Back in Hawaii

At 5:30 am Thursday morning we fled a burning LA for a few days of work in Paradise. Fortunately, I wasn't making it to the airport on my own because I would never have made it. The 405, the only freeway I know how to get to the airport on was closed down due to a fire near Bellaire--the neighborhood the Fresh Prince (Will Smith) made famous. We got to the airport about an hour before the flight by taking freeways I have never heard of. Fortunately, my supervisor's husband is an expert on the roads of LA.

The flight to paradise was very bumpy--like driving on unsealed roads in Oklahoma--needless to say I was keyed up for the 5 hours across the ocean. My main thought being that I hope I pass out before I die and become shark food in the event of water landing in the middle to the worlds largest pond. I am not particularly interested in having a friend called Wilson, I would rather my mom collect the insurance. I'm generous that way.

But of course we landed in Honolulu without incident and the flight to Maui was short and sweet. I excited the airport in Maui to a gentle island breeze with overcast skies. I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed seeing grey skies, feeling a cooling trade wind and knowing that the wind was not likely to spawn a major fire.

We drove from Kahului to Wailea to check into our condo. Wow, what a nice condo. Fully appointed, great Hawaiian paintings painted by the owner and two bedrooms, two bathrooms with a lanai looking out onto the Pacific. Man, I miss Hawaii.

Yesterday I woke up and decided to go for a walk that turned into a run in the morning before coming back to enjoy coffee and sweet bread on the lanai before showering and getting ready for the conference.

I attended sessions until 9:30 pm and came back tired. The sessions were good. A few people might be interested in interviewing especially since the news that morning was that Hawaii is now slashing 10% from their library budget and now have a hiring freeze. Everyone asked how the LA is doing. It is a difficult question to answer because we don't know yet. It depends on the election and if people vote to keep taxing themselves. I certainly hope the measure is worded well and people decide it is a good thing to keep paying for enhanced library services. Also the next round of property taxes haven't been collected yet, so we are not sure how deeply the housing situation will effect the budget for the next fiscal year. But because the system is so large there are always openings some of them have to be filled, so maybe things will be OK. If the recession gets really ugly I may be packing up my car and doing a reverse dust bowl and heading back to my roots where everyone is broke, so one more broke former Californian won't make much of a difference.

But on a higher note, this evening we are off to Honolulu. I am going home and it will be nice to walk around my old haunts. My hotel is the Sand Villa which is next to P's old apartment where we started our weekly runs around Diamond Head. I have the chance to catch up with everyone and I am really happy.