Not a vacation

This trip to Seattle has been nothing but on-the-go. From pre-wedding to day-of-wedding to post-wedding and even a surprise baby shower on the day of the wedding...I'm exhausted. I got mad love for all the family in town, and I actually wish for more down time together but that will have to wait for a reunion that doesn't revolve around the highly anticipated wedding of my hubby's sister.

[pic: our cake! made for us for the surprise baby shower]

The wedding was a lot of fun and surprisingly low stress on our end. We weren't in it (just the family procession) so I'm sure we missed any of those mishaps that weddings are famous for. Good food, lots of dancing, and almost no clean-up: awesome.

[pic: me and the bride]

My boo left yesterday, which was hard for me, but as I predicted I will only now begin to spend time with my own family. Thankfully they've been patient and understanding. One evening with my siblings and the baby shower with my friends is all I got left, besides the in between times while I'm chillin' at my mom's. Another blessing is that the newly married sister-in-law has granted me access to her car while they are honeymooning. Wish we had that freedom this whole time! But we survived.

Off to run errands with mama! :)

Feeling reflective

Just watched my DVR recording of Oprah's interview with Jay Leno, regarding the whole Conan O'Brien/Tonight Show thing. I have always been a bigger fan of Conan, and was really looking down at Jay Leno for what this whole thing appeared to be. After hearing his side on Oprah, I'd still choose Conan, but have a new appreciation for Leno's side too. I don't agree with all his choices, but the big picture moment for me is that NBC owns The Tonight Show, not Leno. He's a business man, and show business is not about feelings. Corporate strikes again; they call the shots, the people below them take the hits. Sucks for both of them, but I'll be watching Conan wherever he ends up - hopefully Fox.

Tonight we had a catamaran ride on the Ali'i Kai as a youth group activity with our church kids. Sadly, my honey couldn't go because of work. We tried to get him with us, but at the last minute they called him in for sure. The good thing about it was that I had to be outside of my comfort zone since he wasn't there by my side. I would rarely volunteer such a position, but I worked with it as best as I knew how. I'm just thankful I didn't get sea-sick. I have an average tolerance for the motion of the ocean, but you never know. The food was good though, and towards the end, there was much dancing. It was organized as part of the program for all the guests, so less pressure for everyone to just go with it and shake their booties. Really fun, and really cool to see most of the kids get down too. Plus, our team (Bus #2) won the chant/team spirit contest...because we're awesome.

What I love about working with youth is that moment where you realize that your presence does matter to them. Not that you should do it to feel good about yourself, but for me, I know often doubt that I'm making a difference or an impact. Those sparks of realization that they do know you care and they do value the time spent fuels me for the next times we meet. It doesn't have to be a deep connection, because seeds are small, but they can grow once they're planted.

I really should be sleeping

I am scheduled to work at 5:30am, which is only 5.5 hours from now, which actually means I have a chance of getting 4.5 hours of sleep at the most at this point. I can't sleep when my husband isn't here. I hate night shifts! It's getting worse for me, trying to sleep and failing until the wee hours of the morning. Not simply because I miss him, but because of course I'm less secure when he's not sleeping next to me, and I really can't explain what other trouble it causes me. I just can't go to sleep until I'm super tired and I knock out hard. Sucks.

And in these wee hours I think and think and think...

I miss home (Seattle). I miss my cat, my family, my friends. I miss my favorite restaurants. I miss my sweat pants and thick blankets. I miss dancing on Wednesday nights, and rehearsing last minute for fun performances. I miss early Saturday meetings & bible studies that always run later than they're supposed to.

I try to deny these things. I can't. I don't want to be ungrateful for the life I have here. I mean, I live in a place that some people wait their whole lives to spend a week or retire here. There's sun, surf, beaches, ocean, palm trees, entertainment, culture. I will miss it when we go back, but home is home, and home is Seattle.

But while I'm here I should be savoring it and diving in. I got the beach and surf part down. And I'm tasting the best of O'ahu I'm sure. I need accountability to get involved in my church, community and some sort of dance scene.

Oh boy, now let's try and sleep...

Mostly about yesterday...

 

Yesterday was another long and eventful day. First, I had my orientation at my new job. Met a few new co-workers and things are just looking great at this new place. Not that I expect it to be perfect, but at least I'm not dreading my first day of training - always a good sign.

After the fairly brief orientation, Jason and one of his cousins picked me up to begin our day's adventure. We were on a mission for Giovanni's garlic shrimp truck at the North Shore. SO worth the drive and car sickness endured on the way. That truck is not something to be taken lightly or passed by. Mm-mm! After we satisfied our fiendin' for those amazing garlic shrimp scampi, we headed to the Dole pineapple plantation for dessert: fresh pineapple ice cream (well, more like sherbet). It was my first time at the plantation, and I wanna go back! Not only was it some gooood ice cream, but there's a small garden/trail where you can take funny pics. 

 

 

 

We took the scenic route to the north, had a really good time, but we took the shorter route back home so as not to lose our minds.

 

[top: on the way there, bottom: on the way back (2nd rainbow so far!)]

Right now I'm sitting by my living room window listening to the wind rush by. There are 2 storms just southeast of here, which have been causing some strong winds. Luckily the storms are dying down as they approach these Hawaiian islands. Hurricanes and/or tropical storms may be common over here, but I'm from Seattle, and the only time I hear about hurricanes is when they're tearing a city apart. Over here they report it as the weather report (until it would pose an obvious threat).

The extra winds do help keep it cool, but that was not what I wanted as I tried surfing on Wednesday. I dunno if you wanna call me a wimp, but I do not like being cold, lol. Anyways, that was my 3rd attempt at surfing, I did catch a lot of waves, but still didn't stand up. Took a couple good spills but no reef injuries yet. Hopefully it won't be so crowded next time.

Back to yesterday...

After a nice nap with boo, we watched both of the final episodes of So You Think You Can Dance. YAY for Jeanine!! She was my favorite for most of the show. Yeah, I called it for sure. I've been really emotional lately for some reason (which does happen to me off and on so NO I'm not pregnant). Point being, I cried through the show for different pieces and even just missing dance and friends...then I got pics of my cat back home, Turtle, which I did post one last blog, and cried about that too a bit.

Oh, and we finally did get our laundry taken care of for the first time...yep.

P.S. I have not received information on my half-sister's mom. I will post as soon as I know anything.

P.P.S. Pics from Wednesday's swimming antics...

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♥