Rainbows, On the Hour, From the Comfort of Your Living Room

It was raining on and off this past weekend. We had a lazy-bum weekend anyway so it didn't really affect us. EXCEPT, we got to see tons of beautiful rainbows just outside our windows.

First, we saw this doozy. Crazy cool! It was just nesting in the valley.



Then, this one from end to end.



And a short bit later, this one.



And finally, this one just an hour or so before sunset.



Note: none of these images have been enhanced or retouched. This is the real thing!

"Your Mom Let You Perm Your Hair?"

I work with a lot of "youngsters". They all seem to be 22-26. No one is between 26 and 30. Therefore, I fall into the older category.

Just a few minutes ago I heard "I think we're alone now" by Tiffany and I jumped up to explain that is the first concert I ever went to. And then I had to explain how I wore the coolest clothes I owned at the time - zipper leg jeans, "Surf Fetish" shirt (which I don't think was cool outside of La Mesa, CA), and a puffy paint sweatshirt. And somehow I also threw in that I was sporting a perm. Then my co-worker walks up behind and, with genuine jealousy in her voice, says "Your mom let you have a perm?"

Of course I had a perm. How could I not have a perm growing up in the late 80's? I used a hairdryer with a diffuser and "scrunched" my curls. I also had a curling iron covered in crap from hairspraying my bangs BEFORE and DURING curling the,. I tried to make tiny braids in my whole head to make it look like I had "crimped" my hair. I tried in vain to get a banana clip to stay in my super fine hair. The perm, dear coworker, was just the beginning!

And the Oscar Goes to.... JENNI!

Last night we attended an Oscar party with friends. A wonderfully fun evening made even more rewarding when I won the prize for guessing the most category wins. Bryan really truly thought he would win and even stood up to accept the prize when they called my name. Silly boy! I win! I got a lovely golden mini-oscar for my efforts.

Other than that, an extremely mellow weekend.

Dinner with an OTHER

Ha! So we're having dinner at our favorite restaurant and who should we see but an actor from our favorite show!

Just as we're wrapping up our meal with Aryn and Scott at Town, Bryan starts oddly clapping his hands and saying quietly "Jenni, Jenni, Jenni - Lost, Lost, Lost guy." So I literally jump out of my seat turn to the window and catch a side glance of the guy who plays Ben, leaving the restaurant with his wife/girlfriend/dinner companion. He is not at all creepy looking in person and I hear he's super nice (I know people that have met him).

It was thrilling! I'm not sure I'd get that excited to see the President or George Clooney. But an OTHER? Oh yeah!

Four Years Ago Today

Exactly four years ago this evening, we:

Met on the roof of the building at the corner of Polk and Pacific. Bryan asked for my number. I said no. I changed my mind and gave it to him. And he never called.

But it worked out anyway.

How's that for meant-to-be? Or luck, maybe? Whatever, it's good.

A Year Ago Today

Exactly 365 days ago, we:

Lugged our 50+pound suitcases down the red carpet stairs of 1529 Jackson.
Stuffed those suitcases into Laura's car.
Gave tight hugs goodbye to Carolyn.
Travelled out of our beloved city, across the Bay Bridge and to the Oakland Airport.
Gave tight hugs goodbye to Laura.
Bumped into Nida (hi Nida! I know this time last year wasn't easy for you).
Paid extra in baggage fees because none of our bags were within the limit.
Boarded a plane.
Cried a few tears.
Flew across the Pacific Ocean.
Landed in Honolulu.
Disembarked into warm, humid air and the constant breeze.
Were greeted by my brother with leis.

Officially moved to Hawaii.

It's been a crazy year. I don't think I've ever put so much work into one year of my life (save maybe my freshman year of college). I've learned a ton about myself. Things I truly wouldn't have learned without a move. I'm capable of so much more than I ever though I would be. I can start over. I can survive without my comfortable surroundings. I can live with Bryan. We absolutely can make each other happy. We can make big decisions together. I can cook. I can paddle a canoe. I can live without In N Out (but I'm not sure I want to). I can shop at Wal-Mart if forced. I can handle an awful boss. I can grow everyday. I can try new things. I can never have enough slippers.

It has most definitely been the most intense and rewarding year I've ever had.

Tomorrow starts year two which will probably be less intense and less rewarding. So I'll live it up today.

A Weekend of Beach and Family

So nice to have a three day weekend!

I spent most of Saturday on the beach, on my cell phone catching up with friends. Bryan spent most of Saturday cleaning his room. May sound mean that I was enjoying the beach while he was cleaning but trust me, it was totally fair.

On Saturday night his sister and brother-in-law arrived in town for their "Ski Week" vacation. It is great to see them and as Scott pointed out, not much has really changed in our lives since we last saw them. We're still the same.

Sunday we hit the beach and swam around a bit. My brother Brian and his girlfriend Maiko came to met us and then we all split up for various activities... I paddled. Bryan and Scott played basketball. Everyone else napped. And in the end, we met up for pizza at our place and a trying half-game of Trivial Pursuit. Very, very fun to have multiple family members around.

On Monday we hiked Diamond Head and had intentions of going to the beach but the gale force winds sent us home pretty quickly.

Today Bryan is off sightseeing with Aryn and Scott and I'm working. That more than makes up for the beach/cleaning event on Saturday.

Hope you all enjoyed your three day weekend!

SPF: FREE

This week's SPF is "FREE!"

In Hawaii my toes are free, even in the winter.

S-C-R-A-T-C-H

Today, early in the morning, affected by parking garage frustration and a weird 12-hour headache, I totally ran our car against a cement wall.

It sucks big time.

I suck.

It was an accident, of course. And I honestly am not sure how it really happened. And it's not that bad. But it's not good at all.

We have a crappy car but we had hoped that when we left Hawaii we would be able to sell it for about what we paid for it. Not anymore. I'm not sure who would buy it with big claw-like scratch marks all along the rear passenger side of the car.

Ugh. Makes me feel sick.

When I'm not beating myself up about it, I blame Honolulu. Stupid city! With your stupid parking garages everywhere that are too narrow to drive safely in!!

Hawaii is Cute

"Happy Valentine's Day, can I give you a kiss?"

This was directed towards me by a Police Officer as I was on my lunch break. He and his fellow cop buddies were out in full force handing out valentines messages and candy kisses, encouraging people to cross the street safely.

Because, you see, Honolulu has a serious problem with drivers hitting pedestrians in crosswalks. We've had at least five fatalities since the beginning of the year. Which is super, super sad. And gross, right? It's awful. I'm not sure candy from a cop will stop cars from running over people in a crosswalk but it was somehow cute - in that small town sort of way.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Such a silly little holiday but it does have some history, you know.

Anyhow, our plans are super mellow. We're going to try to go for Indian food tonight. Which is a super duper treat because we have not had a morsel of good Indian food since San Francisco. But the Indian place doesn't take reservations so if they're full we'll go for Chinese or Italian-Japanese fusion (it is a real thing, trust me). Or, if all else fails we'll get pizza. Because I don't want anything fancy.

I got Bryan something very small in a very fun box. He made me something really fun that I'll share later. And I'm secretly hoping for flowers. Because I am a silly girl.

SPF: Something Red

This week's theme is something red. I laughed as I looked around our place last night and realized EVERYTHING is red! We have a red couch, a red rattan chair thing, a red bedspread, red towels, red flower pot, red mixing bowls (they're new!), even a red wisk (it matches the bowls!). But those all seemed too easy and I didn't feel like cleaning up to take a picture of any of them.

So I present you this something red.


I ate McDonalds for dinner last night and feel very, very guilty. It was late, I was tired and we had nothing even close to a meal in our house. So now I feel guilty and fat.

Oh joy, I'm fat and too lazy to clean my house. I'm glad you know that about me.

Carnival! A Photo Essay

Last weekend was the Punahou Carnival and conveniently located across the street from our house. We ventured out on Saturday afternoon and had a blast. We ate good (and cheap!) food, checked out the games, and surveyed the rides.

After a gyro, a malsada and a large lemonade we were too stuffed to go on a ride so went to the lei stand. Bryan got me a haku lei and we relaxed in the grass.



Then we shot some hoops - I did horribly, Bryan did pretty well. And Bryan tried out the strong man thing where you hit the bell with the big hammer. He actually did really well but was clearly beat by a 300 pound Hawaiian guy. Finally we had worked off our food so went on a ride. I chose the swings because the Superman one had a long line and I remember the swings being fun when I was a kid.




The swings are fun but a hell of a lot scarier than how I remember them! We are wimps...

Finally, we got some cheap houseplants and ended our day at the carnival. Hooray for the Punahou Carnival!

Hanging at the Lodge

I've been to the Elk's Lodge three times in three days. That's funny, right? What's a young girl like me doing hanging out with the Elk? I don't even know what the Elk do.

It all started last Saturday night. I attended a paddling friend's birthday event and it started with drinks at the Elks Lodge (they have cheap drinks).

The following day we were at the Lodge for a Superbowl party which was great fun. Check out the view!



And on Monday we went to the Lodge for Bachata dance lessons. The Bachata is sort of like salsa but different and crazy sexy. Sadly, we suck at it.

I don't know when we'll next be at the Elk's Lodge but I definitely see it in our future.

Hey, it IS Cold!

We've run the heat in the car three times in the past three days!

Macy's, You Could Learn a Thing or Two

Note: this post has absolutely nothing to do with our Hawaii Adventure. As we come up on a year of living here, sometimes our Hawaii life is just life. So here's a little story from my everyday life.

I called Macy's today to try to get a $25 late fee reversed. I deserved the late fee, but only barely and really didn't want to pay it. The woman I spoke to pretty much refused to reverse the charge and copped a total attitude asking me insulting questions like "why were you late?" "did you think of that sooner?" and "how will I know you won't be late again?" I tolerated her for about five minutes and then finally said "I think you're being very challenging and not at all helpful - is there someone else I can speak to?" And then she put me back in the automated system which totally enraged me. I waited for at least 10 minutes all the while thinking about how I'd just cancel my card. The next woman I spoke with simply said " I can see you're a valued Macy's customer and I'd be happy to reverse the charge. Is there anything else I can help you with?" THANK YOU! I could have kissed her. She deserves a raise. Macy's, give her a raise. She saved you one angry customer.

After that ordeal I went to eat my lunch outside. It was COLD outside! So I treated myself to a Starbucks. My drink was barely warm and pretty disappointing. I stuck with it for a while and then went to the counter to ask them to warm it up. The wonderfully happy and accomodating guy says "I'll just make you a new one." Which is completely ridiculous because I just needed it re-steamed. So I protested. But he prevailed and gave me a fresh drink "extra hot" (which in Hawaii means barely above ice cold).

That, my friends, is your lesson in customer retention. Do not meet my expectations, exceed them. Or I will kick you to the curb.

SPF: Buttons

"Loosen up my button baby, but you keep fronting..."


Today's SPF theme is buttons. This is a picture of the type of buttons on my newest shirt. There's a story with it. For Christmas my mom gifted me a very nice shirt from Bebe that is beautiful but just isn't me. So I decided to return it. They wouldn't give me the money and would only let me exchange it. Now, there's a ton of cute stuff in Bebe so I wasn't worried. I loaded up my arms with shirts, skirts and pants and tried them all one. Only one shirt was even close to acceptable. It is a white, sheer cotton blouse with adorable white plastic buttons exactly like the one above. It's very cute and makes me very happy. However, a lesson to all you girls with wide shoulders and short legs, Bebe clothes are not for us. Anyhow, I meant to take a picture of the buttons on the shirt I got but my camera battery died. The one above is courtesy of Google images.