...better than the cement mixer i was living in

Good morning. What a strange couple of days it has been.



I received the sad news that our dear sister Millie Kihlmier has passed away after a long faithful life to Jehovah. She will be missed dearly.



Also, some concerning news was relayed about my grandpa- whom i hope recovers quickly.



I went to work yesterday morning and had a typical day, things were going fine. My boss just the day before had assured me I was going to be able to get my full schedule back after weeks of cut backs.
After I got home I received a phone call from my boss letting me know that I have been laid off. Tomorrow is my last day...



So I am currently on Brooke's computer looking for a new job. So far the options are slim. Next stop- unemployment office. The timing couldnt be worse.
But I thought since I have the opportunity to get online, I would post an update. Also the warden is asleep... and after an egg sandwich for breakfast- she is unknowingly beating my senses with foul eggy emissions. Im surprised it doesnt wake her up.

In an unusual but nice turn of events after some very lame occurrences.... after I left work yesterday I got to my car and found a note on my windshield- a vacationer had left a nice sized scratch on the back panel of my car. However he took responsibility and called the police and even left his number to contact him. Not many of you have seen my car, but it isn't exactly a Rolls-Royce. In fact the scratch only complemented the other abrasions to my paint job. So I figured since I was so impressed by his honesty and owning up to it- i'd let him off the hook. I left a message telling him I appreciated his honesty but not to worry about it. He called back about an hour later to say how thankful he was and sorry and wanted to send me a couple of bucks to at least buy myself a nice dinner. After receiving the news that I had just lost my job- it was a relief. That man's kind gesture will probably buy my groceries for a few days. I guess there are still some kind hearted people in this world.

Anyhow, I'm trying to look at this as a fresh start. Maybe even a better job. And if I pray hard enough maybe a better job that will allow me to pioneer. Here's hoping.

Our C.O. visit and Dist. convention are coming up in a couple weeks so that should be a good boost. Also in the waiting process- I might actually get the time to go lay at the beach for a bit.

Signing out....

captain paquet

napoleon bonaparte did not drive a buick

I can hardly believe it.... but i finally have a chance to update! Boy ... gobs of things have happened since my last entry. As most of you know by now- i have since made a trip back up to 'the mainland' (as we isolated island types like to affectionately refer to it). Also, i have had visitors- 83% of the knudtson family was here, accompanied by jessica. a grandiose time was had. and no one left with staph infection. we also had our circuit assembly a few weeks ago which was wonderful. More recently, in the past few days actually, Brooke and I have made the decision to move. All the way down to apartment 206. Its a short move... 5 doors down to be precise, but it will afford us much more space and privacy. Not to mention the biggest lanai in the building. woot! Anyhow we're looking forward to it, and should be getting ourselves moved in by the end of the month. We've been plenty busy lately. Also my birthday was yesterday, and an alarming number of you somehow remembered that it was. (and were sure to point out that i was just a little closer to slipping down the geriatric slope.) so thank you for that...
The atmosphere here on maui has become rather unpleasant lately. First there was the cane burning which made the air rich with ash and soot. In addition, the VOG has enveloped the island. (the smog produced from the lava flowing into the ocean on the big island, rich with sulphurdioxide) To make the situation worse it has gotten very hot lately and we havent had any wind for several days. So the air is humid, sticky, stinky, and still. In fact there is a constant haze which prevents you from being able to see above the tree line. The bugs are in heaven- no wind to blow them out. So everyone is dealing with infestations and respiratory discomfort. But to add a strange twist, I read in the paper today that a new concern has developed: an alarming mass of sea turtle doodoo has washed into Maalaea harbor, coating the area in smelly turtle sludge. Environmentalists claim that it cannot harm humans..... hmm. i beg to differ. Also they recommend that people with respiratory illnesses should try to remain indoors at all times with air conditioning to avoid breathing the air outside. Something tells me the authorities in this field havent given much thought to their advice. Hopefully all of this will all pass on soon, it doesnt make for very paradisaic conditions.
ALso in the mean time i am going to be conducting research studies in an attempt to figure out why it is that women in the teens to late twenties have such difficulty keeping plants alive. I will call the dissorder 'black thumb' for now.
well thats all the time i have for today... goodnight and good gravy to you.

cute little tangerines

Good heavens.
Ive just spent the last 2 hours preparing my taxes. And the hour before that writing a talk. Needless to say my brain is toast, my eyes are parched, and my hair is in a verticle arrangment. Not much news. Other than the fact that it finally stopped raining. We experienced a sort of pseudo winter maui-style here recently. It got very cold and rained without even a glimpse of the sun for about 3 weeks. I never thought I would actually need a jacket, scarf, hat, and fuzzy slippers here. We even got snow on Haleakela for a few days. It was rather nostalgic of home. And as a result I fulfilled a long over due task of learning to crochet. (no matter how many times i re-type that word, it still doesnt look right)
The island is starting to close in a little lately. Feeling a bit isolated, as Brooke once likened it- 'like trying to fit a square pig in a round hole'. I being the square pig of course. And in addition to feeling as though everyone here is the complete polar opposite of myself- the rain brought all activity to a hault. There's very little one can do while its raining here, especially in the long dark evenings. I can only pace around the appartment about 20 times before I get dizzy, and then continue my search for activities to occupy myself. So far the list of accomplishments forged from the fires of boredom this week were:
* crochetting- 2 hats, 1 sweater
* conquering an entire sudoku book
* read a michael crichton book
* arranged t-shirts by color
* made 11 different lists
* chased grasshopper around room
* broke and then repaired electrical socket
* tried new dance move in over-sized lion face slippers
* watched entire collection of Bill Murray movies

next weeks agenda will be watching cheese mold, counting stripes on the rug, and perfecting gecko call.

Actually it should be a little more exciting now that the weather is back up to par and Brooke's family is here visiting. Ah, and prospects of the car selling have improved greatly. So I may be up to see you all again very soon. I hope.

bed time. goodnight.

Short stuff

I dont have much time for elaborate updates but I felt compelled to ensure you all that I havent fallen off the face of the planet.

* Battling with legal system and insurance company about wrong information to the end that I no longer am driving. Which I hope to rectify fairly soon. Until then, I am 'hoofing it' once more.
* Prospective buyer for my car which would allow me to come back home for a visit hopefully in the next month or two. Here's hoping.
* Very sadly, my grandma passed away Sunday. Right now is harder than ever to be so far away from home.

thats all i can say for now. more another time.
-me

Nutrition Facts

As has become my routine... I have a lot of updating to do. I havent had the opportunity to post anything new for a while.

First of all... my stolen bike was RETURNED! thrown behind a tree next to the dumpster at work. a little scratched up but otherwise in one piece. Im assuming that some juvenile delinquents took off with it to assert their position within their adolescent tribe, only to discover that my bike is a piece of crap. at which point i think they decided it was best off next to a dumpster. (Mind you, i was going to attempt to compose some wild unbelievable story about chasing after the thief and then beating them up in some really cool way.... but who'd believe that anyway?)

I sent Krista on her way back to the mainland yesterday. We had a lovely time, did much exploring and sleeping in. Now its back to reality. Perhaps later I will post some pictures of our 'adventures'.

Our C.O. is visiting next week, whom I have yet to meet. So this is exciting. I am still calling on the gentleman I wrote about previously and he is as responsive as ever.

Hoping to make a visit back to Washington soon, but am short in funds at the moment. I will keep you all posted when I make official plans.

I am starting to get a bit lonesome without a little fuzzy creature pitter-pattering around the apartment. Brooke and I are on the hunt for a bigger place right now, but until then I may have to devise some sneaky way to hide a small rodent or pygmy horse in my room without it being detected. Coco the loudmouth parrot doesnt provide very good company, and Cnube seems to have been reunited with his lost owner. And it seems that the number of dead cats in the area has declined lately so I dont even have that as an option. Maybe i will just have to get myself a big dustbunny or ball of yarn to hold me over.

Well, we're off to Lahaina so I better get going. And thats all I have to say about that.

victim of a heinous crime

Today......... my bicycle... which has endured a long trek all the way from gig harbor, wa..... in which i poured my sweat and tears into repairing and re-assembling......


..... was stolen. In broad daylight..... at my work.

I didnt even get a chance to ride it.

I remember its happy neon yellow glow like it was yesterday.

Today is a grave day indeed.

I do apologize for the delay in updates lately. Its been a fairly chaotic couple of weeks.
Currently I am sitting in my living room safe from the storms outside. It has been raining for the past three or four days... and it lasts all day accompanied by very strong winds and occasional thunder. This was really putting a damper on having to walk to and from work, but as of yesterday I am officially driving my own vehicle again! WOohooo!
Well lets rewind...
Brooke's dad was visiting here for two weeks so the apartment was always full and very cozy. Especially at night considering it meant sharing the pull out bed with Brooke... some of you might know about her sleeping habits. Needless to say I slept very very little. At any rate it was enjoyable to have him along and it resulted in Brooke buying a new car for herself and passing what I now affectionately call 'Black Beauty', down to me.
About two and a half weeks ago (sheesh has it really been that long since I updated this thing!?) I was out in service having a fairly productive morning and called on one door to offer the special awake issue, however things went a different direction when I asked if the man was a bible reader. He told me that it was so odd that I came there to ask him that because yes, he just started to read the bible again, he has been going through a really tough few weeks. His then asked if I had heard about the irrigation accident that was all over the news here a few weeks ago. Two very young girls were swimming in the irrigation system (as kids often do without their parents knowing) and both were sucked under by one of the tunnels that feeds off to some other part of the irrigation system, both drowned and were found dead later the next day. One of those girls was his daughter, she was only 14 years old. He started to get a little teary eyed, and expressed how thankful he would be to hear any sort of scripture we could share with him. After the incident he decided that he should turn to spiritual guidance and had started praying to God for help and looking for answers. So I shared with him the scripture in John 5 and expressed to him that it was something to really look forward to. He told us we must be angels sent to him. I talked to him more about the resurrection hope and why we were in the ministry and he was sooo grateful. He related that he knows a witness couple in the area and is interested in our religion. I've been able to place with him since that visit a bible teach book, a new bible, when someone you love dies brochure, and an invitation to the meetings. He is always so thankful for our visits and expects my return every sunday. Such an upbuilding experience has really reminded me why we're out there doing this. It might have taken me all month to find someone who wanted to learn about Jehovah, but when I did... he didnt just want it ...he needed it. Its amazing how Jehovah searches out the lowly ones and offers them his hand. It feels good to be a part of that.
In other news... I happened to meet a guy who works at Maui dive shop and got to talking only to find out that he has worked on several boats in Lahaina. He gave me all kinds of tips and info on the local boats so I could get on one. So if all works out, now that i have wheels, I might be getting a career change here.
Well my little viking is coming to visit tomorrow, so I am anxious for that. "Reunited.. and it feeels so gooood." I just hope this storm passes before too long so we will have nice weather to play in.
Thats all for now, I have to be getting ready for work.

or ar vuar.