Looking for positives

One  thing I am positive about is that I cannot do white.....when I was getting  my facelift and wrinkle and line remover stuff from Adi the  other day, she took a picture of me with this mud mask and all I could see was the snowman in the picture.  That white beach cover up was not my best look.  And then yesterday a women was at the world peace prayer day had moved to Hawaii a few years ago and wanted to chat about mutual people we know and she wanted a picture taken with me so I could share it at the Chicago center.  The white sweater I had on over my cute black dress with white trim was again not to be claimed as one of my best accessories.  It made me remember several other times that I had white on and it should have been the least of my wardrobe, not the main piece.  So.....in a positive that I will not wear these again, I left them in the closet in the hotel room.  My hope is they have a collection basket and they eventually send the things to goodwill or some charity.  It was a charity for me to just leave it.

Another positive is that I made a new determination to get rid of this dang arthritis.  I must admit it was a bit limiting on this trip.  I hesitated to take very many strolls and walks since I was constantly in the old lady limp phase.  How can I allow my future youthful beauty to shine through when I am  grimacing from pain?  I will be Stepping up the chanting and doing whatever else I can do to be done with this.

As I am sitting here reflecting on the things I have learned or have had reinforced for me, I am by the pool after the sun has gone down listening to a live band playing  at the restaurant that is beside the pool.  Of course they are all classics so they evoke a lot of memories at the same time.

Things I learned this week:

While I like being alone and solitude, I also like having someone to do things with.

I cannot live in a time zone that is more than 2 hours away from the kids.  An hour is best.  Those hours confuse me and it is hard to know when to make phone calls,

I appreciate young parents (especially my kids - and JT that includes the spouses ) and how important it is to raise well rounded,, respectful and social children.  They are the future of our world.

Every minute of the day might require a choice to make. Do I smile at the lady who kicked my lounger while I was sleeping and startled me awake?  Do I offer to move on the trolley so a lady with a baby can sit down?  Do I get lonely and stay in my room or make myself go down by the bar where i am at least around people?  Do I consider this a successful vacation or not?

Kind of back where I started this trip.....Things happen for reasons and they give us an opportunity to to show what we are made of and find a way to be happy in spite of external things.  So.....I am positive I choose being happy and I am getting better and better at shortening the struggle it sometimes takes to get there.

Mahalo (thank you) to those who read these notes and thoughts.  It made me get out and do something every day so I had something to share.  And if it did accomplish that which made it a positive for me.

A Five "S" Day

I just got back from world peace prayer day went to add to what I had already written for today and mistakenly erased the whole darn thing which I of course did not take the time to save.....

My recollection for the day was how it was shitty, sad, sucky and many other negative S words, but after having gone to the center and chanted, it was probably appropriate that it got deleted.  Doesn't mean I didn't feel all those things today, but they all passed and in the end I still choose to be happy and see challenges as an opportunity to chang my karma and be victorious.  My choices,  my life,  my happiness.

Still, I am glad to be heading home tomorrow.  While it has been a nice time it wasn't a great time.  I was able to see and be in a state I needed to check off, got to see a man strip out of his suit to take off underwear and put the suit back on again (His wife was so embarrassed when she realized I was there and kept apologizing) got to go snorkeling for the first time and am sitting on my balcony listening to     a live band playing for a wedding.  Good thing they are good.  Mostly mellow.  Hawaiian and classic tunes.  No rap hip hop yet.

Lots of other moments that stand out, but lots of moments that gave me too many reminders that when you go to a single place for a period of time, it is good to have someone to hang out with.  When you travel by car from place to place there are fewer reminders that you are on your own.  Or maybe I just was not great me company this trip.

One more day and I will be headed home.....that seems splendid, super, satisfying,  and simply good.

Was my face Red

Decided I still had time to catch the trolley and head downtown after having my youth enhancing facial.  I thought I would take in the International Market, find a place to have a Miati and possibly look for a place to eat.

The market was okay but I was not into tourist type trinkets......once back on the street i ended up having an ambassador of Oahu see me checking out my map and ask if i needed help finding anything.  Who better to ask where to get a drink and a place to be near the beach?  He steered me to "Dukes" which was also a restaurant recommended by the shuttle bus driver and the tour driver.  Of course Somewhere in my past i think I may have heard of duke kanakanna something who put Hawaii surfing on the map but could not put any more details to my memory bank. The place was very busy and I was just about to give up when a seat at the bar opened up.  Lucky me.....i sat next to Steve who lives in Arizona, originally from California and is in the real estate business and is buying places in Hawaii, CA and AZ and flipping them.  He said he is doing very well right now and thrives on the risk taking.  Great person to have a good bar chat with.  He knew lots  about Duke and surfing too.  Of course he was 37 and cute.  I was thinking I was not that bad - especially since I had a wonderful facial that I was sure took at least a year off my face.  Thank goodness It was not until I got back to the hotel and my room that I looked in the mirror and saw this bright red face that was either sunburned or raw from the exfoliation treatments.  Either way, I am thinking that the old adage "ignorance is bliss" worked in my favor this evening.

Shabbat shalomm Adi my new BF

Happy Friday......so far so good.  I had a leisurely morning where I went to the beach and rested and enjoyed the perks of being on vacation.   I also enjoyed being an auditory voyeur too.  The stuff you can hear while laying with your eyes closed and others are lying close by thinking that just because they are in their own world that no one can hear them.....one young Japanese man was arguing with his parents and at the end he said something  about meeting them at dinner, a couple were discussing buying a home in Oahu and setting up a practice.  Some type of healing thing but not going back into regression phases (whatever that means) and then a woman was sharing with a man her ideas about contacting some Jewish grant foundation to find out if Jewish people settle in environments that were closer to what they experienced in their native countries.  It took all I had to not shout out that those who  ended up in Chicago had to be from Cold countries in order  to want to settle there.

After deciding I could not listen in on conversations forever, I took a sun break to schedule my snorkeling adventure for tomorrow, hydrate, and then head to the pool to swim.  On my way to the pool is when I had my first glimpse of Adi.  she was giving a women a facial and I just happened to look that way as I was passing her stand and she made eye contact with me too.  Not thinking much of it I headed to the pool to enjoy the water and sun before I cleaned up to head downtown.  As I decided it was time to leave and had up yo the room, i passed her by the pool and she spoke to me.  While  I had no clue what she was saying I smiled and kept going.

Just so happened there was a jewelry store on the pathway  that had a sign that everything was on sale since they were going out of business.  They had some lovely things in the window, but my guess was that they  were CZs and not diamonds so I had to go in and check things out.  Yes they were fake and yes I tried a couple on.....but in the end I just could not do it.  I am a girl that likes the real thing.

So, as I continue towards my room, once again I pass Adi's stand and she is there alone.  She smiles at me and invited me to try her "face lift" products.  I asked if she was trying to tell me something, but of course her response was that she had only noticed my curiosity and as long as I was there I should treat myself.  Magic words....treat myself.  As Adi pointed out. I am a simple woman who has taken care of a husband and then children and never took the time for myself.  Life has had a way of catching up with me and I now look in the mirror and see the results of that and she does not think I would want to wake up in 20 years and be bitter towards life.  Women feel about life as they feel about themselves.  If I take the dead skin off my face, add some minerals, lift the places and fill in lines....or whatever else the mirror showed me as I endured myself for over an hour, I would not be one of those women....and since I am a simple women at heart, I need to take care of myself and know that I am worth investing in products that will continue to cover and rebuild the ravages of putting off doing what I should have done years before.  Wow with all that insight she had me hook line and sinker and By the time she used every product imaginable on me,  I looked less wrinkled and less puffy.  My new BF Adi has me believing that I can change my facial destiny with her products and i bought every one of them. The proof will be in the comments, but I am coming back to Chicago to a bevy of products that are sure to do the trick.

The good news is that Adi had to get home to light the candles for Shabbat  so we had to end our session with promises to keep in touch and a send monthly photos.  I am sure she will use me As her proof that all these products from the Dead Sea are great for Gentiles too....

Golden Plover Status

Today has been a kick ass day....decided to take in some sun and sand and relax to start with....of course after about an hour and a half in the sun it was pretty clear that it could not be an all day or all morning thing. Not having laid out in the sun at all in the past couple of years has not toughened this fair skin to tropical sun. Good news is that I recognized it before I fell asleep and woke up fried and red. Instead got just the right amount and signed up for an afternoon tour that did a loop around half of the island and stopped at some great places. What a great outing. And in this case being the "just me" was a perk. The wonderful driver George put me up front with him so I had a great view and was able to hear very well and got to ask lots of questions. Our first stop was at a Japanese Buddhist temple that was a replica of one in Japan. I took this as an affirmation that my connection with Buddhism is just part of who I am. It was very calming to sound the giant bell, view the statue and even take a walk in a Japanese bamboo garden. There were several species types of birds. A black swan, which I had seen the movie but never a real bird, some little reddish type that were only about 3 inches and every now and then you would see a golden plover. George shared that they were migratory birds from Alaska and they were very independent birds since they typically were alone. At last, something in Hawaii that I could relate to. Not sure of timing and order, but the bulk of the trip was to the North Shore part of Oahu where the triple crown surf contest was supposed to being held. Unfortunately there were no waves so nothing was going on. George shared that it was held at this time of year because this is typically when the largest waves are on the islands. We did get to see the beaches, the viewing stands, and even some non-professionals out on the smaller waves. I was a bit disappointed since I was told by a couple of people that I needed to see the big waves there...however the beauty of the ocean, the coves and the rocks, the china man's hat island and seeing the houses and properties of people that actually live on the island was a treat. Very different than the Waikiki area. One of the other special treats was to see a couple of Green Sea Turtles warming themselves on the beach. I have seen turtles on the roads, in ponds, in terrariums, etc. but they were tiny compared to these. Amazing they could just lay in the sand relaxed or sleeping as lots of people circled around them taking pictures. One of them was estimated to be about 27 years old and the other about 40. They definitely had more wrinkles than me....so I felt pretty good. Obviously I did not say that out loud as I would not want anyone to disagree ith me. We ended up the tour at the Dole Pineapple Plantation which changed my perspective on two things. The first is that some fresh fruit is tasty and maybe I should be more open to it. The second was that not all ice cream has to have chocolate in it. That may be a matter of timing a location.... The overall tour was great. I was proud of myself for just making sure I did something and it was not just heading to one of the local malls. I think that was why I voted it kickass.....I relaxed, got a bit of color, saw lots of the tourist attractions and areas and was back in time to pick up a bottle of wine, some pretzels and nuts and was able to put my feet up and rest as I get ready to take on the day tomorrow. After all, I am like a Golden Plover who is not afraid to fly for many miles and then once there seems to be happy being alone in an area that there is a diverse group of other birds. I may even look for a crown to wear.....:-)

No, it is just me

What do you think a shirt that says, "It is just me" would say to the world?  i can go two ways on it....but for this resort i want it to keep people from holding up their fingers and ask "two?" And me saying, "No, it is just me."  It has already happened to me when I went to a restaurant,  sat at a table in the bar and twice when i reserved a place for an activity.  I understand it based on the resort atmosphere, but I am trying to relish my independence and not feel like I am out of sync with the rest of the world.

Hawaiian Luau and Blue Hawaii Cocktails

While I was exhausted once I got to the hotel and I was tempted to just crash....I decided to attend the luau that is held at the hotel and pay the top price to be close to the stage, get a lei, and be one of the first to be able to go though the buffet line.

So after a quick shower to get rid of the plane germs, I headed over to the roof garden and looked for a place to sit.  I have to admit that I avoided tables that had little kids, looked to see if there was any non-couple groups and ended up at a table with 7 people from Japan and a couple from Philly.  (There were three tables of young guys who were obviously a sport team that i thought i should join, but good sense won out.) The couple, Dave and Sandy were scuba divers who were headed for micro indonesia to an island I had never heard of.  They were only in Hawaii or one night and then would be on a boat for 2 weeks.  The good thing was they were very welcoming and liked to talk so I had a pleasant night.

I really had no idea what to expect at the luau.  I was starved since my Starbucks scone was long ago digested, so was glad for the food.  It was fairly decent.  Like most buffets you try things and then wish you would have stuck to the basic things you like.   The entertainment was interesting.  Lots of Polynesian dances from the various islands.  What intrigued me most was the tattoos or markings on the guys.  They all had "sleeves" and markings on their chests, but a few of them had their torsos and legs done too.  One looked like he had "pants" tatooed on.....I did watch the women and the dancing and footwork, but the body markings were unbelievable.  No plans to emulate them though.

After the show I heard music from the bar in my building and decided a nice glass of wine would be good for sleeping.  Just finished it and am calling it a day....

Tomorrow may be a sunshine and water day.  I'll see what I decide once I wake up.  But effective right now I can tick Hawaii off my state list.  I am going to bed and will sleep in the state.  That means I met the requirements.