A normal day, food and Google directions

June 26, 2012

I woke to rain. It was 3am so it was peaceful to go back to sleep to the sound of the rain outside. I woke again at 6 with the alarm and it was still raining. I took my time getting ready for work and timed my leaving to coincide with the rain letting up. I went in at 7:30 so it was still early. My ankle was a bit mroe tender walking in to work this morning, but still doing fine. I saw this growing on a tree on the way to work. I have seen these before (and even taken a picture and put it on the blog) but I still have no idea what this fruit/whatever is called. I'll ask the folks at work tomorrow.

Work was... well... work. Ann and I met early and reorganized the paper files for the Domestic Violence Fatality Review (DVFR). We then spoke with Rose Marie regarding her comments and suggestions for the Hawaii Sexual Health Survey (HSHS). We decided on a few changed to the demographics and discussed the importance of being able to compare our data with published data (BRFSS and NISVS especially). I stopped by Lisa's office on the way back to mine and she had picked up food. I had a piece of some sort of cooked tuna sushi. It was tasty. I wasn't very hungry so I just had the one piece. She also gave me the bento you will see below.

I made the changes to the HSHS demographics section and a few other changes Ann wanted. Ann had a meeting so I worked till lunch on the DVFR data. I had some questions I needed to ask Ann so I went ahead and had lunch. I shared the last of the pasta salad I had made with Susan. She brought in carrots, olives, honeydew melon, tomatoes, spinach and some sort of pumpernickel bread that was not like any I had ever had before (it was compressed) to go with the pasta salad. I had a bite of everything from the bento but closed it up to take home for dinner and ate the veggies and pasta for lunch.

These are pickled fiddlehead ferns. Lois brought these back from the big island and pickled them. she brought them to lunch to share. They are very good. They have a texture like a green bean, but taste slightly different. I liked them :)

The afternoon went quickly. Susan was kind enough to make us each a cup of ginger and lemongrass tea. I got with Ann and got my questions answered so I could work more on the DVFR. I was going over the list of barriers and recommendations. coding those, then entering the data and getting frequencies. I got that all ready to show Ann tomorrow and tidies it into some charts and a graph. By then my ankle was really hurting for some reason. Thankfully, it was the end of my workday. I went home and propped up my ankle while I chatted with folks from home and snacked a bit on some chips and salsa.

After talking with folks from home I had the bento that Lisa was so generous and got for me. I stayed off my feet and kept my ankle propped up, though it is still hurting. The bruises are getting better, there is definite improvement and healing.

So now I am about to curl up with a cup of homemade hot chocolate (a gift from the Sunday evening potluck made by Maddy to each of the household members). It is cooler than usual, probably due to the rain today, and therefore a great night for hot chocolate.

 When I went to get the hot water I met Erin's mother. she is staying for 10 days as a guest in the house (only $21 a night sharing Erin's room!!!!). It is good that she can come visit Erin, they are so excited. Erin is an undergrad and probably only about 21 or 22. Her Mom has never been to hawaii and is very happy to get to see both her daughter and the island. I have some ideas for places to stay much cheaper than hotels cost if anyone decided they ever want to come to Honolulu. Unfortunately I can't make the flights cheaper. As Scott found out, you can plan to kayak across the Pacific Ocean for 2,756 miles to save a few bucks! Do a google maps search from Lexington, KY to Honolulu, HI.

	33. Turn left to stay on NE Northlake Way
		79 ft
	34. Turn right to stay on NE Northlake Way
		1.0 mi
	35. Kayak across the Pacific Ocean Entering Hawaii
		2,756 mi
	36. Continue straight
		0.1 mi
	37. Turn left onto Kuilima Dr
		0.5 mi
	38. Take the 3rd right onto HI-83 W
		12.4 mi
	39. Continue straight onto HI-99 S/Kamehameha Hwy

I'm going to watch an episode of Angel on Netflix and head to bed. Tomorrow is a training 9-12 downtown at the State Department of Health building. I haven't been inside it yet, though I have seen it from the street. I can luckily catch a ride there with Rose Marie from work rather than taking the bus. We will meet Ann and Lisa there. Ann and I can ride back with Lisa when it is over. The plan is to get some lunch down there before we head back to the office. I would like to go to the zoo tomorrow evening if it isn't rainy or wet - assuming my ankle is up to it. I'm trying to stay off it tonight and ice it to help the swelling go back down. This needs to get better quickly, i have things to do!

Malama pono, (take care)
~Melissa

Data, hurricane popcorn and flowers

June 25, 2012

I woke up this morning to rain. It hasn't rained much since I have been here - this is the dry season. So I dawdled a bit getting ready to see if it would slack off a bit for my walk to work. It did, so that was nice. There was only a light misty rain as I walked. I got to work and got settled. As I was making my morning cup of coffee infused vanilla almond milk I looked outside and there was a beautiful rainbow. I couldn't get a good picture but I did get this not-so-great picture.

I spent the day dealing with murder data. The connection at work was SO SLOW today. It was a struggle to gt to the data I needed. I was looking on the Hawaii Attorney General, FBI and Judicial Branch websites to get the Universal Crime Statistics. The FBI and Judicial Branch sites have interactive data tables you can customize!!! WOOHOO! So i can build tables based on Hawaii (or any state or states) compared to National stats for violent crime, murders, separated by age, gender and type of crime. It is AWESOME!!!! I know... this is probably less than exciting for most people but for me it is really neat. Ann was out so I spent the morning looking through data sets and breaking down total murders for the counties of Hawaii per year. The numbers are too small to report year by year, so I then compiled it into a 10 year average for all the stats. The end result? Well, who knows. Meaning I don't know that we can use any of it but it was interesting. Maybe we can use something in it as a line or two. UGH.

Lunch was leftover pasta salad from the potluck last night. I was trying not to do stairs if I could avoid it so I ate with Lisa in her office since the conference room was being used. We each had some pasta salad. She had a little and a sandwich from home. I had more and no sandwich. Lisa also made some popcorn. It is a Hawaiian popcorn mix that comes with the microwave popcorn bag, a packet of liquid butter (butter flavored oil like at the movies), furikake and mochi arrare. You put it all in the plastic bag that comes with it and shake, and you have a very yummy snack!

The afternoon I worked with more data. At 2:30 Ann, Tod and Christy and I all met to go over the Domestic Violence Fatality Review history. Tod and Christy both used to work on it before they went on to other things. We found out some interesting and useful information. We also found out that they had the original review forms! Christy got the key for the locked cabinet and now I have access tot he original data forms! She also had an excel file that has more of the barriers and recommendations data that didn't make it into the database. This is excellent! So I/we will look over that tomorrow and see what all is there. This would have all been handy from the beginning.

I talked to Ann about working on finalizing the survey questions. Rose Marie gave us her edits and suggestions this afternoon. Ann and I will meet tomorrow to go over them in more depth. We will also try to do a quick meeting with Family Planning to explain the survey purpose. Then they can meet amongst themselves to determine their input on their survey questions. We also need to touch base with Venie in STD's to get her thoughts and suggestions. Basically, just trying to get the survey questions finalized so I can start entering it into Survey Monkey. That way it would be ready for the branch to pilot whenever Ann is ready - probably fall when the students return since it will be piloted at UH (University of Hawaii).

So, the workday over I walked home slowly. My ankle was a bit tender but otherwise ok. I took my time and took some lovely pictures of the blooming flowers. Susan, I haven't posted as many flowers lately so I thought you might like these.

Now for some Angel on Netflix. I'm on season 1, episode 10. I'll prop my ankle up and relax a bit. Then read a bit and head to bed early. The ankle is doing better and the bruises fading. A few more days of being easy on it and I think it'll be ok. Stairs hurt and going up and down hills, but otherwise I am fine. So no worries on that anymore.

Malama pono, (take care)
~Melissa

Kahala Mall and House Potluck

June 24, 2012

Sunday and the ankle was improved immensely. However, I had to go to the grocery. I used the last of my toothpaste last night and that is not something I can do without. So I woke up this morning and puttered around a bit here, then set off to Kahala Mall and the grocery there. As I was walking down the hill I saw the bus that I was going to catch drive off. ARGH. It was almost 10 minutes early!!!! So I got frustrated and just walked to the mall. It's only 1.2 miles and no uphills. My ACE wrap was in place and my ankle felt fine with it on. The walk was pleasant, I went slowly. I found some pretty bushes along the way.

I was walking along and realized I had found Times Supermarket (by the mall). So I went inside to check it out. I wasn't impressed. I got my toothpaste, bag of shell pasta and then went on to the mall. Why go to the mall? WHOLE FOODS! Love that place. There I got the other food items I needed for the week: a sourdough batard (which I had them slice), some frozen tamales, an Amy's Burrito Especial (with green chiles, black beans, tomatoes and rice - YUM), 2 bottles of organic lemonade - 1 strawberry lemonade and one raspberry lemonade (they were on sale 2 for $4, the cherry lemonade was sold out but it was super good when I got it before), frozen mixed veggies, Hellman's mayonnaise, Maui lettuce, the house brand medium salsa and blue & white corn tortilla chips, a new container of almond milk and some ranch dressing. They have a deli there and I picked up a ham and turkey sandwich on fresh french bread, garlic aoili, pesto, swiss cheese, tomato and lettuce. Sorry if my grocery list is boring but I am writing it to help myself remember what I got so I can remember what I like and don't like for future trips. Had a sample of this Parrano cheese - it is amazingly good. Like a parmesan/romano blend but a million times better. They rarely have cheese samples out since cheese is so expensive here. I didn't get any due to cost but it was great.

I cut through the mall to get to the return bus stop and I saw these bags in a shop. When you look over and see yourself on something you have to get a better look.
This is me:

This is Michael:

I caught the bus home... or rather I caught the bus to the closest stop to home. This stop is on 18th Avenue. I then get to hike up an incredibly steep and long hill to almost the VERY top where the house is located. Let me tell you, hiking up that hill with heavy groceries SUCKS IMMENSELY. There is a reason I go often and buy small amounts. This is what I refer to as "The Hill of DOOM". I am standing at my house driveway. Look alllllllll the way down to the bottom where it levels out - that is 18th street and my bus stop is around the corner to the right. People from work don't even like to drive down this hill.

So I got home and put away the groceries. I rested my ankle for about 30 minutes while I cooled down. Afterwards it was downstairs to start cooking for the house potluck tonight! I decided to make a pasta salad. I put the water on to boil and cut a lemon (from Lisa's tree in her yard) and tossed it in the pot. As the water started heating I took out the lemon and squeezed all the juice out, careful not to get seeds in the pot of water. The slight heating allowed me to get a lot more juice in a much easier way, as well as a bit of the oils into the water. Once that was boiling I put in my bag of pasta shells and cooked till tender. I drained those and added in my bag of frozen mixed veggies (corn, peas, carrots, limas, and green beans) and just let the heat from the pasta thaw them. I added in about 1/2 cup of Hellman's mayonnaise and 1/2 cup of ranch dressing. I removed the leaves from a handful of cilantro stalks and finely chopped the leaves only and added those and about a teaspoon of black pepper. Stir well and stick in a gallon bag. I stuck it in the refrigerator to chill.It was a success. The pasta had a pleasant citrusy lemon taste without it tasting acidic. It was tasty!

Here are the ladies that live here and Paul (the culinary student in the guy's house). We were all cooking together. I was done cooking early so while mine was chilling I just relaxed in the sitting area by the kitchen with my ankle elevated and was social.

This is Ana. She is at the Waikiki aquarium this summer on internship. She made a cheesy dip.

This is Jen. She is a NOAA summer intern also. She made a yummy Bavarian torte. This was a little scary because she tells a story about making brownies for her class. When her mom went to cut them to stack them nicely on a plate she found a paper towel baked into the brownies. To this day Jen doesn't know how the paper towel got into the brownie batter. However, the torte was delicious tonight :)

This is Erin. She is a NOAA summer intern also. She made baked beans!

This is Maddy. She is a NOAA summer intern also. She made bacon wrapped stuffed dates.

This is Yu. She is a Sport Science student at KCC (Kapiolani Community College) here from Japan. She is also a yoga instructor. She made a yummy fruit plate.

This is Emma. She is also a NOAA summer intern. She made eggplant parmesan.

This is Paul (he is at the guy's house) but was using our oven. He is a culinary student at KCC. He made a delicious roast pork that he shredded. He also baked homemade ciabatta rolls. Put them together and you get delicious pulled pork sliders!

This is Nikki, she is the property manager. She made the slaw seen above, and these yummy adult popsicle. These are on Hello Kitty popsicle bases. The one I had was POG (pinapple-orange-guava juice with vodka) and she made pina colada (coconut milk, pineapple juice and rum). I had a taste of the pina colada ones and they were GREAT too.

Here we all are eating!The potluck was delicious food and it was great to get to meet everyone. There were a few guests also.

This is Ran, she is upstairs in the house with me but didn't come to the gathering.She is a friend of Sayuri.

I don't have photos of Nazomi and Sayuri. They both are really good surfers. Nozomi is a student at UH (University of Hawaii) and if I recall she is studying International Relations or something like that. I am sorry but I don't have a picture of her yet .Sayuri is/was a professional surfer. We have short and long surfboards here in the hallways. Sayuri Hashimoto is her name if you want to look her up online. I don't see much of Nomomi or Sayuri but both are very nice.

That is it for today. My ankle is a bit swollen but is doing alright. I think the worst is over. I'll just avoid hiking anywhere for a bit and I'll be fine :) Pain is under control and I am having no problems. I'll ice it and elevate it tonight before bed just to be safe. All is well and I'm ready for a good night's sleep!

Malama pono, (be well)
~Melissa

Birds at the zoo

June 23, 2012

Today I did absolutely nothing of any noteworthiness. I woke up, tested my ankle, it still hurt a lot, went back to sleep. I did not go to the farmer's market, to St. Andrews Church for the craft and bake sale, nor even downstairs here at the house. i didn't even make food - I had some of the buffalo jerky and dried cherries Jeff sent. I did get a couple of bottles of water from the fridge but otherwise stayed off my feet.

So I figured this would be a good chance to share some of what I learned at the zoo.

1) Parrots are the only bird that eat with their feet. They grasp items and raise them to their beak in with their foot, much like a human holds something in our hand and brings it to our mouth to bite.

2) The Wrinkled Hornbill, and several other types of birds I saw, are on the endangered list because they are "cavity nesters". The wrinkled hornbill will go find a hole or crevice in a tree that nature or some other creature has made and abandoned and uses that to nest. They do not make their own nests - if they can't find anything suitable they just don't breed. The male/female bond is a lifetime bond. The female is very selective about choosing a mate - the reason comes clean when you know their breeding style. Once a breeding pair finds a suitable nest, they do whatever it is they do to fertilize the eggs. Then the female enters the nesting cavity and they use a combination of spit and soil to build a wall enclosing her inside the nest. They leave an opening only large enough for the male to place his beak inside. The female lays the eggs and will remain inside to warm the eggs until the babies hatch and are several weeks old. There are usually an average of 3-5 eggs. During this time, the female and babies are completely dependent ont he male to find and bring them food. So you can see why the female is very choosy about her mate - she is literally depending on him not to let her starve to death. People find the nests and tear it apart to steal the eggs or baby chicks to hand raise as pets. Even if they do not capture the female the nest is completely destroyed. This means that not only are the babies lost tot he wild but the nest is destroyed. There are not unlimited suitable nesting options for this bird, so the loss of a cavity nest means the loss of possibly several breeding cycles while they hunt for another suitable nest option. These birds only breed once or twice a year. The zoo has a mating pair that has had over a dozen successful breeding seasons. Once the babies are old enough they go to other zoos, so they can be introduced to others of their kind to find a mate. Once mates select each other they are placed in zoos as a mated pair. The goal is to increase the number of birds and then reintroduce them to the wild, with assistance from park rangers in ensuring their cavity nests they find aren't destroyed.

3) Each day at the zoo there are children's activities offered. The main activity is where the children prepare snacks and treats for the birds and other animals. For the birds, sometimes it is spearing a carrot or fruit on a stick that is then wedged into a crevice in a tree in their habitat. Sometimes it is placing seeds, nuts and other treats like carrot slices into paper bags which are then folded up and speared in a twig by the bird caregivers. They place the treat bags in different locations, not just one single location every time. The birds have to use their beaks to tear into the paper bag and hunt out the treats. This is not only a source of entertainment for the birds, but it also gives the children a way to see their activity getting used for the animals - to form an attachment between the children and the animals. Birds in the wild don't have food just given to them, they have to find it and usually get to it. Some of the birds in the zoo are zoo bred and raised and some are wild captures, though they try to only keep the ones in the zoo here that cannot be rehabilitated and sent back tot he wild. For example, if a bird has a wing or foot injury that would prevent it finding food then releasing it into the wild would basically mean it's death. However, there is no reason it cannot breed healthy babies that can help repopulate the wild. Anyway, I thought it was neat that they use a children's activity to help entertain and also bring out those hunting food instincts. Sometimes the birds find the treats and sometimes they don't. But they continually are on the lookout to try to find the tasty snacks.

4) The Victoria Crowned Pigeon is a really beautiful bird. It is absolutely gorgeous. This is to its detriment since it is being hunted to extinction from the millinery trade. That is, the hat trade. Instead of gathering feathers that have been lost they kill the entire bird to gather every feather. However, this means the bird is dead. Feathers are a renewable resource that unfortunately too many people are ignoring in their rush for the immediate reward. They have this beautiful blue to their feathers, a red iris in the eye, and a lovely feathered crest on their heads.They are the largest breed of pigeon. I included the second short video so you could see their size relative to a human.

5) The Pacific Golden Plover is called the kolea by the Hawaiians. It goes to Alasks to have it's young, and when they are a few months old the parents all get together and fly away to Hawaii and their winter nesting grounds. The babies stay in Alaska, then after a few months they all take off and fly to Hawaii or other areas in the tropical Pacific. They fly in huge migratory flocks. They stay in the Pacific to winter, then all fly back to Alaska. Each bird has a specific location they return to, both in the Pacific and Alaska. It is amazing that they can instinctively navigate to a tiny island in the middle of a HUGE ocean and find the same location. They fly 3-4 days straight with no stopping for food, water or rest to get to their Pacific location, then repeat this to go back to Alaska. So when the adults and babies all return to Alaska they are reunited. It is pretty amazing. I included a video that explains it better.

I am hoping to go learn more about the animals that they have here. This week's tour way on birds, hence all the bird information. I'm not normally much of a bird person, but that was interesting to me so I am sharing it.

Aloha!
~Melissa

Pau Hana, Hank's Haute Dogs, and changing stories

June 22, 2012

I slowly made my way into work this morning. My ankle is quite painful. The ACE wrap helps while walking a lot. I went in a bit later, at 8 instead of 7, but I knew I'd be staying a bit later anyway at the end of the day. It is FRIDAY!!!!!

Today was data data data. Sorting through data to set up charts, graphs, and just determining what is significant and what is not. data is a tricky thing and not as straightforward as it seems. It is not just counting 1, 2, 3... it is determining what SHOULD be counted, and what it is compared to... a number that seems significant when compared to what is normal may not be significant after all. We are starting to look into population totals for the state of Hawaii and the counties. The problem is the numbers we are working with for comparison are small, so anything seems significant and we are trying to be very careful not to make a mountain out of a molehill.

For lunchtime Ann needed to go to the post office to pick up a package. She offered to drive me home to get my items and take me to the post office where I could get a box to put it all into. My original plan was to separate everything into small baggies so everyone at home could try some of everything. Then people could let me know what they liked and I could bring home bigger bags for them, while not bringing what nobody liked. However, my ankle has been quite painful and I am a wimp. I didn't want to open the sealed bags too soon and risk things getting stale. However, the last 2 nights I was in a lot of pain and didn't feel up to arranging everything. So here is the new plan: I shipped everything home to my house. It should arrive Monday. From there, Scott, Michael, Jeff and Rob you all need to congregate and separate things, or try things and send the rest home with whomever likes the items. There is a variety of macadamia nuts, candies and other consumable items. I apologize for not getting it separated. There are a couple of things specifically for one or two people, I'll clarify once the package arrives.

So witht he packaged shipped we headed to lunch. Ann wanted to go to Hank's Haute Dogs. This place has gourmet hot dogs and was on Man vs. Food and Diners, Drive-ins and Dives (DDD)on the Food Network. I thought my foodie friends would especially like to hear about this place. They have normal hot dogs and specialty dogs like chorizo, brats, and anduille sausages. They also have daily special sausages that range from wild boar, chicken , buffalo, lobster,  to duck sausage with foie gras. They also serve twice cooked fries, onion rings, black truffle mac-n-cheese and french fries cooked in duck fat.

Ann got the 2 mini dog combo with onion rings (made with Maui onions) and a hibiscus lemonade.

Lisa got the Chicago dog with double cooked fries and soda. The pickle (along the top, kindof looks like bun in this photo) was sprinkled with celery salt, which was SUPER GOOD. Lisa let Ann and I split the pickle :)

I got the daily special - a Fat Boy Lobster Dog, double cooked fries and hibiscus lemonade. A fat bog dog is any of the hot dogs wrapped in bacon and deep fried. HEHEHE. I couldn't resist. I mean, seriously? The lobster dog is lobster, scallops and fish all shredded and made into a sausage. The was wrapped in bacon and deep fried. I couldn't imagine finding this ANYWHERE else, so I had to try it. It was AWESOME. The hibiscus lemonade was also very good. The hibiscus was mild, adding a delightful flavor but not making it taste perfume-like.

I took these while waiting for the food. The kitchen and prep area. Also a Spam lamp... I couldn't believe it.

So the work week has ended... so what does that mean??? PAU HANA!!!!!! We went to Sam Choi's!

We had a ton of appetizers: salad, spicy edamame (the spicy dipping sauce was on the side so it was optional), chicken wings (which have only salt and pepper - no sauce!), kalua pork quesadillas and fried calamari. There is also plenty of drinks to be had. `Okole maluna (Bottoms up!) Just kidding... I didn't have any alcohol this week. Being in pain I tend to get grumpy easily and I wanted to keep my bitchy/grumpy side under control! Hehe. Actually, I just didn't want to risk getting enough ankle pain reduced that I started walking and moving on it too much and making it worse.From left to right is Ann, Barbara, Me, Momi, Lisa and Julie.

Lisa brought me home. I found out on the way that she lives fairly far away and has to backtrack to pick me up and drop me off. That makes her driving me around so much lately a real inconvenience for her. I am very very thankful for her doing so. Mahalo nui loa! (Thank you very much!)

Also I wanted to take a moment to thank Susan for everything she does - all the little things that are so thoughtful. She helped me get ice for my ankle today, she always sets aside the weekender insert for me to take home so I can know what is happening to do over the weekend. She invites me to activities like the museum, hula class and the special fundraiser her church is having this weekend. She shares her tea, brings me new foods to try, and always has a kind word. E pili mau na pomaika`i ia `oe. (May blessings ever be with you.)

The people at work are amazing. I could name so many instances where Lori has shared food or has talk story with me to make me feel welcome. Ann keeps me learning and running around. Noella has taught me many new Hawaiian words and talk story time with me. There are more people than i can name that are making this time here unforgettable. Mau loa Mahalo! (Forever thank you!)

To close I wanted to share a quote Barbara said tonight. This woman is amazing. Tonight she welcomed me to their ohana (family) and hugged me. She is so warm and welcoming, I feel so fortunate. While we were discussing project difficulties and thoughts she said, "Making a difference and changing stories is what government is all about..." That is a beautiful and true thought. Changing stories. I am working with a lot of death data. Intimate partner violence, sexual violence, fatality review data and going over countless homicides and suicides of people of all ages. I think of how so many work to change these stories. So that some people will have stories to tell, or have better stories filled with less trauma and anxiety due to the services of everyone from transportation, waste management, health, human services and many others. Reducing health disparities, chronic and acute conditions, infectious disease, improving pregnancy and birth outcomes, helping reduce deadly diseases like HIV/AIDS, and so much more every single day. All these people that work and work, thanklessly usually, to try to make the world a little better. It is easy to complain when something is inconvenient or aggravating, meanwhile these people are struggling to provide services with constant need for more money as finances are cut and staff reduced. And why? To change stories.

Aloha ahiahi, malama pono (Good evening, take care)
~Melissa

Talk story at work and Korean food deliciousness

June 21, 2012

I woke up this morning and carefully tested out my ankle and leg. Not too bad. I got ready and headed out to work. By the time I was 2 houses from mine I knew the leg/ankle was going to be a problem. I very slowly walked in to work. Let me just say, having to walk up two flights of stairs was less than delightful. I got to work and made a cup of coffee and was sitting at my desk thinking of how much I wanted an ACE bandage and a bag of ice. That is when I found out Ann was sick and was not coming in to work today. I was mighty tempted to go home myself and prop my leg up for the day, but then figured I could be useful at work.It was an absolutely uneventful work day. I had many interesting conversations. I listened to the CD I got last night. I helped with a few minor things but overall spent the day learning about the projects folks in the MCH branch are working on and how things are different growing up in Hawaii. I finally got a good understanding of the branch and how the chain of command works. I had met people but really had no real understanding of what they did or how everything fit together.

One interesting difference is the school system. Apparently the kids here have to qualify to go to the good schools and children as young as five years old are trying to pass tests and get into the Punahou School. The website says that schoolwide there are about 2,300 applicants for 500 spaces. In addition, tuition for the regular school year is $18,500 a year, more for summer school or special programs. There are feeder schools that help kids get in, and depression and anxiety amongst kids who try for years to get in is a problem. I also found out that in Honolulu there are no school buses in the urban areas. The children either walk or take public transit. If they cannot afford the bus fare then they walk. There is NO provided transportation to school. This is not true in the rural neighboring islands where buses are provided to get kids to school. I don't know what they do in the rural areas on Oahu outside the urban areas (Waikiki, Honolulu).

I had a talk story with Lisa and she told me some funny work experiences. The disaster preparedness training had me falling out of my chair laughing (especially since I was trying to prop my ankle up at the time). She also told me about her computer IT story which I will share briefly for my techie friends and family. Lisa was given a new computer, a Mac, which had to be returned to IT to work on several times the first couple of months. So she gets it back and tried to play a CD to watch an educational video. So it jams in the CD player and won't come back out or play. So she calls IT who come to her office and ask to borrow tweezers. Any story where IT is asking to borrow tweezers cannot end well. So she had no tweezers but they found some tools and grabbed the disk and yanked it from the machine. The CD is now covered with deep scratches and is useless (see the picture below). So then It just looks at her and says, "Well, I guess you better not use the CD player..." and LEAVES. It hasn't been fixed or replaced or anything in the 4 months since. I still giggle thinking about this story. Here is the CD, sorry the picture isn't great but if you look carefully you can see the scratches on one side, that are across the whole underside of the CD.

After work Lisa was kind enough to drive me to Long's Drugstore (owned by CVS) so I could get some Tylenol, SalonPas and 2 ACE bandages. My leg has big black bruises but doesn't hurt. My ankle is most tender on the achilles tendon and the outside right ankle and both hurt a lot after the workday. I think a wrap for support during the day will help a lot. Lisa's dad George uses her car during the day so he picks her up after work. I call him Papa George which always makes him smile :) Papa George gave me some lemons from their tree, which I thought was super neat. After Long's we stopped by her friend's house to drop off some items. I got to meet her Minh (spelling corrected- SORRY!) and her two children George and Mathew. Min gave Lisa some jin deui (also spelled jin dui). These are sesame covered pastry balls filled with something sweet. I tried the black sugar jin dui, which was super yummy (they are the ones with the black seeds dotting them). This was filled with brown sugar mixed with the sweet red bean paste used a lot as filling in pastries here. The dough is a deep fried gelatinous dough which is chewy but not gooey. It is hard to describe. They also sent me home with one of the coconut filled ones which I'll have tomorrow.

Then we all went to dinner and Lisa's boyfriend Wayne met us there.We went to O-Bok Korean Restaurant in Manoa. I got to see University of Hawaii at Manoa on the way! The houses in this area are lovely also, and the view of the mountains is spectacular. So I hadn't eaten at a Korean restaurant before so after they explained the menu items to me we ordered.First, the meal comes with barley tea. It was GREAT. No need for sugar or anything. Just delicious and non-caffeinated. I loved it and they keep it topped off.

Next were the side items which are served on plates family style. I think i got the photos witht he right names, please forgive me if I don't - there were a LOT of new things. There were three kim chee (there are many ways to spell this) varieties. The first picture is japanese cucumber kim chee. The second is squash shreds kim chee, and the third is won bok kim chee. My favorite was the cucumber since it was tangy, the won bok was slightly sweet but with a spicy kick, the squash was VERY HOT and spicier than I like.

This is tae ku (Hawaiians call this ono teagu), which is shreds of a seasoned codfish. It is chewy and not bad but not a delight to me.

This is daikon with seasonings. I liked it but is was super spicy. They also serves bowls of white sticky rice which I didn't take photos of because... well, it's white rice.

We ordered a plate of man doo, which is like a dumpling but the filling is slightly different. I really liked the spices and blend of pork within this dumpling. The sauce almost brought tears it was so spicy.

Then they brought our main course. This was Papa George's Dean Jang Chee Ke - Tofu, beef and vegetables in a seasoned miso soup. It was boiling in the cast iron bowl when they brought it to the table. If you look closely you can see the bubbles on the edges.

This is Wayne's BBQ pork with O-Bok's spicy hot sauce. This was delicious but WHEW! I could only eat a bite it was so spicy!

This was Lisa's Kal Bi which is BBQ short ribs.

This is my plate which is the O-Bok special plate. It has Kal Bi (the BBQ beef shortribs) which is very tender and tasty. Not BBQ like at home, more like a sweet sauce on the meat. There is BBQ chicken, which is a delicious bit of chicken (no idea how it is cooked) that was deliciously spiced and reminds me of tandoor chicken. A man doo, na mul and rice. The na mul is any type of seasoned vegetable. On my plate I had2 na mul. I had bean sprouts which were absolutely delicious. They were tangy and crunchy and had a bit of sesame oil which I loved. The other was choi sum with sesame oil which was also wonderful but completely different from the sprouts in flavor. (This whole plate of food was $8.80 - super cheap!)

I was very impressed. I ate the veggies, man doo and chicken entirely (not the chicken skin -just the meat) and tried everything else. I really liked the Kal Bi but couldn't eat everything so saved a plate of rice, Kal Bi and a man doo for lunch tomorrow. I also have the coconut jin dui also. Lunch tomorrow will be a feast!

So now my belly is full. I am happy in mind and spirit and pleasantly relaxed. I have taken some Tylenol, slapped on a Salon Pas pain patch on my leg and have been keeping weight and pressure off it for a couple of hours. Can't elevate it while typing but It is feeling much better and some swelling is reduced. I'll wrap it in the morning for work. For now, it is time to sleep.

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