I just *knew* there was something else I could be doing with my Palm Pilot!

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If you hate sappy corporate rah-rah Successories stuff as much as I do, hie thee quickly to Despair.com and order yourself a calendar. (You’re welcome.)

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Well, the first week of 2001 has been less than stellar so far. The Christmas package is still lost somewhere in the clutches of the USPS, who gets bonus points for raising rates this weekend. The Sentra had a close encounter with another car on Saturday, and it will cost three times as much as it’s worth to fix -- if we decide to fix it at all. I had to send the new digital camera off for service, as it appears to be a dud; because it was malfunctioning, I was unable to take it out on New Year’s Eve and digitally capture the moment for y’all. (I did attempt a few pics with the party camera. That roll is off being developed as I write this.) Vanguard failed to suspend my automatic deduction for December, plus they cashed the check I sent in lieu of automatic deduction, so my IRA contributions are all screwed up and it will take some effort to get them straightened out.

It hasn’t been all bad, though.

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There were noticeably fewer fireworks on New Year’s Eve, much to my surprise (although Ewa Beach from a distance still looked like it was trying to blow itself off the map). One friend’s hypothesis is that most people assumed you needed a permit for "novelty" fireworks, too -- not just firecrackers -- and thus didn’t buy anything at all. I tend to agree, and think that there will be an increase next time around.

Politicians and the fire and police departments are now talking about a total ban on fireworks, though, since there were several house fires resulting from stray aerials, one ending in the death of an elderly woman. How a ban on little spinny things will prevent aerials that are already illegal is something I haven’t quite figured out yet.

I don’t agree with a total ban, but think they should crack down on illegal aerials.

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I had dinner with some friends that evening, after which we watched the idiots over on the next block try to destroy their beautiful house by setting off fireworks that throw sparks into the air on their covered front porch. We set off a few fireworks of our own, but out at the end of the driveway, and with a bucket of water nearby.

As midnight approached we headed down to Waikiki to sit on the beach and sip champagne while watching the official fireworks. We got a great spot from which to see everything, and enjoyed a very spectacular setting of the crescent moon around 11:30. This year they set the fireworks off from a barge instead of from Magic Island, which improved everyone’s view and I’m sure made a lot more room for people over at Ala Moana Beach Park. We hung around a while after and got to talk to some pleasantly strange tourists from Minnesota and California.

Surprisingly, the fireworks in my neighborhood were all pau by the time I got home at 1:30 a.m. The neighbors across the street were partying on sans fireworks, but I was tired enough that the noise didn’t keep me up too long. I’m just always grateful to come home after a fireworks holiday to find my creaky old wooden house still standing.

- posted by Lori @ 7:30:00 PM | permanent link | |