Well, I made it through HONK (Hula O Na Keiki) weekend. BARELY. I had to be on property at 7:00 a.m. Friday morning for a quick “briefing.” Well, I showed up for the briefing but the chairman didn’t. He was still in bed. Grrr…. Oh well, time to fly by the seat of my pants.

The Crafters were not supposed to arrive on property before 7:30 a.m. They were standing in line at 7:00 a.m. Grr….

There was a wonderful couple who were volunteering to help us with the crafters. By that I mean help the crafters unload their cars and haul their wares to their designated booth. Turns out the couple are returning guests at the hotel. They are residents of Connecticut and come to Maui every year to volunteer for the HONK and vacation. They have been coming to the hotel annually for about 13 years. I was so amazed that someone would go on vacation to Maui to “work”.

The crafters were not allowed to unload in front of the hotel nor were they allowed to haul their wares through the lobby to the courtyard. We met them at the “service” entrance, unloaded them, and hauled their wares all around the back of the hotel to the courtyard. It was 8:00 a.m. and I was already ringing wet!!!

I knew I would be sweating while we were moving and working with the crafters, so I threw on my overalls, pulled my hair up, and no makeup. What’s the point of wearing makeup, I would just be sweating it all off anyway. I don’t guess I realized how different I look w/out makeup. All of the employees I would talk to would give me the funniest look. It would then dawn on them who I was. All weekend I kept hearing, “Robin, is that you? I didn’t recognize you” My reply was “Yeah, makeup does wonders, doesn’t it?”

We worked with the crafters in the morning. This time of year should be really pleasant here (so I’m told) with the trade winds bring in cool weather. Not this weekend. Not a breeze in sight. At 70+ % humidity and no wind, it can be miserable. I felt sorry for some of the crafters. Although they had overhead tents, the sun was still brutal. Of course, I was ringing wet!!!

On Friday, the Rooms Control group had to report for duty at 3:00 p.m. for a special rehearsal to be performed Saturday evening. Since I was staying on property, my room was used by 3 or 4 other women as the “clean-up” room. We were required to wear “Aloha” attire for the competition performances. So, I showed up in my aloha attire and heels. BIG MISTAKE. As rooms control, we were standing the entire evening ushering, monitoring the crowd, crowd control, etc. Competition started at 5:30 p.m. and I got back to my room about 10:45 p.m. My “dogs” were barking!!!

Saturday was basically the same routine except we had to report for Rooms Control at 2:00 p.m. I was on my feet until 9:30 p.m. By the time I got to bed, my feet, ankles, knees, and back were SCREAMING!!! Ugh…..

I got home Sunday afternoon around 2:00 p.m. Needless to say, my ‘okole (ass) has been dragging all week. In the mean time I’ve come down with a sinus infection and have laryngitis.