4 am

It's almost 4 am, but my body thinks it's 10 am, so I'm up. Well, not physically. I'm lying in bed as I write this -- the one great thing about this hotel is that they provide free high speed internet access -- but I'm awake. I've got a big brief that I'm preparing for work, so I'm doing that and reading the news (depressing as ever).

I didn't end up watching the sunset because it was raining. Not a torrential downpour, but a soft, steady mist from the clouds that rolled down the mountains behind the city.

Here comes the rain

I walked down into the heart of the Waikiki district anyway just to get some fresh air and stretch my legs. The beachwalk is a bizarre combination of extremely high end shopping (Chanel Prada Coach Tod's Bottega Veneta Louis Vuitton Fendi Dior blah blee bloo) and seriously tacky souvenir-type shops selling "authentic" Hawaiian fare - endless racks of flowered shirts, flowered dresses, flowered shorts, flowered bags, carved wood totems, chocolate covered macadamia nuts, "my grandpa went to Hawaii and all I got was this shitty shirt," $3 travel-sized bottles of shampoo, sunscreen and liquor.

And the tourists. Holy shit, they're everywhere. Fat, and all sporting angry-looking sunburns, fanny packs, aloha shirts, and to my horror, even leis. I saw a family of four -- Mom, Dad, Buster and Sally -- walking down the street all wearing matching flowered shirts and leis. Come on, people. I know you're on vacation, but some small effort to not look like a total rube would be appreciated, at least by me. Jesus H.

Some of the properties I'm interested are very close to here, and as I was walking around I was wondering what it would be like to live in a neighborhood in which virtually no one you see on the street is actually a neighbor. But it is a cool city -- very pretty, lush vegetation, and I can see us enjoying being in such a physically spectacular place, with perfect weather and the beach within walking distance.