Hawaii Expedition 2012: July 2012

Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Tuesday, 7/31

Busy morning: lecture on Japanese art and aesthetics to the 16th century, then a free Japanese Bento lunch (my favorite: chicken katsu, though this one came with macaroni salad with tuna and six small pieces of sushi (3 California roll, three cucumber roll) plus rice, pickled ginger and chicken katsu. It was pretty good and it was free. Then at 1:15 we got on a bus and went to the Honolulu Museum of Art. Our lecturer from this morning, Stanley, continued with a brief lecture at the museum on Chinese and Japanese art. When the many of the other people left at 3 o'clock, I staid and wandered through the rest of the museum. About 4 pm, I left, and wandered down to get the bus, then kept walking (I never exercised this morning) until I got to the Ward Center where I caught the #6 bus back to campus.

Tonight, in about 45 minutes, I have a movie called Departures. It's on Japan and its about funeral homes and funeral customs in Japan. It won an Academy Award for best foreign film. Here you go for some additional information:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Departures_%28film%29

I have a lot of pictures. I am going to break them up into two groups: China and Japan, and then other art from the museum, from South Asia to European art.

Here are a few pics from the special classroom we have been using for our art lectures. I'll take some pics of our normal classroom tomorrow.

Enjoy!

Monday, July 30, 2012

Monday, 7/30

Woke up this morning at 7, went exercising, and picked up some boxes from the post office while I did so. It was raining again, sort of a light drizzle or mist, but it was consistent. It was also the first day of school here and I pass by an elementary school, so it was crazy busy with traffic. Came back, got ready for class, and then marched myself down to Burns Hall for a double session on Japanese materials after a week of Chinese materials.

Long day of classroom time...a morning session on Japanese history from the ancient period to the Meiji, but not enough time on the entire subject. I think I have a somewhat better grasp on ancient and medieval Japan, but there was a certain rush to finish. The second instructor in the afternoon talked about Shinto and Buddhism, particularly Zen Buddhism and how they are a part of Japanese culture and society. It was interesting, but he went too fast and the powerpoint that he used slid by far too quickly to get some of the material that he was discussing. At least we will get copies of his materials so that it will make more sense in hindsight and with the notes I managed to take.

To put in perspective: I took 14 pages of notes this morning, and about 5 this afternoon.

I had a brief lunch break with a group of 4 female professors, eating at the university dining hall closest to the dorm. They modernized from the last time I was to the Paradise Palms Cafe, so there are more choices. I got a loco moco for lunch. I need some comfort food and something filling after not really eating dinner last night (I was still full from the dimsum at 3:30) and no real breakfast. I think I will try their bbq plate before I leave.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loco_moco

Mine was two over easy eggs, some okay but cheap hamburgers, two scoops of rice, brown gravy and a side of Hawaiian macaroni salad (which is really just macaroni, mayonnaise and a little bit of seasoning). It was filling so it was good.

Got back to the dorm about 4:30, and went through email and other assorted work related stuff I didn't get to this morning since I was in a bit of a rush. Tonight I am going to work for a bit (not hungry for dinner at the moment), but tomorrow is a long day: 3 hour lecture on Japanese art and aesthetics, lunch, off to the Honolulu Museum of Art (still listed as the Academy of Art in our program) for an art lecture, and then back in time probably for a movie from 6:30-9:30. I believe this movie is a Japanese movie about a funeral director.

http://honolulumuseum.org/

Hopefully I will have tons of pictures from tomorrow's jaunt for you to enjoy. I can't believe it's going to be August soon. That's it for now...

Sunday evening 7/29

I got the bus, went to the mall, wandered through Barnes & Noble because I was early, picked up a new novel and a magazine, and then went to the Apple Store for my 2:30 appointment.

Well it was painful, but not as painful as I thought. The battery had exhausted itself (and I found out the computer had originally been purchased in 2007) so it is going on 6 years of age. It cost $129 for a new computer battery. However, there was only a four year window on replacing the case for free, so I skipped the $150 it would cost to replace the mostly cosmetic damage. I got the computer in 2008 from my friend Steve for like $600 dollars, so I have only put that $129 dollars into the computer so far for repairs. Knock on wood. Oh and the battery is still charging up...

After that, I was starved. I went to lunch for dim sum at a Chinese restaurant. Dim is small appetizers and this restaurant has a list you mark off (and with a helpful picture guide, though I knew what most of the appetizers were before hand) and then they bring them out as they are prepared in the kitchen. The Jade Dynasty Seafood restaurant has dim sum everyday and most of the individual servings are $3.50 each. I ordered a number of them, 8 to be precise, and a beer. The beer was as expensive as three of the dishes...but was the perfect accompaniment. Two hours later, I am still quite full, so it was a good idea to eat a bit more than I might usually eat. Anyway, for $40 bucks plus tip, I was stuffed. Eventually got the bus (the schedules are screwed up due to service changes) though I could have walked around the mall for another 40 minutes in the end. Nevertheless, I was back home by 5 where I got the evening news.

http://jadedynastyhawaii.com/

The reviews are kinda mixed, but I would give it 3.5-4 stars. Service was good, the tablecloth was funky, but the food was served hot and prompt.

Here are some pictures from this afternoon's adventures:

Koi in a pond in the mall. They are huge!

Bronze horse outside the restaurant.

Giant beer...22 oz.

Shrimp dumplings

Shrimp dumplings mark 2

Pork dumplings

Hong Kong soup dumplings. I have had better and with more soup, but these were fine.

BBQ Pork Steamed Buns

Chicken Steam Buns...these were the only things that I didn't like. One was left for "my ancestors" when I didn't finish it. That shocked the waiter who only smiled and nodded after he seemed to understand that I actually meant it.

Sunday, July 29, 2012

Sunday morning 7/29

It's been raining on and off all morning, and after another late night and staying in bed until the rain passed, I managed to get out of bed, head for my morning walk, picking up a newspaper in the process. I've been working for a bit this morning, and decided to reschedule an appointment for tomorrow for this afternoon at 2:30. What appoint you ask? Well it seems the battery from my Macbook is starting to protrude and I need to find out what is going on. I should also see if they will still honor the recall on fixing the cracks in my case caused by the lid's bumper stops. That might not be possible (it is four years old at this point) but I am not sure what can be done without asking in person. Anyway, that means I need to leave around 1:30 to catch the bus and make it to the Apple Store at Ala Moana Mall in time for my appointment. I'll update you all later on.

Other than that, it has been a quiet but productive day. Yesterday I never really left my room, and worked for most of the afternoon on two different projects, though my dissertation got less attention than it should have. That means I'll just work on it more these next few evenings. I want to be done with it by next Friday so I can enjoy my last full weekend in Hawaii. I might even rent a car. I was considering heading to another island for part of the weekend, but I couldn't do a trip for less than $500 dollars or so, which isn't bad for two nights plus airfare and car rental, especially considering a car rental here on Oahu for next weekend will probably run about $250 dollars. I'll make a decision by tomorrow night...

So I'll head out to the mall, get my Macbook looked at, then head back home and probably grab some food for dinner or just eat some of the food I have bought. Haven't eaten out that much, but my expenses are still crazy as everything is so expensive here on the island. I have discovered that the more bulk something takes up for its size, the more expensive it is. For example, a bag of potato chips is like $4.00+, while you can get a 12 pack of soft drinks for the same price. It's weird. Anyway, I have been trying to save my pennies while here, but I am still going through money like its growing on trees...though that does remind me we did see an image of a Chinese money tree in one of the art lectures last week. At least for the ancient Chinese money did really grow on trees.

Anyway, that's it for now. Oh and a couple pics to help brighten things up...

A new Island Beer..22 oz of an okay Lager. I tried it but will not return for another.


What the rainy skies were doing this morning...including raining on the camera lens.


Korean cultural center next to Lincoln Hall

Peace rock between South Korea and the US.

Saturday, July 28, 2012

Saturday afternoon 7/28

(reposted from Facebook)

A slow morning. Was up until 11:30 last night (yay!) and then woken up at 5 am by what I thought was someone talking outside window. Turns out it was a bird with just a unique call. Then back to sleep eventually until 8. Some exercise, read the free newspaper in the dorm lobby, and now some slow email catch up before some dissertation work. Listening to The Descendants soundtrack for some Hawaiian music.

A Saturday in Hawaii...it doesn't have to be go, go, all the time now does it?

----

Anyway, I am now working on a bit of different projects, and listening to music, while being productive on an occasionally sunny and rainy Saturday afternoon. I'll work on my dissertation some more this afternoon and evening, and probably tomorrow as well, but I want to get a few things done today and have them productively finished before I tackle this dissertation chapter. But once it is done, that is all I can do except for revision until early September when I defend my proposal.

Mahalo everyone!

Friday 7/27 evening

Well I am back, settled down after a long day, watching the Food network--the 6 hour time difference and the 3 hour time difference from the West Coast feed makes watching tv sometimes odd.

Yesterday was a double day of lectures: Chinese history and Chinese literature. The literature professor got visible emotional a couple times...I thought he might break out into tears at least twice. Obviously he was quite moved discussing two pieces of classical Chinese literature. Then it was back to the dorm for a quick change, and then go out to dinner. It was supposed to be a large group of people, but in the end, it was a much smaller group. I went to dinner at a beach front hotel, the Outrigger on the Beach (the food was only okay) and to listen to some live Hawaiian music. I tagged along with two professors (and one of their spouses) from Drake University in Des Moines, IA, and it was a fun and interesting night. They are good people, and the couple were originally from Orlando, so it was interesting to chat with them, and to learn about their last two years of global travel, including spending a year in Hong Kong on a Fullbright scholarship.

Anyway, this morning was a class on Chinese art and aesthetics and it was interesting to say the least. This is the last lecture that concentrates on China exclusively for the next 10 days or so, while next week is the Japanese section, which I am looking forward to a great deal. I have learned a lot, don't get me wrong, but for some reason I find Japanese history and culture more interesting than China's. But I have nearly 40 pages of notes to take back with me and lots of cool ideas.

After class ended, I headed back to my room to dump off my notebook, Nook, and grab up my hat, and I headed out for the afternoon. I went to Walmart to get a new watch band (mine broke) and a repair kit; the eyeglass one was like $2 and worked well. Then I walked to the Ward Center, where I went to see the "Dark Knight Rises" this afternoon. I wanted a chance to sit in the A/C and to see this movie. I liked it a lot and thought it was a fitting end to the trilogy. Then it was a stop at the Crazy Shirt store to get the last Kona Brewing Company shirts I didn't own, and then a phone call with a friend. Finally, it was to the Ala Moana mall for two reasons: to get some dinner from the Japanese store and to stop by the Apple store because my battery is starting to protrude from my laptop. I thought it might be an easy fix, but it seems I need to schedule an appointment and bring it in for a tech to take a look at it. I'll schedule that for Monday evening...

Then it was waiting for the bus, a short walk to the dorm across campus, then heat up dinner and eat it. Now just time to relax before I wake up in the morning, get some exercise, and then work on my dissertation. If I get the chapter done tomorrow, I'll figure out what to do on Sunday, otherwise, I'll be working on it on Sunday as well. It may be a boring few days without anything exciting happening. We shall see.