Whoa- what happened to the time?! I thought island time ran slower than elsewhere?!?
It was one year ago almost to the day when this blog and my adventures living in Hawaii began, and I can't believe how fast the time went by! Part of that is certainly the lack of seasons on the island- yes, there is 'rainy' and 'dry' seasons, which I can now feel the difference between - but definitely not a quartered year from seasons like most of the states. So I think it becomes a little harder to mark the passage of time when it overall feels just about like the day before =).
Probably another part of how fast the year has gone is a steady increase in volume at work. The hospital is putting out more advertising for our emergency hours, most of our long time clients now make use of the late night hours and several hospitals on the island send their after hours cases to our clinic (especially if it is feathered!!). My work schedule also changed around March of this year and has put me in the clinic an insane amount more than the previous fall- during which time my oldest sister often asked if I was working at all since I seemed to be 'off' more days than 'on', and if all jobs in Hawaii offered that kind of work schedule!
Good news here- the work schedule is changing again in September with the addition of 2 new doctors to our staff. Hopefully this will lighten the load a bit on each of us, and possibly facilitate the notion of leaving work on time! While these new doctor additions should help the other docs, I do worry that it will put a lot of stress on our receptionists and techs as we already seem under-staffed in these areas and they are likely to be put to the test for a while until we find our new groove. Hopefully it will all work out!
The first post on this blog was about traveling West and the stories I encountered en route. Now I'm writing from Las Vegas during an awesome 8 hour lay-over on my journey back East to visit friends and family. So far not a whole lot to share- other than all flights leaving the islands were over-sold apparently and I met quite a few people who had been trying to leave Oahu for the last several days!! I figure at some point you shouldn't fight such a strong opposition and just decide to stay on a warm, tropical island instead =). I should have told them that a year in Hawaii would pass in the blink of an eye!
More to come...
Friday, August 19, 2011
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Post-hike
The day started early as we left ~3am in order to beat the guard to the trailhead. And apparently we were not the only ones with this idea! There were 3 other groups hiking with us- one group of whom stopped to smoke cigarettes at every opportunity and still made it thru the whole thing faster! The stairs make up the entirety of the hike, and frequently turn from stairway into a ladder on the fairly vertical sections. We reached the first platform to rest and take in the only view we'd end up having the whole hike- still dark over Kaneohe but a lit up H3 highway and town far below and we were only 1/3 of the way up! Little did I know we should take a picture from here since we were not to see anything further up! As the ascent continued- the rain, wind and clouds worsened. Parts of the stairway follow a very narrow ridge line with sharp drop offs on either side- which one is made all the more aware of with the rain and wind blowing. And I swear the state must have run out of money or supplies because from the last platform to the top the stairs are about 1/2 the width as the first part of the stairway!
All this being said- it was still a far less scary climb than going up Half Dome!! See previous posts for this story if you don't recall... Nonetheless- I was happy to get home to a nice warm shower and breakfast!
So although today was far from the best day to undertake such a hike- it was still a noteworthy accomplishment. And tomorrow will be far from the best day of walking to show for it I'm sure!
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| On the way down during a brief intermission from the rain. |
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| This is someone's internet photo- just wanted to show you the stairs and ridgeline! |
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| Looking back down the west coast of Oahu from the point |
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| It's an alllllbatrossss! |
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| No words needed |
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Pre-hike update
Most of my blogs are post-hikes or adventures- but as I've been quite bad about regular updates, thought I'd give a little pre-hike update and I'll return soon with some pictures from the planned hike tomorrow.
Island life continues to amaze me on a pretty regular basis, and although I've gotten used to the many little quirks of the culture, language and amenities here- I still have to laugh and sigh in amazement that I have been so lucky to be a part of it over the last year. And yes- can't believe it's been a year!! At this point- work is continuing to go well and the hospital is hiring 2 new doctors in September. I plan to continue on here for the better part of the year to come, and then- well, who knows!
A big local event just occurred last weekend called 'Bayfest'- which is held on the marine core base not far from where I live. They have a fair type set-up with live bands, rides, carnival food and lots of military vehicles for folks to check out the inside of (helicopters, hummers, etc.). It was pretty fun to attend, although much smaller than I anticipated for a 'big event'. Puddle of Mud and Hoobastank were the performing artists the evening we attended- decent performances overall but it seemed to rain more as the night went on so I bailed a bit early from the concert.
I recently played paintball again and remembered that I don't really care for it as much as I keep thinking I do! I think the sharpness of my distance eyesight is a limiting factor, and the rented gear never seems quite as accurate as the guns everyone else has! These are both probably reasons that I find laser tag much more enjoyable- everyone is in the dark and everyone has rented gear. Plus in laser-tag- you are never fully out of the game even if you get shot- you just need to recharge somewhere and then keep going. Ah well- not a bad time overall and certainly a good workout!
The upcoming hike is reportedly one of the best on the island- called Stairway to Heaven. When I first told people on the east coast I was moving here- there were actually a couple of people whose first remark was- 'you have to do this hike!' After moving here- there are 2 caveats I encountered to this notion.
1) It's not so much a hike as it is a stair master for 4000 steps up the side of one of the tallest peaks on the island. Awesome...I've always dis-liked the stair master...
2) It's mostly illegal. After the state paid to have new stairs installed up to the old federal coast guard station at the top, there was dispute over who was responsible legally for any injuries on the hike. And so they closed it and instead pay a guard to sit at the bottom and tell people not to climb it (brilliant use of money). From my understanding- these guards are more of a formality than an actual law enforcing entity, and many of the guards tell people not to climb up the stairs, then casually mention a side entrance to the hike that skirts the guard shack. And for any of you that have visited this state- you'll understand that many laws here are taken as suggestions and enforced with about as much gusto. Several people drink on the beaches, despite several signs that say no alcohol. Or prop their spear guns on the signs that say no fishing as they prepare to enter the water. As you might guess- this can be a good or bad thing, but overall doesn't cause as many issues as it might in other areas of the country.
And it is with this in mind that we prepare to wake in the pre-dawn hours and start up some insane number of stairs for arguably the best view on the island. Wish us luck in by-passing any legalities, I'll post pictures either from the top or from the bottom looking up at the top =).
Island life continues to amaze me on a pretty regular basis, and although I've gotten used to the many little quirks of the culture, language and amenities here- I still have to laugh and sigh in amazement that I have been so lucky to be a part of it over the last year. And yes- can't believe it's been a year!! At this point- work is continuing to go well and the hospital is hiring 2 new doctors in September. I plan to continue on here for the better part of the year to come, and then- well, who knows!
A big local event just occurred last weekend called 'Bayfest'- which is held on the marine core base not far from where I live. They have a fair type set-up with live bands, rides, carnival food and lots of military vehicles for folks to check out the inside of (helicopters, hummers, etc.). It was pretty fun to attend, although much smaller than I anticipated for a 'big event'. Puddle of Mud and Hoobastank were the performing artists the evening we attended- decent performances overall but it seemed to rain more as the night went on so I bailed a bit early from the concert.
I recently played paintball again and remembered that I don't really care for it as much as I keep thinking I do! I think the sharpness of my distance eyesight is a limiting factor, and the rented gear never seems quite as accurate as the guns everyone else has! These are both probably reasons that I find laser tag much more enjoyable- everyone is in the dark and everyone has rented gear. Plus in laser-tag- you are never fully out of the game even if you get shot- you just need to recharge somewhere and then keep going. Ah well- not a bad time overall and certainly a good workout!
The upcoming hike is reportedly one of the best on the island- called Stairway to Heaven. When I first told people on the east coast I was moving here- there were actually a couple of people whose first remark was- 'you have to do this hike!' After moving here- there are 2 caveats I encountered to this notion.
1) It's not so much a hike as it is a stair master for 4000 steps up the side of one of the tallest peaks on the island. Awesome...I've always dis-liked the stair master...
2) It's mostly illegal. After the state paid to have new stairs installed up to the old federal coast guard station at the top, there was dispute over who was responsible legally for any injuries on the hike. And so they closed it and instead pay a guard to sit at the bottom and tell people not to climb it (brilliant use of money). From my understanding- these guards are more of a formality than an actual law enforcing entity, and many of the guards tell people not to climb up the stairs, then casually mention a side entrance to the hike that skirts the guard shack. And for any of you that have visited this state- you'll understand that many laws here are taken as suggestions and enforced with about as much gusto. Several people drink on the beaches, despite several signs that say no alcohol. Or prop their spear guns on the signs that say no fishing as they prepare to enter the water. As you might guess- this can be a good or bad thing, but overall doesn't cause as many issues as it might in other areas of the country.
And it is with this in mind that we prepare to wake in the pre-dawn hours and start up some insane number of stairs for arguably the best view on the island. Wish us luck in by-passing any legalities, I'll post pictures either from the top or from the bottom looking up at the top =).
Friday, June 17, 2011
A tale of a fateful trip
A couple weekends ago- my roommate had sorted out a rare trip to Coconut Island in Kaneohe Bay. The island is currently home to a marine research institute and is only accessible by boat. It's a state owned island and kept completely private access except for about a 4ft x 4ft square of land on the point that is public access...which has potential to disappear with a high enough tide! Things worked out that morning that I could join the tour group before work that day, with the boat ride and island tour lasting from 9am-12pm. And although many random small islands claim to be this- Coconut Island is actually the island featured at the beginning shots for the Gilligan's Island tv show. Apparently they were going to film the whole thing there, but had too limited of a budget- so shot the island from several views and then did all the episodes in a studio in Hollywood. Images for comparison...the 2 tall pine trees are supposedly the telling mark on the island- but you can't really see them for the words on the tv picture.
And yes, that's right- our whole adventure was ironically a 3 hour tour...
But our tiny boat had beautiful weather throughout and I made it back to the bigger piece of land the same day. We saw some cool creatures and learned a lot about the islands history and although the tour did not include as much science as I would have liked- it was a nice start to the day!
In history- the island changed ownership several times but seemed to find repeated use an exclusive get-a-way for the upper class over the years. There is even a few old spotlights left that look down on a natural lagoon where they would host evening 'pool parties'. One of the rich owner's even brought over a small collection of animals for entertainment as well- elephants, monkeys, etc. The most prominent owner of the island was Edwin Pauley- who was a trusted advisor to several presidents including FDR and Truman. There are several pictures of him in the current library with various famous people, and also in attendance with Truman at the Potsdam conference after WWII.
A few creatures of note during the tour- hammerhead sharks, reef sharks, crazy spiny sea cucumbers and a sad lonely octopus whose tank mate had died from a bologna sandwich tossed in by a previous group of tourists. Darn tourists!
Interesting in all that the island was in past and has become, although I wish they had spoken in . I also thought it was pretty awesome that the people who work at the research station park their cars on the coast and take a little boat over to the island to work for the day, and I found myself thinking- man, it would be really cool to work on an island....
Oh, wait...
But our tiny boat had beautiful weather throughout and I made it back to the bigger piece of land the same day. We saw some cool creatures and learned a lot about the islands history and although the tour did not include as much science as I would have liked- it was a nice start to the day!
In history- the island changed ownership several times but seemed to find repeated use an exclusive get-a-way for the upper class over the years. There is even a few old spotlights left that look down on a natural lagoon where they would host evening 'pool parties'. One of the rich owner's even brought over a small collection of animals for entertainment as well- elephants, monkeys, etc. The most prominent owner of the island was Edwin Pauley- who was a trusted advisor to several presidents including FDR and Truman. There are several pictures of him in the current library with various famous people, and also in attendance with Truman at the Potsdam conference after WWII.
A few creatures of note during the tour- hammerhead sharks, reef sharks, crazy spiny sea cucumbers and a sad lonely octopus whose tank mate had died from a bologna sandwich tossed in by a previous group of tourists. Darn tourists!
Interesting in all that the island was in past and has become, although I wish they had spoken in . I also thought it was pretty awesome that the people who work at the research station park their cars on the coast and take a little boat over to the island to work for the day, and I found myself thinking- man, it would be really cool to work on an island....
Oh, wait...
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
updates
Hello all! I'm definitely getting worse and worse about posting on here- sorry!
Work is overall going well- we are getting some new items for the hospital (plasma!! finally!!) and also reportedly bringing on two new doctors in the fall. So you can imagine that we've been pretty busy! The clinic was also featured on a local pet lovers TV show, although I haven't found a link to the video yet, but continue to get comments about it from clients and other friends on the island.
I did get to explore a bit of Kauai last month, which is the next island north. Although it was mostly a work sponsored trip for a conference on the island, I took an extra couple of days to drive around and check out more sites. This trip was enhanced greatly by the fact that 3 friends/colleagues of mine were also at the conference and we teamed up to explore the island. The lecturers were mostly Tufts profs, so attending the conference was a little strange for me having graduated so recently- it was pretty much like being back in class! There was even a back back row I was tempted to sit in for those who know my seating preference at school...
Also attending the conference was fellow V'09 Lindsey, now completing a crazy residency in MA; and Annapolis mentors/friends Julie and Isabelle. On one of our days off- we took a long boat ride up around the west coast of the island through some definitely rough seas (thank you Dramamine). The north/northwest coast of the island is completely inaccessible except by hiking, helicopter or boat- no roads whatsoever here. It's called the 'Na Pali' coast and looks like an amazing hike to come back and do one day. It was definitely a gorgeous, pristine area to view from the boat. We then turned and headed further out to sea towards the remote and off-limits island of Ninihau- where the boat briefly anchored for a snorkeling excursion. Overall, the snorkeling wasn't that great, but during the boat ride we saw lots of spinner dolphins, humpback whales (finally!), and 2 huge manta rays!
One of the big 'tourist pulls' is Waimea canyon- which we tried to see with little success due to the ever present cloud cover at that elevation. It did seem to rain daily on Kauai, and the clouds just hang out over the canyon. On our last day- we joined a kayak trip up the Wailua River about 2.5 miles where we parked the kayaks and continued on foot for an additional mile to reach a huge waterfall! This method of approach is the only way to reach this site, so the number of visitors is somewhat limited, although it seems the 3 major kayak companies all bring their groups here. Still gorgeous none the less and a perfect combination of outdoor activities to me! The hike was exceedingly muddy though, so it felt awesome to jump in the water at the end, followed by a short picnic lunch.
I should mention our resort where the conference was held as well- this place was pretty massive! Several separate wings of the hotel, 2 restaurants, huge workout room with lots of equipment and free weights (a rare find at hotels) and the centerpiece of the resort was it's huge swimming pool with 5 hot tubs. The resort was also positioned essentially on it's own beach front property. So you can jump out from the pool, walk about 20 feet to the beach and jump in the bay just beyond- gorgeous!!
We're transitioning back to the dry season here in Hawaii- it's a nice time of year because everything is still green and we're having more sunny days than rainy days finally!
And on that note- I'm out the door for some errands and to enjoy the sunshine!
Work is overall going well- we are getting some new items for the hospital (plasma!! finally!!) and also reportedly bringing on two new doctors in the fall. So you can imagine that we've been pretty busy! The clinic was also featured on a local pet lovers TV show, although I haven't found a link to the video yet, but continue to get comments about it from clients and other friends on the island.
I did get to explore a bit of Kauai last month, which is the next island north. Although it was mostly a work sponsored trip for a conference on the island, I took an extra couple of days to drive around and check out more sites. This trip was enhanced greatly by the fact that 3 friends/colleagues of mine were also at the conference and we teamed up to explore the island. The lecturers were mostly Tufts profs, so attending the conference was a little strange for me having graduated so recently- it was pretty much like being back in class! There was even a back back row I was tempted to sit in for those who know my seating preference at school...
Also attending the conference was fellow V'09 Lindsey, now completing a crazy residency in MA; and Annapolis mentors/friends Julie and Isabelle. On one of our days off- we took a long boat ride up around the west coast of the island through some definitely rough seas (thank you Dramamine). The north/northwest coast of the island is completely inaccessible except by hiking, helicopter or boat- no roads whatsoever here. It's called the 'Na Pali' coast and looks like an amazing hike to come back and do one day. It was definitely a gorgeous, pristine area to view from the boat. We then turned and headed further out to sea towards the remote and off-limits island of Ninihau- where the boat briefly anchored for a snorkeling excursion. Overall, the snorkeling wasn't that great, but during the boat ride we saw lots of spinner dolphins, humpback whales (finally!), and 2 huge manta rays!
One of the big 'tourist pulls' is Waimea canyon- which we tried to see with little success due to the ever present cloud cover at that elevation. It did seem to rain daily on Kauai, and the clouds just hang out over the canyon. On our last day- we joined a kayak trip up the Wailua River about 2.5 miles where we parked the kayaks and continued on foot for an additional mile to reach a huge waterfall! This method of approach is the only way to reach this site, so the number of visitors is somewhat limited, although it seems the 3 major kayak companies all bring their groups here. Still gorgeous none the less and a perfect combination of outdoor activities to me! The hike was exceedingly muddy though, so it felt awesome to jump in the water at the end, followed by a short picnic lunch.
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| Katie kayaking |
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| Lindsey getting a mud treatment |
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| Gorgeous waterfall!! |
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| View over the pool, looking out to the bay. |
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| View up the Napali coastline |
And on that note- I'm out the door for some errands and to enjoy the sunshine!
Saturday, April 2, 2011
The mighty coconut!
I've decided to elaborate on the remaining title words from this blog- mostly because I've already talked about cats a few times so will add a little more variety for you! The words were chosen pretty randomly- the first 2 were a suggestion from Alicia and I definitely liked the alliteration. The last word I threw on since it seemed a very Hawaiian thing as well...although my understanding of the last word was clearly incorrect as you'll soon learn in the next post!
On to coconuts! And I can think of no better intro than Monty Python...
1st soldier with a keen interest in birds: Who goes there?
King Arthur: It is I, Arthur, son of Uther Pendragon, from the castle of Camelot. King of the Britons, defeater of the Saxons, Sovereign of all England!
1st soldier with a keen interest in birds: Pull the other one!
King Arthur: I am, and this is my trusty servant Patsy. We have ridden the length and breadth of the land in search of knights who will join me in my court at Camelot. I must speak with your lord and master.
1st soldier with a keen interest in birds: What? Ridden on a horse?
King Arthur: Yes!
1st soldier with a keen interest in birds: You're using coconuts!
King Arthur: What?
1st soldier with a keen interest in birds: You've got two empty halves of coconut and you're bangin' 'em together.
King Arthur: So? We have ridden since the snows of winter covered this land, through the kingdom of Mercia, through...
1st soldier with a keen interest in birds: Where'd you get the coconuts?
King Arthur: We found them.
1st soldier with a keen interest in birds: Found them? In Mercia? The coconut's tropical!
King Arthur: What do you mean?
1st soldier with a keen interest in birds: Well, this is a temperate zone
King Arthur: The swallow may fly south with the sun or the house martin or the plover may seek warmer climes in winter, yet these are not strangers to our land?
1st soldier with a keen interest in birds: Are you suggesting coconuts migrate?
King Arthur: Not at all. They could be carried.
1st soldier with a keen interest in birds: What? A swallow carrying a coconut?
King Arthur: It could grip it by the husk!
1st soldier with a keen interest in birds: It's not a question of where he grips it! It's a simple question of weight ratios! A five ounce bird could not carry a one pound coconut.
King Arthur: Well, it doesn't matter. Will you go and tell your master that Arthur from the Court of Camelot is here?
Well perhaps King Arthur was a little right...turns out that scientists believe that the coconut originated in South America. It's presence in other tropical locations is thought to be more from migration/exploration of new lands by explorers. The other theory of arrival on the islands in addition to being brought by boats, is that the coconut itself washed up on the shores from distant lands, then germinated and trees sprouted. Either theory is pretty plausible, and reinforced by the fact that you don't see coconut trees inland- only on the coastal margins of the islands. Apparently, true Hawaiians know that the coconut is not a native plant- even though it is probably one of the first things we think of when picturing the tropical island chain. School lessons here include teaching about native plants and animals (neat idea!), of which the coconut incorporated itself into several thousand years ago.
In addition to incorporating itself into the natural flora here, the coconut is a very important piece of Hawaiian culture. Originally believed to be some direct part of the Hawaiian god 'Ku'- only men were allowed to plant and eat the coconut. Women were allowed to use other parts of the plant though to make bowls, mats with the leaves, and other textiles/household items. One other neat thing I found was that the water/electrolyte/sugar balance in coconut water is similar to the current IV bags we use daily at the hospital. Apparently the internal coconut water is/was considered sterile until the husk is opened- so the water was and still can be used as an emergency IV solution for rehydration. It was reportedly even mixed with blood for transfusions at some point in history! Who needs to order LRS on a tropical island anymore??!! We'll just use coconuts. Maybe even offer a discount if people bring in a coconut with their pet...
Today, the coconut is still used as a food source- coconut water and meat being the components- eaten plain, made into the delicious haupia dessert already discussed or incorporated into several other recipes. The shell can be used to form various crafty items and of course somebody must have used it as a bra at some point- and the image has stuck for ages with a hula dancer wearing a grass skirt and coconut shell top. Couldn't find any 'historical documentation" on that one...sorry!
There is lots of research is being done on the coconut to look at it's potential health benefits. Thought to have several helpful properties including anti-cancer, anti-infectious, anti-inflammatory, promoting good metabolic/endocrine health (thyroid, pancreas, etc) and just a good source of essential fatty acids and minerals. Of course it has been used in traditional medicine for related purposes
If you'd like to learn more about coconuts- plan to visit the annual coconut festival on the island of Kauai coming up this fall. Also in December, the tasty Baked Haupia Pie will make its seasonal return to McDonald's at a location near you...if you are in Hawaii...=)
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| In the shade of the coconut palm tree |
On to coconuts! And I can think of no better intro than Monty Python...
1st soldier with a keen interest in birds: Who goes there?
King Arthur: It is I, Arthur, son of Uther Pendragon, from the castle of Camelot. King of the Britons, defeater of the Saxons, Sovereign of all England!
1st soldier with a keen interest in birds: Pull the other one!
King Arthur: I am, and this is my trusty servant Patsy. We have ridden the length and breadth of the land in search of knights who will join me in my court at Camelot. I must speak with your lord and master.
1st soldier with a keen interest in birds: What? Ridden on a horse?
King Arthur: Yes!
1st soldier with a keen interest in birds: You're using coconuts!
King Arthur: What?
1st soldier with a keen interest in birds: You've got two empty halves of coconut and you're bangin' 'em together.
King Arthur: So? We have ridden since the snows of winter covered this land, through the kingdom of Mercia, through...
1st soldier with a keen interest in birds: Where'd you get the coconuts?
King Arthur: We found them.
1st soldier with a keen interest in birds: Found them? In Mercia? The coconut's tropical!
King Arthur: What do you mean?
1st soldier with a keen interest in birds: Well, this is a temperate zone
King Arthur: The swallow may fly south with the sun or the house martin or the plover may seek warmer climes in winter, yet these are not strangers to our land?
1st soldier with a keen interest in birds: Are you suggesting coconuts migrate?
King Arthur: Not at all. They could be carried.
1st soldier with a keen interest in birds: What? A swallow carrying a coconut?
King Arthur: It could grip it by the husk!
1st soldier with a keen interest in birds: It's not a question of where he grips it! It's a simple question of weight ratios! A five ounce bird could not carry a one pound coconut.
King Arthur: Well, it doesn't matter. Will you go and tell your master that Arthur from the Court of Camelot is here?
Well perhaps King Arthur was a little right...turns out that scientists believe that the coconut originated in South America. It's presence in other tropical locations is thought to be more from migration/exploration of new lands by explorers. The other theory of arrival on the islands in addition to being brought by boats, is that the coconut itself washed up on the shores from distant lands, then germinated and trees sprouted. Either theory is pretty plausible, and reinforced by the fact that you don't see coconut trees inland- only on the coastal margins of the islands. Apparently, true Hawaiians know that the coconut is not a native plant- even though it is probably one of the first things we think of when picturing the tropical island chain. School lessons here include teaching about native plants and animals (neat idea!), of which the coconut incorporated itself into several thousand years ago.
In addition to incorporating itself into the natural flora here, the coconut is a very important piece of Hawaiian culture. Originally believed to be some direct part of the Hawaiian god 'Ku'- only men were allowed to plant and eat the coconut. Women were allowed to use other parts of the plant though to make bowls, mats with the leaves, and other textiles/household items. One other neat thing I found was that the water/electrolyte/sugar balance in coconut water is similar to the current IV bags we use daily at the hospital. Apparently the internal coconut water is/was considered sterile until the husk is opened- so the water was and still can be used as an emergency IV solution for rehydration. It was reportedly even mixed with blood for transfusions at some point in history! Who needs to order LRS on a tropical island anymore??!! We'll just use coconuts. Maybe even offer a discount if people bring in a coconut with their pet...
Today, the coconut is still used as a food source- coconut water and meat being the components- eaten plain, made into the delicious haupia dessert already discussed or incorporated into several other recipes. The shell can be used to form various crafty items and of course somebody must have used it as a bra at some point- and the image has stuck for ages with a hula dancer wearing a grass skirt and coconut shell top. Couldn't find any 'historical documentation" on that one...sorry!
There is lots of research is being done on the coconut to look at it's potential health benefits. Thought to have several helpful properties including anti-cancer, anti-infectious, anti-inflammatory, promoting good metabolic/endocrine health (thyroid, pancreas, etc) and just a good source of essential fatty acids and minerals. Of course it has been used in traditional medicine for related purposes
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| Sunset through the coconut trees at a black sand beach on the Big Island |
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Tsunami's
When I think of tsunami's- I prefer to think of the tasty sushi restaurant in Annapolis named after the natural disaster, rather than the natural disaster itself. But in Hawaii- there is sadly no such restaurant!
As most people are probably aware of, the earthquake in Japan triggered a massive tsunami pretty much throughout the Pacific Ocean. Japan, of course, suffered the worst of the tsunami, which was even more disastrous since they had just experienced one of the biggest earthquakes ever recorded. I read a story about an elderly couple that evacuated their house for the earthquake, then ran back when they heard a tsunami was coming to try and get something from the house. Of course- it made the news because they were at home when the tsunami hit and pretty much destroyed the house. The elderly man was able to climb on top of a section of roof as both the couple and house were swept out to sea. He was rescued 2 days later by helicopter, somehow still alive and afloat. Unfortunately his wife had not been found at the time of the story. Strange to think one natural disaster sent them fleeing and leaving everything behind, but the other they thought they could risk going to get something that seemed so valuable at the time. Of course the view from the outside and probably in hindsight for the man is that stuff just isn't that important.
Moving here, I parted with a lot of 'stuff'- albeit somewhat temporarily since it's all in storage on the East Coast. Bringing few things with me here, I would have thought that most of those things are very important to me, and that I would want to try and 'rescue' as much of that as possible from a situation where it was at risk of being lost. Not so much, as it turns out.
I was at work the evening of the earthquake, and scheduled to work till midnight. There is a technician scheduled from 10pm-7am to monitor the in-hospital patients and call me if there are any concerns or incoming emergencies. Around 7pm, we began getting the first warnings of the earthquake and impending tsunami watch, meaning a wave could be generated from the quake. This was shortly thereafter upgraded to a tsunami warning once a large wave had been identified in the ocean (technology, ay?!). The state of Hawaii issued an evacuation for coastal regions, which is pretty much a 2-3 block radius from the ocean for the perimeter of the island. You can see the area I live and work in at this site:
http://tsunami.csc.noaa.gov/map.html?mapname=O_AHU-KAILUA+TO+KANEOHE+BAY&submit1=Search+Island+Area
You can also see from that picture- that where I used to live, and where I work (in Kailua) the evac zone is much larger than in Kaneohe- where I have moved to, which was a great peace of mind through the whole event. Anyhow- the warning system sounds, which is series of sirens thru the island, so you can hear them pretty much anywhere. And then the phones rang like crazy! People who have to evacuate need cat carriers or want to leave a pet with us, people who have pets in the hospital want to know if they should come get them, a few clients even called to offer help evacuating the animals at the clinic. Luckily, the clinic is not in an evacuation zone, so the chaos of the latter two issues were avoided. However, and I wish I knew how to do the freeze screen thing to give you a close up visual on the evac map, the clinic is literally across the street from the pink line that separates evacuation zone, from non-evacuation zone. Now the clinic is part of a large, solid concrete building, so I doubt it would have been washed away, but could certainly take on a good bit of water with a big enough wave/surge. And I'm not the boss so it's not my call to evacuate or not, nor have I lived here long enough to understand the xyz's of island natural disasters. But I must say that I don't know who drew these pink lines and I'm pretty sure there is no pink line on the street that the water will stop at should it reach that point. I was very happy to see that my new home is several blocks away from the pink line, and a bit distraught to see how close the clinic was to said pink line. The evacuation system on the island worked fairly well overall, residents had about 4 hours to get out of the area and go to higher ground, many filled up on gas and food/water prior to leaving so lines at the supermarket and gas stations were profound. Fire trucks and police cars paroled the area to make sure everyone evacuated, announcing the warning via megaphone as they drove by.
So at midnight, I returned home and began getting a few things prepared in case of power loss (primarily several containers of water and a quick inventory of non-cook foodstuffs) as well as putting things in the car in case the evacuation zone grew larger (probably unneccessary if you could see where I live now, but it made me feel better to be doing something and be prepared!). I haven't previously mentioned my car on the island - which is a 2 door Honda civic...pretty tiny. Nor have I updated you on my new roommate (who was off-island for work during this event) and her large dog (who I am caring for while she is gone). So it ends up that in the trunk of the car, I put a small gym bag with a couple changes of clothes and toiletries, a large box of granola bars, half a case of bottled water, a sleeping bag and food for the dog and cat- pretty filling for the trunk. Inside the car- the cat carrier barely fits in the front seat, and planned for the dog to have the back seat. So there wasn't much room left in the car anyhow, but of all the other stuff in the house- the only thing I found myself looking for to pack was my passport. Both a form of ID, a nice recollection of the places I've been lucky enough to travel to, and a government document that is a pain in the ass to replace. And I think it's primarily for the latter reason that I was in search of this small booklet. Computer and camera? Nah, they're older anyway. GPS? When's the last time 'Charlie' (my gps) got me somewhere efficiently? Health records, ipod, tax information? Eh, can all be replaced. I searched for about 30 minutes for my passport, but never found it. I eventually gave up out of exhaustion from work and the excitement induced adrenaline rush that started several hours earlier. Although the tsunami was expected to hit at 3am, I pretty much crashed out at 2am- figuring that if anything changed- I would hear the whole condo complex waking up to evacuate, or get a phone call from the clinic or other friends to alert me of the change.
I slept fairly well till about 9am, then woke up to a sunny day that seemed to go on as normal in Hawaii, as if the night before had never happened. People were back in their houses already, minimal coastline damage had been encured, no injuries or loss of life. Several boats were battered from the surge of waves, but otherwise no major property damage. Just another day in Oahu, although everyone acknowledges that we were very lucky and that the warning system worked quite well. The Big Island had a bit more property damage, but still not too bad overall.
Anyhow, retrospectively I find the passport an odd item to search for and ensure safety of. But maybe that's the same frame of mind the elderly Japanese couple had- they just got fixated on one item they had to get from the house, maybe got caught searching for that item when the wave came. Hard to say what each of us would do in the heat of the moment and hard to think they acted foolishly when I potentially had some of the same impulses.
I'm definitely very thankful for everyone's thoughts and prayers throughout this event, and that overall things were pretty minor. I think the new house is really quite sheltered in location, so we'll have little to worry about even in future tsunami's. And if the clinic did choose to evacuate- I think I'd end up with a lot of animals transported here to the new house for safety- which would perhaps bring about it's own type of disaster!
As most people are probably aware of, the earthquake in Japan triggered a massive tsunami pretty much throughout the Pacific Ocean. Japan, of course, suffered the worst of the tsunami, which was even more disastrous since they had just experienced one of the biggest earthquakes ever recorded. I read a story about an elderly couple that evacuated their house for the earthquake, then ran back when they heard a tsunami was coming to try and get something from the house. Of course- it made the news because they were at home when the tsunami hit and pretty much destroyed the house. The elderly man was able to climb on top of a section of roof as both the couple and house were swept out to sea. He was rescued 2 days later by helicopter, somehow still alive and afloat. Unfortunately his wife had not been found at the time of the story. Strange to think one natural disaster sent them fleeing and leaving everything behind, but the other they thought they could risk going to get something that seemed so valuable at the time. Of course the view from the outside and probably in hindsight for the man is that stuff just isn't that important.
Moving here, I parted with a lot of 'stuff'- albeit somewhat temporarily since it's all in storage on the East Coast. Bringing few things with me here, I would have thought that most of those things are very important to me, and that I would want to try and 'rescue' as much of that as possible from a situation where it was at risk of being lost. Not so much, as it turns out.
I was at work the evening of the earthquake, and scheduled to work till midnight. There is a technician scheduled from 10pm-7am to monitor the in-hospital patients and call me if there are any concerns or incoming emergencies. Around 7pm, we began getting the first warnings of the earthquake and impending tsunami watch, meaning a wave could be generated from the quake. This was shortly thereafter upgraded to a tsunami warning once a large wave had been identified in the ocean (technology, ay?!). The state of Hawaii issued an evacuation for coastal regions, which is pretty much a 2-3 block radius from the ocean for the perimeter of the island. You can see the area I live and work in at this site:
http://tsunami.csc.noaa.gov/map.html?mapname=O_AHU-KAILUA+TO+KANEOHE+BAY&submit1=Search+Island+Area
You can also see from that picture- that where I used to live, and where I work (in Kailua) the evac zone is much larger than in Kaneohe- where I have moved to, which was a great peace of mind through the whole event. Anyhow- the warning system sounds, which is series of sirens thru the island, so you can hear them pretty much anywhere. And then the phones rang like crazy! People who have to evacuate need cat carriers or want to leave a pet with us, people who have pets in the hospital want to know if they should come get them, a few clients even called to offer help evacuating the animals at the clinic. Luckily, the clinic is not in an evacuation zone, so the chaos of the latter two issues were avoided. However, and I wish I knew how to do the freeze screen thing to give you a close up visual on the evac map, the clinic is literally across the street from the pink line that separates evacuation zone, from non-evacuation zone. Now the clinic is part of a large, solid concrete building, so I doubt it would have been washed away, but could certainly take on a good bit of water with a big enough wave/surge. And I'm not the boss so it's not my call to evacuate or not, nor have I lived here long enough to understand the xyz's of island natural disasters. But I must say that I don't know who drew these pink lines and I'm pretty sure there is no pink line on the street that the water will stop at should it reach that point. I was very happy to see that my new home is several blocks away from the pink line, and a bit distraught to see how close the clinic was to said pink line. The evacuation system on the island worked fairly well overall, residents had about 4 hours to get out of the area and go to higher ground, many filled up on gas and food/water prior to leaving so lines at the supermarket and gas stations were profound. Fire trucks and police cars paroled the area to make sure everyone evacuated, announcing the warning via megaphone as they drove by.
So at midnight, I returned home and began getting a few things prepared in case of power loss (primarily several containers of water and a quick inventory of non-cook foodstuffs) as well as putting things in the car in case the evacuation zone grew larger (probably unneccessary if you could see where I live now, but it made me feel better to be doing something and be prepared!). I haven't previously mentioned my car on the island - which is a 2 door Honda civic...pretty tiny. Nor have I updated you on my new roommate (who was off-island for work during this event) and her large dog (who I am caring for while she is gone). So it ends up that in the trunk of the car, I put a small gym bag with a couple changes of clothes and toiletries, a large box of granola bars, half a case of bottled water, a sleeping bag and food for the dog and cat- pretty filling for the trunk. Inside the car- the cat carrier barely fits in the front seat, and planned for the dog to have the back seat. So there wasn't much room left in the car anyhow, but of all the other stuff in the house- the only thing I found myself looking for to pack was my passport. Both a form of ID, a nice recollection of the places I've been lucky enough to travel to, and a government document that is a pain in the ass to replace. And I think it's primarily for the latter reason that I was in search of this small booklet. Computer and camera? Nah, they're older anyway. GPS? When's the last time 'Charlie' (my gps) got me somewhere efficiently? Health records, ipod, tax information? Eh, can all be replaced. I searched for about 30 minutes for my passport, but never found it. I eventually gave up out of exhaustion from work and the excitement induced adrenaline rush that started several hours earlier. Although the tsunami was expected to hit at 3am, I pretty much crashed out at 2am- figuring that if anything changed- I would hear the whole condo complex waking up to evacuate, or get a phone call from the clinic or other friends to alert me of the change.
I slept fairly well till about 9am, then woke up to a sunny day that seemed to go on as normal in Hawaii, as if the night before had never happened. People were back in their houses already, minimal coastline damage had been encured, no injuries or loss of life. Several boats were battered from the surge of waves, but otherwise no major property damage. Just another day in Oahu, although everyone acknowledges that we were very lucky and that the warning system worked quite well. The Big Island had a bit more property damage, but still not too bad overall.
Anyhow, retrospectively I find the passport an odd item to search for and ensure safety of. But maybe that's the same frame of mind the elderly Japanese couple had- they just got fixated on one item they had to get from the house, maybe got caught searching for that item when the wave came. Hard to say what each of us would do in the heat of the moment and hard to think they acted foolishly when I potentially had some of the same impulses.
I'm definitely very thankful for everyone's thoughts and prayers throughout this event, and that overall things were pretty minor. I think the new house is really quite sheltered in location, so we'll have little to worry about even in future tsunami's. And if the clinic did choose to evacuate- I think I'd end up with a lot of animals transported here to the new house for safety- which would perhaps bring about it's own type of disaster!
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