But anyway, that's for later. I'll be here in Hawaii until September 10th, arriving in Japan on September 11th, because they're 19 hours ahead of Hawaii. If you're somewhere in the continental US, you'll have to figure it out on your own.
Before I got back here, though, I did get up to Sacramento yet again (most time I've ever spent there) to visit a high school classmate, Chris, and his family. He's got a little boy, Jeffy, who's two. We went swimming in the North Fork of the American River just east of Auburn. You have to take these little, narrow dirt roads for a mile or two or three to get down there, but it's well worth it. The valleys are pretty, and the rivers are beautiful, just the right temperature to cool you off in the summer heat. I got to see Chris's parents and siblings, too, whom I knew as well. I spent the night there, seeing I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry, which was funny and not bad, so long as you don't go looking for what's obviously not going to be there: real substance.
The next day, Sunday, July 22, I drove around the south end of Lake Tahoe and over into Nevada to visit my uncle. It'd been a while since I'd seen him or my aunt, so that was really nice. I got to hang out with him for the afternoon, and a few of his many cats came over to say hello to me, though I (unfortunately) can't get to friendly with them as I've got an allergy.
Two days later, on July 24th, I arrived back in Hawaii. I had a somewhat hectic last morning in Reno, Nevada, as I woke up later than I should have (but not later than I'd planned) and realized I needed to pack a few things differently. Then I drove my car to the airport where I was going to leave it in long term parking for a friend of mine, Aaron, to pick up--he was going to fly into Reno two days later and drive the car back out to Colorado or Indiana. So I'm driving to the airport when I realize that while I've budgeted myself enough time to check in and get through security if I were getting dropped off, I'm going to be rushing because I needed to park the car, get a luggage cart to carry my bags, check in, and still make it through security...if there was a line at security, I was screwed. I park my car, get out and start running--literally--to get a luggage cart, when I see an older couple with one...maybe there's a dispenser in the parking lot, I think...no, they said they just found it, but they're generous and they have small bags, so they give it to me...I rush back to my car, get my stuff, and jog it all to the terminal. And, shocker, there's no line at all. Nor was there one at security. I could've walked calmly and still made it with enough time...oh well, for the first time in a while, when it comes to airports, I didn't plan ahead well.
As expected, after spending most of the preceding three weeks in Denver or farther west, I had gotten used to the drier climate, so stepping off the plane in Hawaii was shocking, the humidity hitting me, quickly making me feel like a human sticker.
I got to see my niece right away.
This picture is a few months old, but it's one of my favorites. I'm not a big fan of kids, many of you know, but I do adore this little girl. She's a bundle of fun, even when she starts crying...okay, maybe not then so much, but she is great. Since I've been back, just a week now, I've had the chance to see all of my family here at a little party at my cousin's house, and I've seen quite a few friends, too. I bumped into an old friend from a writing group, Lisa, whom I hadn't seen in years, though that's my only random meeting so far...but there'll be more, as there always are when I'm back home.
No, I haven't been to the beach yet, and no, I haven't started studying Japanese yet. My excuse for the former is that I'm lazy, while my excuse for the latter is that I'm lazy...and the computer program I've ordered (Rosetta Stone) hasn't arrived yet. I'm going to start to practice my kanji, though, tomorrow, and whenever the program arrives, I'll start studying in earnest. I'm also going to resume my study of aikido tomorrow evening, if the dojo in Pearl City suits me...though I'll only be there for a month, so I'll probably go either way.
My blogs for the next month are likely to be more of the same, more of the same...I'll try to post pictures of Hawaii when I get a chance.
