adventures in getting out and about

Yesterday I had my meeting with one of the University of Hawaii law school deans to talk about teaching an education law course. The meeting went very well, and there's a decent chance it could happen. It would be a new course, so it has to go through the proposal and approval process by the curriculum committee. Over the next couple of weeks I'll develop the proposal and the syllabus, the dean and I will tweak it, and then she will present it to the committee. Everybody keep your fingers crossed for me.

Of course, given that I was going out into Hawaiian society, the outing wasn't completely without incident or dilemma. First I had to figure out what to wear. This may sound frivolous, but as I have written in the past, Hawaiians are casual to an extent that I really have a hard time getting used to. Like the wedding we went to where Jason and I were the most dressed up people there -- and Jason wasn't even wearing a tie -- and the bride's parents wore jean shorts. Or Jason's company holiday party, which was held at a country club but people showed up in jeans and ratty t-shirts and baseball caps. So I was at a bit of a loss yesterday. On the mainland, I would have worn a suit or some similarly appropriate business outfit, because that's what people do when they're conducting business. But no one wears suits here. I didn't want to show up in jeans and flip-flops, though I suspected that's what the dean would be wearing, but what if she wasn't? What if she was dressed business casual? I couldn't show up looking like a schlub.

Finally I went to Old Navy, bought a nice skirt and blouse, and wore them with some gorgeous high heeled sandals I have.

When I got to the meeting, the dean was wearing a long-sleeved t-shirt, velour track pants, and canvas ked-type slippers.

*Sigh*

I also had another typical Wendy experience with island bureaucracy. There's a big parking lot behind the law school where I went to park. I pulled up at the little attendant's booth to make sure I was in the right place.

"Is this where I go to park for the law school?"

"Yes, ma'am. It's $3."

I rummaged around in my purse and discovered I only had a dollar and some change. "Do I pay in advance?" I figured I could find an ATM and get cash before coming back to the car.

"Yes, ma'am."

"I don't have cash. Do you take debit cards?"

"No, ma'am. Cash only."

I shrugged, "OK. Is there an ATM nearby where I can go to get some cash?"

"Yes, ma'am, there's a bank machine in the Century Building. I'll show you where it is on the map."

He pulled out a map and showed me a building that looked like it's in the middle of the crowded campus with very little parking around.

"Great. Where do I park to go there?"

"There's a visitor's lot. " He paused. "But it costs $3 to park there."

I plastered a smile onto my face and tried to keep my head from exploding.

"Well, since I don't have $3, that puts me in a bit of a bind, doesn't it?"

"I guess so, ma'am." He seemed confused, but soldiered on. "But that's where you have to park to go to the Century Building, and you have to pay to park. It's $3."

My fingers hurt from gripping the steering wheel so hard in an effort to avoid tearing out my hair. "Right, I understand. But like I said, I don't have any cash, so if I have to pay to park, that's not really an option, is it?

"No, ma'am, I guess not."

"No. Ok, is there a gas station nearby? They usually have cash machines."

"There's a Jiffy Lube about a block away on Beretania Street."

"Hmmm. I'm not sure the Jiffy Lube will have a cash machine because they usually aren't attached to convenience stores where people spend money on random things."

"Yeah, I guess not."

"Yeah."

He was quiet for a couple of seconds, and then the light bulb came on.

"There's also a bank right there where the Jiffy Lube is. You could get cash there."

"Yes, I could. What a great idea. That would be perfect. I'll go to the bank and be back in a few minutes."

"OK, ma'am, see you then."

"OK, thank you so much. Bye."

*Sigh*