Maunawili falls & Lanikai Beach

So while my buddy's brother was down in the beginning of the month, we decided to go for a hike.  Our destination was Maunawili Falls, and later, Lanikai Beach.  I was excited for the hike since it had been forever that I did one...and I was looking forward to the cliff jump at end into the waterfall.  The night before, as I usually do, I looked up where we were going online, and read some yelp reviews.  Maybe I shouldn't read so much...because I learned that at this particular spot, and several others in HI, people had gotten sick from a bacteria in the water.  Now, I should mention, I'm not completely insane, I know that more of this kinds of stuff happen then I realize...and probably at many places I've been to, or often go, but reading about it brought it to the forefront of my mind.  I suppose sometimes ignorance is bliss!  So, after my reading, I decided I'd see how the hike went, and how the water looked when we got to the end-- a go with my instincts kind of thing.

The hike was ok, nothing too challenging.  Watching the brothers run amuck brought some entertainment to it.  There were a few stops where you got a couple nice views...I mean, it's Hawaii, every view is pretty much beautiful.  And then, pretty quickly, we were at the falls.  There were a ton of rocks leading up to it, and it reminded me of my visit to HI with my family last year.  We went on The Road to Hana tour in Maui, and towards the end you stop off at the Seven Pools, and there were rocks you had to go through to get to the water that were similar to this.  Anyway, we got through the rocks, and I found a pretty descent size one to cop a squat on and watch some people in the water.  I'm usually not one to pass up the chance to do anything remotely dangerous...so it was kind of a bummer not to jump from the cliff with the brothers, but, I just wasn't feeling the way the water looked.  In Maui, at the Seven Pools, the water was pretty clear, but here the water was much more murky.   I'm sure no one in the water that day got sick, and I'm ok with that.  I learned some time ago to just listen to my gut.   Then we made our way back through the hike, and to the car...and over to Teddy's Bigger Burger for some much needed food!

This was my first time at Teddy's Bigger Burger..and I have to say, I was underwhelmed.  It wasn't bad, I suppose I just expected more.  I'm not a big burger person to begin with, but then, they fail to put my bacon on my burger, which I would have just dealt with...but then I saw that they had charged me extra for the bacon, and it sure wasn't a couple cents!  So I went back up and showed them my receipt.  They were very nice about it of course.  But, even with my couple pieces of bacon (which were a little sorry looking) the burger was just ok.  I suppose no burger has stolen my heart like the one at Five Guys!  My dreamsicle float was pretty good though!

After food, Jas and I changed into our swim suits in the bathroom of Starbucks...hey, ya gotta do what ya gotta do!  And we were off to the beach.  Lanikai (which means heavenly sea) is known to be one of the most beautiful beaches in the world, so I had been looking forward to finally getting there.  And I will say, this place didn't disappoint.  It is absolutely gorgeous.  And pretty perfect for a good game of waboba.  If you haven't heard of a waboba ball before, no worries...I hadn't either.  It's basically a ball, almost the size of a tennis ball, that's made to play catch in the water, because it bounces pretty awesomely off of it.  After a rousing game of waboba, and a bit of relaxing we decided it was time to head home, after a pretty awesome, busy day!

the brothers and I

Me & the non siblings

Brotherly love

Beautiful Lanikai

The guys

And the adventure continues...

Stay tuned...

How well is too well...

Taking a break from my normal updating, I felt the urge to write about something that I've thought of many times before, but that has come to my attention even more since being out here (maybe it's the ocean, or the clouds, or just the beauty that surrounds you here that makes you think more clearly, and more intently).  How well does a person have to know you, for them to know you too well?  Or is there even such a thing as someone knowing you too well?

I'm not a person that many people know...or at least not really know.  I am acquainted with a lot of people, sure.  Some may even think they know me far better than they actually do.  But in reality, those people don't know much more than what's on the surface.  And let's be honest, most people wear several different masks, and show you only what they want you to see.  Knowing someone on the surface isn't knowing them at all.  I freely admit I'm someone who wears a few different masks.  I think it's pretty necessary.  At work I am the professional, business me.  With good friends I am a more vulnerable, true me.  With family I'm still the vulnerable me, and sometimes still the child me...still a very true me...it's just that sometimes I hear myself revert back to the young me when I'm talking to family...maybe that's a normal thing.  But mostly, I'm a guarded me.  Mostly people see only a glimpse of me.  I'm not vulnerable, emotional, or open with most people.  I try to appear tough most often than not, because that's how I've learned to function.

But there are a few people...very few...who know me more than most.  But I think it could be a double edge sword to have someone know you so well.  I mean, partly, it's a beautiful thing, to be able to communicate without words, sometimes without even looking at each other...to know what to say before you're even asked a question...to know how someone would feel about something, or someone, without them even being around.  But on the reverse side of that, sometimes we know people so well, that we see what we expect to see, even when the reality is much different.  Sometimes you know someone so well that you don't even think it's a possibility that they may have changed in some way...or that they're trying to change.  I guess it's kind of a self-fulfilling prophecy...you know them, you know what to expect, and so that's what you see...regardless what they show you.

I don't know what constitutes knowing someone "too well", but I do appreciate anyone thinking enough of me to know me at all.

Back to the island I go

After I got back on island after my work training, I still had a few weeks of on the job training.  From pretty much the beginning though, I was smacked hard in the face with the reality of my job.  Training never legitimately prepares you for the real realities of your job does it?  I mean I get it...it's training, they can only do so much.  But to say I've been overwhelmed is an understatement.  Feeling completely lost is not a feeling I often experience...nor is it one I particularly enjoy.  It's been sometime since I've had to be the new person...the person who knows nothing.  As if learning the job isn't enough, I'm also trying to learn my way around the island.  I pretty much never drove before I got the job...I walked or took the bus everywhere, so now that I have to drive, I never know where I'm going.  One plus though...my old job, I drove 70 miles one way to my office...and here, I drive 7.  Talk about a difference!  Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining.  I'm blessed to have a job.  I'm bless to be here, and to have come with nothing, and to already have so much.  It's just frustrating feeling like you're unsure of yourself...like it's going to take so long to feel confident.

At least Jas and I, and are new found buddies/my two co-workers/our sort of part time roomies, find time to paint the town.  It's nice to let some of the frustrations go.  And wherever Jas and I go, we make a party, so it's always a good time.  I'm trying to keep this balance of work and play.  Too often I dive so far into work that I end up drowning myself in it....but not here.  That's definitely not an option here.

And the adventure continues...

Stay tuned...

I'm back

I am finally getting a chance to write again, after an unanticipated hiatus.  Work training went ok...but the highlight of my three weeks off island was being able to go home.  It was only for about 36 hours...but such an appreciated 36 hours.  Aside from seeing a good deal of my family, including my parents and brother of course, I got to see baby girl, aka my niece who I posted about before...and her parents of course.  It's amazing what just a weekend home can do to your spirits.  Being home has a way of rejuvenating you.

I adore this baby girl

laughing for titi

Going home gave me a feeling I never felt before.  The only time I've lived outside of our house was for college...so leaving was a completely odd, and new feeling.  It's only right that going back for the first time would also give me feelings I've been unfamiliar with thus far.  Walking into the house felt familiar, but strange, because for the first time, even though I'm coming home, I don't technically live there.  Little things had changed, and I wasn't around to see it happen.  Walking into my room, I felt a mix of emotions swell up inside me, and I had no idea which to deal with first.  My bed, my pictures, my books...27 years worth of me.  I feel like I've changed so much...being in that room was like the new me meeting the old.  One thing I can definitely say is that I remembered how much I missed my bed.  My beautiful bedroom set I bought only a few years ago.  But as much as I miss my house sometimes, and my things...they're just that...things.  Home is not the house, although there is a lifetime of memories folded into every nook and cranny of it.  For a girl who always sought to spread her wings, home is my parents, my family...they are my roots, forever keeping me grounded wherever I am, and wherever I end up in the vast world.

36 hours could never be enough...and yet it was everything I needed.

And the adventure continues...

Stay tuned...

A hodgepodge of things!

Unfortunately my blog has gotten away from me a bit.  My excuse is life has kind of gotten in the way...and well, that's not exactly a bad thing!  So this post is going to be a big mess of a catch up!  To put it simply, things have still been going well.  I've been in work training since the 18th of June...currently I'm actually off island for several weeks of training.  Before I officially started I had to set up my little home office space...so I have my desk, my work comp, and I'll soon have my work printer.  My desk was pretty much the first piece of furniture we got besides our little shelving unit we bought our first week or so.  But, just before I left we actually bought our first real piece of furniture!  A couch from this little spot I absolutely fell in love with called Michelle's Bali Designs.  Everything in this shop is so beautiful, and clearly handmade...I would deck the whole apartment out in it if I had the money to!  But, even having one piece is good for me!  We also finally bought our beds...woohoo!  By the time I get back the apartment will look more like home.  I'm not sure I'll even recognize it!


Aside from this spectacular news, I'm happy to report that Jas and I are still making time to have an actual life, even after we've both started working!  I know this probably doesn't sound like much, but for me, someone who previously got so wrapped up in work that work was my life, it's definitely an accomplishment.  We don't go crazy every night, but once or twice a week we go out and have a good time, meet some random people, and rack up another great story to share.  Here are a few pics from those kinds of nights:

at Champion's bar for Game 3 of the NBA finals

drowning our sorrows after the Heat won

bathroom art!

We also got to go to the state fair a few weekends ago.  We ate a ton, which means we had an f'n great time!  Initially we couldn't find the funnel cake, or the fried oreos or fried twinkies...and then, we turned a corner after maybe our first ride, and suddenly the stand was there, shining bright, beckoning us to come closer!!  It was like the universe smiled down at us and said, 'did you really think I'd let you come to the fair and not eat all this yummy goodness!'  We got on a few rides...one I got on by myself because Jas was too ::cough cough:: chicken ::cough cough::.  And I actually got on the ferris wheel, which I never, ever do.  I'm more of a petal to the metal type of girl and that thing just moves too slow for me.  But I got on.  The things I do for my roommate.  We also got to see a lion show, and a mini circus.  An all around good time!

the 2 rides I loved are on the right; clearly I was more impressed by them as you can see in the bottom right

this is my 'not at all impressed by the ferris wheel' face, as Jas is excited

lions, acrobats, and tumblers...oh my!

funnel cake, fried oreos, fried twinkies, caramel apple & funnel cake!  YUM!!

In early June we attended something called the Pan-Pacific Festival.  It's basically a cultural celebration with performers from both around the country, and around the world.  I got to see a pretty awesome high school jazz ensemble, some singing, a bunch of awesome hula, and lots of other acts.  My favorite was these three little girls doing hula...they were absolutely amazing...and completely adorable.

And, I made a friend, in the form of this adorable three year old little girl.  Jas and I are sitting there watching the show, and this little girl runs up and plops herself down right next to me.  After talking with her I realized her dad was sitting just a couple feet away, I smiled and nodded at him, happy that her parents hadn't just let her go running off.  I proceeded to watch the show and have a conversation with this cutie.  I learned that she was three, and going to be starting hula class soon, because she had missed the cut off for the last class.  I also learned that her birthday was in a few short weeks.  And that her sister was, as she put it, "just two" (with two fingers held up).  When her parents, and sister, came over to get her, she was not ready to go.  They gave her time for one last performance.  After that was done I looked at her and asked, "you have to go now?" she quickly responded "no!"... but begrudgingly scurried off at her parents insistence.  A few minutes later I looked up and saw her waving to me from the escalator.  She'll probably never know she made my day that day.

my awesome roomie snapped this pic of us

And lastly, I'm not sure if I've even mentioned this...if I haven't, shame on me!  But Jas and I are still loving our local farmers market!!  We go almost every week.  We get everything there, from lettuce, carrots, and kale, to pineapple, mango, and watermelon.  Not to mention some weeks we eat there and it's ALWAYS delicious!  Some weeks we get some awesome bread.  But every week we go we always end with an Ono Pop!  I'm pretty sure I mentioned them a few posts ago.  They're a little slice of heaven! 

To celebrate our jobs, just before I started we went to probably our favorite spot thus far, Side Street Inn (pretty sure I've mentioned it before when our friends came to visit) and ate a small feast!

To sum up...everything's not perfect....but, I'm sure not complaining about life in paradise.

And the adventure continues....

Stay tuned...

Honolulu Pride 2012 (a little late)

I'm not someone who is very comfortable in big crowds...I get awkwardly shy, so back home I wasn't jumping to attend things like Pride.  But here, I figured why not.  Of course my roomie wanted to go, and I was interested in seeing how they celebrated it here.  I even bought my shirt about a week before...I was all ready!  Those who know me know I've been an Ally for sometime... I think I have more gay and lesbian friends than straight friends by now.  I like to joke that I have a sign on my forehead that says, if your a gay man you must love me!

The weekend started on May 31st, with my roomie volunteering for the Rainbow Film Festival.  I thought it was an awesome chance for her to meet some people, maybe make some friends.  And I attended the opening night showing.  The film I saw was Cloudburst, about two older women who had been in love for something like 30 years.  One had been blind for several years.  Her granddaughter still didn't know that the woman her grandmother had been living with nearly all her life was her partner.  After the granddaughter puts her in a home, the two lovers break out and go on a road trip to Canada to officially marry.  It was hilarious, and then so sad it brought a tear to my eye.  It was preceded by a short film entitled Lunchtime...which was also awesome.

The next night wasn't really part of Pride per se...but we ended up at Manifest, a bar in Chinatown that has become our new spot since Apartment 3 closed.  This was our first night here.  Great DJ's, cute bartenders, and an awesome spot complete with exposed brick walls and art...what's not to love.  And we got pinchos on the walk home!  Meat on a stick...gotta love it!  This place will be mentioned often.  This particular night my roomie got so drunk she nearly stole one of those orange cones on the walk home, did cartwheels and ended up scraping her arm, and tried to ride the bike rack that's in the shape of a bike.  An all around good time!

Saturday was Pride.  There was two separate celebrations this year, misunderstandings or disagreements between people caused it to be split up.  I think it would've been much better all together...after all that's kind of the point.  But we visited both spots.  We got some goodies at the first...new bracelets, food etc.  But we noticed pretty quickly that it was more for older people, and families.  The second spot was just up the street from our apartment, and it was definitely for a younger crowd.  We saw our favorite bartender from the gay bar we love here.  We also met the owner of Ono Pops, Josh.  Ono pops are the best pops ever!!!!  And we met his new sous chef Steve, who actually moved here about two weeks after us!  We've actually been here longer than someone, yay!  We also got food here, did I mention we love food?  I got Puerto Rican food...which made me very happy.  Not to mention the man working this spot was Puerto Rican himself, decked out in full Puerto Rico memorabilia, and he gave me a little education on Puerto Ricans and the Hawaiian islands.  Good food, + some knowledge = happy Jackie.  After talking to people, eating, listening to the band, eating, listening to the not so good singer, eating, and walking around a bunch, my roomie was sufficiently happy and we headed home.  An all around good weekend!  Enjoy our awesome shirts!

new bracelet 

us and Josh

And the adventure continues...

Stay tuned...

Welcome to the world!

Around the same time I really decided to make the move from NJ to HI, one of the people I've known the longest, and know the most, got pregnant.  She's one of few who has been to my house, who has had private conversations with my mother, who knows my father and my brother (and my dog).  It's the same with her family and I.  I've even been on vacation with them...her mom has even gone so far as to say I'm the only one of her friends that are welcome on vacation with them anytime!!  My line sister in greek terms, my friend in layman's terms, but really just an extended family (her and hers).    The day she told me she was expecting was the day I told her I was leaving.  It's been difficult, not being there physically.  It's not how I envisioned it happening when one of us was in this position.  Before I left I was able to go to one of her earlier appointments with her...I got to hear the baby's heartbeat.  But it makes me sad that aside from that, I missed all her pregnancy moments.  I never felt my niece kicking around in there...or got to talk to her through her mommy's belly.  It makes me sad because I know I can never get those moments back.  I do believe everything happens for a reason, and I guess I was supposed to be here, while she was back in NY letting the baby cook...but that doesn't make it any easier.

Yesterday they induced her labor.  And being thousands of miles away hit me like an emotional ton of bricks.  I'm pretty impatient by nature...so being so far, and not being able to be there to see them both, and know they're both ok made for a pretty nerve-wracking day.  Finally, this morning, at 740am EST, my beautiful niece, Analiese, made her arrival into this world.  I'm not easily brought to tears, but I admit I shed some as I looked at her pic and realized that it would be months before I got to see her in person, and hold her.  The most difficult part about moving away from everyone you love is that you miss moments you'd never miss otherwise.  There's not many people in my life that I would go and sit at the hospital for as they were in labor...simply because I don't keep many that close to me.  But in this case I know I would've been there.  And in every way I could be there, I was.

I can't wait to fill the blank space with a picture of us, and baby girl: