and Murray for thinking of us!

Hawaii: A Year in Review

We arrived in Honolulu in August of 2011, tired and hungry. My brother carted us back to his apartment and we fell asleep.

Since then it has been a wild ride full of ups and downs and being thrown for lots of loops. The beginning was hard. I tried to keep a good face on it all for the internet, but internet, you should know: life sucked. School was not what we wanted it to be; life was not what we wanted it to be. Thank God, Hawaii is pretty.

We went from living like this:

We use boxes as furniture for a few weeks

Sleeping on the floor!

To living like this:

Kaneohe!

We miss this house...

In October things got busy.

Shawn and Kris are engaged

I turn a year older and celebrate with new friends

I stage manage the first show in the season for UH Manoa: Oklahoma!

The first five months here are rough, but by January we had a routine and I was starting to pull myself back up.

Joe and I threw ourselves into school projects and rehearsals for the randai show. Just as things seemed calm, Shawn and Kris had to move back to Florida. Two days before opening two shows (they opened the same night, back to back) we found ourselves moving everything we own into a very tiny apartment.

After that, we went through the agonizing process of deciding whether we wanted to stay in Hawaii, while waiting to find out if our tuition waiver applications had been accepted. When we moved here we agreed to give it one year and then reevaluate. Luckily we were both granted waivers and I was hired as the House Manager for the theatre.

Life has continued to change on us, over and over again. We've done tons of hiking, but thanks to a knee injury I am in physical therapy and unable to hike (or do anything fun) until further notice. We've mostly given up caffeine (gasp!!). Joe has withdrawn from UH but is still studying Asian acting styles. We are still doing yoga with Cher (thanks, Cher!). We've made some great new friends, and recently reconnected with some old-new friends as everyone has returned from their summer adventures.

I'm very excited to be off on this next leg of the journey, knowing that I have an amazing network of family, friends and colleagues to support me. Yes, the workload is stressful. Yes, I was crazy to take the particular combination of classes that I've chosen. Yes, I am unreasonably excited about my thesis project (and yes, it will be unreasonable in scope).

The past year was incredibly, horribly, awfully, terrible; I can't lie about that. It was also wondrous and made us both grow so much as people and has strengthened us as a couple. Looking back on the past year as our anniversary weekend comes to a close, I am sure for the first time that I am where I need to be right now.

Horses and Shave Ice

Classes started at UH Manoa on the 20th. I'm finding myself knee deep in reading, research and writing. I'm also developing my thesis project, which I'm super excited about, and hope you will be, too, but I'll share more about that once it is more fully formed. In the week leading up to school, things got very busy, but we  managed to find a few minutes to relax before the beginning of the semester:

Out with Meg at our favorite spot for margaritas

Yoga by the koi pond with Cher

Balancing dice on other dice with Tannenbaum

Shave ice with Kelsey and Ray

A la Barney Stinson, Hawaii can't take a bad picture (it was super gray and icky looking in real life)

We took her to steal a horse...

Happy back to school everyone! Just a few weeks too late...