Into the Wild

Last week I survived my first tropical storm. Storm "Felicia" had died down a bit by the time it got to the island, so all we got is a lot of rain and wind. With the storm we got a lot of water seeping in through the roof and into our bathroom, and slugs and ants everywhere. Immediately afterwards though, the dog park with the dry, dusty, yellow field, turned green and perfect for fidel and luna to romp around in.

The sky stayed overcast for a few days, but on Friday, the day of our camping trip, the sun came out. Kimble and I left Friday night because we had to work, but everyone else had left earlier that day and camp was already set up. We camped on the North Shore, in Malaekahana State Recreation Area, a good place to relax and hang out at the beach. Unfortunately, because of the storm, the beach was all muggy. Though we were still able to participate in a Hawaiian camping pastime: catching crabs at the beach at night for no real reason, and then letting them go.

The next day, after having a great breakfast, we went down to the beach with our boogie boards. The plan was to swim/paddle over to Goat Island, an island with a bird sanctuary a ways away from shore. It was high tide though, and I am not the greatest swimmer, and neither is Laura, so we took the boogie boards while Kimble and Nathan pulled us. Everything looked so beautiful from the water, and although it was a struggle, I knew it would be worth it getting to the other side. Unfortunately, we never made it. Nathan got stung by a Portuguese Man of War, a little jellyfish-looking tentacly thing. We had to turn back right away, he was obviously in pain, and Laura was getting scared. When we finally got back to the shore, a few people told him he should put vinegar on it, so we drove to the nearest market and bought some. The local remedy thankfully worked--it looked better immediately. He still had these markings from the long tentacles around his arm, though. Poor Nathan, he got stung by that thing, got second degree burns from the fire the night before, and then fell off his chair the next day.

All and all though, the trip was awesome. I think someone else said this too, but I don't think I've ever gained weight while camping.

Road Trip Fun

Seeing that as of right now i'm working six days a week, i'm trying to make most of my little time off. Friday night we went to see Harry Potter with Laura, Nathan, and their French roommate, Christoph. I didn't go to sleep like i did with Public Enemies, so i guess that tells you something. From now on though, we're going to watch what I want to watch! So far, i've been dragged through Transformers (BARF)! and these two movies. no more. i desperately want to see 500 Days of Summer, and no one is going to stop me.

I had to work the next day, (Saturday), and i was so tired from standing up all day, i did nothing but flip through channels on the couch that night. Sunday, though, was my day: Laura and Nathan had invited us to go to the North Shore with them. They picked us up and we headed on our beautiful little road trip. i kept thinking how i couldn't wait to bring my friends here when they visit! we stopped by this "farm" where they have tons of varieties of macadamia nuts, and painted coconuts. did you know that you can ship a coconut as long as it has a mailing address on it?! no packaging required--just the coconut itself.

We kept driving and made it to Turtle Bay, (where Forgetting Sarah Marshall was filmed). It was okay...a lot of tourists from the hotel there. we didn't stay long, and headed to Shark's Cove. Nathan is great with water sports--he surfs, scuba dives, snorkels, etc.--so he was an excellent person to teach me how to snorkel. there really isn't a beach there, so we just put on our gear and headed into the water. as soon as i got in, there was a little girl there taking a picture of a turtle. so cute! even though it wasn't that deep, as soon as i put my mask in the water i could see all these little fishes and even bigger bright yellow ones. i was so proud of myself too, because we swam deeper in and not once did i feel scared or uncomfortable in the water. it was so amazing! Kimble kept diving under trying to see if he could touch the bottom, but i don't think he ever did.

After a while, we all were starving and needed food pronto. we stopped by one of those famous shrimp places for a bite to eat. so apprently, there's this great debate with these places, because one of them will say they're the "original," the other says they're the only ones that are "fresh," but apparently, only one of these places actually owns the actual shrimp farms. i forget what it was called, but obviously, we went there. so, so, delicious, especially after a day at the beach.

A'Float Sushi

Hmm...I haven't been to good at keeping this updated, have I?

Since my last entry I have accepted that job at the PT clinic, and getting into the groove of starting a new job. although Kaiser got way more calls and had tons and tons of patients, there is a lot to do at this place. mostly i guess it's because they're so outdated and are not using proper systems. the people there are really cool though, specifically one of the managers who i told about my back problems to, and immediately had a PT look at me. the PT was soo cool and coincidentally lived in Pomona for a while and used to hang out in Pasadena.

I really can't wait until people start visiting me. although i'm with Kimble all the time and now have a job that keeps me busy, i still feel lonely out here sometimes, especially after 7pm when it's already 10pm in California. plus, there really isn't anywhere to go after that time around here anyway. hopefully though, if things work out, Grace and Danny can come visit me in Sept. i don't want to put any pressure on them, but i'm so excited! the only thing is, (like i've said before), my house is a dump. i mean, everything here is made out of the cheapest materials possible, because we have the cheapest landlady ever. i know it's not a huge deal though...we'll manage.

So so far Grace and Danny are probably, hopefully, coming in September, my brother is shooting for October, and Krysta and Clay hopefully/planning on November. (in Kennedy's words): "Yipee!" oh yeah, and our roommate is going to be in LA in like three weeks or so. double "Yipee!" hopefully i can also go back home for christmas as well. we shall see.

4th of July

Had a pretty near-perfect weekend. so glad to be spending it in a beautiful place with Kimble and the doggies. Friday Kimble had off and so we spent the day cleaning up and preparing for a get together with the neighbors. alex, our roommate, made steaks for everyone, the brothers in the back brought the desserts, the neighbors caryn and kona brought stuffed mushrooms, and kimble and i made ceviche. i have to say it came out perfect! exactly what i was shooting for. the only setback is that we couldn't find the right fish anywhere. well, actually, it was more that we are not familiar with the fish they have here so it was kind of difficult at first, but we found a cool fish market a little ways away and it all worked out.

Yesterday we spent the day at the beach with kimble's co-worker and his fiancée. Laura, (the fiancée), was actually born in mexico and has been living in hawaii for the past few years. it was nice to speak to someone in spanish although i was embarrased of my horrible spanglish. doesn't help that she is a spanish major. the day was super hot so the beach felt perfect. the dogs came and Luna swam around while Fidel chilled out in the shade with the girls. later we went back to the house where we had left over food and lighted a few fireworks. we finally used kimble's Holga camera so hopefully we get some cool pictures out of it later.

Today we went on a hike with the dogs. it was so cool 'cos it was really hot but at one point of the hike the wind was blowing so it was like natural a/c. the view up there was amazing. (i posted pics on facebook). fidel got really tired towards the end 'cos he would pee on every single bush he saw, and then have to run up the hill to catch up with us, so i think he lost his energy that way. kimble had to carry him like a baby and everyone commented on it as they passed us. some people even took pictures. he was like a little movie star.

More good news today: i emailed the girl i had my interview with just to say thank you, and she responded back saying that they wanted me to come on tuesday for a second interview with the main guy! excited but kind of nervous. this is their website. looks pretty cool i have to say. hopefully everything goes well!

jobzzz

I finally landed a job interview. it's for a receptionist position at a physical therapy/sports med clinic. it's part-time and the hours are pretty sweet: 2:30-7p, M-F, Sat 8-2p. plus, they offer medical. phew! i'll take anything with decent pay at this point--i kind of just want to get out of the house. and especially with those hours i always have time to look for something better if needed.

Today I'm going to attempt to make my mom's famous lasagna...wish me luck!

Team K & G

The homesickness seems as though it's subsiding and the reality of me living here is starting to hit me. one of the things i have come to terms with is that the house is a total mess. it's a bachelor/musician's dream come true. the only reason why you would guess the living room is in fact a living room is because there is a couch and a tv in it--that's it. other that that, it's filled with amps, keyboards, guitars, (notice the "s" implying plural). unfortunately for the guys here, i'm neither a musician nor a young bachelor who doesn't care about coasters. the sad thing is that it's not only the living room that's a mess, the entire house is completely chaotic and has absolutely no order to it. instead of whining that i don't want to live in a house like this, i decided i would do something about it and attempt to make it feel like this is my home too.

Starting with our bedroom. Kimble still hadn't unpacked the box full of his previous house's decorations. after removing layer upon layer of dust from the bookcases, ceiling fans, windows, and dressers, i picked out each picture frame, art piece, mini buddha, etc. i still have a long way to go, but after we organize a few more things and maybe get a new dresser, i think i'm really going to love our room. i've been working on our room for the past few days and i'm still going to continue tomorrow. next will be kimble's office. daunting task, let me tell you. boxes and file cabinets full of papers, folders, and disorganization.

the nice thing about these projects are not only that the rooms are starting to feel like mine, but also i'm reminded how well kimble and i work together. nevermind the petty fights every so often, i know we're always there to help each other out.

mclovin

There must be some sort of forces that are preventing me from getting my driver's license here. last week when kimble would ask me, "so what are you going to do today?" i would answer, "i'm gonna go get my license." ...but i never did. wednesday i got too distracted trying to clean, thursday i started feeling sick, and friday i felt even worse. yesterday, i was on my way when i called kimble and realized he was ready to be picked up, so i had to turn around. today, i drove all the way over there just to forget my friggin' social security card. tomorrow, i will attempt it once again.

Things seem to be looking up around here. or at least i'm more hopeful about things. i had filled out an application for a hospital here, Kapiolani Medical Center, and today i went to take their pre-assesment test. the test was weird--i had a headset on, and fake calls would come through about a cell phone bill complaint, insurance company, vacation booking etc, (none having to do with actual patients by the way), and i would choose different options on how i would respond. most of them were easy, but some i had no clue seeing that i had never tried to sell anything before. seemed like odd scenerios for a job at a hospital, but oh well, i went with it. once i finished the girl there gave me my score: 86%. i was kinda bummed but she said that it's a really good score, (they're minimum score is 30%)! she told me someone would call me shortly, so hopefully that will happen.

Can't wait to be living in a place of my own with Kimble and the dogs!