When is the last time you took a risk? How did it work out?
Here’s a San Francisco curb clear at the Otis and S. Van Ness bus zone. I think a commercial vehicle was unloading at an adjacent garage, and they got an expensive ticket. . .It’s like 400 dollars if Department of Parking and Traffic catches you stopped here. Red curb? What red curb? Hahaha. I think they were in construction and got even by using a jackhammer!
Ah, the state of Muni. The Muniverse. Find out about my adventures as a bus driver in San Fran on Amazon and Search ‘The Dao of Doug: The Art of Driving a Bus!
Honolulu. . .has a Strict Parking enforcement zone in Waikiki, not unlike San Francisco. . . so notice the ‘No Parking sign behind me below. Yes, they mean it. I lived near Nahua Street for three years, and I would see a meter maid up to three or four times a day! Wow!
Yep, Honolulu is a big city of 800,000 people, the same as San Francisco.
Waiting for an apartment tour–by walking to it with no car! I always laugh when the Realtors make a point of not being late–and they always are–and use looking for parking as an excuse!
I took a risk to move during Covid. I stopped working and it was fantastic. But I like structure and work and the purpose of it. So now I’m going to work where I went on vacation. Go figure.
I’ll let you know how it goes. . .
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Okay, I’m updating this story to today–Friday April 12, 2026, and everything has worked out just fine! I earned about $14,000 over nine months and I got to feel what it’s like to have weekends off again. Oddly, I felt great appreciating weekends after a good full week of working again.
Honolulu on Oahu seems very relaxing with the palms waving with the gentle trade winds– the rainbows, the mountains, the beach–all add to the ‘on vacation’ vibe which permeates Waikiki and the east side of downtown–but let me tell you–looks can be deceiving!
Many folks, at first blush, poo-poo the skills of motorist’s driving here in Hawaii, but I’ve found the skill and daredevil-level of most motorists’ lane-changing on the freeways to be second-to-none in knowing how to move through traffic! The lights are timed so much better here than San Francisco, and the potholes get filled within two days after a storm! The City and County of Honolulu can repave a six lane boulevard for miles–over a weekend! Stuff gets done here. Can’t say the same for the Baghdad-by-the-Bay in the City That Never Sleeps. Honolulu wins hands down, but the traffic can be a challenge in the afternoons. And I mean just like trying to out past I-680 on I-80 from the Bay Area to Sack-a-Tomato!
Anyways – (I’ve always hated using that plural–I prefer, ‘anyway’) but I’m dropping my preference because ‘anyways’ is used now way more than ‘anyway.’ Whose to say?
Anyways, I had to travel back to San Francisco from my first three years in Honolulu during COVID, to realize I had left my heart right there in San Francisco–at the corner of Post and Powell–and I stayed a year in Ess Eff, only to return back to Hawaii in 2025. Although I did forget my iPhone one time–I brought my heart with me to the island! Please don’t say, “Third times a charm.” Or especially, “I told you so!”
After twenty-nine years in California, I’m now on year six of Hawaii. I noticed it takes about five years to actually do a realistic non-contemptuous investigation of making a move and learning to live-and-learn in the new place. I have accepted Hawaii, and I am starting to love it. It’s actually cheaper to live in Honolulu and visit San Francisco, than it is to live in San Francisco and visit Hawaii. Plus I found a restaurant I love across the street that is just as good as my favorite spot in the Castro. ‘Oh My Grill’ is as awesome as ‘Gyro Express’ in San Francisco, and as I’ve stayed here–I’m finding favorite places now.
Still, there is no compare to Rossi’s Deli!
The Dao of Doug: A Bus Driver's Perspective 