Day 9: I Believe I Can Sail

I woke, stretched, and thought to myself, "Hey, no back pain!" This little futon thingy might not be so bad after all. I believe I shall adopt the futon as my permanent sleeping spot and say goodbye, couch.

The sail on the Scotch Mist
Taken during our cruise last summer

Of course, a cup of tea and texting with The Hubby started the day. My plans for the day were light but scattered. I decided to take the rental car because I'd be all over town. I doubted I could walk fast enough to get everywhere I needed to be on foot.

View from the bow of the Scotch Mist
Taken during our cruise last summer

My first stop was the docks to me the captain of the Scotch Mist. We chatted a bit and then he suggested I come along on a cruise to see how well I handle ropes and the other duties. With no cruise scheduled for today, I'd have to wait. Luckily, there is a tentative cruise scheduled for Friday, and a definite booking on Saturday. His first mate gave me her number and to me to check in around 5:00pm. The cruise scheduled is a sunset cruise so, worst case scenario, if I don't handle the ropes well I still get to do something awesome - sail at sunset in Maui!

Looking towards the stern of the Scotch Mist
Taken during our cruise last summer

After the docks, it was back to the bank. I still have no P.O. Box because I have nothing that ties me to a physical address here in Hawaii. I stopped at the bank the other day and they agreed to mail me a welcome letter to my apartment here, so that should take care of my last hurdle with USPS. I forgot, however, to check on safe deposit boxes when I was here that day.

When I asked about them today, I decided they were a little pricey. The banker broke down all the numbers, saying it was only around $10 a month. I agreed that it wasn't all that expensive but I told her I still thought it was too pricey for someone who has yet to land a job.

While at the bank, I asked about getting my closing documents notarized so I could ship them back to Vegas. The banker told me they don't have a notary. This surprised me. My bank in Vegas provided notary service for free so long as you had an account on deposit. It seems my new bank doesn't offer as many services. She referred me to a private notary.

As I sat at the bank, I overheard a lady opening an account say she had been on the island only three days and already landed a job waiting tables at Bubba Gump's. I admit I felt a little envious, a bit of "what's so special about her" or "what the hell is wrong with me that nobody will hire me" but I brushed it off.

Thinking about the closing documents reminded me that the title company needs a copy of my drivers license. A quick stop in Office Depot let me check off another item from my to-do list.

Driving along, I saw the Foodland Market. Having been wanting to pick up some teriyaki sauce for a couple days - The Hubby says sautéing the Spam in teriyaki sauce makes it more tolerable - I stopped in and grabbed a bottle while I was nearby. I remembered hearing about the poke at this market, which is supposed to be awesome. It probably is given that the line for the poke counter ran all the way down the aisle to the front of the store. The length of the line coupled with the hefty $10 price made me decide I should look elsewhere for lunch today.

Walking out of the market, I spied another bank. "What the hell," I thought and ran in to see if they offered notary services. Nope. Actually, that's not true. This bank does notarize, but only before 10:00am. I gave up and called the private notary the first banker referred me to. I have an appointment with her tomorrow.

I stopped in at the Cannery Mall to visit the food court for lunch. Hawaiian plate lunch, with a bit of kalua pork, sounded good. When I reached my table and opened up the styrofoam container holding my lunch, I found myself very disappointed. Sure there were bits of pork - not many - but they were buried beneath mounds of cabbage. If I had wanted kalua cabbage, I'd have ordered kalua cabbage. I picked through and found a few bites of pig, and I ate a few bites of the mac salad which was as disappointing as the rest of the meal. As I dumped most of it in the trash, I remembered why I had stopped eating at this particular chain when I was in Vegas. Blech!

The rest of my day, I spent at the apartment. I completed applications from Life is Good and the Hard Rock Cafe so I could drop them off tomorrow, and then started browsing online for more job leads. Looking at my list, I see that I applied for 11 more places tonight, most in Ka'anapali or Whalers Village.

Finally, my stomach told me it was time for dinner. I pulled out the Spam and the teriyaki sauce. After cooking that up, I tossed in some zucchini - the zucchini I found at the farmers market was so tiny, and cute - and then added it to my ramen noodles. The Hubby was right, teriyaki makes the Spam a bit more tolerable. I'm not sure I will ever be as big a fan of the canned meat as the people of Hawaii are, though.

After dinner I browsed Amazon Instant Video listings for a movie or TV show to watch while texting the Hubby. I found "Young Adult" with Charlize Theron and watched it. I found it to be kinda hokey, but it was free.

Side note: please, please hit me up with suggestions for movies to watch! Double bonus points if they're free on Amazon Prime, though I have access to Netflix also. Thanks! :)

My roommate, Mr. Gecko

Heading to the washroom after the movie, I spotted my gecko friend from last night again. This time, even though he was still skittish, he didn't dart behind the mirror. He high-tailed it across the counter, over my make up bag, down to the floor, and into the kitchen before he vanished, most likely under the fridge. I did snap a better picture of him today. I don't mind lizards, not even in the house. They eat bugs, of course, which I would mind being in the house. I welcome a few geckos over a single centipede any day!

After washing up, I collapsed onto my pile of foam in the middle of the floor and grabbed the laptop.