Poison is a girl's best friend

I've kinda gotten into the groove of daily life in Hawaii, to the point of actually feeling a little chilly in the morning when it's really only low 70's. My room is like a moldy cave. No, really. There is mold on the ceiling.
A housing inspector came through and told me that I should always have a fan on and should keep the windows open whenever possible, and that I should scrub the ceiling with bleach. Uh... okay... except I CAN'T have all the windows open or I smell dog poo. Well, I can have one open. Still. Really? Mold? What.. am I in England again? It was my experience living in a castle in England back in 1998 that I first developed a mold allergy, being sick 5 out of the 6 months (I would have made a terrible princess). Yet again, I suffer from the mold allergy. It certainly explains the constant stuffy nose every morning and the sneezing fits. Apparently I missed the ceiling when I scoured the apartment.

New and understandably unacceptable development: A rat hole under the kitchen sink.

Really? A rat hole? Why the hell do I put up with this?

I'm not so sure, except with each new experience I learn a little more about what I can tolerate and when I am going to crack and end up in an insane asylum. All I can really say is that time and experience have really mellowed me out.

Luckily, the owner has bought her ticket to Philadelphia and departs on a plane (forever) December 28th. Where does that leave us in our lease? Good question. No idea. It's supposed to be up end of February. The potential buyer (who is aware of all of this) is still unsure if the deal is going to go through before then, but has expressed interest in keeping us as tenants. I have a list of demands if I am to extend my lease, but with the rental market the way it is here, I am not entirely optimistic that he will meet the demands and keep our rent at the same level. I don't even know if he'll keep it that way should I NOT present the demands. Oh, the things you learn when your budget is ridiculously tight. Some must decide whether they want a garden view or an actual garden. I must choose whether or not I can afford to move out of a rat/mouse/cockroach infested apartment. I must also choose whether to EVER bring such subjects up in conversation, especially with visiting house guests. Will they notice the rat hole that I have stuffed with a Brillo pad and covered with duct tape, or can I avoid the topic altogether?

Meanwhile, the roommates and I are reaching the "personal pet peeves" portion in our relationship, and I am remaining remarkably calm. They are married. They have married-person "talks." Then there is me, the third wheel, occasionally in the way and mute about my own grievances within the living situation. I prefer to just avoid the whole issue and lock myself in my room. Maybe that isn't the best approach, but it keeps me composed and separated from their life. You know how you should never turn a friend into a roommate? This is why. Sometimes, roommate situations must remain as professional as business transactions. All three of us will be fine so long as our personal space and mental space are honored. I believe this is only a temporary adjustment period in the roommate cycle, and look forward to the anxiety of the apartment pests being extinguished. I think it would do wonders for our stress levels. I've had great roommates in the past, but it certainly gets trickier when the roommates are married. It suddenly turns into a 2-1 ratio.. there is no equality. Luckily, they're from Iowa. Somehow that helps.

Domestic annoyances are a small component in my Hawaii experience. I have met a lot of amazing people. I have helped cook turkeys in an Imu pit for the homeless and poor. I have watched a portion of the Triple Crown surf competition, and stood within 20 feet of famous Bethany Hamilton, known for surviving a tiger shark attack. I have ridden on the back of a crotch rocket. I have seen Chinaman's Hat. I have hiked part of the Napali Coast to watch a brilliant sunset. I have driven across single-lane bridges in the jungles of North Shore Kauai. I have camped in 2" of water in a thunderstorm, oceanside, on the north shore of Oahu. I have gone for a morning swim in the ocean. I have purchased a Brazilian bikini... and worn it. I have broken my wrist. I have gotten into altercations with old ladies in Goodwill. I have shopped regularly at Walmart because I cannot afford not to. I have thrown away food an hour old because cockroaches in someone's car have taken hold of it. I have mooched rides, walked home 1 1/2 hours because I was too proud to ask, tipped a cabbie $10 extra because he didn't speak English and I couldn't handle dealing with him any more, waited for an hour in the rain for a bus next to a homeless person who had nowhere else to go, developed a fondness for most dogs regardless of size, developed a complete distaste for uni shooters, pronounced street names right, given directions to tourists, participated in a sex ed workshop with Micronesian Women who have never talked about sex, walked 13 miles to raise awareness and money for homelessness in Hawaii... and gotten to a pretty good place in my self-taught ukulele lessons.