Thursday, Dec. 25

Hi Everyone...Merry Christmas. Hope everyone is having a good day with friends and family. The owners of the hostel threw a big party here last night with a band and tons of food and booze. It was alright time and certainly better than having nothing at all to do. The party ended about 11 p.m. and I had consumed quite a bit of Crown Royal and called it a night myself. Things over here have been pretty quiet for me today. It's been raining pretty hard at times, but during a brief stoppage in the downpours, I took a bike ride to the northern part of Hilo and checked things out, found where my bank is, scoped out a few restaurants, etc. I got soaked on the way back, but have taken to wearing board shorts and a rain jacket every time I get on my bike. Getting soaked is no fun, but it's not the worst thing in the world. The only excitement here today was when a completely intoxicated homeless guy stumbled up the stairs, crashed into a table and then went into some one's room and crawled into their bed. It was actually not funny at all and pretty scary. The manager here had to call the cops -- it was a big scene. I got moved into a room with its own bathroom and shower today. It's by far the best room and unfortunately, I can only have it for two days. After that, I was scheduled to go into a dormitory-style room. After the events of today, I have made the decision to get the hell out of here after my time in this room is up. I am already living even further outside of my comfort zone than I already have, trying to save money -- but when I stop feeling safe -- I will start spending money. In addition to the wasted bum, I caught some hippie stealing my bread (we have to keep all of our stuff in a communal refrigerator) yesterday. He said he thought it was every one's bread, despite the huge sign that clearly stated the opposite. I told him that if I ever caught him eating my food again I would break his F*C*I*G neck. He then had the nerve to offer the bread back to me after his dirty, hippie hands were all over it. This experience has been interesting. So, looks like I will be on the move yet again. I have to say, I am getting really, really sick of this temporary displacement bullshit. Time for me to figure this out. Aloha.