Labor Day Weekend

I've been a bad blogger. I had plenty of adventures this weekend, and I meant to record them while they were fresh. Instead it'll be a Tuesday morning recap.

Friday: Charity, art, and beer

I took Friday off, and was full of plans. I would surf, I would clean the house for the weekend, I would catch up on emails and bills and reading. And I would end the night at First Friday Art Walk. Chinatown has been transformed this summer, with a handful of new clubs and galleries opening along Hotel Street. Downtown has felt like it's been on the verge of making a comeback for a decade, and yet it never does. It will be popular for a month or two, and then slide quietly back into ghetto. I'm hoping that this time there is enough momentum, and critical mass of people, for Downtown to be an exciting place again.

I figured that Labor Day would be a blast, but in the end I almost didn't go. I had been to a committee meeting for Gregory House in the afternoon [I was nominated to the Board a few weeks ago, and this was my first meeting], and there was a frighteningly low level of energy there. I'm used to social workers and community activists being vocal and passionate and exciting. These guys were very sedate. That won't last long with me in the room.

So evening came and I was ready to fade. I almost didn't go, until I got a last minute call from Tom-A-Hawk. Ended up having a great time with him. We gallery hopped a bit, had drinks on the roof of the now popular 39 Hotel, and ended the night at Ke Kai's. I hadn't hung out with Tom one-on-one before, and glad I did - he's cool as hell. I added his blog to my links.

The night went on longer than I expected though - I missed my bus stop, and ended up getting off on the tail end of Kahala. It was a long walk home to Kaimuki.

Saturday: The Great Guppy Massacre, and my second TWoP Con

Today was the day to kill fish. Roy and I had put guppies in the ponds to control mosquito, hoping that the koi and other fish would control the guppy population. It didn't work - the little things are obscenely fecund. Our ponds were turning into guppy soup. I tried to introduce predators to control them - angel fish, cichlids, eels - but the guppies just kept on breeding.

My plan was to put the good fish in a side pond, and drain all the water out of the main ones. Then Haulani came downstairs and busted me. She has no patience for Homo sapiens, but all the love in the world for every other critter on the planet. I won't even spray for roaches if she's watching - I definitely couldn't kill five hundred baby guppies in front of her.

And so we rescued the guppies - each and every one - and moved them to the lily pond. What a long day it turned out to be. I didn't even earn karma points, because when I saw some of the buggers in the pond this morning [I don't know how they escaped us] I scooped 'em up and tossed them right into the bushes.

Night time was our second TWoP Con. We watched Rome, clips of INXS:Rock Star, and The House of the Dead. It was my night to be a geek, just like old times.

Sunday: Ahmed returns, and the Black Party

Hung out with Ahmed all day Sunday - and finally got some color! I grilled him on Turkey [the food, the sights, and the men]. He's off to interview in the Bay Area, and should be out of Guam in a few months. I'm glad for him.

Sunday night was the Black Party - Big Tom's last event in Honolulu. It was strange, as I should have expected. There were naked bears and twinks in make-up and goth-punks hanging themselves from their piercings. The boys were trying so hard to be sexy and decadent, but it was the most un-sexy scene I could imagine.

But I had a great time. Francisco was in town, and it's always fun hanging out with him. Michael Fong spun a great set, but it was hot and smoky inside, so I only ended up dancing about a third of the time. I spent the rest of the night out in the courtyard hanging with friends. I left around 5am, as the sun was coming up.

Monday: um ... I didn't do anything Monday ...

I didn't get many pictures, but do have a few to post.