I'm surprised whenever I see people with really old cell phones, like the ones that look like little rectangular boxes and have single-color displays.  If the person is my grandma or it's a prepaid phone, I can understand.  But the people I see with these old phones are using them regularly and in public.  I understand the idea of being cheap, but I also know for a fact that you can get a brand new cell phone for free every time you sign up for a service contract.  Since I've never heard of a contract lasting longer than two years, and those old box phones haven't been around for about 3 or 4 years, that means you'd have to actually put in quite a bit of effort to not get a new phone.  You'd have to be holding out for the past several years.  I find that amazing. #technology

Usually when I take some time off work or go away for the weekend, I'm a little anxious to get back and resume my normal life.  It's not that I'm anxious during my entire time off; it's usually just the last day or so.  I know my break is about to end, so I just want to get back into things.  Last week's vacation in a tropical paradise was different.  I was dreading going back to work on Monday.  It could be because it was a pretty long break.  It could be because I've been a little busy at work lately and my grad class is slightly stressful.  It could be because it was a magical tropical paradise filled with sun, mountains, oceans, and food.  Whatever the reason, I wasn't looking forward to resuming my normal life.  And it made me think of another time when I had the same feeling.  During college, I think my brain never really shut down, so breaks were more like hiccups.  The time I'm thinking of was when I was around 10 or 11, and it was right at the end of a Christmas break.  It had been a particularly good Christmas break for whatever reason, so I was devastated to think that it was over and I'd have to go back to the hellish prison so simply referred to as "school".  I cried about it and my sister tried to assure me that everything would be ok.  I guess everything was ok because otherwise I'd still be in 5th grade.  That's what I felt like on Sunday night and Monday morning. #psychology

Here's a brief recap of our trip to Hawaii last week.  Previous mentions are here and here. 

Day 1 - Flight to Honolulu (layover in Los Angeles)
- Bought camera at Best Buy because I forgot mine (doh!)

Day 2 - Docked in Hilo on the big island
- Guided Kilauea volcano hike in Volcanoes National Park, through Thurston Lava Tube, Kilauea Iki Caldera, stopped at Jaggar museum for Kilauea Caldera overlook
- Sailed past lava flowing from Mount Kilauea into the sea at night off the southern coast of the big island

Day 3 - Docked in Kahului on Maui
- Free shuttle to/from Hilo Hattie (store); swimming at Oneloa Beach
- Free shuttle to mall, walked back to the ship

Day 4 - Docked in Kahului on Maui
- Guided snorkeling at Molokini Crater (part of the top of an old underwater volcano) and "Turtle Town" (home to 200-lb sea turtles)

Day 5 - Docked in Kona on the big island
- Walked around town
- Got bitten by a parrot
- Laid out on a little beach, snorkeled
- Wendy swam part of the Ironman Triathlon

Day 6 - Docked in Nawiliwili on Kauai
- Guided kayaking on Huleia River, hiking to Jungle Falls
- Laid out on Kalapaki Beach, snorkeled

Day 7 - Docked in Nawiliwili on Kauai
- Guided helicopter tour canceled because of a fatal accident the day before (whew!)
- Guided plane ride instead

Day 8 - Flight home (layover in San Francisco)

Pictures: more »