HOW TO SURVIVE ONE YEAR-OLD BIRTHDAY PARTIES ~ Asian It Solutions

One year-old birthday parties are really important, especially in Hawaii. After all, especially if it is the first child, this was a huge accomplishment for the parents. The food is now solid and the baby just about sleeps through the night. This is a period of teething and almost walking. A celebration is absolutely necessary.

First a personal background story. Around a decade ago I found myself in a family one year-old birthday party. I was wondering why I came, for the small talk was small and they don't serve alcohol. Pearl was in Hilo and I'm not good at this. There were pupus, but no real schedule. An hour into this my 85 year-old uncle, who had driven to this Pearl City condo, came bopping in with some fanfare, asked to see the 1 year-old, gave his gift to the parents, said, aloha, and left. I thought, wow, I just had to do this the next time.

The next time came today. a one year-old birthday tea party, which automatically means that tea, not wine, would be served. I had to go because Pearl would have insisted. But I thought I'd use my uncle's technique and quickly sneak away. Caught The Bus to Waikiki. Unfortunately, this version was a lot more formal, at the Moana Hotel, and where name plates were placed at the the table to which you were assigned. I did have a nice chat with relatives, and that was great. However, I had planned to walk back home to my apartment, something I had never before done from Waikiki, and the timing was such that I had to leave at the beginning so that I could take a shower and head on to my next appointment early that evening.

Well, after an hour sitting and talking, and nothing happening, I finally made a command decision. I asked the person sitting next to me what would be the worst case scenario if I went to the restroom and never returned. We couldn't figure out anything of particular terribleness, so I left. I did say goodbye to the one-year old and mother on my way out, but I didn't quite explain that I was not to return. I do feel a little guilty. I'm not mentioning names, but above is a photo of Lily Kate and her parents. If anyone missed me, now you know my story.

The walk took two and a half hours, non-stop, along the coastline from the Moana to the Norwegian Cruise Line ship in port, then up Fort Street to Nuuanu then home. The only disarming commonality of note is that I saw at least six people digging into trash cans to find "something" of use. If you're having a tough time, it can be worse. Nothing much else, but I took photos of a barracuda, bird and sausage tree sausage: