Aloha !
As usual , morning conversations around the breakfast table ends in much laughter with the men. Today , I was having granola with maple yogurt , blueberries , papaya and pineapple , minding my own business when I heard Gary say, " Yes, Arno is special alright. Like in Special Ed , special needs ! " The men were all laughing. Arno had it coming as he was acting goofy, waving his hands widely and wildly in the air when he saw Gary sit down across from him . Men are merciless when it comes to teasing other men. Absolutely no mercy . " He doesn't know what that means, guys. Be nice . Arno, there's no need for this to be translated " I responded. " What did they say ? " Arno asked. One of the men said, " Arno, you're too young to be going deaf . " " What? " Arno said. I laughed and they were all laughing. " You just confirmed what Clint said. He said that you're too young to be going deaf . Don't pay attention to them ."
And Arno was all excited because his horoscope had a five star rating. " I'm going to have an excellent day. Five stars . Don't anybody ruin it for me ! " " Crandle, you better not speak to Arno, then ," I replied. Crandle has a way of goading Arno . They all laughed .
" None of you read the horoscope completely. If you read the explanation below all the horoscopes , it will tell you the meaning of the star rating. Five stars doesn't necessarily mean a great day . It means a dynamic day. Dynamic can be good or bad. Read it properly ." Barcus voiced out without looking out from behind his newspaper.
" I don't care ! My day is going to be five stars ! " said Arno.
" Did you say hi to the Basinji on Barcus's t-shirt ? " I said to Arno. ( I had written about this on an earlier blog post . ) Barcus looks out from behind his newspaper at Arno, his eyebrows raised . Arno shrugged and smiled at the Basinji on Barcus's t-shirt.
" Shit, I went to buy cigarettes for a friend the other day and a carton costs more than 50 bucks ! I can't believe how expensive it is ! I remember when cigarettes costed 75 cents a pack ! " Gary adds, changing the subject. Clint starts howling and we were all laughing. " Boy, are you ever dating yourself, Gary ! 75 cents ! That would have been a loooooong time ago ! " Clint says.
" Hey Sunshine ! Did you put Arno up on the ladder yet or is he still painting standing on the ground ? Has he graduated yet ? " one of the men asked. Sunshine and Arno are painting the exteriors of some of the Hales in Kalani.
" Nope. Today might be the day I put Arno on the ladder, " Sunshine laughs as he continued eating his breakfast. " I think he's ready. "
Gradually they all dispersed , going to start their day 's work . I did not start working until 1:30 p.m. as I worked the late kitchen shift today. I sat there for a while , trying to juggle my next week's work schedule to make it work for me to go to Kona . I have several scenarios worked out. Now I will have to present it to 3 managers . It gets so friggin' complicated. And so I wait for a few more days. For now, I will continue on as if I am going to Kona for sure. I have studied the info given to me and tomorrow, Ayako is coming to practice the kahikos with me . I have to start gathering ti leaves tomorrow to make special slippers to wear . Mayumi showed me today during my break how it is to be braided and it has to be 2 x 10 feet ropes and 2 x 25 feet ropes of ti leaves. She had me laughing as when she started to show me , she put one of her feet on a chair . " Oh, I have to get a chair to do this ? " I asked. " Yes " she replied. She placed one foot on the chair and then stuck 3 strands of ti-leaves between her big toe and her second toe. I started laughing . " Are you serious ? " " Yes, this is how you do it . " Well , putting the strands of ti leaves between her toes were simply to anchor it to start braiding . " I just learned how to braid , " said Mayumi . " Oh, I braid my hair all the time . My hair is in two braids right now and then fold into fourths and an elastic to keep it all in place ! " This is how I do my hair when I work in the kitchen . There's no way any hair is going to fall out . How can it ? My hair is down past my waist , braided into 2 braids , elasticed together, then fold into fourths, then elasticed again. Ain't nothin' s gonna fall out ! And of course, I have to wear a bandanna to cover my hair.
I have to attend a special cleansing this Saturday before we go to Kona next week. This event will definitely be one of the most interesting cultural events I will ever have participated in. I am so looking forward to it !
With much aloha,
x0x0x0x0
Molly
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