I can surf!

I'm trying to settle into a new routine here, still feeling like I need some change in my life. I'm still having a hard time dealing with painful emotional stuff, insecurities, anxieties. :( We said a sad goodbye to Lola and Julia last week, then promptly came home and rearranged our living room. It felt good.

And I did some really fun things last weekend! Let's see...Thursday night there was a concert put on to raise money for a couple sweet nonprofits, and a couple of our friends played in it. Then Saturday, my dad rented a motorcycle and took me all the way around the west side of the island, along the West Maui Mountains. It was GORGEOUS, and super thrilling to experience it from the freedom of a motorcycle. It's cool to hear from people who've grown up here that the beauty of Maui doesn't stop amazing them even after so many years. I can't get over it and I don't want to.

Saturday night Micah came over and then Isaac joined us and we all went night swimming in Paia bay. Somehow the dark makes it less scary when the waves come crashing down at you. It was peaceful and beautiful with a nice little hint of adventure.

And then yesterday we went surfing! David, who we took surfing lessons from way back when, let us borrow boards from his shop, and Micah, Isaac, Sarah, and a few others took us to Launiupoko, where the good little longboard waves are. Surfing is interesting. It's intimidating because there were TONS of people out there, and all these unspoken surfing rules, like if someone catches a wave further out, you're not supposed to catch it later on. And there's so much waiting involved, just chilling on your board and chatting with people as you wait for the sets to come in. And it was awesome because I stood! Many times, in fact. I can now surf!!! So much fun :)

Did I mention that it's finally summer here? It's HOT and almost always sunny except for when the vog (volcano fog) rolls in, and then it's gray and muggy and traps a funny smell. The sugar cane factory lets off this ghastly smell that can reach pretty far if the wind is right.

One quick story and then I'm done: There's this awkward yet somehow charming guy in his 20's named Evan who spends all of his time at Border's (our manager says he's high and homeless). He's kind of fun to talk to because he's just SO awkward. Sometimes we talk about books we're reading, and sometimes he'll just smile and duck his head when I say hi. The other day he told Jeanie that he liked her hair, then followed it up with the best line ever, in his completely serious way: "It's really...different."