So, today was good fun. Again. And, another stunning day, despite the vog. I met up with Fluffy and family in downtown Hilo, then took them to Rainbow Falls. The falls were pathetic, man, I've never seen it so tiny. And Boiling Pots was more Pots than Boiling. But I told the appropriate myths and legends, and we saw three i‘o soaring over the Wailuku River, and Fluffy and I climbed the massive banyan tree back under the mangoes.

Mom played hooky from work and joined us for a Thai food lunch at Chiang Mai, next to Kalakaua Park. Then we stopped by Kope Kope to pick up some sandwiches for dinner, and so Carol could get some local coffee (ProTip: the owner of Kope Kope Espresso, coffee expert and longtime Kona resident before moving to Hilo, says that, despite the celebrity status of the Kona coffee brand name, people who try Hilo or Ka‘u coffee never go back to the Kona). Then we all piled into their rental Suburban and headed up the hill to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.

Mike and Emily hit the Visitor's Center and Steaming Bluffs while the rest of us did the Kilauea Iki hike. Much natural history was lectured upon, much steam was vented upon us, and much ‘ohelo berry was consumed. We saw a bunch of ‘apapane as per usual, but nothing truly exciting in the wildlife department otherwise, although Fluffy did find a Kalij pheasant in some ginger. There were some pretty dramatic views from the edge of Kilauea Iki of the Halema‘uma‘u steam plume joining up with the lowering clouds in the late-afternoon light. We joined up with Mike and Emily for Nahuku/Thurston Lava Tube and a quick trip to Jagger Museum to see Kilauea Caldera and Halema‘uma‘u in the last of the failing light. Truly, truly dramatic looking, all billowing steam and lowering clouds.

We headed back down the hill and drove out to Kalapana to view the lava ocean-entry. ...I have seen better shows (oh gods, I sound so blasé about the lava). The lava was a quarter, half-mile off beyond the County's safety ropes (unapproachable due to the potential collapsibility of the lava bench); it glowed, and billowed, and did its quiet, meditative, land-building thing in the distance. I'm glad we brought the binocs. At least with the spotlight full moon we didn't even need flashlights on the black rocks. Seriously, the thing was so freaking bright. I had color vision.

So anyway. That was fun. I had a big happy grin on my face the whole day. Oh man, I love love love love love my island.

Happy Old Year, guys. Here, have a meme. Or something. Stolen from sirona_gs.

( What seme or uke are you? )

A belated holiday sentiment, courtesy of XKCD. This is for you, Dar.

...So. Christmas Eve dinner was good fun. Gary decided we needed to have a Block Tower Challenge, so he pulled out the wooden blocks. The idea is to attempt to use every single block in the box, and also make the tower as tall as possible. Granny Lo's bedroom on the third floor has an open balcony that overlooks the living and dining room, so he decided the tower needed to be at least as tall as Granny's carpet. I made the mistake of helping Gary and Darian build the base of the tower, and somehow ended up having to build most of the tower while Gary watched and made critical remarks. I did manage to get the tower just barely taller than Granny's carpet (clinging to a ladder with my toes) before the tower lost balance and toppled, which is pretty good for a tower made entirely of misshapen wooden blocks with a base less than one foot across. I had tons of blocks left, which I think only adds to the impressiveness of the feat, even though I was supposed to try and use all of them. ...Anyway, there was lots of tasty food, and we had a fun time discussing the proper wines to complement More and Beck Family Holiday Gelatin. We gorged on dessert and sang Christmas carols and opened our presents. Mike got me some chocolate from New York and a couple of books, including a collection of Kurt Vonnegut, Jr's unpublished short fiction.

Christmas Day I hooked up with Jen to go see Sherlock Holmes, which was a very fun movie, then brought her home with me to share Christmas dinner with us. It was the smallest Christmas ever (we fit at one table!) but we had a good time; Granny made an amazing roast beef, and it was, of course, very good to see Kink. Jen and I ended up talking until 3:30 in the morning, whoops~!

( Post-Christmas shenanigans: beach-time, tasty foods, loud noises, WTF PEREGRINE FALCON, and Hilo. )

Today I had lunch with Dad and looked at pictures and played Bananagrams (I really love this game) and went to the eye doctor. I've been hiding inside ever since (dilated eyes + beautiful weather = OW), although I went out briefly to chat with Mom's yard work guy, Gerry, and his adorable puppy. Tonight I'm going to see Where The Wild Things Are with Dad, since he hasn't seen it (and since his other suggestions were Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and Alvin and the Chipmunks *facepalm*).

I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I'M DOING TOMORROW. Depends on what Fluffy's doing, I think.

Hey, so check it out, I've got a few minutes of internet time, sweet.

Made it to Honolulu okay. Alex actually ended up on the same flight as me; he volunteered to change his flight in Minneapolis-St. Paul for a voucher and a first-class upgrade. So I hung with him briefly in the airport, before he got back to his comfy reclining seat, free gourmet meals, and mai tais, and I went to the back of the plane with the other peons. The in-flight movies were 17 Again (so yay, I've finally seen the first half of that movie) and Duplicity, so that was okay. We had a bit of turbulence, but otherwise the flight was fine.

I woke up this morning and it was bright and sunny and blue sky and warm and humid and OHMIGOD I'm so happy to be here. TT_TT It's been beautiful all day... it just started clouding over, but I'm wearing a tank top and shorts and LOVING IT. Alex, Mikey, his girlfriend Elena (sp?), and I came down the hill to hang with Gary and ohana in Pauoa. We played some ping-pong, then Alex, Mike, and Elena went off to have lunch with Alex's friend and do some last-minute Christmas shopping. I stayed and played some Uno, ate some lilikoi and Gary's sawdust cookies. Now we're all hanging in the living room listening to Lorin's iTunes while she scrapbooks, Darian plays his friend's DS, and I troll the interwebs. Tonight is Christmas Eve dinner at Grandma's; we're having More, which I'm so excited for omg we haven't had that in years. ..."More" is this sort of casserole thing, involving ground beef and pasta and olives and cheese and Worcestershire sauce and who knows what else. It's delicious and you can make a big pan of it and feed ten million people, and it was a huge part of my childhood and family visits to Tantalus.

We've got a bunch of things lined up for the weekend that I'm looking forward to. I'm making with plans to meet up with Jen (OMG YAAAAY!!) tomorrow for lunch and Sherlock Holmes (WITH A SERVING OF YAAAY ON THE SIDE!). I'm also planning on bringing Mom, Alex, and Jolie to Aki No No on Saturday night before we go to Stomp, so Jen can cook for us. Tomorrow night is, of course, Christmas Dinner, which is going to be really small this year... we're actually all going to fit at one table! That never happens! Uh, I think we plan on going to the beach Saturday (yeeeesssssss!!), and... who knows what else. THINGS WILL HAPPEN. IT WILL BE AWESOME. And then I go back to Hilo and see Fluffy and ohana, and Dad and everyone, AND MORE AWESOME THINGS WILL HAPPEN.

So anyway, on behalf of President Obama and myself, Merry Christmas from Hawaii! And if you don't celebrate Christmas, have a good time anyway.

<3 <3 <3,
Angela

P.S. Completely unrelated... btw James, you're right, the Sleepyhead music video is totally awesome, and really does fit the song. Which is funny, because I couldn't picture what could possibly fit the song. Passion Pit fans, check it out! Those of you not Passion Pit fans, check it out anyway, and get with the program!

I don't know anything about Final Fantasy, so I have no idea who this guy is a crack version of. But I think I kind of love him. He makes me so happy. Capslock!Vayne Carudas Solidor's post to dear_mun:

"MERRY CHRISTMAS YOU FUCKS

EVEN THOUGH THIS HOLIDAY DOESN'T EVEN EXIST IN HALF THESE WORLDS SO IT DOESN'T EVEN MAKE SENSE FOR YOU TO GIVE A SHIT

IT SURE DOESN'T EXIST IN IVALICE OR I'D SOMEHOW RUIN IT FOR EVERYONE

MAYBE INSTEAD OF COAL IN YOUR STOCKING I PUNCH YOU IN THE DICK AND HAVE SOLDIERS RAID YOUR HOUSE, I CAN DO THAT

HAPPY HOLIDAYS, I JUST SHOT YOUR CHOCOBO

EVERYONE HAS "LAPDANCE FROM FRAN" AT THE TOP OF THEIR LIST BUT THEY DON'T HAVE THE MONEY TO AFFORD HER SO THEY GET SOCKS AND MAYBE A SOUVENIR SUNSTONE"

...Now that's the Christmas spirit right there. :DD Also, he told Robin he hopes I'm having a seizure.

Robin, meanwhile, has successfully navigated his existential crisis, with the help of Jeannie and fake!Batman Dick Grayson!Batman. It's good to have friends. ...Even if one of your friends is a version of you several years older, wearing the Bat-suit, and in a gay relationship with Speedy, wtf.

In other news, Mary showed up out of the blue, wanting to stay on our couch. So I guess we have a houseguest tonight. Surprise!

I won't even be here, though. I'm leaving on a jet plane~ tonight for Hawaii, where I'll spend Christmas and New Years. HAHAHAHAHAHA, SUCK IT, REDS! XP ...Anyway, I probably won't have internet access for a few days, so... Merry Christmas/Merry Zolacmas/Happy Winter Holiday Of Your Choice. I love you guys!