Life Power Now - for gay men

Aloha,
The local newspaper here is pretty boring. We really, really like it that way. The front page is almost always local stories, while the national news, even the really big news that gets splashed across the media, seems pretty far way.

This email is my version of the local news. Nothing exciting, just an update on what I am doing, with some pics.

Hawaii will forever invoke images of vacation, but most of us who live here are very busy. Of course, some of the things we are busy with are kinda nice things to do. <grin> I swim in the ocean or pool almost every day, and now that I am more confident with larger waves, have been body surfing at the rocky local beach (Kehena Beach). I still get nicked up a little by the rocks, but the cuts are minor and I heal quickly.

After an tumultuous August meeting of the new local community group I was facilitating, I swore to never again schedule a meeting near the full moon! I've let the group go into a hiatus, but probably will start to rev it up again, but not quite yet. I'm also working on the (ready for this?) Puna Community Development Plan (CDP) Natural Reources Preservation/Protection Working Group (NWRG). I am the facilitator and contact person for the group, which is one of ten working groups that will prioritize the suggestions from 130 community meetings and make recommendations for the new development plan for the Puna district that will become law. Fortunately for me, there are several knowledgeable and enthusiastic (read: rapid rabid rabbit) people in the group, so I can sit back and just document stuff. I think that this is one of my life lessons that I came to Hawaii to work on: I don't have to drive! <grin>

At Kalani, we're still working on finishing up the plans for the Kalani Kai development, and have been trying to massage the people at the county Planning Department who seem suspicious of the "outside-the-box" development that we're doing. We're waiting to find out if they are going to require new amendments or further changes. Otherwise, the plans are finished and ready to be submitted. Very cool designs for a hexagonal cottage with roof deck and an octagonal bamboo cottage built in Vietnam.

Although construction is not really my long suit, I recently spent a few weeks routing (rounding the corners) and pickling (whitewashing w/ a design) beams and roofing plywood for the new Kalani entrance building. Yesterday, Richard and I bought the colors for the acid-etching of the cement floor, which is something I need to learn for my own cottage when we build it.

In the meantime, the house I am living in has been sold (I think, I'm pretty sure... but don't know if/when the closing is...) and I am planning on moving out of my current place sometime next month and into the second-floor bedroom at Richard's house at Kalani. I guess I could be there six months or more. Don't really know for sure..... (there seem to be few certainties on the Big Island! <grin>.)

Had a nice visit a couple days ago to the Pe'ePe'e waterfalls and a beautiful stretch of the Wailuku river known as the "boiling pots". You can see where the nickname comes from the attached picture!

Well, enough boring local news for now <grin>. I hope this finds you well. Much love and aloha,

Paul