Ok ... a number of friends have suggested I add a blog to my little website so here it is:
It will start at a random date and continue with random thoughts etc.............................
Dec 20th 09 .. wow all the pussies back east seem to be complaining about snow and cold ... I have gotten emails from Boston and Philly .... wah wah wah ... we here in Kailua just had a tropical storm blow through ... high winds, torrential rain, thunder and lightening water spouts ....... just happy to survive .... BUT I am sitting here with windows open and no shirt on and feel warm.......... HO HO HO HO Merry Christmas ... Happy New Year :-)
Dec 16th 09 ..wow I just processed an on line mail payment for Jan 2010 ... 2010 .. wow 2010 already ????? I am sure back in say 1995 2010 was beyond my wildest thoughts .. and here we are ... almost ... New Years eve I will be at the Keauhou Canoe Club's Halau for the ball drop at midnight NY time and celebrate the start of 2010 .... I hope the coming year will be kind to everyone ... especially those of my friends who found 2009 trying financially .... aloha V
Dec 14th 09 ... here I am in Hawaii a few weeks away from Xmas ... errr Bah Humbug .... the holiday season for me is no longer a special time .. I think you need family for that ... I am happy though, to be living in Hawaii .. and not having a care in the world except for a few nagging health thingies .. but hey overall life is amazing .. I suspect there are millions who would love to be in my shoes .. and I really appreciate that .. I am blessed for some reason. I am researching a trip of a life time for me this summer .. it may or maynot happen .. but am considering a trip that would take me around the world in 2 months .... Hawaii to LA to NY to Netherlands to Austria to Lithuania .. then either Asia or Autralia and back to Hawaii ... fun to investigate but may not happen ... I will know within a few weeks .... The volcano action is again making the sunny weather I came here for rather rare ... but how the hell can I complain when My Friends in say .... Essington PA .. are freezing their testicles off .. however that is funny ... shovel that snow and ice and slush ... by the way it was a bit chilly last night ... about 73F .. Brrrrrrrrr . ha ha or I mean HO HO HO ....... I am looking forward to paddling tomorrow on the blue Pacific and then talk story with friends ... Merry Chfristmas to all of you and I really do hope 2010 is a banner year for all .......... :-) .... I mean it .... and Ja .. you know who you are .. have a GREAT year ....
Nov 2nd 2009 ... you know a blog is like having a pet ... a full time job, and quite frankly I don't think my life is interesting enough to warrant a blog .. but I will share that here it is Nov 2nd already ... and I have no idea where the time has gone .. I have been in my condo for year now, and initial plans were 6 mos or so .. but life here is sooo nice even with the health issue ups and downs of the last few years .. the dreaded holiday season is upon us and quite frankly I canoot wait for Jan 2nd and the end of that season lol more later see ya Vytas
Hell it is Oct 16th already ... I guess life has been full of good times leaving me no time to update this blog .. so in a nutshell all is well and letting the good times roll .... more later !!
Aug 29th ... hmm seems like this blogging gets forgotten a lot .. haven't been here for well over a month .... made my annual trip to LA to watch the Manhattan Beach 6 man volleyball tourney .. but got sick and spent Friday thru Monday of the tourney at UCLA hospital ... bad trip .. but did get a few days of gambling in .. and now that I am back in Hawaii ..a bunch of medical tests will be scheduled oh well aging not so gracefully ..lol ... otherwise life ihas been good .. spending time with the paddlers and doing some paddling muself ... and enjoying all my free time ... some I know have gone back to work .. some to off set stock loses others because they are bored ... that I don't understand ... I love not working and being a beach bum ...
July 5th .. had a great fireworks show over Kailua harbor last night .. I am going out on my one man a bit more often and am trying all kinds of non traditional and expensive medicine to try to stop the neuropathy of my feet but so far the quacks ain't workin' lol going back to CA around July 29th for a few weeks to shake a case of Island fever .. just need to get off the rock for a few weeks ... vog is still bad here, but it is still paradise .. always around 80 to 85 during the day and mid 70s at night ahhh and I hear the roar of the surf from across the streeet every night .. blessed to be living the life I am woo woo wooooo wooooo
June 11th ... wow got an email from UCLA inviting me to an event for all former UCLA basketballers .. too bad I cannot make it, but the sender screwed up and showed all the recipients emails so I was able to connect with a number of old friends from 40 years ago .. also I now have email addresses for people like John Wooden, Gail Goodrich and walt hazzard ha ha ha .. anyhow Hawaii is still the voggiest place on the planet (I think) last week the sun has rarely shown itself .... but I havewn't had a chance to ponbder this too much as the last mo saw me with a number of visitors but now things are slowing down again .. and looks like a very good friend of mine will have ankle replacement surgery in 2 mos, and I may go tto San Diego to be his nurse for a few months we will see as the next few weeks go by what my plans will be .. anyhow aside from vog Hawaii is just the bomb ... loving being here although a bit bored ... anyhow off to watch the current lare swell and watch the surfers aloha Vytas
May 26th wow a month has gone by again ... I guess there really isn't anything new ... just life in paradise ... time is flying by ... and i, like all of us is getting older .. but hey that is "LIFE" lol ... more later Vytas
April 27th 09 .. hey I have not posted for a month, and my good friend John reminded me of that earlier today.. and I guess that is because I am just too busy having fun to say anything .. I am paddling with the Keauhou Canoe Club recreational paddlers at 8 AM on Tues, Thurs and Sat to try to get some endurance and strength for my OC1 canoe, but have found out that for the most part you use different muscles for 6 man and 1 man canoes .. so I am always sore .. almost every muscle in my body is sore on alternate days as I continue to paddle ... I am so pitifullly out of shape that the progress is slow, but I guess I am in no big hurry ... as long as I continue to get a good work out and wake up every morning, life is good ...... the last few days the vog has been over on Hilo side, so we have had some sunny days and that is wonderful ... the vog is coming back today and overcast follows SHIT !!!!! Ahhh but still here in paradise ... I had friends visiting from the mainland, and that kept me out of trouble for a week ... OK I guess more later May is just a few days away
March 17th 09 happy St Patty's day to all .... I am just sitting here blogging as the weather is rainy .. and since I "live" in Hawaii I can wait for nice weather to go to the beaches etc wo woo ... I got my one man canoe and found out how out of shape I am .. and also that it might not work for a guy might height, but I will do some 6 man paddling to get my strenght and endurance up, and then spend more time on the one man ... it is a beautiful canoe .... 2 weeks ago at the OC1 race at Kawaihae .. the first hours of the morning were windy and damp, but the whales were breaching everywhere you looked .. it was an awesome sight ... the best whale show I have ever seen .... I loved it .... anyhow off to run errands and enjoy LIFE O'Aloha to the Irish ...woo woo
Feb 23rd 09 ... wow just another day in paradise ... however I feel aa bit guilty complaining about this ( sorry John A) but it has been down right chilly here the past few mornings ... this morning it was 66 degrees F brrrrrr no wonder the pool water temp has seemed cold .... if you don't feel sorry for me perhaps you would enjoy this video link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fK6jJaHf80M it makes me smile whenever I view it ..... so off to have coffee with my paddler friends ... and I am still awaiting the arrival of my one man canoe ... hope everyone is having a great day/week/month and year ... aloha Vytas
Feb 7 2009 ... wow time must fly when you are having fun .... life has been great on the big rock in the middle of the PACIFIC ... I HAVE A GREA CONDO WITH NICE VIEWS, IN THE SAME COMPLEX I HAVE BEEN IN THE LAST 3 YEARS SO I KNOW PEOPLE HERE .. AND THE OC1 AND OC2 RACING SEASON IS IN FULL SWING .. I LOVE IT !!!!! oops sorry about the caps, but maybe I was shouting in Glee .. lol .. I also have ordered my own OC1 Outrigger canoe which I should have by about Feb 20th or sooo .. I am looking forward to getting it and getting enough activity to lose about 30 lbs .. that would make me very very happy .. that is it .. just a quick report saying all is wonderful ... I hope all my friends are also having a good 2009 so far love ya Vytas
Dec 21st ...Yikes almost a month has flown by here .. I am now setled in a vedry nice condo with a killer view at Aliicove in Kailua Kona HI ... home ... at last .. it has been great getting back to Hawaii and I am thriloled I got a condo in the same complex I have lived in off and on for 3 years now .. I know a few people here so it is fun .. the people at the canoe club are great and the OC1 nad OC@ racers are a great bunch of people too ... ahhhh Hawaii is nice and the vog is still an issue, but not as bad as it was in March thru June .... but still keeping the sun away too often for me, but hey ... how can I comploain .. I know people in Philadelphia who are freezing ho ho ho ... :-) sorry Ja .. I hope to get to try an OC1 canoe soon and if that works for me I will buy one and paddle often .. as I need a mode of working out that doesn't use my ailing feet .. hope the canoe works for me ... anyhow off to the pool and I'll be gazing at the Ocean looking for whales later VJK
Nov 22 '08 I am getting close to my return trip to Kailua Kona .. woo woo the last few weeks I have been consulting for a few hours at myold job to pick up some spending cash .. spent a few days at the Rincon Casino in San Diego .. and then dropped my car off for shipping to Hilo // and will work One hour nex week ... get my final gambling trip in to Laughlin .. driving home Thanksgiving day .. and then off to Hawaiiearly Sunday morning. Once I get there I will be looking for a place to live .. and this trip it MUST have a view ... so I hope I can find a deal with a view woo woo woo .... I also will find a way to get fit and lose weight .. either a stand up paddle board or an OC1 canoe i am determined to do this ..... ahhh warm Hawaii in 7 days ... I am jazzed !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!over and out for now >>>>> Vytas
Oct 26th Just hangin' around this Sunday morning ... waiting for NFL games .. the weather in LAA has been soo very warm the last few weks .. Santa Ana conditions brought temps 10 degrees warmer than normal .. also the same conditions have red flag warnings for fire and we have had a few ... I am making plans for my 3rd move to Hawaii in as many years ha ha ha .. have booked the car shipping and the rental cars and I think I have lined up a place to stay .. and the first weekend I am there there is a fun OC1 canoe race at the Harbor where I hope to take pictures .. it will yet to be seen how much my foot ailment will limit my mobility for picture taking oh well time will tell ... the beaches in Manhattan and Hermosa have been packed with surfers for the last 2 weeks as well .. the Santa Anas also mean off shore winds with glassy surf conditions all day long, and gthere has been a swelll too ... and every day there has been a large pod of big dolphins cruisin' up and down the beach as well as diving pelicans .. must be plenty of food fish out there .. aloha for now Vytas
Oct 18th ... OK Vegas was a bad idea ... nice diversion, but too many days in a town that now makes it sooo very hard to win .. but had fun spending time with friends I haven't seen in a while .. yes you Russ .. and am curently just chillin' watching some college football and nursing a minor sinus infection ... funny ... since I quit smoking Jan 7th, I thought I was done wioth sinus issues ... but noooooooo .. hopefully will be OK by tomorrow.. I am also trying to figure out if I should ship my car to Kona again .. or leave it here with friends or sell it ????? time for a nap cu later ........
Oct 9th 08 well I sub-let an apt for the next 2 mos in Playa Del Mar and still plan on returning to Kona Nov 30th .. the weather is awesome santa ana conditions so it is very warm at the beach ... just fininshed 7 days at my old job consulting .. it is nice to pick up a little cash and be reminded how happy I was to leave that mess 2 1/2 years ago .. it is worse then ever .. I feel for the people left there ... off to Las Vegas Sunday for a 4 day trip ... other than that .. nothing going on lol :-)
Sept 17th 2008 .. well nothing huge to report ... I have been contacted by my old emplyer , and may do a week or 2 of consulting .. if for nothing else but to justify writing off a home office off of this years taxes lol :-) ... I treid to use my contacts to get the normal VIP passes to this weekend's Manhattan Beach Open Volleyball tourney, but was told there were 2000 requests for 200 passes oh well I lose .. I still may go up and watch some matches on the outer courts .. after all this is the most important tourney of the year for all of us traditionalists ..I also am trying to still figure out this winters arragements ... still may do Kona ... and the neuropathy of my feet is not responding to Lyrica so ... oh well ... loife goes on ... going to Laughlin again Sept 25th for gaming .. maybe I'll have a good trip aloha alll Love ya all Vytas
Sept 10th 2008 wowo weather in San Diego this time of year is awesome. I like being in this neighborhood next to Del Mar .. surrounded by rich people lol .. maybe I'll find a wife who can take care of me .. rofl .. busy schedule the next few weeks .. the famed Manhattan Beach Open volleyball tourney is 2 weekends away ... then 5 days after that I fly to Laughlin for 3 daqys and yes I know in my previous post I swore I'd never gamble again but ..... no will power here .. I also need to locate a rental to live in Oct and Nov ... the place I am in now is only good til the end of the month .. and I still have a ticket to Kona nov 30th if I decide to use it .. so in the interim I need to find a furnished short term apt .. Then the first weekend of Oct there is the annual Lithuanian Days Festival where I will see old friends and relatives that I only see during this event ... anyhow life is good and just trying to decide where to go Nov 30th .. any suggestions out there ... if so email the webmaster (me) aloha for now :-)
Aug 26 2008 Well here it is ... Aug 26th already .. I have rented a house in the San Diego area .. Del Mar is nearby .. and I will be here thru Sept 30th ... and I will start thinking about where next in the next 2 weeks .. I just returned yesterday from my Doc appt. ... not really good news .. the neuropathy of my feet is aot reversible and I will be handicapped the rest of my days .. so .. lifestyle changes are a fact of life now and will effect where I decide to spend winter .... I also just returned from Laughlin .. and gambling is no longer something I enjoy .. the corporate types have managed to remove any of the entertainment factor of playing video poker that I used to enjoy .. they now have set all the machines to separate you from your money at the fastest rate possible .. no longer can you sit down at a machine and expect it to allow you to play for a while before taking your money ... I must have played 200 machines and only cashed a ticket on 2 lousy machines ...... Harrah's sucks and I will likely never set foot in one of their places again ... they have changed the payout for a full house from 45 or 50 coins in the past to current 30 or 35 coins ..... robbery .. anyhow other than that all is good ... I love life and look forward to making plans for the foreseeable future aloha Vytas
Aug 14th ... life here in Manhattan Beach is good, but I have been staying with friends for a while now and am feeling like fish, ....I have been here too long, but the dr's appointments are spread out, and a place I was to move into in San Diego has had some hitches .. and for a week now I have been waiting for the OK to move in ...I'd be there for 2 months or so aqnd then who knows .. the life of a homeless vagabond ha ha ha .... so not too much to report .... ?I am off to Laughlin for a few days on the 21st to gamble hope I win lol aloha vytas
Aug 2nd 08 ..... Hi all .. it is another great day in Manhattan Beach .. today is the surf festival weekend and I am getting ready to go down and watch the biggest and best 6 person beach volleyball tournament on the planet .. I hope to post some pix later today .... and after I visit there I will continue my search for a place to live for at least the next 4 months ... it is frustrating as I have no idea what I am loking for and rents are sooo very high near the Beach here .... not like the current renters market in Kailua oh well .... boy life is good more later Vytas
July 15th ... as planned I left Hawaii July 2nd and am spending time in Manhattan Beach, San Diego and Reno thru the end of the month. I am also looking for a place to hang my hat for 5 or 6 mos ... have looked in Escondido .. wasn't very happy with the placesw I saw ... will look in point Loma tomorrow and who knows where else??? HAVE HAD FUN BEING BACK IN SOCAL BUT IT HAS BEEN CULTURE SHOCK AFTER ALMOST 9 MOS IN HAWAII .. THERE ARE SOOO MANY PEOPLE HERE AND EVERYONE IS IN A HURRY AND EVERYONE oops caps lock sorry :-( seems to think they are more important then everyone else ........ arg people !!!!!!! and of course since I left KAILUA THE WINDS HAVE CHANGED AND IT HAS BEEN SUNNY ALMOST EVERYDAY ANOTHER ARRRGG .. oops caps loock again .. I need to get used to my new laptop's keyboard sorry .... anyhow I realaly am trying to figure out what to do the next 6 mos and I really hate looking for a place to stay .. but oh well .. such is life .. I hope all my friends are doing great .. and more blogging to come later ... woo wooo vytas
June 27th wow a very subtle shift in the wings, coming a bit from the North and the last 2 days along Alii Dr have been like days of old, nice. The sun is out and out all day. Now maybe 1/2 mile Mauka they are in the vog still, but here along the water's edge w2 glorious days. I know remeber how important it is for me to see the sun woo woow woo 
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I am getting things packerd and have sent out about 5 flat rate boxes of stuff with the USPS. I have one giant borrowed piece of luggage that I am trying to keep under 50 lbs and will do on line check in exactly 24 hours before the flight and try for either exit row or if not, economy plus for $70 more $$.. being 6'7" tall is a pain on current aircraft... the bastards must assume all people flying are 5'2" tall lol ... that is it for now 
Vytas
June 25th .. am packing up slowly for my departure from Kona .. most of my friends are here, but I need to leave for a while and rethink what I want to do in my "older" years .. I have just added a few pictures of Kailua vog, most taken from the old airport looking South ... depressing oh well life goes on see my friends later Vytas
June 14th .. lo and behold a beautiful morning .. the first in 3 1/2 months .. I don't know what is going on with the volcano .. but it is a great morning today .. you can see the mountains and there is a parade on Alii Dr this morning ... ahhhh I have been waiting for this ... sunshine .... you can bet I will be at the pool for a change today .. I also have my bags partially packed already for my trip back to the mainland July 1st ... scheduled return Nov 08 .... everyone have a great day I know I will ALOHA Vytas
June 4th .. well I am reluctant to talk about this as it has the potential to have a negative affect on many people and many of my friends, but the vog issue here is and has been bad .. very bad for the last 3 months or so there has only been a few visible sunsets .. everyday the mountain is obscured by vog .. thick vog and on Alii dr there might be sun and shadows from 9:30 AM til 10:30 AM then it is sooo voggy there are no shadows ... it is depressing .. and with airfares up, cruise ships down by 50%, toourism down, recession etc I worry about the business owners here ... people love Kailua Kona for its kick back aura and the sun .. well the sun is gone ... and for how long ... as I type this I can not see the water a few hundred yards away and I can taste the sulfur dioixide in the air .. not good times for this part of Hawaii right now .. ALOHA Vytas
May 25th .. just turned 60 yesterday .. a quite day, as I don't adverise my Birthday as I so not like attention .. so that worked well ... tonite there is a SoCal Konawebber party .. we started getting together in CA some 5 years ago .. dreaming of moving to Hawaii .. well now there are about a dozen here .... I am getting to be in beter spirits as I heal from the foot thing .. and I am again planning to go to the mainland for a few months .. leaving July 1st .... to get to see a specialist at UCLA and to get away from the vog .. the vog is annoying as afternoons are always gloomy ... anyhow .... I am not sure when I will return, my ticket says Nov, but we'll have to see ... I love the temperatures here, but vog is ... well vog !!!! Making moving arrangements for the 3rd or 4th time in 2 1/2 years is amazing .. retire and spend 8 mos in Hawaii, buy a home inn Texas and try that for 12 months .. sell and slowly get back to Hawaii and now back to the mainland again lol ha ha ha ... we'll I am helping keep Pasha in the money shipping cars back and forth .. that is it for now ... everyone have fun out there ... love and kisses Vytas
May 12th ... I am soo sick of the vog .. we have only short stints of sunlight due to the emmisions of the volcano .. madam Pele flexing her muscles .. and since I need to seek some medical evaluations that cannot be done here (no doctors) I am planning to go tho the mainland maybe July 1st for a number of months and go on from there based on the situation I am in then .. ALOHA all Vytas .......
April 20th 08 .. I am slowly healing from my foot ordeal .. doc says a few more months before the swelling will go away and the feet feel very uncomfortable but no more open wound that only took 3 1/2 months .. life is getting better and Hawaii is wonderful although Pele has been belching tons and tons of stuff into the air and the vog in Kona has been very bad.. have barely seen the sun in the last 3 weeks .. much like June Gloom in Socal .... depressing but at least it is warm every day ... trying to get to the mainland for a quick trip, but with 2 major airlines that serve Hawaii going under prices at least for the short term are too high for me ... that is it for now later dudes and dudettes ...
March 19th ... still under doc's orders to stay off my foot .. but the end is near the wound is very very close to being closed .. just a few more days I hope ... and dang as soon as I can get in the water I need to paddle and work out and spend everyday trying to lose the additional 18 lbs I gained in the last 2 months and another 15 that I planned to lose when I got here lol .. another great day in Kona even though all I have to look forward to today is to get out of the condo at 11:30 for a doc appointment .. ALOHA Vytas
March 5th .. I have a few people I know comment on no new pictures on the site ... well since that foot infection and surgery I am still confined to my condo until the wound closes .. and I am going crazy .. it has been 2 months already aarrgggg !!! I was hoping to be somewhat healed by now, but looks like a week or two more til the wound closes and than 3 or 3 more months before it is really healed ... crap !!!anyhow in a few weeks I hope to be adding some new albums to mauiwow. ALOHA Vytas
OK some time has passed here .. this has NOT been a good year for me .. Jan 2nd I somehow got my foot infected and spent 3 days at home thinking I had the flu since I had 105 fever .. then by day 3 my foot swelled up and I went to the doc and I was immdeiately put in Kona Community Hospital where I spent 15 days ... arrrg !! and in day 3 I had surgery to remove all the tissue that was damaged by the infection and now I am looking at 6 to 8 weeks of condo living watching TV as I must stay off my foot as it heals .. damn it !!!!!Oh well I didn't lose my foot, though I am told it was close .. and so I will resume life somewhere around March 1st I hope .... that is the new news for now ALOHA Vytas Feb 2 08
Entry 1 ... Nov 18, 2007 .. I am almost fully settled into my second condo on my second move to Kailua Kona .. I feel blessed that in retirement I am able to live in Hawaii and make moves like the one I made 16 mos ago ... moving from Kailua Kona to an Austin Texas Suburb ... Pflugerville .. and ironically bought a home on Lava Bed Dr .. well 12 mos in Texas was enough .. err too much for me ... when I got there it was over 105 F 45 days in a row and the lake levels were over a hundred feet below normal ... then in 1 week it went from summer to winter with temps in the 40s and lower ... and I got to experience a Jan ice storm that covered everything in a few inches of solid ice ... so far so bad .. then it rained off and on in Jan and the lakes filled up .. but no enjoying them as it started raining daily in Feb and rained hard virtually everyday .. closing all the rivers and lakes to recreational use due to flooding ... OK enough of that ... Now on the Big Island it is warm and nice everyday ... and I can leave my condo and enjoy the out of doors ... woo woo ... I am tryingto aget enough people at the canoe club to get interested in paddling at 8 AM instead of 6"45 AM .. as I refuse to set an alarm in my retirement to go paddle in the dark lol .. I am thinking about getting a paddle board or OC1 outrigger canoe so I'd be able to paddle when I wanted to ... anyhow enough of today's ramble ...