Aloha

For the most part- I think everyone knows this is the Hawaiian word for both hello and good-bye.  It's interesting to me that the same word could mean either when they seem such separate events, but Italians (ciao) and French (salut) do the same.  The cool thing here is that 'aloha' runs a lot deeper...and speaking of running, today marks the longest distance I've ever run in my life- 8 miles!  This was for a local and very popular road race- The Great Aloha Run.  Hence, our topic for the day.

So aloha, in addition to it's basic use above, also connotates an expression of love or affection.  Hawaii is called the "aloha state", and it's not uncommon to hear the phrase 'treat someone/something with aloha'.  Exhibit A:

Looking a little deeper, I found this excerpt (copied below) about the 'spirit of aloha'- which is another common phrase here.  It's actually a subsection of law in the state- hoping to promote harmony and good will between those that reside here, and supposedly to remind government officials to make decisions based on care of and respect for their people.  So- rulers of the middle east countries, ripe with strife and riots- check your aloha.

"The spirit of Aloha"

The literal meaning of aloha is “the presence of breath” or “the breath of life.” It comes from “Alo,” meaning presence, front and face, and “ha,” meaning breath. Aloha is a way of living and treating each other with love and respect. Its deep meaning starts by teaching ourselves to love our own beings first and afterwards to spread the love to others.
According to the old kahunas (priests)*, being able to live the Spirit of Aloha was a way of reaching self-perfection and realization for our own body and soul. Aloha is sending and receiving a positive energy. Aloha is living in harmony. When you live the Spirit of Aloha, you create positive feelings and thoughts, which are never gone. They exist in space, multiply and spread over to others.
*topic will be explored at a later date, since I didn't realize it's definition before including it in my blog, but now feel obligated to learn more

The Great Aloha run featured 25,000 runners and walkers that completed the 8 mile course from Aloha Tower to Aloha Stadium.  It was relatively flat, but with that many people participating- you are almost swept away by the crowd the entire distance!  A very large contingent of military personnel run the race in formation as part of their training- so that was interesting to run alongside of.  In the spirit of aloha- there were several well wishers on the side lines, as well as several local bands to cheer us on.  Most of the bands were marching type bands from high schools and such, although there was a small group of drummer's dressed in very cultural attire and playing large kettle like drums.  I saw a few injured runners along the way as well- all of whom were surrounded or supported by others until medical help could be provided.  In the race with me were Jill, Tony and Jill's mom- who all ran a stellar race!  We were fortunate with good weather and no injuries to our immediate group.  So far afterwards, I can still walk although I'm having a hard time motivating myself to do anything else today...but since aloha starts with taking care of your own being first, I think I'll focus on that for today...=)

Strike 3, you're out....

For those of you that have met and/or lived with my big orange tabby, Miles, you know that he can be a handful.  He's young enough that he's still very curious and playful, big enough to cause mass destruction or knock the wind out of you if he jumps on your chest, and loud enough that people might wonder if a child is crying somewhere in the house.  Fortunately, he tends to listen fairly well, loves people and is very food motivated (helpful for training purposes).  Unfortunately, he still doesn't get along with other cats and we've encountered the first incident in Hawaii with the new cat housemate (and third overall cat interaction strike).  No external damages were inflicted as Ivy actually held her own fairly well.  She was a good bit sore afterwards though since she already has arthritis, and has since been reluctant to return past the point of incident in the house- fearing a sneak attack I suppose.
So it comes about that Miles and I will be taking up new residence at the end of this month at a townhome in Kaneohe.  I'm definitely bummed to leave Kailua, the amazing set-up at the house on the lake and my proximity to friends, beach and the quaint town of Kailua.  In that all things happen for a reason though, now I can check out more of Kaneohe, have already met a couple of new people in the moving process and we will get to see if Miles gets along with a dog (who belongs to the new roomie).  So far- Miles seems to enjoy Hawaii though- lots of birds to watch and sunshine to sleep in.  So here's hoping the next move works out better!

On a side note of funny stuff- there's been a recent influx of eye patches in life:
1) man at the bus stop wearing not one, but two eye patches and playing the ukulele
2) story about how acupuncture helps cure more lazy eye than wearing an eye patch over your good eye (sorry, Kris...didn't need to be a pirate after all...)
3) elderly couple driving (very large car, very slowly) in town- man driving, presumably his wife in the passenger seat.  Elderly man was wearing an eye patch, lady= two uncovered eyes.  I was actually a pedestrian when I noted this strange situation...and took two steps back further onto the sidewalk...just in case...

Ohh, NPR...

Two awesome things included on some NPR shows I listened to today- 1st is from Wait, Wait- talking about a new dating website for those who love the open water.  Primarily- this is to help you find the Sea Captain of your dreams...hilarious...
Sea Captain Date

Second, is a shout out to Tufts veterinary school on Car Talk- primarily to the wildlife center- which I thought was pretty awesome!  Some guy with bats in his garage who called Click and Clack to see if he could 'smoke them out' by leaving the cars running for a while in the garage.  Smartly, the Tappet brothers declined to approve such actions and recommended contacting the local animal department or our wildlife center.  Wonder if the guy ended up calling??!

On another note, and something I think will end up on NPR soon- Hawaii has decided to offer those who doubt our President's US birth/nationality a chance to buy a copy of the original birth documents from the state.  Each copy will cost $100, so better make sure you doubt a lot to cough that up!  The good news is that Hawaii could use the funds to offset the debt from some of their other decisions- such as spending about 3/4 million to rebuild a long stairway along a popular hike on the island, then deciding not to open the stairway back to the public since they don't want to be sued for anyone getting hurt on the hike.  Instead, they pay a guard to sit at the bottom of the stairway and turn hikers away from 8-5 every day.  Presumably those who hike outside of the 8-5 hours are less likely to sue?
Hawaii to offer Obama birth documents - UPI.com
Stairway to Heaven, Oahu