I often hijack reviews of parks to let some steam off, and this review of Kalama Park will be no…read moredifferent. I've found yelp and google maps to be the best canvas for getting out my pain and creative juices... alright enough yapping. Let me lock in.
My family and I came to this beautiful park on Maui, as it was the location for my 100th grocery store rotisserie chicken review of the year, which also marks my semi-retirement. I'm tired of eating mid chickens, and I just want to do different things creatively, as dumb as that sounds. I know in my soul it's time to move on.
As I got in the white mini van my Dad was driving to head to Foodland, my navy Banana Republic suit clinging to my body in the island humidity, I was ready to be hit with a wave of emotion. But it just didn't come. It felt like any other day at the office. Business trip.
I stepped into Foodland, picked the bird up, and got back into the mini van to head to the park just down the road.
Setting foot into Kalama Park must have been how the great Kobe Bryant felt walking into Staples Center for the last time. This was right when the emotion I was anticipating earlier began to creep into my prefrontal cortex. However, I fought it off. I just truly felt I needed to treat it like any other day. I'll celebrate after. Rest at the end not in the middle.
I crouched on a little stoop maybe 8 feet from the water, set the tripod up, and got to work.
Once I finished the review, I ran straight into the ocean and popped a bottle of Veuve my parents had bought for the occasion. I'm always hesitant to celebrate small wins, as the quote "if you sleep on a win you'll wake up with a loss" rings through my head, but this felt like something that must be celebrated. 100 of them things.
Self pride is something I rarely feel. I'm my own worst critic, and I don't mean that in a cute, performative way. I mean it in a vicious, nasty way. If someone talked to me how I talk to myself, I'd have no choice but to put hands on them. It might sound a bit cocky or egotistical but when you know what you're capable of, it's hard to settle for anything less than a fully reached potential. Idk. I struggle with it everyday.
All this to say, as dumb as this following sentence sounds, I am proud of this grocery store rotisserie chicken journey. Truly proud of myself. I legitimately cannot remember the last time I felt like this about something I did, and my God it feels GOOD. I created something from scratch, saw it through to the end, and made the best decisions I could at the time it was to make them. Success is in the effort, and I gave this everything I had.
So yeah, I sit on this balcony in Hawaii, enjoying the hell out of this 3rd glass of Veuve Cliquot and 6mg Wintergreen Zyn. I have no idea what's next. Maybe it's all downhill from here. Maybe I peaked and will fade into obscurity, but god what a fun peak it was. I enjoyed every second of it.
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