Lunch and the start of farewells

August 9, 2012

Aloha auinapo, (Good late night, after midnight) (close enough at 11:30pm!)

Today Ann sent me the report and powerpoint for the presentation we are to do on Friday. I didn't get it till afternoon so there wasn't much time to work on it left in the day. I am sure the presentation for tomorrow will be fine.

Ann and Lisa picked me up for lunch at North Shore Grinds. It is close and they serve you quickly enough to get there, eat and be back in an hour. I had the blackened ahi with cilantro pesto and papaya salsa. It was pretty good. I had the tossed salad with a vinaigrette dressing as a side. It also came with 2 scoops of rice which I didn't eat more than a couple of bites. It was pretty good but not as good as the meal I had there before.

Tonight after the workday we went to the Elk's club with Barbara as a pau hana and goodbye to me. Lisa drove me and Ann met us there. Barbara came shortly thereafter. We munched on nachos and fish and chips. Rose Marie was able to join us later for a bit. I am so glad Rose Marie was able to come since I was worried I wouldn't see her again before I left. We had great discussions about public health topics like homelessness, welfare and children learning money skills. It is so nice to be included among these women for such great discussions. I received some parting gifts. MAHALO! I was surprised and very touched. I will miss all the wonderful people I have met here.

Here is the kitty that lives at the Elks club. This is an older kitty and has obviously had a rough life. It is missing part of an ear, part of a lip and some teeth. However, it is quite sweet and was happy to have its chin scratched and some gentle attention paid to it.

I tried to take a couple of pictures of the beautiful sunset but they didn't come out well. The Elks club is open tot he outside and looks out over the ocean. It was so beautiful to see the ships sailing and the outrigger canoes being paddled. The sunset was gorgeous.

This is all of us for a last photo. Mahalo to all of you for making me feel so welcome. From left to right: Lisa, me, Barbara, Ann, and Rose Marie.

Lisa brought me home and I chatted with Romi for a brief bit about how her time in the lab has been the past couple of days. Romi is another person I have been so lucky to meet in my time here. We made a plan to go to the pancake house on Sunday morning to try some of those yummy specialties.

Now it is off to bed for me so I can be up and ready for the presentation tomorrow. After the presentation will be a brief lunch somewhere. Then my internship time here is finished. I will have the weekend to go to the ballet and do any last things I want to do. I also need to ship some packages since I am sure I'll go over weight with my luggage if I don't!

Aloha nui loa, (Much love, fondest regards)
~Melissa