Major Thought for Today

‎"Instead of trying to fix the dream, why not just wake up from it?" Share this post :

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These days I aim to discover the kernel

"Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves like locked rooms and like books that are written in a very foreign tongue. Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps you will find them gradually, without noticing it, and live along some distant day into the answer." -- Rainer Maria Rilke, Letters to a Young Poet

I like this quote a lot. I'm looking more and more these days for those who live their spirited lives without focusing just on the "spiritual" aspects. All of life can be spiritual -- even if we don't use those words.

Writers and musicians and chemists and lawyers and housekeepers and gardeners and mountain climbers and doctors and nurses and physicists and even religious practitioners -- all have the potential of being and living spiritual lives. These days I aim to discover the kernel of whatever it is that separates the spirited from the non-spirited; the hopeful from the hopeless; the ordinary from the extraordinary; the fabulous from the mundane.

What do you think that kernel can be?

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Wednesday, February 23

Heading home. Sigh. Share this post :

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Tuesday, February 22

• Starting today with a 9:30 massage from Marty Guerriero. I totally need this!
• Thailand Cuisine for lunch.
• Gasoline at Tesoro.
• Sarento's for final Maui dinner.
• Glee night at Ambrosia.

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Monday, February 21

• Casanova's Coffee Shop in Makawao (Casanova Italian Ristorante & Deli)

Casanova's Coffee Shop

• Komoda T Store & Bakery in

  Makawao-Paia for Malasadas.

Komoda T Store & Bakery

• Grandma's Coffee House in Kula

Grandma's Coffee House

Ham and Cheese Sandwich!

• Ali'i Kula Lavender Farm in Kula

Ali'i Kula Lavender Farm

• Hosmer Grove

Hosmer Grove

• Leleiwi Lookout

Leleiwi Lookout

Patrick, Sal, and I

• Haleakala Volcano Crater

Tour Master Wade Holmes (No Ka Oi Adventures) and I sharing a moment at Haleakala)

• Haleakala Summit

Yours truly at the summit

Myself, Wade Holmes, and Sal Rinaudo

• Cafe Mambo's in Paia

Menu at Cafe Mambo

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Sunday, February 20

To be revealed ... Share this post :

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Saturday, February 19

Sal and I walked along Sugar Beach this morning -- across from Maui Sunseeker -- totally enjoying the morning as it slowly woke up from its slumber. Picked up a bunch of coral to bring back to DC .

Afterwards, Sal and I went to Kihei Cafe for breakfast. Interesting place and the food was to yum for.

Now we're heading over to the public, clothing optional sun deck and hot tub here to rest a bit prior to going on the Gay Whale Watch. This is at 2:00 today on the Pacific Whale Foundation's "Ocean Spirit." It's a whale watching cruise to benefit Equality Hawaii -- and Maui Sunseeker is providing free tickets for all their house guests. Way to go guys -- you're awesome!

More later ... or tomorrow!

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Friday, February 18 -- Oopsie

Right now, I'm trying to record yesterday's No Ka Oi Waterfall Adventure, with photos -- but the plan to go to Little Makena Beach today is in direction opposition to that plan.

Oopsie.

As noble an endeavor as it was for me to think I could blog while on holiday, this is turning out to not be the case. There's just too much to do and too much weariness when I finish doing it.

More details to follow!

I'm just going to have to beg everyone's forgiveness on this and go and have a nice, relaxing time today. And if you never hear from me again, it means I'm having a very, very, very nice and relaxing time. Heh heh heh.

===

Makena Little Beach during the day. Pupu Lounge for an early dinner. Broke out the Moët & Chandon that was gifted to us from Maui Sunseeker today ... enjoying out private hot tub while watching the sunset. Today was a lusciously relaxing day and I'll try to write more about Little Beach in the days to come.

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Thursday: After Night One

Just getting ready to go on the waterfall adventure after a nice night sleep at Maui Sunseeker. Kept thinking I was hearing wind all night; but it wasn't wind ... it was the sound of waves. Zounds was I exhausted.

LOVE this place -- so rife with amenities. Every time I turn around, I find more, LOL. Sounds silly, and I suppose I'm just like a kid in a candy shop!

Did our personal hot tub (again) this morning ... only this time it was about 5:30 a.m. And the huge moon was setting into the water. Astounding stuff. Water so nice on my jet-bound muscles. Tried to take photos but the iPhone was being grumpy and couldn't do the moon justice.

Feeling the stress slowly unwind. Who know I was so tightly wound?! (I know, some of you are smiling knowingly.)

Sal just walked by with his knapsack on ... a full 23 minutes before Wade (No Ka Oi Adventures) is expected to arrive. Guess he's ready to venture to waterfalls. So I better finish getting dressed!!

Namaste. Share this post :

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8:51 Hawaii Time

Got up at 2:15 a.m. Eastern Time Wednesday and am off to sleep now at 8:52 p.m. Hawaii Time. Isn't that something like a tad over 24 hours awake? That explains grouchiness and the sense that I need to reboot my brain, LOL!

Anyway, getting up 6:00 a.m. So well be ready to meet Wade Holmes from No Ka Oi Adventures at 7:30. More soon. But first, zzzzzzzzz! Share this post :

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10:41 a.m. Central Time

Just got my seat assignment changed from the second-to-last row in the plane ... to 27G -- totally much MORE FAB!!!!

And bought a healthy BLT Cobb salad for noshing in-flight. Had a carb slip, though, and ate a sausage, egg, and chess biscuit for breakfast at McDonalds!

The plane is waiting and Sal and I are READY!!! Share this post :

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10:00 a.m. Central Time -- Dallas Ft. Worth Airport

10:00 a.m.

Made it without incident to Dallas/Ft. Worth -- ten minutes early, in fact. Nice flight. Dallas is an interesting airport and I'll try to post some photos when I can do uploads. Just saw that fab.com is running a "5 Nights at Maui Sunseeker LGBT Resort for $500 (a $925 Value!)" special for their deal of the day. GREAT IDEA guys ... doing it the day the Maui Madness Contest winner (ahem, me) checks in. Brilliant!

We leave board in about one hour. Maui, here we come! Share this post :

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5:56 a.m. -- Dulles Airport

5:56 a.m.

Stayed overnight at the Aloft Hotel ... a very interesting place. Felt very New York City-esque. Dinner was at Clyde's.

Now sitting at Dulles Airport with Sal waiting for Flight 1113 to Dallas/Ft. Worth after having breakfast was at Max and Erma's. The flight from Texas to Maui is full and I couldn't get a better seat. Good news is I'll be one of the first to board ... And last to leave. Zounds! Can't wait to get there. Fifteen minutes till boarding the first leg of our adventure.

I apologize for these short blog entries -- this is not as easy as I thought it was going to be!

I wanted to take this opportunity tu thank the folks at fab.com again for running this contest and all the AMAZING people who voted for me. You all know who you are !! HUGS TO YOU ALL!!!! Share this post :

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Feb. 15-16, 2011 -- Overnight at Dulles Airport

5:56 a.m.

Stayed overnight at the Aloft Hotel ... a very interesting place.

Aloft Hotel

Felt very New York City-esque. Dinner was at Clyde's outside of Dulles Airport.

Me Eating Meat at Clyde's

Me at Clyde's	Sal at Clyde's

Now sitting at Dulles Airport with Sal waiting for Flight 1113 to Dallas/Ft. Worth after having breakfast was at Max and Erma's.

Max & Erma's at Dulles	Sal

The flight from Texas to Maui is full and I couldn't get a better seat. Good news is I'll be one of the first to board ... And last to leave. Zounds! Can't wait to get there. Fifteen minutes till boarding the first leg of our adventure.

I apologize for these short blog entries -- this is not as easy as I thought it was going to be!

AA Flight 1113 from Dulles to Dallas/Ft. Worth

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Feb. 15 -- Travel Madness (with Itinerary)

On November 4, 2010 -- at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time -- I won the Maui Madness Contest at fab.com. I could not have done this without the assistance of all my friend fabbits at fab.com. I am honored and blessed -- Mahalo!

Well, today is the day that my friend Sal Rinaudo and I head to Dulles airport where we'll be staying overnight at the Aloft Hotel. We didn't want to deal with getting up early tomorrow and facing the madness in the wee hours of the morning.

We officially leave D.C. at 6:45 a.m. tomorrow (Wednesday) -- flying to Dallas/Ft. Worth. Arrive in D/FtW at 9:00 a.m. where we have a two and a half-hour layover there.

The next leg of the journey, TX to Maui, Hawaii leaves at 11:30 a.m., Texas Time and arrives at 4:00 p.m., Maui Time.

(Note: When we tried to print out our itineraries for this journey today, we found out that we had no assigned seats for the Dallas-Maui leg; ergh. Checking further, we discovered only three seats available. Right now mine is in the back of the plane just outside the bathroom. Hahahahahaha! Good news: I tend to pee a lot; bad news ... is there any bad news here? Besides, I may be able to get that changed at the airport tomorrow morning.)

Total travel time (not counting waiting on the tarmac, LOL), is 11 hours and 45 minutes. Food and drinks will be available for purchase on the plane(s) and you know exactly what I'll be doing a lot of the time. (Sleeping, hopefully .)

We'll be staying seven nights (at Maui Sunseeker) -- returning on Tuesday afternoon of next week -- arriving in DC on Wednesday a.m.

So far our plans in Hawaii include:

Tuesday, Feb. 15	Sal Rinaudo and I leave for Dulles Airport on Tuesday -- staying the night there at the Aloft Hotel to begin relaxing poolside with snacks and men and whatever else we can think of (we can fantasize, right?).
Wednesday, Feb. 16	At 7:00 a.m., we fly to Dallas/Ft. Worth. After a two and a half hour layover (11:30 a.m., Sexy Texan Time), we leave for Kahului, Maui -- arriving at 4:00 p.m. Hawaii Time. After picking up our Avis car rental, we'll drive to the Maui Sunseeker -- where we'll be staying in the Penthouse Suite.
Thursday, Feb. 17	Waterfalls Adventure with Nokaoi Adventures.
Friday, Feb. 18	To be determined.
Saturday, Feb. 19	Sunset Cruise on the Alii Nui custom built, one of a kind, luxury sailing catamaran.
Sunday, Feb. 20	Gay Whale Cruise aboard the Pacific Whale Foundation's "Ocean Spirit" -- leaving from Maalaea Harbor Slip 54 at 2:00 p.m..
Monday, Feb. 21	Casanova's Coffee Shop (Casanova Italian Ristorante & Deli) in Makawao Komoda T Store & Bakery in Makawao-Paia for Malasadas Grandma's Coffee House in Kula Ali'i Kula Lavender Farm in Kula Hosmer Grove Leleiwi Lookout Haleakala Volcano Crater Haleakala Summit Cafe Mambo's in Paia
Tuesday, Feb. 22	To be determined.
Wednesday, Feb. 23	To be determined.

I'll be updating this itinerary as we go along and -- hopefully -- blogging every day!

Michael

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Packing for a jet plane

I must be getting better at letting go. The suit case for my trip to Maui is just a large rolling carry-on; with a personal case for my laptop, iPad, etc. OH WAIT, that's the theory. I'm still trying to make it all fit! LAUGHING OUT LOUD!!! Fortunately I see the cosmic humor in this all! Share this post :

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Packing my bags to the Grammys

No daily quote. Zounds. I'm packing for Maui tonight while watching the Grammys. Don't really leave for a few days but want to get everything in its place. Looks like DC is going to have fantastic weather while I'm gone. My worries about being snowed in all for naught!

Sixty-seven year old Mick Jagger is pretty damn impressive ... has more energy and exuberance than most people I know half his age. I'm so grateful I got to see his performance at the Grammys just now. Wow!

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Quote for Today

Grieve as much as you can. I say roll around in the pain and freakin' feel it. Become one with the sadness that feels like it's a part of you -- it is.

Find the "source" of it and if you're fortunate, you may discover that you are, in fact, its source. That's because the universe is your source.

Back to the old saw, "Nothing exists that is not part of the divine singular."

You = grief [or fill in the blank] = Oneness.

It only comes back to haunt you if you haven't really let it go.

[With apologies to Rumi, who said, "‎Don’t grieve. Anything you lose comes round in another form."]

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My internet connection at home is kaput

Posted on Facebook around 10:00 a.m.:

My internet connection at home is kaput; now I am really adrift. "Par for the course," hints my ego to myself, and then I witness a resultant furl of anger and fear. Dude, I respond to my little self, get over it! It's just your connection to the world of illusion. This is hardly a big deal. [written on my iPad.]

Seven Hours Later:

FINALLY back online ... my world is perfect again!

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Quote for Today

Along my journey, I've sampled a little of this and a little of that; combining it all -- sometimes nervously, blindly, foolishly, haphazardly, or luckily -- into a conglomeration that has usually worked well for me. I often have to start over, tossing what didn't work and keeping what does. Just think of me as a mad scientist in an all-you-can-eat salad bar! Keep it sample, silly! Share this post :

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Quote for Today

‎Yesterday I started to let go of the idea that there was a timeframe for my letting go. That I had some end-date at which point my letting-go-ness had to be completed. Today I'm letting go of the idea of letting go -- and simply learning to live this moment without that which is no longer necessary. Share this post :

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Quote for Today

And on the fifth day, Adam said, 'Hey God, pass me the sun tan lotion.' And God did and Adam saw that it was SPF 15 and, therefore, good. Share this post :

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Quote for Today

You can stop looking now. You're already there. Share this post :

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Daily Quote: February 3, 2011

‎If you haven't let it go, you're still holding on. Share this post :

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Thoughts on pouring, scary rain

Went to see The King's Speech tonight ... which I officially vote (so far, anyway) as the Best Movie of the Year ... and then settled into The Playbill Cafe for a sublime dinner of a house salad with ranch dressing prior to an entree of beef liver and onions with a side of broccoli.

All standard fare -- the evening, I mean, not the liver and onions -- for a Tuesday evening that has 1/3 of the country in the grip of fear resulting from the predictions doom and dismay by weather women and men because of possible winter weather mayhem.

Whatever.

The point of this post is what happened as I was thinking of leaving the cafe to go out into the pouring rain.

"You should take a bus," said a new-found bar mate (yes, I had to eat my liver at the bar).

"A bus?"

"Yes," he said, "You won't get so wet."

"Where will it take me?" I asked.

"The bus?"

No, I thought to myself. A moon rocket. Of course the bus.

"Yes, the bus."

"To U and 14th Street," said he.

"Well," I said, "I'd still have to walk three blocks in the rain to get to my apartment."

"Yeah," he replied, "But's it's less walking."

Less walking, I thought. Huh. Less walking. When, I wondered, did walking become such a bad thing?

Then I thought back one and a half hours to the time I was leaving the movie theater. Given the choice of walking up the steps to the street level or taking an escalator, 100% of the people rode the escalator. (I don't count myself trudging almost gleefully up the steps because, statistically, I'm negligible.)

Not one, well other than me, seemed to see the value of actually exerting themselves one iota. Perhaps the idea of burning one calorie of the popcorn, beer, hot dog, or candy seemed abhorrent for some reason.

So what has become of the people of this world?

When did taking a bus six blocks to avoid exercise or rain become preferable to a casual walk in nature?

Oh, wait, there's the rub (maybe). So many people consider the city to be a place of concrete and steel -- far removed from the natural world. Ergo -- take a bus, what does it matter?

But, don't you see? The city is as much a place of nature as the Bonnie Doone. It has air and rain and clouds to watch drifting up over the buildings. (Of course, it doesn't have dog pods because that's one part of nature -- excrement -- that city dwellers want to imagine (make believe) doesn't exist. And if it does exist, of course, it's rife with disease and chicken pox, or something.

LOL.

So we sit in our homes watching MSNBC or Fox -- feeling our blood rage as a result of media-induced fearful weather fantasies, all the while avoiding a seven-block walk in the pouring, scary rain.

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Daily Quote: February 2, 2011

‎The more I let go of, the less there seems that matters so much. The things that used to seem so important to me and my world are now annoying gnats buzzing around a street lamp in the dark. My serenity rests in the spaces between the exclamation points. Share this post :

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