Ol’ Lavahead Day 2018

Ol’ Lavahead Day, now celebrating 64 years of existence as a pariah. Actually, there was no celebration ... what, with one foot in the grave? Sheesh!

As prophesied many moons ago, life in the senior citizen years is going to be a living hell. The empire and its vassal states are doing everything to stoke a nuclear conflagration with the Russian Federation. The trade war with China promises to guarantee the same result. Global climate change will probably cause even greater damage, even though the latter was entirely preventable.

Human stupidity knows no bounds. And, ultimately, the collective stupidity has roots in the denial of death. The Great Prophet, Ernest Becker, had predicted as much many moons ago. The awareness of mortality spawns chronic psychopathology. All chimpo sapiens are clinically insane to varying degrees.

Personal introspection, albeit laborious, revealed that the denial and fear of death impacted all personal decisions. Previous Notes provides testimony to substantiate the latter statement. Once again, the Great Prophet proves to extremely prescient.

Update: There was a short internal debate about a minor Ol’ Lavahead Day celebration in the form of dinner procured from Lahaina Chicken Company. The idea was quickly mummified. What is there to celebrate?

Decisions

A monthly parking pass for the soon-to-be former senior citizen mobile command center (read: minivan) was purchased for a whopping $220 at the Waikiki Banyan. In the days of the detestable “condotel” unit, the same pass cost $100 for one month.

Waikiki Banyan Hotel

The conundrum, of course, is that the minivan will be parked for six days straight. It will only be driven one day per week for the usual Hawai’i Kai visit. The mileage will be about 15 round trip. Obviously, keeping and maintaining the minivan becomes a ludicrous proposition. In fact, the whole charade may have been staged to finally force a decision to sell the vehicle once and for all.

As stated in a previous Note, a two-month “grace period” will be initiated once the minivan is parked at the Waikiki Banyan at considerable cost. All other alternatives will be vigorously pursued. On a a solution is found, the minivan will be divested.

Addendum: The representative at the Waikiki Banyan was extremely cordial and helpful, a significant improvement over the person who was in that position in the detestable “condotel” days.

iPhone XR Revisited

So far, the iPhone XR has been a commendable device and certainly an improvement over the iPhone 7 in every way. Coming from the Android® platform, of course, made the “Home” button seem archaic. Oddly, the latest news revealed that the new X-series trio are all selling less than favorably.

iPhone XR

As of today, the trade-in allowance for the iPhone 7 is up $50 to $250 in total. That’s actually a pretty good incentive. The X-series is definitely way overpriced, though. However, there is also another possible reason for the slow sales: people just love the “Home” button!

Changes

The last few days at the “old folks home” in Makiki are bringing radical changes in itinerary and the beloved “routine.” Today will be the last day of parking the senior citizen mobile command center (read: minivan) at Koko Marina after the usual Hawai’i Kai visit. Also, this was the last commute to the gym in town and back on the Route 1L and Route 80 Express buses, respectively.

Waikiki

Already mentioned in the last Note is the countdown of the final days of using Kahala Mall as a staging area for daily senior citizen operations. Visits to Kahala Mall will now be limited to the day of the usual Hawai’i Kai visit (typically Monday). Riding the Route 1 and 1L buses to town and back will no longer occur.

The entire itinerary and “routine” will change once the move to the Waikiki “old folks home” is complete. At this time, there is no tentative itinerary planned. Ala Moana Center will most likely become the new staging area. However, the senior citizen mobile command center will remain parked in whatever parking venue is found for it. The bus will become the primary mode of transportation.

Addendum: This will also be the last week of riding the Route 5 or 6 bus in the evening to Ala Moana Center and the Route 17 or 18 bus to return to Makiki. Although, accommodations may be made to patronize the fast food joint on Ke’eaumoku Street.

Senior Citizen Overload

There’s exactly one week left before the move to the “old folks home” in Waikiki. There have been numerous episodes of “second thoughts,” but the latter is moot. All arrangements have been completed, so there’s no turning back.

Using Kahala Mall as the staging area for the senior citizen mobile command center (read: minivan) is also rapidly drawing to a close. No more wasting petrol to drive the minivan to Kahala every morning just to enjoy some semblance of solitude for coffee time. The minivan also had its own “reserved” spot in the shaded parking area.

Kahala Mall

Kahala Mall, as mentioned previously, is very “senior friendly.” During the tenure there, however, the number of senior citizens walking the perimeter of the mall for exercise has increased dramatically. The number of exercise classes has also increased. Frankly, the sheer number of senior citizens of varying stages of decrepitude on parade in the mall is both staggering and unnerving. In the morning, Kahala Mall is essentially a senior citizen recreation center. In fact, any denial of mortality is impossible under those circumstances.

Add in the residency at the “old folks home” in Makiki and a totally depressing situation results. Last night during the brief stopover before departing for dinner, an ambulance arrived to take one of the residents to the hospital. There’s always some kind of reminder about the proximity of death.

The constant barrage of decrepit senior citizens is beginning to take a major toll on the psyche. If the move to the Waikiki “old folks home” proves to be similarly demoralizing, there will be no other option but to revert to motorhomelessness with a cargo van camper conversion.

No-Holiday Holiday 2018

The dreadful No-Holiday season has arrived and, for pariahs, that’s the commencement of stupidity and major inconvenience. The community room at the “old folks home” in Makiki was locked, which preempted instant coffee preparation. The drive to Kahala Mall was nice because traffic was light. Upon arrival, the fast food joint was discovered to be closed. So, coffee has to be procured for a whopping $3.50 at Starbucks®. The mall was populated with myriad senior citizens as usual.

The ride to town on the bus was marred by myriad Chinese senior citizens, none of whom speak English. The gym closed at 2pm, so the usual workout had to be accomplished at a less-than-leisurely pace. The ride back to Kahala Mall on the bus was better. However, there were at least six homeless people commuting to who-knows-where. A few minutes was spent “hanging out” and using the free wireless access.

Returning to the “old folks home” at 4pm was no cause for celebration. The community room was still locked, so the resident senior citizens had nowhere to loiter. None of them were sighted anyway before departure to the fast food joint on Ke’eaumoku Street.

At the fast food joint, a large salad was ordered only to be disappointed by its unavailability. Apparently, the nationwide e. coli scare had prompted a recall of all mixed lettuce products. The lettuce in the “value menu” chicken sandwich was oddly exempted.

Later, an attempt was made to procure dinner at L&L Hawai’ian Barbeque inside the Walmart® store on Ke’eaumoku Street. Of course, the “Black Friday” bullshit was in “full swing” by then. The waiting line exceeded comprehension.

So, a short walk to Ala Moana Center ensued. There were mobs of people everywhere. Surprisingly, the Makai Mall food court was open. Only a handful of vendors, including Panda Express®, were open. Lines were long. Guess where dinner was procured? Afterward, time was spent loitering at the Starbucks® adjacent to The Lanai food court. Free Net access was exploited. And, so forth. Loitering and more loitering.

The “Black Friday” bullshit signifies the official commencement of the Saturnalia shopping madness. A pariah has no connection to that level of stupidity. Saturnalia is just another Pavlovian event to bring the masses into servitude to their Masters. That, of course, is the final annual culmination of wage and debt slavery.

Slavery

A couple of weeks ago, an encounter with Ann at Longs® in Hawai’i Kai, where she is employed, revealed that she had quit her second (part-time) wage slave job at Petco® in Koko Marina Center. Ann is now working a full-time position as an evening caregiver for an elderly client. Ann is still employed at Longs during the day. “I only get three hours of sleep for five days of the week,” she said.

On Monday, another encounter with Ann at Longs® during the usual Hawai’i Kai visit yielded the observation that Ann seemed a bit tense. She launched on a tirade about senior citizens even though she, herself, is 62 years old. In her defense, Longs® is pretty much a senior citizen recreation center. Anyway, sleep deprivation appears to be “wielding its ugly head.”

Ann had foresaken early retirement in favor of continued wage slavery in order to insure a higher monthly Social Security disbursement. Yet, her existence continues to be day-to-day or paycheck-to-paycheck. One or two wage slave jobs ... not enough to survive in Hawai’i.

Attempting to maintain even a modest “standard of living” is a “fool’s errand.” Wage slavery and debt slavery are the only avenues open for the rank-and-file peons of empire. What can be said of one’s enslaved life in perpetuity? There’s life, and then there’s death. That’s it.

The move to the Waikiki “old folks home” is no real solution. There’s always the chance that some kind of event will invoke eviction. There’s no stability without Big Money. Any “old folks” home” is a dismal place. For the most part, the “old folks home” is transitional housing before entering an assisted care facility. For some, though, it is the “end of the road.”

In this particular case, the “old folks home” is just an excuse to preempt real homelessness, specifically motorhomelessness. A pariah cannot survive in an institutionalized mausoleum-like environment because the latter is akin to incarceration. Freedom is all that matters. Freedom without Big Money is impossible in the skewed “ownership society.” Incarceration is as good as being dead.

Paperwork & Shit

An early morning encounter with the resident manager at the “old folks home” in Makiki resulted in the finalization of the lease termination. The paperwork for vacating the unit was completed even though the actual moving date is December 1st at the earliest.

In the brief three-week period before the electric service was terminated, over $18 was accrued. For what? The cost for electric service in the islands is outrageous and will worsen. The Korean neighbors recently mentioned that using the air conditioner during the recent two- or three-day heatwave produced a whopping $157 electric bill for the month. Upon perusing the itemized statement, the discovery was made that Hawai’ian Electric Company always charges a minimum amount (approximately $20 before credits) even if barely any or no electricity is consumed. What kind of shit is that?

The driver’s license renewal process was cumbersome. First, the only available appointment was scheduled for today at 2:45pm in Kane’ohe. Second, the paperwork and resulting “paper trail” are intrusive and burdensome. Fortunately, the ancient Territory of Hawai’i birth certificate was accepted. The renewal fee was $40 plus a small penalty for using using a credit card. If the driver’s license is sent to the new residence address (i.e., “old folks home” in Makiki), it will not be forwarded to A new address (which will occur in a week or so). No documentation for the new address in Waikiki is currently available, which is the cause of the confusion. The whole sickening process will then have to repeated.

Addendum: A battery-operated air pump was purchased for $11 at Target® to rapidly deflate and inflate the airbed provided by the Sand Island homeless shelter. The airbed will continue to be the sole piece of furniture while tenured in conventional housing.

Preparations & Projections

An early morning chat with the resident manager in the community room at the “old folks” home in Makiki confirmed the arrangements established on Saturday. Move-in at the “old folks home” in Waikiki is likely to be the first few days of December. So, that’s that.

There’s a lot to do in the interim. Utilities have already been scheduled for termination. Packing “stuff” will obviously be minimal. Parking for the minivan will have to figured out immediately. Most likely, the Waikiki Banyan option will be taken.

At this point in time, a two-month “grace period” will be invoked to determine whether to sell the minivan or not. The most prudent choice would be divestiture. There is absolutely no reason, aside from the Monday visits to Hawai’i Kai, to continue ownership of the vehicle. Thus, the automobile rental alternatives will be vigorously investigated during the “grace period.”

As for moms, there is no question that longevity will prevail. Age degeneration is occurring at an extremely slow pace. At this time, moms can be expected to be fully ambulatory with minor decrease in vision at age 100 years. Only at age 105 years will there be significant physical impairments that will require assisted care. Moms is turning 97 years of age next February. Weekly visits with moms will continue, although long-term automobile rental fees will far exceed the amount generated upon selling the minivan now. However, keeping and maintaining the minivan eight more years would be foolish.

Of course, the cargo van camper conversion idea still remains a viable alternative. Residing in any “old folks home” is akin to incarceration. Without an exorbitant amount of wealth, there can be no other path to freedom. A return to wage slavery in order to buy “freedom” is possible, but the contradictions are painfully obvious.

Options Revisited

A couple of weeks ago, a flyer appeared on the bulletin board at the “old folks home.” There was an offer for two months of “free” rent at the “old folks home” in Waikiki. The resident manager at the “old folks home” in Makiki was queried. Upon verification of the validity of the offer, interest was expressed in pursuing the latter.

Long story short, the resident manager was able to tentatively secure a studio apartment. There were several setbacks with the certification process, but the resident manager was able to “smooth things over.” There was also reluctance to move there because of no available parking stalls for the senior citizen mobile command center (read: minivan).

There whole process was rushed nonetheless, with a mandatory signing of the lease yesterday. The e-mail notification wasn’t read until late last night, but the resident manager was able to make arrangements for an appointment this morning.

An excursion was made by bus to Waikiki with “second thoughts” about the move. The studio is in the new building. It is styled in the same penitentiary design as the “old folks home” in Makiki. All occupants in the building will be the first generation, by the way. The rent is $876 per month with electricity included. The signing of the lease required a security deposit of the same amount. The lease at the “old folks home” was nullified. However, the security deposit (fronted by the Sand Island homeless shelter) and prorated November rent will be reimbursed. Rent for “old folks home” in Waikiki is not due until February. Move-in will be later this month.

At this point in time, the minivan will end up being parked at the Waikiki Banyan for a whopping $220 per month. Hopefully, that will be incentive to finally divest the vehicle. Rental agencies and the new Drive Hui option are to be seriously considered.

More Musings 2018

“You’ve got maybe eight years,” Marshall said. He’s 73 years old now. In the last year, he’s noticed a significant decline in both interest and ability with regard to his workouts. So, the eight remaining years that he alluded to would be “good years.” The conversation transpired in the locker room at the gym the other day. Observing Marshall during his workout revealed an alarmingly relaxed form. He also looked very tired.

Most old codgers don’t live beyond 80 years, so Marshall is probably correct. He has been working out consistently for several decades, so his prognostication is coincident with anyone with a similar regimen. No doubt, Marshall is now truly cognizant of what little time he has remaining.

The application process for the “old folks home” in Waikiki laid bare just how intrusive the certification process is for eligibility. Fortunately, the housing specialist at the Sand Island homeless shelter has completed the process without client involvement for the “old folks home” in Makiki. The intrusion of privacy, at least concerning financial matters, has necessitated the acquisition of a small safe $23 at Target®) in order to hide assets, something that the formerly-homeless buddy was quite adamant about. How do the other senior citizens put up with that shit?

Addendum: The small safe has been securely placed in the senior citizen mobile command center (read: minivan).

Musings 2018

The fast food joint on Ke’eaumoku Street has become the evening stopover (after the daily Ala Moana Center outing) before returning to the “old folks home.” The evening crowd can best be described as “colorful.” Unfortunately, the even the cheapest food items are adding up. A dollar here, a dollar there. Soon, we’re talking Big Money. Yet, what other alternatives are there?

Time spent at the fast food joint is just an extension of usual Apple Store visit ... wasting time on the Net. Distractions are crucial to maintain the “vital lie.” And, in the fascist “ownership society,” there’s little left for the rank-and-file proms except a “virtual” reality.

Musings have increasingly become a pastime, but the focus has been mainly on mortality issues. There have also been thoughts dedicated to familial issues, mostly involving moms. The situation has not improved with the bro. Of course, there is no resolution. Unfortunately, the whole scenario must play out until the end. In the meantime, the fast food joint on Ke’eaumoku will suffice.