It has not escaped my notice (and slight guilt) that this blog has gone dormant over the past few months. Increasingly exciting changes have been happening IRL off-line, and for some reason, I've been enjoying the analog memories and experiences, taking very few photos, writing down very few recipes, and spending the time instead just ... experiencing. Does that make sense? Even my typed, digital words feel too clunky.
For one, I graduated! Well, technically, my Ph.D. was awarded a few months ago, but graduation ceremonies didn't happen until May/June. So now I can be rid of the annoying "Ms." title and just be "Dr"! Actually, even better that that: as of July 1, I'm now officially "Professor", too. :D Well, technically, "Assistant Professor," but let's not split hairs during the summertime. And yes, that means I finished temp teaching at Berkeley and am moving to a new university, to a wonderful new department... and leaving this area on the SF Peninsula that I've called home for the past seven years. As I said, big changes. So big I can't write about them. At least, not yet.
In the meantime, I did take one real vacation. Technically I went to Hawai'i for a work conference on Austronesian languages at the University of Hawai'i, Mānoa. But we agreed not to split hairs during the summer, remember? :) Anyways, after the conference, we island-hopped over to Kaua'i for a real vacation. Filled with shaved ice, reading on the beach, reading on the porch, snuggling with cats, cursing feral chickens for waking us up at 3AM, hikes through ankle-deep mud and knee-deep stream-crossings, tumbling waterfalls from every mountainside you look, macadamia nut chocolates, poke, binge-streaming Sopranos in the evenings, passionfruit chiffon pie, pineapples that taste like sweet coconut, fresh-cut gardenias on the bedside table, green and lush and days of completely ignoring email. (Fine, fine, I did finish a paper while I was there, but technicalities, again.) I barely pulled out my camera for whatever reason, so here are the glimpses of Hawai'i that I did manage to record.
One of my favorite Hawai'i things: picking a fresh plumeria to wear in my hair.
[Above: Leonard's Malasadas; Below: shaved ice, Hawai'i lunch plate, poke, pre-hike bacon sandwich & smoothie from Hanalei Coffee Roasters, passionfruit chiffon pie]
[Above: morning rainbow over Hanalei Bay; Below: Kalalau Trail at the Nā Pali Coast]
[Above: view of Ke'e Beach from the Kalalau Trail; Below: Opaekaa Falls]
