my favorite birthday...

birthdays birthdays birthdays...who DOESN'T love birthdays?! i know i do!!!! lol. i have to admit...i usually don't make all that big of a deal when it comes to my own. i usually like doing stuff for OTHER people. weird..i know...but there's nothing like seeing the expression of someone's face when you surprise them with a party...or just randomly stopping by the office with a dream cake from ted's. its all worth it. so when friends try to return the favor...i don't really know how to act.

like when they try to throw you a surprise party, but you think you're waiting for them to get ready to go to the movies. so you get all irritated when you have to go IN the house to get them to hurry up cuz you're going to miss the movie...and when you open the door and everyone yells "SURPRISE" you blurt out some "special" words, shut the door and try to run away. hahahaha!!!

OR like when they attempt to break into your house to decorate your room while leaving their brother outside as the "lookout"and all he does is look at YOU while you pull up in the driveway staring at him wondering "why is 'iasi outside my house???" hahahaha...thanks line ;)

OR like when they throw you a surprise bonfire (one of my fav past times with good '01 frenz) but i fully knock out after having dinner with frenz...one of whom decides to invite a RANDOM chick who does nothing but drain me of my "birthday-glory-ness" by complaining alllllll night about her ex who also happens to be my cousin. hmmmm...the food was good though. lol

but don't get me wrong...i'm soooooo not complaining. i have the BEST friends and FAMILY anyone could ever ask for. these are just some of the few memories i have of my special annual celebrations. if i had to pick just ONE...it would have to be my 24th. i only pick this one because i think it lasted the looooooooongest. it wasn't just a birthday..but a birthWEEK!

friends flew in from texas to celebrate. totally unexpected. the brother-in-law rented a car for me and my friends to cruise all weekend long. from ice blocking in the middle of the night...to taking the visitor friends clubbing for the very first time...to witnessing a friend freak out when he realized his pina colada had a little extra kick (innocent mistake)...it was a whirlwind of events. ironically...this also happened to be the year of the ruined bonfire surprise. but my brother totally made up for that by taking me on a surprise retreat to the hilton waikaloa...one of the premier hotels on hawai'i island. i was spoiled rotten. now that i think of it...i don't even know how i was able to get that much time off work.

but whether it be my 24th or my 42nd...i am grateful for each new year of life. which just may be the greatest gift in itself. so here's to another year!

gone too soon...

its 4:11 in the morning...and i can't seem to fall asleep. too many thoughts racing through my mind. my heart yearns to be with my parents. my family. to be home. to be with my community...as it mourns the loss of yet another young spirit. i did not know him, but i recognize the pain his family must be going through. i can't help but think back to that tragic morning 14 years ago. its all too familiar. the michael jackson song keeps playing in my mind...and my heart aches for the tafuna/fotu families. rest in love dee dee.

32 years ago...

32 years ago......

* "We Are The World" was recorded

*The last Volkswagen Beetle was ever made in Germany

* The 1st Iron Man Triathalon was held in Kona, Hawaii

* The BeeGees "Saturday Night Fever" goes #1 for 24 weeks

* The TV show "Diff'rent Strokes" premiers on NBC

* Sweden is the first to ban aerosol sprays

these are just a few of the random events that i could find that occurred in 1978. but 32 years ago today, a beautiful soul was born.

when i came into work today, i performed my normal ritual. talk story with my coworkers to catch up on this weekend's events. the snow. parties. sleep. etc. afterwards...it was time to get to work. but facebook first. lol. first entry i see on my news feed was a status update from sister...

"hau'oli la hanau jason keaunui keo, miss & luv u my braddah"

i nearly broke down in tears. i had totally forgotten.

when jason passed, aside from the pain experienced from such a great loss, one of my biggest fears was forgetting him.

i made it a point every year to visit him every year on his anniversary and birthday. it was easy the first few years. since he was just down the road. but as the years went on and life became "busier", i found the visits less frequent. does that make me a bad person???

but then there are those random days where i see/hear something that reminds me of him and i just break down. what would he be like if he were still here? who would he have married? what would his kids look like? *sigh*

but then i remember...although our physical ties have been broken, we are bound eternally.

so with that. here's to another year. happy birthday brother.

luv and miss u,

ur little sister

my favorite memory

"memory is a way of holding on to the things you love, the things you are, and the things you never want to lose" --some old t.v. show...can't remember the title

how appropriate for today's entry. obviously i can't think of just ONE favorite memory. so i thought i would share a few that, although random, are unforgettable:

- playing pictionary by candlelight with the WHOLE family after hurricane 'iniki turned into a tropical storm...and getting surprised by the neighbor who invited himself over and randomly jumped on our kitchen table.

- playing in the pouring rain outside the house, and slowly making our way to the bridge on homestead and not EEEEVEEEN caring about getting kaki'o's from the dirty water..hahaha

- driving around all of hauula/laie/kahuku with sister and looking for byuh students we could bark at. but then feeling bad after making said student fall off her bike. sbi

- playing secret santa for random people in the ward and delivering baked goods to their homes anonymously.

- late night drives to walmart cuz there was nothing else to do.

- late night drives to zippy's....for the same reason as the aforementioned memory. heffer status. lol

- seeing imaginary cats crossing the road while driving home after aforementioned late night trips.

- ward.camp.

- laughing sooooo hard i literally couldn't breathe.

- beach days

these are just the tip of the iceberg. if i mentioned every single memory i think i would lose readers. lol. but i look forward to making many...many more.

challenge interruption...

ok...so i know i've been on the verge of finishing up the blogger challenge, but i just had to interrupt to document the events from this past week. my days off from delta have been so sporatic lately, that its been hard to align them with days off from the center. so when the boss lady at the center said i was relinquished from my daily duties on wednesday, coincidentally my day off from delta as well, i took that as a sign that i was meant to go home to attend the temple open house. so immediately after work tuesday night/wednesday morning, after an EARLY morning breaky (breakfast) with the cuzzie, i hopped on the first flt to lax. luckily one of the diamond medallion members didn't show up, so i snagged the last seat. my hopes of getting first class on the la to honolulu flt were smashed when they announced the last minute purchased upgrade option.

**sidenote: i'm officially spoiled cuz i HATE flying home in coach....especially when i fly alone...cuz i dislike sitting next to strangers. *sigh*

needless to say i still got a decent seat, and made it home safe and sound. so...since majority of my family had already gone to the open house, i went with my bestie maria. she had invited one of her nonmember friends, and i invited one of my other buddies who IS a member, but just hasn't had the opportunity to go yet. one word to describe the open house: MAJESTIC. going through each room, and feeling the spirit...amazing. definitely an eye opener for myself. haven't been the most active lately...but i'll leave that for another post.

after the open house...we hit up kahuku grill. i was feenin' some local grindz...but didn't want to travel too far. if you haven't gone there yet, i HIGHLY recommend it. they're known for their "twice as much" burger (crazy-ridiculous-good), but i opted for the teri chicken plate. fav part of the meal. the salad. it was huge. filled with tons of goodies, and oh-so-FRESH!!!!

this trip was short and sweet considering i flew out the next evening...had to work friday...boo!
but little did i know i would be back on a plane later that evening. my flight arrived early friday morning...so i drove home to catch a few z's before work. while driving to work, i got a text from greg..."you should fly in to long beach if you're off tonite." after reading the text, i thought to myself..."hey...why not?" i was able to get someone to work my shift at delta that night so after getting off work at the center, i stopped by target to by a toothbrush, and rushed off to the airport to catch the last flight out.

my bestie's brother had put together a mini film festival in the area, so it was a perfect venue to stop and meet up with friends that i haven't seen in a while. the films, the music, the people....all worth the two hours of sleep i got that night...because i was back on a plane headed back to salt lake city...for work :(

loooooong story short last week was a whirlwind of events. its definitely been a while. but it was all worth it considering i'll be working straight for the next 10 days. *sigh* the life of a nonrev...i love it.

my first kiss

first word that comes to mind when i think of my first kiss: awkward

hahaha. yes. very true. it was in a movie theater. as we were walking out after the movie ended. and as i turned around to say something to him, he kissed me. weird. what made it worse, there were people behind us trying to leave too. it was another couple...who gave us dirty looks as they walked by. i remember THAT. nailz. i also remember thinking..."this fool couldn't wait til these people left." but rest assured...that was my ONLY instance of PDA....even if the public population consisted of 2. lol. so there you have it...my first awkward kiss...lol.

my dreams

if someone were to approach me and ask me, what are your dreams??? my answer would be...

i.have.no.clue.

i have been in a total slump lately. not even kidding. just going through the motions, trying my best to survive in this "doggy-dog" (thank you gloria from modern family for that one...lol) world. i have been hesitant to write about this topic for this reason. seems a bit loser-ish of me to not have any dreams. but then i came across the following quote

“Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.” - Greek Philosopher

total justification. lol. but on the real...it's sooooooo true. when i look back at my life a few years ago...there are so many things that i have accomplished up to this point that were all just a dream back then. both big and small. here's a few examples:

- i own my very own car. yup....kept talking about it in the past...just couldn't afford it. now, it's a dream come true

- backpacking through europe. NEVER thought i'd ever get to do that. but i totally did and it was totally awesome. dream come true

- graduating from college. in political science of all majors. it was a long time coming. but i did it. another dream come true.

- the freedom to travel. been bit by the travel bug a few years back, and scrimped and saved for every trip. now i have my own personal fleet of "private" jets. thank you delta. dream come true.

these are just a few examples, of the MANY "dreams" that have manifested themselves in the past few years. actually...this all happened in the past year. huh...go figure. so thank you mr. greek philosopher for helping me realize although i may not have a clue as to what my dreams for the future are yet, its comforting to know that i have already made some older dreams come true.

what i wore today...pt. 2

nothing special about what i'm wearing today. just that it's a more comfortable alternative to wearing jeans during this chilly-er fall season in utah. so i'm sporting my bright floral print baby doll dress with leggings and a cardigan.

and of course the boots to keep the dogs nice and toasty.

not too sure how i feel about the upcoming winter season. don't get me wrong...i don't mind the cold, and i love when it snows. one thing i DON'T like is driving in the snow. especially since approximately 2-3 hours of my day are spent on the road. just the thought of playing "slip and slide" with other cars on the road is soooo not the business. but i have to keep reminding myself that these are the small sacrifices i would have to make in order to maintain my flight benefits. so bring it on frosty...just please be gentle...lol.

this week...

what a coincidence...i get to talk about my week right when i'm smack dab in the middle of it. so in honor of this week's hump day...allow me to share what i did, am currently doing, and what i plan to do. haha.

sunday:

tsk tsk. missed another day of church. and this time i was actually in town for it...but got swept away in never never land. you know its bad when people think you're new every sunday you DO go. and you know its worse when the person asking you is NEW themselves!!! eeeeh! i think i should just switch to the ward down the street instead of driving 20 minutes to go to the singles ward. is it really worth it? *sigh* ok...ending confession now. lol. cruised with the madre til it was time for work. worked the night away.

monday:

got home from work around 5am. stayed up til about 6. slept til 12. woke up in a frantic hurry to get ready for work, only to find out it was my day off. from one job at least. drove to sissy's house to hang out with the chilrenz...and ended up cleaning their house and buying lunch for everyone. (am i the only one who sees something wrong with THAT scenario...damn kidz! lol). went home to get ready for the second job. worked the night away.

tuesday:

pretty much the same schedule as monday except this time i worked BOTH jobs. went in to the center by 2pm and caught up on some blogging. lol. but don't worry...i blog for the center as well, so technically its "work". edited some videos, downloaded some pix, and made a couple dvd's. i love my job there. was done there by 6 and headed another half hour north to the lovely reservations center. and yup...you guessed it....worked the night away.

wednesday (TODAY!!!!):

got home from work and was greeted by an insomniac...mi madre. found her resting in her beauty while the tv watched HER. woke her up and advised her to either get some rest or start packing for her flight which left in about 6 hours. she hesitatingly got up off the couch, walked past the stack of clothes piled ON her suitcase (and this is where i get my procrastination from), and went to sleep. hahahaha. don't ever. worried she wouldn't be able to get up in time to go to the airport, i decided to stay up and catch up on some atlanta housewives. is it just me or does this season seem lame??? if i hear kim sing "don't be tardy for the party" one more time, i'm gonna fly to atlanta and slap her myself!

two hours later...woke up the parental and helped her get ready. sissy came to pick her up so i could get my slumber on. or attempt to. did some laundry and finished just in time to go back to work. so that brings me here to the center. and i'm dying right about now. plans for later this evening??? work my night away.

thursday:

lucky for me, i only have to work ONE job tomorrow, and its only for four hours!!! so i plan to sleep for as long as i can...roll out of bed, somehow manage to get ready..and drive a half hour to work. i think we have a meeting tomorrow...so really its just me and my coworkers talking story about how nails our board is. hahaha. that'll have to be another post. after that i can GO HOME!!! not sure what to do then. maybe have movie night with the SIL, since the rest of the family ditched us to go to hawaii. boo to them! but luckily, i won't be working the night away.

friday:

back to two jobs again. ugh. i offered to work for a coworker at delta. how nice of me right? lol. this time i'll get off early, and just work til 1am instead of 4am. trust...3 hours makes a HUUUUUGE difference. but other than that...nothing all too exciting.

saturday:

*sigh* if alllll goes as planned, and i get someone to cover my shift at delta...i'll be on a plane heading up to boise to watch the uh v. boise state game. is it bad that i'll be sporting boise gear, but cheering for uh??? lol. well...that's the plan at least. if things don't pan out...and my shift doesn't get covered, i'll probably be changing the oil on my car, and quite possibly get the alignment fixed. or maybe i'll just bypass all of that to go shopping. the latter sounds better. and then...yup...you guessed it, i'll have to work the night away.

and that's my week. so exciting right?! hope yours has been/is/will be better than mine. ;)

what's in your bag?

there's no mistaking it that a woman's handbag is her life. how else would we carry our wallet, makeup, cell phone, pen, paper, phone charger, camera, snack, planner, laptop, laptop charger, *lady items*, power surge bar (lol), etc. see...ones whole life can fit in there. or maybe just mine.

lately this has been the bag of choice for yours truly.

i know what you're thinking..."that's not a purse!" but hey...it carries EVERYTHING i need and then some. these are some of the goodies in my bag today:

-laptop
-laptop charger
-wallet
-makeup bag
-surge power bar
-phone charger
-earphones
-gum
-chapstick
-lotion
-dental floss

random...i know. but i promise i use EVERYTHING in here almost everyday. i need my laptop when i go into work....both at the hawaiian cultural center AND delta. the surge power bar is to plug in my laptop while at delta. there aren't enough outlets for the work computer and my computer...so it comes in handy when its slow at work...and it allows me to do this...

hahahaha. yup...that would be me watching movies at work. the earphones are necessary for this to happen as well. lol. and as you can see in the picture above...you'll notice the phone charger plugged into the computer. can't be disconnected from the outside world while working right?
work at delta always seems to fly by with these little toys.

need i explain the rest of the items??? lol.

challenge continued....my siblings

ok...i got home from work an hour ago, and instead of doing the usual...(reuniting with la-la land), the wonderful world of blogging has prevented me from enjoying my slumber. so here i am...6:37 in the morning...determined to complete the challenge. so i'll start where i left off...my siblings

because there's so many of us, i figure i'd do my best to describe each one with a single word. so here it goes....in order from oldest to youngest. lol. hopefully they don't hurt me if they happen to come across this post.

leone.malia.saaga

the loud one

aaron.kawika.keo
the quiet one

jared.maluae.keo
the OCD one
(yes...i realize OCD is more than one word but the abbrev. can be one word right? lol)


jason.keaunui.keo
the kolohe one

mahealani.angeline.keo
the punchy one

me.
the favorite one
(lol)