upswing

Whew.

What a week. It's been pretty busy since I've been back and I was feeling fairly blah about it but in the last week it's been even busier and yet I feel great; like I'm finally getting into the swing of things. Feeling more social, being more social.

Pole is coming along well. I'm gaining back the strength that I lost over the summer and learning some rad moves. I'm also learning how to teach the lower levels. Excited about that for sure!

I like the new anthro cohort that have just come in. They are definitely an upbeat bunch and combining that with the outgoing fellas from last year's cohort, I finally feel like there's an academic community that I can rely on. It is an awesome feeling to be able to talk to other people in my situation who are right here.

The Hawaii Vintage Rugby festival, a week long event, has also just started and is kinda pulling me back into rugby. It's fun to watch because there are 45 teams from 16 different countries. I have never see so many old dudes drink and play rugby in one place. I tried playing last year with a local team but pulled out after the first game when our scrumhalf broke her ankle. I'm uninsured. If that had been me, I would have been screwed. I'm still uninsured right now but the team has been awesome to hang out with these last few days and I think I might drop in on practices and training/fitness sessions; no contact though. And what better way to rejoin rugby than having a training session at Kapiolani park with guest coaches Greg Somerville (a former All Black) and Stephan Larkham (a former Wallaby) who are here for the vintage tournament. The double rainbows and moon over Diamond head plus the gorgeous sunset over Waikiki as we practiced were pretty awesome too :)   

The roomie situations are evening out. It's not 100% fantastic but it's not as sucky as it used to be. I still have to plunge the tub occasionally but it doesn't happen every single time I have to take a shower so the angry part of the plunging is becoming a thing of the past. This in turn is helping with my zen "eh, fuck it all" attitude. I could do without the weird insinuations regarding the lack of testosterone in my life from the one chick who finally has some stable testosterone in hers though. Yes, all three of the housemates now have boyfriends. What is your point? Whatever. I'm taking it in stride. I find it completely ironic that someone who comes off as a feminist is telling me that my life is lacking without a man in it. As it is, I could definitely do with seeing less of her man in my house at all times of the day and night. 

The thesis stuff has barely been started but I'm feeling better about it. I should be able to (finally) focus on it once I get the work from this summer out of the way tonight. I am so glad I'm done with the postprocessing stuff. I didn't realize how annoying it could be to deal with inconsistent information. lol.

All in all, things are looking up :D   

Now all that is left is to chase UH for my money. It's the end of Sept and they haven't issued my Aug/Sept stipend. UH, y u no give me my moneh?!??

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seriously, wtf??!? What is with the end of the world type natural disasters?

So the power cut off around 5 ish and didn't come back on until like 8pm. Not too bad but it's the first time something like this has happened and we didn't know how long it would last.

Of course it had to happen when I have a final and powerpoint presentation due.

And of course, it had to happen just before dinner. Because if cooking wasn't already fun, try doing in the dark is even better. For some reason, it's kinda hard to tell if water is boiling in the dark, especially when it's storming. I'm super thankful for the fact that the stove is gas. Otherwise, I'd starve. for realz. 'Cause I haven't been grocery shopping in close to 3 weeks and all I have is canned or dried stuff. I think it is safe to say that my tendency to stock up on food has saved me from starvation many, many times. Too bad none of it can be eaten as is. Hence the cooking in the dark.

Anyway, power came back on and that was awesome. I went online to check what was up with the screwy electricity. Turns out it was only just a LIGHTNING STORM/TORNADO/WATERSPOUT thingy...no big deal, whatev.........

No seriously, WHAT??

First a tsunami (and while Honolulu wasn't hit badly, a couple houses and cars got washed into the sea on some of the other islands. seriously, sucks for them. how do you recoup your stuff/mortgage/losses when your beach front property is under water/bobbing along in the ocean?) and now a couple of waterspouts/tornados??!?

WTF. It's like, welcome to paradise! Here, have a little sun, sand, TASTE OF THE APOCALYPSE, waves, hula, island music. Aloha and Mahalo. Hope you enjoyed your stay!

Come on Hawaii, the world can end after I'm done with finals. Gimme three days and I won't mind sirens, natural disasters and blackouts. Promise.

Have to admit tho, the pictures are kinda pretty, slightly breathtaking. I can understand why some people chase storms. Here's what some friends took with their iphones from their dorm/on the street. And the bigger ones are what I got off the net.

        

 

Apparently this is a lightning storm over Kailua

This is Waikiki

 

Waikiki and downtown Honolulu

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Life is awesome when real peopleand activities are involved :D

School's been going well and Spring Break was a glorious week of doing absolutely nothing. Kinda like a normal week except I got to sleep in until  9am or 10am! I'm not sure what it is but there's something about Hawaii (or my schedule) where sleeping in until 8am is as good as it gets. Meh.

Anyway, I'm enjoying this semester (as packed as it is) a lot. I think it might have to do with my extracurriculars and finally socializing. This human interaction thing is great!

I really like my sewing class. Lol. I feel like an old grandma for saying that but it's pretty awesome to make something :) I'm almost done with the skirt I'm making. I might put up a pic if it turns out alright. The funny thing is, I was skyping Charl (first time in 3 yrs!) and when I showed her the material she totally called me out on the fact that my almost finished skirt....... is remarkably similar to my sheet set from Ikea that's on her bed. Urm. Coincidence? Lol. I swear it is! The fabric just happened to be the best looking one on sale so I got it. But it's a little depressing that my skirt could have had a separate life as a set of drapes or sheets. But hey, that's the fashion trend these days :)

The real saving grace, however, is the dance class I'm taking. Actually, I'm taking two. Lindy Hop is great and I'm impressed by how many guys can dance decently at the mixer after class (although partner dancing is, for me, a fairly awkward/uncomfortable thing to do and I'm slowly learning to get comfortable with it) but my true passion apparently lies with Pole Dancing.....for fitness.

Yup. That's right. Who would have thought that I'd find my calling in Pole Dance? Not me, for sure. The dancing thing takes a little effort but I totally rock the pole stuff though. =D I love the girls in my classes, the workout (esp core) is kickass AND fun, and I have to fight the urge to swing around every pole I see nowadays. Stop sign poles and the poles on buses/trains are especially tempting since they're about the right size. Lol. Seriously, if that's not love/passion, I don't know what is.

Most of my friends here who know are amused (or I guess bemused? if they don't know me so well) but whatever. So far, the common reaction is to ask if I'm preparing for an alternative career if this grad school thing doesn't work out. Personally, I think it's hilarious. And it's probably the best back up plan I could have in the case of a tanking academic career. Seriously. Those girls in Vegas totally have like two houses, a fleet of cars and all their loans paid off in a few years. I'm totally set if I have to do this school thing sans scholarship! (although, the scholarship would prolly be the better option than dancing in Sin City so y'all betta keep those fingers and toes crossed for me to get the academic FLAS). Hmm, on second thought, those girls have to strip too (we don't...if we don't want too. it is a fitness class after all)......I dunno....my dignity vs. being set for life......sigh, I suppose dignity wins hands down since I can always  fall back on the time honored tradition of marrying rich. lol.

So yeah, dancing with a pole :D and I guess my new (belated) addiction to Glee have gotten me into a rather upbeat mood these last few weeks. Life is awesome!

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sun, sand and surf...... it must be SPRING BREAK!!

Hana'uma Bay

Spring break is finally here! And it's really gotten off to a good start :D

I received a preliminary notice that says I'm very likely to get that scholarship for my summer intensive language program (although I've never had a preliminary notice given before. It's like a weird limbo; did I get it or not? This maybe, possibly, perhaps thing is really messing with me) AND I've been shortlisted for the academic year scholarship!! I'm crossing my fingers and hoping that announcing it here won't jinx it. Y'all betta cross yo fingers (and toes!) too cos this scholarship means $30k that'll cover my fees and living costs! I also got an acceptance letter for concurrent enrollment in a historic preservation certificate program through the Department of American Studies :) To top it all off, I finally made it out of Honolulu for a great day of hiking and snorkeling at the beach. The weeks leading up to spring break were kinda stressful since midterms and papers and proposals were due so it was really nice to unwind. Now THIS is the real Hawaiian paradise everyone keeps dreaming of, not that horribly crowded touristy crap at Waikiki.

The eastern-most point of O'ahu

Windward side of O'ahu

 With jenny and Josie on the Makapu'u trail. We saw 5 whales swim by!!

The lighthouse has the largest lens in all of America.....I think...

Is it sad that I've been here almost 7 months now and this is the second time I've hit the beach and the first time I've had to break out the bathing suit/actually get into the water? I obviously need to appreciate paradise more.

Great snorkeling at Hana'uma Bay

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be careful what you ask for

So, I wanted something to keep me busy this semester and man, I shouldn't have even thought about it.

If last semester was a breeze where I lazed around and baked/went grocery shopping a lot (A LOT. seriously), I'm now....

Overcommitted

OMG. How the heck did that happen??

My little plan for 3 classes, a dance class/hobby and an internship has become 5 classes, an internship, a part-time job, 3 extracurriculars and a editorial position I forgot I had. oops. (maybe, just maybe, I might have been a little excited about the new year and new start (read: gone a little overboard with the whole "my life is stagnant and I should grab life by the balls" resolution thingy)

Also, I apparently have to hang out at my newly given office (yay office space!!) at least 10 hours a week in order to keep it (boo. can you tell i like the idea of it more than actually having it??)......I dunno if it's worth it.....it's got four people squished in, looks like a harem decided to throw up on the walls (to complement the 50s decor, of course) and kinda smells like an ashram. lol. On the other hand, it may come in handy since I've now got 9 (yes, NINE) housemates and I foresee a lack of peace and quiet. Why? Nothing super big or anything (apart from having 10 girls in one tiny house) but the two new girls on my floor are pretty noisy: one of them likes to have very long, very loud eastern european hysterics on the phone (I could hear her from outside the house) and another likes to giggle in that high-pitched-haunted-house/chucky kinda way. Seriously gives me the heebie jeebies.... especially when she laughs at night.... I've never been more thankful for the annoying streetlights and the lack of curtains if it means my room isn't pitch black when she randomly laughs. lol. it's funny and creepy at the same time.

Well, this semester is shaping up to be a super busy one (can't believe I'm only two days in and already dreading how stressed out I'll be) but I think it'll be fun.Wish me luck!

p.s: I still owe the last two weeks of Cambodia and the highlights of life in the aloha state. I promise they will come. soon. with pictures even.

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Second time around

5+ hour flight, 2+ hours in 3 different buses and I'm "home."

Aloha Hawaii, we meet again. Let's try this once more. I promise not to be a surly Hawaii-hatin' douche this time around.

Flight was infinitely better this time - I wasn't freezing and the 7 screaming babies from the last flight were not there. Awesome. I did disembark with the mother of all migraines but I figured it was dehydration and hunger. Managed to provide entertainment for my section of the plane when I played musical overhead compartments as I tried to find space for my luggage. One nice old man was kind enough to point out an empty space in one of the closed compartments. Why the heck do people close the damn things if they are not full?!? Idiots. Also, the entire Boise State basketball team was right there..... watching my little asian self struggle to put heavy bags overhead. Okay, I'm not that short but I still have to lift my admittedly heavy luggage over my head and these guys are all like 6 ft ++.....a little help would have been great. I hope UH beats your asses in today's game. lol.

Also, why is it that the 11 min car ride to my place is a 2 hour bus ride with at least 2 transfers? I'm already missing having a car.

Best part of the day? Getting to my place and realizing that my landlords had found another tenant for the house. On my floor. And as RA, I had to spend the rest of the day dealing with it. Apparently they cleared the storage room out and are going to rent it to these two little asian kids from Macau. What this means is that I have to share the bathroom/kitchenette with 5 other people GIRLS now. I guess that means I'm going to be showering a lot less now or at ridiculous times of the day. Ugh. I kinda really like my showers. A lot. oh well. At least these girls are nice.

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getting settled in

It's been about a week and a half since I got here. Slowly getting settled in but this grad school in Hawaii thing...... it doesn't look too bad :)

Found a place to stay. It's probably the most rent I've ever paid (because I'm super cheap and used to willingly live in sketchy/dinky little places) but for the price i'm paying, it's waaaay bigger and cheaper than prollly 90% of housing offered on craigslist in honolulu (and other places I've lived in). Plus, the landlord is nice and there aren't a lot of strict rules. I've got 7 housemates...which is a lot but definitely less than the 39 girls I lived with in my co-op so it's not too bad. Also, I managed to talk my landlord into giving me a discount in exchange for helping to "manage" the place because I'm apparently a "responsible" grad student. Hahahahaha.....the wonders of putting the word "graduate" in front of "student"....man, should have done that sooner....like years ago...at Cal... What's great about the deal is that I really only have to make sure the chores get done, make sure the trash goes out and complain to him if the other housemates get too noisy or dirty. Seriously?!? I'd do that anyway but if it means a Ben Franklin gets taken out of my rent, I'm not about to tell him that! lol. 

Classes started on Monday last week and I've only just sorted it out. Managed to get all the classes I wanted and it's not too bad a load for the first semester. Still have to deal with all the red tape bs which is driving me crazy and sorting through it is very trying but it doesn't seem to be all that bad now that I'm right in the middle of it. I do have to say that the student health center here is much better than Berkeley's (where I've never had a good experience because they charge too much and some of the doctors there are horrible).

Hawai'i is pretty darn amazing but it's definitely a lot more expensive than the mainland. Housing, food and even the bus costs more yet most places only pay about $7-9/hour. How do people live?? Gah! Gotta start looking for a job soon :/ Other than that, Hawai'i is very nice....the people are really friendly and super helpful. The scenery is great too - both the landscape and the people. lol. The only thing is the weather. It's been fairly nice and it is not as hot as I thought it would be due to the breeze but it keeps raining suddenly while the sun is shining and there are barely any clouds in the sky! Crazy!

So, school is on track (including getting the advisor I want), medical clearance should be taken care of by the end of this week, I'm not homeless, rent is miraculously cheap (even by mainland standards), I'm slowly making friends (I think) and chocolate covered macadamia nuts are on sale. Now, I only have to worry about studying - it's a lot harder than it looks (my sister makes it look so easy) and getting a rug big enough to cover the ugly stain on my floor. Apart from that, life is good :)

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Here I am Hawaii!

Just got to Hawaii today - cutting it close since school starts tomorrow. Not too happy that I'll have to deal with a whole bunch of admin bs on top of having to look for a place to live. What it basically comes down to is that I have a medical clearance hold on my registration that I didn't find out about until 2 days before arriving here. They want a record of my MMR vacination (which would be no problem if I actually had a copy) and a TB skin test. Problem is, the one I took in Berkeley isn't valid anymore and from past experience, this is gonna be a pain in the ass. I had a BCG shot as a child because that's how third world/developing countries roll. The BCG shot means I'll test positive on the Mantoux skin test (since I have the antibodies) and they will need to take an x-ray to show that I'm negative. So, not only is it going to take a while, it's gonna cost me because I don't have insurance yet.

It's a vicious cycle. I don't have the health clearance, I can't register for classes. I don't register for classes, I can't get my financial aid money. I can't get my financial aid, I can't pay for anything school related including health insurance through the school health care plan. Which brings me back to the fact that it's gonna cost me :( Boo. As if Hawaii isn't expensive enough.

On the bright side, just saw an awesome sunset over Waikiki from my hostel.

On the not so bright side, I'm in a hostel. Which means I need to look for housing but may not be able to do so without my financial aid money. Sigh. This really brings back memories of my time in Berkeley.

Will continue with the Cambodian posts soon!

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The verdict is IN!! finally.

Okay, as my sister said, it's a very big leap of faith (for me at least) but some sort of money has come in (as usual....it always works out that way :D) and although my mind is screaming "THE DEBT, OH THE DEBT!!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!? THINK OF THE DEBT!!!" as I hesitantly push the acceptance button, it isn't as big a debt as I feared it would be.

SO,

It's so long San Francisco Bay Area and HELLO HAWAII!!!!!!!!

I think I'll be able to work up more enthusiasm once I get over the part about debt. And yes, the debt part is really big for me because I basically managed to fund most of my undergraduate experience on my own without incurring any debt (to banks or any government or indulging in organ trade) in the 4 years or so that I was in college. I suppose that it was wishful thinking to assume that I might be able to pull it off again. If you can't already tell, I'm pathetically paranoid about being in any kind of debt. So yea, I've got the "DEBT!!OMG!DEBT!!" soundtrack on repeat playing in the back of my mind.

Hopefully, the "HAWAII!!!YAY!HAWAII!!!" soundtrack will take over soon.

Am very bummed to be leaving the SF Bay Area but,

ALOHA HAWAII!

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