Hawaii Diarii, Day 8

Today was a slow day, the last of the convention. It's 6:15 local, so I guess it's not over yet.

Last night I started to get a little down, I guess because the trip is over, but in a way, I'm going to be glad to be home - vacation puts your life on hold for a week, and that's both good and bad, I think. It's still beautiful here, but I've seen just about everything in the area that I wanted to see, did what I set out to do, as far as the con goes, and I guess I'm almost ready to go back to my house and my TV and my stuffed monkeys. I will miss the balcony at my hotel room, though, and I've got a newfound (or renewed) appreciation for the beach.

• Morning was a quick trip to the career fair to meet with one last person I promised. Then a quick lunch of little tea sandwiches and Snapple at the hotel.

• I was a volunteer on the last shift - at the Asian film documentary showing. Turned out there were three of us, so they turned me loose after an hour instead of two. I watched most of the first film, and interesting one on Asians in the movies. I would've stayed for the whole thing, but by getting out early, I could take part in the "Chapter Challenge."

• That was a scavenger hunt, taking digital photos of stuff in Waikiki - only an hour long, but a list of things to find. Only two of us from New York showed, but despite struggling with the 4-man team thing, we finished in the "bronze medal" spot. Of course, there were only three teams, but we didn't embarass ourselves (much). There were some goofy photos, too, all with complete strangers (to meet the four-in-a-photo requirement). And we did find the tourist from farthest away - Sweden. I heard them talking on the beach and knew it was Scandinavian (or German).

• Then I hung out with Charles, my teammate, for a while - we're both movie buffs, and it turns out we've been next-door in the hotel for most of the week. We never ran into each other coming or going. Go figure.

• I think I want to go over to this Taste of Hawaii food thing that runs until 10, but I just ate - I was starving. And I haven't heard from various folks considering going a la group.

I also have to pack, since I've got to check out in the morning before I leave for the surfing lessons - assuming I ever find Susan, the organizer, again. Checkout time is 11 local, which will be before I get back, so they'll have to store my bags. I hate the plan (leaving my laptop?) but what can I do?

The con is officially over, by the way, and if I play my cards right and follow up, I think I'll get a couple of phone calls and three or so preliminary editing tests out of it. That should scare 'em at the office! Plus, I feel like I really learned a lot at the various workshops - though I'll have to type up a report when I get back - and I may have some inspiration for some writing in the future, from some of the seminars.

I don't know if there will be a Day 9, as I'm leaving first thing in the morning and not getting home until Monday night (Eastern) at about 11 - my flight's a sort-of red-eye, overnight into Monday, and I'm going straight from the airport to the office for work. I'll sleep on the plane - if not, there's Gen. Johnston to keep me company - and then work my full shift when I get in. It's OK, I planned it that way.

Things I'll miss:

• The balcony at the room - one more night to sit outside and ponder life, the universe and everything.
• The sun - no, not the heat - and the water - even if I didn't go in much.
• The cool hand-held showerhead in the hotel. Good for spraying all the tough-to-reach bits.
• Girls in bikinis. Duh.
• The people at the con - I made some nice friends and saw some people I only see once a month, if that.• Being away from work. Duh. It's vacation.
• Exploring a new place - sometimes fun, sometimes not, but always an adventure.
• The king-size hotel bed - only got a queen at home - if you're going to sleep alone, might as well do it in style.
• The gun range. That was excellent.
• Beauty. Everywhere, from the water, to the sky, to the stars, to the landscape, to the girls in bikinis.
• Escaping from my boring, ordinary life. This place really is like a fantasy world in so many ways, it really sucks to go back to plain ol' Jersey in some ways, even though I miss my home. The thing is, like all great places to visit, I doubt I'd want to live here - then it would become plain ol' home in some ways, and that would take away some of the magic. I don't know if I'll ever come back, and I'm leaving on a bittersweet note because I'm sorry to go, I guess, but it really was an adventure, the kind I don't get to have nearly as often as I'd like.

Well, now I'm kind of depressed, so I might as well pack while I'm down.

Thus (most likely) ends the Hawaii Diarii, unless I write a wrapup of tomorrow sometime after I get home. It's been fun, and I hope you ("dear readers," as Stewie would say) enjoyed it as much as I did. I was reluctant to invest in the in-room Internet, but I'm glad I did.

The end. Or as we journalists say...

-30-

So I lied... On to the final part!