I'm big in Japan.

Today I got to be in a show! We were late getting in for the first interaction, and so we were short staffed during the first JTB (Japanese Travel[or Tourism, I forget which] Bureau). A JTB program is when a bunch of Japanese tourists pile off a bus, come in, and watch a 10 minute program. (Hence the derogatory name Japanese Tour Bus) Because we were short staffed, I and one of the other interns were pulled away from scrubbing coolers and enlisted to help control the dolphins that would be used. I ended up with Laka, a blind retired Navy dolphin, and one of the oldest animals at the park. She can't see at all, and so all her commands are done by touching certain parts of her body. For example, to make her vocalize, you have to stroke the area on the left side of her melon between her eye and blowhole. To make her hula dance, you have to draw a small circle on her head, etc. So, we got to perform for a bunch of Japanese tourists, and by Jove, it was FUN. Also, I am a big fan of Tim's collaborative fiction project if you have not heard of it, check it out. Contributing authors as of this moment are Tim, Mooney, and myself, but I'm sure this will grow rapidly in the very near future.

http://collaborativefiction.blogspot.com/

Mission: Productivity. Status: SUCCESS!

Well, this weekend I had my first days off in about a month. In fact, I had three of them. In a row. First day was spent with you typical lounging around, beach napping, and reading, but the second day, woooooBOY!

8am: wake up
9am: get on bus, go to bank, deposit check, pick up prescription for roommate
10am: eat breakfast at Boots & Kimo's, a famous local breakfast place
11am: get back on the bus, go to Honolulu, get off at Ala Moana Center, and wander around the 4 story outdoor mall with KOI PONDS inside.
12pm: stop off at Swatch store to see if they can fix my watch pin problem. They not only do so, but they also clean it and re-size it for free!
1230pm: Go to the body exhibit. Walk thru the skeletal system, respiratory system, circulatory system, nervous system, look at a body sliced into about 1oo different parts. It is AWESOME. Sadly, pictures were not allowed
2pm:Go to the bookstore
3pm: leave the bookstore
310pm: pick up watch, go have a wonderfully spicy burger and a beer while reading my new book that I picked up. Also talked to my parents for about half an hour. That was nice.
4pm: Walk into the Honolulu Zoo. I get in for $4 because I'm a "local".
5pm: get chased out of the zoo because they are closing
7pm: get home, eat dinner. Productivity successful.

Oh, and the other night I was mistaken by a local for his friend's son. Apparently I don't look like a haole too much. Probably because I'm not blond.

In other news, THIS is really kinda funny if it's true.

And now for something completely different. . .

. . .A praying mantis in a party hat.

Safety Dance

Today was fun. I got to do some of my first Phase 2 stuff. During our first dolphin interaction of the morning at 10am, the head of the training department asked all of us interns if we'd passed our Phase 1 test (which we had) and then told us to grab a cooler for each animal that was doing the interaction. He then took us to the back of the pool where we proceeded to be the "Safety Trainer". Safety trainer is the person who takes control of the dolphins when a trainer needs a moment to work with the guests, to get them into position, or just wants them to focus on the trainer and not the dolphin for a moment, so they send the dolphin across the pool to someone else who plays with them or feeds them. About half-way thru the program, the other two interns had to go to fish class, so I was left alone with the head of the training department, doing A->B's with 25 guests and 4 animals, including the wolphin baby in the water. That was the high point of the day. Other notable points include when I dropped a 75lb wooden platform onto my toe. I probably won't lose my toenail because I spent about half an hour squeezing blood out from under it in order to prevent a pressure buildup that will pop the nail off, so...here's hoping. Despite the plummeting platform, I had a fun day, and I don't have to be at the cookie shop until noon tomorrow, so hurray for sleeping in.

Why is it...?

Why is it that no one is interested in 8pm stealth pastry liberation?

A tale of loss, love, and little else.

Hoss was feeling low. It was three days since Ol' Roy had wandered out of the stable and Hoss just wasn't the same with out Ol' Roy. He'd walked into the nearest saloon and crawled deep into the first bottle of whiskey he could find and had been pickleing hisself drunk ever since then. Ol' Roy had never abandoned him before. Not like this.

Ol' Roy had heard the news thru the feed-trough grapevine. The love of his life was finally back. It'd been years since he'd heard from her, and now she would be passing thru Windy Point which was just 12 miles west. Ol' Roy hadn't had to think twice; he'd slipped his hitchin' post and galloped toward the setting sun.

Tabitha blithly followed the tail of the animal in front of her. The drapery and fanciful embroidery glittered gold in the blistering sun. Tabitha was unimpressed with the endless desert and the scortching sun and the tumbling tumbleweeds. Tabitha was a city lass, accustomed to posh surroundings: paved streets, indoor plumbing, and storm drains. Parasols and wingtips were more scarce in these parts than a gold miner with 32 teeth.

Hoss drunkenly swung his fist at the blurry piano player. The man jumped back while the owner of the saloon deftly scooped Hoss under the armpits and unceremoniously tossed him into the street. The sun had sunk low and night was fast approaching. Hoisting himself to his feet, Hoss staggered into the stable and passed out in the hay.

Ol' Roy ran on into the night, the stars guiding his way. As the night wore on and a rosy hue began to illuminate the horizon behind him, Ol' Roy knew he had to hurry. Only 3 more miles to go, but the sun hearlded the imminent arrival of the love of his life.

Tabitha turned her head and squinted into the rising sun. A cloud of dust was growing in the distance. Shielding her face with her long grey trunk, Tabitha tried to make out the cause of the disturbance, but her vision was not what it once was. After all, elephants could live for many years, and Tabitha was the oldest in her herd.

Instruction manual

Well, in a little less than 4 months, it seems that I will be an uncle. Sugar and spice and everything nice is coming to my brother and his wife, and around about mid-January, I shall forever become Uncle Justin to someone. This is through no choice of my own, but responsibilities are tacked onto this title, the implications of which are far-and-wide-reaching. Perhaps nieces should come with an instruction manual on how to be everything you liked about your uncles while still being a unique and entertaining individual. What will this little lass expect of me? Clearly not much for the first several years of her life, but AFTER that, thank-you-very-much. I didn't volunteer for this, but I'm kind of looking forward to it. It's like practice: "warp your older brother's children while you practice for your own!" or maybe "Niece: like the real thing, but you can send it back." Jeez, what kind of things is this child going to be exposed to from me? I don't know, but I'd like to apologize to Trevor and Kim in advance.