I spent too much money today.
I went to the timeshare presentation for a $150 AmEx gift card. i thought I could just quickly get in and out since I'm already an owner and with two contracts to boot. After 3.5 hours (it was supposed to be just 60 minutes), I got rid of those two contracts in exchange for a deeded contract with 2/5 more points, which essentially upgraded me to VIP. And I'm in the hole for about the cost of my car. *sigh*
Somehow, I don't feel bad about it at all. Will, the sales guy, seemed so trustworthy. Maybe because he opened the door for me when I was about to enter the building. Maybe because he's married to a Filipina. And maybe because he shared a lot about his life, his Iron Man competition tomorrow, his wife's birthday today (so he's taking the family out to dinner although he'd rather go to bed to rest for tomorrow), his children, his trip to Italy with his family.
However, I didn't really want to take on more debt until I pay off my car. On the other hand, I don't really want to take back the two old contracts. I suppose I'll just have to tighten my belt for now.
It was already 2pm by the time I left with my gift card and a nice canvas and leather tote bag (which they called a beach bag but I wouldn't bring a canvas bag to the beach because sand would stick to it). I thought I could get lunch at the farmer's market, but I couldn't find it. It was supposed to be between Banana Joe's (which is now Chocolate Nut Factory) and the mini golf course. The cashier of the Subway by a nearby station said that it's probably not today.
So I headed south to go shopping for muu-muus. The young lady who gave me the gift card suggested a couple of places -- Hilo Hattie's in Lihue (where the airport is) and Coconut Market in Kapaa/Wailua. I figured I'd try the Coconut Market. But along the way, I found a series of stalls with the colorful Hawaiian print dresses, so I stopped by to check it out. The sign said "Noka Fair" and I think that was in Kapaa.
There were more stalls in the back, like little beach stalls on a boardwalk. I thought I'd do a counter-clockwise loop through them. In the second to the last stall, I was looking at a few dresses when a young bearded man rushed in and went behind the counter. He asked where I was from and we started a conversation while I looked. There were a couple of tops that were supposed to be "one size" (fits all), but those tend to not fit me. He said he just sold one yesterday to a woman who was bigger than me.
I kept looking around. He had a bit of everything. Some wooden bowls caught my eye, and, when I picked them up, he said they were made of koa wood, which only grows in Hawaii. He said that cutting it is forbidden, but people are allowed to take any trees that have naturally fallen, so they are rare and expensive. Long story short, he gave me a $10 discount which covered the sales tax.
The interesting part was that he kept telling me about the other things in the store, including some pendants that he himself carved from koa wood. Soon, he was telling me his life story too. How he met his wife. How he came to the US and his work history since. His two little children.
I had already purchased the bowl and he had already packed it for me, and we kept talking. He even took down a folding chair from the attic because I said my back was hurting. So that prolonged the conversation.
Just a month or so ago, he gave up a good paying job to take over this store from a cousin. I suggested that he create an Etsy store and it turned out that he just did, less than a week ago. So I gave him advice for online marketing and I promised to send him more online resources when I get home. He was worried about his English skills (he came from Palestine), so I suggested that he hire a student to do that for him.
When I left, he went back to painting a panel on the side of the building. That's probably where he was when I arrived at his store, which explains why he was rushing back in.
Anyway, the Hawaiian print dresses were around $30 and I'm not likely to wear them in public outside Hawai'i. So I decided to keep looking.
I had turned into Coconut Marketplace yesterday when looking for a place to have lunch after leaving the airport. I thought it was a small strip mall, but today I realized that it is a fairly good sized shopping center. It had smaller stalls besides the long buildings. And grass areas that made it look somewhat like a park. I found Teva sandals for $80+ in men's sizes. And more Hawaiian print dresses for $30 also. And the designs were boring too.
It was already around 6:30pm, so I decided to have dinner at a food stall "Coconut Thai & Chinese Cuisine". All the seating is outside. You had to order through a window. I ordered the garlic fish and lychee bobba drink. Both were good. The bobba drink is like flavored crushed ice with bobba at the bottom. And the lychee flavor tasted natural. It was so good, but I had to take it with me because it gave me at least three brain freezes.
I met two people today who told me their life stories. I've been told that people feel the urge to tell me their stories, either in person or online. Even things that they never told anyone else before. A long time ago, a close real life friend said it's because I'm a good listener. But they have nothing to worry about. I tend to forget things anyway, so their secrets are safe. :)
I haven't decided what to do tomorrow yet. Maybe it'll be a quiet day indoors. Unless they start doing more construction on the parking lot.
Again, photos later.
(While checking out some brochures for tours, a woman asked me where the Coconut Fish Cafe was! I couldn't remember whether it was before or after the Coconut Marketplace. So I suggested that she look it up in Google if she had a smartphone, and she didn't think of Googling it! She was with a much older gentleman who smiled warmly. For some reason, they feel like Minnesotans because of their friendliness, or maybe because the woman reminded me of my ex's cousin. I should have asked.)
No comments:
Post a Comment