What a weekend! The weather was awful, except for a few hours on Saturday. It was coffee and a good book day. The coffee was there but not the book. I completed another Hemingway classic, For Whom the Bells Toll, a day or two earlier. I went back to non-fiction and just wasn’t in the mood to read about current affairs over the weekend. With overdose of election frenzied advertisements in all media outlets avowing everything negative about the state of affairs is not appealing for the moment. The mute button on the remote has been working overtime as well as switch to non-profit radio or television due to slandering nauseous ads. I doubt the problems the ads point out are unique only to America. However, the propaganda bombardments citizens must endure is. Will Rogers said, “America has the best politicians money can buy” holds more true now than his time.
The book I am reading now, The House of War by James Carroll, is about my old employer, the Pentagon. I have never seen the Pentagon but did receive recognition from offices at the Defense Department when I worked on past projects as well as military awards from several squadrons I was assigned to. Those framed letters, plaques and certificates now sit in a cardboard box banished to collecting dust in the closet. Gone are the “I love me” walls I used to plaster those on. Later I would conclude that it was a sign of insecurity rather than pride in accomplishments. In retrospect I would have preferred a promotion with a hefty pay raise instead.
But good news came across the e-mail browser. NOAA has decided to make any move to Hawaii a permanent change of station so this means they will pay for the move to the Aloha State. Mr. “C” our division chief asked for response and letter of interest. No need to go into details that my response took less than thirty minutes to write and dispatched to Mr. “C’s” respective inbox early Saturday morning. Probably the worst kept secret at work was of my desires to move to Hawaii. And the reasons emphasizing my purpose in wanting to move was obvious as well.
Upon telling “L” and “I,” morale in the house increased to at least 120% and informed “Lv” in Samoa as well that there may be a chance he will be living in Hawaii instead of Washington. His response was atypical of what I would expect from a teenage boy. He acted “disappointed” that he could not turn “white” if he was to live in Hawaii due to the sub-tropical climate. As for living in Washington State, because of our frequent cloudiness, he would get the opportunity to develop a lighter complexion. Of course his mother reminded him that by the time when he comes to America, we may be in Oregon. All of us might not be very happy about that prospect though may have to live with it until retirement takes us back to Samoa if we were not to move to Hawaii. The climate does not differ between Washington and Oregon but being lighter skin tone would be the last thing on “Lv’s” mind, in his strives to survive in a small Coastal Oregon town.
Nevertheless, I must be selected first to work in Hawaii before we can make plans. I know “L” was excited at the prospect and “I” indicated in the past he would like to live in the Aloha State. I recall countless times “I” was mistaken for a Hawaiian during his junior and senior high school years. When we went grocery shopping and “L” would buy pineapple and peanuts to make pineapple salad, the cashier in a friendly gesture would look at us and ask if we were from Hawaii. “L” took the penchant to explain where she was from that only prolonged the conversation to the rolling of the eyes of customers waiting to check out. Meanwhile we got to hear all about the cashier’s vacation in Hawaii. Finally the inquiries got to the point that we agreed to tell whomever that we were from Hawaii and picked out a place in case anyone asked again.
The “Americanization of “L” took a step further this past weekend. As I wrote in the last blog about shopping at a neighborhood grocer, and introduction of fresh specialty bread (i.e. French and Sourdough) as we went back to QFC for more. Much like her experience with tofu and kimchee, “L” indicated to me that she didn’t like bread and blah blah blah. Now, her mind has changed and cannot get enough of French bread. Interesting dinners we have at the house as we made vegetarian curry and rice. “L” will pour the curry over pork feet instead of rice. Combine kimchee with bananas and taro rather than rice. Our refrigerator smells like ethnic grocery store and for the house. Well we do not notice it and take it to being the norm. Are there any reasons we do not have much visitors?
I showed her the Sunday morning ads in the paper and look for items of interest that may be on sale as well use of shopping coupons to wise budget conscious consumer shopping. Several second tier clothes stores such as Marshall’s, TJ Maxx and Ross have been advertising heavily and caught “L”s eye. I took her to Michael’s to show her where to get supplies for her new found hobbies and next door to it was Marshall’s. Such stores are heaven for her and easy on the wallet when I am not at sea.
Less than two weeks until Hawaii and last full weekend coming up in Seattle. I hope this time frame in Hawaii goes by fast. Just keep busy and it will.
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