Saturday, April 19, 2008

The Kalapaki Paddler


Here is some recent artwork I created that gives a good idea about what my mind has been on lately... the stand up paddle boards floating around Kalapaki. Hence the name "The Kalapaki Paddler." This one measures in around 6" x 6" and was done with acrylic paint and paint pens along with the rope boarder. If anyone is interested in purchasing this one zap me an e-mail.

Saturday, April 05, 2008

My New Stand Up Paddle Board


Well I did it, I went down to Kalapaki and dropped some change on Uncle Sal who made the call to Bill Hamilton who showed up later with my new VEC stand up paddle board! 10' 10" x 28" of pure stokage! Now I just got to learn how to drive it. Here I am paddlin leashless around the T-shirt mines:

Springy Chongolia update

Time for another Chongo in paradise update! Oh boy!

It has been a while and there has been a few changes in my Hawaiian lifestyle both good and not so good... but mostly good! My new house is really sweet and for the most part get along with my new roommates. However, one of my roommates is the inconsiderate slobby dum-dum type. But I also have a cool and fun roomie who likes to cook meals together, hang out, laugh and she cleans up after herself. She was going to move back to the mainland but missed her flight and decided to stay on island. So I was stoked that I did not have to find another roommate and have to possibly live with two piggies. The landlord is pretty cool also. He has a cat named Ski who likes to comes by for a visit whenever there is fresh fish in our house.

Speaking of fish, I was given a couple Nenue (rudderfish) that were caught by a local fisherman that I had met down by the Wailua river throwing a net on the reef. When I told him I didn't know how to clean them he went into a state of disbelief. When I finally convinced him it was true that I had never cleaned a fish before he took me, a few of his fishes and a knife down to the oceans edge and gave me a seaside fish cleaning lesson. The next day back up at the house I drank a few fish smelling beers to get my nerve up then pulled the nenue out of the cooler then cleaned and gutted them fishes all by myself. That night the cat and I ate fresh grilled fish! Awesome!

I was so proud of myself that I took a picture of my handy work cookin' on the BBQ. The bad news is that a large part of my digital life including, pictures, t-shirt designs, an episode of Coconut Wired and other files created over the last 3 months were lost when I fried my laptop a few weeks ago. A series of circumstances, all which could of been avoided if I was using my brain, had converged leaving the death of my laptop as a result of their collision. Picture in your mind me driving my van with a full cup of coffee in a wobbly cup holder half filled with loose change. Next imagine a cell phone in one of my hands and an unzipped briefcase with my lap top sitting inside with the DVD slot staring upward. Now envision a twisty tropical road that I had never been on before. Well I probably don't need to tell you that I hit a turn, the coffee cup tipped over and drained into my briefcase and soaked my laptop. I took it to a Mac specialist but there was nothing they could do for it. I am still trying to get the data off but so far it does not look good. This unfortunate accident has limited my ability to get online, put an end to my podcasts and chongovision, and will hamper my internet shenanigans. I am still going to be online from time to time but in lurk mode for a little while.

There is a bright side however, I now spend less time in front of a computer and more time outside surfin', exploring Kauai and having fun goofing off. Also, it has given me the excuse I need to regroup and focus more on my art and creative endeavors as well as get caught up on a few things. I have decided to shutdown my website Lost-isle.com and end my podcast Coconut
Wired. I will be using my blog and social networking sites to keep an online presence for now. I will replace my laptop eventually but for now I think its time to buy a new toy instead... like a stand up paddle board, or a little sail boat, maybe a dirt bike or quad. Shootz, I may even go out and buy a fishing pole. yee haw!

So all is good for the most part Losing my beloved lap top was the worst thing to happen to me since I got here so I am still in good spirits and try not to bum out to much about the loss and my carelessness.