life in the old lane

808AM in the 808: BALLISTIC MISSILE THREAT INBOUND TO HAWAII. SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER. THIS IS NOT A DRILL.

This was a totally bad way to start my Sunday. In all my years working with the military… “This is no drill” the scariest of all words. And if anyone who lives in Hawai’i and got this cell phone alert says that they were not terrified for an instant … well, they are lying.

Apparently this message not only came over the cell phones, It also came over the TVs and radios. 40 minutes later messages were sent out saying OOPS. I live less than a block from a very reliable warning siren. And since it didn’t go off – within two minutes I figured that it was a mistake. 

But as Carlton would say: It was a “Check up from the neck up” for me. What if it were real? I am all good. Nothing needs to be done. I would have gone and sat on the end of the pier and waited.

I am not a surviver. And, if anyone thinks they are a surviver type – well, read the saddest book on the planet. The Road by  Cormac McCarthy. After the first  page you know it is going to end badly. Note to Barb: He wrote this just after he returned to El Paso. 

Did my walking, swimming and yoga. 

Yesterday was busy. Today not busy. 

Three weeks from now I will be on my way to Australia. I keep reminding myself that I am no longer young and that I must schedule downtime into my travel schedule. Especially when the weather is hot. I have positioned myself in Sydney near the ferry terminal and a major transfer point for the local trains. So, I can easily get to lots of places. Or just go for a boat ride. And, it will be easy to get to the airport or any other way out town. 

Sometimes I just think I want to give into this getting old shit. Just tuck into the  Asylum. Buy a really finest kind walker. Stock the closet with elastic waist clothes. Eat and drink anything I want. Retire the Fitbit. And, just wait. 

No. I am not about to go quietly into the good night. Time to do some yoga. Then dinner. 

Fun busy day. Walk, breakfast, Costco, Kaloko Ponds, afternoon meeting, little rest, dinner at Kona Inn. 

Started the day off with 2 long exposure shots from my lanai.

But now I am tired. So, I am going to have a cup of coffee and go nite-nite.

I did not even think about going in the water today.

But, I did go see Surfer Dentist. He patched up my tooth – and said that there was a really good chance that it wasn’t my sinuses bleeding down the back of my throat – but the gums around my damaged tooth. And, I think he was right. 

Went to dinner at a friends house tonight. Lovely, but chilly time. It was so cool. She has black cows in her back yard. Turkeys roosting in her tree. And a flock of parrots flew over. Since she is “aging in place” she is having an elevator installed. Her house was built so an elevator could be installed when needed, but it is still costing 60K. 

I never quite understand why people get off their big boat just to pay extra money to bounce around in these little boats. But they do.

 

First, the problem of the day. I developed a posterior nosebleed this afternoon. I am no stranger to nosebleeds. But, posterior nosebleeds are much more serious. Another joy of aging. Rest assured that I am taking this seriously. Not seriously enough to take myself to the local ER. But, seriously. No swimming. No inverted yoga postures. Hopefully, it will stop by itself. 

Second, the progress of the day. I figured I should not lay down and nap. So, I finalized my Australia plans up to Feb 14. The train will deposit me in Sydney at about noon on the 14th. But, I all manner of plane, train, bus and hotel reservations. All good until I get off the train. One of my hotel rooms is called a “matchbox”.  No, I didn’t do the Air BnB thing. I am sort of old school. 

Enjoying some fine coffee and a little toast this morning – when out popped a crown. It wasn’t 100% unanticipated. Fortunately, I was able to get an appointment to see Surfer Dentist early Wednesday. Only in Hawai’i do you need to check the surf report before going to the dentist. Actually, he is more responsible than that – but if the surf is good, the chances of him showing up early are slim and none.

Sorry Perth: You got short changed by Geraldton. I have a friend from the Merkel Cell Carcinoma support group who lives about 250 miles north of Perth in Geraldton. I’ll fly up early on Friday AM – spend the day and then take the bus back to Perth on Saturday morning. I’ll get to Perth mid-afternoon. Good news is the bus terminal is within a mile of the train station. Sunday morning it is on the train for my ride across the country. Hey, this whole trip is just one great big adventure. I’ll still have enough time in Perth to do some sightseeing – if the body holds up.

There will be plenty of time to rest after I am dead. Or on the 65 hour train ride from Perth to Sydney – which ever comes first. 

Had a hard time with getting my exercise in today. You know you are in trouble when you check the fitbit every 2 blocks. Are we there yet? Can I turn around now? Finally made a deal with myself. Sushi for lunch, after I hit 5 miles.

I failed to mention that I drove a car the other day. I only crashed four times. Now, you know why Carlton made me promise to never buy anything with wheels under it. Fortunately, the car was Billy’s remote control Mustang. It is about 12inches long.  I think the car survived. But, it would be fun to run one up and down the passageways at The Asylum. I suspect that soon “remote control cars” would join “candles” and “working firearms” on the verboten list.

I know there are things that I should be doing. But, today, I am not doing. Maybe I’ll make a list!

Did these bottles contain booze? I don’t think so. Olive oil? Who knows. Not me. 

A nice lazy day… Sort of. Well, it was sort of lazy. It was a nice day. The lazy part is I let the daily swim slide. But, I walked the 5 miles and did a hard yoga program. Well, hard for the 2018 version of me. It would have been easy for the 1998 version of Peg.

I got a luggage scale at WaMart. A fish scale was cheaper. And, it didn’t use batteries. But, it weighed at least twice as much. So, I decided to start worrying about ounces with the scale. And, I picked up a DIY tooth repair kit while I was there. With my old teeth – something will go wrong. FYI: My backpack weighs 3 pounds empty. My suitcase weighs 4. We’ll see which one goes and which one stays in Hawai’i.

So, the trip is getting “real-er”. 

Also, a friend had a news letter  emergency. You need it, when??? Time to invoke on of Peg’s rules: If you want it bad, you get it bad. 

Yes, that is our “official” wedding picture. I am in my oh so suitable “wedding togs”. For 20 years I was introduced as “Carlton’s current wife”. Well for the last 4 years, I have been “Carlton’s last wife”.  Good times, lots of them.  It is still good. 

Walked, swam, yoga – today. I am tired now. 

The catch of the day is a big female parrot fish. You gotta love parrot fish – because almost all beach sand is parrot fish poop. They eat coral and poop sand. 

Finally made some reservations for flying around Australia. 

Feb 2 – Kona – Honolulu – Brisbane (arrive Feb 3)
Feb 4 Brisbane – Melbourne. 
Feb  8 Melbourne – Perth
Feb 11 train to Sydney
Feb 14 train gets to Sydney
No plans after getting off the train in Sydney
Mar 1 – Brisbane – Honolulu – Kona (arrive Mar 1)

It is starting to come together. 4 weeks from today is lift off.

Put on my wool hoodie and made it out to the Old Airport. The sun came up. The whales showed up. Suit up and show up. 

Just a normal day in Hawai’i… walk, swim, yoga, read, nap. 

Hope all my east coast friends are safe and warm.

The next full moon – this month hence a blue moon – the next full moon will also have to total eclipse. I might have to go down to the pier in the middle of the night and check the moon out.

So sorry Darwin, the city – not the scientist – Darwin just got replaced by Melbourne. The only thing interesting about Darwin is where it is. Oh and crocodiles. Big ass salt water crocodiles.

Then I read about Melbourne. Chocolate tours and a 1,000+ stall outdoor market. And it is 91 degrees in Darwin right now and 71 in Melbourne. And, it seems to have great public transit. So, fly into Brisbane. Arrive 8:30 PM. According to “Sleeping in Airports” I’ll have no problem spending the night in the airport – then an early flight to Melbourne. 4 nights in Melbourne. 

But, its not all chocolate and Foster’s – I don’t check bags. Haven’t checked a bag in decades. BUT, the carryon limit for domestic flights in Australia is 7 kilos. That is about 15 pounds. Well, that makes deciding what to take interesting. 

 

I am dedicating January to getting the old body back in gear after enjoying poor health late last year. To that end, I have knocked out my 5 miles, and done some swimming and yoga every day this year. That would be 2 days now!

Today was another not too great day in the ocean. Cloudy, both the sky and the ocean. And there was a bit of chop. But, the great broom fish came swimming past my camera. 

Still playing mind games with my trip to Australia. About the Great Barrier Reef. In late February, it will be hot as hell. It is cyclone season. You can die from the jellyfish. Not to mention coral bleaching. But. If not now when. And as my friend Trude said about going to see the eclipse “well, for sure if we don’t go we wont see it”. 

Life is a crap shoot.

Another project for January – Starting with The Hobbit – revisit Lord of the Rings. That was my generation’s Harry Potter.