Rather than adjust to Hawaiian time, I've opted to remain in Central time. My dad sometimes needs help in the morning, and my mom really needs to sleep in. If I keep my body fooled into thinking that 4 a.m. is really 9 a.m., I can assist in that manner.
That just means when it's noon in Hawaiʻi, my body will think it's already time to start winding down for the afternoon. I went to bed before 10 p.m. HST last night, which means I stayed up till 3 a.m. CST.
The house and the neighborhood tend to wake up around 4 a.m. anyway. If it isn't my brother getting ready to go to work — long bus commute — it's the roosters all throughout the neighborhood, reliable alarm clocks you can't shut off till you need something to eat for dinner.
About the only thing I'm doing on this trip, aside from making sure my dad gets around without incident, is eating. All the discipline I've exercised in the last nine months have pretty much been thrown to the proverbial wind in the face of all the fatty, delicious food here. After shopping for CDs on Friday, my sister and I stopped by Grace's Inn for the requisite plate of chicken katsu. I thought about splitting the plate up between lunch and dinner, but who was I kidding? I dusted the entire plate off, including the chow fun.
I didn't bother eating dinner that night. But I did indulge in some malasadas.
I have been getting some exercise, though. On Friday, I accompanied my sister to get her daily Starbucks at a nearby shopping center, a round trip of 2.2 miles. This morning, we drove to Kapiʻolani Park and walked the perimeter. Neither excursion got my heart rate up to my usual workout, but at least I feel as if I've mitigated all the bad eating of the past three days.
I did, however, insult my mom when I refused to eat the breakfast she cooked Thursday and Friday morning. I drank SlimFast instead, to which she objected saying it didn't provide sufficient nutrition. I think she doesn't like having her cooking rebuffed.
After the walk around Kapiʻolani Park, we stopped by Island Manapua Factory to pick up some manapua. On the Mainland, they're called dumplings. They are actually called bao in Chinese. I stick with manapua.
I've weighed myself dutifully, as prescribed by the Hacker's Diet, and I'm not pleased by the numbers. According to the scales here at the house, I've gained eight pounds in three days. I think they're just miscalibrated. But I bet when I get home to Austin, my scale will corroborate theirs.