One Month

Waikiki Aquarium

line drying

Today marks one month of officially being here...one month and two weeks since leaving home.  I find it so hard to believe it's been that long, and yet I don't believe it's only been that long.  I can't say we're completely set up here yet, as we're still looking for jobs, and haven't made "friends" if you will, but like we like to joke, that's the easy part!  I have complete faith those things will come.  It's a catch 22 because we're here in paradise with no jobs, so it's like, we should enjoy it right?!  But then there's the flip side of the coin, and since we don't have an income yet, we're money conscious, because while we flew caution to the wind, quit our jobs, and left everything we knew, we're still very responsible and are not about to run through our savings in a month!

park day

I will mention I've had several very rough days, I expected them...but it makes them no easier.  Those days you really just miss your family.  I know I've done this for the right reasons, and I know I'll never regret having done it, though I would have if I didn't...but knowing all of that does not help the longing I feel for my loved ones.  But I've lived with my parents for 27 years with the exception of college, if I didn't have down days I would be shocked.  And yes, I still talk to them everyday, most days I see them through the grace of technology, and I couldn't be more thankful for that.


Things have definitely been coming along.  Our apartment is so awesome, and homie.  The neighborhood is so great, there's so much so close!  We have a local bank account, and new fancy checks.  My car is registered, and has Hawaii tags might I add...if that's not a sign of "holy shit I live here" I don't know what is!  We have monthly bus passes!  We walk or take the bus almost everywhere!  We've gotten several job call backs, and have had interviews, or have upcoming interviews!  Life is definitely happening.

watermelon snow ice

And of course we have made time to enjoy the fact that we live on this beautiful island.  We finally made it to a place I read about in the Hawaiian Air magazine on the plane called Frost City.  It was so important that I did not forget about this place that I ripped the page out of the magazine!  They serve something called snow ice there, they explain it by saying it's ice cream + shaved ice...and may I say it's like a little slice of heaven!  I have no doubt we will be frequenting that place.  We also made a trip to the notorious north shore to enjoy the beach...which will be followed by many more I'm sure.  We went to a small local bar just around the corner from our apartment  named 8 Fat Fat 8 where they sing karaoke and everyone was crazy friendly, including the bartender and servers.  I beat Jas at pool for like the fourth time...but who's counting! We went to a pretty awesome gay bar in Waikiki (did I mention my roommie's gay, not that that matters, but gay bars will definitely be in our social scene so get used to it!) where we met Nick and Keith the bartenders, and I had a completely random conversation with a completely random tall fella named Blake whom I loved, if only because his name was Blake and I love me some Blake Shelton!  I also was pretty much the only one dancing in the bar and got a shout out by our new buddy Nick!  This was also where Jas hit a bull-eye playing darts and got extremely hype.  I should mention that that was on a Monday, and was followed by my first Hawaii hangover Tuesday morning. We went to a local park and enjoyed a beautiful day while reading a magazine sitting on the grass.  We also went to a free day at the Waikiki Aquarium, my second visit and Jas's first.  And we went to our first film festival, which I will be posting about separately because it deserves its own post.  And may I say I'm still cooking, and better all the time!

North Shore

North Shore

bulls-eye

lettuce & carrot salad; parmesan & bacon penne pasta

roasted potatoes, pork chop & lettuce and carrot salad

french toast bacon & potatoes

french fries and chicken strips

after run smoothie

And finally, I am back to hitting the pavement!  Running almost everyday for two weeks now.  Getting adjusted to running in the heat and the sun.  And, Jas is jogging too!  I've been eating better, and she's jogging...whudda thunk it!

Life is not perfect, but it sure is beautiful.

And the adventure continues...

Stay tuned...