Earthquakes & tidal waves & Flossies...Oh My!

I'm writing this while sitting at my kitchen table listening to the few coqui frogs brave enough to break the eerie silence outside. From what CNN's 'situation room' told me on my lunch break today, the entire Big Island is on the brink of destruction. It really means the kids are excused from school tomorrow, all hospital employees are encouraged to bring 2 days worth of clothes to work tomorrow, and surfers better eat their wheaties(or granola!). I was briefed at work today that the media is downplaying the potential destruction ahead in order to avoid panic.

Hurricane Flossie is lumbering towards the vacinity of the islands at a blistering 16mph. It's fluctuating between category 3 and 4 Hurricane status meaning the bowels of the storm are sustaining winds above 120mph. The storm is weakening, though not as fast as predicted. And it's also supposed to miss Hilo by at least 100 miles ('as predicted') but I will probably experience some pretty strong winds and rain-related land slides on this side of "aina".

I prepared myself by getting an extra case of water, some candles and some more canned goods. If the worst happens and we lose power...we can always pick a few extra oranges, bananas, and papayas from our backyard!

Judging by the uproar from citizens after the 24 hours without power after the earthquake in October, HELCO's disaster plan will have us back with power in a few days at the longest. I am prepared for at least that. If not, Walmart has come to rescue America's citizens in the face of disaster and have opened their doors for disaster spending 24 hours-a-day. I think they are pre-approving people for FEMA loans!

It has just started to rain and it's time for dinner. It's another night as normal in my new (really old) plantation house in Papaikou. Keep watching CNN or Fox or whatever but just take it with a grain of seasalt. I'm safe and will be safe...working my tale off in the hospital!

Until after Flossie,

Paul

Another Try...

I haven’t updated this blog in some time now…and some of you who check(ed) it were quick to call me out on that fact. It’s almost been a year of living in Hawai’i for me now and I cannot believe how fast the time has gone! I’m on my way back to Hilo right now, waiting for my island-hopper at the Honolulu airport. As I watch the sun beginning to go down behind the Waianae (west Oahu) mountains, I’m trying to remember when I started appreciating sunsets…was it back at Manhattan beach looking over Trout lake, or looking out over the pines in Lino Lakes? Either way, it makes every day seem special. Now most sunsets I see in Hilo are muted by the afternoon clouds looming over Mauna Kea. So when I get to see a clear one it makes me remember all the sunsets I’ve seen and those I’ve shared them with back home. In between clear sunsets I can settle for incredible sunrises on my drives to work…
I had a great visit with friends and family, getting a new sister-wait- I guess a whole new side of the family! Tess’ family is so much fun, great hosts of the best wedding in the history of weddings! But, it was an emotional wedding to be a part of. I have to admit I cried, but I know I laughed more because my face still hurts. I may have a new research idea too…can I prove that laughing can cure hangovers almost better than puking (maybe the bridesmaids would be interested in participating…). I’ll need every bit of this 5 week ‘vacation’ before my sis’ wedding next month!
Between now and then, I will be moving into another rental house, working 3 weekends and napping my afternoons away on the beaches of Hilo. I’ll have two roommates, an x-ray tech from MN and a middle school teacher from Colorado. We’ll be living 5 miles north of Hilo in a town along the Hamakua coast. We’ll be just across the highway from a beautiful 4 mile scenic drive and we’ve got all kinds of tropical fruit trees in the yard! I hope to start regular training again for the Honolulu Marathon in December. Hopefully with more regular training I can dip down under 3 hours again.
Since my last blog entry, as I told some people…I’ve traveled to Oahu 4 times and Maui once. I’ve yet to make the trip to Kauai. On the Big Island I’ve explored more as I had two tour groups of visitors come in March. I‘ve watched a few sunrises from nearly 14,000ft, kayaked across Kealakekua bay, hiked to the top and bottom of waipio valley, run a marathon in Hilo, and one in Kona (west side, pics on www.hawaiiphotoman.com my bib #s are 113 and 143 for the races), snorkeled a good bit , surfed some (more like paddled for hours). I also joined an outrigger canoe team only to get injured a bit, having to quit. I’ve been adventuring with and dating a traveling speech therapist who has decided 3 months wasn’t long enough to be assigned to Hawaii.
My work is becoming habit; I’ve settled in to a routine at the hospital and get along with everyone I work with. They’re always interested in hearing my stories from weekends touring the islands, funny they rely on me to remind them that we live in paradise.
I’ve got to board my flight now, I hope this serves as a good enough blog renewal and hope some of you who read this make questions and comments to feed the fire and keep this blog going! Mahalo!

Shakin' it up a bit!

Hey guys,

7:07 local time on a sunday morning, 6.6 eathquake (my first) shook the entire island chain. the Epicenter was 10-12 miles northwest of the Kona airport, near a beach I was at last weekend (see pictures of that beach and my new truck at www.bigislandsioux.blogspot.com). It was followed a few minutes later by a 5.4 or something wich I also felt. None of the quakes were strong enough to produce Tsunamis, but I guess there what some receding water in a few bays off Maui-indicating some pretty huge swell cooking.

To me, in Hilo, it felt like nothing more than standing near a train rumbling through GF near the Police station. The brunt of the damage and trouble caused by the quakes was on the west side of the Big Island and also in Honolulu. The roads on the west side are cut through the jagged lava fields, called a'a', and have many steep enbankments where the roads are cut through high rises left from past lava flows. Many of these crumbled as they shook, sending big boulders onto the roads. These are what the pictures of destruction on CNN and shitty Fox news were of. In Honolulu, on Oahu, the problem is more of too many people and the need for too much power and transportation, bathrooms and water that depend on electricity for pumps, etc.

My workday went on as normal (for a weekend) and the Hospital here did not have to go in to "disaster mode" but we did call our social workers in (uncharacteristic for a Sunday) to discharge many stable patients to make room for the 'emergent possibilities'. The Kona hospital (west Hawaii) suffered some internal cosmetic damage like ceiling tiles falling, so the moved patients to our hospital this afternoon with the help of the Coast Guard. This was only precautionary as the worst injuries from the quakes so far are minor cuts and some broken bones. It's amazing how quickly and effectively the civil defense department has reacted to this natural "disaster" by cleaning up road but still keeping them open and securing safe places in case of further quakes or land slides.

I met someone at 7-eleven who was at south point, the southernmost point in the US (on the south of Hawaii Island) and saw an entire seaside cliff fall into the ocean during the quake. Pretty cool to hear about but pretty scary to see I imagine. There are some roads that are closed so bridges can be assessed for any damage, but for the most part, the island is safe. There have been no deaths.

Most schools on the island of Hawaii are closed tomorrow for students but staff is on to assess damage. Life is pretty normal in Hilo, as we never lost power, but we are prepared to help any other parts of the state in need.

I'm sure there are a few nervous triathletes contemplating the possibility of another quake during a grueling bike ride or run along the coast where the quake was. The Ironman World Championships are this Saturday. I'm planning to drive up to Hawi (pronounced Havee) to see and cheer on the bike turnaround.

In conclusion, I'm in Hawaii, I'm alive, and life is good.

daytrip (weekend) to kona

Long time no blog

Sorry to those checking this blog more often than I do...since my last post (over a month ago now) I've done a lot. I traveled to Honolulu, the big city on Oahu where almost 3/4 of the people in the state, and most of the the tourists call home base. I went to the American Dietetic Association's annual Food and Nutrition Conference and Expo to hear the latest in nutrition research and learn more about the traditional Hawaiian diet. I also got to surf at Waikiki beach for about an hour and visited with one of my instructors from UND.

It was amazing to hear that traditionally Hawaiians ate nearly 3000-and sometimes as much as 8000-calories a day primarily from poi(taro root pounded into a purple paste) and coconuts. Their current lifes are much less active but they still are eating at least 3000 calories a day moslty from white rice, spam, portugese sausage, and othere adapted "american" foods. THe 'plate lunch' here is Hawaii's fast food, usually 2 scoops of rice, 3 or 4 servings of different meats(fried chicken wings, shredded kalua pork, spare ribs, spam and sometimes ono-which is a white fatty fish). a favorite rice topper is a hamburger patty, fried eggs, and gravy which is called the loco moco. These lunches are not very filling, especially if you skip breakfast, but can have more than enough fat and calories for a very active person for one day. One restaurant, Ken's house of pancakes, rings a big bell every time someone orders a "sumo Loco" that has 6 scoops of rice, 3 hamburger patties, and three fried eggs all smothered in brown gravy.

They were very fit people with all the canoeing and hiking they did, unfortunately native Hawaiians now have some of the worst type 2 diabetes rates in the world and one of the lowest life expectancies of any population group. Still Hawaii ranked 1st in the "longevity" study published in USA today a while back, beating out Minnesota who was second for average lifespan.

Another topic, I got wheels! I bought a 2003 Nissan Frontier 4 door pickup 4x4 with mud tires! no more walking to work in the rain or hitching rides to the DOctor's dinners I've been getting invited to. I can get anywhere on the island (a lot of the coolest places are accessible only by 4wd. The doc's dinner are put on by drug reps (pharmaceuticals, not the other drug 'reps' on the island) and are free dinner at some of the nicest restaurants on this side of the island. I get some funny looks from some of the reps because I look too young to be a doctor, but they don't mind that I'm just there for the free food! I've attended 3 so far, one on chronic kidney disease and hypertension, one on urinary frequency (ironically that one was very short, to allow for frequent bathroom breaks?), and the last one was on Lipitor at the Hilo yacht club-which has no yachts! Yachts or no yachts, I'll take a free lobster tail any day...I've got 3 more doctors dinners coming up before the end of the month. The picture of the little tree is taken in my backyard and my new truck is in the background. I think the tree is so cool, it grows right out of that rock it is on, kind of like all the trees starten on this island.

I took a drive out the ot Puna District south of Hilo last week on one of my days off to check out some 'beaches' around the area and found that those 'beaches' are really big black rocks with waves thundering against them 40 feet below you! They are pretty amazing but not for swimming. From that area I could see the steam plumes from where there is still lava flowing into the ocean...the newest land on the planet, I've been on the Island longer than that land!

Today I'm heading over to the Kona side to surf and snorkel with a traveling doc from texas and a couple of nurses whove been at the hospital for 10 years or more. it should be a good time, we are going to a beach that is a 4wd and hike in that is usually empty. I can't wait! I gotta get going... more later

Hilo Bay 10k

A nice Sunday morning run along Hilo Bay turned out to be quite a treat today. The Big Island Road Runners (BIRR) put on a fundraising race today to help fund the scholarships they give annually to area high school runners who plan on continuing in college. This race wasn't quite as big as the Waiakea HS Warrior 3 mile a few weeks ago but it was a good race.

IT was really warm and humid by the end of it, as there was no breeze so early in the morning. I've been training well, and it paid off, I won in a time of 34:28, much slower than my track days, but I'm working on it. I won a gift certificate to a local Italian seafood restaurant, Pescatore, that should probably be used when I have a visitor come out this way...

Yesterday I spent the better part of the afternoon at Honolii cove beach a few miles north of Downtown Hilo, watching surfers and boogie boarders ride the waves. The picture on the left above is of a surfer at Honolii beach a few days ago when I was just passing buy and stopped to check it out. THe pic on the right is me and Dad at Akaka Falls State park 15 miles north of Hilo. The falls are around 400 feet tall, pretty amazing.

It rained for about 5 minutes, but looked like it would rain for about an hour. That would have been enough to clear out a beach in MN, but people just don't seem to care that it rains when they are at the beach here.

Today, I'm going to another beach up the coast for a BBQ with a guy I met, who actually went to school with my brother's fiancee's brother. Confusing enough? The sun is shining outside and I'm getting picked up in a few minutes, so I need to go pack a few things and put sunscreen on, without it I become a baked haole brah!

Forrest Gump in Hawaii???

Nice title huh. Well I just finished my run after work and I got poured on! It rained close to an inch during the 70 minutes I was out on the roads, but it didn't rain for about 40 minutes of it! Go figure. The rain came from all directions, all sizes, and even came up through my shoes. The best part was that I loved every second of it. The rain felt so good compared the humidity I've been running in most of the week. It has been drier than usual here, having not rained most of the last week or so. I guess I can expect more days like today to make up for the 27 inches of rain we average each month.

The running is going well, I have plenty of time to do it since I've decide to start my work days at 7am and work until 3:30. I have my afternoons to unwind and hit the roads. I enjoy work so far, I'm getting pretty well acquainted with the staff and doctors at the hospital and am getting used to the daily routine. I guess some of the nurses and OT's are getting together to BBG and snorkel at Richardson's beach this weekend, so I think I'll have to check that out. That is, after the Hilo bay 5k/10 on Sunday morning, put on by the Big Island Road Runner's club. Yesterday I had another day off, and I spent it looking for cars, checkin out my loan options and biking to different beaches. Before I knew it, I had put about 25 miles on my bike! I checked out the nearest surf spot, Honolii paka, but I haven't surfed yet...and I may not get around to it before the waves leave this side of the island for the "winter".

Tomorrow is my first day covering the entire acute hospital by myself, which will be a busy day, but I know I can manage. I've gotten a good feel for how to prioritize the workload the way it best works for the department. I'm looking forward to exploring more of the town/island this weekend, I may ride up to Akaka falls or Volcano to check those out again. I'm also looking forward to heading to the ADA convention in Honolulu the following weekend for three days. Work is flying me and 2 other Dietitians there and putting me up in the Ala Moana hotel, right near downtown and Waikiki beach. IT should be a blast and I hope to listen to some interesting speakers.

I better get going, I just got some Big Island Pizza delivered. Gotta Kau Kau (that means eat)