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8 . 2 8 . 0 7 Busy trip home, a week vacation on Lanai, and then a few weeks back in the district in time for the new semester and back to work. Haven't had much time for a post, as my work and school schedule permits, maybe I'll post day to day entries to play catch up. or not. I've come to see August as sort of an unofficial mark of the new year for me, being that it is the longest gap between classes, work at the office usually takes a notch down, and I usually have an opportunity to take a few weeks of annual leave and get out of town, which in turn gives perspective on life. It seems more fitting a time for me to reflect on the past year, lessons learned, and set goals for the next year. I've never been one for new years resolutions, but I have come to see the value in some periodic reevaluations. I'm a lot happier with my classes now, after seeing the end result on paper and internal growth through what I perceive as a deeper understanding of the law. Makes me look forward to balancing some of this perspectives in other parts of life and career in order to move forward to the next step. Trying to get back into a regular workout schedule, my philosophy is to block off time in my schedule 5 days a week so that I'll be more likely to actually get downstairs and workout even for a quick session. So far its been a few weeks and I've been sticking to it, making a point to bring at least 1 casebook to read while I'm biking. As I usually approach it, I try to get back into a daily regiment for about a month before I really start tracking the weight. I've found that there is always a trade off between marginal weight loss and building mass, which I'm not as concerned with right now. I'm currently at about 210.4 and pressing 225 3X8 pretty easily. Cardio I'm working on a stationary bike, about 30 minutes at L13, or 45 at L12 depending on how much time I have. My goal for the next month or so is to to maintain a certain level of strength, and drop to the next freestyle weightclass (kgs). I've been making it down to the gym 4 times a week so far, hopefully I'll be able to keep it up. Looking forward to my classes I have lined up for the semester. Following the scheme I took in the spring, I'm balancing 2 seminar courses (Immigration, Labor Law) with two bar staples, Evidence and Criminal Procedure. So far they've been a lot of work, but I think for once all 4 classes are actually in line with my personal interests. Backing up to the trip home - the first week was a nice break, but kind of hectic, in contrast, Lanai was a very relaxing, much different than I remembered more than a decade ago when I was camping on the beach in a small tent, cooking over a hibachi grill and going swimming every day. We didn't get a chance to see much of the island aside from the beach, telling ghost stories around the campfire while glancing up at the 5 star resort on the cliff side. At night you could see the milky way in the clear sky with no city lights to be seen, and hear the constant growl of the ocean waves breaking on the shore. This time around I was staying at the resort overlooking the beach, living it up as a guest of a world class resort, although I have to admit that it did feel kind of strange at time getting waited on constantly. Maybe its the local boy in me, but it seemed a little strange mingling with all the haole tourists. The maids and the wait staff reminded me too much of people I would see back home, in a way some kind of extended family of sort. I was scolded once by a shopkeeper in Lanai city that I should just swallow my politeness and just let them do their job. Also interesting this time around was that I was able to read up more on the history of the island and the people, actually have a chance to explore a bit more of the island off-roading along the coast in a 4WD jeep. There were also plenty of observations of the ongoing transformations and conversions that the island has made from agriculture to tourism, all a constant reminder that it has been a little too long to be away from home. Linkes 8/29/2007 - kinda sparse edition Protesting the Superferry Alakai. Pitfalls of contractor qui tam. Chashu recipe Article on Market Panics thoughout history Another housing blog Paper-money 8 . 8 . 0 7 Back home in Honolulu for a few weeks on a belated vacation and chance to not worry about work and school and what not. It's been a little short of a year and a half since I've been in Honolulu, a lot of things have changed by way of the local businesses, it almost feels like I've visiting an entirely new city. Went to the Mai Tai Bar at Ala Moana, it had been several years since I had been there, I remember back in 2000, 2001 it was a brand new hang out and ended up becoming a sleeper success of sorts. I imagine that they originally thought it would be a place for shoppers and tourists to relax during the day, but instead it became a total local hangout pretty much 7 days a week. Natural Vibes was playing last night, I was reminded that they played at our Senior prom way back when they were still mostly a local reggae band. Monday after fliying in we went with my folks to this Japanese izakaya in Mo'ili'ili that used to be this old drive in dinner next to a cemetary. The place had a very authentic Japanese feel to it right from when you walked in the door, and a whole bunch of interesting menu items, some traditional, some more modern. Dad wanted to sample some shouchu, since they had a special anniversary price. Its a lot like Awamori, but usually made from potatoes or brown sugar instead of rice. Not quite as strong either. It has taken a few days to get used to the time difference, and get familar with home again. I've been reminded that this gap in time has been the longest I've been away from home, during college and grad school I at least made it back 1, 2 times a year either for the holidays, or to take a class at UH. The professional career life and legal training in DC is another animal all together. Of course there is the perspective that living away from Hawaii provides you. I am constantly reminded how crazy and intense DC, such a concentrated amount of federal and commercial power in a tiny corner of the country, yet the far reaching affects of which can be felt here in the middle of the Pacific ocean. Walking around my house late one night after my parents were asleep on the first night back brought back a lot of memories from my childhood, pictures on the shelves, my mom's pottery, dad's cluttered medical journals, the wild and living jungle in the backyard, the creaking floor in the living room. for the most part it seemed like a dream digging through old things in my old room it was almost like a different person used to live here a long time ago. Most notably are all of the books that I had accumulated thorugh my years after I got back from Madison, when I was taking night classes at UH-Manoa and Kapiolani Community College and frequenting the few used bookstores in Honolulu. There was an old book I came accross written on the price of paridise, namely, the economic price of living in Hawaii. It was written almost 15 years ago, but some of the lessons I think are very relevant to this day. Linkes 8/8/2007 Summer Vacation Edition Bottle Cap O Rama Demographic shifts in Hawaii Tsukiji Fish Market (the restaurant) |