Surviving September

This September hasn't been the most fun month we've had this year... Not all bad of course, but a few less than ideal bumps in the road here and there (fortunately, most were planned/anticipated).

But first, let me get to the end of August, which was perfectly all well and good. For starters, one of the restaurants I work for held an end of summer beer festival. And since a certain someone got her Blue Card (the license to serve alcohol in Hawaii County) a few years ago, I was able to jump behind the bar a few times to dispense beer for a few friends. And it needed to be friends, because let's just say this non-drinker was not-so-hot and not-so-natural at pouring beer. But it was fun and priceless (for me), so I chalk it up as a win!

Next up...another restaurant I work for ordered some super cool lawn toys and guess who got to test them out? Giant Connect Four, giant Jenga, cornhole, giant checkers...you name it...we got it!

Then...Ry and his taiko friends performed for their largest audience to date! I want to say their Outrigger performance at a Ho'olaulea had about 300+ folks, but the Mauna Lani event must have had about 600-800 folks watching them do the opening ceremony. I was filming their performance, so I have no pictures and can't upload the file since it's too large, so instead, you get this picture they took in the sand. 

Another weekend, he was invited to his BFF's house to partake in a very fancy schmancy sushi party (Rich and I could not make it as we were at another event). He reportedly tried eel that night, which is awesome (as his mother is too squeamish to try most sea creatures). Peer pressure can be awesome! 

Ryan got invited to go shooting (not really his thing so he's declined in the past) at the range with his cousins and uncles. One is an expert marksman, and coached him with a variety of different types of guns. I'm glad he was exposed in a safe and responsible way, and I'm fairly sure his interest level hasn't changed...but it's good to learn how to safely handle them.

Okay, we're officially in September now, and here's where it gets a little less fun...

We started the month with a tiring garage sale. I know, I know...so much work! I said we were done with them forever after our last one a year ago... But over time, we realized that a garage sale is a really valuable opportunity for Ryan to learn from. He has to help sort items by category, price them, set up tables, place the items on them attractively, put up signs, collect/handle cash, donate the leftovers, etc. 

l also hope he realize how much $ he loses when he buys something full price/retail, and then resells it for 50 cents. He will ideally develop humility and compassion, as well...for others who are clearly in need. And the final lesson for him is that every dime we've ever made from a garage sale (we used to have one every six months until this last year) has gone into his college fund, so the hope is that he will also realize how a few hard earned, and carefully saved dollars and quarters can all add up to good sum of money. My guess is that by the time he graduates, he will have earned enough to pay for a semester or two of in-state tuition. 

Next up...

After years of suffering here and there from some hernia(s), we found out Rich had THREE of them. So we scheduled surgery for him, and had to fly to the island of Oahu to get it done. 

Since we thought I might need help with him post-surgery, and since Ryan had no school that day, we all flew out together. We took the first flight out that AM (which meant a 4:45am wake up call) to get to the hospital on time, as he had to check in about three hours for pre-op stuff. Then the surgical procedure itself was three hours long (he was under general anesthesia). He was in recovery for three hours as well. 

So all told, Ry and I had about 6-7 hours to kill (we got there a few hours before he was released as we weren't sure how long he would be in recovery). I was a little nervous driving around the city (it's been about 25 years since I have driven there, but managed to hit my favorite store on Oahu (Don Quixote...don't let the name fool you, it's a largely Japanese big box retail store) then made a quick trip to pick up Riki from campus, where he joined us at Ala Moana for the day. He served as our tour guide so Ryan could hit all his favorite outlets- PacSun, Lululemon, Uniqlo, a few shoe stores, etc.

And in true Riki fashion, we overspent (Ry got shoes that cost more than I spend on shoes in a year or two), overate and indulged! He suggested a $$$ yakiniku place which wasn't THAT pricey, except they added on a few things, and left a 30% tip on my credit card, which made it not so reasonable! I wasn't feeling up to a buffet, so I went over to Olive Garden for my favorite Italian foods...which were...okay. By which I mean, not so good...

There was one more stop at H&M in Waikiki (forgot how much you have to pay for parking on Oahu...at the hospital, while shopping) before we dropped Riki back off on campus and beelined back to the hospital so we'd be there early. We waited in the car for quite some time before Rich was ready to leave, and he came down like a true post-surgery patient, in a wheelchair! 

And boy oh boy, despite being on painkillers...he was soooooore. Every pothole we hit on our way to the airport caused him great pain and discomfort. He has four inch-long incisions across his abdomen (it was laparoscopic, but I didn't realize the incisions would be so long) and a fifth in his belly button (I think the scope went in there). 

We flew in to Kona about 9pm, and stopped at my parents briefly to drop off a ton of chichidango and mochi I had bought them in every form from Nisshodo and Don Quixote...so we didn't get home until after 10pm. We were SO exhausted from the long day.

The weekend has not been easy on me, as I've been doing a lot of laundry, yardwork, driving, shopping, cleaning and cooking on my own. Ryan has been...'moderately' helpful. And that is being generous. Why are teens so lazy? :-(

I got to use my new rice scoop from Don Quixote, which makes me so happy...and of course I manufactured a dish that would allow me to use it (Japanese beef/veggie curry stew).

The rest of September will be a little rougher than usual for me:

• Rich will be in recovery for awhile, so it's more driving/chores for me for a little bit.
• I have three back to back weekends of working job fairs...a total of 11 job fairs in a month. It will be exhausting trying to spend 16 hours a week on job fairs and juggling everything else I have to do. Not to mention, a few other time sensitive issues I'm working on.

One good thing in September that happened though? I got a new spin bike! An upgraded model. I loved my other one, don't get me wrong, but it was the model below the top of the line model. And because the one I got had a technical issue, and in tandem, this one suddenly became available with shipping to Hawaii...it felt like fate! This one wasn't cheap...it's pushing Peloton-level in terms of cost, but I was a little worried about the future of Peloton, and this bike had a better warranty. 

I loooooooove this bike and the online classes I can take. I still get my arse handed to me each week. But I have moved up in the world (a little). I think in my last class, I was like, 327th place out of like, 1523 folks...which is much better than when I started and was in the bottom third. Nothing like being 834th place to really lift the ego! I've learned how to more efficiently exert myself and move up the leaderboard, which is not the priority...but holds me more accountable to push myself harder. I am huffing and puffing and barely able to stay upright, so I can't say the workout doesn't kick my butt!

I will always prefer the vibe (loud music, riding with others) of a live instructor in class, but right now, my schedule doesn't match up with the studio I love so much, and with COVID/flu season constantly flaring up every few months...it just made sense to invest in a really good bike. This bike will cost me about what I would have spent on a year and change of classes, so as long as I use it 2-3 times a week, it'll pay off in a 1-2 years.

Okay, wish me luck as I do my best to get through September! I have to 'woman up' and survive 6-day workweeks for awhile, and get Rich through the next week so his wounds can heal...and get Ryan to and from his 27384 activities each week!