I was feeling a might bit cranky over the last few days because I realized… oh no. I have to take the kids shopping. Middle Child’s shoes were falling apart and Eldest Child’s shoes are now too small and both of them outgrew their underwear (MC desperately needs pants but we are about to move to colder climates and they don’t have appropriate pants here so we are waiting anyway) and they are both at tricky in between sizes where sometimes kids stuff and sometimes adult stuff fits better.

Ack!

So I spent a while searching on the internet, like a good modern person. Pearlridge Center (the largest mall in Hawaii) had the biggest selection of both kid and adult clothing and shoes. It was an hour and 45 minutes away on the bus. So that meant planning a full dang day around getting underwear and shoes.

We got to ride past an awful lot of Oahu though and that was neat. I feel increasing concern as I travel and I see the same US brands everywhere. I thought Kuala Lumpur would feel more foreign and it didn’t because of US brands. Hawaii holds on to its local character in a few ways (only Hawaiian banks!) but there is a lot of creep in stuff.

It was neat being in a place where buildings taller than two stories are very rare again. We have been going back and forth between MASSIVE cities and tiny little towns. I do feel more comfortable in smaller towns, even with the added travel time for getting around.

The bus does not allow any large items–I saw folks with suitcases get told no they can’t get on. This is slightly alarming because I need to do laundry soon at a laundromat. I may need to finally investigate something like Lyft.

Our first stop was Macy’s because that was the first entrance from the parking lot. The kids tried on a lot of shoes and none of them fit well and were comfortable. The sales folks were fairly aggressive about trying to find us something to work. I am pretty sure they get commissions, but the shoes were fucking expensive and very uncomfortable. That’s a bad combination.

Guess where we found shoes they liked and that felt good? Payless. And because Payless is apparently going out of business, we got both pairs for $39. Can’t beat that.

We looked in 6 stores for underwear. Only one place (The Children’s Place) had underwear that would work for MC and EC could only find appropriate black underwear at Victoria’s Secret. Eep. (She has multiple black skirts and only white underwear. This… doesn’t look that great. She glows through her skirts.)

The kids wanted US chains for lunch. Ugh. I had delicious Korean BBQ. They finished their lunches and ate part of mine. Everyone agreed my food tasted the best. Well… I tried to tell you in advance…. We were starting to get just a bit cranky when I declared the food break. Afterwards we all did quite well with our patience and behavior. (There was some melodrama in Macy’s as if these were the only shoes in existence and you had to pick which of these hurt least. Nooooo. I never said that. Erf.)

Probably the roughest part of the day was Her Sweetness refusing to take a nap. She got very cranky.

While we were there the kids got haircuts because they have both been complaining about their hair.

I found a neat purse, made by a local mother and daughter that is the best purse I have ever seen in years of searching for a bag I would like. I bought it. I won’t ever get the chance again and I have never in my life seen a bag and instantly coveted it and longed for it. That was nice.

I also bought my friend who lives here a Hawaiian dictionary because she keeps saying she doesn’t understand any of the local stuff. I don’t think that’s ok. So here, let me buy you learning materials. We expect people moving to the mainland have to learn English. You can learn the language for where you are standing too. It’s part of why I want to feel more confident in my Spanish. Why I tried picking up Malay words. Why I will try to learn words everywhere I go. Meet people where they are. If we fully move to another country I will expect myself to develop fluency in whatever language.

It’s respectful, yo.

I had a lovely chat on the bus home with a Filipino woman. (It was relevant, we were talking about Manila.) I have now had a full dozen Filipino ladies lecture me on how Manila is better than Kuala Lumpur and I find it delightful. I need to go. I am told Halloween is one of the best times of year to visit. Sounds great. We talked a lot about working with teenagers and helping them be their best selves. Another guy on the bus joined in our chat when we got to the teenager part because he had a lot of questions about helping his niece. Her answer: aloha (love). My answer: respect. Teenagers are doing the very best they can with the tools they have. Show them respect and they will bloom like a flower. He appreciated that. He grinned and said we were both basically saying the same thing.

We all want to be loved and respected.

I uhhh messed up getting off the bus. I got off three bus stops too early. Dangit. Oh well.

Her Sweetness is about to be shifted to Youngest Child. Picture my grumpy face. She has now picked up that “charming” habit of biting my toes if they are near the edge of the bed. Every child I have ever taken care of has done the same trick. It’s not weird. It’s not bad. But it fucking hurts and I’m back in that “Toddlers are Triggering” stage and oh fuck. You can’t retaliate. You can’t hurt them back. A mad face and refusing to pick them up for a few minutes is absolutely the limit that you can do with a one year old. That hurts them. So I spent a few minutes tenderly cradling my foot after each bite. SHE FUCKING BIT ME TWICE.

Then she bit her sister!

UGH!

Toddlers!

This is my not so thrilled face.

But, it’s a stage. She will move through it. I have confidence. Her sister and brother haven’t bitten my toes in years.

Ha.

I gotta say, Noah’s cooking here has been *great*. I like it when he has this set of restrictions and food choices. Two thumbs up.

I need to investigate a massage from one of the over a dozen Thai massage places today. I’m not in pain, but I’m not feeling great either. I’m getting very stiff and sore. Maybe if I treat this quick it won’t get to pain.

Bless you, Dr. Meng. You are incredible.

And breakfast is ready.

PS, we see rainbows almost every day. It’s really cool.