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Archive Page: Winter 2001

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Autumn 2001 (Sep-Nov) / Winter 2001 (Dec-Feb) / Spring 2002 (Mar-May) / Summer 2002 (Jun-Aug) / Autumn 2002 (Sep-Nov) / Winter 2002 (Dec-Feb) / Spring 2003 (Mar-May) / Summer 2003 (Jun-Aug) / Autumn 2003 (Sep-Nov) / Winter 2003 (Dec-Feb) / Spring 2004 (Mar-May) / Summer 2004 (Jun-Aug) / Autumn 2004 (Sep-Nov) / Winter 2004 (Dec-Feb) / Spring 2005 (Mar-May) / Summer 2005 (Jun-Aug) / Autumn 2005 (Sep-Nov) / Winter 2005 (Dec-Feb) / Spring 2006 (Mar-May) / Summer 2006 (Jun-Aug) / Autumn 2006 (Sep-Nov) / Winter 2006 (Dec-Feb)

((Back To Current))

December 6, 2001 (Thursday)
11:28, Hawaii Standard Time.

Just got back from my second visit to To Chau, following a visit to my Primary Care Physician (I was shocked last night at work into no longer putting off getting these cases of rectal bleeding checked out; It was determined that the problem is stemming from a bleeding hemorrhoid, which is kind of odd, since I've had the thing for as long as I can remember, and because of that fact I just assumed that it was never causing me any problems outside of just looking butt ugly -- yes, the pun was intentional). Now I've got to try getting some sleep for work tonight, so I don't end up sleeping the entire weekend, when I'll be putting the finishing touches on these webpages long overdue.

December 10, 2001 (Monday)
14:15, Hawaii Standard Time.

Well, I've FINALLY gotten my replacement keyboard and mouse after CompUSA called me again telling me for the third time that I needed to RESEND my ''proof of purchase'' to Apple Customer Service for the third time, which prompted me call Apple Customer Service directly YET AGAIN to get this B.S. cleared up once and for #u¢k!n& all!

Even though I finally won out there, I lost out big at Kinko's, trying to scan a few final extras for ''Tropical Storm'' Home, but #u¢k!n& Excite.com mail won't display the effing jpegs, and I forgot that I had the email program from this shit ''Apple ISP'' (which I am now determined to rid myself of) which I should have sent them to. Now I'm out fourteen #u¢k!n& dollars for #u¢k!n& NOTHING! (I've still got email.com to check, after they do their ''maintenance'' thing, before I can know for sure.)

I have no idea if I'm ever going to return the ''loaner'' keyboard & mouse, considering all of the hell I've been put through trying to get my ''warranty'' honored and bum equipment replaced... I may just end up keeping them as emergency back-ups. I don't know if I should feel justified in saying that they owe at least that much, considering all of the hell and the run-arounds BOTH companies put me through over the past month.


UPDATE! --
15:40, Hawaii Standard Time.

I managed to get the images I scanned through the ''Care2'' email account I sent them to, but in trying to forward the attachments from ''Excite.com'' I discovered that my ''Apple ISP/Outlook'' account is not configured properly, and everything I've tried thus far (according to what little I know or can figure out on my own) has failed to get it going like it should.

December 14, 2001 (Friday)
10:20, Hawaii Standard Time.

Added a final[?] page to ''Tropical Storm'' today and finished some last minute ''tweaking'' as a result of this new entry. Since the ''hate mail'' is already beginning to trickle in, I figured I needed a ''showcase'' for it all.

The ''Tropical Storm'' was officially launched December 12th (how's THAT for a ''birthdate''?) after a long-ass sleepless period from about 3:30 in the morning to about a quarter 'til three in the afternoon! -- mostly structuring and fixing inter-page links and adding page hit counters. I've spent the last couple of days trying to catch up on some of the sleep I've lost over all those months of fighting with all this technowhizgadgetry (...Browsers, servers, ISPs, you name it, It happened! -- If I ever do decide to register my own ''dot com,'' dammit, I'm going try using the Adobe ''Page Mill'' CD I still have from the previous iMac... I can't take much more of this HTML/JavaScript $#!T). Now that the worst is (hopefully) over, I can settle in a bit and start pulling out the ol' obsessivness again and return my living quarters to their ''Spartan'' condition, as Susie calls it. (Tried calling her before leaving for work last night with those numbers she gave me: They had both been disconnected. Hope it's just a setback and that nothing serious has happened to her; she's endured so much already.)

Here's Big News! -- I'll be damned, but I've just purchased my 1st DVD! ...''The Blair Witch Project'' (got it at Kmart this morning when pau ka hana ... Ten bucks!) ~ COOL!

December 15, 2001 (Saturday)
06:10, Hawaii Standard Time.

Connecting to the Internet has been extremely difficult these last couple of days. If I was able to connect at all the connection was not maintained for any significant amount of time before I would get booted off line. I don't know if it's a local problem with the phone lines or telecommunications network? (which now has me wondering if Susie's number really was ''disconnected'') -- Or if it is a Mainland network having problems? -- Or if it is in some way tied to the hard weather we've been having here locally? (with at least one power outage that I know of) -- Or perhaps it's due to weather conditions on the Mainland? -- Or, now that I've recalled the Geminid Meteor Shower we made our way through this past week, is it possible that part of the Satellite system was damaged in some way?

Added to this, Internet Explorer 5 is just totally acting up: I don't know if this is all interconnected in some way.

As of this writing, the system has been up and running for about the past hour and a half, but has been running awkwardly. If I had installed the MCU VS-R Program anytime earlier, when all of this crap started happening, I would have sworn that was the culprit! (I still remember the damage the previous program caused!)

Whatever it is, though, it's really cramping my style. I was able to get on long enough a thousand hours ago to read an email informing me that I had not been granted permission to use a particular piece of original artwork when I thought I had such permission, then spent hours trying to get back online long enough to issue a reply acknowledging the error and then trying to get back into hosting site to remove it. So now that's done, but with the way things are happening right now the ''Hate Mail'' page is going to be in limbo for awhile.


UPDATE! --
21:25, Hawaii Standard Time.

I don't know the onomatopoeia to describe all of the grunts, groans & expirations coming out of me right now! It's been a helluva day! The ''Network'' (whatever or wherever was affected) has been clearing up considerably; initially connecting, however, is still a task in itself.

I used much of the online time to revise and ''fine-tune'' (heah... right!) a few of the ''Tropical Storm'' pages, mostly in ''Orange Marmalade'' (new nickname, I guess), clarifying a number of statements, correcting a few spelling errors (and likely making new ones in the process) and supplying additional ''informative'' material -- including a couple of links to sites highlighting some of Erin Pizzey's works (and I still don't know why I even bother at all: It's ''Information Meltdown'' as it is already -- even for me sometimes, and besides, as I always say, Nobody cares anyway: They either don't read any of it or they read ''at'' it, taking virtually everything I've said completely out of context... the same reasonwhy there are so many VCRs out there flashing ''12:00''). At one point, during this network freak-out session, something gummed up somewhere and I lost all of my data that I was working on at the time, but for some inexplicable reason I was able to mentally recall all of it -- which suggests to me that ''somebody,'' ''somewhere'' obviously wanted me to get that information posted, but I don't know if that was ''good'' or ''bad.'' {{Insert ''Twilight Zone'' Theme Here!}} Speaking of inserting stuff, I now have to update the ''Ruby Ribbon'' again with the additional links.

I'm just dead tired right now, and I've got a four-month-long backlog of a gazillion emails I still need to sift through!

December 16, 2001 (Sunday)
18:48, Hawaii Standard Time.

I have NO idea what the {{severely grinding my teeth at this point to prevent letting out another obscene explative}} is going on! Tried to get in to do a little more so-called ''fine tuning'' in a couple of the pages, ended up AGAIN losing a whole mess of data (half of which I had saved to text earlier -- ''nyaah... nyaah...!'')

Refined the ''BLUE'' page a bit, but then made the big mistake of putting a ''Time & Temperature'' AND a ''Current Weather'' banner ''together'' in the ''Lawrence'' section, so I just had to have the same set-up for the page closing. Now I'm going to become obsessed with doing the same thing on ALL of the pages! (I swear, sometimes I wonder if I'm not a borderline manic depressive!)

I'm actually somewhat proud of myself, for once: The refinements I made in ''TS62'' actually resulted in less than what I ... then again, considering the addition of the new ''sub-introduction,'' maybe not. Shoot!

There's probably not much more ''refining'' that needs to be done, save adding a couple new addresses to the ''Links'' page, slipping in the ''Beginning-of-Life'' question on the ''Controversies'' page, and setting up the ''Diss Mail'' page (I still find it quite amazing that out of 30 pages of junk, only one or two pages out of the entire bunch get all of the focus... and all of it negative -- which I should probably just chalk up to ''human nature,'' I guess, seeing how all that anybody ever bothers to remember about President Clinton's eight years in office was that he let some thrill-seeking bimbo her face wrapped the ''First Penis.'')

Tuned in to ''Voltage Controlled'' for the first time in a long time, trying to keep connection on. It'd be nice if ''Tag's Trance'' could play some of the same stuff, since the sound quality is so much better.

December 20, 2001 (Thursday)
04:58, Hawaii Standard Time.

Well... got my little ''Not-Christmas'' package my co-workers have been telling me and trying to get me all excited about. Of course, as I should have figured, they got my Name wrong and gave me the ''card'' (supposedly with the $100 bill inside) of the Thursday Night shift relief guy, so now I gotta ask tomorrow if it really even matters whose ''name'' is on the stuff or if they are all relatively identical.

Just completed the ''NOW Agenda'' page (TS3:''Neo-Alpha'') which was begun yesterday afternoon and initially composed in ''AppleWorks,'' making a few manual alterations. It turned out okay. I'm going to have to start converting everything over to pure HTML and apply appropriate META tags before too long.


* Update - (16:50):
Ordered a bunch of DVDs online from Amazon.com (went on a Sci-Fi ''Junk Food'' blitz: ordered the two ''Terminators,'' the first two ''Aliens,'' the ''Jurassic Park'' 3-pack, and the ''Akira'' Special Edition -- Nearly $200 worth of JUNK). I later called ''Sisters Offering Support'' to see if they could use this whole ham I received as part of my ''Non-Christmas'' package: They couldn't, but we batted around a few options -- maybe I'll just take it down to the ''Institute for Human Services'' (I.H.S.) homeless shelter. And I just got off the phone with ''Pacific Global Communications'' to let them know that I was interested in getting rid of my current ISP and going with something ''Local.'' (Actually, that was over a half-hour ago as of this writing [17:25], since I'm STILL getting slapped away and being refused connection!)

December 22, 2001 (Saturday)
08:55, Hawaii Standard Time.

I was able to determine early yesterday morning that the problems I've been experiencing getting online have indeed been as a result of some sort of screw-up on ''AppleISP's'' side... or at least something associated with their system somewhere. I was able to determine this by switching over to my original ''Earthlink'' remote access settings and, short of the fact that my access code is no longer recognized, every ''network protocol'' up to the ''authentication'' phase flowed quickly and smoothly. That was the final incentive I needed to carry through with the plan to make the switch over to a ''Local'' ISP, which I did shortly after running all of my regular bill-paying errands and depositing four of the what had turned out to be five ''C-Notes'' (not just one, as I had originally assumed) I had received in the ''(Non-)Christmas'' gift package I mentioned earlier.

I made the decision the day before yesterday to sign on with ''Pacific Global'' (a.k.a. ''MauiNet''), mainly for the time they spent with me making sure I understood what services they offered and how they operated (they must have read the ''Orange'' Page of ''Tropical Storm'' and heard about my ''#1 Curse in Life'' :^) ) and partly because they told me the truth (assuming they know what they're saying) about the so-called ''non-Mac compatable'' ISPs. (Sharing that bit of information with me could have been enough incentive for me to sign on with a cheaper provider, but I like I've always said, I admire ''honesty'' and ''truthfulness'' above all -- often rewarding it with my business.) The fact that they waived the $20 set-up fee was small insignificance, either. In the end, it'll cost me two dollars more than what I am currently paying ($13) with ''AppleISP'' -- plus, because I am now dealing with a local company, I'll be required to pay the roughly 4.2% Hawaii State General Excise (i.e. ''sales'') Tax.

I decided to give ''Pacific Global'' a trial run for the first quarter (3 months). So far, I'm very impressed with it. (But then, I was impressed with ''AppleISP,'' too, in the beginning.) After a few intentional on/off connections last night to conduct a few Internet searches and attempt to clear through some of the three-month backlog of emails, I switched on one of my continuous stream online OTR stations in ''iTunes'' and attempted to keep it going undisturbed throughout the night. Ten hours later, the connection was kept, which continues up to this point an additional hour and a half later of additional activity. If ''Pac-Global'' is this consistent throughout my trial run with them, they may just end up having a customer for life.

In other irrelevant news, I had something of a minor scare yesterday morning at Ala Moana Shopping Center, just shortly after leaving ''Pac-Global's'' local office. ''Sally's'' parking brake (I'd given my motorcycle a name around a month ago) was getting stuck in place, and once I worked it loose I thought I had lost the rear brake entirely. I recall the incident in which I damaged the parking brake Thursday night, scraping it against side of a curb trying to impatiently squeeze between traffic.


* Update - (12:11):
Coming away from tweaking and revising a few more pages, most notably TS ''Green'' and restucturing the ''Start'' page, eliminating that aggrivating musical background, as well as supplying Honolulu ''time&temp'' gizmos onto each of the ''MainPages.''

I don't know what the hell it is with Netscape! Regardless of the fact that the HTML all checks out and the page shows perfectly in MS Internet Explorer, Net''scrape'' shows damn-near the entire ''Green'' Page in underscored italics!

I've still got the ''Diss Mail'' to format before posting online, and I still want to get that ''Beginning of Life'' question included on the ''Controversies'' page before calling all of this maddening craziness Pau!

December 28, 2001 (Friday)
16:20, Hawaii Standard Time.

Decided to put trying to rifle through months-worths of an email backlog on hold for awhile and took time out to go see the movie ''Ali.'' It was okay, despite not knowing how many ''liberties'' the film's producers took on the Champ's ''life story'' (film makers always do that). The film was just a bit too convoluted for my tastes: I liked that they tried to cover certain aspects of the time period(s), but it all felt too rushed and harried -- it was very easy to lose track of what was going on and when. I was especially appreciative yet startled with the Africa imagry... I couldn't help but call to mind that Passage about ''Man's Inhumanity to Man.''

Bought a few fresh fruit in Chinatown before returning inside. Converted the ''Tropical Storm'' main pages over to pure HTML in order to insert META tags specific to each section.

The DVDs I ordered arrived yesterday, which I picked up this morning before heading out to find out what time the movie started. I'll probably play a couple tonight, if Radio Theatre doesn't steal me away the entire time, which is quite possible, knowing my listening habits the way I do.

December 29, 2001 (Saturday)
16:20, Hawaii Standard Time.

Transcribed my mini-essay regarding ''slavery reparations'' to the ''Controversies'' page. Made a couple of minor refinements to a couple of the pages. I think the counters are screwed up, as are some of the ''time & temp'' gizmos on some of the pages. As a result, I may simply decide to discard them and do without them -- almost definitely the ''time/temp,'' if it doesn't start clearing up shortly.

January 3, 2002 (Thursday)
14:00, Hawaii Standard Time.

Spent the last three days going on a wild DVD binge, which included riding out to Mililani Wal-Mart yesterday before going to work to price check on their stock while originally going there to check out what they had on sale for bicycles. Now I'm really kicking myself in the head something fierce, because had I known about it earlier I would not have ordered so much from Amazon.com -- I accidentally came across Tower Records' website (as a result of a websearch, no less!) and came to the late realization that I could have saved considerably more dinero (especially in the shipping fees) had I ordered most, if not all, of what ordered through Amazon, whom I'm still probably stuck with for the immediate remainder of my DVD gobble-fest, since Tower's American website does not cater to Japanese anime (with the exception of ''Akira.'')

My whole credit card burning in overdrive culminated very early this morning in the post-midnight/pre-dawn hours with a stop at Kmart, when I went in to purchase one of their bicycles, so I could have something to use to make short errands around town... but that bubble burst big time when I was informed that to register it would cost me $15 per year. I did leave with one of those folding ''pillow matresses'' that I've always wanted (I took advantage of a 20% discount on those) and a couple of boxes of Little Debbie snack cakes.

January 13, 2002 (Sunday)
18:10, Hawaii Standard Time.

Completed formatting and posting the first (and worst) message I was viciously attacked with up on the designated ''Diss Mail'' page. I really do hate having to show my nastier side like that, sometimes, but if there's one thing I cannot take is ad hominem attacks fired at me based upon lies and deception! I don't care if people want to tear into me for something I've said or done; just so long as they do it from a position of sincerity and/or honesty, without the personal insults.

In other news: ''Excite Mail'' is still not fully operational (I have no idea how much mail I've had either delayed or lost since ''EMC squared'' took over operations), i.e.America is finally accessible again, (after about two weeks of slapbacks), ''Democracy Now!'' hasn't been updated since January 4, ''CounterSpin'' not since December, ''J-Fan'' and ''Radio Nation'' are updating again.

Bought a pair of work pants with the ''gift card'' my mother sent me.

And now there seems to be some confusion over that phony ''tax rebate'' check ''Resident'' Bush forced upon us which I sent back: I'll talk to the I.R.S. staff about it later in the month, when I'm out surfing the ''January Wave'' -- when I have to shuffle through my costliest and greatest volume of expenses of the year, which is going to be even costlier with all of the DVD madness I put myself through these last few weeks (I still haven't even received my statement, which is sure to bite me in the @$$ ''Dick Cheney Big Time.''

January 14, 2002 (Monday)
12:55, Hawaii Standard Time.

''CounterSpin'' is updating again.

January 19, 2002 (Saturday)
09:30, Hawaii Standard Time.

Just completed (?) transfer and reformat of my ''Hate Mail'' page -- ''FreeHomePage.com'' is the lamest, sorriest piece of fecal matter I have ever truly run across! As a result numerous compatibility issues (most of which I've just now learned about) I've decided to cancel it out altogether. I was able to transfer most of the important stuff over, but I had to sacrifice the ''Guestbook'' page. Then I had to go through the tedious process of ''updating'' the main page links to reflect the change. Just one more thing to be pissed about!

January 21, 2002 (Monday)
17:10, Hawaii Standard Time.

It would appear that the almost continuous rain we had all weekend long has finally subsided since late this morning. (It's going to create a mosquito heaven, for sure.) Decided to give the bicycle a good washing down during what turned out to be only a temporary break in the weather yesterday; used the motivation to scrub down the apartment as well. Gonna be a busy assed day tomorrow: Lot's of running around town and bill paying to [not wanting to] look forward to.

January 23, 2002 (Wednesday)
03:30, Hawaii Standard Time.

Wierd past couple of days: First, just five minutes after my last post [of Monday evening] I tried to head out of here and the motorcycle wouldn't start (turned out to be a loose connection in the fuse housing, and I was a half hour late getting out of here, but the incident did serve to make me aware that my spare fuses and key have been misplaced somewhere); and I only managed (or rather chose to finish only half of my errand run yesterday; then I had to ride out in heavy downpours just before midnight.


* Update - (12:10):
I just now discovered that ''Democracy Now!'' has been Netcasting'' since Jan. 4, under a different URL. Now I gotta go change all that information regarding ''DN!'' programming all over again! SuX!

January 29, 2002 (Tuesday)
03:45, Hawaii Standard Time.

Saw a pair of wild pigs at work last night; I came within six feet of them (suddenly) before they broke away startled and ran back down the mountain. One was solid black; the other, lighter in color, but I was unable to observe long enough to see clearly exactly what color it was. They were smaller than what I envisioned they'd be.

February 1, 2002 (Friday)
16:55, Hawaii Standard Time.

Went to renew the insurance policy on my motorcycle this afternoon (took care of registration on Tuesday), then, just for the hell of it, on the way back I decided to ride through the scenic areas of Pali Highway, primarily to see what effect these new ''speed monitors'' are having on speeding traffic (Not Much).

February 2, 2002 (Saturday)
18:15, Hawaii Standard Time.

Spent most of the afternoon putting the finishing touches on the ''Controversies'' Page and making a few cleaning-up revisions to the ''Yellow'' and ''Neo-Special'' (''Feminism'') Pages. I included a link to the ''Ex-Husband/Slave'' discussion group at Yahoo! -- Although there are not truly any ''discussions,'' to speak of (if there ever were any), there are a number of interesting polls being conducted there, regarding issues of divorce, alimony, keiki support, etc., so I decided to test the waters a bit with a number of interrelated poll questions of my own, concerning ''child support.''

February 8, 2002 (Friday)
06:35, Hawaii Standard Time.

Last night at work I witnessed the sunset ''Green Flash'' for the very first time ever, as Taiyou sank behind the Pacific. Judging by its name, I expected the event to last only a milisecond or so, sort of like the flash of a photo bulb or somesuch, but to my pleasant surprise it endured at least a good 2 and 1/2 seconds.

A little over an hour later I discovered that the set animal trap had captured two wild pigs. Feral pig activity had been considerably heavy in the immediate area these last couple of nights (they appear to be nocturnal). Both entrapped animals were lactating females. The damned ugliest creatures I've ever had the privilege (?) of looking upon, but I was genuinely fascinated by their human-like eyes and was amazed to learn that they were covered from tail to snout in a thick mat of course hair.

None of the pigs I have observed over the last week or so displayed any tusks, nor had any of them ever given any indication of a propensity toward ''aggression''-- in fact, they all appeared to be quite shy, or indifferent at best --so I am at a bit of a loss to understand why there is such a common belief here that the local wild pig populations are aggressive and confrontational.

I have no idea what's going to be done with two captured females. I'm wondering if sows display any sort of altruistic or community behaviour by ''adopting'' any orphaned piglets.

One side note: After getting up close and personal with the two pigs in confinement, my aversion to pork (adopted at the 4-H Fairgrounds in Lawrence, Kansas -- when I got up close and personal witt their ''domestic'' cousins) was only reinforced.

Came home from work and went to [banKrupt] Mart and bought the bicycle I backed out of last time it was on sale because of misinformation about registering it with the City and County I had received from the cashier: I learned last month on the 29th, when I went down to the Satellite City Hall (Fort Street Mall) to get ''Sally's'' registration renewed, that bicycle licencing involves a one time permanent registration fee of $15, not annually, as the sales clerk informed me -- but the thing that pissing ME (and likely EVERY OTHER ''Motorcyclist'') is the fact that this same Special Privilege is enjoyed by the (often lawbreaking) riders of those 50cc motorscooters commonly referred to by the misnomer, mopeds. (I won't go into it).

The ''sale'' was the same as before: Just some chintzy $10-off the regular price (big whoopty doo), but Wal-Mart wasn't doing anything to bring the prices of their pedalwheels down to anything reasonable since their pre-Christmas $50 marketing ploy. I did not have any compatible wrenches, so I went back to purchase a couple. Spent about a good two hours between shopping for the cursed thing, a halfway decent lock, the extra tools, and tightening-untightening-adjusting-readjusting, etc. And now it's 8:02 a.m. -- It's actually taken me THIS long to write just this small amount of nothing nobody else cares about. Time to go to City Hall and get my registration.

(P.S. ~ as an update: I was to learn that the ''Ex-Hubby/Slave'' website's ''discussions'' are not posted on site, but are sent out as part of an ''email group'' which floods everyone's inbox without mercy.)

February 9, 2002 (Saturday)
16:20, Hawaii Standard Time.

Bicycle registration fell flat yesterday. No sooner than I had finished typing in my last entry and made moves to shut down the computer it started to rain heavily, which lasted most of the day. When I thought I got a break in the weather I struggled out (long time since riding a pedalcycle -- especially in traffic, and for the FIRST time in this impatient Honolulu traffic) and got to the Satellite City Hall (Fort Street) just in time to see that it was closed...and it was barely 2 p.m. I continued on to the Main Branch of my bank to put back some of the cash I had taken out of my paycheck, since I decided to pay for the bicycle with a personal check instead. Then I picked up my latest DVD package at the post office and got totally soaked on the way back to the apartment.

February 12, 2002 (Tuesday)
12:35, Hawaii Standard Time.

Kept my appointment with my Primary Care Physician at a quarter to ten this morning in order to get a slip of paper from him indicating to these stupid clueless JAFOs at my workplace that, yes, I've been laying sick indoors ever since waking up from Friday afternoon's soak session Saturday morning.

This infection has been the weirdest S.O.B. I've ever experienced. Normally, it is not uncommon for a virus infection to force me to stay awake a full 24-hour day and the better part of the subsequent day at the most; This damned thing I've been fighting off all weekend-plus, however, refused to let me get ANY sleep at all for damned near 72 hours straight! -- and what rare moments of sleep I did manage to somehow sneak in were spotty at best. And what's even the strangest thing is this bizarre fact that for the majority of that time I was fully alert and, except for the weakness coming from fighting off the symptoms, still quite energetic -- I could have easily gone to work and performed my duties despite having lost so much sleep, were it not for the fact that my symptoms made such exclusive demands of my attention.

While at the physician's office I inquired about what appears to be a forming cyst on my cheek. I also asked about my weakening knees, since I am considering adopting an exercise/weight-training program. I also took my time at the clinic to schedule a vision test ... It's been about three years overdue.

Stopped by the Satellite City Hall to again try to register the pedalcycle, only to learn that I was supposed to have been given the registration papers by the salesperson at banKrupt Mart (which proved for a second time that particular sales clerk apparantly hasn't got a dog-damned clue what's involved in a bicycle transaction), so I had to go back to the store then speed right back to the SCH. While back at Fort Street I inquired about the ''early shut down'' Friday afternoon; It turned out that the place got flooded when the roadworking crews above ground somehow caused a breach which leached rainwater into the subterranean office.

February 15, 2002 (Friday)
02:05, Hawaii Standard Time.

I was cleared to return to work yesterday evening, but the office staff could not reach the substitute to inform him that I was back on schedule.

Kept yesterday's optometry appointment and learned that I only needed the presciption lens for my left eye readjusted, not changed outright.

When I learned later that the substitute assumed the schedule for tonight, I decided to spend some of the remaining daylight to take a little distance ride on the pedalcycle ... ''little'' describes it very well; I could barely keep it going fifteen minutes before I legs pretty much gave out. I've been far too long not riding a bicycle, it'll definitely take time and patience to build myself up to former abilities. I'm also certain that its size has something to do with it, since this is the first time I've ridden anything smaller than 26'' -- this one (24'' and a ''girl's bike,'' which I bought because there were no ''boy's'' models on display, and I didn't mind) feels terribly awkward. I ended the trip with a tuna chef salad from Zippy's.

Just a few moments ago I completed taking advantage of Tower Records' online record sale, where they offered a bunch of select CDs for $9 a pop. I decided to relive some of my most cherished musical memories from my rapidly fading youth, stocking up heavily on ''Hiroshima'' and a few other ''old favorites'' by Jeff Beck, Thomas Dolby and Steely Dan. While there I also finally decided to give in and order the ''Mononoke Hime'' DVD. Two other earlier DVD orders are still pending shipment.

Now, with so much lost sleep to make up for, I'm barely able to keep my eyes open and retain consciousness, so as soon as I've posted this latest entry I'm going straight to snooze-land.


* Update - (22:40):
Went to Consolodated Theaters' ''Varsity'' branch early this afternoon to see the film ''Metropolis'' (...the Rintarou/Otomo Katsuhiro anime, Not the Fritz Lang B&W classic). I was not too terribly impressed with it: kiddie animated characters clashing with an overuse of CGI technology, too many silly scenes and subtitles that often bled into the background made it all too distracting an experience and really took away from a truly powerful and enjoyable story.

Headed directly back to the apartment afterwards, but shortly after checking the P.O. Box took a detour and got something to eat at Ala Moana Center.

A short time after returning to the apartment I got hit with a massive sleep attack which I've just awaken up from but still have not completely shaken.

February 23, 2002 (Saturday)
00:30, Hawaii Standard Time.

[[I'm really beginning to see this damned computer shit as a severe waste of money -- not to mention a waste of time! I've spent OVER the past hour just trying to get the following piece of mediocrity posted, and it's been nothing but one hassle after another headache! I am getting so sick of this shit! I am NEVER purchasing a computer ever again! ... when THIS one's pau, so am I!]]

((what was supposed to have been posted: Feb. 22 @ 23:20 hrs.))
Picked up my paycheck early this morning and got confirmation that the residents of my former post are visiting from Japan and are going to be spending the next month in their Kahala residence and, again, they're asking for me personally: I'm not thrilled about going back there, but if I divide up the work week instead of working straight days I should be able to handle it for the four week duration.

I then rode out to J.C. Penney, Pearlridge Mall, to get my spectacles prescription filled -- two pair @ $100, when I originally went to take advantage of a ''half price'' special they were offering this month.

Afterwards, I returned to town and applied for a DVD rental membership at Tower Records, Kapiolani/Keeaumoku, only to find out afterwards that the specific titles I wanted to rent (namely, ''Army of Darkness'' [the final installment from the ''Evil Dead'' series] and ''The Stepford Wives'' ... along with a few others I have no intention of buying outright) were in the ''for sale'' section -- not in the ''rental'' section, which was very sparse. I continued on from there to Ala Moana Shopping Center for a Sbarro pizza. (I never thought I'd ever hear myself complain about there being too much cheese on a pizza, but Sbarro's overuse of it really defeats the purpose.


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