The Bestest Job In The World

buddha helps us pack our bags...

2009-04-28T01:28:00.003-10:00

THIS IS HOW WE PACKED THE NIGHT I LEFT HAWAII

...never a dull moment with the Lynch Bros. ..!

letter to the Editor from Melbourne

2009-04-21T23:06:00.004-10:00

EVENTS LEADING UP TO BIRTH OF "THEGREENBACKPACK"

Aloha from Melbourne,

After having spent the last 12 years building my career in real estate and finance in my hometown of Honolulu, it is good to be back in my 2nd home of Melbourne, Australia writing this introspection and introduction.

Interesting how I have done more exploring of Oahu's trails, beaches, and hidden treasures in the last three months than I have done in the last 12 years! Once I had made up my mind to leave the islands, my appreciation for even the smallest details about my island home grew daily and exponentially. Sometimes you don't know what you've got until you don't have it any more.

Background.
I started my career at Bank of America and was lucky enough to have a very talented mentor teach me the ropes of the mortgage business in my early 20s. When BofA finally shut their doors on their mortgage operations in Hawaii, by flying in our regional director unexpectedly to give the entire office its two weeks notice, I made the decision not to work for a large soul-less corporation ever again.

I went to work for a smaller regional mortgage bank based in the East Coast, yet run as an independent operation with deep pocketed mainland backing in Hawaii. This company specialized in government lending: FHA, VA and first-time homebuyer friendly loans, and I consistently achieved top-producer status while working here, winning expensive awards trips to Mexico and the Bahamas along the way. It was also here that I got my first taste of the satisfaction gained from volunteering in the non-profit arena by teaching at the Hawaii Homeownership Center.

The best thing about teaching is that in order to do it well, you must know your subject matter intimately. When it comes to building a strong real estate portfolio, this means that you must be able to do it yourself in order to teach others how to do it successfully. Hence, by age 24 I had bought the first investment property in what was to grow into a modestly respectable portfolio of properties, and by age 28 I was living in the shadow of Diamond Head, driving my dream car, and teaching real estate finance classes across the state.

I can still remember the day when my then-financial advisor called to inform me that I was worth over $1 million dollars on paper. It sure didn't feel like I was a millionaire, especially seeing as I was only in my mid-20s and far from having seven figures in the bank; nevertheless it sure felt good to hear that number and my name in the same sentence!

Four years ago, I started my own mortgage firm, with an emphasis on educating our clients about how to use the mortgage as a financial tool to help achieve short, mid and long-term goals more effectively. We planned for a downturn in the credit markets last year, however were blindsided by the ferocity with which it hit, and the extent to which it affected us. We kept our doors open literally until our phones were shut off and we were unable to conduct business.

Before I left Hawaii last week, I had dinner with some clients of ours whom we helped to build a modest portfolio of rental properties with. Their portfolio is performing well despite the downturn, and they are optimistic and feeling good about the future, in part because of how we helped structure their real estate financing and acquisitions. I am most proud of the fact that in over 9 years of being in business and over $90 million dollars worth of loans funded during that career, to the best of my knowledge not one of my customers has lost their home to foreclosure.

Except, well perhaps....me. This remains to be seen. As I fought to keep my business open, I sold off performing real estate assets, and attempted to raise funds privately before eventually being forced to shut down my business and become another victim of the credit crunch and global financial crises. Right now I am working against the clock to dispose of my last property and avoid foreclosure; the only material possession I am keeping is my 1980 Honda motorcycle so that I have something to get around on when I eventually do return to Hawaii to rebuild.

One door closes, another door opens.
I've watched all the material things that I worked so hard for be stripped away from me over the last 18 months, have flirted with depression, and have had plenty of opportunity to do some serious soul-searching to confront questions like:

"What am I passionate about?"
"What do I want my life to be about?"

As painful as the experience off loss has been, on the other side of my fall I have discovered hope, and a renewed passion for life. I have discovered the true meaning of the word "friend", and the true meaning of the word "family", and experienced how there is not really a whole lot of difference between the two.

Although my financial assets have been wiped out, the relationships and heartfelt connections that I have made over the years are priceless. These are the true assets that I have been able to create over the course of the last 12 years, along with the invaluable experience of building [and losing!] a business in financial services. Broke is temporary; poor is forever.

I am truly blessed with the opportunity to explore, question, and discover myself such that I can completely re-invent myself and blossom into the person I have always wanted to be.

Instead of looking for things in my profession to be passionate about, I now have the opportunity to pursue my passions and explore ways to create a new profession based around these passions.

Instead of getting up each morning and thinking about what must be done on my to-do list today, I get to wake up each morning and answer the question, "What do I want to do today?"

Each time I have the opportunity to share my story with someone who is interested, the reaction is almost always the same:

"I am sooo jealous!"
"That is something I have always wanted to do!"
"You are doing what all of us want to, an so few actually do - follow your dreams!"

And, I am once again reminded of how lucky I am to be in a position where I can actually do this... with no children, no significant other, no responsibilities except to take care of me, myself and I...

I am on a mission to travel the world seeking out ADVENTURE and opportunities to be of SERVICE. Why? Because these are two things that feed my soul. Two things that when I am engaged in them, I lose track of time and space and am living completely in the moment. Two things that I simply LOVE to do...

What's Next?
I've never been one who learns easily from lectures and ciricullum; instead I am born of stubborn Irish, Scottish and Filipino bloodlines that prefer to learn by fire, or perhaps more accurately, by jumping into the fire and learning through experience. I don't recommend my path to anyone else; it has been a long and winding road [which is how I like it] and is likely how the rest of my journey will continue to be.

I am specifically interested in these areas:

Arts & Architecture
Building Community
Culture
Design
Economics & Microfinance
Sustainability

I guess you could call it the ABC's of the madness of my travels... these could all probably be lumped under one word:

Sustainability.
Sustainability has become a buzz word in recent times, and it can be easy to think of "sustainability" simply as "environmentalism", or "eco-friendly". However, to me, sustainability encompasses so much more than "going green".....

Put the word "sustainable" in front of any of the following words, and you cast a renewed focus onto another aspect of the sustainability movement: arts, capitalism, charitable work, culture, entrepreneurship, environment, education, economy, philosophy, philanthropy, social responsibility, social ventures, even....wait for it....spirituality.

So, while this journey is about me diving into these things that interest me, and inviting you to come along and learn with me......it is also an outward expression of the journey I am taking within to explore myself:

What passions do I want to follow? What do I want to experience? Will I retreat into the wild? Will I come back? Who will I be when I come back?

I am interested in meeting passionate, outward focussed people who are taking action and making a positive difference in the world. This gives me such a broad pallet to paint my explorations across, as there are an unlimited number of ways that we can contribute to humanity. I want to give myself a first-hand education about changing the world.

Therefore the blog is a travelog, an soul-searching diary, a research paper, a news column, and hopefully, a forum where those of us who find ourselves asking these same questions can discuss and debate and collaborate and connect and explore together. Don't be surprised to find me writing about an organic farm in one post, and about an artist I've met on the road in the next. My hope is that the blog is as diverse and rich as my travels will be!

I'd like to invite you to come along for the ride and explore this pale blue dot in space we call home together. Laugh with me. Question with me. Question me! Question each other. Discover together. And in doing so, perhaps we can discover something new in ourselves that we did not recognize before.

Sincerely,

Matthew Kamakani Lynch
theGreenBackpack.blogspot.com

BestestJobInTheWorld

2009-04-09T02:21:00.002-10:00

"And the day came
when the risk to remain tight in a bud
was more painful
than the risk it took
to blossom."
-Anais Nin-

barber shop chair wars!

2009-04-09T02:19:00.000-10:00

Defending Champ: Matthew Lynch, World Famous Adventurer and Travel Writer
Challenger: Lucie Voelcker, Germany's Travelling Poet
Score: Champ - 2, Challenger - 0

Round 1

Challenger gets off to a [very] slow start...

Round 2

In which the Champ demonstrates that he has spent way too much time honing this skill...

The Equipment: vintage cast iron / red leather barber shop chairs circa 1940s...reclaimed from barber shop on Maunakea Streeet in Chinatown Honolulu...

....I'm gonna miss these chairs!!!

# # #

Stunts during "The Making of...Gr8est Job Application"

2009-02-28T16:52:00.001-10:00

THE GR8EST STUNTMEN IN THE WORLD!

Quick video post here...wanted to give a special shout out and thank "Da Kalihi Boyz" for helping out with the filming of the Greatest Job In The World Application. These kids were having so much fun with us and got such a thrill seeing themselves on camera...and were awesome Stuntmen!!

I promised that I would post it on YouTube for them to see, I hope that they find it and contact me so that I can keep in touch with them....it's kinda hard to exchange email addresses when you are jumping of a 12-foot wall into the Pacific Ocean....!

Travelog Redux - backpacking New Zealand

2009-02-26T17:38:00.000-10:00

STA TRAVEL CENTERS MEAN BACKPACKING TO ME!

Thought I'd post an entry from the Travelog I kept in 2003 while backpacking New Zealand. I booked my flight into Aukland, and nothing else, deciding to figure everything out once I got there..."spontaneous travel", I called it. One of the best trips I have ever done [so far] in my life! No pics, only some images from my sketchbook at the time....enjoy:

9pm, Janus Hall Backpacker's Lodge, Wet All Day

....Waitomo Caves Gloworm Adventure Tour was well worth it, what an adventure!!

30-meter abseil into a hole in the ground starts things off...the hole looks like, well, a hole about 1/2 meter wide an 2 meters down, then you squeeze into the opening and find yourself hanging in a limestone chimney 30m off the cave floor....

...then down a narrow path to a short flying fox run (in the dark), quick break for tea & a biscuit a.k.a. cave cookie a.k.a. NZ Granola Bar...we dangle our feet over the edge of a 10-foot drop and peer into the still, pitch-black water below...can't tell how dep it is (or isn't)....we jump off the cliff into the freezng water below and paddle our way upstream where our guide shows us a chamber full of gloworms & tells us of their lifecycles:

"They are acually maggots of a certain kind of fly, the only maggots known to catch their food by using a light on their arse...only maggots known to trap their food with snot-like fishing lines they dangle to entangle their prey...after living as larvae for many weeks, they pupate into flies which live for three days & shag until they die of exhaustion....they have very short life cycles, but very large penises...what a trade-off, aye?? "

Then, after paddling uptream for about half an hour, we sit on our inner tubes and form a human chain, shut the lights off on our helmets...and float down the stream in the darkness, with only the pale glow of the maggots to light our way.

It is a surreal feeling, drifting downstream in an underground river in total darkness, with 7 other people crazy enough to want to do it with you, and your guide....you lose all sense of space & it feels like you are drifting in the cold vacuum of space; the glow worms look like the stars of distant galaxies....then *SPLASH* our other guide scares the s*%t out of us by making a god-awful noise which breaks the spell and heralds our arrival back to our entry point, where we came in on the flying fox & jumped into the water.

We ditch the inner tubes, turn our lights back on, and follow our guide downstream into the icy black water towards the roar of what sounds like a huge waterfall...we twist & urn & stumble thru a series of rapids, not knowing what lies beneath or where your foot is stepping, just trusting to your numb feet that tey will find the way.

"Watch out for the big eels" they say, and we cannot tell if they are joking or not...although I wonder when they tell us to keep our fingers out of the water lest they be mistaken for earthworms or grubs. Down a slide, we turn a corner & continue downstream, sometimes ankle-deep in water, sometimes chest-deep, sometimes paddling to keep your head afloat as the river bed drops away beneath you.

We pause and our guide points out a few stallegmite formatioins that remind them of different things: T-Rex claw over here, fairy castle over there...then the crown jewell, a formation that looks like a sheep farmer having a little too much fun with his sheep, doggy-style if ya know what I mean...

We press on despite the fact that I can no longer feel my toes, and the cave gets smaller and smaller, pressing in around us. We are crawling our way thru some spaces now, our guides have given us directions and we are now leading the way, the blind leading the blind...

We duck under another low ceiling into another cold pool, and Ritchie, our Maori guide, runs forrward to a nook in the wall and exclaims, "Check this out, it's Cecil!!" "Cecil" turns out to be a 1.5 foot-long eel who resembles a catfish with no eyes, and who is, apparently, asleep.

I am immediately reminded of the "shrieking eels" in [the movie] "The Princess Bride", an also reminded of the earlier warning at our entry point into the caves...yech...10 feet long, they said, 6 inchess in diameter...my skin crawls at the thought of such a creature wrapping itself around my leg, and with a shudder, we move on. Bloody uncanny those creatures, seems like they could live anywhere....their grey skin is unnatural, reminding me of Gollum.

We turn another corner and are given a choice....the easy way out, or do we want our money's worth...nobody objects, so we take the right fork and crawl under a tiny gap in the wall...to emerge under a 10M waterfall. We climb up one at a time, and squeeze through a narrow passageway to come to another waterfall, and...daylight.

It is with mixed feelings that we greet the daylight; sad that our adventure is coming to an end, glad that we are out of the cold...and on our way to hot showers & soup & bagels...what an amazing experience!

Two hours underground with complete strangers, and we emerge with the strange bond a shared experience creates. We know each other pretty well now: there are the 3 Italian guys who don't speak much English but laugh at everything you say...the Smiling Swiss, Felix, who beamed at you every time you looked his way...the Aussie couple, Danielle and her hubbie The Plumber, true-blue Aussies with that "no worries" attitude that meant they were up for anything thrown their way...Sharon, the British girl who teaches English in japan and was petrified the whole way, but who made it thru, foggy glasses and all...and, of course, Bigi [my Austrian travelling companion at the time], who is just...well, Bigi, making friends with everybody, and loving every minute of it.

What a great day!
12/21/2003

WARM AGAIN:
THE VERANDAH GRILL BACK AT THE BACKPACKER'S LODGE

The GR8EST Job In The World - Application Complete!

2009-02-22T00:06:00.000-10:00

I had so much fun shooting this over the last week....er, OK well mostly today...thought the deadline was next week and SUPERMOM came to the rescue again, texting me with the news that the application vid was actually due in TODAY.

So in true procrastination-drives-creative-genius form, I spent the day filming like a maniac with my Couchsurfing Buddy [and new best friend] Lucie Voelcker [THANK YOU Lucie!!]

We spent the day asking unsuspecting tourists and locals to say, "HE WAS BORN FOR THIS JOB!!" into a stranger's video camera....and everyone happily obliged!! I'll follow up with the blooper reel on another post; this was so much fun!!

Special thanks to: Mom & Dad, Lucie Voelcker, Laurens Laudowicz, Miles Burkhart, James Lynch, Jens Trumpa and his beautiful children, Pete Richards, Jim Schmit, Tom who we sail with every Friday [what the heck is ur last name??], Antoinella, Atlantis, Da Kalihi Boyz, that lovely couple from the west coast who we met on Diamond Head, and Morning Brew Cafe in Kailua.

North Shore Rock Climbing

2009-02-17T18:04:00.000-10:00

WHY DO WE FEEL THE NEED TO CLIMB MOUNTAINS?

An hour's drive from downtown Honolulu and the North Shore opens up before us as we crest the hill past Schofield Army Barracks and wind our way down to Wailua. My buddy Miles and I are on our way to the rock-climbing wall at the end of the road, past Mokuleia and just before Ka'ena Point.

The old sugar mill still stands proudly just outside of the town, and we pass a couple of bikers who have pulled over to the side of the road to get a closer look.

The day is blustery and the swell is building; rain clouds threaten on the horizon but we are determined. It has been over five years since I've been up here, and i am looking forward to meeting my fear of heights again.

We approach Dillingham Airfield and find that a small village of movie-star trailers has cropped up next to the highway; they are filming the hit show "Lost" along this stretch of coastline. This explains the small traffic jam of rental cars up ahead as tourists park by the roadside and clamber to catch a glimpse of their favorite star.

We don't understand what all the fuss is about...I've not owned a TV for 7 years now and have not seen a single episode, while Miles sat next to Matthew Fox at the airport last month wondering why everyone was asking Mr Too-Handsome for his autograph; until his Mom figured out who it was when he told her the story later on...

Movie stars aside: today, we climb.

The security guard asks us if we're going to see any wild pigs back there as we hike past the movie set...we tell him that we'll be sure to bring him back one if any should cross our path. The trail is lush with overgrowth from the recent rains, and I would have walked right past the entrance had Miles not turned abruptly off the road and charged into the underbrush. It feels like we are walking thru the haunted fields of Children of the Corn and I almost eat mud a couple times but luckily keep my footing.

The hike takes about 45 minutes to scale the foothills below the cliffs before we emerge to the climbing site. Our fellow rock-climbing enthusiasts maintain the trail and the 20 or so top-rope climbs on a volunteer basis for all to enjoy. Everything is as I remembered from five years ago, ropes nicely tucked away on sticks that bear the name and difficulty rating of each climb.

We pick our way around a ledge to the warm-up climb Miles has in mind for us today, and the wind picks up ominously. The North Shore stretches away below us, the sound of the rolling surf a mile below crashes its way up the ravines and sounds almost as if the waves are breaking at our feet.

Miles runs me through all the basics of climbing again, and it starts to come back to me...in no time at all he is scaling the first wall, quickly hauling his lanky 6'1" frame up the side of the mountain, and I am belaying him back down as the first drops of rain kiss our faces.

There's no way that we came all the way up here for me not to climb, so I tie in quickly and pick my way to the bottom of the wall. The first segment is fairly simple, a crack with lots of hand-holds that I shimmy up easily enough. It feels good to be on the rock again.

The next segment, though, is a little tricker. The spitting rain has made the smooth rock surface slippery, and there are less hand-holds. Miles had made it look so easy! I breathe deeply and the path reveals itself, one hold at a time.

Three-quarters of the way up now and I make the mistake of looking down. I am maybe only 40 feet above Miles, but we have hiked halfway up the mountain to reach the rockface. My fear of heights knocks the breath out of my lungs as I look down to the ocean 500 feet below, and I start to wonder why I am clinging to the side of this mountain with the wind and rain starting to swirl.

I look to my right and spot a massive crack in the side of the rock face, thru which I can see what looks like another world on the other side...Lost World indeed! A few more deep breaths, and my attention is refocused on the 10 feet of rock face remaining between me and the top of my climb. I shift my weight, close my eyes, and let my hands search the rock for the next hold to bring me up....and in this way, I crawl inch by inch up those last ten feet to make it to the top.

How do you describe the feeling of dangling off the side of a cliff 500 feet up from the ocean laughing in the wind at your fear? You don't - you savor it.

As my feet touch terra firma at the base of the wall, my grin says it all. It is good to be back here.

"DR HOOK" - I THINK...

Gung Hee Fat Choy from Maui!!

2009-02-15T01:33:00.000-10:00

LIONS PROWL THE BEACH IN FRONT OF JODO MISSION, LAHAINA

For the last 24 years, Au's Shaolin Arts Society has been making the journey to Maui to bring in Chinese New Year by sharing traditional Chinese Lion Dance performances and Kung-Fu demonstrations across the island, occasionally venturing over to Molokai and Lanai to perform as well.

I've been making the journey with the family since I started my martial arts training seven years ago...it has been two years since since I ceased training in order to heal some wounds I suffered, and two years since I've joined them full-time. I make the decision to go at the last minute, so it is a surprise to many of my brothers and sisters when I show up in Maui...they barely skip a beat: "Welcome back, brother."

It is difficult to describe the experience to someone who has not come along for the ride: 2 teams of 8-10 people, 50+ performances ranging from 1-6 hours in length over seven days. Playing Lion's head requires strength, stamina, agility, and creativity....imagine carrying and animating a 15-pounds paper-mache mask over your head, flirting with the crowd, becoming the lion...or, playing the tail by following your head player's footwork, keeping your head down, and crab-walking to keep the illusion of a heavenly four-legged feline, engaging your audience for hours at at time....INTENSE. And that doesn't include the kung-fu demonstrations!

You find out a lot about your physical, mental, and emotional limits. If you survive the experience, you are hooked. For life.

This year we have an apprentice [rookie] on board from a sister school in Long Island, New York. He is athletic, talented, and physically very strong, though nothing could have prepared him for this...our first performance? A 5-hour marathon with a skeleton crew down Fort Street Mall in Chinatown Honolulu.

He survives, with a look that says "What-the-heck-was-that??"....by the end of the week, his grin tells us that he is hooked; he'll be back. Happened to our brother from Kentucky too, the whitest, most red-necked good 'ole country-boy Chinese person you have ever met ;-) ...he has made the pilgrimage for seven years now, his only experience of Maui being from inside the Lion...

I realize on my first day back, how much a part of me this has become....my legs and shoulders feel the burn almost immediately, and my body hits the wall early, recognizes it like an old friend, and pushes through
happily. The drum beat moves me, infusing my movements with the spirit of the lion.

The lion dance drum beat sets the rythym of the year, cleansing the negative energy of the past year through the very pores of my skin, and clearing the way for the blessings of a new year to be welcomed in...when I get back on the drums I quickly remember the old beats and riffs, and am soon smiling as I start to throw in new riffs here and there. Hello creativity, where have you been? Nice to meet you again....

Playing for the children is what makes us happiest; they are scared and thrilled and happy all at the same time, and they love to feed the Lions their lai-see offerings for good luck. Young and old alike squeal with delight as the Lions nibble hands, legs and the occasional small child on their way to the red envelopes and lettuce offerings.

We get to be superstars for a week each year; some of the people in our audience have watched the Au children grow up, and have been following us for 15- 20 years... and despite the inevitable behind-the-scenes drama that will unfold when bodies and minds in such close proximity are pushed to the limit, we all grin when it is over. The bond that is formed when you share an intense collective experience goes beyond words. Each of us walks a little taller, feels a little stronger on the other side of Chinese New Year's celebrations ...walking in the knowledge that if we can do that....we can do anything.

And thus, a new year begins....

My First Couchsurfing Experience!

2009-02-14T20:58:00.000-10:00

THIS IS HOW YOU PACK TO CYCLE ACROSS NORTH AMERICA

So I had my first Couchsurfing experience this week!!

Nico is from Belgium and is cycling solo across Canada, North America, and off to the Baja Coast of Mexico after a brief stopover in Hawaii to cycle around Oahu and hike Molokai.

Apparently, this is what Belgians do for fun.

Seriously though we Americans have it all wrong.....we live to work....Europeans work just enough so that they can live it up!

Nico has taken a leave of absence from work for 12 months to travel and recharge his batteries, and his job will still be there when he gets back. Apparently, he must take off at least 4 weeks / year to prevent burnout [he's a nurse], and can take up to 5 years of extended leave throughout his career....

Similarly, I backpacked New Zealand in 2003 with an Austrian nurse who was also on an extended 12 month leave of absence she had decided to spend travelling the world; with the knowledge that her job would be waiting when she returned. Come to think of it, I hung out with some German executives at a bar in San Francisco who were on their way to Tahoe, also on an extended leave....they even invited me to hang out with them on the slopes when I'm back in Europe!!

But I digress! back to the couchsurfing experience...we were to meet just for coffee and a chat, so that I could pick his brains about do's / dont's / insider tips from a real live actual person who has successfully couchsurfed... instead, we wind up sharing a few beers at The Dragon's Den, a local live jazz spot in Chinatown, which I had not yet been to in 12 years of living here!

The place is empty, the music is fabulous....the musicians are thrilled to have someone there to enjoy and share their music with, and we are treated to a private show. Nico tells me of his hometown in Belgium, population 45,000, which has great beer and chocolate. There's not much reason for travelers to visit there, he tells me, unless they are into cycling.

Great beer and chocolate? Sounds reason enough for me... I make a mental note to visit Nico when I next find myself in Europe...

THE DRAGON'S DEN IN CHINATOWN HONOLULU

Friday Night Beer Races

2009-01-25T20:58:00.000-10:00

FRIDAY NIGHT IS SAILING NIGHT

For 30 years, Pete Richards and Jim Schmit have been sailing in the Friday night races from Honolulu Yacht Club. They've been nice enough to let me tag along for the last few races, and have even invited me to keep coming back to learn more [God help them!].....

Our motley crew assembles at the dock by 5 o'clock every Friday, emerging from the craziness of week's-end-Waikiki traffic to see who has shown up to sail with us this week and get the boat out of harbor to jostle for the best starting position when the race-start horn blows at 5:30. This week Antoinella [from Italy], Jenny [Local/California girl], and Chad'n'Eric [two North Carolina boys who've never sailed before] are sailing with us.

I'm still stuck in traffic at 5:05 and get a call from Jim: "How long?" ...so, I'm running and jumping into the boat as it pulls away from the dock; it's racing time.

Pete and Jim both own their own boats, and have been sailing for a long time. We're on Pete's boat, Harvey today, and the engine cuts out as we enter the channel. Jim jumps up and starts hoisting the mainsail, it's my job to make sure the sail doesn't jam on its way up - old boats have lots of character...

There is a good wind blowing and we are under way quickly, skipping along the subsiding southerly swell. The easy banter between the two skippers soon starts, and I chuckle and marvel at the artful way they trade insults while navigating, and debating race tactics. This is one of my favorite things about sailing on Fridays.

We time the start perfectly, counting down and crossing the Committee Boat right as they blow the starting horn, and the streaming debate is now interspersed with yacht club gossip as Jenny joins the conversation. Our arch-rivals, Addiction, are in a dispute with Pete about a minor altercation a few races back [we t-boned them], and are threatening legal action. Pete shrugs it off: "We were' racin'."

We spot Addiction ahead of us and start chasing. They are flying their spinnaker, which we do not have, yet we are slowly gaining ground. The banter gets more focussed, and we make a couple strategic tacks as we near the bouy.

The sun is setting as we round the mark, and if there was a green flash we've missed it in all the action... Addiction has fouled her spinnaker as she rounded the mark, and we hear shouts coming from her deck. We all grin broadly as we recognize our opportunity to take the race, set our jaws, trim the sails, and start bearing down on her.

Pete takes us above our rival and pins her on the outside, taking away her good wind and slingshotting past her. We are flying now, slicing through the swells and coming home to the finish marker with the afterglow of the sunset behind us. We've been on the water for an hour now and it feels like the party is just getting started as we leave them in the dust and cross the line.

Back at the club, Pete buys us a round and there are smiles all around.

Good race.

1. ADDICTION OF PORT BOW

2. GOT 'EM PINNED

3. BYE BYE!

Sudoku

2009-01-22T11:14:00.000-10:00

POINT PANIC ON THE WAY TO ALOHA TOWER

Meanwhile, my brother James is now addicted to Sudoku!! We met some friends for drinks at Aloha Tower last night and I drove us in his car so that he could solve more Sudokus on the way over.....and on the way back. The Tower was dead so we left early so that he could solve more Sudokus!

MUST....SOLVE.....SUDOKU....

Sunset with Pootie Tang

2009-01-21T10:36:00.000-10:00

THE DOG PONDERS LIFE'S QUESTIONS

Pootie Tang is not much of a dog in the grand scheme of things....he weighs in just under 5 lbs...though what he lacks in size he makes up for with mounds of personality.

One of my favorite things to do of late has been to drive around the corner to Diamond Head Lookout and watch the sunset with the dog.

There is a small public garden that most visitors drive right past on their way to the lookouts which is the perfect place to watch the setting sun. Surfers ride the rolling swells below, passenger jets make their final approach to Honolulu overhead, couples cuddle and an endless procession of joggers surround this tiny garden oasis....while the sun puts on its show each day, quietly and majestically slipping below the horizon.

Another one of the simple pleasures of this job...

SUNSET OFF DIAMOND HEAD

Bestest Neighborhood Ever

2009-01-18T00:03:00.000-10:00

DIAMOND HEAD IN THE MORNING FROM MY BEDROOM

I'm really going to miss this neighborhoood.

Living "in the shadow" of Leahi, the Hawaiian name for Waikiki's world famous landmark most people know as Diamond Head Crater, has been so much fun...

Each morning I am greeted by the many moods of Leahi through my bedroom window; this time of year the rains awakens the slopes into lush shades of green. Hiking the inside of the crater 3 mornings/week was a great workout while I had the habit...then breakfast down the road at Boggarts cafe, voted "Honolulu's Best Breakfast Sandwich" by Honolulu Weekly readers [also home to the cutest waitresses this side of Waikiki]....

Technically, this neighborhood is called Kaimuki [pronounced kai-moo-kee], though it is bordered by the affluent neighborhoods of Kahala, Diamond Head, and Waikiki's Gold Coast...which is just fine by the property owners becuase it means we enjoy living in an affluent neighborhhod - without the affluent property taxes [shhhh nobody tell the City & County....].

The charm of the area lies in the vibe of the people who live here - a combination of college students, adventurous travellers, old local families, affluent Honolulu executives, wealthy trophy-home owners, and the international jet-set. On my block live 3 generations of a hawaiian family [right next door]; a retired local-Japanese man, his wife, and their tenants [hospitality workers in Waikiki who shower at 2am like clockwork]; "Crazy Ivan" the German software engineer, his Japanese girlfriend, and their college student roomates; the bright yin-yang, dog-loving couple who live in a cute & cozy two-bedroom cottage [he teaches at the community college one block away, she's an up & coming lawyer at one of Honolulu's leading firms] and their furry family: Daisy, Noodles, and their lazy fat cat Snowball; and another young couple who own the Le Guginol, the best french food in Honolulu [he's a local boy trained in France].

My more disciplined neighbors can be seen jogging around the crater and community college campus in the mornings and evenings like clockwork...today I got some exercise and walked 2 blocks to Rueger Market for a $6 pork laulau plate lunch [ono-licious!!]. This little store is a local secret, and has been making killer hawaiian food [especially the ahi pok'e] from this neighborhood corner store for over two generations!

On Saturday I slept in and missed the famer's market, which has fresh organic produce, delicious kona coffee [from the farmer himself], grilled Kahuku corn-on-the cob from the North Shore, fried green tomaotes, fresh pizza, free range beef.....sooooo many goodies; I'll have to dedicate a post soley to it.

Last night my brother and I slurped up delicious Tenkaipen Ramen on Kapahulu Ave. The owner has his own TV show called Ultimate Japan, which took us on tours of "behind-the-scenes" Japan as we dined. The chicken broth I ordered has been simmering for 48 hours....thick, creamy, full of flavor.....OISHSI!!

I'm really going to miss this neighborhoood!

SUNSET FROM POKOLE ST

Judd Trail and Jackass Ginger!

2009-01-14T21:34:00.000-10:00

Wow!

I've driven past this trailhead many times while taking the scenic route going over the Pali, and had never gotten around to actually hiking it...

Just 10 minutes' drive from downtown Honolulu (if the traffic gods are smiling), thousands of cars whiz past this piece of paradise every day without a second thought.

We turn off the Pali Highway to the beautiful Old Pali Road, which winds through lush ginger and ferns, the dappled sunlight streaming through banyan tree canopy. The homes back here are nestled in the valley, peeking through the vegetation. I find my future retirement village as we pass a townhouse development that is perched in the trees, seemingly a part of the forest. All suburbs should look like this; humans living in harmony with nature...

The hike starts in a eucalyptus grove growing on the banks of Nuuanu Stream, the ducks shaking their tails at us as we get out of the car. We hop across the small rapids and enter the bamboo forest, which feels like we are walking in a kung-fu movie. The bamboo is thick and tints the air an eeire green; the bamboo leaves rotting on the forest floor muffling our footsteps like a soggy carpet.

Soon we emerge into the Norfolk Pine forest, which is equally muted, save for the soft background gurgling of the stream. The pines tower at least 100 feet above, and the sunlight here streams down in piercing shafts rather than the soothing dapple of the banyans.

We come to the turnoff to the Nuuanu Trail, which heads up the mountainside to the valley ridges, think about following it up, and decide to save it for another day. Its a 4-hour hike over the mountain to the neighboring Manoa Valley; today we are out for a quick stroll.

Curious little voices float over the rise, and a Mama Human and her two little 'uns crest the hill, out on a stroll of their own. Judd Trail is a 45-minute loop with adult legs, and we are impressed with the way these two little billy goats pick their way through the slippery trail!

The trail winds its way back to the river, and we pick our way through the latticework of roots that hold the hillside together down to Jackass Ginger Pool...a swimming hole fed by Nuuanu Stream via a 20 foot waterfall....niiiiice...... No swimming for us today though, the recent rains have made the waters unfriendly, so instead we sit on the rocks above the pool and soak in the sounds, smells, and sights.

*Sigh*....lucky we live Honolulu !!