Life Update

Not a lot has been going on that's out of the ordinary so I guess I'll just break it down for ya:

- Got a nifty, new hair cut and color on Thursday since I got off early. I went to Salon Tiffany at McCully Shopping Center for the first time. The guy, Jay, layered the hell outta my hair, which actually turned out nice. I let him do whatever as long as it wasn't too, too short. Because it's so layered (bold layers is what he called it), it's super light and bouncy. Guess there's a first for everything, right? Total for the new hair was 95 clams plus an extra 20 for tip. Not bad.

- Started applying for jobs in San Francisco this past week. I think I've applied to about four so far using the same resume and just slightly altering the cover letters. We'll see what happens. I'm not too confident that I'll get any call backs since I'm applying from out of state. However, at least there are writing jobs opening up. I haven't seen any like these in a while (like before I was seriously thinking of moving). I even applied to a real publishing company, but that was for an assistant publicist job. Still, I'd take it just to get into a national publishing house. I'm not real sure how much pay it'd offer though.

- Speaking of publishers, I followed up on my manuscript submission - from three damn years ago! Apparently, they are finally ready to move ahead on it. Geezus, it's only a kid's book man! What's the problem? Anyway, they sent it back to me with all these changes. I'll incorporate most of them, but I'm going to ask them about removing all the place names I've got in the story. They want to delete stuff like Kapiolani Park, Paki Park, etc., which I guess will make it more univeral and therefore more marketable. However, when I wrote this thing it was pretty much based out of my grandma's old place and I'd like to see that it stays that way. I'll have to contact them on Monday and ask about it. I mean, who cares if the tourist don't know where these places are. Locals - well, at least those who grew up in Kapahulu - will.

- The new (relatively speaking) girl at work is absolutely killing me. She really eff'd up this past week but apparently there will be no reprimands going on. I don't know how many chances my boss is willing to give her. The fact that he has different standards for her than me and my co-worker is ridiculous. I've already vented to one of the HR assistants, but she advised me to take it up the chain and go to my boss' boss. She said not everyone is naturally a boss so they may need some tutoring themselves. Whatever. I don't think it'll change anything. I figure if he wants to let her eff things up again, let him. Why should I save him from himself? I'll just put my blinders on and keep clip-clopping along like the worn-out, old workhorse that I am. What irritates me is that we have had so many extra-hours events lately that the two holidays we just had (Kuhio Day and Good Friday) almost seem like they're not there. They're making up for the time we had to work extra. Sometimes working in marketing really sucks. Well, no. Working in marketing sucks when you don't like the two of the three people in your department.

- I haven't read anything worthy of mention lately, despite having read a ton of books lately. Basically I got hooked on a series by Suzanne Brockmann and have just been devouring it. I haven't really had a chance to read anything of substance (although I did attempt to read some Jane Austen but just never got around to it). The books are what I'd call suspense romances, if that even makes sense. They feature a team of Navy SEALS who kick butt and fall in love. Yeah, it's stretching it but whatevers. Just let me live in my fantasy why don't you? I like the series because it's not only about all that lovey dovey crap. The characters seem real (in the completely exaggerated way that romance novels portray them LOL) with their good and bad points. They are faced with obstacles in love and battle and must find ways to overcome them. Although some may say that love and battle are one and the same, in this instance I'm referring to battle against terrorism.

Kickin' Up My Heels

Since my clothes are getting a bit snug and I'm definitely getting fat, I decided to turn over a new leaf today - May Day/Lei Day. Starting today, I vowed to myself that I'd do some sort of exercise at least every other day. So, to begin my new exercise regimen I decided to take a walk 'round Kapiolani Park after work.

Now, it's been a while since I've been to Kapiolani Park. I used to frequent it in high school for soccer games and tournaments or just to hang out at Walls with my friends. Since then, however, I haven't really been back. Today I was shocked to see how busy it was. As I circled the park toward the smaller mauka lot that I always park at, I noticed that it was pretty busy. Continuing to the larger mauka lot, I discovered it to be completely full! Wow, who knew people used the park this much on a weekday? In the end, I had to swing around and park at the lot in front of the Shell.

After doing a bit of stretching, I started on my walk. I didn't realize either a) how out of shape I've become, or b) how damn big the park actually was . . . probably a bit of both. Before I knew it, my calves were killing me, but I kept going. You gotta start somewhere so May 1st is that somewhere for me. It took me about 45 minutes to go around the entire park - with some stopping to stretch more and to watch some soccer players. Not bad, I suppose, for the first day. Hopefully I can pick up the pace after a couple days of this.

The bad part was that because I started at around 6 p.m. the sun was already going down. By the time I was hitting the home stretch, it was actually pretty cool and breezy, almost chilly. Guess this means I need to leave directly from work instead of stopping at home first. I was tempted to go across the street to see the bodyboarders and surfers making good use of the south swell, but I decided against it. Maybe next time.

As far as first days of exercise go, this went pretty well. I don't want to over do it, thus giving myself a reason to "rest" a few days, which normally develops into a few months. It was good to be outdoors again rather than at a gym that reeks of sweat.

One highlight was that I saw two Brits walking and talking as they made their way toward Walls. Love their accents, and they were talking soccer . . . ahem, I mean futbol.

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