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Petty officers log, August 21st.

Got up way to early but decided to make the day of it. Explored the new area I call home and enjoying the views. Every day I find something new and amazing. The sheer number kf electric cars and charging stations is staggering. Almost every gas station has charging ports. Then again, being on the equator with no snow, solar panels are a lot easier way to get power than back on the mainland. 12 to 14 hours of sun means more power all the time and it's way more intense.


But, the fleet needs me so I need to get back to working on the ship. Just going to do it on the Lani instead of inside. Why play games inside, when yiu can with an ocean view and fresh air.

[Draxx]

Petty officers log, August 23rd.

Noticing some patterns as I adapt to my new home.

Everyone here is either 5'1 or 6'9. There is very little variation in between those points. My wife is 5'2 and stands taller than the rest of her crew, including thr guys. Then a giant Hawaiian will walk in who has to duck through the door that's reminds me of Andre the giant. Everyone is super nice and helpful.

Only concern I have is a small drink it 32 Oz. A large, won't fit in a standard cup holder. Learning the hard way.

[Draxx]

Petty officers log August 24th.

Didn't sleep well. To much on my mind finding a house. Buying a house here is easy enough. 10k down can get you a nice 250k home, but Hawaii is the wild west. Once yiu get about 10 miles away from a major town, things like electricity and water are on yiu to find. Most of the island is catchment water with regular deliveries by water truck, propane, and solar. Internet is set up by satellite if you can afford it.

Lots of build options too. Buying a lot is cash only. No bank around here does loans on unbuilt property, but yiu can build a really really nice house with locally sorted materials for just 200k and have it built to exactly how you want it. Going to do that myself. Ocean view from a house made of bamboo, on 3 acres, and the closets neighbor 15 miles away.


Woke up to this this morning. Think it's a sign of good luck from Pele. If you look closely. There are 2 in this picture

[Draxx]

Petty officers log August 25th

Joined the mile high club I think. Got some cool pics of it too.

This is really magical place. Hope some day my fellow officers might visit and I can show it off. Also been picking up some of the local language they call pidgin. It's mostly English, but has Hawaiian words tossed in, and it's all pronounced in Hawaiian. So the vowels are spoken differently. More I interact, the faster I understand it. As an immigrant to this land, I'm trying my best to adapt to thier culture. And it's an awesome one at that.

[Draxx]

Petty officers log August 29th.

Been working on ship builds, but with just a lap top between 3 people till I get the keys to the new apartment, means I don't get as much time as I want. Can't be greedy, wouldn't be right. But it does alow me to appreciate the paradise I live in now. Sitting outside looking at the ocean, watching the sunset.

Hopefully, I'll be able to take the officers exam soon and maybe make captain someday.

On a secondary note, if you're enjoying my logs, take a moment to like them so I can gadge how much people enjoy them. Would really appreciate it. Gives me a reason to keep posting pictures from Hawaii.

[Draxx]

Petty officers log September 1st


Well I got a good laugh already today. Was. Crossing using over saddle road when my wife and son both said they needed a bathroom. Fortunately the place we stopped at the other day was close. After my son and I finished and was waiting in the car we heard an interesting encounter.

So as my wife was exiting the rest room, another lady, Hawaiian, walked in. So my wife screamed in surprise. This caused the Hawaiian lady to then scream in response. Her screaming caused my wife to scream again with her. All this is happening as an Asian man was walking into the other bathroom getting him to jump. After short minute or 2, they all realized what happened and went thier separate ways as me and my son looked on from the truck.

Not sure what I witnesses, but it was hilarious. 2 women screaming in terror at the other appearing out of nowhere with a 3rd person wondering if it's a local greeting of some kind. I'm still chuckling at this and it was hours ago.

[Draxx]

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Petty officers log September 2nd

End of another beautiful day. A lot of my fellow crew mates don't know this, so im going to share a little. I'm disabled, so im forcibly retired. This gives me a lot of time for things but I take a lot of pain medication. Both script and over the counter. I live on it to deal with my every day life. It sucks because the very things allowing to live, is also killing me slowly. Hard on the liver and kidneys to have to take this stuff, and I hate it.


But this is why I moved to Hawaii. I don't know why, but sitting in the ocean takes the pain away. Not all of it, but a huge amount. I walked into this beach, sat down, and for 2 hours that my wife and son played, I didn't need any pain meds. It hurt walking out, but something about the water helps. Need to investigate more, but I feel so much better here.

[Draxx]

Petty officers log September 10th


ALOHA

Been moving into the new apartment for the last 3 days. spent almost 3k on new stuff since we owned nothing for the new place. Upside, neighbors are friendly and helpful to this old man. Downside, doors are narrow, and lots of steps. so can't get my wheelchair in and out.

In other news, got a new 43 inch tv to use a monitor, but my computer graphics card was damaged in shipping. So my computer works, but that's about the gist of it. can't play anything that requires more than base processer or it shuts down. Called the shipper and they asked if I had proof it wasn't broken before I shipped it. Do they really think people just naturally just take dozens of pictures as they are putting things into boxes and packing them, driving it to the store, and handing them off.

SO new card is 300 bucks, and will take 2 weeks to get here. Not horrible, but should get me back into fighting shape. For now, I'm using my wife's gaming laptop. It's hooked to the 43 in tv and my gaming keyboard and mouse. It runs REALLY WELL for a laptop at half my towers capacity. Lets me play STO with some really decent settings, not maxed out, but what can ya do bruh?

Hawaiian's have their own slang and I'm trying to learn it. They call is Pigeon. It's a mix of English and Native Hawaiian using Hawaiian pronunciations in English words. So W's are pronounces as V's For example Hawaii is pronounced Ha-Vi-EE. AI together is always a long I sound. Multiple vowels are common. lone I's are pronounced as long E. AU together us is OO sounds. lone a's are short. IO together are pronounced separately. Au together is WAY.

Kapiolani would be said as Cap-EE-Oh-La-NEE
Hilo is Hee-Low
Kilauea Kee-loo-way-uh
Piilani PIE-La-NEE

Even consonants have their own changes like Es are V's. So hearing English pronounced this way is somewhat of a learning curve. being here 6 weeks now, I'm picking it up, and even my son is adapting.

[Draxx]

Petty officers log supplemental

Went to the black Sands Beach today. Wasn't crowded, and every time a wave came in, I sank an inch. Overall great beach for snorkeling, but best to wear a vest. Strong currents out there.

[Miles]

You have some great photos!

[Draxx]

Petty officers log September 17th

Was supposed to post more often but had things going here. Visited a few new beaches and got a few new pics. Love spending time with Nāmaka in the ocean. My son loves the beaches too. Something about the waves and the crystal clear water. You can look down and not know if it's just a few feet below you, or a mile. Boogie boarding with snorkels is fun, but remember, ocean current is no joke, and its easy to get carried away into the deep blue. Oh and we went to Kilauea and looked at the volcano. Got to be with both sisters yesterday. And for those who take time to like my posts, thank you. I appreciate them. Glad you enjoyed the few minutes to read these and enjoy the scenery.

[Draxx]

Petty officers log September 19th

No new pictures today (running out of room to post them here), but got some funny stories from my wife from over the past few days. So here in Hawaii, there are homeless, some of which is voluntary due to the price of rent. Cheaper to buy a car than a house, or rent one. So for those who don't just live it up in a tent on the beach, my wife has to deal with. She's a security guard so clearing out problem homeless, as in the crazies and the belligerent. Yesterday, she had one that was stark naked, with a walker, clambering through the store she guards. She's not fast herself, so her chasing a person with his jiggly bits flopping around with a walker like old man Herbert from Family Guy had to be funny to watch. She was disgusted by it, but when telling the story, she started laughing at the absurdity of it.

Then today, she had a homeless man walk up to her, smile, and hand her 2 avocadoes he took off the tree across the street, and then walk away. She had no idea what to do with them. He was nice and told her have a good day. Then later on, another homeless man threw rotted fruit at her thinking she was a cop. So it's never boring.

Living here is so different than anywhere else. Public transportation is free. Want to take a trip to Kona? Get on a bus. It will get there eventually. Rent here is expensive, anywhere from 1400 for single room studious, to 4k+ a month for 3 and 4 bed homes for rent, but electric, gas, water are all part of the rent. Most of the island is powered by solar, almost every building has solar on it. It rains every day here from around 8pm to 3 am, so everyone has large catchment pools for everyday use. washing your car, doing dishes, taking showers. If want water to cook with, its 1.80 a gallon at Walmart. Natural gas is produced by the volcano, so it's an unending supply. Almost no one speeds here. If anything, getting people to do the speed limit is more of a hassle. Hawaiian's have a saying: "Slow down, this isn't the mainland." and you can tell the tourists (speeders) from the locals.

also an oddball thing. Very few official cop cars. Every cop I've seen uses their personal vehicle. So you see a mustang drive by with a set of 2 blue lights on it, and then a little while later, a range rover. I've seen challenger's, Subaru's, even tesla's with these tiny blue lights on them. And they are always on so you can see them coming. There are official cop cars, but I think they are only dispatched to pick up those who've been arrested.