Simple carriage returns
June 6, 2005Pacific Harbour, Fiji
6:49 pm
At the beach today, Hud played with his trucks
He talked to himself in his deep, trucker voice.
Steph lay with her head on my stomach and we held hands.
They were sandy.
The tide was coming in and it was overcast.
Beqa Island, luscious, sat big and lonely in the distance.
The wind started to pick up and the waves got to about waist level.
The air was heavy and salty.
Steph and I talked about opening a bar/restaurant.
Still dreaming out loud we are.
I took Hud in the ocean and let some of the big waves roll over his head.
He laughed and coughed out sea at the same time.
The wind made both Hud and I cold.
Steph waited with open arms and warm towels.
I held my towel over my head and it rippled and shook like a flag on a boat.
We walked home.
I jumped in the pool to rinse my briny body.
Hud and Steph ate popcorn by the handful.
Hud fell asleep too early.
Steph read her book.
We then made love with the screen doors open, white curtains billowing and flowing.
I jumped back in the pool.
Steph went back to her book.
I slipped on a pair of blue cotton shorts and began cutting carrots.
Steph woke Hud up.
He was bitter and scowling.
I made grilled cheese and tomato sandwiches with carrots and corn and cucumber.
Hud was hungry, but he did not want to eat through tears.
He finally ate, sniffling, sighing.
Hud and Steph are colouring now, beside me.
Hud is subdued and very vocal.
Steph is shining and pretty.
Love to all,
J.
June 5, 2005
Pacific Harbour, Fiji.
9:19 pm.
Big day for the Graham/White clan today! We hit all our hot spots. First stop? The cultural centre so I could post, drink black coffee, fancy schmancy cappicianno for Steph and a red slushee for Hud. Yes it was ten in the morning. Yes we consider the colour red a fruit and therefore a perfect breakfast beverage for our son.
Our son who, by the way, woke up at 5:00 am this morning. Luckily for me I woke up with Hud the previous morning and was able to loll and gag until 8:10 am. At which time I took over for the painfully tired Ms. White and let her sloth her weary body back into bed. Hud and I split two fried egg sandwiches, which of course means ½ for him and one and a half for me. I love toddler/parent kitchen math. We then played number stickers where he can count to ten, but only recognizes 1-5. We have some work to do.
Uh oh, fatty is not adhering to any culinary discipline while he is away. My dreams of coming back in a year with a stomach flatter than a glass coffee table, coke bottle shoulders broad from the farm work I valiantly took on, my flat ass now bulbous, like two overripe peaches glued together, my hair long, silky, curly, and obviously magical, my Jayne Mansfield hips gone, my extracted tooth growing back and whiter than ever, are dashed.
I actually lost about 15 pounds writing that paragraph. What’s that sleeve of Oreos in the fridge? I’ll be right there.
But seriously folks (thank you, I’m here all week, try the veal), I have lost about ten pounds as I suspected I would. I snack less, but drink more. It’s the change in the lifestyle that is driving it. It has happened before. My tanned, rashy stomach is down and my face is thinner. And I think I have an ear infection so I got that going for me.
My new fear is that once I get back to a grocery store jam-packed with all the goodies that I love with all the passion in my clogged heart I will binge again. Lets hope not, because I do not think the drinking will cease.
I have to drink. I am trying to be a writer. What’s that bottle of scotch? I’ll be right there.
I kid. I am a kidder. There is no scotch here. If there was don’t you think I would be fiercely gripping the neck and pouring it down my tunnel like throat? That is what writers do don’t they?
Feh. My daily sweaty icy bottles of Fiji Bitter are just my way of saying I am on vacation. Once I get to Australia it will all stop. I don’t think they drink much beer in Australia do they?
So we grocery shopped, and walked back, Hud on Steph’s shoulders, backpack full of food on mine. Hud starts eating Steph’s hair and for doing so, he is forced to walk. He is tired at this point, the walk is about a mile, and he also woke up very early. This is when the whine starts. Like eagle talons on a wet chalkboard. I hate it. I can feel the ire creep up my spine like a slow tickle. And have to remind myself that he is only three, he is tired and however annoying, he is just expressing himself. Besides, distraction mostly works - Hey look at this bug. Is that a plane in the air? Look at that guy stealing that car. The whine ceases, sometimes only for a mere minute, another distraction waiting to be drawn from the parental holster.
We dropped the groceries off at home and quickly turned around and went to the posh resort for a bbq and some soft elevator jazz by the ocean. It is pretty reasonable in cost and for the first time there was actually a little bit of a crowd to offer us something to look at other than the ocean kissing the sand.
Supposedly people come from Suva, the big city, for the day, to eat and lounge around looking pretty. A three-man band was playing slow, wispy versions of A Girl from Ipenema to entertain the crowd. There was a large family of Indo-Fijians all wearing uber hip sunglasses. There was a blonde man, with a nice shirt and wrinkles so deep that I thought he would bleed when he smiled, He was there with his mother, and her uber hip wheelchair. To our left were a brunette woman, her mother beside her drinking a gin martini, a silent man with the shirt fashion styling of Gino Vanelli, and an aging model in see through white pants and small Asian lettering tattoos on both her shoulders.
The owner of the hotel and his throng of hangers on also dropped by long enough to let me hear his cell phone ring four times in ten minutes. He is Australian, supposedly he bought the resort fairly recently from the Japanese. He is mid forties, hair spiked, sunglasses super glued to his head, and designer flip-flops. He is tanned and meets and greets all the people he thinks he should, including a couple of the Indo-Fijians and their Chanel eyewear. He has yet to even nod at me and for this, and for his swollen wallet, I hate him. But dahlink I love the flip-flops.
After an impromptu swim in the pool with Hud, we made our way home. We stopped by the new house of Nikki and Gareth and their two daughters Mercedes and Isabella. They had just moved in that morning just down the road from our villa. They are travelers with plans on staying in Fiji for a spell, to make an honest go for it. He is an engineer and specializes in helicopter repair. He, and another two guys, one being the pilot are trying to start a company to remove giant logs by helicopter. He was in Suva in a meeting when we arrived. So we had a spot of tea with Nikki as Hud played with Bella (Mercedes was napping). She is nice, talks too fast, leaving me hanging on a number of Aussie slang words, but earnest and wild eyed and a good mother. As mentioned they have traveled and lived in a number of places, including all over Australia and NZ.
Gareth arrived and joined us in the back where now the three kids were milling about in the yard and in the vacant lot beside their house. Gareth reminds me of Cullen. Skinny, educated and opinionated. I liked him immediately, even if both of them look at me vacantly when I told my jokes. I had to change my humour strategy from knockout punch to pokes and jabs. That seemed to work, as they both eked out smiles that I am sure were not just to shut me up. Almost sure.
We stayed for a couple of hours chatting about living away from home and what we all hope to get from the life experiences we have chosen. The kids all just played which was great for Hud and nice for us to be able to just sit for a moment without one of us chasing the little rascal.
We have agreed to have dinner at our place on Tuesday night. They will all come over for a swim and bbq and then when the kids are down, we can drink and play Euchre. Steph was pretty happy to find out Nikki loves Euchre. I was too and I am looking forward to an adult night of getting to know some new people.
Hud hit the wall shortly after arriving home and walked around randomly crying for no reason. I made chicken and rice and vegetables, which turned out pretty good. Hud fell asleep twenty minutes into Shrek 2 at 6:30. It was a long day, as he just does not nap anymore. Steph and I watched Snatch in bed (wow could that sentence be rearranged for some fun) and now she has fallen asleep as well.
So here I am. At the kitchen bar -like counter that I want when I grow up.
When I grow up.
Ha!
Love to all,
J.
posted by Jason @ 4:22 PM
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