I headed to Oahu for work recently. A few years ago, I recall watching a local play about all the different people you come across while shopping at Longs. I think there could be a similarly funny play/book about all the people you see at Hilo Aiport. There was such a variety of people at the airport as I checked in and waited for my flight. There were business people going to Oahu just for the day for a meeting, there were those who looked like families going to visit relatives or friends with a bag of Big Island omiyage, I even saw some travelers who had boxes and boxes of luggage of what I think might be balikbayan. I didn’t only see travelers at the airport.  I also saw people who had business at the airport. I have a couple of former students who currently work at the TSA checkpoint. I saw a friend who was delivering newspapers to the airport newsstand. I hadn’t seen this particular friend in a while and was happy to get filled in on how his family is growing. He is now a proud grandfather of 14-month old twins. He is still surfing and golfing and enjoying life. I also saw Hawai‘i CC Diesel Mechanics Instructor Mitch Soares and his group of students going to Oahu to visit job sites to get a feel for what the workplace will be like in their very near future.I brought my current read along with me. Reading The First Time She Drowned by Kerry Kletter who is a childhood friend of my very good adulthood friend, Melinda M. You have be familiar with Melinda through her Monday Musings from Melinda posts (#1 and #2)for the past few Mondays. You’ll get to know her better each Monday as she tells me she is musing quite a lot. She has awesome musings.

Got a car from Budget and went straight to Leeward Community College for a meeting.The Big Island attendees brought some Big Island goodies to share with my colleagues.  We brought Big Island Candies cookies, Liko Lehua Lilikoi Butter, Punaluu Guava Sweet Bread. After the meeting, we checked in at the Ala Moana Hotel and got a quick workout in at the hotel gym.

After the meeting, we checked in at the Ala Moana Hotel and got a quick workout in at the hotel gym.

My roommate and I rewarded ourselves with dinner at The Signature Prime Steak & Seafood restaurant at the top of the Ala Moana Hotel.  We shared a marinated steak in lettuce-wrap, fresh Hokkaido scallop sashimi, sauteed mushrooms, and the Signature chopped salad. We were lucky to see the fireworks bursting over Waikiki. What a nice time my Kauai colleague and I had catching up and eating yummy food.

The next day, we attended a Hawaii Business Educators Association (HBEA) conference at which we heard from Jodi Ito, Information Security Officer for the UH system. (WBEA conference link here.) She taught us about ransomware, darknet, and how medical data is  used for insurance fraud since it isn’t caught as quickly at credit card fraud. I’ve read about some of the things Jodi talked about in the fiction novels I sometimes have the time to read. Microsoft educator, Benson Kwok from Los Angeles taught us about Microsoft tools we can use to energize the classroom.  Technology is here both in and out of the classroom. We have to use it to make our lives more efficient and productive without letting it run our lives.  We also have to be smart about internet safety and security as we protect our information and identities.