Don't laugh.

But this is the kind of dreams I have.

I'm in Paris in a large, white room. My family is waiting for me to change clothes so we can see the city together. I can see the lovely skyline through an open door.

But I'm looking in my suitcase for something to wear, and all I see is one pink striped shirt. 4 slacks that don't go with it. And 5 ugly pairs of shoes - mocassins, Birkenstocks and Crocs - that I would not be seen DEAD in.

And NO guidebooks or maps.

So, yes, folks, for me THAT would be a NIGHTMARE. To be in one of my favorite cities in the world, with nothing to wear and no research or help to get around.

Go ahead and laugh!

But what is YOUR idea of a nightmare?

As gray as we are, there is still a little kid in both of us. Take the DH. He doesn't just LIKE Christmas, he LOVES it. Not the gifts - he hates shopping, doesn't ever know what to give. Evidence: one Christmas, I got an IRON. As a GIFT? I retaliated with a VACUUM CLEANER!

Guys, appliances ARE NOT GOOD GIFTS!!! DH loves the MUSIC, DECORATIONS and LIGHTS of the season. In his classroom, he puts up a small tree and lights - in OCTOBER, BEFORE Halloween. C-r-r-razy!

We were talking about where we want to travel if we ever have any money (so hard with furloughs/temporary jobs/reduced income/expensive child). NOT Vegas - we are about the only local people we know who have never been there.

It's been 30 long years since we've been to Europe together: "Paris", I said, dreaming of the Seine, the museums, the quality of light. "And Italy, for the food, the museums..."

"How will we go, on a tour?" Asked the DH.

"NO WAY!", I answered, "As long as we can still walk, Eurail is the way to go."

"Then," he said quickly, "pack light!" I bus' out laughing, and he grabbed me for a hug.

We were sitting in the park, counting the stars, like the old people we are.

"OK," I said, 'we'll add Germany for you!"

Then I asked him if he remembered one of our first dates, when we were so hot from sketching near Hanauma Bay and being at the beach. I looked at some nearby lawn sprinklers and dared him to run through them. And we did.

And we still would.

POV

Down to reading the last hundred or less pages of Ben: A Memoir, from Street Kid to Governor. I describe the book here.

Former governor Cayetano writes about the 2000 US Supreme Court decision on Rice v. Cayetano, which overturned Hawaii State legislation limiting Office of Hawaiian Affairs voting to Hawaiians, Justice Anthony Kennedy said, "When the culture and way of life of a people are all but engulfed by a history beyond their control, their sense of loss may extend down through generations and their dismay may be shared by many members of the larger community. As the State of Hawaii attempts to address these realities, it must, as always, seek the political consensus that begins with a sense of shared purpose. One of the necessary beginning points is this principle: The Constitution of the United States, too, has become the heritage of all the citizens of Hawaii."

When personal interests are involved, it is easy to lose sight of the larger laws that govern us all.

ACLU and Christmas

On a similar note, I am among those who received that email blast telling me I should send the ACLU a Christmas card, as they are "taking the Christmas part out of the holiday...no such thing as a 'Holiday Tree", etc" Railing against the ACLU appears to be a knee jerk reaction - even occasionally by someone in my household - when they are defending the rights of a group they don't agree with. This may be a good time to remind everyone that the mission of the ACLU is to defend ALL of us when our rights under the Constitution of the United States are denied or threatened.

Happy Holidays to ALL!

Just finished The Man Who Loved Books Too Much by Allison Hoover Bartlett. I'm fascinated by bibliomania - the over-the-top craze for books. Any kind of obsession, for that matter. Good writing, but the end fizzles out. Probably because the story isn't over. I'm continually amazed at those who "appropriate" the property of others. It's obvious they rationalize entitlement. And yes, I'm thinking of situations in my own little world.

Reading Bento Boxes by Naomi Kijima. Some leftover rice and protein are all very well, but it's the little seaweedy, pickley stuff that make a bento. Some of my faves are hijiki with white sesame seeds and aburage and carrot kinpira with black sesame seeds. And yes, I'm nuts enough to cut the carrots by hand instead of just running them through the food processor. It's a different texture! I've got several cucumbers, so some kind of namasu will be in the works. Oddly enough, this paperback went missing for a while, then I found it among my son's things - ? You'll want to eat the things in this book. And they'll taste even better if someone else makes them!

Also, Ben: A Memoir, from Street Kid to Governor, by our former governor, Cayetano. Interesting to me on several levels, though I'm now at a rather dry point midway. The DH will enjoy reading about his childhood in Kalihi, as the DH sold newspapers on the street and went to Kaiulani School. As those who live in the public lives often do, the former gov glosses over some personal details we would have liked to know more about, but he is mostly honest about his successes and misses.

One area of interest for me are his views on ethnicity in Hawaii. He makes it clear that he would not have been elected for ANY office if not for support from many groups. Then, there are the back stories behind those events you read about in the newspapers. I recommend it for its details about the politics of the time, and the effects of that legislation on the current state of the State. It is a slice of institutional history from a personal POV. Also, for what it means to be a public servant.

Wait, shouldn't our CURRENT legislators read this?

There are many other books waiting for me to read them. What are YOU reading now?

AKA How Many People Does it Take to Change a Dryer Belt?

If you've never had to do this, you'll be shocked at what a simple beast an electric clothes dryer is. For gas dryers, PLEASE don't try this at home! That was the project for this morning. It is not rocket science, but it is difficult for one person to accomplish alone.

Persons needed: one to turn off the power, get the tools and open up the guts. Another to help hold the drum in position and replace the belt. We put it all back together, it heated up, but did not turn.

The third person stared at the - poorly illustrated - instructions to try to figure out why all of the above didn't work.

DH: It must be the motor.
Me: The motor runs BOTH the heat AND the pulley/belt that turns the drum.
DS: Looks on with concern. He has laundry to do. Me, too. (And I can't afford a new dryer.)
Me: The belt may not be looped properly around the pulley system. The guts are reopened, DH lies down to look under the drum. "You were right," he says, in a tone that implies I'm not always.

In grad school, Dr. Luz was the one who noticed my critical thinking abilities. My family still doesn't always.

We try it out, and the drum rotates, with heat. Liftoff! The works are put back into place, tools put away, and power turned back on.

I do a load of laundry and put it in the dryer. When I open the door, the drum keeps rotating. It's like going to the laundromat and watching your clothes in the front loader, but the door is open. A full load might fly out, scattering over the lanai! You have to turn the dial to off, to stop it. The wiring between the door and switch must be loose, though we checked it before screwing it all closed. I'll worry about it tomorrow. For now, I have to write about it!

I do recall previously doing all of the above by my lonesome, but that was ten or so years ago - when I was more flexible. You're going to ask: "DIAL? What, no buttons?" My dryer is the basic model, and as old as DS - 23!

We try to fix things we're capable of. That DOESN'T include plumbing. We learned the hard way we just don't have the pro tools or savvy.

How handy are you at home? Are you all thumbs, or Mr. or Miss Fixit?

Last week, on the weekend of Statehood day, we saw a play called "The Statehood Project" DH's cigar smoking buddy, Harry Wong III, was the co-director of this. Tiare Picard, of the group known as Fat Ulu, was one of the editors of the book it was based on. She works in my office.

The fact that it took me more than a week to think about this means it really made an impression on me. I had to think about the fact that not everyone was/is happy that Hawaii is a state, and puzzled over what it would be like if we had just remained a territory. I came to the conclusion that we would be in the bad limbo of territories like Guam, American Samoa, the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.

Hawaii would still have the military presence and all that means - both good and bad. Good for our economy (many of Ted's students are military dependents - 85 to 90% of them). Bad: the bases occupy prime real estate. We would still pay taxes, but we would not be represented in the Senate and House. Statehood meant that my parents could choose those representatives. (BTW, the 2010 Census is an important one for all states so that we get our share of representation in Congress, and our part of Federal funding. At least that's what they keep telling us at work.)

The actual day, August 21, 1959 - 50 years ago - did not mean much to me. I don't remember it. DH was selling newspapers on the street that day. On a regular day, selling 50 papers was a lot. That day he sold 200. And it was his birthday.

Our son grew up in a world where we had always been a state, but he has so much more opportunity because we are one. Those who worked so hard on statehood aren't alive to see all that Hawaii is.

Those of you who mourn the Hawaii before statehood, I would like to hear your views.

He's very amusing: http://www.chud.com/articles/content_images/5/russell_brand_280_373293a.jpg


But I want to take scissors and razor to him. BADLY.

On second thought, he prolly didn't get any attention when he looked like this: http://squallyshowers.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/russell-brand.jpg