Do I Still Have the Island Girl In Me?

I don't know if I should be claiming Hawaii has my hometown since my family moved from place to place (my dad was in the Navy). Yet, it was his longest tour of all his tours in his military career, and my formative years were spent there. Anyways, I had an interesting conversation with a client today. She came in this morning to drop something off. Before she left, we had this conversation:

Client: Can I ask you a question?
Me: Sure...
C: Are you from Hawaii?

I was puzzled why she asked me this. I wasn't wearing any of my Hawaiian jewelry that would give any indication that I'm from there (it's usually a dead giveaway).

Me: As a matter of fact, we used to live there. How did you know?
C: I was here a few days ago, and I overheard you talking. I said to myself, "She has to be from Hawaii." It's just that you use certain words and phrases, and the intonation of your voice...my husband is from Hawaii, and you sound like my in-laws!
M: Why, thank you!

I was surprised that I still spoke some semblance of pidgin. It's been 15 years since we left Hawaii. Honestly, I'd tell you I sound like just another person from the Valley (not to be mistaken with the Valley Girl accent)--the South Bay, Silicon Valley, etc. "Dude, what the hell were you thinking? We're heading out hella early tuh-muh-row."

But I guess since I still use words and phrases like "talk story", "small kine", and "niele", local transplants will pick up on that. Also, I have a co-worker who is from Maui, so when we talk, the pidgin comes out. I just thought it was interesting.

In the Desert (Day 1)

It's been a week since we arrived from our trip to Palm Desert, one of the desert cities in southern California. On first day, last Saturday, I slept the afternoon away due to a bad headache. I wasn't acclimated to the dry heat, so I was dehydrated. During the days that followed, we carried around bottled water everywhere we went. That night, Sinta, his parents, his youngest brother, and I walked around the main drag of Palm Springs before having dinner at Las Casuelas Terraza for a Mexican feast. Now, I used to equate Palm Springs with retired folks. That's not necessarily the case. You'll find retirees, young families, girls out on a bachelorette party, friends out on the town, and the such. I'd probably choose to go to Palm Springs before Vegas, only because Palm Springs is smaller and more laid bag. Maybe I'm just to old to be partying till the wee hours of the morning. And, if you're itching to gamble, you can visit the casinos in neighboring cities. No problem. I have no pictures to post for the first night since I wasn't feeling so hot.