alexhi's Profile

I've made this twice now with local Okinawan sweet potatoes- it's fantastic: http://projects.washingtonpost.com/recipes/2010/01/13/warm-sweet-potato-salad-chorizo/

The bathroom in my 1950s apartment has the same problem. I removed one of the lightbulbs from the vanity lighting fixture and replaced it with a socket adapter and an extension cord:
http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=light+bulb+socket+adapter&tag=googhydr-20&index=aps&hvadid=7166784819&hvpos=1t2&hvexid=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=1469843171674602012&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=b&ref=pd_sl_2d6mglklmi_b

I've had zero problems with this set up over the last 2+ years. The only issue if something is plugged in that needs charging (e.g. an electric toothbrush) it won't charge when the lights are off.

We have a couple of "yuppie" Safeways in Honolulu that have the widest selection of things. I also love Foodland (a local chain), but most of them are tiny and while they carry high quality stuff, they can't carry a great variety of it. Whole Foods prices are pretty comparable to the regular grocery stores here, but I haven't found the magic time of day where it isn't clogged with regular shoppers or van-loads of tourists. All three chains do a really good job of stocking local products like poke, produce, and smoked ahi dip mmm...

It's like a slap in the face every time I walk into a Trader Joe's on the mainland. The aloha shirts, the signage that says "mahalo", the surfboard decor...

I grew up in an Asian house on the mainland and the no-shoe rule was quite clear and people visiting our house adjusted/planned ahead. I live in Hawaii now and the no-shoe (or slippah) rule is quite clear and everyone adjusts/plans accordingly (funny to watch movers balance a couch overhead while kicking off their boots before entering your home). The problem is when it's not known ahead of time what the rules are (frequently the case on the mainland)-- then you can't adjust and your Manolos get stolen.

I thought I had ditched landlines forever until I moved and had to get one in order to have a local number. It did prove useful once when I left a credit card in the taxi and the driver was able to look me up in the phone book to tell me he had found it. And actually, really useful the 10,000 times I've lost my cell phone somewhere in my apartment.

take into account where you are moving though- I got rid of a small couch, dresser, etc when I moved to Hawaii and I realize the cost to replace those items with comparable pieces was more than the cost of shipping them across the country. the choices of furniture are also limited here, most stores wont ship to the islands, and months of scouring craiglist hasn't yielded any great vintage finds (thanks, termites!)

I haven't used my AC since I've moved to Honolulu (though I did use my space heater a few times). I've noticed the key is having good air flow. Most apartment buildings here have outdoor corridors so apartments have windows on both sides of the unit. I've been in apartments here with interior corridors and they were hot and stifling, even when the trades were blowing.