Imminent Departure

A couple more days and I am off to the Big Island. I haven't seen my girlfriend in a few weeks, so I am very excited to get to Hilo. It is spring break at HPU next week, although this will by no means be a vacation. I have several research papers to write, and anyone who knows is well aware that research is not something I enjoy doing. I should have a bit more time to run though, I hope to increase my distance and decrease my time (don't we all). Mostly I will just be happy to see Erin.

In other travel news, in two months I will be leaving Hawaii to do a Summer intensive course in Spanish at a language school in San Sebastian, Spain. Basque Country is one of my favorite places in the world, and anyone who has been there knows how beautiful Donastia (San Sebastian in Basque) is. This will be another great adventure, and with any luck, an excellent learning experience. So if anyone reading this will be in, or near Spain this summer, let me know.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

It was a rainy one here in Honolulu. I went out with some friends and had a good time. If I ever get my hands on some of the pictures they took I may even post them.

The Big Match

Bolton play Manchester United this Saturday at Old Trafford. I fear disaster will strike. United have been just about unstoppable lately, and Bolton have been far from it. A Champions League place is probably now beyond our reach. We are relatively secure in fifth place at the moment, but that can change rather quickly. A few teams are within four points, and we still have to play Chelsea (At Stamford Bridge) and Arsenal (At the Emirates). I just hope we can keep the match close against Man U. Although I must admit that at these moments, when I have just about lost faith, Bolton usually manages to surprise me. It may be a bridge too far though, especially when one watches Cristiano Ronaldo play this season. If he is not the player of the year, I don't know who is.

Mid-terms

Are finally over. I had a tough few days there, but now I can relax a bit, at least until I start writing my two research papers, and my solo project, and my group project, and my two presentations...

Pantun

This is what I would call a modified Pantun, as I did not strictly follow the rules for writing a Pantun, but I did stay pretty close to them. The Pantun is a Malay poetic form which has existed in its current state since about the 15th century. It involves repeating lines from each stanza in the following stanza.







Hollyrood Park


Rocky green expanses stood their ground
Ground carved in St. Anthony’s Cathedral six hundred years ago
Ruins would not turn away from the past

Rocky green expanses stood their ground
The wind could only steal pebbles from St. Anthony
Ruins would not turn away from memory
Erosion is the ally of memory

The wind could only steal pebbles from memory
Arthur’s Seat remains
Erosion is the ally of the wind
Pushing down on St. Anthony’s as if it had lost something

Arthur’s Seat will remain
I lay on grass hundreds of feet above Edinburgh
Glaring down at St. Anthony’s as if it had stolen something
Seeing not what Arthur saw but what he built

I lay on grass hundreds of feet above Edinburgh
Seeing sky and stone and rain
Seeing not what Arthur saw but what others have built
Present came crashing down when Arthur and I stood together

Seeing grass and stone and rain
Seeing and remembering Camelot
Future came crashing down and only Arthur remained
I will return someday

To finish the Epic

Champions League Draw

Well, the quarterfinals are set. Some interesting match-ups came out of the hat. I would say the biggest is AC Milan versus Bayern Munich, although the most entertaining match to watch will probably be Chelsea versus Valencia. If I had to pick those two right now, I would say Milan and Valencia will go through, but I could change my mind in the next few weeks.

The other two matches are somewhat easier to predict. It is hard to see PSV Eindhoven getting past Liverpool. I thought they were a bit lucky to get past Arsenal. And while AS Roma are better than they have been given credit for, this looks like it could be Manchester United's year.

If you can believe it...

Just a few weeks into my marathon training and I have already suffered some setbacks. First, I came down with some sort of stomach bug earlier this week, which forced me to skip a day of running, then I stupidly injured my toe, forcing me to cut my run short tonight. I guess 26 miles is a long way to travel, in more ways than one.

You'll Never Walk Alone

But Eidur Gudjonson may as well have been. He was the only Barcelona player who appeared to care if they won or lost against Liverpool. And he only played the last 20 minutes. That had to be the most indifferent performance I have ever seen in the knockout stages of the Champions League. It's sad really. Barcelona just has a tremendous amount of talent, but they can't seem to put it together as they did last season.

Inter also has a tremendous amount of talent, and have looked as if they were finally going to round a corner they have been waiting to figure out for years, but they fell apart at the worst possible moment. So we have Valencia, Liverpool, Chelsea, and Roma in the final 8. Sets up some more cracking matches.

Bolton Wanderers -- Blackburn Rovers

Another setback for Bolton, although we probably deserved a point. We gave away two penalties, both silly. It looked as if Gary Speed may have got the ball on the first one, but even if he did, he got quite a bit of the man. The second one was just stupid, I don't know what Faye was doing. And he should have scored the equalising goal as well, but he was off side. How do you line up offside on a free kick? Anelka's goal was well taken, and we should have had another along the way even before Faye's disallowed header in stoppage time. I think the squad will rue the missed opportunities. Champions league seems out of reach now, and the teams below us are catching up. If we are going to find some form, now is the time.

"This shirt is an extra large."

So I went to Sports Authority today to get a new pair of track suit bottoms for my marathon training. I bought a black pair from Russell Athletic. They were a boys large, and, predictably, they are too big. Has some giant race of humans overtaken the earth and demanded clothing sizes be altered accordingly? Seriously, I am not an exceedingly large individual, but I don't think I am extraordinarily small either. I see men smaller than me every day. I just can't believe that I am nearly thirty years old and have to shop in the boy's section to find athletic gear that fits me. Am I alone in this? Anyone?

A mild surprise

So I stepped on a scale recently. I wasn't surprised that I had gained some weight, but the amount of weight was a bit of a shock. So I have started running again. But I don't want to run for a bit and then stop again, so I have set a goal for myself. I am going to train to run the Honolulu marathon next December. Crazy? I think so. But it will certainly be interesting. I have been a sprinter since about 3rd grade, so it will really be a whole new world for me. I am looking forward to it. Wish me luck.

Upon Entering My Thirtieth Year

Sunshine rages through curtained windows on the warmest birthday I have ever experienced
islands remain intact two weeks after the earth shook
Scandinavian women discuss American politics in fluorescent light

I blink

maybe Hawaii has too much light
but the days are short
my birthday gets shorter as my life gets longer

29 years and people wish me well
it is not my accomplishment
I give them my mother’s phone number

she deserves the plaudits
I am just a product
a continuation of evolution

a solution to a practical problem
standing upright
a manner in which fore-limbs can be freed
can build tools
can find answers

inquiries
senate hearings

my birthday last year featured an Irish pub in Honolulu and a technical writer from Kentucky
my 22nd birthday featured an Irish pub in Bolton and a computer programmer from Holland

the cake was like a brick
hurled through a window
into my world

my world then and my world now share no windows
only poems
passed back and forth between winters

theorists and experimentalists
life and something just like it
emotions and sensations

one is physical
for all of my studies I never took a physics class
never saw a true demonstration of gravity
gravitas

I thought Dr. Holt had gravitas
until I saw him get drunk and try to pick up a 17 year old girl
what else can one expect from a man named after the Greek god of wine and fertility

Neruda was responsible for MSN’s quote of the day
I will never share this honor with him
but I hope to share a glass of Chilean wine with my companion

her eyes may be the color of love,
or the color of Hawaiian beaches
and her body is not far away

in fact,
she is closer to me than Neruda
or his mermaid
will ever be

November 9, 2006
Honolulu, HI

Kensington Palace Gardens

A big
fat
gray squirrel ran across the walking path on the north side of Kensington Palace Gardens

A big
fat
gray squirrel

I looked at his fat hind legs
swaths of brown fur mixed in with the gray

I never much noticed squirrels growing up
they were everywhere
I never bothered them
they never bothered me

It is odd living on an island in the south Pacific
eighty degrees the whole year through
sunny the whole year through
devoid of squirrels the whole year through

living on an island in the south Pacific has made me appreciate
a windy
fifty degree day
an island in the north Atlantic
and a fat
gray squirrel

June 1, 2006

London, UK

Saturday Afternoon

I played soccer at Kapiolani Park today. It was about 80 degrees, with a lovely ocean breeze coming from the south and a rainbow over Diamond Head to the north. I didn't play especially well, but my team still managed to win 4-2. It was great fun, just a really nice day. Sometimes I need a day like this to remember what living in Hawaii is all about.

RIP - Palomino's

Last night I attempted to go to Palomino's for Friday night happy hour, something I have done several times before. To my surprise they were closed, and all signage was removed, save for a piece of white paper taped to the door announcing that a new restaurant, run by Chef Mavro, would be opening soon. I always found Palomino's to be one of the best, and busiest, happy hours on the island. Several new happy hour options have appeared in downtown Honolulu over the past few months, which is a good thing, but I hope it does not lead to the departure of older, reliable destinations.