Pau hana, Sam Choy's and Bon dance

August 3, 2012

Aloha auinapo. (Good late night, after midnight)

What a day! I woke up and took a nice leisurely shower. Knowing that tonight was Pau Hana at Sam Choy's I knew I'd be at work late so I went in at 7:30. I spent the early morning doing a last quick check of the revised charts, tables and graphs and correcting any mistakes in formatting or spelling. I also added some color to them. Shortly thereafter Rose Marie returned! She has been gone for several weeks but today was her first day back. She is usually fairly soft spoken, very intelligent, and I really enjoy how she phrases things. She is a classy woman and reminds me of Shirley back home - a woman who just radiates class and an understated elegance. We both worked on our projects until Ann returned from her meeting downtown. We paused so  Ann and I briefly updated her on the status of the survey and DVFR (Rose Marie works on prevention of sexual assault) then we all immersed in work again.

Ann came in to discuss where to go for lunch. She had brought her car so Lisa came down the hall and we discussed lunch options. I hadn't realized how much time had passed. By this point I was starting to go through the report narrative and making the changes that the new tables, charts and graphs necessitated. Ann and Lisa decided on a place and we headed out to Tokkuri Tei. This is a Japansese gastro-pub type restaurant with sushi, rice and noodle dishes, pu pus (appetizers), tons of other food options and a HUGE alcohol selection.

 The menu is delightfully bizarre. For example the Bata Itame (sauteed in butter and seasoned with soy sauce) they have: Takol Imol (potato and octopus), Shimeji Bata (Shimeji mushroom), Popeye Bata (makes you strong!) (which is a joke regarding Popeye getting strong from eating spinach for those of you not familiar with the character Popeye), Aspara Bata (Fresh asparagus and pork), and Okra Bata (Nice and slimy). The words nice and slimy don't ever go together in my vocabulary regarding food but hey - it's cute. The entire menu is like this.

 The lunch specials, we didn't order any of these since we wanted to try a variety of pu pus (appetizers) and small items.

 This is Norichos. Nori that is coated in tempura batter and deep fried, then topped with diced tomatoes, scallions, microgreens, roe and drizzled with a shoyu sweet sauce and a tangy sauce. They were remarkably good and VERY unique!

 Agedashi tofu - deep fried tofu in a sweet fish broth called tentsuyo. It is topped with paper thin shreds of bonito. Now for the funny part. Ahem. Let me begin by saying I should have won an award for making A of myself. The server sat the bowl of agedashi tofu on the table and I think my jaw hit the table. The little shreds on the top looked like they were wiggling and waving! I immediately asked what in the world was moving on it. I think Ann and Lisa about fell out of their chairs laughing. Apparently bonito shreds are so then that when they are places on something hot and steamy they cause the shreds to react to the steam and heat by contracting and releasing, making them move. Since we don't use bonito shreds at home I certainly didn't know this but was glad they hadn't ordered tofu topped with worms. Once past my initial panic, I tried it and it was good. I'm not super fond of fried tofu but it had a good flavor. MUCH better than what we had an Genki Sushi.

 Oki yakima (no idea if I am spelling that correctly) - this is a finely diced squid pancake. Don't cringe. It is seriously very good. It has some sort of sauce on it and bonito shreds. Yes, they were wiggling. No, I didn't freak out this time. I was very pleasantly surised at how good it was.

 Spicy kori tofu - Fried tofu with mushrooms in a sweet chili sauce with a side of mixed green salad. This had a good flavor but I don't care for chunks of mushroom or fried tofu overly much.

 Ahi katsu - ahi coated with panko and fried also served with a side of greens. I am very fond of ahi and this was delicious. There was some sort of sauce on this but I also dipped it in shoyu (soy sauce). Very good.

 Shiso maki - diced pork and shiso made into thin spirals and skewered. These were SUPER good. I ate most of them.

 Salmon musubi - rice with I believe a little rice vinegar pressed around cooked salmon then a nori wrapper place on the outside. The nori allows you to hold it and eat it much like a sandwich. This was good but I was so full I couldn't eat much.

 Ann and Lisa, we had finished and we all had full bellies. Too bad we couldn't just go take a nap.

We went back to work and I spent the rest of the afternoon editing and writing new sections on the DVFR report. I had really gotten into it and was moving right along when Ann stopped by to say it was time to go! I wanted to get a bit more done so I stayed and worked while she ran her errands. She came back 30 minutes later to pick Lisa and I up. I had gotten to a better stopping point by then so that worked well.

We all went to Sam Choy's where we met up with Emily, Hiro, Barbara, Linda? and another lady whose name I cannot remember (sorry it is after midnight already). We nibbled half-price pu pus and I just had a soda. We talked and laughed and talked story about past events in our lives and just had a great time. Here we all are outside waiting for valet parking to bring the cars - it was packed!

Emily, Hiro and I left and went to pick up their friend Bryan. Hiro is Emily's boyfriend and works for the state in I believe Infectious Disease. Emily is an epidemiologist who is the PRAMS coordinator in Department of  Health Family Services Division. Bryan is an epidemiologist who works at Diamond Head Health Center which is I believe an STD clinic. Bryan just moved here from Louisiana (where Emily and Hiro went to grad school at Tulane). I am so happy to have met so many wonderful new people and learn about their experiences and talk story with them.

We then went to a Bon dance at University of Hawaii. I took lots of photos but I can't really explain any of them. A Bon dance is a Japanese ceremony to honor those who have departed. There is food, beverages and dancing. The dancing is a LOT of fun. The dances they did tonight are fairly simple and they repeat the music twice. Once so you can learn the dance and then a second time to hopefully perform it. It is sort of like Japanese line dancing, in a circle, in these kimono-like garments. It was a lot of fun and I want to go to more of these!

You buy scrip and make your purchases with those. Here is a menu to give you an idea how much things will cost to help you decide how much scrip to buy. As you can see, the food options are quite different from Kentucky!

I didn't try a kimono dog - I couldn't get past the image of eating Odie (the dachshund at home for those of you who don't know, his nickname is Schnouticus).

I tried a bite of mochi - it is kind of a gooey rice based dessert. I liked the texture but it doesn't have a lot of flavor by itself. It has flour on it to keep from sticking to the other pieces. Mochi is VERY popular here.

This is butter mochi - it tastes like sugar cookie dough!

This is konnyaku with miso sauce. It is kindof like chewy extra firm jello, with a miso sauce (fermented soybeans and shoyu). It was... interesting. I still can't decide if I did or didn't like it. I think it grows on you. I think i'd like it if I could keep trying it.

Okay, this was too cute to pass up. A make-it-yourself peanut butter and chocolate sandwich kit.

This is the Buddhist temple where they Bon dance was held. Also, photos of the shrine and some other carvings around the temple.

 Yes, this sign DOES say "Please do NOT touch food or leave food here".

 There is a water spigot here with a long handled dipper. You fill the dipper and pour water respectfully over the Budda's heads. It is part of the healing prayer listed on the sign below.

Bryan on the left, Emily in the center, and Hiro on the right.

 Me and the guys.

Me and Emily.

We left and walked back to the car while Emily told us stories of her family. They drove me home and we made plans to do breakfast in the morning. This whole day has been quite lovely and full of wonderful people, great food and amazing cultural experiences. I am so incredibly thankful to have these opportunities. It is very late now and Emily and Hiro will be picking me up at 8:30. So off to bed for me!

E pili mau na pomaika`i ia `oe, (May blessings ever be with you)
~Melissa

Edits, olympics and sorbetto

August 2, 2012

`Olu`olu komo mai (Please come in.) Pehea oukou? (How are you all?)

Today was thankfully a calm day. I went in early to get some time in on the DVFR since I lost a day and a half of work. The morning was spent mainly looking for information in case files, verifying information, and discussions with Ann and Tod to clarify some thoughts about DVFR. I had a couple of pauses to do paperwork that needed to be done. Minini (small) interruptions. Otherwise it was a productive morning.

Lunch was a variety of leftovers, so no photos and nothing interesting to talk about. Blah. I was happy to get back to work. A slight delay ensued because I found another case file. After verifying that it SHOULD be entered I entered it into the DVFR SPSS data. UGH. This changes every single table and chart I'd made, as well as most calculations in the narrative of the DVFR report. I spent the rest of the afternoon redoing the tables and charts. Tomorrow I will replace the current ones in the report with the corrected tables, charts and graphs. Then I will go through the narrative and make the needed calculation changes there as well.

I left work and paused to take a picture. This is the building on the corner where my friends Emily and Jane work on Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS). This is also where the CDC Epidemiologist is housed and a variety of other work is done. I walk by it daily and couldn't recall if I had shared a photo.

I saw an interesting something hanging from a bush? I don't know if it is a climbing vine taking advantage of the structure of the bush or if it is part of the bush itself. I have NO IDEA what these hanging fruit/pod/whatevers are. I figured I'd take a photo and maybe someone can enlighten me.

 I was walking home and I saw this pale purple flower. I didn't notice it this morning. It was a nice newcomer to the scene of my walk home.

 Once I started on the last part of my walk home I paused to take a couple of photos. The sky looked lovely and the ocean beautiful as always. I wanted to share this with everyone.

 I got home and realized I've never shared the obstacle course of entering the building. Usually there are a variety of shoes and slippers (flip flops we call them at home) outside the door since we don't wear shoes inside. Then you enter and there is a rug to help catch sand and dust from feet. The rug is usually rumpled and a wonderful way to trip people. Then there is the possibility of Suffice to say, you ALWAYS turn on the light if it is dark outside so you don't trip and go crashing into the wall or floor.

 I wasn't hungry for a big dinner (just munchy hungry) so I just had a few pieces of jerky. I had some tidying to do downstairs from where I cooked last night. I needed to get that done so the other ladies in the house could use the kitchen without piles of clean dishes everywhere. I watched the olympics and nibbled on Tostitos with a hint of lime. YUM. I love those. I have salsa but I don't even need it. I just eat the tortilla chips and am happy. They are also gluten free. I try to remember when I find things that are since I know people who can't have gluten or have family who cannot have gluten.

I ended my evening by finishing off the Talenti Blood Orange sorbetto. It is dangerously good. I absolutely LOVE Talenti. My favorites are a toss up between the toasted almond or the coconut. Jeff got me addicted to them. I try to keep some in the freezer. Usually just a spoonful or two will be good. I don't need to sit and eat a whole container or anything. I've been eating on this container since the week after I arrived. And I am finishing it almost  a week before I leave. So not bad!If you have never tried it you should do so. It is expensive compared to cheap ice creams, but no more so than going to an ice cream store and getting a pint there. This isn't a load big scoops into a bowl or make into a milkshake type of dessert. This is gelato or sorbetto and it is wonderful. Savor it. Jeff's favorite is the caribbean coconut. I notmally don't care for coconut desserts where the coconut is the focus. However, I absolutely LOVE the carribean coconut they make. I am convinced it is my favorite till I have some toasted almond then i realize it is my favorite. Repeat. I've tried about half of the other flavors. The tahitian vanilla bean, belgian milk chocolate, black cherry, sicilian pistachio, and roman raspberry I thought were good but not amazing. I also had a peach champagne flavor that I don't see on their site which I didn't care for much. I really enjoyed the blood orange sorbetto. I see on the website they have several new flavors. I'll have to try those!

I am pondering what to do this weekend. Tomorrow night is pau hana (after work) at Sam Choy's then a Bon dance afterwards. I'm sure I'll have a lot to share from that. I'd like to do something this weekend but I am not sure what exactly.

For now it is time for bed. I hope to wake up early and be at work by 7 to get going on finishing the report. I am going to try finishing the last bit of a kindle book I am reading that isn't great. It isn't even good really. I don't feel the need to share the info because I have no intentions of recommending anyone read it. I have to say, it has been great to read at night to put me to sleep. Better than a Tylenol PM.

A hui kaua, (Until we meet again)
~Melissa

Kiss My Grits and making dinner.

August 1, 2012

Today was a completely unproductive day. I wasn't able to use my computer until around 3pm. I tried logging on and using another machine but I couldn't access my data to do much work. So basically another lost day of productivity. First thing this morning I had a meeting with Terri, the branch chief. Shortly thereafter I carefully recorded everything about yesterday and sent that to Terri. So from here out I can hopefully move on and administration can handle things however they see fit. Specifics are not necessary, nor will they be shared here. I will say it has been highly stressful and impacted my productivity for a day and a half. However, hopefully my part in doing anything is over or nearly so.

Tomorrow I plan to hit the ground running and try to get as much done as possible. we are in the final portion of the report writing. I have several specifics I have to look up and find from the data. Also confirming a few numbers that were in previous reports that we have different numbers. Validity. It is like a religious mantra :) I actually really love the office I am in. It is nice to have Ann right next door to ask questions and discuss the report and other projects. I haven't been able to talk with her as much lately because my ankle has been getting worse and I have tried not to walk down the hall to her office as often. So this is ideal.

This day was phenomenally stressful. Ann had brought her car knowing that today would be a difficult day. So for lunch I asked where we could get some "comfort food". I wasn't up to trying new things today. Ann suggested a place called Kiss My Grits Southern Style biscuits and barbeque. This was the sign outside the door. It was very cute.

Here is the indoor and outdoor seating.

This place was a small but homey atmosphere. The staff were very attentive but not annoying. I really enjoyed it and highly recommend this place. The food was EXCELLENT. I started with sweet tea. The tea was brewed not instant. It was sweetened with honey instead of cane sugar. It was very tasty. Served in a mason jar of course! I had 4 glasses/jars full. I was thirsty and I miss sweet iced tea!!!

We all shared a plate of fried green tomatoes. They served a warm pimento cheese sauce on the side. It wasn't like the pimento cheese we have at home, it was a melted cheese with pimentos. It tasted good though after trying it I preferred to eat my fried green tomatoes without any sauce. There were many slices and they were coated with a mixture of flour and cornmeal. This was excellent. Not too salty but nice and flavorful. They were crispy and not mushy. VERY good. I forgot to take a picture until there was only one left. It is on the right and the pimento sauce in the bottom center. The left is honey butter that came with the hushpuppies on the top.

 Ann got the fried catfish po'boy sandwich with slaw and the hushpuppies on the picture above. She seemed to like it.

 Lisa got a lunch special of fried catfish, a yeast roll, collard greens, sweet potato casserole and fried okra. There was also a deviled egg. I tried a bite of the sweet potato casserole. it had butter and cinnamon and a whipped consistency which had them been baked. It was good but I was full already. The fried okra was very good. The first okra of any variety that i actually liked.

 I got breakfast. 2 eggs over medium and country ham. It came with grits and I asked them to add cheese and garlic. The cheese they understood but the garlic stumped them. I told them to just chop some fresh or even add some powdered garlic powder to the grits. They were happy to do so and only charged $1.00 for the extra cheese on this HUGE serving of grits. It also came with what they call a "cat head biscuit" because they are about the size of a cat's head. How can I not love a place that has cat head biscuits. It was good (not my grandmother's) but tasted good. It was a dense heavy biscuit and quite large. It came with a side of strawberry jam and honey butter. I ate some of it with jam and some with country ham. Everything was super good and horrible for me.

After we ate we went back to the office. We had hoped my computer could be moved. Ann had gotten tired of waiting and went down to my old office and just disconnected and moved it herself. She set it all up and reconnected everything in the new office space. By the time it was up and running and I made sure the internet connect worked it was almost time to go. I had been trying to call and answer some questions the contractor working on the Filipino data had but couldn't reach her. So I answered my work e-mails and sent responses to the contractor then was done for the day.

Ann was leaving also since it was almost 4:30 so she dropped me off at home. I had a video chat with Scott to catch up on things at home. After that I went downstairs and cooked dinner for Romi, Tracy and myself. I baked 3" pie shells. I diced and seasoned potatoes then stuck them in the oven to bake. Meanwhile I chopped up veggies (green beans, zucchini, eggplant, onion and fresh garlic) and sauteed them since I needed to get them cooked. I sauteed onion and fresh garlic, thawed organic frozen chopped spinach and put those all in the pie crusts. Add shredded cheddar cheese and 3 eggs each and bake.

This is the sauteed onion, garlic, eggplant, zucchini and green beans. I had a little chopped spinach left so I threw that in also. Added a little cilantro also.

 Diced potatoes thrown in a plastic chopping bag. Add one packet Lipton Onion Soup Mix. Shake. Dump onto an aluminum foil covered baking sheet (the sheets here suck because they are abused horribly so you need to use foil). Ideally spray the foil or use no-stick foil or a coated baking pan sprayed with Pam or a no-stick spray. I didn't use anything and they came off the foil with a little effort just fine. I don't like the extra oiliness. These were very good.

 I didn't eat all my quiche. Added the few leftover potatoes and put it in a baggie. This will reheat nicely for breakfast or lunch tomorrow.

I cut the dragon fruit and we ate those while we waited for everything to finish. It is a texture like a kiwi but with a very mild but delicious flavor. Slightly sweet but not overly sweet.

We all sat and watched the olympics while I cooked and we ate. We had a nice time chatting and watching these incredible athletes. Congrats to Team USA swimmers and all the athletes who participate whether they have won or not! What an amazing experience to be part of the olympics.

That is all for today. What a nice note to end the day on. Now it is time to get to sleep since I didn't hardly sleep last night. Tomorrow will hopefully be a wonderful day.

Malama pono, (Take care)
~Melissa

Tuesday (Part 2): Sweet Home Waimanalo and work

July 31, 2012

We arrived at a restaurant called Sweet Home Waimanalo. Sweet Home Waimanalo (this is their website link) is a small locally owned and run restaurant and shop. They have a rooftop garden and grow a lot of their own organic food. They also buy local organic food to use. They use biodegradable dishes, cups and utensils. It is just nice to eat and not feel bad that I am filling a landfill with plastic. They had a lovely mural on the side of the building.

Lisa got the kalua pork sandwich which comes with bok choy slaw. She got a side order of corn on the cob. I had a taste of the kalua pork and it was very good and smoky flavored.

Ann got the beef brisket on a demi baguette which came with bok choy slaw. She also got the hibiscus lemonade with mint. I tried a sip of the hibiscus lemonade. It was good but a little flowery tasting for my liking - I have to admit it is a neat idea and it was tasty to try.

I got the salmon burger which came with bok choy slaw. I didn't like the bok choy slaw at all - very bland but at least it was super fresh and crunchy. The salmon burger was AMAZING - by far the best i have ever had. It was served on a whole grain bun with cucumber slices, shiso leaves (a really great herb that to me tastes like a cross between basil and marjoram. There was a thin slice of grilled pineapple and very mild wasabi mayo. The salmon burger itself was not "fishy" tasting. Instead it has a mellow taste of good salmon, finely ground and mixed with a bit of curry and some other herbs and spices I couldn't identify. It was a bit crumbly and had a very thin crisp crust on the grilled patty - maybe mixed with some very finely ground corn meal or something similar? I got a side order of corn on the cob which was super sweet and juicy. I really like fresh corn and was happy to have added it on. I ordered the ginger honey mint lemonade and it was fantastic. I am REALLY going to miss all the fresh lemon juice lemonade when I go home.

 The shiso leaves are on the left on top of the bun. It was a very delicious addition.

We finished eating and got back on the road to the office. Here are some photos from the drive back. We had a rousing discussion about education and math, science and critical thinking skills. I am going to miss having such great discussions with Ann and Lisa.

 The water is on the right, but we were on the way back, I think the road curves around a bay and crosses a bridge over the bay water or something.

We stopped at a roadside stand where a Hawaiian man was using a machete to cut open green coconuts. I took video of this process.

This was the opened coconut with a straw in the hole to drink the coconut water.

Ann and I shared the coconut water. It was not as strong tasting as when the coconuts are older. Then once we'd finished the water the man cut it open so we could get to the inside. It was young enough to have the soft gelled young coconut flesh they call "spoon meat" here. It has a consistency a lot like soft jello. I took more video.

After this we went back to work. I went and started working on more editing for the DVFR. An office issue arose that derailed my progress for the rest of the afternoon. However, something good has come of this event. I am moving offices down to the empty office right next to Ann's. This was Rose Marie's office but she isn't here right now. That will save me a LOT of walking down the long hallway each day when Ann and I have questions or need to talk to each other. Since I didn't have a phone and we were on opposite ends of the hall my ankle was getting quite sore from the repeated trips.

So, tomorrow hopefully my computer will be moved and I can get back to work on this report. I am not very experienced with writing data analysis reports yet so I am a bit slow on this process. The plan is to get this report finished and sent out for draft review by supervisors this week. That way I can spend my final week fine tuning or finding lit review sources so we can see about also adapting the report into a publishable article. Lots to do so I hope I get my computer back up and running as early as possible tomorrow.

I am phenomenally stressed at this point and am looking forward to being done and going home. I will recall the wonderful adventures, the amazing plants and scenery, and just the incredible experience of a lifetime. I will also use this experience to think very seriously about what the future holds and try to make decisions to minimize similar situational stresses.

How about a little soothing music to end this busy and stressful day?

Aloha ahiahi, (Good evening)
~Melissa

Tuesday (Part 1): 3 kittens and drive to Waimanalo

July 31, 2012

Aloha kakou! (Aloha to all!) Welcome to the last day of July. Time is really flying by towards the end of my time here. Two weeks left. So much left to do.

I woke up, got ready and got to work at 7:15. On my way up the stairs I saw the 2 kittens. So a two kitten morning. They were sleepy and sprawled out looking cute. I went on to the office and got settled in. Ann stopped by and I mentioned the kittens. I showed her where they were and they had been joined by a third! There are really 3 kittens over there! So it was a 3 kitten morning. Seeing such cute and healthy kittens always makes me smile. Ann brought in dried breadfruit. It tastes just like baked lays when it is dehydrated!

So Ann was finished with writing the DVFR report other than a couple of sections which I'll be doing. So I sat down and made some edits and went to talk to her about them. There was a lot to go over. We had some questions on methodology we needed to know so we asked Tod since he had worked on DVFR in the past. He answered a lot of questions. I had a quick chat with Lynn (she is the violence supervisor? - not sure her exact title) to ask if there were documented procedures that would answer these methodology issues and found out that somewhere is a DVFR policy manual! She mentioned she, Helene and Ann had a meeting after lunch to discuss a grant they are working on so I headed off to find Ann. It was lunchtime so since Lisa brought her car we went to Waimanalo since I hadn't been there. Ann and I discussed the DVFR and thoughts on how to address some issues we were needing to define in the report. I also asked her to check with Lynn and Helene after the meeting on the DVFR policy manual and to ask Helene for any more information that might help. So we drove and talked while I took pictures. The drive was lovely and soothing. These pictures are from a moving car. I wish I could go sit and take tons of video. The waves were pretty high and active today.

I have lots more to post so splitting this into multiple posts. To be continued...

Aloha!
~Melissa