Rogue chickens roam everywhere on Maui. E v e r y w h e r e.
On vending machines.
Under cars.

This one chased our car as Marcella took a picture out the window.
We ate a lot of fish.

Surrounded by the walls of the Pu'u Kukui Crater we found the Iao Needle.
 

Iao Valley

At the Heritage Park in the Iao Valley.





 

As I am demonstrating in the picture below, an important lesson we learned: when you're standing shoulder deep in the ocean which is constantly swelling and cresting, don't look down. You might drown.

Another important lesson: No abusing of fishes.
 

We also had a fascination for beaches. Inexplicably.
Our hands-down favourite: Kamole III.
Beach behind our condo.
Black sand beaches -- caused by lava rock breaking down. Honokalani Black Sand Beach is located in the Wainapanapa State Park
The Po'olenalena Beach, where we both learned the important lesson: don't look down.

Sunrise 9,745 feet above the sea level over Haleakala.



 

In the dark it was FREEZING cold, but when the sun came up we started warming up.

Lobster claw.
 

Flowers, flowers, flowers!



 

We have a fascination with seaweed... 

...and with flowers.

Maria & Marcella on Maui 2006

 

Convince me

When I got my ears pierced a couple of weeks ago the crazy lady behind the make-up counter decided to distract me by pointing out the wrinkles around my eyes. "Look, so ugly, the wrrrrinkals. You must use eay crrraam! Use eay crrrraaam!!" (she had a very funny accent)

Anyhow I'm sure she saw SUCKER! printed on my forehead when I came in, because that little vial of eye cream should have some miracle power that I'm just not experiencing yet.

It got me thinking about what convinces me to act:
1. Derision
2. Guilt

What doesn't work with me:
1. Contempt
2. Out-right direction

Looking for a good woman

On my way home I was proposed to by a homeless guy who was hilarious. Walked right beside me and started a conversation like this: "I'm looking for a good woman, someone to take care of me, and keep me until I'm old... or some change for a cup of coffee!"

I laughed and told him no to both questions, I didn't have any change on me.

Ah yes, marriage proposals. Sometimes they are so funny, and no girl would ever forget her first proposal. I was in Grade 7, and it was October 31st. We were on the yellow bus to see Helen Keller play performed at the Citadel. And his name was Keith, and he was wearing a football jersey. Though I was flattered, I think I stomped on his foot in response.

Please help me! With a pen.

This hilarious guy contacted us looking for some pens...

Please help me! With a pen.
I am a young man and I am collecting pens with advertisement. I have a very large collection - but I am always looking for new pens. On these pages I will show you part of my collection.

http://www.pen-collection.com/

Training for Maui!

I'm thinking that the office temperature of 28 degrees (even though it's only 24 outside) is training for Maui. Since I am now on Maui, work doesn’t exist. Annoying people don't exist. I'm drinking... well, actually it's water. But I'm pretending it's so much more.

If it hits 30 degrees in here like yesterday, I'm getting out of here.

Ugly Cream

I love this idea:

men who are dating, married, "seeing", "interested in", "getting to to know" someone should all wear wedding rings...or have to wear a face cream that makes them ugly to everyone but the person they are with

Lame lame lame...

So someone decided to watch the game tonight because all their friends were watching it. We went down to Whyte Ave and watched the lamest game ever at a place that didn't serve food. Which meant we ordered in pizza and I was pretty much asleep by 9 pm when the game was finally over. Then we marched up and down Whyte with the rest of the idiots watching the game on Whyte, high-fiving and waving flags and honking.

Word!

New word: eponym

1. A person whose name is or is thought to be the source of the name of something, such as a city, country, or era. For example, Romulus is the eponym of Rome.
2. Medicine. A name of a drug, structure, or disease based on or derived from the name of a person.

Spelling Hate

#6 from my friend Carroll and it's a good one because it also uses an ellipsis with a period:

Sorry for any inconvenience this may of caused....

Hot stuff

It's partially because there's no air conditioning at work and it's hot outside, but one of my features is heat. I will melt away just even thinking about being warm.

Alex, always good natured.
Melissa, ever so sweet.


















And who are these hot chicks with their socks pulled up to their knees??

Nice shorts too.

Waah waah waaah

Tee hee hee! A little cranky??


 

Oh boy...

I've been scanning my dad's old slides. Yes, I know, I really shouldn't encourage his habits, and also get my own life... let's not talk about that.

It's always bugged everyone that my dad is such a shutterbug, but I've never actually realized that my dad takes that many crappy pictures. I guess my mom's always sorted through them and picked out the best ones to put into photo albums.

Seriously though, several rolls of 38 exposure slide film out the front of a car window. I'm humouring him that I'm scanning these photos, time out of my life I'll never get back!! I guess I don't have a life, but we're not talking about that.

Chivalry is not dead

This week it struck me that some men are still chivalrous -- and how interesting it was to see a big line up in Starbucks, and instead of opening the door for just himself and being ahead of us (his rightful place) some guy opened the door for us and then had to wait in line behind 6 women.

Eh?

Every day is not like another... sometimes. Usually I listen to my iPod or read a book on the bus in the mornings. Yesterday I did neither, but I did take my book out of my knapsack and have it on my lap. I ended up staring blankly out the window.

Half way through the ride a woman gets on and sits next to me and starts putting on her make-up and I thought "weird..." But she was really cute and reminded me of a friend I have.

I'm still staring blankly out the window and all of a sudden tap-tap-tap on my shoulder. It's the make-up girl and she says "Hi, do you mind if I borrowed your devotional for a couple of minutes? Like two minutes?"

Huh? "Oh... sure, here ya go."

She read a couple of chapters of Max Lucado's "Cure for the Common Life" and passed it back with a "thanks so much!"

Sean Rocks!

I believe I mentioned that I love Sean. He makes me laugh every day at work. He came in after a conference on Friday afternoon when he should have gone home and put his feet up and this happened:

________________________________________
From: Maria
Sent: Friday, May 05, 2006 11:41 AM
To: Sean
Subject: Replaced content class

Hey Sean,

Got your message. I replaced the content class from Navigation > L4 to Content > Content List used to organize lists of information with pages behind.

Is that what you meant??
________________________________________
From: Sean
Sent: Friday, May 05, 2006 1:13 PM
To: Maria
Subject: RE: Replaced content class

That's exactly what I meant. Very nice.

Needless to say, you rock.
________________________________________
From: Maria
Sent: Friday, May 05, 2006 1:34 PM
To: Sean
Subject: RE: Replaced content class

Thanks for the rock!

Go home Sean, and enjoy your balcony and a beer and the sun.
________________________________________
From: Sean
Sent: Friday, May 05, 2006 1:58 PM
To: Maria
Subject: RE: Replaced content class

Man, that sounds pretty good. Except with my luck, I'd just end up drunk and sunburned...

ST
________________________________________
From: Maria
Sent: Friday, May 05, 2006 2:12 PM
To: Sean
Subject: RE: Replaced content class

Too late, now everyone’s seen you.
________________________________________
From: Sean
Sent: Friday, May 05, 2006 2:15 PM
To: Maria
Subject: RE: Replaced content class

Yeah, I've already proofed an area office brochure for Beata. No rest for the stupid....

Rocking

Sean always responds to my posting confirmation emails with a hearty "You rock!" Inside joke maybe, but it never gets old!

Then this happens and I just love Sean:

_____________________________________________

From: R
Sent: Friday, April 28, 2006 9:31 AM
To: MP; Maria
Cc: Sean; Others
Subject: Overview

MP, here is the pdf with the requested changes. Sean had checked it over as well.

Maria, this .pdf needs to replace the Overview pdf already on the web.
_____________________________________________

From: Maria
Sent: Friday, April 28, 2006 9:39 AM
To: R; MP
Cc: Sean; Others
Subject: RE: Overview

Hi All,

This is updated on the websites.

_____________________________________________

From: Sean
Sent: Friday, April 28, 2006 10:00 AM
To: Maria
Subject: RE: Overview

It takes two days of back-and-forth between at least six different people to get the new version of this document to R.

You get the file from R, and seven minutes later it's online.

I think you need to teach a course for all the Overview people: Rocking 101.
_____________________________________________

From: Maria
Sent: Friday, April 28, 2006 10:02 AM
To: Sean
Subject: RE: Overview

HAHAAAAHAHA HAHA HA HAA!!

Come on… I’ll buy you a coffee for that. Let’s go to Starbucks.

Connection

He wants an instant connection and undeniable chemistry that makes you want to do nothing else but think about and spend time with the other person immediately.

Does that happen to adults over age 22? Maybe, but only after you get to know them...

Just Dandy!

I love in the spring when the first dandelions all spring out of the grass and they're all the same size!

Tuesdays and Thursdays

I'm going to sound like a crank, (ha ha, when don't I sound like a crank?!) but on weeknights I do the same things week after week. No suprises here.

Monday: Study
Tuesday: Family dinner night, sounds lame but my grannies like it
Wednesday: um...
Thursday: Work
Friday: um...

So when I repeatedly tell someone that Tuesdays and Thursdays aren't good for me to join her at the gym, you'd think it'd stick. The words "I never will join you at the Gym on Tuesdays and Thursdays" have come out of my mouth. Over and over again.

Disappointing to realize that It Will Just Not Stick. I'm going to have to give this person up as a friend. I just can't deal with it.

Bookstar

A certain author who's manuscripts I read while I was living in Calgary had his third book published and tonight was the book reading. It was the third book published, but the first one I read in manuscript form -- I can't wait to re-read it and remember it, since I first read it while on vacation in San Jose, California. I remember reading it outside in the sun, orange and lemon trees all around.

He's kind of got a puffed-up ego, like he's some sort of Bookstar. He figured his picture on the poster in the bookstore wasn't big enough. He also rearranged Dan Brown's books lower than his own. He does write well, but man, what a Bookstar.

Grandma, Grandma, Cousin

My parent's house is a revolving door for immigrants, family, friends, etc. I can't count how many non-family members we've had living with us over the years. Now, after both Grandmas have been here six months or more, our cousin Anna moved in. She's super helpful. I find I get more done with an Anna.

What I like

I like it in spring when the spring green grass starts growing all spikey and varied and no one has mowed yet.

Pr0n star

A senior executive director sent out a memo with a link to what was supposed to be our site. Except she mixed up the letters in our acronym and sent all staff a link to a pr0n site...

Spelling really does matter.

Memo from the KGB

I sent out a link via email to a "test" site on the internet with a mock-up of sensitive information that wasn't to be released until the next day to several managers for approval...

What I got back was a faxed copy, with all the sensitive words, links, and numbers blacked out with a marker, and the approval signature. Faxed mind you.

Me and my annoying self

In today's email:

If you need any other information please contact myself at...

Green with envy!

Bought two new green sweaters... and not only were they on sale, but they were further reduced for clearance, and not only were they reduced, I got 10% off!!

Consider this

Contrary to popular belief, your decisions don't drive your long term success - your decisiveness does. Said another way, when you reach a crossroads on any issue, the act of choosing creates power, not the choice itself. The issue is momentum. No matter what you choose, when you commit boldly with conviction, you create momentum. When you hesitate you don't. And success is built on momentum.

Link to full article

Less Puffy

A gym junkie told my sister that he was on day 42 of Absolutely No Sugar. And if he dieted as well, he'd be less "puffy."

Yeah. If I dieted I'd be less puffy too.

Fun quote of the day

For your information, I would like to ask a question.
- Samuel Goldwyn

squash is the new black

Squash is my new favourite thing. I bought a racket, I bought a ball, I bought a pair of goggles. My butt is super! After four times on the court, I'm still considering turning pro.

It's Pink day, didn't anyone tell you?

You've never seen anything until you've seen 150 church women all dressed in Pink. Generally a bride can happily make all her bridesmaids wear the same colour. When you however demand that the entire female church body wear Pink you definitely have stepped over the line into neurotic Bridezilla territory.

Thanks!

A "thanks for dinner" email got me a "your [sic] welcome sweety [sic]" email. How sad is that??

Rude is funny

I just find rude people funny sometimes. Like the woman at lunch time that said "Watch out!" in a friendly tone of voice as she was coming through a crowded hallway instead of "Excuse me please!"

Oh yes, we will watch out where you are walking!

Squash Pro

Last year my sister played squash for the first time ever. She came home and told us she was considering turning Pro.

I played squash for the first time on Friday. Then I went out and bought a racket, a ball and eye shield. I'm considering that after my squash butt thaws I might become a Pro squash player.