I am knee-deep so to speak, in the coffee industry. My dictionary defines a “beverage” as “Any one of various liquids for drinking, usually excluding water“, so you would think that a trade magazine calling itself “Beverage World” would cover the roasted coffee industry. However, it does not fit the focus of their magazine.

Perhaps they don’t because the coffee we produce is not “RTD” or what they call “Ready to Drink”. Oh, they cover liquids like bottles of tea and of course, bottles of soda, but not coffee itself. I KNOW they will cover the new Coke with coffee mixture. Many of the articles cover refrigerated trucks and GPS units and RFID tags to track shipments. I guess burlap bags of roasted beans are just not sexy! J

As you may know, many of us coffee farmers have joined a new group called the Kona Coffee Farmers Association after a number of big processors and blenders took over the previous group. They paid for hundreds of new memberships and rubber-stamped ballots to put their own people in charge. They wanted to own the council and they do. However, they were so focused on controlling the reigns of the organization that they overlooked a few facts. The people that they were pushing out of the way were the same ones who were doing all of the work!

They pushed aside the webmaster, the person writing the grants for funding, the people creating and managing the events and promotions… the list goes on. It only took a few days for these people to leave and the new board to realize that they were in knee-deep trouble. Many of us were encouraged (actually pleaded with) to remain and help.

They lost the vision that we were doing these jobs because we agreed with the goals and direction of the group. This is the very reason I moved to Hawaii. My previous company, Hewlett Packard, decided to hire a new CEO who proceeded to cut 1/3 of their workforce. Getting rid of 30,000 or more employees was NOT the best way to cut costs. Oh, they had a vision, but it was one-sided. Take for example the purchase of COMPAQ, which most employees were against. The CEO sends out an email to employees asking them to reply with their name, number of years with the company and what they think of the merger. Well let me tell you, replying to an internal email gives the person your first and last name. One good way to cut costs is by ridding the company of people who make the most money. Oftentimes they are the ones who have been there the longest and thus are also older than the average employee too.

So, when asked, we either did not reply or we lied. We were not going to raise a flag and add our names to the 30,000 or more who would be shown the door. Management did not think about how best to question the employees. Had they farmed out a survey to a 3rd party company, they might have gotten a more accurate answer to their question.

I know tow people who were recently offered the door rather than allowed to accumulate more time in their job. In both cases these people were let go without higher-ups knowing what they did on a day-to-day basis, or by having someone trained to take over the responsibilities of these exiting employees. It appears that oftentimes the idea of a takeover is more glorious than knowing the ramifications. Getting rid of the people who have the knowledge and getting rid of the people doing all of the work, is not in anyone’s best interest.

On another topic, I have a visitor headed to the islands for a visit. Actually, he too was a Hewlett Packard employee who was told he was no longer needed. Actually “needed” is not quite correct. I believe the company actually told the employees that they were no longer “wanted” rather than needed. At least that is what it seemed like to the exiting employees.

I wanted to move here, knowing full well that I needed to get rid of most of the things I had accumulated over my lifetime. Most of my hobbies and projects had been long neglected and I opted to stop worrying about finishing them knowing that if I had not yet had time for them, that fact would not change after my move J

Even so, I still shipped too many things and am continuing to sort and toss many things in the trash. With an impending visit, it is another reason to revisit the cleaning project. I am also painting the rest of the house. I had painted the two bedrooms a while back. I chose a brown but when mixed, turned out to be more green than brown. Still, the color makes the bedrooms look more formal. The color I chose for the living room was to be a bit brighter. I decided to bring a bit of orange into the paint to make the house a bit more tropical. The first choice of color turned out nice, but you could barely see any orange tint n the paint, except at sunset and the outside light diminished. However, it now appears as though the final shade I decided on is a bit brighter than I wanted. You really have to test paint walls to get a better idea of the result.

I continue to throw things out and finish the painting. It is boring and tedious but I know that I have yet another opportunity to get some things done. Knowing I have a deadline helps because my friend gets here Wednesday. The title and topic of this blog is foremost in my mind.

Get and stay focused!

My Mom has been asking me to send her copies of some photos I took while she was here. It sounds easy enough, but you can see this coming, right?

Today I opted to stop working on my taxes and print the photos.

First, the system keeps telling me that the HP printer is not a recognized USB device. So I tried to update all the drivers, both USB and printer but it still gives problems. When I get the printer recognized I find that I can't find my good printer photo grade paper and have to use a different and sub-standard paper.

As I get the prints to work, I run out of color ink. Luckily, I have another printer, although a different type and different drivers and different ink and quality. After getting all of the drivers updated for this printer, I find that the paper won't feed properly. I have had the printer for months, but have never used it. It came free with my computer.

After much grief, I get most of the photos printed although one set got stuck in the printer.

{sigh} This process of printing 12 photos (3 pages) has taken all of 3 hours!

After looking for all of an hour or two, I still can't find my good photo paper. I know it is here somewhere because I used it about a week ago; it just has to be under something or behind something. Perhaps I'll find it when I get all of this tax stuff done.

Speaking of taxes, you just can't win... but THAT is another story!

A common Maui visitor drive is the “Road to Hana” where one winds along enjoying the scenery and the drive is the reason for the trip rather than getting to the destination.

On the Big Island we have the “Road to Hilo” (or if you live on the other side, the “Road to Kona”. The Big Island is a large place based upon island standards; it is 90 miles across by 90 miles long. Although there is a road across the middle of the island used by locals, most people take the northern or southern route to the other side. Cutting the middle of the island is Saddle Road and it rises up from sea level to perhaps 6,600 feet and is barely wide enough for two cars to pass. I say barely because the shoulder side of each direction is not in great shape. Often on straight-aways drivers will drive down the middle of the road and pull over to their own side when a car approaches.

Because Saddle Road dips between our two 14,000 fo0t mountains and as I say, tops out at 6,600 feet, it is often rainy, or parts covered in fog. Fog is somewhat accurate as fog is a cloud at ground level.

Although the road cuts travel time, if you really are in a hurry and the clouds look like they are covering parts of the road, you would bypass Saddle Road and head around. Thus between Kona and Hilo you have three choices, Kona northward through Waimea and down into Hilo on the east side; Kona southward through the coffee and macadamia farms, past the volcano to Hilo or finally, Saddle Road.

Yesterday I drove into Kona to meet friends and we opted for the northern route to Hilo. Saddle Road was cloud covered in parts and time was of the essence. Our driver had come to the U.S. on a work visa a long time back and had applied to become a U.S. Citizen. Today was the day! Although they appear to perform the Naturalization process in Honolulu each week, here on the Big Island you go to Hilo once or twice a year (when they have enough applicants).

Normally the trip would have been fairly quick but we were stopped at least three times by construction and road repairs from falling rocks and trees. We watched the clock closely and with continuous time adjustments, we also found time for a quick stop at Tex’s Drive In for a rest stop and to get a few malasadas. A malasada is more than a custard filled doughnut. Imagine a fluffy pillow of cake (spongy like a marshmallow) covered with a bit of honey and rolled in granulated sugar. Then inside add a bit of warm custard.

We got to Hilo and made it to the court house by 1pm. Officials checked and rechecked the applications and records to ensure all of the “I’s” are dotted and “T’s” crossed. This is more complicated than a regular court proceeding because if a mistake is made here, it has far-reaching consequences. These people are becoming US citizens and may now vote, serve in the military and given rights not given visitors.

We waited extra time for two wayward applicants to appear. Once the courtroom doors are closed, no other applicants can slip in and would have to wait up to a year in Hilo or spend perhaps $150 to fly to Honolulu to take the oath. Officials understand that people driving 3 hours to Hilo along a single road, may have landslides or other issues that could slow them down a half hour easily. I don’t know if the two missing applicants ever showed.

The event went off fairly smoothly and brought tears to many attendees. It really is an emotional time. Most of us were born US citizens and most of those realize just how special that makes us. These people gathered in Hilo had chosen the United States as their new home, had studied and prepared and now took an oath of allegiance to this country.

Present in the courtroom was a newsman and photographer; taking photos and writing a story of the event. I don’t know for which paper they worked but have set a couple of Google alerts in the hopes of finding the story.

After the ceremony we went to Ken’s House of Pancakes to celebrate and headed back home with a new US Citizen!

The state of Hawaii has been drenched the past month and we are really tired of it. The weather department just released its rainfall totals for March. Mount Waialeale on Kauai received 93 inches of rain in the past month! I have to admit that it is also the wettest spot on earth, but even so...other places have received 37" of rain in a month.

The Big Island (where I live) has a waterspout advisory issued tonight (waterspouts are tornados over water).

Many storms have contained hail, thunder and lightning, all very uncommon out here.

Flash flood watches and warnings have outnumbered luaus. One place near Honolulu had 6 landslides in 5 days.

I hope that our bad weather does not spoil our visitor’s vacations, but I can understand why they may be less than thrilled to have been here the past month. Still, the weather is outside our control and we DO try to keep the Aloha spirit alive even under adverse conditions.

Speaking of visitors, I had fun last night at the "Aloha Hawaiian Night" festivities at the Kailua-Kona pier. The event helped generate funds for Destination Kona Coast, the group who welcomes visiting cruise ships.

Along with great food, these was a silent auction, live music and hula. As I walked around, I passed the world-famous chef Sam Choi, who was watching a relative hula. Even though Sam is quite famous, he seems quite approachable.

Sam is not the only famous person on the island, but you will probably see him more often than Bette Midler, Steve Case or even Jason Scott Lee, who I heard has been seen often in the Home Depot over in Hilo! Oprah has some property on a few islands and well, the list goes on.

All I can say is, if any oof them are on island this month, they too are tired of the rain! :-)