Searching a New Home

A few days looking… And it looks scary, very scary. The rentals are diminishing in number by the day, and the closer we get to the end of the year, the worse it is going to be. Maybe I’ll even have to move to a temporary shelter, and at this point even the cats are negotiable.

This is quite the tragedy for me. I should have reacted much sooner, in September, when the opportunities were still numerous. Or I should have waited until January, when the first people break their leases because they can’t stand it here. (Why?)

Moving On Out

I received an email, then a letter from Jim, my landlord here in the City. He says he needs to move back into his apartment and gave me a generous 55 days to find a new spot.

I would be totally demoralized if it weren’t for the fact that I wanted this to happen. I wanted to move out, and he just kicked me in the butt.

Now, of course, the problem is where to move to…

Back from Ninole

Ninole over the weekend was wonderful. You’ll find the pictures up tonight – for now a briefing:

• The lanai mauka is in place, beautiful as could be
• The lanai makai is rough, but should get done this week
• The subflooring is done

That’s not much of a progress report, of course, but considering there were less than two full weeks of work on the house, it’s at least progress!

Missed Katrina Until Wikipedia Told Me

I am astonished. Due to the trip to Hawai’i and to the lack of TV, I almost completely missed Katrina. I heard people say about the disaster, but I had no idea until I finally decided to check for myself on the web, and found just how horrible the situation is.

Partially it may be because I was in Hawai’i, an island chain so remote from the mainland, an event in Japan is more likely to cause a stir than a hurricane in Louisiana; partially I was completely cut off from news there, seeing how I had no access to news media at all; and finally, partially my utter lack of TV access removed me from the worst of the sights.

Plans

The house construction project seems to be well on its way. Brad and I found each other congenial, and he started on Monday with renewed enthusiasm for the project, finally liberated from an oppressive and opinionated boss.

What changed? Well, the story he tells is quite sad: the former owners seem to have lured him into construction, just to run out of money about a year ago. As he saw no more money coming out of the owners, he slowly started killing the project and moved on to other, better things.

Hostel

The only Internet cafe I could find in Hilo is the Youth Hostel, really the cheapest bargain in town. Bunk beds for $18 – what more could you ask for.

Interestingly, the advantage of the place is not necessarily the computers (although those are huge), but the people watching. Interesting folks march around here. People that could use a lot of showering, people that are on the lookout for a cheap deal, people that have nothing to do in this crazy but cheap town.

Gone

I’ll be out to visit the construction site for the next few days. daily cat sitting is organized.

I will be courageous and sleep in a tent under my roof. A challenge, given that I will land at around 8p and there will be no light to pitch a tent. An adventure, one might say, given that the only shower I will have is that of the waterfalls. A foolhardy proposition, seen that I have no keys to the locks.

Sleep

I had no sleep in the last two nights, mostly because of my preoccupation with closing the house. Now that’s over (closing date is tomorrow) and I could finally sleep. I took off early from work, went home and slept. And slept. And slept. After 8 hours, Mondo, my faithful cat woke me up to play with me, and I still could have strangled him.

Oh, sleep is such a relief!

Letter from a Mother in Vermont

The following is a very strong and moving letter written by the mother of a gay boy in Vermont…

“Many letters have been sent to the Valley News concerning the homosexual menace in Vermont. I am the mother of a gay son and I’ve taken enough from you good people. I’m tired of your foolish rhetoric about the “homosexual agenda” and your allegations that accepting homosexuality is the same thing as advocating sex with children. You are cruel and ignorant. You have been robbing me of the joys of motherhood ever since my
children were tiny.

Spanish Concert

Friend invited me to an open air concert of the San Francisco Symphony at Dolores Park, with the main theme of “Spain.”

It was a packed event, and people streamed into the venue long after it had all started. It was a wonderful day, with the heat of Saturday replaced by Sunday’s stream of cool fog air.

All in all a success. My hosts had packed great lunches, and wine to boot. I had brought some water, ice cream, and a tan-through swimsuit. And of course my bike, and my cycling clothes, as if to underline the recent ending of the Tour de France.