Holidays and Football!

It’s now December and we are preparing to go back to the Mainland. Christmas-time is coming! We cannot wait to see the snow and feel cold like on top of Haleakala. The good thing is that we got a taste of cold this Thanksgiving when Amy and I flew to California in order to see Meg, Greg and Glio. My mom and dad were there too! It was a blast to see everyone.

We arrived in California on the second busiest travel day of the year; the day before Thanksgiving. As such, we had to wait a few hours for the clan to come pick us up to get to DISNEYLAND! We kept ourselves fed well that night at Downtown Disney, where Glio showed us how to be a chess piece from Harry Potter. He was a good sword fighter with his balloon sword, too. It was a great evening and we were all tired from our days so we went home to sleep. The good news is that we had Thanksgiving Day at Disney, the bad news is that we were freezing when it was 60 degrees. We don’t stand much of a chance this winter. Wish us luck!

Disney was great fun! It was so great to see Disney with a little one. Glio was psyched to see Mickey Mouse and Buzz Lightyear. We were all psyched to see how Glio would react. He was the best little boy in the park. We went to all his kind of rides, saw Dumbo, did the Merry Go Round, Pinnochio, and we rode the Train (Thomas as he called it). After all that excitement the boy went back to the hotel with my dad and his parents. My mom and Amy and I got a chance to see some of the more adult rides like the Haunted Mansion (all done up for Christmas as the Nightmare Before Christmas). It was really cool! We got into the Indiana Jones ride with no wait thanks to the parade. And then we also went to the Tiki Room (Amy’s Virgin Tiki Experience!) Me and Mom took her there because she had NEVER BEEN! I KNOW!....It was SHOCKING to me too…

Well then the others came back and Glio and I did a rocket ship ride to see Buzz! In line, he decided he wanted Mommy and Daddy, and Uncle T wasn’t enough, but some little girl in line tried to help him out and feel better and not be scared. He was brave and we flew high up! After the Rockets, We saw BUZZ!!! He was so happy. He couldn’t even talk, he just stared! Haha, it was hilarious! The Buzz Lightyear game was a really fun ride. You shoot at targets with lasers and try to outscore your fellow rider. My mom drove us earlier and Amy and I were pretty intense competition, even though Mom was cheating every time I took the lead.

Well we stayed to see Meg’s play on Friday (which was really funny and Meaghan was great!) and then we had to head home on Saturday to get ready for the week’s classes.

Since then, Amy and I and the girls have been trying to get ready for Christmas (buying presents, decorating the house, taking Christmas pictures, meeting vacationing Vancouverians by the pool. The girls baby sat for them one day so they could have one night out at Roy’s in Hawaii. They had fun and the girls were glad to help. My roommates are so kind! Can you believe that after 3 hours of babysitting, they didn’t accept any money? So much Aloha!

Other than that, its been football, football, football! UH took the WAC and went undefeated at 12-0 for the regular season, also buying a bid to a BCS Bowl Game (Sugar Bowl) in Louisiana. We couldn’t make it to the Boise State game, but we did get to see the last game to go Undefeated against the University of Washington. It was an amazing season and every game was a ton of fun.

UH being only college, I can’t help but mention my New England Patriots! I won’t say more, other than to say you’ve got to be completely mental to GUARANTEE a win against any team in the league, never mind the best team both statistically and talent-wise. Ah, I guess he got what he deserved.

Until I feel the urge to write again….

Buyer beware....Long (and Long-Overdue) Post

The roommates at my Birthday Celebration at Jameson's in Hale'iwa.

I know I know I know….it has been a very long time and I cannot believe I have not written sooner with all the exciting things that have been going on. We have had visitors galore! In addition, it has been a blast! It has been since August that I have written and we have had a new roommate be settled, two sets of visitors come out, a quarter end and a visit to California! After all that, here we are sitting at the verge of going home for Christmas! It is so exciting!

Our little apartment in the sky here in Ko Olina is amazing. It has been since last April, but it is just as good now and our roommate, Jocelyn is finally feeling like she is comfortable. It was a rough process for her, mostly because she got a fully self-contained classroom and was not sure how to teach it. It is a vast undertaking but she has acclimated quite nicely and is now running the special Olympics for Wai’anae Elementary School. She came out with her mom and aunt and got settled and now she has her new Ohana here on O’ahu.

Speaking of Ohana! We have met some new friends here on the island and we have grown attached quite quickly. Our friends are mostly new teachers from Marist or California. They are all teachers at the elementary school with the girls. Here is a picture of all of us out in Waikiki. They really are a fun group and they love it here. They are no Kate, Jill, Erika, Brielle and Jamie but they are growing on us much as the previous did.

The new Ohana: Tim, Amy, Bernice, Megan, Baum, McNavy (don't ask)
An, Michelle, Beth, Jocelyn

Our visitors to the Island have been various in their relations to us. Our first visitor was Jocelyn’s father, John. He came out the Friday before our October break. He had a lot of fun out here. He is from Rhode Island like his daughter and we talked a lot about the Red Sox, as they were making their championship run at the time (WOOHOO by the way!). He even came out with us for Nashville’s one day. A brave soul to say the least.

Our next visitor actually shared the bulk of her stay with John. A little piece of Ohana came back in the form of Brielle. She had been working on a whale boat in Alaska for the summer

and stopped in town for a week before heading back to Jersey. It was a lot of fun to see her again and the first night she was back we planned to hit Nashville’s and run around Waikiki, but

I was pooped so I fell asleep on the futon and the girls went out. While Brielle was out, we made sure to hit up some old haunts as well as chill by the pool and go to the beach. We went to Nashville’s of course on Wednesday for free line-dancing lessons (John came along). It was a boring time for us, but the girls had fun. We barbequed one night and had some burgers, hotdogs and chicken on the grill by the pool.

Dixie Grill Before Buffett Concert

Fins to the Left! Fins to the Right!

On Thursday of their visit, Brielle and John joined us with Bong to see the one and only Jimmy Buffett! It was AMAZING! He played a bunch of new stuff, but a ton of old stuff, too! It was a lot of fun and we even saw some Wai'anae teachers there too. My new friend Jim was there and we met up to get some 20 dollar Margueritas. It was a blast though and Buffett is always a good take!

Buffett onstage!

We ended the week on “First Friday.” Now, “First Friday” is a special day when everyone and their moms try to get into China Town in Honolulu to go to a few select bars. We decided we would go to a Booze Cruise first and then hit up China Town. We first got to the cruise, but a few of the girls could not make it, since they were stuck in bad traffic. But we went on anyway. It was Brielle, John Paul, Bong, Amy, Megan, myself, Kim (Matt’s wife and our good friend, Matt couldn’t come since he was out to sea), and Richard (a friend of Kevin, Antonio and Matt’s). After the Cruise, we went into downtown Waikiki and went to Nashville’s where there was no one. We tried to play some pool but Brielle and Amy kept cheating and eventually stole our own money off the table and giving the table away to new-comers. Ugh…ANYWAY! Then we went into China Town…or attempted to. Jocelyn and An and the other girls met us in town with cars and drove us there, but we couldn’t get into O’Toole’s or Murphy’s and the line for Indigo (our first choice) was ridiculously long. Once we got Megan out of Indigo, since somehow she got in there with Kevin and Antonio (who met us out later) we headed back into Waikiki and had fun at Maddog’s where I played pool with a friend of Kevin’s and Kevin and Bernice. We were all having a blast and John Paul fell asleep in his truck with Richard who had shown some stunning reverse digestion earlier in the evening! Haha…anyway, that was the night and the highlight of the visit from Brielle!

It was hard to say goodbye to our friends and family, but we made it through and then headed into second quarter of school ready for battle. It was another two weeks of school before we had our next visitor in the form of Amy’s mom, Kathy and Joe. They were out for two weeks and we had a ton of fun with them, but they also have been here before so they did some touristy things by themselves too. When they first came out, Amy and I took the day off to take them into town. We went to the I’olani Palace and it was stunning. The Hawaiian monarchy is so rich in culture and great ideas. It really was cool to see the artifacts and beautiful workmanship in the palace. I took the next day, too to get some errands done and make sure I was ready for the Red Sox. The series was a big part of my October. I made sure if I was at school, I was watching it, if I was on the way home ESPN radio was on, if I was home, I was watching it. When we flew to Maui to meet up with Kathy and Joe, we even made it to Moose McGuillicuddy’s and Fred’s Mexican for the final two games of the World Series.

So yeah, we flew into Maui AGAIN for a weekend. Way to feel like rich kids, right? haha...anyway, we had fun and we got a chance to go from the top of Haleakala (house of the sun) at 10, 023 feet above sea level for the sunrise to Wailea Beach Park at 0 feet above sea level on our last day, before driving up the road to Fred’s for the first 3 innings of game 4 of the World Series. It was freezing at the summit so we dressed in layers and then I stripped layer after layer off as we went down.

Sunset at the summit of Haleakala!

Amy and Tim a the summit of Haleakala...COLD!

We decided to skip out on Moose’s since we had already been super loud and watched the entire of game 3 the night before there. So we headed to the airport and listened to the game on ESPN radio. We hurried through security and watched a few batters, including Lowell’s homer at the restaurant in the terminal, then got kicked out for not buying anything. So in the terminal I was on the phone with my mom trying to get updates and it was the 8^th inning by then. So, I got on the plane, land 30 minutes later in Honolulu and get back on the phone with mom until I get to the bar, it’s still the 8^th inning. I watched the last inning by myself with strangers in the airport bar drinking a Bass Ale so I was not kicked out. Then I was picked up by the girls, who had left to run errands while the Red Sox won the WORLD SERIES for the second time in 4 years!

Kathy and Joe stayed for another few days and had a lot of fun with us as we had fun with them. After that, we had the same olds for a while. Same old school days and same old chill days. We have been trying to do some new stuff now and again. Amy and I have gone to the Summer Palace of Queen Emma and the Bishop Museum, just to see what we’ve missed. It’s been a real blast!

Anyway, I’ll be better about updates in the future…you won’t want to miss them….until next time…

My Wakeup Call

Ok, so it’s been awhile and the last thing anyone wants to read is a blog about self-doubt. But as a teacher, I would feel remiss if I neglected my duty to reflect…This year, I’m running into the wall trying to find out who I am. I see great teachers who can let out all there energy and feel great about it. Others can be local on demand and grab student attention. Even watching new teachers, I’m awed at how they are able to come up with good ideas so much more readily than me. I don’t know who I am as a teacher right now. I hope that something will strike me soon.

I don’t feel comfortable in my own skin right now, and it is something I am working on. Kids don’t get my humor. And to be quite honest…it’s not funny anyway. I am the least funny teacher that ever walked into a classroom, I’m pretty sure. So, clearly humor is not me. Am I scientific? Not really. I’m not a lab guy. I love labs, but I never know how to teach labs. Therefore, science skills are not me. What about personal? Am I the kind of teacher that students can get personal with and attach to that way? Nope. I’m too set in my alone time. I like to be alone. But here I am, surrounded by students all the time. Clearly this isn’t me either.

As a second year teacher, I don’t think this is all that uncommon, but it is just difficult to be around greatness all the time and be so far below it. It is even worse to think that I am thought of as a quality teacher when my days consist mainly of freaking out at kids or becoming so frustrated I cannot trust myself to say anything constructive. Maybe it’ll get better, I’ll get better, my situation will better itself. Who knows for now? I can only continue to work on it and try harder and really push myself to a higher level.

I will definitely try, but my students are dragging their feet. I’ve been playing the 8^th grade card a lot. The one that reads, “you’re not in 7^th grade anymore…you’ve gotta grow up soon.” It’s not working as perfectly as I had thought, but I am exhausted from trying to rush kids to grow up when they clearly are not ready.

It’s also an attitude I’m fighting and it’s wearing, to say the least, saying the same thing over and over and getting the eye roll every time. It’s more than that though. I am not any more right than them. It is just hard to get them as 8^th graders to take the bait and behave like a student and not a thug, titta or braddah. Again though, I cannot put the blame of my poor ability to get them on task on them (entirely). I must become better at holding their attention. I just can’t seem to get them interested and even more-so, I can’t think fast enough to make sure they stay interested. It has always been a forte of mine to know stuff, think fast, and spout facts…one would think that I was hardwired to be a teacher. I am starting to realize that I am in fact just another teacher who has to work hard to see results. It is quite a wakeup call, and I’m hearing it loud and clear.

I hope I write back with a brighter idea soon. Until I have more reason to reflect…

My Rough Quarter, A Night in Waikiki, and Drug Tests

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been trying to implement some new strategies in my classroom. I’ve, in essence taken a step to the side. I am leaving most of the teaching to the group dynamic. This is having some unforeseen consequences in some classes, where no learning and no work is being done or accomplished at all. I’m thinking that the students need to be seated with this idea right from the start. My mission this quarter will be to work at being the “guide on the side”, but due to that fact that the implementation was delayed, I am not all that excited about the outcomes that I’ll get.

I have a heterogeneous mixture in each class. There is no honors level, and there is no remedial. I am the great melting pot of ability levels. In my defense, I guess I could point out that with classes that have up to 9 identified sped, I am alone in my class with no Ed. Assistants and very little help from the homeroom teachers. I am drowning a little with my students and I am very close to the end, so I find myself drifting away from my classroom even while in class. (I used to drift away on my one and only break of the day during lunch and homeroom. Now it’s far too often.) I am making a concerted effort to be more helpful and less dramatic in front of the class. I am faced with students who don’t care and have learned that saying, “I don’t know” will get them somewhere.

With only a few weeks left, I decided to punch them all in the guts. I gave a 4 page test. Forty points of their 200 so far, to somewhat disastrous results. It was a gut check for them, and happily, many did ok, because it was open notes and they did their work. Some however, who said, “sure Mister, I did my work” proceeded to drop a big whopping 3 out of 40. They just don’t care until it matters, so many of those students dropped 2 letter grades and wondered why. But it got them I think, so we will see. Of course, I’m giving them a chance to relearn the material and show me that they know it. I’m just tired of the “Ainokea” attitude that the neighborhood breeds into them. It’s really disconcerting.

Anywho….crazy happenings at school in Hawaii. Fisrt things first, I guess I’ll let you know about the trip into Waikiki in April. We went for Amy’s birthday, but the trip also doubled as an HSTA convention, at which we got to vote on Bylaws, Beliefs and amendments. As it turned out, although it sounds boring, it was crazily interesting and heated. Some debates were silly, but there was one that was poignant and insanely combustible. The basic thing was drug testing. Being that there has been a rash of drug-related arrests of teachers, administration and school staff throughout the islands, there was a big push to OK random drug testing. In fact, as we were told in a private hour and 45 minute secret meeting, the governor gave the ultimatum that either we agreed to her contract which included random drug testing and get a raise, or get nothing. It was a sneaky trick and she should be ashamed of herself, but after insane amounts of discussion and angry e-mails being sent around the schools, the state ratified the contract 54 to 46%. IN-SANE! So, no strike, but barely. Drug testing won’t be random until 2008 at the earliest anyway, but it was the point of the thing.

We also went out the night before and the day we spent arguing, most of the people we went with skipped out, but we stayed because we were interested. It might have been a better idea to bounce, since Megan felt a bit “under the weather” as the euphemism goes. We went out to Cheesecake Factory, Moose’s, Nashville’s and some Dive-like bar for Amy’s birthday, then back to the hotel to sleep it off. Amy and Megan may have drunk more than they ever had before. It was great. There was one instance at Moose’s though, where some meatball didn’t take a hint and kept trying to hook up with Amy, while she was holding my hand. Antonio, eventually interrupted and told him that if I don’t like the guy, then neither does Antonio. It was funny. Aside from the great night with friends, and some fun debates for the state, the view from our room was spectacular. I know…priorities.

Anyway, Lots has happened since March, and I’m in desperate need to update my blog, so I will do just that very soon! So until the next time I have access to my brain and pictures…

March Break - Week 2 (The Cruise)

FOR PICTURES OF THIS VACATION SEE THE WEBSHOTS at THE CRUISE!

It is wonderful to be back, but it’d be wonderfuller if we were still on the boat. To say the very least about our trip would be too little and it would be something like, it was fun. However, it was absolutely unbelievable. Our trip began from Oahu at around 8pm. We got on the boat around 7:30ish and had about enough time to get into our room and get our life jackets on. We made it to the muster station and had some time to relax after that.

We walked around the boat for a few hours, stopping to admire Aloha Tower and the skyline of Oahu from Honolulu to Waikiki. The first night we went to have dinner and got to watch the boat back away from the dock. The rest of the night involved us wandering about the ship and eventually stopping at the nightclub to watch the assistant cruise director do line dances with high school kids.

Day 1

The next day, we arrived at Kaua’i. To see everything in Kaua’i, you need about 4 to 5 days to see it and spend as much time as you need everywhere. We began, though, by getting a rental car and getting as far west as we could. First, we drove all the way to Polihale beach. Polihale is a 15-mile stretch of white sand beach, which has a view of the Na Pali coast at one end and a military base at the other. Kaua’i is a most interesting island as it is the first island that the Tahitians landed on. It was a gorgeous place, and this beach exemplifies that exactly. However, just to get to one of these beaches, you have to drive down a 5-mile road that is not only unpaved, but also built like moguls for skiing. Our Pontiac sedan did not fair so well on it, but it did make for a very exciting time going from side to side on the road, trying our hardest to bypass some of the dips and bumps.

After Polihale, we made our way up the side of Waimea and drove out to Waimea canyon. It was a fun little ride up the hill, not quite as bad as Hana, but twisty and turny none-the-less. The views were spectacular! We saw the “Grand Canyon of the Pacific” as they say. The canyon is 3600 feet deep and has so many waterfalls that you can’t see them all from the road. The one we did see, as you can see here, is almost two. Half-way down, the falls are blown sideways and continue down again. So amazing!! On the way back down we stopped for more pictures and saw the runoff of the rivers through the canyon. The runoff is entirely red, hence the name which means, “red waters” The red is a mixture of sediment, water creatures, shells and dirt that make up almost the entire southern half of Kaua’i.

After the canyon, we drove down to south Kaua’i and tried to find the little plate-lunch snack shop discussed in our book, but the book neglected to mention the fact that the shop was only open from 9am-2pm from Tuesday to Saturday and is closed Sundays and Mondays. So, instead we grabbed some turkey and cheese and ate some roll ups as we tried to find some beaches and blowholes farther south. The blowhole, called a water horn is actually the smaller of the two that were there, but because the first was shooting water thousands of feet into the air and it was stunting the growth of some farmer’s crops, he had a worker drop dynamite down into it. Now, it is a great big hole in the reef that shoots water out the side and sounds like a jet engine just before a good spout. We ended our first day at Shipwreck Beach and saw a wedding on the beach beginning. Then we hurried to drop the rental off before we had to keep it an extra day. Also, if we were seven minutes earlier we could have saved 30 dollars…(nice of the agency to mention that one, huh?)

Day 2

We got up early to go kayaking before the boat left at 1pm. We didn’t get ourselves into a kayak and into the bay until around 8:15. We kayaked out of the bay, through the port and then down a small river on our way to see the Menehune Fishpond and we kayaked out and back passing a few tours. Because to get to the fishpond, you had to go through some Mangrove trees and through a little tunnel, the tours didn’t go in it, but we did! It was a blast. In fact, we heard a legend on the way back as we passed a tour guide.

The legend goes that the Tahitian king was impressed at the native Menehunes and their masonry. He asked them to teach the Tahitians how to build with stone so they could have a perfect fishpond. The Menehune chief told him that he would not teach anyone, but he would construct the pond for the Tahitians, knowing that if he taught Menehune masonry, the Tahitians would have no use for them and perhaps turn on them. The Menehune chief proposed to build the pond under a moonless night, with no Tahitians around and under the terms that for every fish the Tahitians caught, the Menehunes would get one, too. The Tahitian king agreed to the proposal and on the next moonless night, the Menehunes lined up for six miles and passed volcanic rock from Waimea canyon hand to hand to the spot of the fishpond. As the Menehunes were working, the chief heard giggling in the hills and sent a scout to find out what it was. Upon his return, the scout said that the kings 2 children were up in the hills; hearing this, the chief clapped his hands and the Menehunes disappeared into the night. He turned to the kids and cast a spell turning them to stone spires that remain in the hills today. The Moral of the Story: Don’t let your kids out in Hawaii at night, or they’ll just go and get stoned!

The day we got underway and sat by the pool heading for Hilo, on the Big Island. We went the long way in order to see the Na Pali coast. It was amazing. The cliffs went up forever and it was a long rippling wall that showcased some gorgeous inaccessible beaches. Along for the ride were about 7 whales swimming alongside and ahead of us. They were beautiful and we really didn’t expect to see any that far away from Maui. We also got our closest view of Ni’ihau and Lehua, the two forbidden isles of Hawaii. Ni’ihau was purchased by a man named Robinson when he married a local woman and moved there. Now, to reach the island, you have to be full blood Hawaiian and invited by a resident.

This was also the day we decided to have some cocktails and it made for a fun afternoon. (If you’ve ever been on a cruise, you’d know that one day of drinking is about all the change purse can handle.) The dinners continued to be fantastic and we also had our pictures professionally taken that night all dressed up. The pictures came up so good, that we bought them and are going to use them as our engagement pictures!! Tuesday was also the night we ate with two British ladies, Lynn and her mom, Betty. The four of us talked until around 10 and then we stopped by the nightclub again and it was boring, again.

Day 3

We woke up in Hilo and decided we wanted to go biking around the crater at Volcano National Park. The two guys took us to the park through Hilo past the famous Banyan Trees planted by famous people like Babe Ruth. The trip was crazy and we found out that Hilo town has been built three times and because they built it in the same place after it got destroyed by a tsunami, it got destroyed again years later by another tsunami and now that area is all green area like golf courses and gardens….who says they don’t learn? On the drive, we saw the Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut fields and we got all the way up to the national park.

We got our bikes and helmets in the parking lot and did a few practice laps. First thing, we headed down the hill and then up a hill to the Thurston Lava Tube. The tube actually is an incredible thing to see. It’s crazy to think that so much hot rock could be moving at once, but here we are standing in the opening. We walked through and left with about another 1000 or so feet to go, but we had to go with the group so we didn’t get a chance to keep going.

We rode downhill to the next stop, which was a big fissure in the ground, caused by steam vents erupting underground. We could see the steam vents from far away here, but we would get closer later. The next stop was a lava flow from September 1982, my BIRTHDAY LAVA! The tour buses were insane everywhere, but we had fun here. The next stop was at the house of Pele, Halema’uma’u (Literally house of the red fern, after a fern that has a red plume that unrolls into a leaf which looks a lot like lava flares.) Here the steam was incredibly hot. The rocks all around were hot to the touch. You could smell the sulfur fumes from the fissures. As you looked down into Halema’uma’u crater, the steam was still coming out and it is clearly still alive. The legend says that although the Pele visits the Pu’u O’o vents, where the active lava flows, Pele takes up permanent residence in Halema’uma’u crater.

So, we finished the bike ride with Challenge Hill. It was an eighth of a mile but a pretty tough little hill for such a short ride. We saw a neat rift in the ground and finished with a trip to the museum. As soon as we stopped riding, we got a cold peppermint towel to wipe our face with. It was deliciously refreshing and a great way to end a day of exploring.

Ok, so, how do you end a day when you had a bike ride around a volcano? Answer: By sailing by the vents and watching the lava flow into the sea and the steam rise. It was incredible to watch that steam rise, and hear the Hawaiian prayer over the PA. I gotta tell you…if I were sailing from Tahiti and I saw those two vents pouring into the ocean like that, I’d be pretty sure there was a giant woman with flaming hair there, too. It was frightening a little. The two flows entered the water on the same level and looked like eyes in the darkness.

Day 4

On Thursday, we went to Kona and relaxed mostly. We went to three historical sites and then spent the day by the pool. When you go to Kona, you’ve basically gone to Waikiki, but with less lights. The first thing we did was see the He’au where King Kamehameha I spent his days and was interred when he died. It was a really amazing sight to see and the carvings are said to be the most beautiful in Polynesia. After, we went to the first Christian church in Hawaii. The doors were solid Koa Wood and they were beautifully carved and polished. It was sad to see the view some early Christians to the islands had regarding the beliefs of the locals. They wrote that the ugly carved totems were removed and the people were leaving the He’au and forts. The last thing we did was see the summer palace of the Hawaiian Ali’I (Royalty). It was sad to see the house as it was after the earthquakes in October. The royal family sold the property and auctioned off all the furniture. If it weren’t for the fact that one of the Daughters of Hawaii was the princess when the furniture was auctioned, they may not have been able to use the register to regain all of the original pieces.

Thursday was a chill day after the three history lessons. We sat by the pool and I played some volleyball against the (ten times defeated) crew and staff of the boat. Going along with the aviator sunglasses I’ve been wearing since I left my good sunglasses (yup 5 bucks) on an airplane, the assistant cruise director referred to me as Iceman the entire time. All in all, a good day.

Day 5

From Kona we motored over to Maui. Since we’d already been there twice, the trip to Maui was more or less booked with the one thing we had yet to do…snorkel at Molokini. But, that wasn’t until Saturday, so we decided Friday would be a “Lay by the pool” day. BUT…being impatient and a worrier, I decided to get the film developed from Kaua’i. To do that, we had to walk to Walmart (a trip I was SURE would take about 15 minutes from the boat). As it turned out, it was closer to a 30 minute walk, without the detour we took to check Kmart and then Costco, just to find out that Kmart didn’t have a one hour photo, and Costco did, but being only GoldStar Customers, we had to wait until 11:00 (it was already 10am at this point). So we left and went to Walmart. Then we had to wait about 1 and a half hours to get our hour photos done, just to see that they were all fine. So, we were good to use the underwater camera at Molokini. You see…we had to check the film in my defense, even thought it took about 3 and a half hours…we accidently put the 800 speed film through the x-ray getting onto the boat. We were afraid that the film would be exposed (more me than we). Amy was not all that happy with that turn of events, but a quick purchase of a Lavaflow by the pool changed her mind and got her back on my side! The rest of the day was relaxed and we chilled, got dinner went to a show and then we were good to go. And it would have been that chill, too, if we hadn’t had dinner with a drunk 70 year old man. He was hilarious, spouting racial jokes, pretending he was wearing bifocals with two different pairs of glasses and generally annoying his wife, but they were both very cute.

Day 6

Saturday was the snorkel trip. We woke up at 5:30 and got ready for the day. We were outside waiting for the bus at 6:15 as directed and at 7:15 the bus was nowhere to be found. Eventually, we were given another bus and we headed out to Wa’alea where we boarded the Prince Kuhio and got ready for an AMAZING morning of whales, fishes and turtles!!!

We got underway at around 8:15 and we saw so many whales on the way out to Molokini, at one point the boat stopped when a whale was within 10 feet of us. That’s not even the best part, we saw three whales do full breaches one after another, and then two at the same time breached, it was amazing.

We got to Molokini and followed a pair of whales around it as we traveled along the back edge of the crater and then tied off in the middle. Then we got to go snorkeling and the fish were so amazing. We used up 3 rolls of film on Saturday. Two at Molokini crater and one at Turtle Town. The fish were so many and so diverse it was incredible. On the way to Turtle town, at like 10:30, Amy and I started drinking the free Mai Tais…they were fabulous! (POG juice, rum and dark rum). The turtles were everywhere at the next stop. There were at least 7 turtles swimming around, laying on the coral and getting cleaned by little boxfish and other tiny fish. There was also a neat underwater bridge that Amy took her picture with, it was a fun shot and she’s all posing (although she claims she was just trying to stay underwater). The turtles were the fun part and we both got to swim with them. In fact, while I was swimming, I almost collided with one! Luckily, my head was above water and I saw someone pointing to it. PHEW! We also saw some really cool unicorn fish and some GIANT trumpet fish. The trumpet fish was so big that it looked like a dinosaur! RAWR!!

Days 7-9

The day we got back into port, Amy and I woke up and hit the breakfast and then headed back with Megan to the new apartment. The whole day, the three of us and John unloaded our whole apartment and moved into the new apartment in Ko Olina. For the past couple of days, we put up pictures, cleaned, shopped and got settled. We now…OFFICIALLY! Live in Ko Olina and our address is:

92-1083 B Ko’io Drive

Kapolei, HI 96707

And here we are and all set as set goes for us thus far…So until we get another amazing vacation in paradise…

March Break-Week 1

So, the girls left, we went on a whale watch and then the last two weeks of school went by. We dissected worms and crayfish. I on the otherhand, walked around the room and tried to pretend I knew more than them about the crayfish anatomy. However, I did do some research to help myself out. I read up on them, and did some fancy footwork and teachering and haha...damn I'm good.

The last week of class went by pretty slow and it ended with a dance as it always does. In typical Wai'anae style, we had four fights throughout the day. Next time, I think they'll separate the grades for the dances. Sometimes it seems like they don't know how to relax without getting into fights. But, they got their break and I got mine. So here we are on break. It's been a week and a pretty chill one at that.

The day we got out of school, we celebrated Brielle's birthday at Hideaway. Bong decided to be nice and bring a cake. I didn't drink all night since I'd be the one driving home, but I watched and enjoyed all the same, as the cake that was bought turned from nice thought to baaaaad idea. The cake fight ensued and thankfully, participants were also bouncers on their night off, like John. So no one was kicked out...yet. As the night moved on, Matt noticed that I was decidedly cake-free. He proceeded to get the last scoops of frosting and chase my okole out the doors and around tehe basketball court and then back, just in time to get tossed by one security guard and a bouncer. Evidently we were memorable enough to get kicked out, but the bouncer didn't recognize me on my next Hideaway vist.

The aftermath, Jamie, Meg, Matt, Antonio, Kate, Brille, Juan, Kevin, Jill, John, Bong, and a slew of others who felt left out.

Step one for any good March break is to begin right at March 17th, St. Patrick's Day. We went out into Waikiki and enjoyed a block party at O'Toole's and Murphy's Bar and Grill. They had a couple Irish bands and then a really good cover band called the Piranha Brothers, mostly 60 and 70's hits.

Amy and Me getting ready to hit the town.

While we were in town, the four of us, because Meg's sister, Jamie was out, went to the different vendors on the street, got some Irish beer and enjoyed the sounds. We had a lot of fun, and we got some guy to take a picture of us all together.

As it turns out, girls can't keep their hands off me!

Anyway, we also got a chance to get some tattoos...Megan and I anyways. There were a lot of strange things going on, and some of the things people were wearing were pretty off the wall, but I've never seen so many Haoles since we've been on the island. Later it started to rain and we ran for cover. We went to Kell O'Neal's and Moose McGillicutty's to meet up with Antonio, Chris and Josh. After a little run in with Josh's ex at Moose's we were asked to vacate and decided on a late dinner at IHOP. After that, we went home and Crashed.

Meg and Me with our Jameson Tat's!

Ok, so after the debauchery that was St. Patty's. It was a pretty chill week. The girls went on a booze cruise and I stayed home sick. Aparently, John had a stomach flu from Guam and he gave it to me, the bastard. We went to Hanauma Bay with Jamie and Kevin and Antonio before they left (one on a plane, two on a submarine). And then we hit some other beaches for Jamie like Sunset, KoOlina and Cabanas. We went shopping for the cruise and that's the week.

Until we return from the cruise...

Oh and if you want too many pictures than you can look at check these out

Webshots 1
Webshots 2

Lighthouse, ProBowl, Erin Fitzgibbon, More Visitors, and Much More...

The hike to the lighthouse was a tonof fun, but actually watching the whales was better!

Well, I haven’t written in a while, and so here you go…an update from Hawaii. It’s been since before Christmas break and I feel like I’ve neglected you a little. Here we are, in March, nearly…and I’ve managed to do very little. Since we’ve been back, we’ve gone to very few beaches, very few outings. One hiking outing we did was an easy hike up a hill to see the whales off the shore of Sandy's Beach. Our neighbor, Matt has keys to get up to this lighthouse above and actually up into it. We got to stand there and watch whales mate (yup, watched em doin it!) One beach outing was for our friend, Erika’s birthday. We went to Cabanas again and as you can see, the waves were about 15 feet. These are a couple of pictures of Amy, Brielle and Jamie going from the bottom of the trough to the crest.













Bottom of the Wave...












Top of the wave...(I offer you, as an aside, that on exiting water like this, one can lose themselve quite quickly. Ask Jamie.)

One of the biggie outings, though…

Me and Ame with a giant football.

THE NFL PRO BOWL!!

It was actually a blast. I was under the impression that there would be no patriots, but the trained eye can see in this picture that the ever-present Matt Light. Of course the AFC won and Peyton played reasonably well and it was fun to see Tiki play his last game ever, but all-in-all, the fun part was hanging out, watching some

football,

tailgating before the game and watching our friend Matt fly over the game and wave from the open door in a Coast Guard helicopter.

Matt Light, Faneca, Vince Young and many others.

The game itself was fun, but there were better parts, too. For instance, we saw Pat the Patriot and just HAD to get a picture with him, so we did.

Pat was cool, he actually talked to us!

After the game, we went to the Hideaway and played some bar trivia and then went to bed. From there it was a week. I got a mole removed February 7, and the same day my littlest and newest Fitzgibbon, Erin Elisa was born to my big brother, Billy and his wife Belle! She is SO CUTE!!

I haven’t done much since then, just try to figure out a few things…

Ok…try this on…I, Timothy, am a science teacher in Wai’anae and I’m teaching biology. I am trained to teach physics and I am not a big fan of biology to begin with. I am now getting ready to do what I hate most, teach dissection. It’s just one thing that I don’t have much patience with. My kids are, seemingly, intentionally trying to piss me off. So, as you can see, school is SO fun for me at this point. I’m trying to decide on whether or not to move to 8^th grade next year or stay with 7^th grade. If I go to 8^th, I’ll be teaching Earth Science so I’ll be closer to physics, b

ut if I teach 7^th I’ll be with a new group of students who don’t yet know how to manipulate me and push my buttons. So, tough choice all around. Another fun thing to worry about is this…I may be moving sometime in the next few months. Our lease is up in July and because the owner had a stroke, he needs to move back home for now, so we cannot renew the lease. We are looking into Ko’Olina but would also like to stay in Makakilo. Another fun think…

We've been trying to get out and hang with friends more as well. The other night, we went out with some new Coasties (Coast Guard guys) that we met who are friends with our old neighbor, Matt. In the picture is Bong (next to me and Jamie and John next to Amy and Brielle.

So, where are we now, Amy’s friends Jocelyn and Danielle were out visiting and they are all taking Thursday off to hang out and see the

North Shore. I’ll be at school surviving, I HOPE!!

Anywho…we’ve done some fun beaches so far, gone to eat some sushi and I’ve learned a 20 dollar lesson that I hate sushi, and all food Japanese. We revisited Manoa Falls with the girls and it was a blast, and it actually had some water, you can always compare to old posts to see just how

different the water was! SHAKA at the waterfalls!!

After the waterfalls, we mostly just did the regular stuff, beaches, Luau, that kind of thing. I swear, I love Germaine's Luau, but it keeps getting faster and shorter. (It could just be that we're getting too used to it. Either way, there isn't enough time to finish three drink tickets with a souvenir cup.

We are now looking at the possibility of turning off cable to support our internet fix due to the fact that Calvin has been less than perfect as a middleman internet provider. I've been walking around the appartment looking for anything that would give me 2 bars, just so I could finish this post I started on Wednesday. (Because it's already outdated. You see, the girls went home

today, and tomorrow I will be flying to Maui for the day with the Hawaii girls to go on a whale watch between Maui and Molokai. What a life, huh? I'll post the results next time.) Anyway, just one more thing to worry about I guess.

Until the whales come up to say hello...

You can't come to Hawai'i and miss a Hawai'i sunset. Ko'olina is a good place to catch one.