Time flies and yet it crawls

Just chillin' here on a Saturday after a lot of deep sleep - much needed. I always surprise myself with how much time passes between my blogs. I wish I would get on here ever couple days, but that turns into a week...or two....or more. That's the part where time flies.

The part where time crawls is when I'm anticipating things, like visiting Seattle. (Other things are in the works, but that will be revealed at a later time.) It's June already but we have almost 3 more months until we get to see our families and watch his sister get married. It's gonna be an eventful visit home, that's for sure. All his family will be there, and I've already notified my family that I'm going to be there at the end of August and I want to see each of them.

I am looking forward to summer here though too; warmer waters, better south shore swells. Yesterday was a fireworks display basically based right out past Queens break. We were out earlier and saw the boats, wondering what they were doing hanging out so close to shore. Later we were watching tv and started hearing the explosions, which was normal for a Friday night since the lu'au down the street has them every Friday, but this time we could see the flashes. We ran down - I didn't even take time to put slippers on, lol - and we made it to the beach to catch most of the show up close and personal. It was an awesome display, better than probably any show I've seen in person. There were a few kinds I had never seen before, even smiley faces. As we were about to walk home, there was a tourist family who asked for a picture to be taken so we did of course, but then got to talking with them for about half an hour just about there trip, where they were from, and what they should do for the rest of their stay here. Random, but awesome for sure. J and I aren't the most outgoing people, but I like when we step out of our shyness, even if it's brief.

♥ a hui hou

P.S. My gato has not come home or been found. This is a huge point of tension between me and my mom. Long story short, I don't want to give up, they do. :'(

Timeline as the ocean stirs

11:57am

I guess what I'm feeling anxious for is the aftermath of the rising sea level. Whether the waves themselves are considered large, the water will damage local businesses and just the flow of our lives. That is what I have to hand over to God.

The reef is less exposed at Ala Moana, and surf there and here seems to be getting choppier.

12:07pm

Hilo waters very discolored. Small waves/surges have arrived but nothing severe; no damages.

12:10pm

The reef at Ala Moana is very exposed again. Waters seem to be fluctuating noticeably on the south shore of O'ahu. Again, no damages or significant water on shore. Many traffic cameras are now facing the ocean.

Reports of tsunami activity all over the world from the earthquake in Chile.

12:21pm

Kauai currently looks calm.

All islands are anticipating more ocean action. Hold mode...we wait...well most of us are. There are reports of people wading around in Waikiki and even Ala Moana. Bad idea, since the ocean is unpredictable and unforgiving.

12:25pm

Harbors and beaches are barren. North shore is like a ghost town; many voluntary evacuations taking place there, but Kam Hwy is closed. Changing water levels reported up there too.

The threat is still present for all islands until the "all clear" is given.

Hold mode...tsunami is on Hawaiian time

People are doing well to keep the roads clear. Many are closed anyways, including highways and freeways. Most malls are closed, most schools and libraries are closed too. Some banks opened today, and mail will be delivered outside of inundation areas.

The latest from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center is that they're waiting too. The estimated time of arrival is reported to be about an hour later than originally thought. Hawaiian tsunami late, what a surprise? At least it didn't come early!

It's an eerie calm before the storm right now. It's weird to know it's coming, but not knowing when or how much water will rise onto our shores. The only sign we have from the ocean so far is some discoloration in Hilo.

Waikiki is flat as winter usually is at this point...

The last weekend in August

My hubby had a surprise for me last Saturday and Sunday; he was gonna take me somewhere he'd gone before, but knew it would be a new experience for me.

All I knew was that we were headed towards the North Shore. I was super excited until I realized that there was no SD card in my camera! Nooooooooo! So we stopped in Hale'iwa town to pick up our 2GB of memory to capture the days events.

[Pic, top: famous Hale'iwa sign / Pic, below: cop on an ATV on thefamous Hale'iwa bridge]

Hale'iwa was busy as ever with tourists. And the roads seemed a little backed up, but we attributed it to tourism and slowly made our way to our goal destination...Waimea Valley.

This is where you can walk through about a kilometer of preserved Hawaiian native plants. There are rare birds, and at the end of the hike you get to see Waimea Falls. Here are some of the pics we took along the way...

We didn't swim because the falls was low, and the water seemed a little stale murkier than he remembered, so maybe next time. It was a nice hike; flat, not too long both-ways, not too crowded. We didn't get to see the endangered bird that lives there, the 'alae 'ua (Hawaiian moorhen), but we saw that pekake (peacock) and chickens of course, and a few others. The highlight of course was waiting for hubby to walk all the way back to the falls to find the car keys - oh boy.

On our way back, we stopped in Hale'iwa again for some dinner at Cholo's Mexican Restaurant. It was either that or the Thai food truck, which I'll have to wait for. I was craving some goooood Mexican food for sure. The were out of tamales, so I got fish tacos (ahi). It can be hit or miss with fish tacos, but they were loaded, very yummy. Plus, they had a few hot sauces I had never tried. Some burned, some didn't, but it was all good. We checked out a little surf museum and several surf shops, then headed to Sunset Beach Park to watch...the sunset. (haha)

We were shocked to see the swells happening - it's still summer! Not sure why, but there were freak swells crackin' and we watched for at least an hour, until the sun was gone. We don't even have a rack on our car to bring the boards, but we wished were good enough to surf there in the first place...someday! That will be one of our goals while living here.

The sunset was gorgeous, but the ending was a bit stifled by some clouds on the horizon, as usual. Still got some great pics and even some with surfer silhouettes - nice.

One last look...

...and then we headed home.

That was Saturday. Here is Sunday; more simple, but still awesome:

Went to our new church, met a couple people that seemed interested in actually seeing us to say hi again some other time (I dunno, just got that vibe). Then we went grocery shopping and got all the goods at Safeway. Had some good eats at home, then took a nap. THEN we got ready to go SURFING. Geared up with board shorts and SPF 85, we grabbed our boards and headed to Waikiki. We were ready to go! But the waves were not. It was completely flat!!

We didn't let the moment go: we bought some extra cheap goggles and paddled out to do some "diving" and look at the reef and fishes just off shore. That was a lot of fun. When the waves aren't coming in so constant, you can see everything down there. Just FYI, we did find Nemo. (wakka wakka)

Some waves started to pick up (about 2-footers), since the tide comes in right after sunset. So as the sun was setting, we joined the dedicated surfers who had been out for hours catching what they could. I caught a lot of those little waves and stood up every time with the pink and orange sky behind me.

To satisfy our newly grown appetites, we grabbed some dinner at the burger joint my boss also owns, called Teddy's Bigger Burgers in Waikiki. Heard it was really good, even back in Washington, but we put them to the test ourselves and boy did they passed. Really really good burgers; we'll be back for sure! Of all the burgers we've had here so far, Teddy's has been the best by far.

We decided to walk around the block since my honey at a double 9-oz patty burger - yeah, yikes. We stopped at a part of the beach where Indiana Jones was playing at an outdoor theater screen. So awesome! Wasn't a fan of the movie, but it was cool to sit in the sand under the stars and moon with all those people, just watchin' a movie. Then we rented one on our own, and it was all a perfect end to a perfect day.

Corny, I know. And much longer than I thought it would be! It was like two full days of being on a date with my husband; we don't get a lot of those opportunities, but now we'll be looking for them.

2 awesome days at the beach

That is a video my hubby took when we visited Kailua Beach Park yesterday afternoon. Such a great spot there. We even saw a big ol' turtle when we went out past the mouth of that channel. So cool!. Of course, we love turtles. We pretty much scared it away by swimming towards it all excited...Sorry Mr. Turtle.

We hung out waterside, swam a little, walked in the shallow channel which had fishes and a little current. There were a lot of kids, but they were funny to watch, especially the ones that were new to the beach. The drive to and from had some pretty sights too [see pics below]. We've drove through the same area several times, but I'm usually car sick by then so this time was better for me.

That was yesterday...

Today was even cooler because we found a long board for me to surf (best for Waikiki, and best for new surfers). The guy is moving back to the mainland and was selling is 8-footer for only $100 - yes, that is a very good deal. We almost bought a new board at a good but not better price in Kailua surf shop but thank goodness we chose to shop around. A couple little patches of fiber glass and we were out surfing together, me and my honey. I caught waves on my own today and made it to a crouch on a wave. I always wait too long because I don't feel stable to stand when the board is moving so fast. But I'll get there! :D I don't have pics yet, but you know I will as soon as possible. 

We also stopped by Pearlridge Center today and picked up new swimsuits for us since neither of us had bought new ones for years. Got one for me that is much better suited for surfing - less moving parts and smoother seams. It's koo to get the kama'aina (i.e. local) prices at surf brand stores...hehe. 

Gotta work early, but wanted to share a summary of my exciting times. Good night friends ♥

 [rainbow from Felicia residual rain]

First Aloha Blog Post!

Wow, I finally got this going! I'll include many pics here & videos sometimes too. This blog is mostly intended to keep people back home updated with as much as I can post. In no way do I want this to replace personal messages or phone calls or webcam chats or etc. I value my Seattle family and as much as possible, I don't want distance to keep us from growing together.

Where to start...

I arrived Saturday 7/18/09, greeted aloha style with leis by my husband and RJ (his lil cousin). We stayed at his Uncle's that night so I could say hi to family. The next day is when I was first introduced to our new living space in Waikiki - a condo we're renting on the 27th floor of a building overlooking the Ala Wai Canal with views of the ocean [Above 2 pics: view of Waikiki, canal at sunset]. My honey picked a great building, very secure and it even has a parking garage and pool. *Thanks babe! ;)

We're settled now in our condo, which catches so much Hawaiian breeze that we don't need aircon. Various pics of our place are on my FB mobile albums uploads.

I am loving the temp and the beach. Most people know that I have issues retaining body heat, but that's not usually a problem here. I admit to wearing sweatshirts a few times a week, but hey, wutyugonnado?

[ Pic: 1st rainbow I saw since I moved here :)]

We've been attending New Hope O'ahu for the past couple weeks - a very large multi-campus church. The services are great but we're not set on staying yet. Searching and praying for a church that doesn't necessarily have to be smaller but very inviting and where we feel that call and welcome to serve.

We're keeping in touch with family in Seattle and making time for family here when we can. We even can pick fresh mangos from Uncle's tree! [Pic to the right] On 7/20 we celebrated J's Grandma's 81st birthday! [Pic above left] She seriously has more energy than me.

So now I'm looking for a part-time job with a flexible schedule (limited Sunday hrs, off by 5 always). I'm blessed to be able to stand pretty firm in that request since my husband has a good career. Praise 'im! I did get hired at as a barista at an impromptu interview on my BiRtHdAy [Pics below], however, as I spent time orienting for a full shift, this overbearing corporate coffee may clash with my liberal coffee culture lifestyle. This is another prayer point of course. 

 

[Pics: Waikiki fireworks, Fort Mall store, a collections of bday love, dinner at Todai]
 

Overall, adjusting to life here hasn't been too abrupt, except for not having my dearest family and friends and cat directly at my side. I'm trying to send a few postcards out every week so make sure I have your address so I don't skip you! :) I can see that making new friends and connections is going to take time, and a big thank you to those who have been referring me to people they know. I really appreciate that and will take the time to get in touch hopefully starting this coming week (or maybe after I get a job for sure). One other thing I'm lacking is daaaaancing. I'm getting exercise swimming, walking, trying to surf, and little home toning workouts but y'all know I gots t'dance!

Well it's real late now. Say ALOHA to Stitch! He's my homie and will be accompanying me in many pics.

♥AH HUI HOU♥