Second the Best

There's an almost mythical quality to the original Lunchable's pepperoni pizzas. I remember snacking on these little delectables every time we had to pack our own lunch. I was an elementary school student, making (involving stacking the pizza sauce, cheese, and pepperoni) and eating (the best part) my own lunch; I had achieved a level of independence I wouldn't reach for another 10 years. All the same, there's much to be said for returning to the past.

Back around that time when I was raising myself to be an Italian chef, my family took a vacation to Hawaii. There's actually not much about the trip that I remember as particularly pleasant - it was gorgeous, naturally, but the scenic backdrop was punctuated by bouts of bad luck. On a snorkeling trip at the beach, my brother had our feet mercilessly cut by the razor-sharp coral that we tried to step on (couldn't walk without wincing for a few weeks). A few days later, we were visiting a volcano and the tour guide made a comment in Chinese that I didn't understand at the time. I later found out - amidst the laughter of everyone on the tour - that she had warned me against burning off my "little friend." If that's not child abuse, I don't know what is.

BUT Hawaii was indeed picturesque. I like to think that if I visited now, I'd focus less on the little trials and tribulations I noticed as a kid and instead enjoy how relaxing and serene it can truly be. The two plaque-things above are souvenirs that my brother and I brought back. We were visiting a village and an artist there offered to paint our names solely with images; mine's the one on top, and if you look closely you can see that my name is actually spelled arcing rainbow, happy leaping dolphin, second happy leaping dolphin, field of ferns, wide-eyed goldfish, poignant blade of grass, multi-colored parrot, sun over mountaintop, ecstatic leaping dolphin, large-winged insect.