May Day is Lei Day

I need to get organized with this blog posting business.  I constantly have ideas darting in my brain and frantically running around yet when I go to write them down, they hide.  Stinkers.

Mom has had an interesting reaction to being back in Colorado after her last trip to Kauai. This time around, she was able to relax a lot more, not worry so much about me in a cabin in the jungle.  We walked the bay, cooked dinners from the farmer's market, toured the Na Pali, and drank many beers on the beach.  We drove each other a little nuts, but I think I just have that affect on people.  It really is fantastic to have other people visit when they have time shares and I can go home alone.  Since being home she's wistful for Kauai and the simple pleasure it offered her.  I don't remind her of the crazy struggles it presents as well.  She's lonely in her distance from my father and I believe she saw the potential of the legions of older surfer hotties here that would kill for a woman like her.  Renee summed it up when she said, "Your mom would be single for about twenty minutes."

I could tell she felt a bit uncomfortable with her appearance while she was here.  She's a beautiful woman, and in Colorado, with her make up on, and fashiony mom clothes, she's a hottie for her age.  Here?  Well, here it's different.  The day I picked her up from the airport was May Day.  A labor holiday in much of the world, here it is May Day is Lei Day.  You give leis and honor the spirit of aloha.  For two days leading up to May Day, we had ukulele and chanting in the cafeteria and a hula dancer.  I'll say it again, NO IRONY.

My dear friend Sylvia constructed a special hair clip lei for me and made a ritual out of taking the lei out of her own hair to give to me as a gift to my mom.  It was so touching and in doing it she really let me know I was loved by her.  She then asked, "Your mom has long hair, right?"  Oh.  Not many moms on the mainland do, past a certain age.  Here, the old women have the longest hair, which they wear natural and tucked in a bun or even loose.  So I did gift the lei to my mom, in honor of Syvia, but it kind of became a symbol of the difference in Hawaiian fashion.  I put a bug in her ear that she should grow out her hair, so we'll see.  If she does, it's a sign she's moving over.

I was looking at my friend Dave's facebook photos of the bars he frequents in Chicago.  The girls are beautiful, and mostly dressed in black, tight clothes, trendy, ironic, hipsterish.  The guys are kind of pretty too, in an ugly way.  Skinny and trying kinda hard.

None of that has hit this island.  Well, I've seen it here and there.  The film crews of course, and random visitors.  But overall, the women are amazingly traditionally feminine.  Long hair, beautiful tan bodies, lots of skin showing, always a flower in the hair.  The tuxedo pants and vests I wore in Denver would look like a costume here.  The men simply wear t shirts and board shorts.  The first night I went out with the 24 year-old, he put a little effort into it.  He wore a camouflage jacket over his t shirt.  Yup, camo and board shorts.  There is not a more Kauai local boy look that I can think of.  I can see how you'd wile away a lifetime here.

Aloha.

Staying True to My Roots

I walked into work today and my boss practically shouts at me, "Your hair is so long!" He follows with a "Have you cut it since you've been here?" Well, yes, a quarter inch once and it was terrifying so I don't plan on cutting it again.  But he might have hinting at something.  My last service today was a couples massage and I asked the other therapist if I was looking too shaggy and should cut my hair.  His answer was a summary of Kauai fashion and he seemed to edging towards a compliment... but then he ended with, "And you look like a Viking cavewoman."  What???  *sigh* Do I look like a Viking cavewoman? There's so such thing.  I can never leave this island.

Falling back on an adolescence of Sassy magazine and grunge, I paid homage to my 15 year-old self tonight and collaged a shoebox.  Who needs nightlife?

Aloha.

Mahalo for removing your slippahs.

I had broadband installed today. The tech took off his shoes before coming in, which is an absolute necessity on the islands, and in opinion, needs to carry on over to the mainland. When I watch TV now, I cringe when people wear their shoes inside the house.

When the cable guy was done, he needed to see my driver's license in order to verify my identity. He actually giggled. The Oceanic Time Warner cable guy giggled at my stupid driver's license picture. When that picture was taken 6 months ago, I didn't think it was so bad. I am embarrassed to admit it after today, but I actually thought it was kinda cute. When I protested, he said, "you just look mad in that picture!"

So I did a side by side comparison, and I don't think I look mad... I just don't look islandy yet.



If I'm at all dressed up, I still get, "where are you visiting us from?" all the time. But today, I have on a ratty dress, crazy hair, and lip gloss. It's the island girl look.

Aloha.

Wahine wear

It's pissed-off tourist season on Kauai, which, in translation means it's been raining every day, all day. I've been feeling down lately, and usually a cure for the blues for me is vigorous exercise. Today I said to myself, "to hell with getting wet and frizzy, I am going for a run!" And so I did, but first I had to figure out what to wear. This is usually not something I ponder, I grab shorts and a t-shirt or tank, and go.

However...

On Kauai, there is tourist wear and there is local wear. If you are local- and by local, I mean you live here, are kama'aina, not Hawaiian- then you are expected to show some skin. When I jog Hanalei Bay in shorts and and t shirt, I look like the fattest of redhead super-blobs to ever run the bay. I'm 5'8 and about 132. Not small, but not fat. But here, when you dress conservatively, you're asking to be disdained. Most girls run the bay in their bikinis. Some are tan, lithe, 23 year-olds. Some are tan, chubby, 55 year-olds. Doesn't matter, everyone's in a bikini. There's also a difference between the bikinis the locals and tourists wear. Local girl will be in a brazilian bikini, cut away on the bottoms, and hanging out everywhere. Even the big girls are in them. Tourists are in their one piece (totally weird here) or muted color full-bottom bikinis with spray tans and done hair.

A local girl is always luscious looking. Very long hair; like the rings on a tree trunk, you can tell how long a woman has been here by the length of her hair. Long hair, little clothing, faintly tinted red from the island dirt. Basically a bit off looking, compared to the mainland. I once ran into a woman at Costco wearing a beige bra as a shirt and no one looked twice but the tourists. You can get away with some crazy shit here.

Local boys are even more casual. It's hard to get them to put on a shirt. You will also know them by the Kauai local boy truck.



Keepin' it classy on Kauai. Today I ran in a pink sports bra and adidas shorts. Seven more pounds and a few more months of island living before I'm rocking the bikini.

aloha.