Man...not really sure what to say. What a great beginning to a blog entry.
I guess the teaser in the last post wasn't fair. I just wanted to wait until it was official to say that Isaac and I are dating! So exciting and weird and scary and amazing! It's too new of an experience (first boyfriend!) and I'm too shy to put any details on here, but it's definitely a huge event, so I had to at least mention it :) Now I'm even MORE bummed that he's leaving soon and trying to spend even MORE time with him.
So obviously that's made me really busy...yet it seems so dull to list the things I've been up to. Hiking on the volcano, swimming, snorkeling, stargazing, working, barbecuing (woah, barbecue...barbeque...both correct), talking, thinking about the future, eating, listening to music. Cool.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Photos
The bad news: Doogie, my dog for the last ten years, died. He'd been really sick for a month or two and the vets couldn't figure out what was wrong, and nothing was working to make him better. He got to the point where he wasn't even drinking anymore, and the best option was to put him to sleep. Honestly, I can't believe I can write all that without breaking down and sobbing--I think I am so far removed from it that it has yet to sink in. Once I go back to Minneapolis, I'm sure I'll bawl for days.
The good news: Hehe, I might just have to wait a little while to share that....
Click the photo to see my updated album:
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Big Changes
Saturday morning I kicked a bum off our front steps. I woke at 8 a.m. after six hours of sleep to a text from Retha saying we had to work after all, even though we thought we had the day off and could go on this hike with our friends. As I slowly gained consciousness, I encountered the unpleasant smell of cigarette smoke pouring into our room. I looked out the window to find a guy smoking and drinking a beer and coughing on our stoop. So I got up, flung the door open, and said, "Excuse me, could you please NOT sit on our stoop?" He looked pretty startled, since I doubt he realized somone lived in the shack where he likes to chill after a sleepless Friday night. Don't mess with me in the morning.
It feels like things are changing a lot, but at the same time, not much has "happened." We have this rutted routine and as far as news goes, I've got hardly any. I'll try.
David is back. But not sure if he's going to stay.
Isaac is leaving at the end of July and Micah in early August, I think. I don't like to think about it...I've gotten so close to Isaac especially and I'm going to miss him so much. He is moving to Seattle, so at least I might be able to see him when I go to Portland for Christmas.
So we've all been trying to hang out as much as possible while we still can:
-We went on this intense bike ride, uphill for a couple miles, then around Makawao, this town upcountry, then downhill for like five miles, then through a sugar cane field, then along the ocean. I am so pathetically out of shape. Isaac is a crazy ball of energy and sometimes doesn't realize others aren't quite up to the same level of activity.
-Thursday Micah brough a cheramoya for us all to try--this really sweet fruit that turns out to be the same thing as a custard apple in Kenya. Then at night a bunch of us went to Black Rock, a lava rock that juts out into the ocean and is fun to jump off. I can't get enough of the outdoor stuff you can do here, day or night.
-Friday Isaac came up to Paia and we were going to explore that really old haunted sugar mill we tried to go to with Brook a long time ago (but that time there were people there already and we got scared). On our way, we stopped at this Bon Festival at the Buddhist temple. It seemed to be a big thing and we were curious. Turns out it's a celebration in honor of the dead and it goes on every weekend all summer. There was cool dancing and music and food. We ran into Brook, and he came with us to the mill. Which was awesome! Pitch black cane fields, old crumbled walls, vines and massive trees taking over everything. We climbed stuff and freaked each other out. I love that kind of adventure. We hung out at our place afterwards and talked and played guitar and discovered it's hilarious to throw things into the ceiling fan and watch them shoot out.
-Last night Sarah came over and we had a girls night. Walked to the beach; made chocolate chip pancakes and no-bake cookies; went to the Bon Festival again with Sarina, the 15-year old daughter of one of our Paia work-trade friends; watched P.S. I Love You.
I guess the biggest news is that Jeanie and I talked and realized we were both thinking about leaving Maui sooner than planned. I know she's been antsy for a while, and though I don't feel exactly the same way, I do feel more of a pull to leave than to stay. My hopes for my time in Maui have been overwhelmingly exceeded already, and I can't see the point of staying another year just to follow this same unmotivating routine when there's so much more I want to do. Getting close to people who are picking up and leaving to pursue their dreams has encouraged me to think seriously about what I really want for my future. So right now the plan is to leave in December instead of next summer, which means we'll have been here for a year, nothing to be ashamed of. Jeanie wants to go back to school for nursing. I'd still apply for grad school, then do some kind of overseas volunteer/work thing (in Africa?) until school started, provided I got in and still wanted to go. I'm excited to think of the endless options I have, but I know the stress of trying to choose the "right" thing lies ahead of me. If anyone has any ideas for me, let me know!
It feels like things are changing a lot, but at the same time, not much has "happened." We have this rutted routine and as far as news goes, I've got hardly any. I'll try.
David is back. But not sure if he's going to stay.
Isaac is leaving at the end of July and Micah in early August, I think. I don't like to think about it...I've gotten so close to Isaac especially and I'm going to miss him so much. He is moving to Seattle, so at least I might be able to see him when I go to Portland for Christmas.
So we've all been trying to hang out as much as possible while we still can:
-We went on this intense bike ride, uphill for a couple miles, then around Makawao, this town upcountry, then downhill for like five miles, then through a sugar cane field, then along the ocean. I am so pathetically out of shape. Isaac is a crazy ball of energy and sometimes doesn't realize others aren't quite up to the same level of activity.
-Thursday Micah brough a cheramoya for us all to try--this really sweet fruit that turns out to be the same thing as a custard apple in Kenya. Then at night a bunch of us went to Black Rock, a lava rock that juts out into the ocean and is fun to jump off. I can't get enough of the outdoor stuff you can do here, day or night.
-Friday Isaac came up to Paia and we were going to explore that really old haunted sugar mill we tried to go to with Brook a long time ago (but that time there were people there already and we got scared). On our way, we stopped at this Bon Festival at the Buddhist temple. It seemed to be a big thing and we were curious. Turns out it's a celebration in honor of the dead and it goes on every weekend all summer. There was cool dancing and music and food. We ran into Brook, and he came with us to the mill. Which was awesome! Pitch black cane fields, old crumbled walls, vines and massive trees taking over everything. We climbed stuff and freaked each other out. I love that kind of adventure. We hung out at our place afterwards and talked and played guitar and discovered it's hilarious to throw things into the ceiling fan and watch them shoot out.
-Last night Sarah came over and we had a girls night. Walked to the beach; made chocolate chip pancakes and no-bake cookies; went to the Bon Festival again with Sarina, the 15-year old daughter of one of our Paia work-trade friends; watched P.S. I Love You.
I guess the biggest news is that Jeanie and I talked and realized we were both thinking about leaving Maui sooner than planned. I know she's been antsy for a while, and though I don't feel exactly the same way, I do feel more of a pull to leave than to stay. My hopes for my time in Maui have been overwhelmingly exceeded already, and I can't see the point of staying another year just to follow this same unmotivating routine when there's so much more I want to do. Getting close to people who are picking up and leaving to pursue their dreams has encouraged me to think seriously about what I really want for my future. So right now the plan is to leave in December instead of next summer, which means we'll have been here for a year, nothing to be ashamed of. Jeanie wants to go back to school for nursing. I'd still apply for grad school, then do some kind of overseas volunteer/work thing (in Africa?) until school started, provided I got in and still wanted to go. I'm excited to think of the endless options I have, but I know the stress of trying to choose the "right" thing lies ahead of me. If anyone has any ideas for me, let me know!
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Seeing Centipedes, Stuffing Faces with Cake, Saying Goodbye, Singing, Snorkeling, Spam, Screaming
Today is some special Paia day, with live music and art and food and stuff. We woke to the sound of windchimes as someone set up a booth selling them about five feet from our front door. Fun.
Here's my last week or so:
Here's my last week or so:
- I went camping again, this time with Jeanie and two of our coworkers, Sunny and Amanda. We went to Laperouse, a natural reserve with idyllic bays beyond lava fields that look like the surface of the moon. We camped on a rocky beach far from any civilization, this time in tents to stay safe from the centipedes and cockroaches (which we saw plenty of).
- Thursday was Jeanie's birthday. We went out for breakfast and then went back to Laperouse to do some more hiking and exploring. Then we ate half a Coldstone ice cream cake (my mom told me later those things have like 5,000 calories. So no desserts for the rest of week). It was good to hang out with her, since recently it seems like we only see each other while we're cleaning or puttering around the house, not while we're out having fun.
- My parents left Friday :( We hung out Thursday night, which was awesome. It was SO good to have them here, especially as I dealt with some new and crappy emotions. I'll see them again in six months, at Christmas, which doesn't seem like a long time, but I've never gone that long without seeing them.
- I wrote a song, lyrics and chords. It's short and not good at all, but I'm still proud of myself.
- Went snorkeling yesterday with Isaac and Micah at Honolua Bay (well, actually, the one next to it, and then we swam around to Honolua and got out there). It's supposed to be one of the best places on the island for snorkeling, and it was pretty beautiful! We had dinner at Da Kitchen, where Sarah works, and ate yummy food.... I'm really starting to enjoy the Hawaiian local/Asian-influence food. I even crave Spam musubi sometimes, which is a mound of white rice tied with seaweed to a slab of fried Spam. Spam totally grossed me out for my entire life, but it's actually good when you eat it with other stuff.
- Last night we watched Quarantine. It was terrifying, mostly because it's a plausable plot and it was filmed as if it was a documentary. I think it was the first movie during which I've full-out screamed.
Friday, June 19, 2009
Camping illegally with mice
The last 24 hours have been fabulous! I went camping with Sarah, Isaac, Josh, and this other guy Jason on a beach on the west side. We didn't actually set up tents, just stuck fishing poles in the sand (because if you're technically camping, you have to have a permit; if you're fishing, they'll let you stay without one) and slept in the beds of Isaac and Josh's trucks (because the beach was plagued by mice). Then this morning we hiked in the mountains; it was crazy hot and dry, and I got really burned without even realizing it. I have yet to admit to myself that I am white. I ignore sunscreen and think I'll come away as tan as my Asian and Hawaiian friends.
Instead of writing poetry recently, I've been focusing on short observational pieces so I can capture as much detail of life in Maui as possible without stressing about making it pretty. Here's one from last night (not because I think it's great, just because it might add some variety to my usual blogging style):
We are finally camping, at the second turnout past the tunnel on the way to Lahaina, close to the road, so we still have traffic, headlights breaking in our darkness and making the vivid stars fade into the sky. Isaac, Josh, and Jason stand around the truck, laughing, trying to attach glowsticks to their shorts before bodyboarding in the black surf. Sarah and I lie on our boards under the silver kiawe trees, journaling in companionable silence by lantern light. The fire smoulders and our late night dinner is scattered around--marshmallows, cookies, animal crackers. I can hardly wait for those few moments between waking and sleeping, when I can stare at the moonless sky, listening to the waves, resting in the presence of friends. Tonight I asked them where they'd live if they could choose one place and were never able to leave. "Go with your gut," I said, stopping myself from analyzing the corners of the world I've explored. I went with mine, and to my surprise I chose Maui.
Instead of writing poetry recently, I've been focusing on short observational pieces so I can capture as much detail of life in Maui as possible without stressing about making it pretty. Here's one from last night (not because I think it's great, just because it might add some variety to my usual blogging style):
We are finally camping, at the second turnout past the tunnel on the way to Lahaina, close to the road, so we still have traffic, headlights breaking in our darkness and making the vivid stars fade into the sky. Isaac, Josh, and Jason stand around the truck, laughing, trying to attach glowsticks to their shorts before bodyboarding in the black surf. Sarah and I lie on our boards under the silver kiawe trees, journaling in companionable silence by lantern light. The fire smoulders and our late night dinner is scattered around--marshmallows, cookies, animal crackers. I can hardly wait for those few moments between waking and sleeping, when I can stare at the moonless sky, listening to the waves, resting in the presence of friends. Tonight I asked them where they'd live if they could choose one place and were never able to leave. "Go with your gut," I said, stopping myself from analyzing the corners of the world I've explored. I went with mine, and to my surprise I chose Maui.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
The Absence of Brakes
I hope people are still reading this, because no one is commenting anymore.
Man, I've been so busy lately...but I don't know what I've been filling my time with. It's not busyness like in college, where every hour of every day was scheduled into classes, meetings, work, coffee dates, etc. Instead, it's a relaxed busyness, where I never look ahead or behind me to figure out what will take up or what has taken up my time. All I know is that I've had barely any chance to edit, write, practice guitar, or exercise, all of which I really, really want to do. I also want to spend hours hanging out in coffee shops with Isaac and Sarah, now that I know they both love sitting and reading/writing in comfortable silence, taking breaks for good conversations.... They've spent a ton of time at SBC the last few days, as usual, and it's been so frustrating just wanting to keep talking with but having to get back to work. We are planning to go camping Thursday, so that should be AWESOME. I know I keep saying stuff like this, but it's such an overwhelming blessing to know them, especially now that I'm realizing they want to spend time with me (almost) as much as I do with them. It's a beautiful thing to discover lifelong friends. The church they go to (I still think of it as "their" church, even though I guess I'm a part of it) has been crazy welcoming, too.
Our big news of the week is that our brakes stopped working. Jeanie was driving me to work Sunday, and she started pulling over to pick up Jose Zee on the side of the road when she realized she was pushing the pedal all the way to the floor and we were barely slowing down. We coasted along (thankfully there was little traffic), and luckily once we were going really slow, they kicked in. Our E-brake doesn't seem to work much, so that wouldn't have been a help. I had the worst day of work ever, worrying about poor Jeanie having to take care of the car stuff on her own, while I got scolded a million times by my supervisor for not following all these detailed procedures for making drinks and ringing up customers--she is stressed because the corporate office is putting a lot of pressure on her...don't get me started on how fed up I am with following stupid rules like "you HAVE to suggest that the customer get a large size." I'm such a bad salesperson, I firmly believe that if people don't want or need something, I'm certainly not going to push it on them. And they'll probably be happier for it, too. Anyway, Jeanie got an assessment at Sears, and they said the brakes would be $500 to fix...more than half the price of our car............. And then, HUGE relief, Retha's husband Jeff offered to fix them for free, if we bought the parts. How INCREDIBLE to be taken care of like that!!!! So we spent $60 and have a beautifully working car. I still can't get over it.
Tonight this customer (yes, a middle-aged man) told me I had really large pupils (which I've actually been told before...I hate that it's obvious when I'm full of nervous energy because of that and because I blush, too). I'm not sure if he was hitting on me or wondering if I was on drugs. Or just making an observation.
Oh my word, I have a confession to make. I just realized that I spelled "brakes" wrong ("breaks") through this entire post. I must be really tired. I'm so embarrassed.
Man, I've been so busy lately...but I don't know what I've been filling my time with. It's not busyness like in college, where every hour of every day was scheduled into classes, meetings, work, coffee dates, etc. Instead, it's a relaxed busyness, where I never look ahead or behind me to figure out what will take up or what has taken up my time. All I know is that I've had barely any chance to edit, write, practice guitar, or exercise, all of which I really, really want to do. I also want to spend hours hanging out in coffee shops with Isaac and Sarah, now that I know they both love sitting and reading/writing in comfortable silence, taking breaks for good conversations.... They've spent a ton of time at SBC the last few days, as usual, and it's been so frustrating just wanting to keep talking with but having to get back to work. We are planning to go camping Thursday, so that should be AWESOME. I know I keep saying stuff like this, but it's such an overwhelming blessing to know them, especially now that I'm realizing they want to spend time with me (almost) as much as I do with them. It's a beautiful thing to discover lifelong friends. The church they go to (I still think of it as "their" church, even though I guess I'm a part of it) has been crazy welcoming, too.
Our big news of the week is that our brakes stopped working. Jeanie was driving me to work Sunday, and she started pulling over to pick up Jose Zee on the side of the road when she realized she was pushing the pedal all the way to the floor and we were barely slowing down. We coasted along (thankfully there was little traffic), and luckily once we were going really slow, they kicked in. Our E-brake doesn't seem to work much, so that wouldn't have been a help. I had the worst day of work ever, worrying about poor Jeanie having to take care of the car stuff on her own, while I got scolded a million times by my supervisor for not following all these detailed procedures for making drinks and ringing up customers--she is stressed because the corporate office is putting a lot of pressure on her...don't get me started on how fed up I am with following stupid rules like "you HAVE to suggest that the customer get a large size." I'm such a bad salesperson, I firmly believe that if people don't want or need something, I'm certainly not going to push it on them. And they'll probably be happier for it, too. Anyway, Jeanie got an assessment at Sears, and they said the brakes would be $500 to fix...more than half the price of our car............. And then, HUGE relief, Retha's husband Jeff offered to fix them for free, if we bought the parts. How INCREDIBLE to be taken care of like that!!!! So we spent $60 and have a beautifully working car. I still can't get over it.
Tonight this customer (yes, a middle-aged man) told me I had really large pupils (which I've actually been told before...I hate that it's obvious when I'm full of nervous energy because of that and because I blush, too). I'm not sure if he was hitting on me or wondering if I was on drugs. Or just making an observation.
Oh my word, I have a confession to make. I just realized that I spelled "brakes" wrong ("breaks") through this entire post. I must be really tired. I'm so embarrassed.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
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