living room  

Yes we are still alive

Ok , so its been almost a month since the last update.

We have moved in to the new apartment and have settled in some.
Here is our new address:
2637 Kuilei Street Apt A34
Honolulu Hawaii 96826

How to find us

Pictures of the apartment are above.

Zach and I went to Ala Moana Park so he could fish. The hotels really light up the night along Waikiki across the harbor. 

Finch eating a fry given to it by Zach. 

I took this while Zach and I were waiting for the #6 to take us to Ala Moana. The building to the right is the Olivet Baptist Church and the pre-school is to the left. I took it because the tree looked really nice with a blue sky background. 

Harry Potter comes to town

Yesterday Zach and I made a trip to Borders at Waikele Outlet Center to get my reserved copy of the newest installment in the Harry Potter series, "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince." We enjoyed a quick lunch at McDonalds and were briefly entertained by Zach feeding french fries to some of the birds. After Borders we made our way to the Dole Cannery Signature Theaters to see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. We both liked it but I still think Johnny Depp was a little weird in his portrayal of Willy Wonka. After the movie we went to Ala Moana and tried a new place for dinner, Hanazen. Zach had fried Aji and hamburger which tasted more like a really good meatloaf and I had some really good fried chicken and a different kind of macaroni salad with mashed potatoes, mayonnaise and thin cucumber slices. We went fishing after dinner and Zach caught a 1Lb Tilapia. Needless to say when we got home that evening we were both dead tired but I did manage to get some reading in of my new Harry Potter book. The Walmart near Ala Moana had tons of copies for $15.72 which irritated me since I went through all the effort to reserve a copy and then paid $20.99 for it at Borders but I'd rather keep my copy than return it for $5 and an hour bus ride.

The lone Karling on my shelf. Thanks again for the book David! 

We have a 4C deli fridge! 

The laminar flow hood where all the culture magic takes place. 

I had to put this on my bench. He looks great in the hardcore hat blowing up Darth Maul. 

My bench space in the lab which (hold the irony) is in the basement with no windows. My desk is in an inside corner office with no windows. I feel doomed to not have windows. But at least the work is good. 

Sharon's Desk. You can't tell it but there is a star wars calendar on the desk. Hopefully it will get hung on the wall sometime soon. I even have a fridge to keep my lunch cold!  

Working Proof.....

Ok so people have been wondering if I've actually been working since all the other posts have been about Zach and I doing fun stuff around town. Well here's the proof that I have been working and not just having fun in the sun. Though I do have to say work can be fun especially with the people in the lab. Emillie, Richard, and Jen are a good bunch to have for labmates. The research is also interesting with many avenues for exploration. May the Fungus Be With Us!

Growing up in georgia

I look back on my childhood and remember winters where snow was actually deep enough to have a decent sledding adventure. I remember the 55 gallon drum cut in half being dragged by a three-wheeler, the large chicken heater disks pushed down the hill, and knee boards pulled by my father through the upper field. But as much as I loved that, I realized today that there are many ways of going faster in the snow.

Car Sledding - Watch more free videos

Enjoy.
Zach
how long till winter?

Hey, a milestone, in two weeks, we have gotten 400 visitors to our blog. Hope everyone has enjoyed it and we will make sure that it is kept up to date.

Zach

The Ward farmers market. Lots of really neat and odd food. 

We took the wrong #6 and had to get off across from Ward Center where Buca Di Beppo's, Dave and Buster's and the theater was located. We walked through Dave and Buster's on Saturday before the movie started to see if they had the Podracer game but no luck. On the way back from Diamond Head, we did see a gaming place that had the Podracer game so we're going to have to make a trip back sometime. 

Zach sitting on a stump tired and exhausted after climbing Diamond Head. 

Picture of Diamond Head from the bus stop waiting for the #58 on the way home. 

Zach's red tongue after eating a strawberry shave ice from the Magoo's truck sitting near the restroom area. 

When we got to a bunker right before the top observation deck, we came upon a nice gentleman sitting at a table offering certificates saying that we had indeed climbed Diamond Head for $2 which went to the Diamond Head Preservation Society. 

On the way down we noticed caves in the side of the crater. 

Before getting to the top after the 99 stairs there is a short spiral staircase. The stairs never end! 

Zach with the Pacific Ocean as a backdrop. 

The city of Honolulu, HI. 

Behind Sharon is a view of Waikiki. 

The blue, blue ocean with the lighthouse in view. 

The 99 steps to the top. Sharon: "I did it!" 

Sharon saw this bird drinking from the water fountain and decided it had to be documented. 

Here is a picture of Sharon standing in front of the sign for Diamond Head. 

On Sunday, Zach and I decided since it was such a nice and sunny day to hike the well-known Oahu landmark of Diamond Head. Diamond Head is the leftover crater of an extinct volcano with a great view of the city of Honolulu and the surrounding area. But it is no simple little walk through the woods. First of all it's a walk through the drier habitat of the island with low grass bushes and widely dispersed trees much resembling an African savannah. The trail is cut into the inner side of the crater facing the ocean (makai) but it is an uphill climb with 99 stairs waiting near the top before you get to the observation deck. But the views are astounding and worth the climb as you'll see in the pictures above. We were tired and hot when we got back down to the restroom area so we decided to get a strawberry shave ice which was good and cool before heading back to the bus stop to catch the #58 back to Ala Moana and then the #6 to home. We had fast food Thai for dinner at the Makai Food Court at the Ala Moana shopping center. The Thai iced tea was as good as the Thai Cafe back in Athens made it but the pat thai was not. I do recommend the spring rolls. On our way home after getting off the #6, we stopped at Times (the local grocery store that we get most of our groceries from) and Sharon got some much needed bobby pins to keep her hat on. When the wind blows here it can blow hard and hats sometimes come off.

Fantastic Four not so fantastic...why Marvel why?

Zach and I had planned to see the Fantastic Four on Friday but I had to work late in the lab so we went Saturday afternoon at Ward Center. Both of us were dissappointed by the lack of plot and the feeling that we were watching a TV episode instead of a movie. Also the print of the film showed by the theater was grainy and the sound was too loud for the commercials and not quite right for the movie. The actors were great for their parts but the story and the lines did not make a whole lot of sense. X-Men this movie is not. My advice is if you a big 4 fan and you have to see it on the big screen go for a matinee showing when its cheaper otherwise rent it, see it at the dollar theater or wait until they show it on tv. And write Marvel a letter telling them to do better!