Our first visitors!

Back when Jas and I announced to our friends (well the ones we did tell) that we were moving, two of them started planning their visit almost before we had even purchased our plane tickets!!  Now, I realize at least part of them was just using us as an excuse to come to Hawaii, but even still, I so appreciated them coming!  Of course, a few days before their arrival we had some washer problems...perfect timing!  But, luckily, it was fixed the morning they were arriving.  So the morning was spent in preparation, cleaning the apartment, washing clothes, blankets, towels, etc.  And before I knew it we were on the way to the airport.  I feel like everyone who comes to Hawaii wants to have that "lei" moment, so I went and got them real lei's and bought it to the airport to welcome them.  I didn't care if they only wore them for the trip home, I just wanted them to have that because I know how important it was to my mommy last year, and even Jas when we arrived.

As is normally the case, the 5 days they were here seemed to fly by.  But, I think, or at least I hope, the trip was everything they wanted it to be.  I sure enjoyed having them.  First thing we did after dropping the luggage off was take them to Zippy's for food.  If you live here you know Zippy's is a must.  And then that night we went out for drinks....followed by an intense eating session at the Big Kahuna.  When you're drunk food just tastes so incredibly good doesn't it!?

DAY 2- 

The second day we set aside for visiting the historic sites in Pearl Harbor.  When we arrived we found out tickets for the USS Arizona were sold out.  The tickets are free, but they only give out a certain amount per day because they can only fit so many people in the theater for the documentary, and then on the boat to the memorial.  But, one of the nice park rangers told us that often people get tickets for hours away and they end up not waiting for their time.  So what they do is have a standby line.  Groups are called every 15 minutes.  So we headed over to the line to see the other park ranger .  Sure enough, we ended up only having to wait about 20 minutes before we got in!!  As you can imagine being there gives you an amazing feeling...so sad, and leaves such an impact on you.  To think that so many men are still entombed in the USS Arizona...never having a chance to make it out before it sunk that fateful day of December 7, 1941.  To see the oil still leaking from the ship.  It's such a jarring feeling.  We spent hours walking around and reading things, and we didn't even go into all of the places that were there, like the Pacific Aviation Museum, and the USS Bowfin, a submarine with a stellar history that I actually read a book about last year.  It was an exhausting afternoon and by the time we were ready to go we were starved!  After getting some advice from one of the park rangers we ended up at a pretty awesome spot, where I ordered a Philadelphia Cheesesteak...yup, I had to.  It wasn't half bad either.  And we all had some awesome pie.

Those lost on the USS Arizona

in the memorial

on an old gunner

USS Bowfin

Later that night after a rousing game of charades, we mustered up the motivation and took a bus down to Frost City so that our friends could taste the amazingness of a snow ice!

DAY 3- This was a beach day.  The Ala Moana Beach that's just a couple blocks down from us.  Navaja and I, the two swimmers, swam out to a rock and contemplated life, and of course I swam away with a small cut on my hand, no big deal!  The non-swimmers, Pam and Jas stayed closer to shore.  We soaked in a ton of sun, and Pam and I read, like the true book nerds we are.  It was a beautiful day, as always.  Of course we were hungry afterward, so we stopped at a diner- luckily none of us have very soft stomachs because we went parasailing after, a choice made by our guests, and of course we enjoyed ourselves immensely.  That night we went to this absolutely amazing restaurant (Side Street Inn) with Pam's cousin.  We had a FEAST!!  And it was DElicious!

Pam's first Orange & Cream Soda!!!!!

where'd we go!

and this isn't even all the food!

DAY 4- Of course we had to take them to my favorite brunch spot thus far, the Cream Pot.  I think they enjoyed it as much as I do.  And I was so happy for an excuse to go back there!!  After, we gave them time to shop and get any souvenirs they wanted.  We got some shaved ice too.  Had to make sure they experienced all the awesome goodies I love.

DAY 5- And then, just like that, it was their last day!!  Since it was Monday I planned to drive to the North Shore, hoping the traffic wouldn't be as bad as a weekend.  The night before I asked our guests if there was anything they wanted to do that we hadn't yet, and that we could do considering funds...Navaja said cliff diving, and that was all I needed to hear!  Off we went to Waimea Beach Bay, home of "da rock", a popular jumping spot.  Our non-swimmers weren't sure if they were going to make the jump, and when we got there they were sure they were not!  The beach was awesome!  Decent waves coming in that took you out, and brought you back on your ass if you didn't keep up with it!  We all had sand in places sand should not be!  Just like our first beach day, Navaja and I swam out to a small rock and sat for a while...until we were interrupted by something coming out of the water!!  I nearly fell off the rock...but, to our relief it was just two honus (turtles).  Even though it still freaked us out slightly.  We sat and stared for a while, and then when we realized the one was not leaving, we decided to go off the other end of the rock and swim to shore! We made our way to the real rock for our first jump.  From the shore it didn't seem so high...but of course, once we climbed up and were looking down, it was much higher than it seemed!  I asked some of the locals sitting on the rock if there was any trick to it, one guy answered "just jump"...perfect!  Navaja was first, he took a while, but he finally jumped off.  I was up next and I wasn't about to give myself time to chicken out, so, after getting my bearing on the edge, off I went!  Holy crap, I felt like the water was never going to come, and when it did, it gave me the biggest wedgie ever...but how awesome it was!  Of course we jumped again a while later.

no one pays attention to that sign so why should we!!

That night we were doing dinner with Monika, Pam's friend who lives here with her husband and children...she also came to see us at the beach for a little while.  Our guests decided on the Hula Grill...a pretty touristy restaurant since it's in Waikiki, but one I had fully intended to go to eventually anyway.  The food was good, the dessert was good and we had a nice time.  Monika, a fellow blogger, asked me if she could take a picture of my outfit for her blog, I was so taken aback!  I'm sure that's the only time that will ever happen to me, considering I'm far from a fashionista, but I was flattered.  After dinner we went to Duke's statue so our guests could get pictures, and then for some drinks.

LOVED his shirt

Our guests and I

Needless to say none of us got much sleep that night.  Especially since I had to be up at 5am to get them to the airport!  The nerve of them booking such an early flight!!  But, I love them anyway, and can't say enough how much I appreciate them coming.  It was like having a little slice of home here, if only for a short time.

They were leaving us...but they weren't going home...their next stop was L.A.

And the adventure continues (for both us, and them)...

Stay tuned...

Oahu, Hawaii a.k.a. my new place of residence

As I mentioned before, this blog is behind, so I'm going to try and catch you up on the last two weeks...

On March 15th in the wee hours we very awkwardly got all our luggage downstairs to wait for the airport shuttle.  Poor airport shuttle driver who had to lift our maletas (for my non Spanish speakers that means suitcase) that were more than 60lbs each.  Then we awkwardly got our maletas to the check in counter.  I was slightly nervous because I was taking my handgun and I was worried that I was going to have a hard time...but, my preplanning (and my dad's help!) made it go smoothly.  Security went quickly, and then we were in the sterile area!  Because of my extensive knowledge of airports and airlines, I always like to get there extra early to account for any issues getting to the gate.  But it all went smoothly and we had a while to wait.  When we were finally in the air I couldn't sleep of course, left over habit from my previous job, so I read some of the Hawaiian Air magazine, read my Steven Tyler book, and played games on my iPhone to pass the time.  And then suddenly we were landing.  Just off the plane we were greeted by our lei's I set up beforehand, and a woman from Robert's Hawaii (a big company here!) that led us to baggage claim to meet the other woman that would help us with our bag and take us to our van driver.  As surreal as it was to actually be here, the "holy shit we're here moment" didn't exactly hit me.  I was thrilled, however, that we were going to have a home for 11 whole days!!!  For the past 2 weeks we had no idea where we'd be sleeping on any given night, so 11 nights of a stable bed was heaven!

Our extended stay was in a pretty great location in Waikiki, close enough to everything but far enough to get away from the throngs of tourists, who of course annoy us now that we're "locals"!  ha!  It's hard to describe each day one by one, but I can say that we hit the ground running.  Within the first 3 days of being on the island we had already been to the bank to set up accounts, applied to a ton of jobs, viewed 3 different apartments, and ridden the bus who knows how many times!  This is paradise, and while we did enjoy the beauty of it, this is our lives, and we weren't willing to just sit back and pretend that it was a vacation.  We needed to set ourselves up!  But, we did have some good times along the way...

1st night out

St Patrick's Day

1st pool day

And we also had some great food! Including probably the best best brunch I ever had at the cutest little place called the Cream Pot!

almost too pretty to eat!

1st drink

not like what you get back home

Cream Pot!

We moved into our apartment on the 26th.  The one thing about this place that is the opposite of what we originally wanted was that it's on the ground floor.  But, we both fell in love with it the moment we walked in...mostly due to the hardwood floors!  And the last 5 days have been incredibly long, as we had to do sooooo much!  Cleaning, food shopping, etc.  And we were still waiting for the packages my parents had mailed us to come in (which have to date all arrived except for one which I have no doubt will arrive soon).  So while we had a home, we had to make a makeshift bed for a couple days, and we couldn't cook real food yet.  But we weren't complaining...we have a home!  For me this is all completely new.  I came from living at home with my folks.  Yup, I'm 27 and was still at home.  For a few reasons...1. because my job called for me to be away more days than I was home, 2. because it was financially smarter, I could work on paying my student loans, and help my parents financially at the same time which was a huge blessing, and 3. simply put, because I probably could've lived with my parents for the rest of my life.  I am blessed with amazing parents, that fortunately never made me feel like I couldn't wait to move out.  But, while this is all new to me, one of my worries was right on.  Not having a job made it difficult for us to get the apartment we really wanted.  However, as always, my parents came through when I told them we would probably get approved with a guarantor.  I hated the idea, but knew my parents wouldn't hesitate.  My parents are the most giving people I know.  Growing up our house was always the house our friends wanted to go to because our parents would basically adopt our best friends.  They're the kind of parents that don't just think about their own kids...whether it's food, drinks, blankets, etc. if our best friends were with us, or we were out with them, what they got for us they also got for them.  I love the generosity of my parents, although sometimes I wish they wouldn't do so much, because more often than not, in my experience, people just don't realize and appreciate how much they did and do.  But, they came through again.  I have full intentions of changing the name on the lease asap though, which is part of the reason we only signed for 6 months.  I would never take advantage of my parents, which kind've surprised our realtor which made me think, are people my age usually that screwed up!?!  But anyhoot, None of what I have done could I have done without my parents, and there's no way for me to ever express my gratitude adequately.  I talk to them in some way, whether through text, the phone, or Facetime, everyday.  And I'm not ashamed to admit that it's what keeps me sane.  As much as I hate talking on the phone, and video chatting, when it's with my parents, I look forward to it.

But enough emotional stuff!!  I should mention also, that I exhausted my annual leave from my previous position, and was technically still an employee until the 24th.   A few days before that, my boss called me (right on cue since I was getting ready to call him) to make sure that I hadn't changed my mind, and I wasn't on my way back.  It was a sobering feeling...knowing that the time for me to officially not be an employee there had come.  I can't say enough how much I enjoyed the guys I worked with, and how I'll always look back on my almost 4 years there fondly.  But, I am not the type to throw in the towel so quickly, so I knew when I put in for the leave that I wouldn't be back, and so the time would come for me to no longer have access to anything that went with the job...and so it did.

My "holy shit we really did it" moment came when I was in a cab  (literally called "The Cab", just like the bus here is literally called "The Bus") the day we moved in on my way to pick up my car.  Looking out the window, just me and the cab driver in the van, I couldn't believe that I was actually here.  When you go through the planning of such a life changing event it can start to seem like it's never actually going to happen...and then it does.  I've probably experienced every emotion you can feel in the last month.  And while everything has been coming together nicely, I'm sure the road ahead will be equipped with some speed bumps and pot holes, but that's ok, because I never thought it would be easy, I just knew it would be worth it.  Along with my blood family, I also should mention how very thankful I am for my other family, my friends who have supported me and rooted for me always.  Oh, and my car is safe and sound...yay!  I missed my baby.

And the adventure continues...are you with me???


Stay tuned!