Client Stories (Part 1) - The Battle Prelude

Seeing as I work with an extensive variety of people and personality types at my different places of work, I hear a lot of interesting things. I can't repeat every one of them for various reasons, but every once in a while a nice little tidbit makes it my way that I can share without NDA's being put on file. This one comes from Mr. Alner (obviously not his real name) and is about how he caused several thousand dollars worth of damage to other people's cars.

Visiting With The Black Pearl (PotC4)

So back when I had all those visitors last month, I found a way for them to finally get out and check out the island. They had been here for almost a week and had only seen Diamond Head, Waikiki, and a couple of beaches. In an attempt to get them to some of the island's more distant destinations I pulled my trump card: The Black Pearl from PotC. Yes, the Black Pearl was in one of the northern harbors for filming of the 4th, as of yet, unannounced movie for several weeks and was open for viewing by the public.

Arrival Of The Guests

So things have been insanely busy around here lately. Not so much from work (I've been "on the beach" as we like to say), but from people coming over and visiting for weeks on end. It's ranged from a single person, to four other people sharing my one bedroom apartment. As of the 16th, I'll have had visitors for a solid month.

I can't say it hasn't been fun, but I have to pretty much serve as the local tour guide during their stay. And even then, they would sometimes sleep until noon and then go shopping for the rest of the day...shopping. I basically had to force that one to get out and enjoy the island. They'll all be gone in a little while though and I'll have to find something to fill my time. Head back to the gym, finally take those SCUBA Diving lessons I paid for back before I went to Alaska, and start up on a couple of recent assignments... I may not have much time to relax though. murmurs back home suggest that I might have a group of relatives coming out in November. Depending on who decides to visit, I could be dealing with as many as 25 people coming out here. I shudder at the thought. Peace out.

- TiH

Retro Update: Souel Airport & Hotdogs (S. Korea)

Part of the reason I was able to afford going to China on such short notice was the nice long stop over I experienced in Souel South Korea coming and going. The Souel airport is actually a very tidy, well designed area with a lot to see and do. This doesn't make up for the fact that when it comes down to it, it's still just an airport. I did get a couple of nice experiences out of my time there though.

Update: Hangin Out In The Souel Airport (Return From China)

UPDATE: I got back home after an 8-hour plane trip. I have successfully traveled 10-hours back in time from when I left the Souel airport. It is now 10:30 am on the 26th, and I left Souel at 8:20 pm on the 26th. Impressive, no? That is all.

Just a brief note that I'm heading back to Hawaii from China now. I've got a nice relaxing 7-1/2 hour layover in Souel right now and aside from trying some pretty terrible Korean Ramen/Kimchee, there isn't much to do. I've checked my work e-mail (which has decided to pretend that I never left or said that I can't check it in China), found a place that sells Diet Coke (a small miracle over here), and figured out where my flight leaves from. I've also given myself a personal tour of the entire Souel airport. Now to kickback, find a decent place for dinner, and wait for my flight to the states. Peace out.

- TiH

China Travel Plans

I'll be leaving in several hours to catch a flight to Shenyang, China to meet some future family members (in-law). The wonderful woman I've been dating since practically forever is originally from China and I've scheduled some time off to go and meet her grandparents. They are getting up there in years (75 - 80) and if I don't go soon I may never get a chance to meet them.

Riding Down The Denali Rapids (Sorry, No Pictures)

I will be leaving Alaska this coming Wednesday morning, so this weekend will be my last chance to take care of everything that I've been wanting to do since I arrived here mid April. I'd been toying around with the idea of rehiking Angel Rocks and going on to the Chena Hot Springs, but rehashing old material didn't seem like the best use of my time. Instead, I decided to do some white water rafting down the Nenana River Canyon.

Ice Caverns Of The Castner Glacier

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Thursday, 4:00 p.m. - Enter The Vodka Toting Crazed Gunman

First, I will say that the title for this post accurately describes the situation I found myself in today at work. It sums it up nicely and yet it doesn't accurately capture what really happened. If you want you can read on and discover the horrible truth, or just skip over this entry and think about how crazy things at work have to be for this sort of things to be possible.

Hiking The Angel Rocks Trail

So my first week in Alaska is wrapping up and I've managed to place myself in harm's way via a multitude of methods. Wondering around in the wild without bear spray (a real thing, I swear), marching out onto thinly frozen creeks, climbing rocks without hesitation or thought, and the list could go on and on. As with the other trails and hikes we'll just go through things in order of occurance. Here's a cliff that doesn't really have anything with the route other than it's vacinity to Angel Rocks (I later found out it is the trail head for Granite Tors). I'm about 6' 2'' if you want something to provide a sense of scale.

Alaska From 13,000 Feet

Here are some pictures I took from the plane as we flew to Fairbanks yesterday. This portion of the trip only took about 45 minutes. I would have taken better photos but I forgot to take my camera out of my backpack before putting it in storage. As a result I had to use my cell phone instead. They turned out fairly nicely anyway though.

So I'm in Alaska Right Now...

I'll keep this one short (I promise). Last Monday I showed up to work and was setting up my laptop when my boss walks over to me with a cell phone to his ear. He really qucikly asks me about my weekend and then about whether I've ever been to Alaska before. I hadn't, and told him as much. He didn't say anything for the longest time. I kind of already knew what to expect, but asked anyway, "Should I be preparing for a trip to Alaska?" He responded with a simple "Maybe." and left it at that. He told me if it I did end up going that it would be a short trip. Probably just a week or two tops, and then back out to Hawaii to telework my time away. That is not how things turned out.

Update: The Day That Wouldn't Quit It

I have just had one of the worst days of my entire life. I can't really blame it all on the events of today, as the previous day’s activities have all played key roles in helping to make this such a colossal disaster. I'll try and be concise and come back in a week or two to provide a retrospective commentary on how certain things worked out, but as of writing this, it is not looking good at all. Come, share in my grief. Update: Some of the problems resolved themselves.

Hiking The Muddy Maunawili Falls Trail

I took a break from unpacking and doing work today to try hiking up the Maunawili Falls trail. Unlike Diamond Head, this isn't close to where I am living, so I got a chance to see some of Oahu's mountainous regions. The drive was really pleasent and only took about 30 minutes. A majority of the trip was without houses or other signs of civilization and several places offered spectacular views.

Running And Hiking Diamond Head Crater

So I've been living here offically over a month now and only got around to exploring the island this past weekend (I did try surfing the week before, but that doesn't count). I had been feeling a bit stir crazy after work this week and came up with a terrible idea to get out and experience my surroundings.I'd go on a run up to Diamond Head State Monument, hike up to the crest, look around, hike down the trail, and then run all the way back to my apartment. I also decided that I would do it carrying a camera, no water, my cell phone (w/ low battery), and sporting minimal sun screen. It already sounds like a bad idea, doesn't it? Well, while I'm still sore two days later, it was a blast and I'd easily do it again. Be for warned, there are quite a few pictures of my journey.

Somebody Order A McLady Of The Night?

I just got back from Micky D's where I'd been pouring about 2-1/2 hours into getting my relocation expense reports put together. I got there around 9:10 p.m. and had been downing soda like nobody's business while setting up paperwork, filing receipts, and all the other lame/boring stuff that one has to do in order to get through the accounting department's barberic rituals. Anyway, about 9:45 p.m. this chick walks in, orders her food, and sits down by the window. That's when things started to happen.

So, There Was This Tsunami Thing Today

Yesterday I moved into my apartment and stayed up unpacking until 2 a.m.. I Then passed out with the belief that I'd get up around 10:30-ish and get some stuff done. That didn't work out too well for me. 5:30 a.m. rolls around and my folks decide I need to know about this horrible, awful, no-good, very bad Tsunami which has taken it upon itself to reek havic on my first day off from work. Island life is definitely off to a good start.

First, Some Much Needed Plugs/Thanks

I would normally frown on using the very first post as a promotion for any individual/corporation. Cries of "SPAM!!!" or "BANHAMMERED!!!" would usually escape my lungs as my mighty fingers swiftly flowed across the keyboard in an astounding show of force and dexterity, hurling the offending parties into the fiery depths from winst (wenst?) they came. However, this first post is mine, and I shall do with it as I see fit. And that means shoutouts! Please note though, I am not getting anything out of these. I haven't told anyone I'm doing them, or really want to. This is more for me to remember how I was treated when I first got on the island than anything else.