We returned to Oahu from Maui today. Maui was great. Spent a lot of time with my cousin Sarah, who I probably hadn't seen in about 15 or 20 years and had never really sat down and talked with ever. Guess we made up for it over the past couple of days.

Spent time with some old friends today that I hadn't seen in 4 years. They look just the same and it felt like I'd just seen them last week. It makes me wonder if that's something that happens when you get older-- that you think everyone looks just like they used to, but really they don't. Maybe it's just that we're all getting older at the same pace so in a relative way everyone looks the same.

Woke up this morning and turned on CNN to hear news about a fire at a club in Rhode Island that left about 100 people dead. Rhode Island is not too far from NH. I've driven down there to see shows before. First thing I thought about was my brother in law. I don't think he's particularly a Great White fan, but he goes to a lot of shows with friends or when he wins tickets on the radio. It wasn't totally out of the question that he could've been there. I mailed my sister and found out he's fine and no news of anyone else we know having been there. Not that it makes it any less horrible. It's just so sad that people going out to enjoy a night of music had to lose their lives, end up in the hospital or had to experience what must have been a scene from hell.

So this morning I woke up to news about the club fire in R.I., the story about the girl who was given two heart and lung transplants because the first one was the wrong blood type, the oil storage plant that exploded in NY and the US sending combat troops into the Philippines. Is this normal US news? Have I been living in some kind of numbed out fog in Japan? It's terrifying. And then I walk out the door and it's a beautiful Hawaiian morning and the air smells like plumerias. Sometimes life seems more surreal than real.

It's from a totally different context, but for some reason this poem comes to mind. Maybe I just wish life was so simple that I could live it as if it were a dream. Or maybe I'm just imagining waking up in a burn unit after going out one night to see a show.

Kimi ya koshi
Ware ya yukikemu
Omooezu
Yume ka utsutsu ka
Nete ka samete ka
from Ise Monogatari ca. 980

Did you come?
Or did I go?
I can't remember.
Was that a dream or real?
Was I asleep or awake?

Got to Hawaii yesterday and on arrival was treated to an hour in the immigration office while they hassled Shiro for having a green card. That was lovely. My tax dollars at work.
Aside from my jet lag, Hawaii is lovely as always. Have been to the beach both days we've been here. Going straight from February layers to a bathing suit was a bit of a shock, but fuck it, it's Hawaii and the beach and the fact that I glow flourescent white is not really a problem.
Had the lau lau plate at the Aloha Poi Bowl last night. Hawaiian food rocks.

Leaving for Hawaii today. Just doing my packing now. I hate packing early. Seems like I always bring too much stuff with me when I do that. All I'm bringing to Hawaii is 4 t-shirts, 2 pairs of jeans, 1 skirt, underwear, socks, a bathing suit, a hat, 1 pair of shorts, pjs, toiletries and 3 books. That's for a 12 day stay. Even that is probably too much.
If you check here you may catch a glimps of me sometime. Aloha nui loa!

According to the morning wide show, the surprise hit movie of the season in Japan is Bowling For Columbine. It's playing to packed houses in 9 theaters in Tokyo and will be shown nationwide in over 100 theaters in March. Well, all right!
Must admit that I have a thing for Michael Moore. I've loved him since back in the old TV Nation days. I was also impressed that one of the commentators on the wide show said that Michael Moore and his "no appointment" interviews were what the original Denpa Shonen (lame site, btw) used to be like before it turned into the typical tv drivel. It started out like a derivative of TV Nation but proceeded to lose it's teeth over the years.
Anyway, if the movie isn't playing in Hawaii anymore I will catch it when I get back here next month.

Google Buys Pyra: Blogging Goes Big-Time
What will it mean for an average blogger like myself? Somehow I get the feeling the Big TIme is gonna pass me by.

Oh, I see on the news tonight that the anti-war rallies happened today, not yesterday. This may explain why they weren't covered in yesterday's news.
Isn't it crazy that hundreds of thousands, maybe millions, of people around the world have come together to protest what the US is threatening to do and it still might not even make a difference?
Today was Kim Jong Il's birthday. At least North Korea didn't launch a missile to "celebrate".