What's Normal Now?

Aloha   from   Waikiki!

"A person often meets

their destiny

on the road they took

to avoid it."

Jean de la Fontaine

How am I doing?

"Normal is not something to aspire to,

it's something to get away from. "

Jodie Foster

Yawn; Just fine. Thanks...

It's been a week today. . .

Since a normal evening at home (on board) became an emergency.

The sound of sirens still makes me jumpy, but I seem to be recovering

some sense of normalcy (which is really great for a certified 'worrier').

Of course it's not 'over.'

Our neighbors just over the horizon in Japan

face a nightmare that threatens to blow our way.

Everyday I hear of some local whose wife/husband is

visiting elderly relatives in Japan. Most of them have been heard from.

Oahu resident Jack Johnson is in Osaka with his family (and donated $50,000 USD).

Raiatea Helm has returned to the islands,

And the last stranded Japanese visitors have been repatriated.

Everyday there is some new 'benefit' to raise money,

we are cleaning up our debris,

and "Aloha Japan" shirts are selling out @ $20 per

100% for Japan relief.

The "Honolulu Festival" parade last Sunday

was a sea of Japanese participants chanting

"Unity" in Japanese. Quite moving as the crowds on the sidewalk

cheered them on.

It seems a small thing, all in all,

but our state has budget problems like most others at this time

and revenue projections are down

with the cancellation of many, many reservations from Japan

(and elsewhere)

So if YOU ever wanted to come to Hawaii,

this would be the time for some amazing deals!

Click on the "Honolulu Hotels" link to the right

(under all your pictures!).

Every little thing:

Pausing. Breathing. Reiki.

Accomplishing  routine tasks-

It's all helping me to remain on an even keel.
(Heh heh, literally! I'm writing this on a boat! :-)

Tomorrow will be better.

Sorry I haven't been blog visiting!

I miss you guys-

Warmly, cloudia

Tsunami Effects: Waikiki Harbor

Warm Aloha Greetings!

Thank YOU for your compassionate comments-

A new day arises. . .

"Bear and endure:

This sorrow will one day prove

to be for your

good."

Ovid

"Words have the power to both destroy and heal.

When words are both true and kind,

they can change our world."

 Buddha

 

 

"Neither fire nor wind, birth nor death

can erase our good deeds.

You only lose what you cling to.

Fill your mind with compassion."

 Buddha

 

Here is some video that I shot of weird flows in our protected harbor:





This shows the effects on our boat:

Here are more views of the Hawaii damage:

HERE

Tsunami Days

ALOHA Dear Friend!

The "Morning After"

Friday 11 March 2011

<>

During times of peril, adrenalin flows.

It is in the hours and days afterwards

that feelings creep (or SWEEP!) back in.

In comparison with what

the Japanese people have endured

and continue to face

we here in Hawaii are remarkably lucky.

Our hearts cry for them.

Of course, grabbing everything you need

and abandoning your home while sirens wail

(especially three times in a year: Feb 2010 Chile Quake/Tsunami Warning,

our boat suddenly taking on water

at 3am a couple of months ago,

and now this. . . )

takes it's toll.

Immediately afterwards, one is thrilled to be alive

and intact.

Gratitude is overwhelming!

My Hawaii, my dear island, is still here!

Beautiful mundane life!

The stuff we all worry about takes a holiday 

as we count our blessings

and send our Aloha to our Japanese friends.

Hawaii wouldn't be the Hawaii we know

without the Japanese people and their culture.

They are our neighbors, a big chunk of our "local" food and culture,

and they make up a large portion of our visitors. 

Many local people work, or regularly visit Japan,

and we are beginning to hear from those still there:

our business people, hula dancers,

and entertainers, are OK.

But for us this is no "far away thing."

It is beyond gut wrenching to watch.

Meanwhile, here in the islands,

the Coast Guard reports 10 boats sunk

(under-count!)

Several of our harbors have lost docks,

boats are strewn about like toys,

and a home, washed into Kealakekua Bay 

(on the Big Island of Hawaii)

floated about,

and has sunk beneath the waves.

Further up that coast, sidewalks washed away in Kailua-Kona

and at least two hotels there remain closed.

It is the aftershocks that are worrying.

What if we must run again?

The original warning was issued at 9:30pm last Thursday evening.

Waves were predicted for Hawaii starting at 3am. 

Off shore were a thousand points of light:

boats riding out the threat.

It was something I've never seen before.

(As reported in my previous post, 

we were in a hotel nearby.)

That was a sleepless night for the whole state,

and many of us are still a bit zombie-fied. 

Waking on Friday morning after 2 hours sleep,

we were thrilled to see masts in the (intact) harbor below our hotel window,

and the sea still swimming with dozens

and dozens of boats

remaining off shore.

Tsunami effects lingered in Waikiki on Friday.

Several times over the course of an hour,

the water would recede FAR out, exposing sea bed,

then rush back in.

Our famous reef provides some protection from the sea,

but even here in the Ala Wai Harbor,

the water eddied, swirled and ran strangely,

kicking up dirt that has since settled on all the rocks.

Several times, our boat, and all the others,

went down down DOWN

(lower than low tide) then back up - 

all in a matter of moments.

Our deck was wedged under the dock as the waters rose,

and we might have "flipped"

but the rubber "bumper" bolted to the dock

bent and released us

fortunately.

AT&T claims the cell phone (mobile) system was oft overwhelmed

Thursday evening, but never "down."

It is difficult to return to "normal."

Especially as the situation remains unresolved in Japan,

and another major quake could occur at any time.

I still remember the howls of hurricane Iniki's winds ('92)

it's waters rushing over the streets,

and fish swimming through them,

while the palms shrieked and rattled side-ways. 

The tsunami's effects 

are now part of my life-memory too.

It seems difficult to take normal activities seriously,

I think most of us are still in some shock,

especially as news continues to come in.

With the nuclear threat, this thing is not over,

and another tsunami could be generated.

There were over 20 aftershocks over Richter 5

today in Japan! 

So I'm keeping it together.

Normal is still down the road a bit.

Thank YOU for looking in, and for your concern.

It means a lot. . .

       Bless us every one! cloudia

Tsunami 日本 One Year On

This is a post from last year's tsunami.
"History in the Making - YOU are there."


ALOHA!                We're OK-

A Blessedly Normal Day in Hawaii!

The Volcano is far down the island chain from us here on Oahu,

all the way down south on Hawaii island.

Thank you for your expressions of concern

on that. . .

Today our hearts are with the Japanese people,

our Pacific neighbors, an island people;

Not only through their visits,

but by being such a big part of the fabric of our Hawaii,

The Japanese people are US!

It was a normal Thursday evening around 8pm.

Chores of the day were done

as we settled into relaxation.

"An earthquake in Japan!"

Interrupted our pleasantly pointless entertainment.

"Oh no." Says I

dreading another tsunami scare

Like Feb. 2010!

We have time and warning (thank God)

due to distance and technology,

but grabbing everything you need

when you live on a boat as we do

and wondering where to go

is not a relaxing place to be.

Sure enough the Tsunami Warning came through.

Sirens, police cars with loud speakers,

an atmosphere of restrained hysteria. . .

The harbor came active.  Some preparing for sea,

others to secure their boats and flee.

We can evacuate vertically here in Waikiki high rises,

they're designed to be safe above the 5th floor.

"Call the _____ hotel," says I.

and so we carried our lives,

cat, and necessaries

to a nearby hotel. 

Kitty was smuggled into the no-pets establishment

in a back pack.

Having seen wild water rushing,

and fish swimming over the harbor

during Hurricane Iniki (2 days after moving aboard!)

I had moved my scooter to a nearby building first.

There's too much to tell.

The eerie, empty streets,

watching the coverage on local TV

and wondering what Friday would bring,

but at least we would be safe.

There might be chaos, no power,

food scarcity,

but we would live.

From the 21st floor, we could see hundreds of stars

dotting the ocean: boats out to sea.

We dodged a bullet in Waikiki,

though docks at Keehi lagoon down the coast

broke loose carrying attached boats away,

and similar damage occurred at Haleiwa harbor

on our Oahu North Shore.

In the morning, after 2 hours sleep,

we could just make out our boat still floating below.

The ocean was still full of boats,

so we wondered if the harbor remained closed to them

due to weird surges.

When we carried our lives back to the harbor,

the water was eddying and surging in very strange ways.

The boat went lower than the lowest tide,

banging our rails on the cement pier, 

then rising to normal height in five minutes!

Boaters returning had trouble navigating

the strange currents.

We saw several near misses as they tried to dock.

In Maui a sea turtle was rescued inland

and returned to the sea.

In Kona a hotel is closed,

the main street damaged,

some homes washed out to sea!

During the emergency, cell phones did NOT work,

but hard wired "land lines" did.

Listen, there is just too much to tell,

 and I have time-stamped photos of the dock going

UP & DOWN,

But today is a day of recovery

and concern for Japan.

I thank YOU for your concern!!!!!!!!

And your prayers.

Today's perfect weather

is excellent for emotional recovery.

I SEE the blessing in horde of people normally

going about their day.

We have spoken with friends near and far who worried.

Life's "normal" worries are stripped of importance.

It is good to be alive

in a place with power and food.

Our hearts are with the Japanese people.

Seeing them around town is emotional,

I want  to hug them all.

So as aftershocks occur,

bodies are recovered,

and nuclear plants threaten,

take a moment to send a kind intention

to the people of Japan,

and the people here, and California,

who lost homes, boats, a way of life.

When could this happen again?

Maybe today, maybe tomorrow.

Which is why 19 years living aboard may be

"enough."

More later!  

Forgive me if I don't comment at your site today. . . 

My friend Judy, who lives way up on the hillside,

had a dream-vision of God:

walking through rushing waters

and floating bodies."

He looked at her and said:

"Enjoy your time."

And so we shall.

Every little thing

is an inestimable blessing!

Thank YOU for caring,

and for blessing me with your Aloha- 

 cloudia

Marital Disagreement

A L O H A!

Sky Fire

"When the winds of change blow,

 some people build walls

 and others build windmills."

Chinese proverb

Ah!

"Who sees all being in his own self,

 and his own self in all beings,

 loses all fear."

Isa 

(Upanishads)

Mark's Driveway

"One doesn’t become enlightened
by imagining figures of light,
 but by making the darkness conscious.

 The latter procedure, however, is disagreeable,
 and therefore not popular."

Carl Gustav Jung

 ><}}(°>

 Couples can find much to disagree about.
Fortunately, my husband & I
  agree on all important matters
- though we seem to disagree
on almost everything unimportant!

"Do it this way."

"No, Like this."

Amazing how large a little thing can loom.

Be careful not to let
bumps
morph into
mountains-

            

         Fondly, cloudia

Loyal to the Face

ALOHA! 
              Glad YOU Came By Today :-)

Kalakaua Avenue

"Undisturbed calmness of mind

 is attained

 by cultivating friendliness toward the happy,

 compassion for the unhappy, 

delight in the virtuous,

 and indifference toward the wicked."

  Patanjali

"I want to grow old without face-lifts.

 I want to have the courage 

to be loyal to the face

 I have made" 

 Marilyn Monroe

Dancing on the beach

"The personal life deeply

 lived always expands

 into truths beyond itself."

Anais Nin

This lovely world

is a habitrail for humans.

Along the street,

up & down escalators,

past the beach;

Our cities are tunnels

of commerce and feeding.
Of parting
and meeting.

This human ant-farm-

Isn't it lovely to be

a part of it all!

Aloha Everybody!

I know we all agreed

to "not know each other'

for a while-

and that game is fun

with all sorts of possibilities.

But I could never keep a

secret;

I remember quite clearly:

We love one another!

So aloha brother, sister,

cousin -

ALOHA!

                                                                                    warmly, cloudia