Photo Dump #3

To my faithful followers, I apologize. Between year-end festivities in Hawaii, traveling home for the first half of January and spending a week in LA on my way back to Honolulu, I haven't posted anything.

For now, you'll just have to settle for a random assortment of photos from my phone that don't really do the last month and a half justice.

New Years on the beach...and no I didn't celebrate it alone


My favorite Hawaiian dog...dog sat for my friend right after New Years


What awaited my return in Hamden


Glasses have shrunk considerably since the early 90s


A view of Honolulu from Diamond Head


Sunset on the North Shore outside of Haleiwa


My favorite cat ever going for a snack

Photo Dump #2

Joslyn visited from the 7th through the 14th and we had a great time hiking, beaching, and exploring the island together.

Me in front of Rabbit Island by Makapu'u


Joslyn at the Pali lookout


Pipe Masters surf competition on the North Shore (Super Bowl of surfing kind of)


And in action...


Looking down from an old water tower on a hike


Possibly my favorite picture of the two of us ever


HUGE Banyan tree


Some dolphins we met


Sunset at my favorite surf spot


So, now the rest of you have to come visit me!

Sometimes It Pays To Know Semi-Obscure German Philosophers

This post's story begins in July, when on one of my frequent trips to Goodwill I happened across a book entitled "Unterwegs Zur Sprache" by Martin Heidegger. It struck me as odd that a book in German was on sale at a Goodwill in Honolulu, so I picked it up and opened it for further examination. Much to my surprise, I found a dedication in German on the inside title page. Scanning down, a signature that looked a lot like 'Martin Heidegger' was at the bottom. It looked authentic, but could I really have just stumbled across a signed copy of Martin Heidegger's final book for 99 cents at Goodwill?



In short, the answer to that question was yes. I gladly invested 99 cents, snapped a few pictures of it, and then sent it off to every appropriate auction site or autograph collector (including many Danish and German ones overseas) I could find online. One site, rrauction.com, offered to consign the book for me, and I sent it off.

Several months later it sold for $220 in their October auction, and I made $198. By far the best 99 cent investment that I've ever made. On the off chance that anyone out there has autographs they'd like to sell, I fully endorse rrauction. Friendly people, fast responses via e-mail, and very professional.

My Hawaiian Thanksgiving

With no class today because of the holiday, I had a free day until work at night. The waves suck right now, so I finally did what I've wanted to do for a while; I rode all the way around the island. Well almost all the way around it. You can't complete the loop on the west side. Below is a map of my route, heading east from the 'A' (home) first.

Yes I drew the shaky red line myself, thank you.


Plus a few choice pictures along the way.

Sandy's Beach


Rabbit Island near Makapu'u


View of the mountains from He'eia State Park


Somewhere along the northeastern coast of Oahu


Interesting...



My Thanksgiving dinner: one of the many shrimp trucks on the North Shore



There was writing covering all of the tables as well as the truck itself. This was my favorite.


Waimea


Hale'iwa


Rainbow on the way back south



I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!

Photo Dump #1

Sunset


Where I like to go bodyboarding


I'm a father now...just kidding, friend's baby


Just playing some scattergories


Biggest one I've seen so far

It's Not All Frozen Waffles & Ramen

Dinner a few nights ago.

ESL

One of the things I'm doing out here is teaching ESL at Hawaii Literacy's Drop-In Center Program. It's basically free informal classes four times a week for anyone who wants to improve their English.

Here's a link to the webpage for it: http://www.hawaiiliteracy.org/dic/index.html

I've been teaching 7 hours a week for about two or three months now, and it certainly is encouraging me to try my hand abroad teaching ESL.

Here are a few pictures from a recent Saturday class. The dude standing in the middle of the room and the woman at board in the front of the class are both volunteers. The class itself is roughly half Chinese, half Chuukese (Micronesian), with a few Koreans, Samoans, Panamanians, and Marshallese scattered throughout.