yeah, i have to make you all jealous- that is what this blog is about!
i can't help it that the THIS is two blocks from my house. it was the most beautiful day today and since work hasn't started yet and i don't have to much homework . . . wait a minute I don't need to rationalize going to the beach, do i?
it was a nice reunion with my good friend mari and we caught up with each other while soaking up the sun. she had a lot more fun this summer than I did - took trips to europe, new zealand, tonga, and all over japan. why didn't i go traveling with her- oh yeah, thats right- no money. glad i have priceless treasures of beauty in my backyard. I love Hawaii!!
today is the first day of classes and I am having the darnedest time trying to make up my mind about what to minor in. If I could have my way I would minor in everything - take one class in every field - an aspiring jack of all trades. I want to take behavioral psych and international relations and jap 301 and kinesiology and . . .
okay, if i haven't geeked you out enough allready . . .
I got a brand spankin' new, shiny bike!
and boy, does it shine! you like? a lot of bums at the bus stop were swooning over it. boy, am I glad that I have a nice U-lock for peace of mind- you're not stealing this one, punk!
It is a huffy sante fe - beach cruiser (do they have beaches in new mexico? didn't think so). I was a little skeptical about the brand so phoned a bike expert friend, tim, and he assured me that the huffy people have revamped their bicycle line and improved their reputation as competent bike makers. yeah, right! tell me that when you bring back the banana seat- now that was a happy childhood!!
I’m here!! Back in my Hawaii home. I had a lovely flight over, a quick six hour flight. I was able to spread out on the plane because there was no one seated next to me. The girl in the aisle seat didn’t seem to want to chat and that was fine with me. On the flight from Salt Lake to Pheonix I chatted with a lady who lives in Saudi Arabia so that was interesting to say the least. She is from Texas and her husband is a chemical engineer and works for the oil industry. Dad, don’t make any assumptions, she was a very sweet lady and had a lot of good things to say about Muslims and the culture of the Saudis.
We touched down in Honolulu 40 minutes earlier than scheduled (I must say, I have the best luck flying- never experienced a delay- knock on wood). My friend Tailee was in town working so she picked me up. I crashed after I checked in with, Nyuk Sim, my landlord (sorry, only dad and Jordan will understand that-she is just a very meticulous Chinese lady). I woke up around 4:30 and couldn’t sleep so I ventured out to one of my favorite places with my journal and camera. It was hard to find a vacant spot on temple beach, there were millions of crab holes and I didn’t want to cover one and chance a nice pinch on my hiney. I found a spot and was just about to park it when something flew down my shirt- oh, goody. Not sure and not caring if anyone was around to witness I did the bee-down-my-shirt-trying-to-maintain-my-dignity-while-i-flail-&-fish-for-it . . . dance but lost the battle. I never saw it fly out and got stung in the process. It could still be down my shirt for all I know.
Next time I revel in smooth, easy, hawaiian living I won’t acknowledge it because it’s pretty darn certain that a disaster is around the corner, waiting to pounce on me.
(I hope you all know I seriously embellish all my blogs just for the sake of story-telling. I live by Aunt Julie's sentiment)
okay! i admit the deed!! tear up the planks!!! . . .
I am anxious to go back to school!!
my anxiety is interpreted through none other than, you guessed it- a dream. thanks dad, for interpreting every part of it for my emotional well-being.
chapter 1: the obstacle
on my first day of school someone kindly loans me their car but i suppose it is not out of the goodness of their bleeding heart but just so i will return the favor by watching baby nathan. i find a parking spot as far away from everything as conceivably possible and yet as i pull my bike out of the back and the baby out of his seat, i wonder- "could i be towed." i don't check to see if the space is marked because the baby is fussing and the time waning.
with baby under one arm and bike in the other . . . wait a minute- why the heck did i bring my bike?? i stop and consider leaving it but realize it is the bike that was stolen this past summer and momentary joy engulfs my better judgement. i trudge on toward campus. the going is slow, but i am thus far juggling the two large objects very impressively. . . that is until i reach the mile long decent of stairs. crap! how am i gonna . . . i secure a tight grip on nathan and start, wide-eyed and cautious, down the steps. okay- i can handle this- no sweat! just as that thought pops in my mind the stairs turn into a jungle gym! what the...why? i'm at the top of a narrow, winding mess of monkey bars, perforated steps, slides, zip lines, canvas ladders- you name it! i maneuver as best i can but surrender defeat and in dream-like fashion i am transported to the next segment of the dream.
chapter 2: public humiliation
you all know where this one is going. so, i find myself walking through the halls. halls? what is this? high school re-lived? wake up now, please!! nope, not gonna happen and i migrate to a ridiculously long line that i feel like i am supposed to be in and wait. when my turn arrives i approach to the counter and hand the lady a slip of paper. in return she hands me none other than a violin. yes of course, a violin. wha...?... so i grab my violin, turn from the counter and walk away acting like i know exactly what i am doing. i start scanning the other students and they all have instruments as well. what is this, juilliard? oh, i'm done for. suddenly i get an urge to 'go' and start searching for a plaque with a lady on it. wahine, wahine, wahine. honey, you ain't in kansas no more (i mean- hawaii). there it is! okay- now i know i'm really not in hawaii because the wahine on the plaque doesn't have a lei and a mumu. i want out of this dream!! my school is in hawaii!! hey! quit freaking out and focus- you have to go to the bathroom, remember?
the ladies room plaque is positioned next to a staircase so i begin to make my way up what turns into about 15 flights of stairs. nice. i come to a door. screeeeeech. wow! who designed this fancy...bathroom? momentarily someone elses soothing voice enters my head "this bathroom was remodeled by a lady the college took pity on. her whole life she desired to marry so she could design and build her dream home. unfortunately she was diagnosed with cancer and never married so before she died they let her remodel this old concert hall into a bathroom." little extravagant, i'd say. i was standing on the top of a tiered ampitheatre-like formation of toilets. i felt like i had just purchased my ticket to the opera and now i had to find my seat. hollowed-out, porcelain seat. oh well- i had to go.
well, wouldn't you have guessed it? as soon as i take a seat, students start filling in the massive room and all eyes are on me. suddenly, my toilet is the only toilet up there in the sky for all to see. my face turns hot red with embarrassment. i finish up and in my attempt to play it off, i almost trip down the ampitheatre steps. i gain my footing and slowly walk over to the sink. methodically wash my hands. grab my damn violin and the thought pops in my head that this must be my first class. oh, goody.
so to make a long story short (too late), i have to endure the awkwardness of this public, potty humiliation for the remainder of my dream- it's not like the falling-from-the-sky dreams in which you jolt awake before you hit the ground. uh-uh, the humiliation and anxiety last for as long as my apparent real-life anxiety to return to school plagues me.
thursday was the last of my last days at the hive. i worked there before my mission and after and then for four short months this summer. i have fallen back on the company probably one too many times. this time, it was easier to say goodbye to everyone because they all just assumed that i will be back next summer. nope. not gonna happen. i'm out. . .
so i fly back home to hawaii on the 23rd. school doesn't start until the 29th but i need play time before i stick my nose in the books. who am i kidding i get to play a little too much in hawaii. but i think i deserve it after the beating i got these last few weeks of being sick. all of you prayed for it didn't you. i know half the people that i tell i'm moving to hawaii immediatly hate me with a passion.
haters
it's been a while since i have had a truly bloggable experience so when i got out of my dermatologist appointment i shouted "HOORAY!" - well not literally of course but i was chuckling to myself about this one . . .
most of you know i have been dog sick lately (5 doctor's visits just in this passed week!) so it will come as no surprise when i tell you that i had two on this particular day. I had to leave work around lunch time to make it to the first and since it was lunch time and i was with the mom we decided to hit up this lovely french bakery adjacent to my optometrist (for those of you that don't know- i had an ulcer in my eye which has cleared up miraculously). we devoured the most divine cheese and brocolli soup bread bowls and some baklava (heaven in a triangle).
anyway so i mentioned that i had two appointments. okay, i returned to work for a few short hours and jetted over to my dermatologist right after work. this was a follow-up appointment for my recently procured fever blisters which have healed nicely i must add. so the good 'ole doc put me under the crap-light, which none of my blemishes can evade, and began inspecting the skin around my lips. everything seemed fine until he made the discovery:
"oh! it looks like you still have a little scar tissue on your lip here. you probably didn't put the ointment i prescribed you directly on your lip so you should dab on a little until that clears up."
i looked at him incredulously. i hadn't had too much of a problem with that particular area of my lip and was kind of embarassed that i had missed it. he noticed the disbelief on my expression and handed me a mirror to concur the facts. i looked at my reflection and yes indeed, there it was, a teensy bit of . . . wait a minute . . . something . . . not scar tissue. i touched the area of my lip and whatever it was stuck to my finger.
this was all behind the good doc's back who was scribbling on my chart.
i examined the 'tissue' on my finger and when he started talking again, i quickly flicked it away. i half listened, baffled, while he advised me to continue applying the ointment to the area. it wasn't until i left the office that i realized that the particle i flicked was indeed a tiny piece of my lunch. a piece of broccoli or bread.
needless to say, i am so glad i made it to that crucial appointment. had i not, my doctor would not have been able to rid my lip of the lunch i was likely to carry, unknowingly, the duration of my day.
my brother jordan knows not the meaning of 'leisurely hike' and i should have known better than to permit him to take me 'just' to whitepine lake. he must cliff-hang and their will be none of that at a mere lake. we went trailblazing up a steep slope of loose shale, through fragrant wildflowers and around mt. magog in search for a proper place to scale the cliffs. he was as giddy as a schoolboy when i consented to do so. i did have fun though and we found a hidden arch. we just have to continue the teasing that started with dad's death marches. thanks for not killing me, jordy bug.
