I'm Motivated

I've finally mustered the motivation to write and post pictures. I know, I know... that's a pretty lame statement. You're probably thinking, "How much effort does it take to click a few buttons and put pictures online?" But let me tell you, it's summer; pretty much anything beyond sleeping requires motivation.

David and Holly came to visit. Dad and I took the week off from work. All five of us went to Lana'i. This small island is home to approximately 3,000 people. It was a wonderful, beautiful, very relaxing vacation. We also goofed off around Kailua. Much fun was had by all.

Note in these pictures how beautiful everything is. Also, in the picture of the rock, if you look closely you'll see that it says "JOHN KUPAU - 11/28/29" the day the foundation was laid for the old lighthouse we were standing on. Pretty cool, eh?

Suh-Wheat!

I got a new camera today! And I'm pretty excited about it.

Along with that excitement came in-car picture taking as well as mirror shots. Oh the joys of new cameras...

In honor of the 4th of July...

Tomorrow is the Fourth of July! In light of my love for history and recent reading of 'Mayflower' by Nathaniel Philbrick (HIGHLY recommend it), I wanted to share this picture. My friend recently spent some time in Massachusetts and took this picture of Provincetown Harbor where the pilgrims first landed in 1621. Pretty cool, huh?! Yay history!




Also an added bonus today: A cool Paul Rand poster I found online. Rand is a famous designer who created, among other things, the IBM, ABC, AT&T, and UPS logos. (Those are all three letter acronyms... interesting.) Here's an example of his work that I like.

All in a Days Work

I had the distinct pleasure to spend a day on Kauai last week working a Chevron hole at a golf tournament. What a bummer... I had to spend the day outside in a beautiful place! I also got to meet the governor of Samoa and lots of University of Hawaii football coaches (it was a "celebrity" golf tournament fundraiser). I took some pictures because it was just so beautiful. (note the carefully placed CHEVRON sign on the golf course :)

Just as a note, it's mildly funny the first 3 times you hear, "You're giving me a $5 gas card? That'll get me, what, only one gallon!" But when every single person who passes your fundraiser booth tells you this, it becomes not so funny. Seriously, it's five dollars; take it or leave it! (Not that I'm bitter or anything...)

But yeah, beautiful Kauai! Woo business trip!

P.S. I'm perpetually puzzled about using smiley faces within parentheses. (Should it be like this? :) ) (Or just this? :) It's a puzzler.

Shoogie Boogie

Interesting things to note:

1. A new Amos Lee album came out this week. That's exciting.
2. I'm going to Kauai on Wednesday for work. I get paid to travel - sweet deal. I'll be working at a golf tournament all day. It will be long, but fun.
3. I am a terrible sun screen applier.
4. The ability to video chat across thousands of miles astounds me. How is that possible and who figured it out??
5. I really like books. I also like people who like books. My boss is well read and it's fun to be able to talk about books we've both read and make recommendations to each other.
6. I like paper-shredders.
7. I've done almost everything possible to reformat my PC at work to look like a Mac. It's kind of fun.
8. I really love my mother.
9. I really love my father, too.
10. Pictures of summer (so far).

Memorial-izing

Inspired by the musings of Ashley Elizabeth, I decided to post this picture. It was taken at the homecoming of our friend from his deployment with the military. It was so wonderful and beautiful to see his children welcome him home. It was so fun to be there for that moment!

And yes, I am surviving corporate, full-time ness. :) I work long days Monday through Thursday and then get a three day weekend! It's pretty exciting. My time is mostly filled with putting together a company cookbook to sell for charity, poster ideating, and a new economic research project. The economics will be interesting... Analyzing numbers has never been my strong point, but by the end of the summer I'm going to be a lot smarter about this whole refining petroleum thing!

I also began an office mural today. I've begun to recruit break-takers to draw little pictures and put them up on a blank wall next to my desk. Community art? I think perhaps... So far my biggest contribution has been an illustration of my favorite punctuation marks. I love (parentheses), [brackets], and {these guys}. Call me a nerd, but if you tell me that all of life can be explained using mathematical equations, I'll throw it right back at you. :)

Identity Crisis

My blog may or may not be having an identity crisis.
I'm just saying...

P.S. I'm having a craving for "PLANET EARTH." As they say in the Northeast, it's wicked awesome. The other day, Dad asked me what the plot was. My response? "Umm... the Earth is cool?"