Are You a Fan of Delicious Color?

Summer is slapping me in the face today. I'm sitting here between two breezeless windows, eating mint chocolate chip ice cream and listening to the Decemberists (ironically). I realize that for most of you on the mainland, summer has been slapping you a great deal harder, so I'll stop complaining. 

I have very exciting news though...

In my last post, I shared my article on How to Survive a Vacation in Hawaii in the hopes that I might get to the next round in the HubPages Share and Share A Like Contest. Surprisingly enough, a different hub, Fun Summer Activities with Sidewalk Chalk, was nominated for the Fan Faves round! If you want to help me win, you can vote right here on Facebook. It was fun putting this together and sharing a little of my love for sidewalk chalk (it's not just for kids). Some of my friends and I decorated the sidewalk at the beach park recently - yes, we felt like kids and yes, we had a great time. It was fun just adding a little more color to the world. Chalk art goes way beyond the neighborhood sidewalk though. Professional chalk artists create amazing 3-D paintings - talk about optical illusions! Some cities put together chalk festivals and Sidewalk Chalk Floods where the whole community colors the sidewalks of the city - it would be so much fun to go to one of those! 

So forgive me for this little self-serving post! I hope your summer is bright and colorful and full of sunshine! I was going to share my waterfall discovery with you, but I think I'll save it till next time....

photo courtesy Steve Johnson via Flickr

Surviving Hawaii

Happy Monday, everyone! It's been a mildly Mediocre Monday for me (as opposed to Miserable, Manic, or Magical), what with getting my head out of the weekend and into the tasks of the week ahead. But I have been getting things done. I worked in some studying this morning with my pedagogy texts and was able to practice Chopin and Debussy to my heart's content as well. This afternoon I've been working on a project which I will reveal after I show you this...

Looks a bit crazy, doesn't it? It's actually only about 10 or 15 feet, but I jumped off (didn't dive like the boys in the picture)! ...to my own dismay... It was fun though, and I'm trying to be a bit more adventurous. One doesn't always get the chance to live in Hawaii where cliff-jumping opportunities abound. 

Other adventures on my list of late: 

sat through 3 hours of an all-boys Halo party

survived an attack of the cockroaches

walked into a library without my library card (*gasp*)

cooked pasta with white wine sauce

refrained from ice cream

played a game of Battleship

made multitudes of music

Extremely exciting, I know. 

But I love my life <3

OK, so back to my project. You may or may not be familiar with my HubPages site, but HubPages has been hosting a special contest this summer. It's called "Share and Share a Like", and seeing that the whole point of the contest is social networking and writing articles that people want to share online, I thought I might as well share this one with you. In the process of putting my hub together, I found myself outside in my snowboarding jacket, to the confusion of the neighbors...

 My hub is called "How to Survive a Vacation in Hawaii". I was inspired by my dad who always tells visitors the Worst Case Scenario about activities around the island. I always think it's funny, so I thought it would be fun to write from the perspective of a worry wart. So please check it out, and if you like it, share it on Twitter and Facebook! 

Sea Turtle and Sea Swell

There is a deplorable amount of soaking wet roosters roaming around today, and I'm beginning to wonder whatever made me think that the rainy season was ever over. Still, an umbrella-accompanied walk through the morning rain shower has its own delights, especially when succeeded by a hot shower of the indoors sort. 

Despite the abundance of water that's been pouring around lately, yesterday saw a bit of beautiful sunshine on the seashore. There was a south swell, causing high surf, which, combined with a strong wind, was splendid to watch from the safety of dry land.

 And not only was the ocean a gorgeous sight, but a cute someone on the beach caught my eye ... This handsome stranger was about 3 or 4 feet long, I'd say. He had been swimming in the strong surf, only coming to shore to take a little nap before going back out. His face in the sand, his flippers sprawled out, he slept soundly beneath the warm sun despite the crowd of fans that surrounded him. 

A giant sea turtle! This is a rare sight to find on the beach. I often see turtles swimming among the waves, eating algae off the rocks, but they don't like to come ashore very much. So it was a treat to see this one sleeping on the sand, oblivious to the surplus of tourists snapping his photo. He was so adorable, I wanted to take him home, but I didn't think he would fit in my bathtub.

Eastside Beach Town

I recently had a quite a bit of time to kill one day so I thought I'd explore a small seaside town on the east coast of the island. Even though an island by its very definition is isolated and limited, I find that there's always something new to discover, some road never traveled. And though I've been in this town a thousand times, I still managed to find new things about it. This is the backdoor perspective, empty lots and rusty roofs included. Disorder and imperfection, beauty beneath a blue beaming sky. 

Surfboards can be strapped to any kind of vehicle...

Shee thin...

Something's rather beautiful and mysterious about this falling down house...

Cinder block house...

Rusting right into the ground...

Mower and Marine...

An Asian mural inside the Dragon Building...

A cute cafe stuffed between buildings..

Hundreds of orchids and all different...

Empty lot...

Fruit stand...

These are sold all over the place, but I still can't figure out what they're supposed to be...

Tower of lumber...

Untouched beauty...

The clearest water...

In the House of God, Forever

"When we define our happiness by some point in the future, it will never arrive."  I read this recently in a book called I Kissed Dating Goodbye (how about that for a title?) by Joshua Harris, and it really struck home. He goes on: "We'll keep waiting until tomorrow. If we allow impatience to govern us, we will miss the gift of the moment. We'll arrive at that point in time we expected to provide fulfillment and find it lacking." I'm an expert at escapism, a professional when it comes to daydreams. I look forward to events and times in my future with an eager desire for that which I don't have right now. My next travelling excursion, for instance (whenever that is). Marriage. Children. The grand opening of my greenhouse colony on Antarctica. The publication of my book on the fascinating behavior of hungry tourists. Et cetera. I am an escapist, and proud of it. 

But can escapism go too far? Is it possible to overdose on daydreams? If dwelling on the future means that I completely forget the present, then my escapism has gone too far. When I put all my energy in waiting for the Someday, I fail to serve God in the Right Now. Josh Harris was making this point in terms of romantic relationships, but this concept of contentment, of serving the Lord no matter what time, could be applied to lots of areas in my life, not just to romance. There is a season for everything. Summer is on its way in all its sunshine and green-grass glory, but if we sit around in the basement waiting for winter to be over, we'll miss the beauty of the snow.

I find myself face to face with the ugly side of me, the side I don't want anyone to see. I try to hide this ugliness even from myself, but I know it is there. I know my temptations and how easily they come. But the moment I realize this, I see the grace of God, making me free. When I recognize my sin (yes, I just said the S-word), then I can completely understand forgiveness. Only when I hate my sin, hate myself, that is when I really love Jesus. When I am up to my neck in sorrow, that is when I know the fullness of joy.

"Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever." ~ Psalm 23:6

Discovering Whalers Cove

I hope you all had a sea-sational Father's Day weekend in your part of the world. Nothing over the edge here, except lots of time spent with friends and family. I have been blessed with the best father I could ask for, who loves me in a way that shows the love of my Heavenly Father, and I am so grateful that I could spend Father's Day with him.

 By the time Friday comes around, I always feel ready to forget my troubles and enjoy every bit of free time I can grasp. Freedom is being by the sea, feeling the salty breeze blow away worry and fear. Freedom is making new discoveries and playing hide-and-seek with the beauty of the world. 

A couple of friends and I did a bit of exploring last Friday. There really isn't that much to do or that many places to go on an island. I can't tell you how many days I wake up thinking how lovely it would be to run away to an art museum or an ice skating rink. Still, one simply can't sit inside all day, every day. The beginning threads of mental insanity would be strung - trust me, I've been there. So following a whim, we took a walk down by the seashore, in an attempt to find Whalers Cove. 

Whalers Cove... sounds rather piratey, doesn't it? Well, it turns out Whalers Cove is only a condominium complex, but we did spot one pirate. 

The rather bleak-looking building (it was so uninteresting, I didn't even think to photograph it) sat above the rocky coast, blocking the view to all but the inhabitants of the oceanfront condos. But around the corner we found the gateway - the opening to the real Whalers Cove. 

Down a railed staircase was a little hole of calm water between a sedate river and the sea. The tide was rising up to meet the downcurrent of the stream in a hesitant conflict of water. Looking around, I could see water, more water, and rocks. No whalers. No whales. Not a mermaid in sight. And though we did find a hiding place suitable for buried treasure, there was no X marks the spot. A little disappointing, I dare say,  but to be a bit cliche, it was the journey that mattered, not the destination. For in the company of good friends, the time whittles away pleasantly.

La Mer

~written June 9, 2011~

After a few patience-testing piano lessons this morning, I came down here to the sea. It's a beach I've never been to before, hidden behind the green-grown dunes. The small strip of sand winds around the edge of the turquoise sea, hugging the shoreline as it faces the unending ocean. It isn't the best place for swimming, as the reef grows close to the foamy fringe of surf, leaving a few feet of shallow water to wade in. But it is a good place to come away to - to piece back together the puzzle of sanity and serenity. Beach grass below a shade tree becomes my blanket and the tree trunk my pillow, while the white-on-blue layered sea is my vision. It is a place to watch the sea birds, the crabs, as they scurry on the sand - to contemplate the miles to the horizon and how to get there - to walk on water. I smell salt more than sunscreen here - a good sign that I am at last alone, reassured that God is in His heaven and all is right with the world. The unadorned tangled web we weave and the white noise of peace are the sandy spoils of the sea. 

With heart and soul I fly to the unbending horizon, with shaded eye sails and no rudder at all but the sea breeze and the sea skies and the seashine. The music of heaven and the beating of true hearts resound with the waves as we float away from the quivering leaves of our trouble trees. If only I were a mermaid. But I am more like a crab underground, afraid. If only, and I could be a gypsy of the water, unabashed and bold, with a current-bending will. I could fly undersea with the sea-strained stars overhead and drowned sailors by my side. Captain of my sea-urchined fate, controller of my sea-watered world. 

No. Dry-footed I stand. Crab-legged and sea-stunned on the shore. Not able to fly, above sea or below. Stick of driftwood in my hand and sand in my heart. It is enough for now, to quiver slowly between the worlds, half-wet. It is enough for dreams.