I finally made it to San Diego. We moved in earlier this week and finally got everything unpacked. However, this has been the worst move in regards to damage in the 12 years I’ve been in the Navy. So far, the Hawaiian packers managed to damage 8 items. They were the worst movers we’ve ever had. Even the movers that delivered out boxes said they consistently have problems with how the Hawaiians pack boxes. One of the movers talked about how he almost lost some fingers from a machete that was packed in the top of a wardrobe closet and how another time he got his head cut by a piece of glass that fell off an entertainment console.

But enough bitching about Hawaii. I don’t live there anymore and I hope I never have to go back. It can sink into the ocean for all I care now.

San Diego, on the other hand, is fabulous. Within 10 minutes drive of our house we have: 2 Target stores, Costco, Ikea,  Lowes, 2 shopping malls, and numerous stores, restaraunts, and markets. Just across the road from us is a sandwich shop, a barber, a produce stand, 7-11, drug store, several restaraunts, and the post office. Down the road is the public library and police station. There’s a bus stop right on our corner, which goes to the San Diego trolley station down the hill. Nearly every road has a bike path and there are several biodiesel stations just a few minutes away. Not to mention the Mexican, Greek, Indian, and other ethnic restaraunts around.

Unfortunately I won’t be around to enjoy any of this while I’m deployed but it’s nice to know that my family will be set up.  After this move, we’re thinking of just buying a house. This is our eighth move in 12 years (ten for me if you count my stints at various Navy schools) and we’re burnt out now. With the housing market the way it is now, houses are pretty much dirt cheap, especially if you don’t mind “living in the boonies”. Between the bus and rail systems, it doesn’t really matter terribly much. I don’t know if we’ll stay here forever but it will at least be until I get out of the military.

I took this picture the other day while waiting in line at McDonald’s. I thought it was quite humorous that a Driver’s Ed car would be going through the drive-thru. What was even funnier was, when it drove off, I saw that the only person who got anything was the instructor as he stuffed his face; the students in the car had nothing to eat.

Of course, one has to wonder how appropriate this is. Did the instructor tell the student to do it for his own benefit or did he ask if anyone else was hungry? Perhaps a better question is, why didn’t the instructor simply wait until the lesson was over? Even if the instructor is diabetic, they should normally carry snacks with them. At least eat before taking the car out.

Ever since I arrived in Hawaii, I’ve noticed something about the way the Navy Exchange (NEX) operates. Normally, a military exchange checks the ID cards of all patrons to ensure that only military members shop there. This is in addition to having to show your ID to actually get on base. The commissary (military grocery store) is supposed to do this also. But guess what? The NEX doesn’t do that in Hawaii, at least not consistently. > more <

One thing I’ve found living in Hawaii (formerly called the Sandwich Islands by Captain Cook in honor of the Earl of Sandwich) is that the locals don’t admit, much less know, the true history of the islands. I’m sure I’ll get a lot of flack for talking about this but I think it’s something that needs to be brought up. > more <

After doing a Google search on “Hawaii sucks”, I’ve found that many people have expressed opinions that match my own. I already know that many of the military people currently here and who have lived here in the past also share the exact same feeling about Hawaii. I’m surprised at how many other people resent this place. To that end, I’m going to just post bits and pieces I find in the local media and personal experiences about the lie that is “paradise”. > more <

Hawaii is considering whether to give school principals the power to search student lockers and use drug-sniffing dogs campus wide, regardless of whether there is there is evidence of wrongdoing.

The idea is to give principals the authority to “keep drugs and weapons out of the schools”. > more <