Lauren's world of useless information

Glenn and I got cheap airfare to Hawaii and were able to enjoy a week on the Big Island and a day in Honolulu to check out Pearl Harbor and other historic sights.

Food highlights include Teshima's and the Kuhio Grill on the Big Island and Tokkuri-Tei and Little Village Noodle House in Honolulu.

Personal Highlights:

Love the Place of Refuge as I know it but the park system calls it Pu’uhonua o Honaunau National Historical Park http://www.nps.gov/archive/puho/home.htm. This place always gives me a good feeling. I feel serene and peaceful here and I like to walk around and just look at everything, especially the tidepools.

Hiked across the Kilauea Iki crater, then went up and around the crater using several trails. We started near the Thurston Lava Tube and made a 4 mile round trip hike. I enjoyed seeing the crater up close and personal and we got there on a sunny day so I was very happy.

Saw many sea turtles at Punalu'u beach, a nice Sunset with the volcanic steam plume in the background, drove along the southern and eastern coasts to enjoy the scenery and go to the Waipo valley lookout. Explored little towns and bigger cities.

Walking along Waikiki and seeing the old hotels like the Surfrider or the Memorial Natatorium and sailboats coming in at Sunset. Walking through the Honolulu historic district and seeing the old houses, places, govt. buildings and Chinatown.

Thank you Hawaii for showing me a good time and I hope everyone recovers well from the earthquake that occured on 10/15.

October 24 was my one year anniversary at Tumbleweed.

In my one year, I have seen a lot of changes at the company including the formation of a real tech pubs team. I hope the company grows and is very successful and continues to make positive changes.

I hope I am here to see those changes.

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays of the year. I enjoy decorating the house with ghosts and tombstones and suich, carving the pumpkins, giving out candy, the whole nine yards.

I am looking forward to doing the same things again this year.

Happy Halloween!

once more into the blogging breach I go blogging away like no time has passed instead of 3 months.

I am working my 4 jobs this month and a cold, which seems to be sucking the life out of me, yee-ha!

I am worrried about the US and George Bush and the republican control of government. We need to restore the checks and balances and in order to do that democrats, green party members, libertarians etc., need to step up and grow a pair in an effort to break the hold the bushies have.

Just vote out the republican incumbants and get congress back so we can work on getting rid of the unethical, corrupt, dangerous policies currently in effect.

Once again I'm envious of all the people who find time to write in their blogs on a daily basis, filling them with really interesting stuff, while I neglect my blog.

Since no one reads it I guess it is a moot point.

Well it is time to pile on some posts since I can't write one on a regular schedule yet.

News since July -

• Got laid off, looking for a new job.
  
• Had my Birthday, now 39.1 a la Jack Benny. IF you don't know about Jack Benny, look him up, he was a funny guy. Had a TV show and everything.
  
• Jewish New Year arrived, Happy 5766, may it be bettter than 5765
  
• I have freinds that I made moving away from the US back to Europe. I guess Iwill spend a lot more time on IM and emailing.
  
• I ate at Manresa, pretty good, but probably a bit too expensive for what it was. Dessert was the weakest part and they charge supplemental prices when the whole thing is already pricy for some of the items. There were no Rosés on the wine list and the bread service was too much bread, then no bread, in other words not well paced, uneven.
  
• I also had a dinner at flea street café and that was nice and probably cost almost as much per person if not the same. Somehow I enjoyed it more, including the dessert. I split an appetizer, had a main course, dessert and some wine by the glass.
  
• I was given a b-day lunch too at Kabul, also very nice and achance to say goodbye to my boss who is going to Sheffield for a while. Best manager I ever had, I think.
  
• Win a contest where I got some comics as the prize. It was a nice mix of comics I had never read and most were new to me. I am working through the pile, and it was huge, now.
  
• hosting a dinner at my place, worried about it as usual
  
• my sister finally replaced the electric motor she wrecked when we were children.
  

Wow! What is happening to me, I am actually posting more than once a month.

stuff that sucked
Bit by a dog - check
Spilled water all over myself - check
Lost my keys - check
missed a yoga class - check

stuff that was good
Found my keys - check
Had a nice meal cooked for me - check
Bonus - check
Chocolate - check
Read some good books - check

Well, once a month is better than nothing I always say.

So what's new? London is blowing up, Bush is blowing smoke, and I blow up at the drop of a hat because I am stressed out.

In other news, I may need to get a new job, wish me luck and hope that I don't.

Why is Jane Austin so popular even today? There are fictional works with Jane Austin as a character, fictional works using Jane Austin characters to tell new stories and several movies all in the last few years. Now the Jane Austin book club uses modern people reading her works to show parallels in the present day.

What else did I learn?

Chris Isaak is very good live and that mirrored suit is pretty darn cool.
Good oyster crackers are hard to find.
Really ripe fruit goes bad quickly, even in the fridge.
Chocolate is good stuff
S'mores can be made in an oven if you are careful.

Stiff: the curious lives of human cadavers by Mary Roach
This is an amazing look into what happens to the bodies of the dead. Sounds more gruesome than it is. Well researched and well-written.

I read this in one sitting. I could not put it down.

Check it out.