Density

In some respects, I didn't mind returning to Waimanalo earlier than usual yesterday. I was fatigued. The common cold, while diminishing, has exacted a toll on my body. The landlord invited me to partake of the leftovers from dinner when I returned from the excursion to "downtown" Waimanalo. I spent the rest of the evening on the Net, viewing the [deleted] news stream and composing the "blog." No surprise, eh?

Why can't I just stay at "home" every evening like everyone else? Well, I don't really have a "home," for one thing. And, there really isn't anything for me to do in my rental mausoleum except to devote all of my time to Net-related activities. Not much better than worshipping the tube like a shrine, eh?

To be perfectly honest, I become very anxious and extremely claustrophobic in tight quarters (i.e., most coffin-like rental housing units). Knowing that I am wasting the remainder of my "good years" because of economic disenfranchisement further exacerbates the problem. Freedom is always on my mind. After I deplete my "good years," I will have plenty of time to vegetate in front of the tube in a small coffin-like "home."

Perhaps that is the reason why I always default to the homeless option as a viable solution to most problems. Homelessness represents the ultimate freedom, unfortunately in theory only. In reality, homelessness is dangerous and unhealthy because economic disenfranchisement reduces the homeless to survival-based animals. Freedom is usurped by predators, usually other homeless people. Even with a homeless motorhome (i.e., minivan), safety or peace of mind cannot be guaranteed. Yet, freedom from exorbitant slum rents, or mortgage payments and property taxes, is true emancipation from slavery.

I am not rushing into homelessness by any means. I have learned from my mistakes involving impulsive decision-making. I must be assured that I can secure undisturbed overnight parking for the homeless motorhome. Unfortunately, the surveillance gauntlet of empire has completely proliferated every habitable space on the island. Surveillance cameras, security guards, and police are everywhere. Yet, their collective purpose is to protect the rights and property of the "one percent." The rest of us be damned.

This morning, the commute from Waimanalo to Hawai'i Kai took 20 minutes. The bus trip from Hawai'i Kai to town ... two hours. Two passengers in wheelchairs and a couple of psychotic individuals were the culprits. What will the bus rides be like in five years? A lot worse, I am certain. Driving a motor vehicle to commute around town seems like an obvious alternative, that is, until parking the vehicle becomes a consideration. Paid parking in most parking structures costs about $7 per hour. Yet, people seem to have plenty of money to afford such a luxury. Fortunately, most shopping areas have free parking. However, a lot of time is spent circling the parking lot to find an available space. Oh, the madness!

Previously in the "blog," I estimated that the number of immigrants (documented and undocumented, domestic and international, legal and illegal) is about 20,000 per year. In five years, the population in the islands, primarily O'ahu, would increase by 100,000 (not including resident newborns). I am really having a difficult time imagining the human landscape with so many new people in close proximity. Remember, the island of O'ahu is only about 44 miles by 30 miles in area (actually 597 square-miles), with most of the land mass occupied by mountain ranges. There are about one million people on O'ahu, according to "official" counts. So, the average population density is 1,675 people per square-mile, not including the transient tourist population. The real population density is obviously higher. Then, factor out the non-habitable spaces. The population density would be upward revised to 3,350 people per square mile. "Island fever," you think? Can you understand why mental illness is so prevalent here?

No evening outing in Kahala again. I stopped off in Aina Haina and purchase a delicious salad at the fast food joint there. My weight is inching upward for some reason. I am close to 148 pounds now. Very strange since my eating habits and exercise regimen have not changed. Oddly, the weight pattern is reminiscent of one year ago. I was gaining weight. Then, I began to mysteriously shed pounds. That's when I ended up at the emergency room at the hospital after a severe bout of heart palpitations.  Let's hope that history is not going to repeat itself. Sheesh!