I've been picking up shifts at the winery this week. One of my co-workers was, as they say, "let go." I actually feel pretty bad about it. I liked this co-worker, although it was clear that she had an awful lot going on in her life that was stressing her out, along with some health issues. With luck, she'll get well, resolve her issues and land on her feet. I really do hope so. Like I said, I like her.
It's been good working, especially since it's been raining almost constantly all week. Yesterday, we had two young men visiting from Switzerland. Today, we had two young women. When I met the latter, I told them of the former.
"We just had two gentlemen from your country visiting us yesterday," I commented to the women.
"We know," said one of them. "We just met them last night."
So two pairs of people, both from Switzerland, just met one another for the first time in Hawaii. Yes, it's a tiny, tiny world.
The ukulele lessons are coming along. Lesson number three had us strumming some more complicated chord progressions. We're still just strumming. No fancy finger picking yet. It's tough enough just to remember where to put the fingers on my left hand to strum with the right, let alone get jiggy wit' da fingers on the right. Baby steps are fine.
Today, my co-worker Josh and I were waxing nostalgic about double-doubles with fries and vanilla shakes at In-and-Out Burger. He grew up in California, so was raised on double-doubles. He actually speaks of something called a 4 x 4 animal style. It's not on the menu. Only local regulars know to order it. A 4 x 4 is apparently the equivalent of a double double-double. In other words, it's a double-double, stacked on top of a double-double. (For those unfamiliar with In-and-Out, a double-double has two patties with two slices of cheese.) The animal style portion of the order puts grilled onions on the 4 x 4. "It's a lot of meat," he says. Indeed. I also miss seeing the old In-and-Out Burger bumper stickers that people, where people would cut out the 'B' and the 'r', leaving "In-and-Out urge." Clever, eh?
It's funny how you miss the little things about a place most; the things you took totally for granted when you lived there. I could never live in the frantic craziness of L.A. again, but I do miss the food. Especially the fast food. Josh and I reminisced about the culinary delights of In-and-Out, Original Tommy's, El Pollo Loco and Del Taco today. It sparked my memory of Bob's Hamburgers, the first burger chain in my old home town of Salem. Back then, it was a chain with only two links. One Bob's was near my house. Another was located on the complete other side of town. Bob's had special sauce. Yummy. It was really just ketchup and mayo mixed together with tiny bits of pickles. Still, it was perfect. They started out in the 60s as Bob's 19 cent Hamburgers. Their sign had a big neon circle around the 19 cents. Then, in the 70s, they finally caved and raised their prices. They became Bob's 29 cent Hamburgers. after that, 39 cents. Finally, they got wise and removed the price sign altogether and just called themselves Bob's. McDonald's moved in across the street when I was in high school. Bob's survived for years after that, despite the competition. They had a loyal following. Bob's burgers were better. Now, they're gone. Mom tells me they closed the doors at Bob's a few years ago. I loved Bob's.
Ah, but here, we have Nori's Saimin and Snacks. We also have the musubi lady who makes sesame chicken and smoked salmon musubis at the Hilo Farmers' Market. I love them too. Not as much as Bob's or In-and-Out, but they're close and completely unique to the island. Less cholesterol, but more sodium. Hey, sometimes life requires trade-offs.
Saturday is my big LSAT test day. It's a long one: a little over three hours. After, I may go pick up one of those musubis and head to the beach for a little while. Maybe I'll eat two.
Crawford's medicine arrived from Florida this week. So far, she's tolerating it well. With any luck, it will slow the progression of her degenerative disease. It could even put her in remission and stop it for awhile. That would be great, although that happens only rarely. I just want her to have as much function in her back legs for as long as she can. If she gets worse, I will begin shopping for a wheeled doggie cart for her. There are several companies that make them, believe it or not. The good news is that she feels no pain and is as happy and loving as ever.
Tomorrow's another day at the wine factory.
A hui hou. Aloha!
It's been good working, especially since it's been raining almost constantly all week. Yesterday, we had two young men visiting from Switzerland. Today, we had two young women. When I met the latter, I told them of the former.
"We just had two gentlemen from your country visiting us yesterday," I commented to the women.
"We know," said one of them. "We just met them last night."
So two pairs of people, both from Switzerland, just met one another for the first time in Hawaii. Yes, it's a tiny, tiny world.
The ukulele lessons are coming along. Lesson number three had us strumming some more complicated chord progressions. We're still just strumming. No fancy finger picking yet. It's tough enough just to remember where to put the fingers on my left hand to strum with the right, let alone get jiggy wit' da fingers on the right. Baby steps are fine.
Today, my co-worker Josh and I were waxing nostalgic about double-doubles with fries and vanilla shakes at In-and-Out Burger. He grew up in California, so was raised on double-doubles. He actually speaks of something called a 4 x 4 animal style. It's not on the menu. Only local regulars know to order it. A 4 x 4 is apparently the equivalent of a double double-double. In other words, it's a double-double, stacked on top of a double-double. (For those unfamiliar with In-and-Out, a double-double has two patties with two slices of cheese.) The animal style portion of the order puts grilled onions on the 4 x 4. "It's a lot of meat," he says. Indeed. I also miss seeing the old In-and-Out Burger bumper stickers that people, where people would cut out the 'B' and the 'r', leaving "In-and-Out urge." Clever, eh?
It's funny how you miss the little things about a place most; the things you took totally for granted when you lived there. I could never live in the frantic craziness of L.A. again, but I do miss the food. Especially the fast food. Josh and I reminisced about the culinary delights of In-and-Out, Original Tommy's, El Pollo Loco and Del Taco today. It sparked my memory of Bob's Hamburgers, the first burger chain in my old home town of Salem. Back then, it was a chain with only two links. One Bob's was near my house. Another was located on the complete other side of town. Bob's had special sauce. Yummy. It was really just ketchup and mayo mixed together with tiny bits of pickles. Still, it was perfect. They started out in the 60s as Bob's 19 cent Hamburgers. Their sign had a big neon circle around the 19 cents. Then, in the 70s, they finally caved and raised their prices. They became Bob's 29 cent Hamburgers. after that, 39 cents. Finally, they got wise and removed the price sign altogether and just called themselves Bob's. McDonald's moved in across the street when I was in high school. Bob's survived for years after that, despite the competition. They had a loyal following. Bob's burgers were better. Now, they're gone. Mom tells me they closed the doors at Bob's a few years ago. I loved Bob's.
Ah, but here, we have Nori's Saimin and Snacks. We also have the musubi lady who makes sesame chicken and smoked salmon musubis at the Hilo Farmers' Market. I love them too. Not as much as Bob's or In-and-Out, but they're close and completely unique to the island. Less cholesterol, but more sodium. Hey, sometimes life requires trade-offs.
Saturday is my big LSAT test day. It's a long one: a little over three hours. After, I may go pick up one of those musubis and head to the beach for a little while. Maybe I'll eat two.
Crawford's medicine arrived from Florida this week. So far, she's tolerating it well. With any luck, it will slow the progression of her degenerative disease. It could even put her in remission and stop it for awhile. That would be great, although that happens only rarely. I just want her to have as much function in her back legs for as long as she can. If she gets worse, I will begin shopping for a wheeled doggie cart for her. There are several companies that make them, believe it or not. The good news is that she feels no pain and is as happy and loving as ever.
Tomorrow's another day at the wine factory.
A hui hou. Aloha!
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