Walter's Camera Shop

Every day can bring growth, warmth and friendship into our lives - we just have to be open to it. In Los Angeles we are normally so caught up in our hurried lives that momentary acts of kindness or humanity don't exist and are even frowned upon. We are too busy to be nice, right? Wrong. I've just come back from a week on Kauai and I still have that Aloha spirit. Aloha means more than hello and goodbye, it represents an attitude.

So off I hurry to Walter's Camera Shop to have the battery cover replaced on my digital camera. Funny thing is that I ordered a new battery cover from Kodak because I was going to put it on myself. I'm an engineer, how hard can it be? Well, 4 tiny screwdrivers, a magnifying glass and some time later I decided I had no idea how to take the old one off.

I found Walter's on the internet. I met the nicest guy, the owner, Walter you'd think, right? Nah, his name is Sayed and he's from Egypt. He's been fixing cameras since 1952 & has a Master's in Political Science from Alexandria University. We had a rousing discussion on the price of gas and the power of OPEC as he did his thesis on Global Economy & its future relation to oil in Middle Eastern Countries. I thought that was fairly progressive for 1951. I won't go into all the details of our discussion but suffice it to say, it was interesting and he is definitely Anti-bush. Another interesting comment he made was the lack of political protests in America now, a cowed media and a "grin and bare it" attitude among America's citizens. I have to admit, I have to agree with him.

My camera repair was $5.

The new gutters are here! Now I dread not getting them in copper :-( They will be painted in a couple weeks, the same color as the house, which doesn't show up well on the pictures on the blog for some reason. But the 1/2 moon style and round down spots keep with the 1920's architecture of the home.

Eating our way through the North Shore

The north shore of Kauai continues to improve dramatically in its food selection and quality. We ate at many fine restaurants in Hanalei Bay and Princeville and wanted to share my report.

Postcards **** $$$$
-- a fairly recent edition to Hanalei Bay - exquisite vegetarian & seafood selection
-- wine and beer only, great service
-- Our favorite high end restaurant in the area

Hanalei Gourmet **** $$ - $$$
-- wonderful selection and excellent quality, certainly not "high end" but definitely great food!
-- Best mai tai's in my opinion on this side of the island

Bamboo Bamboo *** $$$$
-- Their Mai Tai's are a 2 on a scale of 10
-- The food is good, lots of variety, not exceptional, but good.
-- Service was great.

Bubba's hamburgers ** $
-- if you need a hamburger, maybe Hanalei Gourmet is the place to get it.
-- undercooked as usual, I've tried several times
-- I like my fries well done, there's were marginal cooked at all
-- service is not really their top priority
-- But if you need a burger and a Coke, this is the joint I suppose

Sabella's - Princeville * $$$$
-- Mai Tai's were a 5/10
-- Food was the worst I've ever had, over priced, nothing special, they have no clue what "piccatta" means and it's an Italian joint.
-- Size of the filet was a joke, especially at the price.
-- Bottom line, you want good food at a great price, try somewhere else
-- Island rumor has it the chef quit a few months ago and it's been downhill ever since.

Sushi Blues *** $$$
-- Wasn't there this trip but went last trip, remember the food was good, can't remember the Mai Tai's - perhaps that's a sign
-- Always live music so its a happening joint

Zelo's Beach House *** $$$
-- Mai Tai's a little sweet, fresh juice though -- 7/10
-- Suggest upgrading to the Iniki Mai Tai - basically a souped up version of the above.
-- The food is good

Wake up Cafe **** $
-- Best breakfast place in Hanalei - 'nuff said
-- Make sure to try the Portuguese Sweet bread cinnamon roll!

Learning to relax is an art

I truly believe that living in the US of A has caused me to forget how to relax. Americans take less vacations than any other country in the world. As I wake up each morning in the lush, tropical paradise that Kauai is, my mind tells my body, "jump up and do something!" My mind whirls with things to do, I must do SOMETHING, shouldn't I? No actually, I don't.

We must relearn how to relax. We must relearn how to lounge about, take life less seriously, stress about less things and stop to smell the papaya occassionally. Check out any of the links I've referenced for this blog and see what I'm talking about. Americans are being robbed of their right to proper holidays. It's important that we recharge. Wouldn't we be more productive if we did that? Something to think about.

Well, got to go, I hear my snorkel gear calling me.

Motivation in Hanalei Bay

Well, here I am in beautiful, idyllic Kauai - in Hanalei Bay wondering why I wake up each morning with absolutely no desire to do anything. All my motivation is gone. Dena says its because I'm on vacation and that's the way it's supposed to be. No wonder people get nothing done on the islands. When I go to Honolulu to work I have to plan extra days, about 50% more than normal to combat this island work mentality. As a mainlander it frustrates me, but spending any time here one comes to appreciate that kind of attitude.

I think today Dena and I are going shopping at a local craft fair in Kapa'a and then off to Poipu state beach for swimming and snorkeling. Maybe - sometimes we get sidetracked. Anyone that knows me, knows I have to have a plan. It's hard to have a plan in Hawaii. You just sort of hang loose and go with the flow and whatever happens, happens.

In a couple days I'll write about "eating our way through the north shore". A comprehensive restaurant review.

My kingdom for a screw

You know, you can never find the right screw when you need it. Today was just another sunny, beautiful day in Los Angeles, Dawn out searching for that one perfect screw. Mostly I find myself looking on the weekends but today I found myself in a weekday need. A quandry if you will. Could I find it and did I already have it? You see, you don't want to spend your time "shopping" for a screw if you've already got it the perfect one at home.

Some screws are a matter of taste, others are a matter of need. There are all types of screws after all; big, small, long, short, wide, skinny, pointy and blunt. Sometimes you need a special, one of a kind screw, but even if my need is a little unique - I can always find it somewhere. This is LA after all - you just need to know where to look. You can find ANYTHING in LA.

Today's need was a 2" flat topped #8 machine screw which I just didn't have. I have a garage full of screws, individually sorted into parts drawers and labelled. You'd think I'd have such a common screw. You did know I was talking about hardware didn't you?

Dena learns all about cement and gets her slippers dirty doing home improvement. What will she come up with next? Of course I had to do all the hard work mixing the cement and carrying the 60 lbs bags...... Here she is filling a tiny hole with 120 lbs of cement, one cupful at a time. Talk about patience.

Off comes the tile roof

Too busy to blog?

Am I really that busy that I can't blog? I'm feeling run down, overwhelmed and just plain out of time. When you feel like this you have to prioritize, right? And blogging tends to be at the bottom of the list. However, years ago (yeah right.....) when I was in therapy, all therapists usually tell you to journal. Dawn, you have to journal, explore your thoughts, blah, blah, blah.

Perhaps blogging is therapeutic to my pysche, perhaps it calms me, lets me dump random and/or obsessive thoughts onto the internet thus clearing my mind for more focused work, that is after all why I started it in the first place.

Well, since blogging is obviously good for me, I'd better continue. Let's see then, eating salads, drinking more water, eating more protein, eating before 6pm, exercising, etc, etc, etc, are all good for me. Do you think life is all about balance? Do we struggle our whole lives trying to find peace and harmony between our ying and yang? Is balance about happiness? Ah, the thoughts that plague the idle mind!!! BACK TO WORK!

Googlewhack

Dena & I had the good fortune to see Dave Gorman's googlewhack adventure Saturday night at the UCLA playhouse. What an amazingly hilarious story told by an exceptional storyteller. We were rolling in the aisles and the best part was, it was all true! They say truth is stranger than fiction and they are right! He is done with his run in Los Angeles I'm sorry to say, however, his book is available on his website and on Amazon . Apparently he is getting a 3 month run in New York, so if you get a chance to see him, I highly recommend it. Worth every single penny of admission. I cannot reveal details of his story or his adventure, cause well, he swore me to secrecy.

For those of you unaware of what a googlewhack is, its a game played on google. It is the challenge of entering two words into a google search that turn up one and one hit only. Google is the arbiter of a whack's uniqueness. Look to the right end of the blue bar atop your Google results. If you see "Results 1 - 1 of (any number),' you found exactly one hit = Googlewhack! There are many other rules, the single most important being that you cannot use quotation marks. For example, rabbits eggheadedness is a googlewhack. Try it yourself! To learn more about the rules and other whacks, check out the googlewhack webpage.

The animals are guilty

The infamous gang rape trial in Orange County, California is hopefully over, for good, although the appeal has been filed already. The 3 animals will be sentenced soon and we can stop hearing about their escapades and the blame put on the victim. See the story in the SF Chronicle . This was a brutal gang rape of a defenseless, albeit drunk, young woman by three teenage boys using their penises and then when they tired of that, other objects. The morons videotaped the events providing the key point of evidence for the prosecution. 22 minutes of it. I cannot imagine being a juror and having to watch that.

What's amazing to me is that it took 2 trials to get to this point. In both trials the young woman was presented as promiscuous and her character assassinated through out the trial. She must be a strong person to put up with such abuse. Why can't she sue for defamation of character? Why couldn't she sue the defense attorney's for saying all that stuff? Was she really the school slut? We all know that in school their are rumors and that teenagers blow this stuff out of proportion. And where are their parents? Not only the girls, but the boys? After all, this did happen one evening in the boys garage.

The American justice system seems slanted towards the rich, famous and influential. Case in point, Kobe Bryant, OJ Simpson, Michael Jackson, and by the way, one of the boys in the above case was the son of OC ex - sherriff. Money baby, that's what it takes in the USA, money!

Dawn's rain gauge for Thursday's torrential rain. 1.6 inches in a matter of a few hours. A rock & rollin' storm with Dena, that's right folks, Dena out in my pink booties on sump pump duty!

Pink?? Is the guest house really going to be that ugly pink with light green trim? No, our painter just tints his primer.

The long awaited Westin heavenly bed is being delivered Friday - I can't tell you how excited I am. The thought of sleeping on such a wonderful mattress just makes me all giddy. I'll let you know how it goes. These beds are custom made by Simmons ONLY for the Westin and its guests. They can be purchased only thru Westin and are custom made to order. This means a long delivery time, but worth it. You will all be drooling at the relaxing, marvelous sleep I'll be getting. It will be a joy not to wake up with a backache every morning.

10" rare shiplap redwood ---- $ 1,200.00 50 -- man/woman hours ---- $ 2,000.00 the perfect compound angle cut ---- PRICELESS

Front of the house with some trim! I love it!

Jaded?

Perhaps living in Los Angeles, a stone's throw from the beach, Hollywood and other famous spots makes you jaded. Yesterday we decided to take our niece and nephew to see The Pacifier (a rental for sure) and the most convenient spot and showtime was at the El Capitan on Hollywood Blvd. This is an amazing venue from the old Hollywood days with gorgeous ceilings and plaster reliefs. This theatre is across from the Grauman's Chinese, another Hollywood landmark and the new Kodak Theatre center, the site of the recent Oscar's.

After purchasing tickets we had an hour to kill in this area before the show - and I'm thinking what the hell are we going to do on Hollywood Blvd with all these bloody tourists! As I glanced across the street I could see the Hollywood sign perfectly framed by the walkways in the Kodak center. What a beautiful site. Not to mention the history and awe attached to the view in general. Then I glanced down at the stars on the boulevard. We had to explain to Jack & Ruby that these people were not necessarily dead and that they certainly weren't buried beneath the star. They were unaware of the significance of the whole thing. We spent the next little while educating the kids on the history and putting our feet in the footprints at the Grauman's Chinese. Some of it was lost on the kids but not on me. I will endeavor not to take such things for granted.

We are fortunate to live in a city with such history, stories to tell, things to do, and year round beauty to behold. We should never take for granted what we have in life. You never know when it may be taken away.
Seize every opportunity and live each day with wonder in your eyes!

One side done -- with all the rain, it may be awhile til anything else is painted

The minimalist look -- I suppose if you can afford a 42" plasma panel TV ou should be able to afford the furniture for it.....saw horses worked fine....

Restoring the columns and other intricate plaster reliefs on the front of the house takes tender loving care and money.