It's been a while, but I have many excuses. I will offer a few of them to you, and then get on with the blog:

(1) Work has been busy -- I do most of the agreements that have to do with our browser, blogging site, RSS reader, 3D software, GPS, music and content that isn't related to our video site, as well as a few things that are in development. Sometimes it's not so busy, but if a few things get busy at the same time, or if one gets very busy, it can get kind of hairy. Especially if the next two points are true.

(2) I've been sick. This is Day 20 of the Illness I'm Stubbornly Insisting Isn't Swine Flu. I was sick for a week before leaving for Hawaii, I was sick while I was there, and I've been sick since getting back Tuesday morning. This means that I have been missing work or working from home a lot, and when I'm at work, I'm working pretty hard at not coughing on people.

(3) I was on vacation. This is my favorite excuse, because it's the funnest one. Superman and I went to Hawaii for nine days, which meant that we were scrambling to get things done in advance, scrambling to get caught up afterwards, and scrambling to get some work done while we were there. In between all the scrambling, however, it was awesome. Vacation, by definition, means awesome. Look it up. I love vacation.

So those were my main excuses. (Also, I'm lazy.)

On to the blog.

First, despite my whining about being busy and being sick, I have to say that I still love my job and I still love my company. It's been a year and a half, and the place still blows me away. They really care about the employees, and they really try to do the right thing for us. In return, the employees really love the company, and we try to do good work. Everyone wins.

The Friday before Superman and I left on vacation, we went to the weekly company-wide happy hour. There were rumors that someone famous was coming, and when those rumors are going around, it means either (a) that someone famous is coming, or (b) they're going to do something else that is equally cool. So we showed up, and the special guest was a cash bonus. Literally cash, in an envelope, the way Mom and Dad used to give it to you. 

Just in time for vacation. I ran to the bank to put it away, because I'm not used to having that much cash. It was awesome of the company to do that, but what I liked most about it was watching them do the announcement. The top management had staged this whole super-boring presentation to make the announcement more exciting, and they were all so giddy once it happened, handing out cash to everyone around them. They were as happy as kindergartners at Christmas, except that they were getting their thrills from giving away millions of dollars in cash. They were as adorable as billionaires can be, which is surprisingly adorable.

So then we went to Hawaii (Kona).

This was the resort where we stayed:

It was nice. Nicer than the places I usually stay, when the choice is left up to me, but Superman has fancier hotel tastes than I do, and it's actually kind of a secret relief -- I can't convince myself to choose nice places, but if someone I am with insists on it, I can deal with the extra expense, because someone else is "responsible" for incurring it, and I enjoy the extra amenities.  

There were two main reasons for going to Hawaii:

(1) It was right around our anniversary. (Do you know how long it's been since I've liked someone long enough to say "Happy Anniversary" to them? It's more impressive than it should be, but I'm still kind of proud.)

Happy anniversary to us :)

(2) Diving -- Hawaii is the closest warm water diving, and I was getting pretty dive-starved. And Superman needed to get certified.

This is what the dive boat looked like from the water:

I didn't bother taking my big camera on this trip, and only took the small camera on three out of eight dives. My mistake. On one of the camera-free dives, we crossed paths with a pod of about 100 dolphins -- in over 200 dives, this was the first time I ever was lucky enough to be underwater with dolphins. On one of the other camera-free dives, it was nighttime, and we hung out with about ten manta rays (some of them over fifteen feet across, and weighing about one ton each) as they fed on the plankton attracted by our lights. They came close enough that we had to duck (Superman got hit on the head by one), and resist getting swept up in the vortex they created in passing. Two of the best dives I've ever been on, and I don't have a single picture to remember them by. (That may have been one of the most Asian sentiments I've ever expressed.)

I did take a bunch of pictures of Superman, much like anxious, proud parents take pictures of their children's first steps. One example:

I also took a few pictures of the stuff we saw, other than the unphotographed dolphins and mantas (I'm still annoyed at myself about these two missed photo ops, although I have to admit that I probably enjoyed the experiences more, and actually experienced them more, because I wasn't fumbling with a camera). 

The water generally pretty clear, so visibility was  quite good, even from the bottom.

There were some beautiful swim-throughs. For some reason, I feel more peaceful while doing a swim-through than almost any other time, above or below water.

This guy was about as long as the palm of my hand, and very well camouflaged.

We saw two octopi on a dive, both hiding -- they don't really come out during the day.

Superman had a very lucky first dive trip -- eight dives, and he got to see most of the "must-sees," including this white-tipped reef shark.

And a turtle.

And eels.

He didn't really pay much attention to one of my main fascinations, nudibranchs (but in all fairness, most new divers are more interested in a five foot shark than a slug that is shorter than your finger):

This guy was about an inch long.

This guy was only about as long as my fingernail.

These guys were five or six feet long -- there really is no way to look good in dive gear...

We had four dive days, and spent the rest of the time loafing around the resort. They made an amazingly good ginger ale from scratch (which we tried to replicate today), which I drank liters of (I love ginger ale, this stuff was especially good, the sun was hot, and I was sick, so I avoided alcohol) while reading on the Kindle that my sister gave to me for my birthday (on a side note, Kindle is a pretty awesome combination of two obsessions -- books and gadgets -- love it). Spent time in the steam room and lounging by the pool. It was probably the laziest vacation (other than the diving and sporadic work) that I've had in ages.

Surfer with a paddle behind our hotel

Good news is that Superman liked diving and was pretty good at it -- he is very fit and very conscious when learning new things, so he is picking it up quickly. He liked it enough that he suggested doing a big dive trip either over Christmas or in February, when we're thinking of doing a trip somewhere with Kanga and Roo, depending on whether Kanga and Roo want to go diving. (Kanga? What do you think?) For our next dive trip, we're thinking Palau, Fiji, Komodo, or Borneo. For our next land-based trip, we're interested in India or Africa. Did I mention that I love vacation?

We got back on Tuesday and dove straight back into work. I was sick all week, so it was a bit of a struggle to go back to work (instead of the pool) and maintain focus through the coughing. I'm staying in all weekend in an attempt to force a recovery. I bought candy on the off-chance that anyone would come trick-or treating, but am just eating it myself, so I hope no one comes.

Random ghost in a Hawaiian plaza -- Happy Halloween!

In other news, I was flu-sick and seasick for the past few weeks, so I just couldn't stomach (haha) the idea of adding on the nausea from my meds, so I went off of them, for now. As soon as I get my health back, I'll start taking them again, and just hope that the vacation high tides me over till then. I was considering not going back on them, but Superman urged caution, and says I should take them for a while longer. If he can handle the whining and complaining, I suppose I can handle the nausea and dizziness.

I'd better be feeling better by Monday. I've got lots of work to do, and (perhaps just as importantly) one of the cafes at work is doing Thomas Keller (of French Laundry and Per Se fame) recipes all week. I missed lobster and prime rib in our building cafe yesterday because I was sick. Superman and I made up for it a bit by going to the local Asian store today and buying three freshly steamed lobsters. Yum.

I don't think the trick-or-treaters are coming, and I'm pretending that Starburst and sitting still help to reduce coughing, so I'm going to retire to my bed to eat their candy and read my Kindle. Nobody parties like I party.