Fascinating- or maybe not.

Well, my week has been anything but fascinating. There is also a good chance that this post will be anything but fascinating, but hey, it's my blog and I'll post whatever I want to.

It's been one of those weeks that starts out good and ends good, but the middle really sucked. All I can say is TGIF! I was really starting to contemplate the merits of drinking on the job, and I don't even drink. To make this week even worse, I think my iPod is dying. Yes, at almost 4 years old it is a dinosaur in the world of iPod's. Yes, it does get significantly more use than the average iPod (I can't deal with all of the radio signal issues associated with having mountains in the middle of the island and it's a long commute each day). Still, you would think that a piece of electronics costing several hundred dollars would last more than 4 years, wouldn't you? I paid less for my television, DVD player and surround sound combined and they are all still with me (and older than my iPod!).

Tonight as a celebration for not driving my car into or off the Pali (cliffs) on the way to or from work this week (No, I'm not serious and yes, I do understand the traffic situation that ensues having been stuck numerous times when they close the road), I decided to give this Italian place in Wailea one more try. Two friends have eaten there recently. One thought it was great, the other didn't rave, but her family did seem to enjoy it. My first experience there was not so good. I don't know much Italian, but I do know that Fettuccine Alfredo is not Italian for pasta in a lake of clarified butter. I have also never experienced garlic bread with red powder on it before, nor do I care to do so again. I still haven't figured out what the red stuff was. This time I went for the pizza as that is supposed to be one of their specialties. It was okay, but certainly not worth the high price. I believe I have finally consigned Mateo's to my "Thanks, but, no thanks" list of restaurants. It's sad really because we have no good or even mediocre Italian restaurants on the island (probably why I was trying so hard to find something good about it).

New Cartoon on JibJab!

If you have never seen a JibJab cartoon, check it out. If you're familiar with them, here's the latest:

http://www.jibjab.com/originals/time_for_some_campaignin

Great Photographers

On Thursday night when I was having dinner with one of my housemates from college and his new wife (Congrats again Jamie and Cassie), I realized it had been a long time since I had visited Front Street. Today I went back to Lahaina to stroll around and have lunch. The best part was visiting the galleries of some of my favorite photographers. If you like nature and wildlife photography, here's some of my favorites:

Frans Lanting
Thomas D. Mangelsen
Ric Steininger
Peter Lik

What is it?

One of the joys of living in the tropics is that from time to time you look at your wall or your floor and see something that doesn't belong. Frequently, my first thought is "What is it?" Is it a gecko? Is it a centipede? Is it a roach? Is it something new and disgusting?

This is just what happened to me this evening. So you tell me- What is it? (sorry the side of the picture got cut off, but I think you can still see it in the corner)

See below to find out just what the mystery guest is :)

Mystery Creature

It's a baby gecko. He hasn't come down yet, but hopefully I'll be able to catch him and put him back outside or he will find his way back out on his own. The alternative is generally that a trail of ants will lead me to his dried out carcas somewhere in my apartment :(