MY BODY IS LIKE THE UNITED NATIONS: Part 2: On Being a Good Citizen

This is Part 2 (there will be 3) of a series on how I seem not to be able to totally control my body functions.  This is also primary election day for Hawaii, appropriately highlighting my performance of good citizenship.

The measurement parameter regarding my vital functions will be blood pressure (BP) and pulse rate (PR), for this relationship will be the focus in Part 3.  For details about BP/PR, click on two of my previous postings:

• A SIMPLE SOLUTION FOR HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE
• AN UPDATE ON LOWERING YOUR BLOOD PRESSURE AND LOW DENSITY LIPOPROTEIN

But on to the topic of the day, I'm classified as a permanent absentee voter.  Except for one problem.  I moved to my new apartment three months ago and did not inform the Office of Elections.  I thought this did not matter, for I am maintaining both old and new addresses.  Yet, I never got my mail-in ballot.

So two days ago I decided to walk to City Hall and find out what happened.  Let's see how my BP/PR changed during my trek.  In my apartment at 1123:  high 141,  low 85, and pulse 57 beats/minute.    This is about normal for me.

First, I thought I'd walk through downtown Honolulu and keep reviewing all the better restaurants.   Recently, I have tried Mandalay, a Chinese Restaurant, and Lucky Belly, a boutique fusion establishment.  Previously, Duc's and Brasserie du Vin.  The walk is all downhill, so I would not expect any changes to my BP/PR.  For today, I selected Epic (1246:  141/85 63) and had their famous braised beef, with a split of Chandon sparkling wine:

At the end of my meal I measured at 1312:  163/86 67.  The 163 should have been 125, but it takes at least half an hour period for the drop to occur.   If you clicked on my earlier postings, you would have read that my blood pressure jumps when I'm hungry, actually increases during the meal, but drops almost to normal in an hour.  Anyway the meal was excellent, and I walked to City Hall:

Here--1334:  113/71 75.  The expected drop in blood pressure came as expected.  I was sent to a window to complain that my absentee ballot was not delivered.  I was astonished at their friendliness, helpfulness and efficiency.  In only minutes, they found it!  The ballot was sent to my old address, and the Post Office did not keep it there nor forward it to the new one.  They sent it back to City Hall.  I thus voted while there and changed my address so that this will not again happen.  My next address will be some afterlife or eternal gloom.  I should remind you to do two things on these ballots

• Don't use an x or check mark:  fill in the entire box.
• VOTE FOR ONLY ONE PARTY!!!
• Sign your name on the outside of the envelope...or maybe this is only for mail-ins.

Walking back home I passed by the State Capitol, and across the street was the  Hawaii State Art Museum (HSAM), a place I had never before visited.  The location is on the site of the former Hawaii Hotel, the leading place to stay in Hawaii from 1872 to 1917, when it was purchased by the YMCA.  In 1926 the wooden structure was torn down and replaced with the current Spanish-Mission style concrete and stucco building.  After World War II, it was renamed the Armed Services YMCA, and after extensive restoration in 1989, was renamed the No. 1 Capitol District Building.  In 2000, the second floor became the HSAM.

The largest and finest collection of Hawaii artists are featured here.  In particular, the koa bowls are fascinating:

My subsequent numbers were, at 1334:  113/70 80, then home at 1539:  130/74 83.  Note that there is an inverse relationship between BP and PR.  This becomes almost dangerous when my pulse rate is higher than 120 (as when I'm quickly walking on a golf course), for my BP drops below 100/60.  I was wondering, what if I ate a whole salty ume or ling hing mui if I could kick up these numbers, for salt does tend to raise them.  More to come on these subjects in Part 3.

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In the meantime, what about those two hurricanes threatening Hawaii?  First, Iselle hit the Big Island yesterday, but at just below hurricane strength.  I find it astonishing that no  hurricane has ever made landfall over this island in recorded history (although 1950 was mentioned as when reliable records were kept).  In fact, I think I heard on TV that this might have been the first  tropical storm to directly impact the Big Island since 1950.  Only Kauai has been visited by a hurricane.  Oahu and Maui may NEVER have experienced a head-on tropical storm or hurricane.  This looks like a van Gogh painting, but is, instead, Hurricanes Genevieve, Iselle and Julio around Hawaii:

The bottom of course is Starry Night from the Museum of Modern Art, New York City.

Hurricane Julio, still at 100 MPH, remains a possible threat, but is currently predicted to move on sufficiently north of Hawaii:

Currently, Genevieve is at 120 MPH, but sufficiently west of Hawaii:

In the West Pacific, now Tropical Storm Halong is just about striking Shikoku, and flooding will occur:

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