Woke up to the sun at 5:30am...despite being exhausted from all the craziness of the first week, I wanted get up and see what the place looked like in sunlight. What I see out of every window is clearly rainforest. It's lush, verdant, green, and definitely different than the ocean vista I used to see out of our Maili apartment.
The house is an interesting mix of really neat wood pieces and random old fixtures that I hate. I'll have to take and add pictures later whenever the box that has my cord arrives.
Spent the morning unpacking all my luggage. The closets are kind of weird. They are limited in hanging space and storage space in general. Clearly whoever has lived here in the past has not had a wardrobe like I do. Chris and I decided to each take a closet.
After unpacking I realized that I was COLD. I took a hot shower (but not too long because I'm paranoid about running out of water!) and promptly dressed in long pants, a shirt and sweater. Eventually I had to add socks and a blanket! This is a very strange turn after my regular home-casual of a bikini top, shorts and maybe a tank top.
I started wading through my finances since I've neglected them in the moving. Trying to figure out what we made (ok, I'll admit it - I knew...I did keep a current Excel spreadsheet - I was counting the money), trying to figure out how much I spent, and trying to figure out what Chris owed me.
My one goal of the day was to try to set up a PO box. Yes, this is how boondocks our new home is...we have water catchment, no garbage pickup, and no mail delivery. We had heard from our landlord that although Pahoa is closer, Keaau is nicer. Pahoa's post office looked closed so we headed to Keaau where we learned there's a waiting list and it might be months until we get a mailing address.
We headed to Hilo to check out the scene. Wednesday is the big farmer's market so after rambling about for a bit we stopped at the market and bought a bunch of fruit - strawberries and mango were the only things we got that we recognized. We got this red prickly looking fruit that looks like a large, oblong rambutan and a little yellow fruit we've both never had before. Chris said the rambutan-like fruit was like chewing on an eyeball. I'll have to report later when I try for myself!
Our next stop was Ben Franklin, my favorite crafting store! Unfortunately they do not offer classes like the Pearl City one, so I was bummed. I was excited that I do have a place to get yarn for leis and cake decorating supplies. In the Wilton aisle I saw a Hello Kitty pan! When I get enough money to feel comfortable spending, I'm totally going to make a Hello Kitty cake just because!
We ate at Ken's Pancake House. I've eaten there before and so we had a nice lunch. Both of us were fading really fast though and we quickly finished lunch and moved on to some final errands at Walmart before heading back home. (I must say that I HATE shopping at Walmart and avoid it at all costs. However, at this point, it's the only place in Hilo that I see where I can get the stuff I need all in one place. I read somewhere that Target is being built - hallelujah!!!)
Our last errand was going to Borders. It's been awhile since I've actually bought a real book. Unfortunately, my Kindle power charger died on me and until I get a replacement - need to get a book. At Borders we met a Hilo version of Steve the library aide. Those who have worked at Ilima will understand what I'm talking about. Poor Chris got accosted in the sci-fi area and was spoken to at length about sci-fi conventions and books he didn't want to read. I was accosted trying to find Emily's recommendation of "My Horizontal Life" (it was weird...when I told him I didn't need help he stood there and stared at me until Chris rescued me). I got "Moloka'i" by Alan Brennert. I hope it's good.
We came home and Chris has spent the day reading on the porch and I slept. We had plans to go to Thai Thai in Volcano for dinner when we landed, but it was so late and we were so tired we didn't go. Then tonight, it turns out they aren't open on Wednesday! Majorly bummed. It's interesting that there's an amazing plethora of Thai restaurants in Hilo. Hiloans really like their Thai!
I watched an amazing "So You Think You Can Dance" with Alex Wong - he's my fave!!! I'm very very very annoyed that we don't get Bravo at this house and can't watch "Top Chef." I hope my landlord finds the password soon to our satellite cable and I can add it.
My final note was I had a rather spectacular meltdown today. Our rental car has been giving us crazy trouble. Not only do I have this scratch on the side, but just turning it on is a challenge. We've figured out that you have to have the emergency brake on, pull the wheel to the side, stick the key in with some force and will the car to turn on. We have no food in the house and I wanted to go grocery shopping. First, I open the car and there's these two little cockroaches playing tag on the steering wheel - EW. Then I see a spider crawling on my seat. If you don't like bugs, living in the rainforest is not the best idea. We have our usual trouble of not being able to turn on the car and after about 2 minutes and Chris saying "I guess we aren't meant to go anywhere." I flipped out and screamed "I hate it here!!!!" Bursting into tears, I went into the house, kicked my shoes all over the place, threw the keys and generally had a temper tantrum. I suppose I shouldn't tell you this, but well - it is what it is. I've only had a meltdown like this once before and it was in Peru. I ended up loving Peru...so let's hope Hilo gets better!
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