Miserably, dangerously allergic to dryer sheets tossing around in a dryer, apart from them being toxic in general, that is.

I wonder if there are epipens for that sort of thing

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what a day

Today was weird. seriously.

It started off blah, went to shit, and now I can't stop grinning.

My nose was running all day but I can't figure out what bit of Hawaii I'm allergic to. It's driving me nuts.

I'm not sure if it's a good thing but I'm apparently the new VP of the Anth Grad Student Association. Huh. I accepted the nomination cos I was thinking, what the heck, there are 4 other ppl running, I'm never gonna win. Oops? lol. I can't back out now and I'll have to reshuffle my entire schedule in order to make meetings and what not. I guess it'll look good on the CV but now I gotta find some pet projects I want to foster.

I also tried to track down my missing check. I think it's incredibly sad that ppl say "What did you expect? It's UH" when things go wrong here. But in that sense, they're right. I wasn't even surprised to find out that UH, in revamping their fiscal system, managed to take a system that worked just fine and "upgraded" to a system that sucks balls. Big, dirty, unwashed, hairy balls. Seriously. Of course the upside of it is that the ppl who work at UH are incredibly nice and apologetic for all the dumbassery that happens almost on a daily basis here. That's nice but I have to pay rent tomorrow. Stop screwing me over and gimme my moneh UH!! It sucks that I can only shake my fists, shake my head, more exasperated/resigned than angry, and think about how UH has been fucking me over since before I even got here.  

Despite the issues of today, the roommate sagas are finally producing entertainment. Kinda. Just minding our business in the middle of the night when the house starts shaking like we're experiencing an earthquake. A rather......rhythmic earthquake. Hmmm. The Jap roomie runs out of her room and starts panicking and freaking out about it.....until LA roomie and I calm her down and inform her that Hawaii doesn't get earthquakes. It's just the newest roomie going at it with her new bf.  ROLF. Earthquake. Oh, Jap roomie, I love you. You just made my night. :D Also, note to self, apparently vigorous sexy times might literally bring the walls down in this rickety old house. Good to know.

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upswing

Whew.

What a week. It's been pretty busy since I've been back and I was feeling fairly blah about it but in the last week it's been even busier and yet I feel great; like I'm finally getting into the swing of things. Feeling more social, being more social.

Pole is coming along well. I'm gaining back the strength that I lost over the summer and learning some rad moves. I'm also learning how to teach the lower levels. Excited about that for sure!

I like the new anthro cohort that have just come in. They are definitely an upbeat bunch and combining that with the outgoing fellas from last year's cohort, I finally feel like there's an academic community that I can rely on. It is an awesome feeling to be able to talk to other people in my situation who are right here.

The Hawaii Vintage Rugby festival, a week long event, has also just started and is kinda pulling me back into rugby. It's fun to watch because there are 45 teams from 16 different countries. I have never see so many old dudes drink and play rugby in one place. I tried playing last year with a local team but pulled out after the first game when our scrumhalf broke her ankle. I'm uninsured. If that had been me, I would have been screwed. I'm still uninsured right now but the team has been awesome to hang out with these last few days and I think I might drop in on practices and training/fitness sessions; no contact though. And what better way to rejoin rugby than having a training session at Kapiolani park with guest coaches Greg Somerville (a former All Black) and Stephan Larkham (a former Wallaby) who are here for the vintage tournament. The double rainbows and moon over Diamond head plus the gorgeous sunset over Waikiki as we practiced were pretty awesome too :)   

The roomie situations are evening out. It's not 100% fantastic but it's not as sucky as it used to be. I still have to plunge the tub occasionally but it doesn't happen every single time I have to take a shower so the angry part of the plunging is becoming a thing of the past. This in turn is helping with my zen "eh, fuck it all" attitude. I could do without the weird insinuations regarding the lack of testosterone in my life from the one chick who finally has some stable testosterone in hers though. Yes, all three of the housemates now have boyfriends. What is your point? Whatever. I'm taking it in stride. I find it completely ironic that someone who comes off as a feminist is telling me that my life is lacking without a man in it. As it is, I could definitely do with seeing less of her man in my house at all times of the day and night. 

The thesis stuff has barely been started but I'm feeling better about it. I should be able to (finally) focus on it once I get the work from this summer out of the way tonight. I am so glad I'm done with the postprocessing stuff. I didn't realize how annoying it could be to deal with inconsistent information. lol.

All in all, things are looking up :D   

Now all that is left is to chase UH for my money. It's the end of Sept and they haven't issued my Aug/Sept stipend. UH, y u no give me my moneh?!??

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women and cars.....when you actually perpetuate the stereotype

Have you ever had one of those moments when you go from "strong independent woman, hear me roar" to "face-palm....*sigh* women" because of a car?

That happened today.

I got out of pole and tried to start my car.

No bueno. Eff.

SO, I call AAA and the guy comes out. I assume the battery is dead, so does he.

It's not.

He takes my keys after the diagnostic test tells him my battery is still alive.

He then proceeds to start the car.

Awesome! I ask him what was wrong.

He gives me this grin and that typical amused man look. You know, the one that is associated with women and car trouble that isn't really car trouble at all but more of a woman driver issue. In my head canon, he was a couple steps away from petting me on the head and asking where my man was. But he was sweet about it, so whatever. I kinda totally deserved it. Lol.

Apparently, cars won't start if they're in R. They only start in P or N.

Huh, who knew??!?

So, he put my car in P and started it. Taadah!!

Errr.....fail. face-palm.

The end.

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It's 4pm on Saturday.

I've been trapped in my room all day doing work for a project that I do not think I'll be credited for because I'm only doing the postprocessing (aka all the grunt work) and not actually writing the report.
Meanwhile, my roomies are all enjoying nature or lazing around, neighbors are cutting grass and whatnot, and the construction workers next door are doing manly work, enjoying the sun and singing along to the 90s love songs blasting from their radio.

Fuck this.

I'm not cut out for working on a nice, sunny weekend. 

I'm going to pole.

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Apparently allergic to moldy blueberries. Who knew? Can't stop sneezing. FML

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When it gets to be too much

I don't get it. How is it that you make such a calculative distinction and yet still believe you're the greatest friend in the world, all sunshine and butterflies?

where having me drive you is the preferred option to borrowing the car. 

Having me drive you means you don't have to pay for gas because I'm doing you a "favor"

versus

Borrowing the car (and not wasting my time, at your convenience) means that you will have to put in a couple dollars, probably not more than five, towards gas costs. FYI, gas is about $4.50 a gallon.

You skirt around the issue, trying to get me to stumble into the outcome you want. And you call me manipulative.

Nope. I'm not playing that game anymore. I'm done selflessly offering favors for free. I can't count how many favors I have given you. I'm done with the American mentality of using people because you can, it's America, it's what you're entitled to. 

Why should it cost ME time/money every single time to do YOU a favor?

Sigh. While many of the people I have met and become friends with over the years are amazing people, it feels like sometimes, America and some Americans are slowly destroying my soul. Every year is one more step towards being jaded and more disillusioned. Every year, I want to give less of myself to be taken advantage of and trampled. I want to be able to do something decent for someone and not have people react like they can't understand why somebody would go out of their way for other human beings. I obviously need to find new friends.Or distance myself from the current troublemakers (work in progress). I miss the supportive network I had on the mainland. I'm finding a new one here but like all good things, it is slow going.  But it gives me hope :)

Life really isn't bad at all but it's the little things that slowly build up where that one final piece breaks the camel's back and everything comes tumbling down. Today was my final piece, hence the annoyed and slightly sad/introspective mood that sparked this rant. It's still instinctive for me to help people out whenever I can but I'm getting more self protective when I do it. It's times like this when I miss Asia and the Asian collectivist mentality/society the most. America is awesome, but there really is no place like home.

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Angry Plunging

Here's the thing; my house is old. Like really old. It creaks and groans with every gust of wind and it tilts a little to one side. That's okay. I'm told it's called "character."

So, my house is a 60 year old geriatric woman with plumbing just as old and finicky. We have one bathtub that we're not allowed to take baths in. Showers are okay but a full bathtub will cause serious structural damage somehow (like the floor might collapse). I'd rather not test that out.

Regardless, four girls using one bathtub quickly equals to the tiny drain clogging up. No problemo. Hair catcher, draino, plunger. We gots it. 

Living with girls is oft times disgusting. You think I would have learnt my lesson after living with about 40 other women in college but noooooooooo, I'm just a (well prepared) glutton for punishment.      

With the new housemates, it's taking a little longer to work house things out. Chore rotation, fridge space, cabinet space, etc. What is really driving me nuts is the girl who only believes in using natural products (aka expensive LUSH products) which is fine; it's her money. What is not fine is when she clogs the drain daily with all her crap. Between the very large hairballs in the hair catcher and the oats she leaves behind on the bathtub floor like some very industrious bird decided to go to town on a poop spree, I have to plunge the bathtub (draino at this point doesn't even work anymore) every time I take a shower. Angrily. Vigorously. For minutes on end. I actually have to switch arms; I'm angrily plunging that hard. The alternative is to take a shower standing in her waste water. Ewww. Not happening. I'd rather be stinky for days instead. Or plunge angrily.

The only solution is to talk to her. A general note about cleaning out the shower after every shower is not working at all as I've just discovered. It's time for an intervention. Otherwise, I'll have big muscular man arms, no neck, and my face set in that permanent concentrated scowl of angry plunging.

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