Blast from the Past!!!

After having a hefty dinner at my hanai brothers house, my nieces, nephews and I headed over to the parentals abode to pick up a few things. As we pulled up to the house, we noticed an unfamiliar car parked out front. I was a little confused when I saw a younger haole guy, maybe in his 30's, talking to my dad in the living room. But as I turned the corner, imagine my surprise when I saw Kalli, formerly Kamauoha, and her mother sitting on our couch!!! The haole guy, I figured, was her husband...lol.

Ok...I know this is a ghetto picture. But I'm at work, so I gotta work with what I can.

Kalli was my brother Jason's girlfriend before he passed back in June 1996. She has always had a special place in our hearts since then, so you can imagine the flood of memories that overwhelmed me when I saw her. June 23 will mark the 13th anniversary of my brothers passing. I was only 13 when he passed, but I sure do miss him. Every now and then I'll run into his classmates or friends, and they'll share some stories and experiences they had with him. He was here with us for such a short time, but he definitely lived a FULL life. I'm comforted by the knowledge I have that I will be one day reunited with him. I love you Jason. *tear*

Week in Review

Ok...first off...I just have to say that I totally didn't realize that I left the end of my last post unfinished. Hahahahaha!!!! As I was reading the comments I was wondering why everyone was talking about "the first thing that comes to mind" when it came to the power outage. Then I re-read my post and couldn't stop lauging cuz I fully left that post unfinished. But I must say...it did instigate some memories for my readers. Haha. Thanks guys for sharing your thoughts on the outage. And yes Ashleigh...your wedding was one of the first things on my mind. Especially your guys' dance cause I was planning on attending that with Bubs and everyone else after work. Oh well....let's just say that you definitely have an awesome story to tell your kids.

Anyhoo, I've just returned from the ultimate relaxing retreat. I spent the past week lounging with my dear friends in Hana. I was fortunate enough to return to my version of paradise this past Monday. This time I was determined to do nothing but lounge and spend time with some of my favorite people. The majority of my week was spent sleeping...eating...sleeping...eating some more....watching movies....and playing some fun games. This was a much needed vacation after working for 11 days!!!!!! It was the recuperation I needed before school started. I see a tradition starting. Lol. As soon as we got in, we HAD to hit up Wainapnapa...my favorite spot there. Unfortunately, the rain kept us in the rest of the week.

We let go of our inhibitions, and made some new discoveries. Malia, our artistic guru initiated our paper mache exercise, where we created the beauty of nature. Our finishe product? The awesomest depiction of the taro plant ever!!! Hahaha. Yes...we made a paper mache taro. It was pretty amazing if I do say so myself. The best thing, we ALL had a part in it. I'll have to post the pictures later because the one bad thing about my trip...my camera mysteriously died right before we got on the plane to come home. Sad.

New Year's Eve was spent watching the whole six hours of Pride and Prejudice!!! I've never seen that movie before and I can see why now. Hahaha....just kidding. It was pretty cool. Definitely a bonding moment for all of us. Lol. Later that evening, we headed to the Diego's, a local family that has lived in Hana for the past three generations. Tracing back all the way to when the first sugar cane workers migrated into Hana. They are members of the only branch there, and were kind enough to take "mercy" on us young adults. We ate til we were about to pass out. We mustered up whatever energy we had left to haul ourselves up to the Hana Hotel where we counted down the end of the year and enjoyed the amazing fireworks display. It was a nice change from the smokey new year I usually celebrate back home, with the mounds of red paper left behind.

But thank you so much, Tiana, Kara, Ida, Grandma Caroline, and Malia for making this trip amazing! I love Hana, and I can't wait to go back!

Lights Out!

What are the chances that everyone (well, nearly everyone) on the island experiences a power outage all at the same time? Well, that's what happened last night. It was around 6:30 p.m. I got off work early, in hopes to make it back in time for the wedding dance for two friends that were getting married the next day. Gas was low, and instead of filling up at the Chevron gas station in Sunset, I thought it would be more convenient to fill up in Kahuku since I needed to make a deposit at the ATM at my bank. So I go through the normal routine of my daily deposit, and just as I'm waiting to get my card back, ALL THE LIGHTS GO OUT!!!

Yup, so I'm standing there in the dark in disbelief with what just happened! The freakin' power went out before my card came out of the dang machine!!! Luckily, I had my cell phone handy, and was able to cancel my card. They told me that I would be able to get my card from the branch the next day they're open, which would be Monday. Unfortunately I would be on a plane headed to Maui by then. Just my luck.

There were weddings, and not to mention it was the last day for the temple to be open so you can just imagine how crazy things were there. But luckily for them, all went well. The power came back on at around 2:30 the next day, and all went as planned. Just include this on the list of crazy natural disasters in Hawaii in '08!

One of the first things that came to mind was...

A Thousand Splendid Suns

I was given this book as a Christmas gift from one of my friends in an effort to share his favorite story with me. Definitely in my top ten. Inspiring. Riveting. Beautiful. That's all I have to say.

Sickness and Goodbye's

I've been hit by the icky-yucky-blah-blah-blah sick bug!!! And of all the sicknesses I could have inherited, I got the "puke-your-guts-out-can't-stand-the-smell-of ANYTHING" kind!!! Ugh...I hate it when my stomach gets sick. So, I spent all day Sunday and half of yesterday stuck at home sleeping and reading the Twilight series....AGAIN! Hahahaha.

Well, late Sunday evening, I got a call from Greg. I thought he was gonna try to get me to do a Zippy's run with him, because he thought I was lying when I told him I was sick. He was heading to California the next day for Christmas break...so he wanted to do one last run for the year. Sadly, that has been our late night habit for the past few months....running to Zippy's. How pathetic! Hahaha. Anyhoo, imagine my surprise when he told me that he would be MOVING back to California!!! My initial reaction was to just laugh because this guy has been living a vacation lifestyle in the past 4 MONTHS!!!! So I thought it was pretty funny that he only NOW decided that he should actually go home to start working! Anyhoo...that's another story that I'll let him blog about.

So...the next day Ane and I took him to the airport. It was a little sad, but not really cause I know I'll see him again. I've come to the realization that I am officially the President of the "Farewell" committee considering all of my close friends all end up "leaving" me on this stinkin' rock. Talk about drowning in island fever!!!! But I know my time will come soon. So until then, I have yet to find someone to hand over the torch. Lol. *Sigh*

Rain and Books

"It rained" would be an understatement to describe what happened yesterday. More like the heavens opened up and someone forgot to turn the tap off. I think within a matter of hours, most of the island was flooded. It's amazing how a whole community comes together to help each other in the midst of a crisis. While I stayed home to watch the younginz...my sister, her husband and their two older boys went out helping other families whose homes were knee high (some waist high) in water. Kaloz. Boy was I thankful I didn't have to work that day.


So, besides watching movies, and stuffing my face with anything warm. I snuggled up in bed with my latest reading project, "My Sisters Keeper" by Jodi Picoult. From stem cell research, to leukemia, to family relationships, this book really makes you think about life decisions. I won't say anymore in case you plan on reading it yourself. Made me better appreciate my family and my sisters.

Chelsea Lately

With the school semester winding to an end, I have found myself distracted by youtube. It all started by looking up interviews with Robert Pattinson a.k.a. Edward Cullen. Yes...I admit...I am OBSESSED with this movie and its characters. Anyhoo, as I was googling everything about Twilight, I came across a funny little show called Chelsea Lately. It's a late nite t.v. show on E! This lady is freaking hilarious!!! Here are some of my favorite clips. Just wanted to share cause she had me laughing for days. These have definitely helped with the fanatacism of Rob. Enjoy!!!

*WARNING: If you're a fan of Tyra Banks, you may get a little offended.

Wait til the end of this clip. It's freakin' hilarious!!!!!