Aloohaa!

Some of you may have noticed I claimed to have figured out this whole "having to go to work in Hawaii" thing a couple weeks ago. And that is to always, always have someone come with me!

Me with Prince + Molly's mom

Michele had been craving a vacation, had just received a bonus from work, and asked to join me the next time I needed to tend to that part of my territory. DONE. Monday through Thursday, I was to go work daytime, she was to relaximus maximus, and we'd hook up in time for some grubbin' dinner. Friday was a holiday for our company so we'd have a full day to hang and do our thing before having to fly back home, just in time for the 4th!

My boss was spontaneously with me for THREE days straight which was a major buzz-kill, but I tried to be positive and as enthusiastic as possible for that wrench in my plans. It's just that much more difficult to get your day accomplished the way you want to when every action item is questioned and has to be explained, you know? I'm just not a patient enough person, me thinks.

And for the record, in my line of work, I don't work, see, or even talk to my boss on a daily basis. It's a norm with field sales, particularly in my area where our territories are so large and some of us cover multiples states. We tend to see them once a month at max and I hadn't officially worked with mine in 7 months! Needless to say, her three-day-presence was a bit of a shock to the system.

Good thing I had THIS to unwind to at the end of each day.
Dude, move.
You're in my shot and you don't know the day I've had.

Each evening, I would return home to the most relaxed travel partner who wanted to make sure I was fed and could vent about work and who would make me laugh because she had been held so solitary all day long! It was terrific. It was as if she had written down all these things she'd want to say to me all day so by the time I got in front of her it was like a running sitcom! On a particularly longer day, I came back to a reservation at the resort spa for a lomilomi massage! In exchange for all of this well treatment, I took Michele to my favorite sushi place of all time: SUSHI SASABUNE.

Omg. If you're ever in Honolulu, you MUST get yourself a seat there. Seiji and his apprentice, Toshi, will be the best chefs you've ever encountered. They serve fish from all over the world, do NOT do rolls, specialize in cold fish + warm rice to enhance the flavor, and will subtley watch your reaction to each course to make adjustments accordingly. EVERY COURSE WAS AWESOME.

We got to hang with these cuties in Maui on Friday.
The gal in the middle is also a co-worker.
She's flanked by her boyfriend and her daughter.
This was just after the waves KICKED MY BUTT.

The tide was tugging on my feet and a huge one SMACKED me in the head. Tumbled ass over teakettle and may have lost my top. MAY have. I know I definitely lost my sunglasses. This local guy was so sweet and offered to go find it in the tumultuous waves and water, but came up empty handed with apologies. He then asked what kind they were and I hadn't even finished the word "Prada" when he went racing back into the water. Bro knows his brand names! They were just waiting for him on the bottom of the ocean many a yard out! My hero.

Although....it may have been in exchange for the peep show I involuntarily performed earlier. MAY have been.

Our view from our private chairs on our private cliff that Michele scored.
Pays to travel with a companion.

Product Review - After Sun Gel!

- Sunflower and Griffonia extracts immediately calm feelings of heat and discomfort after spending time in the sun so the skin instantly regains a feeling of freshness well-being. 

- Kalahari Melon extract and Aloe Vera soothes and replenishes.

- Cardamom extract helps to prolong by stimulating the tanning process.

After sun exposure, take a cool shower and apply After Sun Gel Ultra-Soothing with light smoothing motions over the body.  

oh reeeeaaally?  those are your instructions??  one big, fat DUH to you, Clarins.  but i'll give you some credit for the cute diagram.

Overall, this stuff has been delightful in treating my sun-parched skin. I've learned enough about these things to know that you're really not supposed to apply aloe or burn cream immediately because it traps heat into your skin; could worsen the burn.  Instead, I put myself on an immediate regimen of ibuprofen to hold off pain and reduce swelling. Hopped into several cool, short showers that evening.  Made sure to drink lots + lots of water to keep myself hydrated and slept in a relatively cool environment. 

The next day I picked up some Clarins After Sun Gel; mostly because drugstore aloe gel didn't seem like it was going to cut it for as badly as I was burnt. For some reason, I felt the need for something "stronger"! This stuff smells really yummy, cooled my skin promptly, and seems to have somehow reduced the severity of post-burn peeling. Awesome. Although I hope to not be so stupid again, I'll be sure to travel with this stuff as a precautionary measure.

Economy, Swine Flu, and Environment (a review).

I actually had a great week of work in Hawaii!  Finally, I was able to better manage work-life balance while over there, having promised myself to not overbook and drive myself crazy.  Wahoo for balance!

Sun vs. Leslie*

Sun wins...jerk!

It was a bit odd to be traveling out of state during this crazy "swine" flu pandemic, as I'm sure some of you may relate to.  Not necessarily because I'm more scared of this flu vs others...mostly because of the added anxiety it has added to crazed travelers!  MAJOR eye daggers left and right if anybody sneezed or mini-coughed into their hankies.  Accusatory glances at those who looked tired, haggard, or "sick".  The fact that I was essentially trapped in a large, tin petri dish of an airplane for over 10 hours in one week was definitely unnerving.  You know, trapped with hundreds of others who I imagined to be traveling from one vacation spot to the next.  From their vacation estate in Mexico City to their beach house in Maui.  From one unvaccinated carrier to another.  No es bueno!!

--Sigh.  Poor Mexico is getting such a bum rap and I have too much of an active imagination.--

Surfing Lesson.

View from up top.

Surfing Equipment.

View from down below.

State of Hawaii officials had not received any cases of "swine" flu as of press time and were hopeful that that travelers who were freaking out and canceling their summertime vacations in Cabo, Acapulco, etc., were instead rescheduling for this hopping island location.  Well, not grossly hopeful in a sick+distasteful way...they phrased it much more appropriately than I.  The Department of Tourism has been reporting an increase in the hotel and dining industry as of late, but the state is still very behind in annual revenue, having been terribly hit by the times.  :(

View of the Duke Lagoon from my window.

Daytime.

View of the Duke Lagoon from my window.

Nightime.  

No...dusk?  

Twilight?

What term describes this time of day/night??

omg, i am so not smarter than a 5th grader.

I'm impressed with my hotel for sticking it out and surviving the tougher times as they were only @ 30% capacity last time I was there and were operating @ 99.6% in April.  Hooray!  The personal downside of this increased population?  No alarm clock (what?), room service took over an hour, and I couldn't get a maintenance person regardless of how many times I called.  The American Academy of Cosmetic Dentists ruled the roost and kept me away from my 10pm grilled cheese, dammit!  How dare they!  :)

On total side note, I tried to limit my carbon impact (sorry, Jocelyn) by:

• Keeping the DoNotDisturb sign on my door for the week, thereby reducing the need to utilize resources to vacuum, change sheets, and do whatever else they do.
  
• Completely turning off my air conditioner every time I left the room.
• Mostly using the naturally mild weather conditions to maintain comfortable temps.
• Making sure to unplug my computer and cell phone charger when done.
• Bringing a reusable water bottle and coffee cup from home to fill up @ Starbucks each morning!  

Happy Tuesday, folks.

*not usually one for putting up boob-shots of myself on the 'net.  didn't really get sunburnt anywhere else though and HAD to share!

Mele Kalikimaka

Lots of holiday parties, starting tonight! Many more interesting things to post about after the weekend, promise. Last week was total madness and outside of the humidity and 85+ degree weather, I don't think I even realized I was in the paradise state. Wait...is that Florida? Which one is Hawaii then?

Mele Kalikimaka
(it's the thing to say)

A week working in Hawaii - - the reality version!

drove through lots of small towns.stopped @ a random places for a quick bite between offices.

woooaaaaahhh - hilly!
am i there yet?
LOTS of parking garages...
and lots of elevators. Met a ton of new people.
Am I there yet??
Yes!! "Home"!
Phew. Long day. Long hours.
Mostly because I knew I couldn't be back for awhile.
Ahhh...this is the life.
There were two days I got to sit out in the sun from 5:30-6pm!
(that's when it tended to start a bit of a drizzle)
I took my coffee and phone calls out on the lanai (balcony) in the morning though. Awesome.

Aloooha Cupcakes!

I was running late to a lunchtime appointment with a plastic surgeon (not for me, for my job) and happened upon the ONLY cupcake shoppe in the ENTIRE STATE of HAWAII. Fyi, it's about halfway down the path between the Honolulu airport and most of the Waikiki resorts (look for 500 ala moana aka restaurant row). Worth the stop!

@ only $2.25? total steal!

Hokulani Bake Shop would have up and smacked me in the face if it were alive and had opposable thumbs...not that you need thumbs, let alone opposable ones, to smack someone in the face. Immediately stopping in my tracks, I HAD to take a peek and verify that they would still be open on my way out...and....maaaaaybe to put a red velvet one on hold, maybe. Ok, so maaaaybe that was a hugely irresponsible move on my part, specifically when running late for a first-time meeting? Just. possibly. Ah, whatever, I never believe that you only have one chance at a first impression.

Especially when you walk in and still have cream cheese frosting on your upper lip.

- - ok, so that didn't happen, but wouldn't that have been hilarious? - -

This place has GREAT cookies too, like ones you could easily personalize and use for placecards at an event or something. Or bring to a baby shower or a birthday party or a night home alone with 2 girlie movies on Netflix...i'm just saying.

Observations around the islands.

Love the Hilton Hawaiian Village for having everything "on campus". Lots o' weddings this week. It's like Beijing in Hawaii!! Holla, Olympics! Why do the half-naked ones run so fast?

I'm ready to relocate.

Getting my "desk" ready for some "work".

5:30pm on Monday*

*definitely started raining about 20 minutes after I set up camp.

Dorkus Majorcus.

Originally taken to show that my hair cooperates when drenched with ocean water and air -ried. Huh...maybe that Bumble+ Bumble knows something about hair product. Has anyone tried the Spray+Surf?

First attempt.
Second attempt.
This doesn't seem to be working well.
Third and Final Attempt.

Just about now, I realized that the "mirror" was definitely someone's office window. Total, total dork. All for the love of the blog, you guys.

End of my first day of work in Honolulu.

Thank god, 5pm rays are still strong.

Does a plane count as carpool?

Just an average commute to the office.

Nuts, I tell ya. Nuts.*

also, looks like my 4800 mile round trip uses 1204 lbs of C02 which looks to only be $12 to offset on these sites. i'm definitely going to start offsetting flights. i'll plan to keep track and make annual donation to local green organization, not sure which yet.

*and for the record, no nuts on hawaiian airlines