Mission 2 and Subsequent Walking Adventures

My extended vacation (Read: Unemployment) needs to come to an end. It's time to begin Mission 2: Find a Freakin' Job.  I began last Wednesday by walking to 3 1/2 schools in a mile and a half radius from my building.  (The half was a school that I had to cross a highway to get to, so that one was out, but I did walk most of the way there.)  I dropped off my resumes, and it was pretty depressing because I watched the people file every one of them away without so much as glancing at them.

A bit dejected, I resumed the mission on Thursday by walking to a school in the opposite direction from the others.  Not only is it my favorite walk, it is my favorite school so far.  A charter school, it teaches students to speak native Hawaiian, Mandarin, and Spanish, as well as normal elementary learnings.  It is also great because the administrator actually looked at my resume and asked me questions! (It's the little things in life.)

However, my day didn't stop there.  Excited by my possible turn in employment luck, I decided to celebrate by getting my library card at the Hawaiian State Library.  It is only a couple blocks north of the school and another really pretty walk.  In fact, I walked about a block farther than I should have and ended up at Iolani Palace:

I realized that the library was a block behind me so I walked across the lawn,

past that building (Archives), and to the library.  I was looking at my phone to make sure I had the correct building (because nothing was clearly marked) and a woman with a headpiece microphone came up to me and this happened:

Her:    You need to put that away.

Me:     Excuse me?

Her:    You need to put your phone away, there are no cameras allowed on set.

Me:     I was just making sure I was at the library...to get a library card.

Her:    Well you need to put that away [stares at me]

That's right! I walked onto the set of Hawaii 5-0 and it was extremely awkward.  The scene was being filmed in front of the main entrance of the building and in the lobby (?) of the library - where I was waiting to get my card.  After I was denied a library card (no proof of residence on me), I tried to leave.  I was stopped by a guard because they were in the middle of filming a scene.  When I was finally able to leave, I tried going out the entrance, failed, and finally escaped through the correct door with appropriate timing.  Who would have thought that a library visit would be so complicated?!

Here's a shot of the library and film crew/equipment.  Take THAT Headset Witch!

(yes, I took it from across the street)

One last fun tidbit from this walking adventure is that they started setting up the Honolulu City Electric Lights Parade.  Here's a sneak peek:

Bizarre, huh? 

On Friday I had a mini walking adventure in which I (successfully) got my library card and went to find an art supply store.  On my way, I also found the Occupy Honolulu protesters:

I know it says "DEOCCUPPY HONOLULU" but that's not what they were going for.  There were a couple funny signs that I wanted to take pictures of including one that said "We are NOT camping".  Many people camp in public parks in Honolulu, so I thought it was funny that these guys had to specify. Also, this may seem sizable, but check it out from the side view:

A bit sad



Friday night and this weekend deserve their own post, so I will be tackling that after I get back from visiting some more schools today. 

There was once a cross-eyed teacher who couldn't control her pupils.

Wish me luck!