May 24th, Sunday (of Memorial Day)

One, long standing resident, tried to start the "first annual Kwaj beer mile".  He used a public email list to promote it.  His name is also Ben.  He's a bit older, but in great shape.  He did the "Rustman", which is the Kwaj version of the Ironman.  1000 yard swim, 26 mile bike and a 10k run.  So he has all the credentials needed to make a successful running "event".  Apparently, the colonel didn't feel the same way about the whole deal.   The "First annual Kwaj beer mile" included running a quarter of a mile, drinking a beer (at least 5% alcohol), then continuing on like that for a mile.  It sounded perfectly, sophomorically fun to me, and also a bit "loose" for this Island.

Turns out it was.  The next email I received was a complete shutdown of the event. Mostly for all the reason you might suspect....stupidity, insensitivity and the like.....throw in Memorial Day weekend into that mix and well, you get the idea.

I think I have pink eye.  I have one eye that, well, isn't right in the morning, or all day for that matter.  I also have some sinus thing going on.  There is something going around here that is taking people out for days.  I think I just had some ocean water shoved up my nose so far it caused a little sinus infection.  I talked to my buddy Josh, in Corpus Christi Texas the other day (his birthday), and he told me about the troubles he's had with his sinuses learning to paddle board in bigger surf.  Sometimes, after an evening of surfing, I'll go home, go to bed later, wake up at three am in a puddle of water around my face from where it just drained out of my sinuses.  Kind of weird, but when the surf is big, and things don't work out, as far as getting on the board, you get rolled.  It happens a lot to me.  It's happening less, but it still happens.  On the surfboard, you sit out there, Oceanside of where it breaks, so it doesn't break on you, and you just look out to the ocean waiting for the right wave.  The right wave for me, is a nice rolling 6footer that doesn't build and dump in an instant.  It travels for a bit before coming to a peak and dumping on you.  I have been here nearly 6 months, surfing for 5.  I have found the "right wave" for me maybe 6 times.  Surfing is brutal, unless you have it figured out like the rest of the bastards I go out there with seem to have.  People say to me "wow, I thought we would be taking pieces of you out of here after that" or I've heard "Damn, that didn't work out".  When I first approached one of the guys about buying his surfboard, well, it was his wife at the bar...I told her I'm a strong swimmer, and she shot back "swimming in a pool ain't shit".  She doesn't surf, but I think she was looking out for the rest of the surfing community, because if someone gets hurt doing any activity, the activity gets shut down, or at the very least highly scrutinized.  I got the same thing when I talked to someone about Kiteboarding.

Getting slammed in the surf here is scary.  The waves can get big, real big.  Well, double the size I want to see.  It's not like the "Pipeline" on the North Shore of Oahu big, but its scary big to me.  I paddled out Thursday evening.  I got halfway out and punched thru a few big white washes, then looked up as a big set started rolling in.  It's a wall of water, I mean this huge.....ok so its hard to put into words.  I've gained respect for these monsters coming in, but apparently, I'm still stupid enough to keep paddling out because I see two others out there that I know.  The big set subsides, and I make it out past where they break and another huge set comes in.  As it approaches, my freakout begins.  I get scared that I'm not out far enough past the break and its going to break on me (it has happened), so I lay down on the board and paddle my ass off towards the wall of water.  I paddle, it grows, I paddle, it starts cresting.  Most times I make it, a few times I haven't.  Sean, the friendliest guy out here, got 30 stitches because he didn't make it, and got slammed on the reef.  The bigger the wave, the more water it sucks off the reef.  I slid off the board once, because the wave in front of me was cresting, and I was trying to avoid getting slammed while on the board, but my elbows hit the bottom.  At high tide, when there should have been 5 feet of water on the reef, there was only about a foot in front of the wave.

When you are going with the wave, paddling to catch it, but the timing is not right and you bite it.....it's like...literally like being in a washing machine for ten or fifteens seconds.  I try to just go with it and relax, because I know it's going to end and I'll get some air eventually, but it's a tough roll.
Anyhow, I think that is how I got my sinuses screwed up.

Today was my first day out with my boating license.  I rented a  boat from the KRS small boat marina to take some people out snorkeleing.  Phelia, Emily, Ray, James, and myself went.  Sherri got too drunk the night before to wake up and go.  Here are some pics......

Its a German boat they sank out here in the fifties
 

the side of the boat

Ray

Phelia

Free diving....I'm not sure why they call it that....of course its free
 

um the same

posing
 

again posing

There  is a sea turtle in there ...
 

May...something...15th maybe, 2015

Normal is getting dressed in clothes that you buy for work and driving through traffic in a car that you are still paying for - in order to get to the job you need to pay for the clothes and the car, and the house you leave vacant all day so you can afford to live in it.”

Ellen Goodman.

I've been fortunate.  Great, incredibly great parents, who thought to get a place kind of in the country at the time.  They both were the youngest in their respective families.  I was the youngest in mine, and have two awesome sisters whom I am sure would do anything for me, and pretty much already have.  I would do anything for them too.  I am hoping with all this working out and taking care of myself will leave me the best man standing and I will get to return the favors they have extended me.

That being said, and thanks to all, I feel like I am not part of that above quote due to them.....I am not part of the matrix...and haven't been for a while...

May 8, 2015

May 8, 2015

If you haven't seen the movie "Idiocracy" you should.  There is also this quote from confucious that goes something like

If I am walking with two other men, each of them will serve as my teacher. I will pick out the good points of the one and imitate them, and the bad points of the other and correct them in myself.

 

So this self absorbed idiot I work with, has been teaching me, well, more like reassuring me that I am doing the right thing.  This is a bit of second hand knowledge, and in no way encompasses even a half of his self absorption, but, I hear, he sent his young 17 year old daughter some of the texts that he has sent women to explain to her that all guys want to do is get in her pants, and they will say anything to get there.  I cannot believe someone would do this.  "Hey look what a creep your dad is". Hopefully she is wise enough at a young age to know that all guys aren't idiots like her father.

 

End of rant, I will leave this guy to the karma he creates.....

May 8th, 2015

Last Friday we had 9 on 9 playing ultimate.  This Friday, it rained from noon on, kind of off and on, with no promises to let up.  Phelia said she would show up....she didn't.  This is the email I sent her.  I really really wished there was someone there to take pictures.  It seriously rained so hard that it messed up everyone's vision.  Completely awesome that we still had enough to play!

WE had soo much fun!  honestly....Ted, then Reuben and Liam showed, then it got really really windy...and started downpouring hard, then to my surprise Ray showed up....it was Ted and Ray against Liam, Reuben and I......raining so hard you couldn't see the Frisbee coming downwind cause the rain stung your eyes....Then James showed up.  It was a good night!  Sorry you missed it Phelia, cause you were afraid of the rain.....

Then Ted, James, and I sat around for another hour after talking and drinking beer in the park.  You can do that here.  Ted is married, a father of two and a great guy.  He says this is his only exercise out here.  He is great competition.  James is, as I have written, one of my lab partners.  He is my age, single, with no kids, 6'4" and around 230.  He's not as loose as Ted or I am for running but he's very good at catching the Frisbee and fun to have out there. 

Here's a blurb from facebook about the two kids that were there....

for those who don't know Reuben is 14, maybe 15, a stellar defensive player and not shabby on offense, and Liam is a long haired 12 year old maybe, but about 4 ft tall, and good both sides despite his height. You don't want him guarding you....trust me.

So Ted, James and I sat round for a bit drinking beer, James left to go to the store, then came back later cause Ted and I were still sitting there drinking, so he joined us.  Ted is pretty interesting.  He's worked in Greenland, the Antarctic, and a few places in Europe.  Completely cool and down to earth with what appears to be a great family and life.  James and I headed out to the camp talking about a great night until we got to the Vet's Hall and I stopped while James continued on.

There was a KPD (Kwaj Police Dude) in there in civilian clothes.  I'd been in there several times and he's been in there always in the uniform at the bar, no drink, talking to others at the bar.  This time he was in civilian clothes and for the first time since I've seen him, smiling.  He told me he's working for the dock something deal now.  It must be better cause he's smiling now.

Then there was Brandy, sitting by herself at the end of the bar.  Brandy is about 6ft tall, blonde, and pretty, but mostly because she is always happy.  She captains the ferry over on Roi.  She was over there last weekend when James and I went for a visit.  Sunday night, before I left, in my insobriety, I went over to her group of people and said "thanks for having us on your island" while looking straight at her for no real reason.  We talked a bit tonight.  She told me the Outrigger Bar on Roi hasn't been that busy in months as it was last weekend when I visited.  The band playing there is playing here Sunday....

Yep...another good weekend is on its way.....



May 9th...maybe?

There was a MOM golian bbq charity deal at the Vets Hall tonight.  One of the guys , one of our clients, gave me a $40 ticket.  It was for a lady on the island that was fighting breast cancer, and had won that battle, but was fighting the complications from it.

The band from Roi was there.  "Smells like fish".  I gave my ticket for the food away, drank too much and met a bunch of new great people.  There was so many people there from both Roi and Kwaj, mostly Kwaj of course, but still a lot of people.  I spent a lot of time recruiting people to Frisbee and to beach volleyball on Sunday evenings at Emon (beach).  I also did some recruiting for snorkeling trips off island, since I now have a boating license.

I'm going surfing tomorrow.  Well I'm going to take my board out and hang out and watch others surf.  The swell is way too big for me.  It's just plain dangerous.  I'm borrowing Jame's camera to do a little documenting .....because no one can understand what a big wave is until they see it from the perspective of being out there....

Life.....is great...

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May 1, 2015.

I received an email today ....

Look me up if you come through majuro.  I will be staying here for awhile. I'm stranded here. HMA said I don't get a final paycheck. I'm just trying to get a job here now while I can still afford a room.
I may end up staying forever who knows.

Eli

 

Homeless and penniless in the Marshall Islands, what a quick turn life can take...

May 2 and May 3 , 2015

"Thank you for having us on your island, your island is better than our island"  That is the last thing I said to them tonight at the Outrigger bar on Roi-Namur.  Nevermind the ownership of these islands, there is a deep difference in between the two besides the fact one is the southern most and the other is the northern most in this Atoll..the largest one in the world I've read.  These Islands are separated by about a hundred miles.  I'll back up a bit with the pictures....the following pics are from leaving Kwaj on a twenty person prop plane that a tall person has to nearly crawl through to get to their seat. 

I've said this numerous times in my life....and I repeat...I am still the luckiest guy I know.

 

 

 

 

We leave work early on a Saturday (which is your Friday and our 5th day at work).  We ride our bikes home, shower, pack and ride off to he airport.  Of course, we live on the airport basically, but its still kind of cool to say we rode our bikes to the airport.  Originally, there were around ten of us going.  Our company announced some layoffs, and the number dwindled quickly to around 4. Four of the twenty were being sent home, or laid off.  The rest bailed in some sort of misguided stand down.  What was left was basically my lab crew.  Ray, James, myself and the safety guy who was organizing it.  By the time Saturday rolled around it was just James and I.  The fact that I didn't want to go because I thought I might miss something struck me as odd then, and even more so now that I had such a great time.  James is a little odd, but in a great way.  He's hyper, but not hyper, he can eat ten hamburgers and ask for more.  He doesn't really get drunk, even after drinking a bottle of Jameson.  The guy has an incredible heart, and while sometimes at work he can be a bit much, he has turned out to be a guy I'll be happy to call a friend at the end of this. 

So we leave our lab at around 2:30 Saturday to go home ..do all the stuff necessary and get to the airport ...well James had to go to the Kwaj lodge and get his key for the lodging on Roi first...by 3pm.  Of course we are on our bikes, like anyone back in the states would be in their cars travelling to the terminal at the airport.  We parked our bikes at the airport and leave them there for the weekend.  No parking fees.

There is no real check in deal.  I mean you check in, of course, but there is no security scan or taking your shoes off or anything.  Its' basically get to the airport about a half hour before, weigh in, then hang out in an open air warehouse until the plane gets back from the last flight and get on and go.

I'm getting tired so I'll just add a bunch of pics of Roi...

 

Roi is much prettier and kept up than Kwaj, more manicured.  Roi is actually only half of what is actually called Roi-Namur.  Namur is attached by a causeway that you can't really tell is a causeway.  The Namur side of the island has a ton of vegetation on it, and it looks like it would be fun to go exploring, but we didn't take the time.  By the time we had gotten down there and looked around a bit, it was nearly 6pm, and we hadn't eaten all day.  We decided we would go get another (like the previous evening) "missile burger" and chill out and call it an early night.

 

 

We were wrong.  The "Outrigger Club" where the burgers are served is also a bar and pool hall.  We stayed way too late playing pool on Saturday night, and when we walked in Sunday (your Saturday night) there was a band playing.  4 kind of middle aged mostly drunk people, who ended up being pretty good, and pretty funny.  Two housewife looking ladies, one bass player, one all around guy and they called themselves "Smells like Fish".  We sat there for a while, two of only around 17 people in the bar, just listening and dancing in our seats and watching the girls that were there dance.  I even got up and danced a few times, the music was good, ok and so was the beer.  The older guy they called "the shark" showed up again with his nice pool sticks and James and I started taking turns playing pool with him.  I was getting lucky and winning until "The Shark" finally said "that's it, we gotta take him out".  Then he lost again, but it was all in good fun.

 

 

Here's some more pics...

 





May.....

4-26-15  Ok so its not quite May.  I woke up this Sunday morning to rain on the roof.  I was soo happy to hear it.  Rain on a Sunday morning to me means rest.  Sunday is our Saturday, the first day to sleep in on a weekend.  I need sleep so bad, partly because of all the activity, and partly because I have been getting up around 3 am and not getting back to sleep.  I had already made plans to go surfing at 8:30 this morning (high tide was shortly after nine), but I was hoping it would continue to rain all day, so when I got back from surfing a big nap would happen.  The sun came out at ten or so and I agreed to go snorkeling with Sean the surfer friend of mine at 2 pm.  I had forgotten that I was scheduled to take the "driving" portion of my boat license at 2pm.  I passed and now have the ability to rent out at will, a boat from the Small boat marina and "get off the rock".

There are some things about the way they run this island that should be copied elsewhere if it were practical.  If you're an idiot you get kicked off the island.  Kind of simple.  The other lab manager out here, the third party tester that was required by the contract, I'll call him Eddie.  Eddie, while a good guy sober, was a bit of a train wreck with alcohol.  He knew his work fairly well, even though he lacked any tact when dealing with the client.  The first weekend he was here, St Paddy's day, he got drunk enough to fall down.   When one of the fireman, Stan, who happens to be around 6'8" tall, went to help Eddie up.  He came up swinging fists, which didn't go over too well.  Two weekends later, at a "cowboys and Indians" themed party, he decides to try and start some shit with one of the cowboys.  He had the blonde guy backed against a wall and was being a jackass to him.  I got in between them and told Eddie if he didn't leave  I would call the police.  He left.  You're not allowed to hit people on this island.  You do, and you go.  So the guy who really wanted to deck Eddie, thanked me, and Eddie thanked me the next day even though he had no recollection of trying to start a fight with anyone. 

This weekend comes, and the "spring break adult pool party" is on the menu.  Eddie shows up, already  stumbling, about an hour after my coworker James and I arrive.  He does some stupid things.  Stupid as in grabbing women he doesn't know and acting like he is going to toss them into the pool.  I watched one girl look at her husband with the "aren't you going to do something about this" look.  He did nothing, not that he really could have, without starting a fight and risk being kicked off the island.  James and I left, not wanting to babysit.   By Wednesday or Thursday following, we hadn't heard anything about Eddie's weekend, and couldn't really believe he didn't get in any trouble.

Eddie is sitting in Guam right now, trying to figure out how to get back to the States.  The flew him out yesterday.  I guess when you do something really stupid they wait to kick you out until the plane is going the "other" way, instead of when its on the way to Honolulu.  One way, if you just make a mistake, it takes 6 hours to get to Hono, the other, if you really screw up, it takes 28 hours to get to Hono (and a bunch more money).  Bye Eddie, hope you get the drinking under control.

4-26-15
Ok, so I'm not quite ready to quit with this yet, and I haven't really added to it much, so here's some thoughts....
Surfing is hard.  Learning to surf is hard, paddling a surfboard is hard, trying to not drown is hard.  I kind of like doing things the hard way apparently.  I went 5 times this week.  The second day (maybe Wednesday?) there were some big sets coming in.  I got rolled a lot that day.  That night I went home all clogged up in the sinuses, wondering where I had caught the cold.  After rolling around most the night, and falling asleep around midnight, I woke up to a very wet pillow and the taste of ocean in my mouth.  I got rolled so much surfing that a few table spoons of salt water got lodged in my sinuses and finally let loose in the middle of the night.  Thursday, there were some big sets too.  I got caught once sitting on my board as a monster rolled in and broke just on top of me.  When I finally got back, Dr Heinz or Julia says to me "I thought we would only see pieces of you after that"  That is kind of how it felt.  I went on to duplicate that scenario several more times that evening, except that I was actually trying to catch the wave instead of getting caught off guard.  

The other part of it is the physical part.  From where we get in the water, its about a quarter of a mile to the break we all use.  So just going out there means paddling a half mile.  Every time you catch a wave and ride it, maybe another eighth of a mile to paddle back to the break.  So, I'd guess, every time I go surfing I paddle about 292 miles.  Ok, that's just what it feels like, its more like 2 or 3 miles.  Its tough on the shoulders, but its even worse on my neck.  Maybe I have a big head, and holding it up for 2 miles while surfing is the problem.  The other problem, and I promise to stop whining soon, is that I am getting older and it wears me the hell out.  THAT has to be why I have sleeping issues.  I'm too tired to sleep. 

I feel so fortunate to have only these complaints.

April.....

4-4-15.  Good Friday. Ok so I got the date wrong.  To start off on a sad note...they pulled the "plug" on Mike last Tuesday I hear.  I wish I had a picture of him to do the guy some justice.  I didn't know him THAT well, but well enough to know he was a good guy.

We played Frisbee tonight.  Harley showed up first.  He's about 12, really good at Frisbee.  We chucked it back and forth for a bit, until he decided to go to the REB(?) to see if the Merrimans were done.  I don't know if I have the acronym right, but its a religious place for people, and it is Good Friday.  Gary, our guy from AMEC came out to say he forgot it was Good Friday.  The Merrimans and Harley and Liam showed up.  We played 3 on 3.  It was the Merrimans "against the world" as Reuben called out the teams.  Katheryn, the oldest of the Merrimans, and leader at Frisbee, Jason, the next oldest I'd guess, and then Reuben, the youngest (at Frisbee...maybe 12 or 14).  I think Katheryn is around 20, Jason still in high school but 6'1", and Rueben...hmm 12 or 13 and 6ft.  Both Jason and Rueben are defensive forces to be reckoned with.  Katheryn plays conservatively.  All great kids.   Harley is nearly 6ft but thin, and Liam, very small, maybe 5'4", and kid skinny....however he is completely great to have on your team.  I've met all the parents.  Liam's parents say he gets squirmy when they make him miss Frisbee.  Harley's dad is with the Corp of Engineers who are at the top of the construction hierarchy here.  I forgot to mention Xan, who plays sometimes, and his father Max who I got to play early on, and is also with the Corp of Engineers and has visited my lab to kind of evaluate.  Max is young for his age, and his son Xan, around 13 plays well too.

4-5-15- Saturday.  Not sure if I have the date correct on the last post or this one.  Not sure it really matters.  Saturday is Friday back in the States.  Its enjoyable saying that.  I never really pictured myself saying that.  Regardless, its a stress relieving night where ....well we all consider it a drinking night.  Ok, so for me, there really isn't any stress out here.  There are some grumpy older guys who try and make their lives stressful, and try to share that stress with any one who might listen.  I could give examples but its not really worth reliving. 

The moon was full tonight.  Last night, after Frisbee, I stopped by "Ocean View" or more locally known as "the snake pit".  Its a bar where the selection of beers is pretty minimal.  Its open air and on the east reef.  "On the east reef" means its ocean side and if one could see far enough sitting comfortably out back on the plastic lawn chairs, they would see Chile. Tonight, was a bit different than just violent waves  crashing on the reef.(all the wind comes mainly from the east here, not like Ohio).  Low tide was at 10:30 , which is about right now (while I'm sitting in my lagoon side chateau).  At low tide the surf breaks about 300 feet offshore.  The "American" pools are clearly visible in the reef at low tide.  The "pools", "American" and "Japanese" are these very rectangular (maybe 60 x 200 ft) excavations cut into the coral between the island and the "edge" of the island that start about 400 ft offshore.  They dug them to get aggregate for the concrete for the bunkers and the rest of the war crap stuff back in the day where we didn't kill each other so efficiently during war. They are mostly only visible at low tide, where you can walk out to them.   

I have friends, along with the flashlight that when I turn it on from here you can see it in the states, that want to dive the pools at night.  I can't wait.  Out of the 30 that I work with only one will join me in that sort of adventure.  Fortunately, or more likely, "fittingly" most of the friends and activity partners I have here are not coworkers.  Nothing against them, they just are more "settled" or lacking adventurousness :). 


4-6-15 Easter Sunday.  I walked into town today to get the bike I left behind when I bought the new one.  The new multi speed bike has a bent back rim, no back brakes because the wheel is so messed up.  The wheel rubs on the frame just enough to psychologically let you know its slowing you down.  All the shifter cables don't work because they are rusted.  Its a year old, and Chris said he kept it inside.  I paid $60.  My Huffy, that I paid $80 for, before realizing they sell for a hundred brand new at the store, is well lacking class.  Its rusting badly after only 4 months of life on Kwaj.  I replaced the chain with a stainless steel chain that cost $30.  The other chain rusted and broke.  Only being 4 months old, the bike looks like hell, but its a bike made of steel.  Steel rusts out here.  I can probably get $40 out of it on the facebook page Kwaj swap and shop, but I'll probably give to one of the Marshalese.   I hate to admit it, but I shoulda just bought a "Sun" bike and basket totaling around $400 and been done with it.  The new bike is going to need 80 bucks worth...well maybe $160 if you add the basket.  Arg.  Life on Kwaj.

Here are some pics from this past week.

this one is looking out of my front door.  I have Lagoon front property.  It's called Coral Sands Pavillion and beach.  It's completely gorgeous.

 

 

These two are from the fields kind of north of the east end of the runway where we play Frisbee.  In the bottom one you can see the cafeteria where we used to eat between the towers. 

This is the side of the island I work at.  In the top two pics you can see a yellow box type deal.  That's my lab.  The pile of yellow rock (aggregate) was shipped in from Guam, because they don't want to use up this island.  It's just like Ohio limestone, but slightly lighter in weight and color.  In the top two pics...if you could see past the building on the right, you would see my surf spot.  Or rather the island surf spot....which I still don't completely understand.  Everyone goes to this little spot where the waves break supposedly perfectly.  Its like 40 yards wide.  It gets crowded (ok 3 is a crowd when you don't know what the hell you are doing).  There have to be other places. Friday, crap, I mean Saturday after work and before the bar deal I went surfing for the first time in a few weeks.  I got the longest rides of my life on a surfboard.  Pretty F@#$% in cool!.  It was awesome. 

This is Emon beach (again).  We played volleyball tonight....those people...not that I intended them to be in the pic...drank beer in the water.

Spring.............in Ohio....

Ok, so I'm not in Ohio, but some really great people that I left behind are.  I see them on Facebook.  I've got this unique perspective.  I've never watched a facebook Ohio spring.  Its clearly visible, clearly tangible from where I sit this year.  Its gone from some pseudo negative comments about the snow, wind and cold to random comments about adventure, canoeing, dogs playing, tulips sprouting,....I can see an actual smile in the comments coming from Ohio.

March 29, 2015

 

 

 

 The videos are from the Spring Break Music festival.  6 Bands, a chilli cookoff and homebrew competition for a community charity.  The Charity being one lady who had breast cancer, beat it, but was having other complications.  Everyone tells me that to new people it may seem a little disconnected but there is a huge community effort if someone needs it. 

A guy died last night.  Mike.  He played jungle volleyball with us randomly on Sunday nights on Emon Beach.  Two Fridays ago he was at the softball field where I normally set up Frisbee on.  We talked, I rearranged my field to be out of their practice area I thought.  A couple of fly balls headed our way, they yelled and I saw it coming and got people out of the way.  I was going to thank Mike for working with us on sharing the field the next time I saw him.  He fell out of a golf cart I hear, and slammed his head on the ground.  He hadn't had any brain activity in 16 hours they tell me.  He was a good guy.  Mid 30's, calm, cool, collected and had a job lined up to make bank on the west coast.