I went Parasailing this weekend!!!

Pictures say a thousand words!

I've been doing lots of stuff lately, I just haven't blogged much. So I tossed up some slide shows so you could all see what I've been up to!

Halloween was pretty fun. Down in Lahaina every year there is a HUGE party. They block off the streets and everyone roams around in costume. Some call it the Mardi Gras in Maui. It really is wild and most everyone is dressed up. A lot of people take the opportunity to see how little they can wear without being actually naked. It was crazy! But it was fun. I can't wait to go next year and dress up in my Wonder Woman costume!! I know I'll be the coolest kid there :)

One thing I have always wanted to do is volunteer for Habitat for Humanity and I got the chance to do that this last weekend. I really like the idea of helping people to get a house when they otherwise might not be able to. I loved being on a construction site and actually understanding what they were trying to accomplish. Early on in the day I volunteered to cut some wood and that became my permanent post for the day. I cut all the lumber (2x4's) for the framing around the windows for the house we were working on and the house that was going to be built next. It was SO fun!! We got about three complete walls up so it was nice to see some progress after being out there pretty much all day. I recommend anyone to volunteer for this very worthy cause!!

Other than that I've just been working and trying to play as much as possible! I'm really starting to miss everyone from back home... I wish someone would get on a plane and come visit me!!

Habitat for Humanity

Halloween Pics!

The Lavender Farm

Since my birthday is coming up and my friend Jennifer had her birthday on Monday the 15th, we decided to invite some of our friends and go to Kula to the Lavender Farm. It was a beautiful day!! We arrived and had a lavendar tea and scones and then had a walking tour around the grounds. We followed that up with a yummy lunch and great conversation. We all had a great time and it was a nice way to spend my almost birthday! Here are some pictures of our day... and the rest of them are on my flickr account.

More Pictures...

At Stephanie's request I have posted more hiking pictures on my flickr account... you can find them at the following address: http://www.flickr.com/photos/grenouille459

Enjoy!

I'm still alive... check out what I've been up to!!

I just realized that I totally slacked in September. Two posts?? I mean really. That is pathetic!! When I started this blog I thought I would write every day because I mean, I live in Hawaii... Maui for goodness sake! I should have something exciting to say EVERY SINGLE DAY! Well the sad thing is that I am doing a TON of fun stuff here but every day is kinda not that exciting... I wake up, go to work, hang out and then go to bed. Kinda the same stuff that I did back in Sacramento but it is MUCH prettier here! One thing that I have been doing a lot of is hiking... Actually I just looked back at my pictures and discovered that that is pretty much all I did in September! And instead of trying to describe what I've been up to, I decided to follow everyone else and just post a slide show! So here is what I've been up to! These pictures, while pretty, do not even begin to do justice to the absolute beauty I have found here... hopefully it will inspire all of you to come visit me so I can show you!!

Strong Woman

I am a strong, confident, independent woman.

I have sucessfully navigated the breakup of my marriage; made it through losing my job; dealt with the loss of my Grandfather and my Step-Grandma the very next day; moved by myself to a new state in the middle of the ocean. I have overcome fears, worked through personal issues, turned myself into a better person.

Why oh why, then did this happen last night (I'm going to try to describe it exactly as it happened)

My roommate and I are sitting on the couch watching golf. I am telling him how I read an article online that says you are supposed to drink a TON of water every day. (I did the calculations and I should be drinking 6 to 8 16oz bottles of water a day!! 6 TO 8!!) We were discussing how that drinking that much water, you pee ALL THE TIME.

I say "Man just talking about it, makes me have to use the bathroom."
He laughs as I walk towards my bathroom.

I go in and do my thing. As I am sitting there, I notice something on the floor. I quickly finish the business at hand.

I squeal (yes it was technically a squeal) JOHN!! (roommates name)

Silence from the living room.

JOHN, I squeal just a little louder.

Ummm, What? he replies nervously.

Get in here please!! I say in a high pitched girly voice.

He hesitantly sticks his head in the door.

What, he says.

THERE! I point. Can you please get that for me?!

He laughs at me. Tina, it is a 2 inch baby gecko. It's not going to hurt you.

But it crawls around really fast!! Please get it!!

He says, I can't catch it... it's too fast. It won't hurt you, don't worry about it.

At which point I glare and him and run (yes run, or maybe it was scurry...) to the couch and jump on it with both feet.

I sit with my legs curled up under me (no way am I putting my feet on the FLOOR!)

John is totally cracking up. He says, Gecko's are good. They eat bugs.

I don't really care, I say, cute gecko lizards are supposed to live OUTSIDE!! Not in my bathroom.

He keeps laughing.

About an hour later, I decide it's time for bed. I cautiously walk into my bedroom and scope out my bathroom. No Gecko in sight. I think I am safe for now. I scope out my whole bedroom. No gecko again. John, meanwhile, is sitting on the couch watching me through my bedroom door totally laughing at me. I tell him he's not being nice and to stop laughing at me (of course I couldn't help but laugh at myself as well... I mean really, how ridiculous was I being?!) I also told him that the gecko had moved into his room and was going to crawl on his face for laughing at me.

He said he didn't care. Gecko's were cool because they ate mosquito's and stuff.

Bah, I told him.

So why is it that a TINY LITTLE ITTY BITTY gecko lizard can reduce this strong, confident, independent woman to a blubbery, squealing, roommate calling, little girl?!?! I don't get it. I mean gecko's don't bite. I think it's because they are so crawly and fast...

The only way I can somewhat redeem my strong woman status is to tell you that this morning I found the gecko again. Yes, I squealed and jumped around a whole lot. But I dug DEEP and found the courage to get a box and a piece of paper. I fought the urge to RUN and very confidently standing on my tippy toes (cause that makes it less likely for him to run at me... huh?!) brushed him into the box and liberated him to my lanai (patio for you mainlanders!).

There. I am once again a strong (squealing), confident (jumpy) woman (little girly girl).

Hello

OK I'm a huge slacker. I haven't written anything in so long I don't even know what I've missed blogging about. But I guess I have something to say today so here goes.

Today is September 11th.

8 years ago today I was wearing a pretty white dress and walking down a very pretty aisle towards what turned out to be a very bad decision. The dress was great, the day was fun and fabulous. I just didn't have the guy part worked out too well.

I can't help but think of my wedding day as I am getting ready for work this morning. I was doing my hair and remembering how me and my girls went to all get our hair done together. I remember having 10 billion beautiful pearls placed strategically in my hair, not realizing that later that night they would all have to come out and it isn't exactly sexy, nor does it set the right mood for a wedding night to pluck bobby pins and pearls from your head. I remember Tammy sitting in her car working on her toast, the one that made me cry. I'm pretty sure the only time I cried that day was after Tammy's toast. It was the most personal beautiful expression of our friendship up to that point in our life and I loved every line of it. I wish Eric had been smart enough to listen to it, it may have turned his stony heart into something human. But alas it was not to be. He probably still has his heart of stone. Or was it an alien heart? Ah, I digress. I was remembering the great day. We sure had a lot of fun that day, didn't we?

Of course then I can't help but think of two years after my wedding day. I was four months separated and working towards divorce already. My mom was taking me to Vegas to get my mind off the fact that it should have been my anniversary. She wanted to replace some of the hurt with some great memories of us going to Vegas to see "O". That didn't work because of the people that thought they should fly planes into the World Trade Center in order to get their message across. Then of course because I wasn't working, I sat home and watched nothing but WTC coverage and became so emotionally involved in the tragedy that I still have a hard time watching footage from that day.

So with all that going on today you would think that I didn't have a very good day. But surprisingly I had a pretty decent day. I presented my second speech in Toastmasters and got voted as best speech of the day. I decided to not write out my speech and give an impromptu, off the cuff, from the heart speech and talked about 9-11 and what it meant to me. The duality of the day for me is something that I think about a lot this time of year. The beginning of my marriage and then the end of my marriage and the end of a lot of people's lives. For some reason I think there is a lesson there. There is something there that I need to reflect on and think about. So today I talked about it and told everyone the experiences I had. And it made me feel good to share it.

It also made me realize that my life has taken a very weird and crazy journey in the last eight years. There are few days when you remember exactly what you were doing but 9-11 is one of those days for me when I remember exactly what I was doing the same day two years apart. I think back to the person I was at each of those years and it makes me wonder how I am still here today. That might sound weird, but I know NOW all the things that I was willing to give up that made me who I am in order to marry Eric. Things that define who I am, things that make me happy. I think about how hard I tried to change the basic nature of who I was in order to make our marriage work and how ridiculous it sounds to me now that I would do that. I think about who I was two years later and how I feel like he took those great things that made me Tina and tried to squish them out. I feel like he tried to strip me of all the things that I loved. Then of course I think about how even though I almost let those things go, how I almost gave up those things that were and are so important to me, I knew enough then to know it wasn't right. I knew that I didn't want to live my life without those parts of me. I knew that if I truly wanted to be happy with my life I had to change it in the most difficult of ways.

I know now that I am a strong woman. I know that I can deal with life's challenges and I can overcome them. I know now that I am who I am and that the basic part of me will not change and I am so happy that I figured that out. I know that if my life is not going the way I want it to, I have the power to change it, and I have. More than once.

Today is a day that I tend to reflect on my life, as you can see. What I can see is that I am finally "there". Wherever "there" is, I made it.

Bravery

There are many forms of bravery. Today I did two things that I consider fairly brave.

A few weeks ago I decided to join Toastmasters. For those that don't know what that is, it is a club of sorts that helps people become better public speakers. You give a series of speeches and are evaluated by your fellow toastmaster members. The first brave thing I did today was give my very first speech. Now I am not usually shy in front of a group, and I have done my share of public speaking without freaking out. I even managed to speak at my Grandpa's Memorial Service without making a fool out of myself. But it is a little different when speaking in front of a group of strangers. I overcame my extreme nervousness this morning and gave a very heartfelt and great first speech. The evaluations came in and I was dubbed a natural public speaker by more than one person. If they even knew how nervous I was and how I was shaking inside they would know that I was not going to take up public speaking as a profession. It was very rewarding and felt good to do something that was difficult for me.

That leads me to my second brave thing I did today. I guess the accomplishment from the morning gave me a boost of self confidence. Maybe that's all I needed to do what I did this afternoon. To some, it may not be that big of a deal, but to me it was major. So there is a guy that I have been crushing on for a few weeks. I have been trying to work up the courage to ask him out. Today I did it. I walked right up to him, my insides shaking like I was one of those paint mixers at Home Depot. I made small talk for a few moments and then I just busted out and asked if he would like to go out for a drink. He took my number so I guess maybe we could potentially go out some time. The cool thing is, I am just excited that I was brave enough to do it. Even if we go out for a drink and end up being friends, I am actually pretty cool with that. Because you know what? Today I pushed myself so far outside my comfort zone. I mean we are talking WAY outside my comfort zone. And it felt good.

I wonder what cool things I can do tomorrow now that I have a bit of my bravery back?

I've been tagged

Well everyone else is doing it... so I might as well too... Thanks for the tag Steph :)

Jobs I have held
1. John T's Gifts for Him
2. Plum Pretty Mug Shots
3. Entitlement Manager - Kimball Hill Homes
4. Administrative Professional - Maui Land & Pineapple Company

Movies I could watch over and over
1. Princess Bride
2. Charade
3. Pretty Woman
4. Any stupid high school movie :)

Guilty Pleasures
1. Sleeping in really late
2. Pedicures
3. Massages
4. Chocolate

Shows I enjoy
1. CSI: Las Veags
2. The Closer
3. Survivor
4. Football, Basketball, Golf

Places I have lived
1. Ventura
2. Sacramento
3. Maui

What were the first things you thought when you saw your significant other?
1. I'm hoping I haven't found him yet... cause if I did, I'm in trouble.

In a jam with your spouse what tactics do you use to get out of the dog house
1. I'll let you know if I ever get one of those.

Places I have been on vacation
1. Walt Disney World
2. Las Vegas
3. Idaho
4. Maui

Favorite Foods
1. Steak
2. Ice Cream
3. Mom's Lasagna
4. Anything I eat when with my family

Websites I visit daily
1. Hotmail
2. Blogs
3. Pvp.com, starslipcrisis.com, sheldoncomics.com
4. Woot.com

Body parts I have injured
1. Fractured the tip of my ring finger on my right hand playing softball
2. Snapped my quad muscle on my right leg
3. Strained my right ankle so bad my doctor said I should have broken it and it would have hurt less. (stupid horse!)
4. Lymph node under my left armpit from where the spider bit me

Awards I have won
1. Best Buena Bangs (Senior award)
2. Perfect Attendance in Junior High
3. Best Friend Ever Award (From Tammy after spending a Christmas at the Clobes'!)

Nicknames I have been called
1. Tina
2. T (my grandma)
3. DD
4. Honey

Now I have to pick 4 other people to tag:
I don't know 4 other people who blog... so if you feel like doing it... do it!
who tagged me: Stephanie

Catch Up!

So I haven't written in a while and thought I would do a quick little catch up.

I have recovered from my spider bite. It took a week or so to clear up but now it is just fine. I haven't played golf in a week or so because I am trying really hard to not spend money. I am still having a little bit of a hard time adjusting to paying all my bills so I have been trying to be very frugal. We all know how difficult that can be for me!! It's a bit easier to do here because there really are no stores for me to go browse through. I have to drive almost an hour just to get to any decent stores and that really makes you re-evaluate your purchasing decisions!

I've been spending a lot of time with my sister and the kids... I just love that little Maddox to death!! He is my bestest friend here!! I can not even tell you how it warms my heart that when I walk through the door he drops what he is doing to run over to me and give me hugs! How fun is that?! Amy is loving it too because when I'm at the house she can get other stuff done knowing that Maddox is occupied. I love sitting with him and reading him lots and lots of books! This kid can not get enough books! How cool is that!! Jaxson and I are buddies too. He likes to beat me up (pretend!), and we play video games together a lot. He is definitly a Daddy's boy and no matter what we are doing as soon as Daddy comes home he is done with me!

I went snorkeling last weekend for the first time ever!! There was a volunteer beach cleanup through my company and I volunteered to go clean up the beach and then go through the bay and clean up trash there too. I was really surprised when I tried to snorkel and found myself panicking. I have always been a total water baby and thought it would be no big deal to breath underwater but I found it to be super scary!! After about 5 minutes I looked at Megan (who was organizing the trip and took me under her wing!) and told her that I didn't think I could do it. She very calmly told me that it was no big deal and that we would hang out for a few minutes to see if I got more comfortable. Well I guess her no pressure way was reassuring because I tried a few more times to breath through the snorkel and after a few minutes I actually could breath without hyperventilating. We starting swimming further out in the ocean and I skimmed the surface looking for trash but finding none. I was SO distracted by the BEAUTIFUL fish and coral I couldn't pay attention to the trash! Luckily there wasn't very much so I wasn't just lollygagging! Anyway after we swam out a ways, Megan pointed me back towards the shore. I got a bit brave on the way back in and started diving under the water and coming back up. I was clearing my snorkel like a pro! I fell in LOVE with snorkeling!! So since moving to Maui I have discovered that I love the beach, snorkeling, and hiking! What a great thing to find out about myself!!

On another front, I have found out about myself that no matter where I live, I am STILL no good at the whole guy thing. I developed a pretty major crush on a guy and have been trying to figure out a way to approach him and ask him out. It's been about three weeks and I have almost gotten up the courage to just see if he wants to go out for a drink or something. Well then last night, I went down to Dollie's (a bar that is right under my apartment!) and saw him sitting there. It was my big chance, right?! Ummm no... he was sitting there with a girl. Dang it!! I'm not sure if it was his date or whatever because there was another guy with them. But still. I don't know what to do now. I think he is cute and he is nice and I would like to get to know him better but now I am totally intimidated. Why is it so hard to meet good guys?!? I'm just no good at this whole game! I know you are supposed to not look because that's when you find someone... but how does that really work?!? If someone has any answers, I would really appreciate the input!

I, apparently, know how to find the not so good guys. Last week I had a little run in with one of the guys that work with my roommate. My friend Julie and I went to Dollie's for dinner after watching a movie at my place. I saw this guy Scott sitting at the bar and knew him through John and from the golf course. So I invited him to sit with us. This was my first mistake. He spent the next few hours assuring me that we would be getting together, it was just a matter of time. Needless to say he was very explicit in how this was going to happen. Did I mention that I am not attracted to him in the least? He is funny and I thought he was nice, but came to find out that he is not so much the person I thought he was. So now I have to try to avoid him because he thinks that we are going to get together and I am positive that will not be happening.

So why is it that the guys I don't like, seem to like me. And the ones I do like, don't seem to realize I am alive? Life is so crazy. It sure doesn't makes sense to me at all.

Ok life is SO crazy that I actually have one more story to tell. CRAZY STORY!! Some of you may remember way back when... after Billy and I broke up but before I met David... I went on Match.com at the insistence of My Best Friend Tammy. She literally signed me up for it and then sat there and made me fill out the questions. It was actually pretty fun and super hilarious. She made sure I kept my answers real and not too desperate. Anyway I met this one guy named Joe on there and we dated for a month or so. I met my friend Kate through him. After awhile I decided that Kate and I were great together, but Joe and I not so much. Joe and I broke up and then Kate and I stayed friends. Ok all that is background info to this crazy story:

So I am at a planning commission meeting on Tuesday because one of our projects was on the schedule. I hadn't been to a meeting yet and went so I could see the Commission in action. We were waiting for some people from the office to show up so every time the door opened, I would look back to see who was walking in the door. Well one time the door opened and two guys walked in. One of them was JOE!! The match.com Joe!! He got married last September and he and his wife decided to move to Maui. They got here in May. HOW CRAZY IS THAT?! SO crazy that they ended up on the same island as me... and that he is working for the Planning Department. I could actually be working with him on some of our projects. Life is so crazy!! He was actually very pleased to see me and we talked for a couple of minutes. We will get together for lunch and catch up and stuff. It is just crazy. I'm still shaking my head about it and it's been a few days.

Anyway I guess this post is long enough. Nothing too exciting going on with the exception of me trying to figure out this whole life thing. I am still absolutely certain that this is where I'm supposed to be right now. I love living here. I do terribly miss all my friends and family and can't help getting teary eyed when I find out I've missed stuff going on, or getting emails from people. I wish everyone would come visit me! It would be great to see my friendly faces!!

Love to all of you... and plan your next trip to Maui!

Spiders and Needles....

Oh what a day I have had!!! The title says it all... but let me explain a little further...

So on Friday I went on another site visit. This one was up on the mountain in some fallow pineapple fields that we will be converting to a new golf course and some houses. Kris and I went out in the Pinzguaer. Here is a picture of Kris in the Pinzguaer.

I am so lucky to work in a place that is so absolutely beautiful! Here is a picture of what we were there to take pictures of.... the view from the new clubhouse in our Mauka Golf Course.

It truly is breathtaking up there and it will be a great place to sit and relax after a great round of golf. Can you tell I LOVE my job?!?! Well I do :)

Ok so now to the real story. So Friday afternoon Kris and I were up playing in the mountain and taking pictures. When we got back to the office I noticed a little bug bite on my left shoulder just above my arm pit. I didn't think much of it... I get bit by mosquitos here ALL the time.

Friday night I noticed that my arm pit, lymph node area was a little sore. By Sunday night it was HURTING. I had a hard time sleeping and it hurt to move my arm to do my hair and put clothes on. Two things that are somewhat necessary when getting ready to go out of my room or to work. So I toughed it out one more day thinking it would go away. It didn't. Not only that but the pain started moving around going lower into my body and very close to a female body part that is near and dear to my heart. I decided I needed to take care of this before I lost a bump I had become somewhat attached to.

This morning I called the doctor and described what was going on. The nurse who I was talking to asked me how quick I could get into the doctors office. I said I was on my way and off I went, panicking the whole way into town and sure that I was going to be told I had west nile virus or something equally horrible. I was seen fairly quickly by the doctor which didn't add any comfort to my already swirling mind. Oh my goodness if they are taking me in this quick, I most surely am on my deathbed!! So the nurse takes me in and does all the regular stuff. Weight (ICK!) Height, blood pressure and so on. Then she takes me into the exam room and starts asking all the standard questions. Then she hits on one that made me almost pass out. "When is the last time you had a tetnus shot?" Did she just say SHOT?!?! Oh god. Oh no. "Ummmmm I'm not sure" I answer in a very small voice, hoping against hope that she thought I said something like yesterday or last year. She says ok we'll go ahead and get that taken care of for you today too. Oh crap I have to get a shot!?!?! NOOOOOOO!!

Then the doctor comes in and examines my owie and probes my armpit a bit. She tells me that I have been bitten by a spider. Probably a Cane Spider or a Brown Recluse Spider. She says that these types of spiders actually insert venom into its victim (ME!) and that is why it itches. I ask her in what I consider a very calm voice "Ummm am I going to die from this?" She laughs and tells me that no I will not die from it but that the venom is hanging around my lymph node and has inflamed it while my body trying to take care of getting rid of it. She said it can take a couple of WEEKS for this process to take place. Oh great how sexy is a red puffy armpit?!! Not a great accessory when trying to talk to cute boys. *sigh*

So THEN the nurse comes back in and jabs my arm with a needle! I think I took it pretty bravely. I mean I was laying down with my face turned in the total opposite direction of her with my hand covering my face so I didn't see even a hint of the needle. And as soon as she rubbed my arm with the alcohol swab I broke out in a sweat. But other than that, I was VERY brave.

Stupid spiders and needles. I hate them both! Just typing this blog has made my armpit hurt! Stupid spider!!

Did you know I'm BRILLIANT??

Yes folks it's been confirmed. I am BRILLIANT.

So I'm taking a Microsoft Access class with one of the ladies that I work with because I'm working on a few projects that I feel like I could use Access to better manage these processes.

Anyways... I'm sitting there listening to the instructor who loves the sound of his own laugh so much that he tells really really really bad jokes just so he can hear himself laugh. So he's going on and on about tables and databases and all sorts of really interesting (yawn) information about Access. So I cut in and say "So what you are saying is that the grounded fields in the query object relate back and are grounded to the table where it was created."

His next words I will never forget. "YOU ARE BRILLIANT!!" He says. "It took me years to figure that out and you grasped it without me even saying it. Really Brilliant!"

Yes folks.. it's been officially confirmed by an instructor!!

I am BRILLIANT.

Thank you and good day!

I can't escape it....

Well I guess there is no escaping what you are. No matter if I moved halfway across the ocean and have tried to change my life. I guess it doesn't really matter at all... you can't change who you are at the core.... and I guess what I am most is a BIG HUGE NERD!!!!

What? You ask in shock and surprise. Tina is a Nerd!?! You can hardly believe it! Yeah right...

Well I am a nerd this week because I like many other total dorks out there spent my Friday night at the Borders in Whalers Village eagerly awaiting the arrival of my brand spanking new copy of the 7th Harry Potter book. I actually have proof... My friend Julie and I went and someone took a picture for us...

That's Julie wearing her Harry Potter hat and me holding a Borders bag because we won a game. Yes we were even there early enough to play the various games they had for the group. I had a great time. It was a really neat way to spend a Friday night and I really loved how everyone was there and excited over a book. I guess people do still read!!

I have also decided that I am just NO good at the whole dating thing. Once I'm actively talking to someone, I seem to do ok. But getting to that first step is just so hard for me. I think I am missing the all important radar that some women just seem to naturally have. I had my eye on this one guy and starting getting myself a bit worked up about him. I really developed a bit of a crush actually... only to find out that he has a girlfriend! I could have sworn that he was interested! I guess I mistook interest for him just being a nice guy. Maybe I'm just not used to guys being nice?!?! Who knows. So the only other guy in the picture is a really really nice guy that seems to have sort of latched himself to me, but I am in no way attracted to him. Why does it always seem to work like that?! It's SO frustrating!!

So on my hike last week there was one guy that works for the same company and he works in Pu'u Kukui so it's a slightly different department. Meaning I work for the same company but not really with him. He's a nice looking guy, but not really someone I was really looking at. Then at the hike he was walking around without his shirt on. Ok this guy is SUPER cute! hehehe So now I'm trying to have one of my friends do some research for me to see if he is available. He stopped by this morning just to say hi... something he has never done before... so maybe... just maybe...

Other than that everything else is just going on along!!

I'm a hiker!!

Who knew that moving to Maui would inspire me to become a hiker?!?! Saturday morning I got up early and gathered my "hiking gear". Namely a new backpack that I bought and some really cool hiking pants. A girls gotta have the right clothes!! So anyway off I go to meet a bunch of people I don't know to go on a hike into the Pu'u Kukui Watershed to VOLUNTEER to go pick WEEDS. Yes that's right. I volunteered to go pull weeds.

Ok just so everyone doesn't think I've totally lost my mind... well maybe I have but if you could see this mountain you might understand. It is SO extremely beautiful up there. It's a rainforest and the portion that we went into is a conservation area and the managers of the land are trying to keep as much of it native Hawaiian as possible. There are very few people that get to go into the preserve and one of the ways to go in is to volunteer. I had an amazing time and totally loved it. I think I might actually enjoy hiking. It really helps that there are no snakes here in Hawaii.... but still it is just so dang beautiful I can't help but want to be outside and in the remote places that not very many people are allowed to go.

Other than that I haven't really been doing too much. Work is going really well. I had a presentation today to show what I have been working on and it went extremely well. I rolled out a new network filing structure and was prepared for some resistance but found none. Everyone seemed very pleased with what I had come up with and is anxious to put it into every day use.

I'm still feeling very lucky and blessed to be here and to have so many great things going for me. I hope some of my friends and family get to come out here soon and see me!!! I miss seeing everyone I love!!

Great Weekend!!!!

I had a great weekend!!! Friday night I went out to dinner with my friend Julie. We went to Leilani's and sat at my brothers table. He's a waiter there! It was a great night, very relaxing and enjoyable!

Saturday morning I got up at 5:15 and got myself together for my very first hike! Yes, that's right folks... I went on a hike! ME!! Here is proof!!!

Kris took this picture for me so I would be able to prove that I actually went hiking. I can't even begin to describe how beautiful it is up in the West Maui mountains!! The hike was called the ditch hike and we went because the guy that runs Kapalua Water Company goes once a month so he can check his equipment and monitor the rain levels and flow rates of the streams and rivers that feed the irrigation waters for agriculture and Kapalua Resort. Maui is a truly beautiful place to be but walking up in the mountains where most people can't go really transports you into a nearly pristine environment. It's also called the ditch hike because we literally went walking through ditches that were made in the early 1900's. We had to wear hard hats because the ditch tunnels are not that tall and the rocks on the ceiling are not level. So we wore hard hats to protect our heads! Which was a good thing because I actually conked my head on a rock at least once and if I didn't have the hard hat on I would have been hurting!!! Here are some more pics from the hike...

I'll post more pictures on my flickr account if anyone is interested in seeing more!

Sunday I went and played golf! I really love playing golf and I forgot how much! I'm very excited that my golf clubs will be here on Thursday so I will be able to go practice!

All in all a great weekend!!!

I feel human again!!

So much better than I did a few days ago!!! I went to the eye doctor on Tuesday and he gave me a pair of trial contacts!! I can not believe how much I hate wearing my glasses. But I now have brand new contacts on and they are great. My new doctor told me that the lense type I was wearing before was 20 year old technology and he switched me to a new brand of contacts that were brought to market in the last year. So not only do I have new contacts but they are better than the ones I was wearing before. I should be able to see better now :)

I hope everyone had a great 4th of July!! I worked during the day because it is not a mandatory holiday here. I decided to save my holiday pay for another day! Maybe if my Mom comes out to see me or something. Anyway after work I went down and found Amy and some friends at the Marriott in Kaanapali. We bbq'd and played in the pool until it was dark enough to go sit by the beach and watch the fireworks they were setting off in Lahaina. It was a really nice night and I got some super cute pictures that I will have to post later because I don't have the cable for my camera at work. All in all it was a great day... I hope everyone else had a great day too!

My golf clubs should be here next week and I can't wait for them to be here!! I haven't really played much in the last week or so, mainly because I hate wearing my glasses and I felt like I wouldn't be able to play with them on. Now that I have contacts back I feel like I can do all the things I love doing, including golf!!

Not much exciting going on but things are still going really well.... :)

Sunday Musings

So it's Sunday and I'm sitting in my very cute apartment watching some golf on T.V. I've got nothing super exciting to post but thought I would update my blog all the same.

Nothing too exciting happened this week with the exception of my contact lens drama. I have good news on that front, I got an appointment for Tuesday so I don't have to wait two weeks wearing my glasses. That is a great thing because I really don't like wearing my glasses in public! I talked to a lady that works in the optometrist office and she assured me that she would be able to send me home Tuesday afternoon with new contacts. PHEW!!

Something exciting but only for me... I found a website that specializes in shipping golf clubs!! I scheduled my pickup and will have my golf clubs by the 12th of July! They will pick them up from my mom's house on Monday the 8th and deliver them to my office on the 12th! And it only cost $100!! How cool is that? I am super excited because I haven't been playing all that well with my sister's clubs and have been reluctant to actually work on my game at the driving range with clubs that aren't mine. So I'm pretty excited to get my clubs here!!

Yesterday I spent the day at Amy's house playing with the kids while they were out on the slip and slide and a little wading pool that Amy bought for them. I had a great day being Auntie Tina. I always do when I get to hang out with the kids :) I will admit though that around 3:00 my patience was wearing a bit thin. Not because of Jaxson and Maddox but because a few of their friends were over and by 3 there were 8 kids in the house. I am really not used to that much activity!! Not only that but Maddox gets pretty territorial when another little one is around. I was playing with a little baby named James who is 8 months old and Maddox wasn't having any of it. It was funny. Once all the extra kids left we sat around and played on Doug's new Wii! It was a really fun day... but it was nice to get home to my nice quiet apartment :)

OUCH!

So this morning I woke up and got ready for work, just like I have every other morning for the past month or so. My right contact felt a little weird but I just chalked it up to being somewhat tired after hanging out with my roommate and his friends last night. I guess I can start calling them my friends too :)

Anyway I got to work and called to set up an appointment to get my eyes checked so I can get new contacts, because I know mine are old and I need new ones. So I am working on setting up this huge meeting that our company has tonight to update local residents on a new community we are putting together. I volunteered to be in charge of the audio/visual setup. I was testing out the sound equipment when my eye started bugging me pretty bad. I decided that I would have to run home and put my glasses on :( UGH!! I hate my glasses. So I took out my right contact and low and behold there was a HOLE in the middle of it!!! OUCH!! No wonder my eye was hurting so bad!! The little piece that came out of the middle was floating around in my eye and hurting me. Luckily my eye was watering so bad that it came out in a tear.

So the bad news for me is that I have to wear my stupid glasses for the next few weeks until I can get to my appointment, the next available date was July 10th, and then however long it will take to get my new contacts here. I am not that vain about many things but my glasses is definitely on my list of things I am vain about. I hate wearing my glasses in public! How can I look cool if I can't wear my sunglasses??!?!? heheh

Life is good!

So I've realized it's a lot easier to update my blog when I'm not working. For some reason I just keep getting busy at work and then forgetting to update my blog when I get home. Oh well. Here is an update on what's been going on in the last two weeks.

First and most exciting. I got my CAR here!! My saint of a mommy braved the scary port of Richmond and delivered my car to Matson shippers. After 10 days it arrived safely on Maui and I picked it up. This is real folks, I live in Maui now! It hit me when I was driving my car back home after going to a few meetings on the other side of the island. It was both surreal and exciting. I feel a lot more permanent here now that I have MY wheels. For the last few weeks I was driving around in a rental car. Which was nice but it made me feel like I was visiting.

Another exciting thing is that my washer/dryer was delivered and hooked up! So now I have a washer and dryer IN my apartment! It's a stacker washer/dryer so it's not full size but I can't tell you how awesome it is to have it in the apartment and not having to worry about taking my clothes to a laundry mat. I also just got the dishwasher fixed, there was no water hooked up to it. So now my cute little apartment is complete. Well with the exception of any real furniture :)

I've been playing a lot of golf and am missing my clubs so that is my next big item to move over. I'm hoping that one of my friends will be coming to see me next month and can bring the clubs with them. If that doesn't happen then I am going to bite the bullet and pay to have the shipped out. For now I'm using rental clubs from the golf course and they are super nice but I can't always count on getting them if there is someone I don't know working the desk that day. I borrowed my sisters clubs the other day and had the worst round of golf that I can remember every playing. She loves her clubs but they are just not what I'm used to playing. So now I am motivated to get my clubs out here so I can start playing like I did before I met David. I want to get good at golf again. I forgot how much I love it. And honestly, you can't even imagine how beautiful the courses are here. It's a great way to spend a few hours.

I've been trying to meet new people too. I hung out with my roommate and some of his friends this last week and had a great time. I can't even tell you how lucky I feel to have such a great roommate. It's so cool to me that we can hang out and be friends. Last night after work I joined some of the ladies from the office and we all went and had an after work drink. Which turned into two and then three for some of them. Then we all went to Kalani's house and had some dinner and then played Pictionary. It was a great time and again I am feeling very lucky to have met such great people where I work.

Work is also going really well. I am deep into my main project and have managed to get buyoff from everyone who will be affected. Everyone is very excited that I am taking on this project and getting things taken care of and cleaned up. My big project is the get the network files cleaned up and re-organized. It's a task that I am very well suited for and am actually really enjoying it. I have finally talked to everyone in my company who I will be working on projects for and think that I have a pretty good handle on my job responsibilities. It's a great feeling to know that I have enough work to do to keep me employed for the next few years :) It's a lot a work but after not working for so long it's nice to feel like I am needed and they won't be letting me go any time soon.

Anyway life is going great here in Maui. I'm loving the weather and my job. I love being Auntie Tina and meeting new people. It's pretty great. I do miss my family and my friends but it's a great place for me to be right now in my life :)

Halfway through June! What?!?!

I can not believe it is the 15th of June. That is just crazy. This year is flying by.

I haven't been updating as much lately because nothing super interesting is going on. Unless you want to hear the daily details of my job. Well I will sum them up. I am loving my job. It is very interesting and I get to do all sorts of different things. I am struggling a little bit with all the Hawaiian words but I think I'm getting them slowly but surely. There are a couple of things that are a little frustrating about my new job but nothing that is making me stress or worry. One of the things that is interesting and somewhat frustrating is that no one can really tell me what my exact job is. I have this awesome job description but there are two people in the office that have taken me under their wing and unfortunately they both have different views on what my job should be. One of them thinks that I should be managing the processes and shouldn't be DOING any of the work. The other thinks that I should be helping with the work AND helping manage processes. It's frustrating because they are both very different. But I have a meeting today with the VP of the department and hope to have it all figured out by the end of the day. I am very fortunate however that two great and dynamic ladies have taken an interest in me and want to help me further my career here.

I tell ya, could I be any luckier?! I'm not sure.

Since the few people I have talked to have asked... No I haven't met the man of my dreams yet! heheh I have been mostly hanging out at work and then with Amy and the kids. Not too many eligible bachelors at either place. But I have been hitting the golf course with some regularity so I hope to meet some interesting people soon. Wouldn't that be crazy cool if someone actually asked me out on a date?!?! I'm not sure I would even know how to handle that! heheh

Anyway I am still feeling like this is the place for me to be. I love it here and I am grateful every day I wake up and see that beautiful ocean.

Oops!! I haven't been updating!!

I have been kind of busy I guess. Well the main reason I've been so busy is because I am mobile!!! My saint of a mother got me a rental car until my car gets here! I can't tell you how awesome it is to be able to be independent again!! If I want to go to the grocery store, I just go! What a concept! So I have been running around town trying to figure it all out and getting stuff for my apartment.

I was on the other side last week for work so I took advantage of being there and went to a few stores to buy some stuff for my kitchen. I found enough stuff for bargain prices that I can now cook meals at home. I made my first dinner on Saturday night and it was so yummy! John (my roommate) took leftovers to work the next day and he declared that I can cook whenever I want if he can have the leftovers!

I am feeling very very lucky and blessed these days. I got my first paycheck in almost 9 months on Friday! I am really loving my job, which is so nice. I totally lucked out on the roommate. He's really cool and I am enjoying having someone around to chat with at the end of the day. I am just extremely grateful for all of the blessings I have in my life right now.

My mommy sent me some boxes from home so now I have my own sheets and towels. Oh and my teddy bear. That one brought a tear to my eye. I asked her to send it but I hadn't realized how much my little teddy bear means home to me :) It's nice to be settling in and starting my new life!

I'm missing my friends back home but have realized that phone calls and emails really are a wonderful thing! So if you feel like emailing me here is my email address. It's like getting a letter in the mailbox but a lot quicker!

mailto:grenouille459@hotmail.com

Love you all and miss you!!

What a week!

This has been quite a week! First off, I totally love my new apartment. My roommate John is really cool. We have barely seen each other this week because our schedules are different and I have been spending most of my time at Amy's still. I haven't gone grocery shopping so there is absolutely no food in my apartment... and even if there was I don't have any way of getting it cooked yet. All in good time!!

I'm very excited that my saint of a mother dropped my car off in Richmond today so in a month, hopefully less!, I should get my car here. That will help a TON! I feel like such a burden to be carted around. I am not used to being so dependent on other people and by this time, it is getting old. So I am extremely grateful that the end of that time of my life is on the near horizon. I will be taking over my own bills very shortly! THANK YOU MOMMY!!!!! And when my car finally gets here I will be able to drive myself around :) The people at work have been extremely nice and everyone has offered to come and pick me up and drop my off whenever I need a ride. I'm telling you, I couldn't have gotten in with a nicer group of people.

I've been doing some research on Hawaii and Maui and this is a fascinating place. There is a very rich history and I can't help but get caught up in it. A lot of people have told me that Maui is the kind of place that either welcomes you with open arms and embraces you or it kicks you in the butt and you go running home. I am so fortunate to be the former! I feel so blessed with how my life is going right now. I am at peace and content for the first time in a really long time and it feels so great. I am at the right place at the right time. Pretty exciting stuff.

Work has been going REALLY well too! I have been working on restructuring the file system and was told that I would be met with pretty heavy resistence from the Records Manager. Apparently this is something they have been trying to do for a number of years. So all week I have been reading the Records Management Manual that was written in 1977 and have been trying to get a handle on how things are done. I kinda feel like I haven't really been working because I've been just playing around in the computer and looking at stuff. But today I had a meeting with the Records Manager and told him what my first instincts were about the system and my first pass ideas on how to fix the problems. I was expecting him to be hesitant and resistant and he totally loved every single thing that I want to do! He is TOTALLY on board with my new file structure. He actually told me that he is SO glad that I am there and taking care of this issue! It was a great day!!

I also went to an Engagement Party tonight for one of the guys in my department. It was great to hang out with the people that I work with in a social setting and see how they all interact. Again, I don't think I could have gotten in with a better group of people. Everyone is so nice here! I am just loving it to bits!!

Tomorrow I'm planning on hanging out at my apartment and get things cleaned up. I'm hoping to reorganize the kitchen and get it all set up so I can start cooking again and maybe even eating at home every once in a while!!

New Apartment

So moving day was a success! I hauled all my stuff over to the new place... Amazing that I have so much stuff seeing as how I left almost everything I own in my Mom's garage!! I got it all in one trip though so I guess it's not THAT much stuff!

I took Amy's vacuum and cleaning supplies and went to go clean up the room. I filled a HUGE trash bag with all the previous tenants clothes that he left and a small trash bag of debris. It only took me about an hour to get all of his stuff out and clean the bathroom. I moved all my stuff into the closet and bathroom and then hit the room with the vacuum cleaner. I called Mike and Tarin and headed to their place to load up my new bed.

We ended up strapping the bed to the roof of Amy's car and drove the half mile to my place. They helped me move it into the room and Mike even set up the bed frame for me! These are two of the nicest people you will ever meet I tell ya! They also gave me two lamps and a somewhat complete set of dishes! Amy needed to go to the other side to go to Lowe's and I took a ride with her. I got my own cleaning supplies and a few things that I needed for my room. Since I don't have a dresser I got a set of those plastic shelves from Lowe's and when we got back home I put all my clothes on the shelves. It only took me a little while to get all settled in. My mom is shipping some of my stuff over to me so in the next week I will actually feel like my new apartment is home. THANKS MOM!!! One of the crazy things that I have missed is my little teddy bear! How crazy is that?!?! I am 33 years old and I asked my mommy to send me my teddy bear! I must be crazy!

Amy had bought some nightstands from her friend and I decided they were pretty cool so I bought them from her. They are sitting in the back of her car right now because I couldn't manage to get them in the apartment by myself. Once I get those in I will have some place to put my new lamps and some other stuff. I just need to find a tv and a few small pieces of furniture and my new room will be complete. After I get that all settled I'm going to tackle the rest of the apartment!

I spent my first night in my new bed and my new place last night. I think in a few days I'm going to be really comfortable there! I slept relatively well considering it was a new bed in a new place. Once I get used to the noises I should be great. Living with a roommate might take a little bit longer to get used to. Actually I didn't see him at all yesterday so we'll see how it goes. John is a really nice guy, but in all fairness he IS a GUY! The kitchen is a disaster and there are bottles and cans everywhere! There is pretty much no food in the fridge and nothing is actually put away. I'm going to give him a little bit to get used to me and then I will have to put my foot down. I want a nice kitchen so I can cook and eat and enjoy my new little paradise!

Needless to say this is a very interesting time for me! I'm loving it though... it is totally different than anything I've ever experienced and I can't even begin to tell you how many times I catch myself smiling, or giggling, just totally happy that I'm here. After the year that I have just been through... that's saying a lot!!

Love you all and miss you tons!!!

Moving Day!!

So the last few days I have spent trying to figure out my bed situation. I finally got the key to my apartment and realized that I couldn't really move in until I found a bed.

Well beds are pretty expensive and while I now have a good job. Wait... let me just savor that for a moment... I have a job! Ok... back to the story. I haven't gotten paid yet and won't until the 8th of June. So with limited money and beds being expensive I was looking to buying a used mattress. I know... I know... EWWWW... Who wants to sleep in someone else's mattress?? Well not me I can tell you that much. So my stress level was increasing by the day and the hour. I can move in but I need something to sleep on! My genius mom found an answer for me. Like she usually does!! She suggested that I go buy an Aerobed and sleep on that for a month or so until I can buy a bed. Then I can have the Aerobed and use it when people come to visit me! Brilliant! So off I go to the Other Side to buy a mattress.

For those of you who do not understand what that means, here is a little lesson in island life. The Lahaina side of Maui has no big stores. Longs and Safeway are probably the biggest names on this side of the island. If you want to do any serious shopping you have to drive all the way to Kahului which is about a 45 minute drive to the other side of the island. This is where you will find the big stores, Wal-Mart, K-Mart and Costco.

So off I go to buy an Aerobed. On the drive over I came to the realization that stressing so much over a silly place to sleep was ridiculous. I reminded myself that everything I wanted had come to me in crazy ways since I got to Maui and I just needed to let go of the stress. The bed I was supposed to have would come to me in the time it was supposed to. I know crazy thoughts for ME! Let go of stress? What's that? Stop obessesing about something? Is this really TINA??? Yes, folks, it is... I guess it's the new me!

Before I left I had heard rumor of a MALL somewhere on the island that was just past Kahului. I got directions in case I struck out at the big three stores and needed another option. Well I admit my curiousity and the possibility of Macy's was a bit too tempting. I decided to try the mall before heading to Wal-Mart. I found Macy's.... it's a little like heaven when you haven't seen a store in over a month! While I was there shopping for work clothes my phone rang. Tina this is Mike, you called me last night about a queen size bed? Are you still interested? YES!!! I am!!

So I drive back to the Lahaina side of Maui and meet up with Mike. After a few phone calls to get exactly where he is, all the Hawaiian names are VERY confusing still! I get out of the car and a few minutes later he and his girlfriend get out of their car. Wait a minute! Mike? Tarin? Oh my gosh it's one of Jaxson's teachers and her boyfriend! I have met them a few times and they are really nice! So needless to say I am buying their bed. They only bought it about a year ago and it's a really nice bed. Well mattress anyway that has a bed frame under it.

SO all that to say today is moving day! Not only do I get a mattress but Mike said he would help me move it!! I am on my way over to my apartment right now to clean it and move my stuff over!

YAY!!!

One Month Anniversary

Well yesterday was my one month anniversary on Maui. I can not believe how much my life has changed in the last month. Everything is going so well I can hardly believe it. What an exciting time in my life!

Work is going really well! They have decided that because of my experience and background they are going to have me doing different stuff than a traditional admin. I am basically going to be supporting all of the development people in specific tasks. This is really cool for me because it means that I will get to specialize in certain things and kind of be the "expert" in the department and then I get to work with everyone. I actually have a pretty complete job description and everyone in the department will be given a copy of it so everyone will know what I'm doing. I have been meeting with all the different people in the department and just listening to what projects they are working on and learning about Hawaiian culture. All in all this has been a great week and I actually look forward to going to work each day.

Yesterday I was taken on a tour of one of our new projects that has a 20 year buildout. It is literally on the mountain. So I got in the car and we basically went four-wheeling for 2 hours. It was AWESOME!!! We were driving on parts of the mountain that people hadn't been on in years. It was absolutely breathtaking up there and I got some really cool pictures which I will post later. I haven't gotten them off my camera yet :)

I'm moving into my new apartment this weekend and I am so excited about that too! The only downside is that apparently the friend of the old roommate came and took the bed and dresser so now I have to go buy new stuff. It's hard for me to go spend money on stuff that I know I have sitting at home in my Mom's garage. But it would cost more to ship that stuff out here than it would to just go buy new stuff so I guess it's off to go shopping for me!

I hope everyone has a great day today! I know I will!!!

I have a job!

So yesterday was my first day of work. It was a great day!

I started off the day going on a tour of all the projects that we have going on. Then I just got passed around to different people so they could show me what they could. I got my desk and a computer. Then I went to a meeting that lasted a few hours to look at different community types from a tour that some of the people had gone on in the southeast US.

Everyone was SUPER nice and it seemed that everyone was really glad that I was there. I had at least two people tell me that they had seen my resume and they couldn't wait to work with me. I felt very encouraged and welcomed.

I am sure not used to being in an office anymore!! By about 3:30 I was ready to go home and realized I still had at least an hour and a half before I could leave. It's amazing how quickly I adapted to not working! It is going to take a few days for me to get used to being on a schedule again and having to stay in one place for 8 hours! But I'm not complaining... not by any stretch of the imagination.

I made money yesterday. What a great day!

YAY!!!! Work tomorrow!!

It's kind of a funny thing to be excited about I guess. But I haven't worked in over 8 months for a paycheck. Don't get me wrong... I've worked really hard in the last few months it just hasn't been for pay. Tomorrow is my first day on my new job. I am very excited. I get health insurance again! I can go get my eyes checked and get new contacts soon! I can go get my teeth cleaned!! I can start paying my own bills again!!

All these are great things. I went on Friday and filled out my paperwork. I also found out that I get cool discounts at the Kapalua shops and the Pineapple Grill. Oh yeah and I also found out that I get to golf at the Bay or Plantation course for $25!! That's right.... $25!!! Amazing.

I am so excited :)

I'll write tomorrow and tell you how it went!

Wish me luck!

I have the best friends!!!

Today was a great day!!!

Guess what???

I got the apartment!!!! YAY!!! I am SO excited!!!

I'll move in sometime in the next week!! Wow I can't even believe how lucky I am! I have so many great friends that sent powerful positive thoughts to me. I feel so grateful to be where I am and to have the things that I want coming to me in a positive way!!

Things just feel so great right now!! I love it!

Thanks for everyone who called and offered words of encouragement and love!

Life is good

Wow

I know I've already written today and twice in one day is more than pretty much anyone can handle. But I couldn't wait to share!! I saw the most beautiful sunset tonight... and I took a ton of pictures. I put a few up on my flickr page... click here to see

http://www.flickr.com/photos/grenouille459/

Here is a preview....

And for anyone interested... no my phone did not ring all day today... which means I still don't know about the apartment and I don't get to start my new job tomorrow. Hopefully they both call tomorrow :)

Waiting... waiting... waiting...

I hate waiting. It's the worst feeling. So I'm sitting around today waiting waiting waiting for my phone to ring...

So here's what's been going on in the last few days. Saturday Amy and I went to the beach with the kids. We stopped at Safeway and got some lunch and then just lounged around the beach. Well kinda... I ended up in the water with Jaxson. We had a lot of fun. He liked to climb up my back and then jump off my booty into the water. I also got to talk to Mom and Auntie Donna and Uncle Danny. They were all at Auntie Donna and Uncle Danny's new house in Idaho and just hangin out. It was great to hear from everyone.

Sunday I woke up bright and early and decided I needed to go on a walk. I got a bag packed and went to Kapalua to walk on the hills. Amy was working on the golf course Sunday so I called her to tell her I was there walking. After my awesome walk... It is so beautiful here I found myself SMILING as I was sweating my butt off. I mean if the views don't make you happy here you have something wrong with you. If I can be sweating and having my legs screaming at me and I am still smiling and my heart feels great? Hey I think this is a great thing.

So anyway I called Amy and she came and picked me up and I joined her on her route selling snacks from the snack cart. Unfortunately for Amy there were only about 4 people on the golf course. It was pretty deserted. But it gave us a lot of time to meet a few of her friends and chat with some nice people. While we were there a few of the golf pros and guys that worked in the cart shack asked if I was the sister that was moving in with John. I told them all that I sure hoped so!! I guess John had mentioned it to a few people and is trying to figure out if it is a good idea for him to let me live there. All of the feedback I heard was that everyone was trying to convince John to let me live there.... So as long as the landlord goes for it, I think it's looking good!!

Since the golf course was deserted, Amy decided to quit early and then we went and played a round of golf. For free. At the Kapalua Bay Course. How lucky am I??? Oh it was so beautiful!! Considering I haven't picked up a club in over a year I actually did pretty good. I wasn't really keeping score but I got a few bogeys and one par! It makes me want my clubs here sooner rather than later!! After we played our 10 holes of golf (we got tired and cut out early) we came home and showered and then went to a BBQ at a friends house.

We had a great dinner and even better company. The boys decided to get the poker chips out and we played a round of poker... well I am the newcomer and little did they expect that I actually knew how to play... I WON!! heheh I actually won $50!! Pretty cool!!

All in all it was a great weekend... Now if I could just get my stupid phone to ring!! I'm waiting for John to call me to tell me what is going on with the apartment... AND I'm waiting on HR at Kapalua to tell me when I can start work. Two very great and important things... and my stupid phone will NOT ring. *sigh*

Nope still hasn't rung!

I found the place I want to live!!!

Oh my goodness!!! I fell in LOVE with this apartment!! Everyone keep your fingers crossed that I get it!!!

Ok so Amy and I dropped Jaxson off at school and then went over to the apartment. It is about 3 or 4 blocks away from Amy's house... easily walkable should I choose! It's on the second floor. John opened the door and invited us in. The entry way has TILE! CLEAN TILE!! The carpet is brand new!!! Ok wait I'm getting ahead of myself. So we walk in and the first thing you notice is the kitchen. GRANITE COUNTERS!!! STAINLESS STEEL APPLIANCES!!! And it is CUTE! SUPER CUTE!! Can you tell I'm excited??? So there is a bedroom opposite the kitchen and that is where John is. Next to his room is a bathroom that has a spot for... wait for it... wait for it... a WASHER AND DRYER!!!!! The landlord is supposed to be putting it in the next week or so! OH I WANT TO LIVE HERE!!!! Ok so on wall between the kitchen and the living area is a countertop bar area so we could get some barstools and have an instant eating area. The living room is typical apartment, smallish but manageable. There is a ceiling fan with a light in every room which is great because it does get hot and muggy here. Oh and the best part??? The very very best part?? The Master bedroom with attached bathroom is the room that is empty!!! I would have my own room and bathroom!!! OH MY GOODNESS I WANT TO LIVE HERE!!!!!!! John doesn't want to move into the master bedroom because he is already settled in.

Ok so here is how it could go wrong. Here is the story behind the vacancy. I need lots and lots of positive thoughts for me to get this place so if you have some spare good thoughts for me send them on in! A few prayers might help too!

Ok so here is the story... edited for content. There was this guy living there and he invited John to move in. The lease is in the guys name and John is basically subleasing the extra room. Well the guy got into some not good stuff while he was here and caused him to flee the island. Let's just say there was drinking and a girl and some not good stuff that happened and he quit his job and hopped a plane faster than he could literally pack his clothes. They are still sitting in the closet. So John has to talk to the landlord and see if we can get the lease changed into our names and all that good stuff. This place is CUTE and more importantly CLEAN! I want to live there. I really want to live there.

So after we looked at the apartment we went back to Jaxsons school and watched their May Day celebration. It was SUPER cute!! There were a lot of Hawaiian traditional songs and prayers and it just made me feel like I was in Hawaii!! Oh wait! I AM!!!

Well I guess that's it for now... It's really beautiful here and I'm so happy that I made this move. As soon as I start my job and get this apartment... then get my car here I'll really feel like I'm HERE!!

Oops it's been almost a week since my last post!

Well it's been a fun week if nothing else. Monday after I posted, Amy and I hung out while I called anyone I could think of so I could spread the word that I had actually gotten a job! Then I went to the lab to take my drug test. It was a very interesting procedure. If anyone is interested let me know and I'll tell you all about it :)

Tuesday Doug had some friends over for dinner so Amy and I pretty much hung out at the house all day and did stuff around here. Dinner was YUMMY!!!! Doug sure does know how to BBQ!!

Wednesday Amy and I went to go look at a room for rent for me. I was so excited. Not only had I found a job but I had a place to live... potentially! We stopped by the house and were met by Greg. He is one of the four roommates that lives at the house. He led us through the garage where they had coin operated laundry facility. Then up these kinda rickety stairs that lead to the main house. When we got to the top of the stairs the thing that was most noticable was the amount of crap around the porch. There was a refrigerator and a clothes rack just hanging out on the porch. Then we walked around to the Lanai (which really means deck or patio) and found even more junk there. A printer, some bar stools. Just weird stuff. Then Greg took us inside and showed me the room. This HUGE king sized bed was taking up almost the whole room. Oh and did I mention the dirt? The floor was gross. Not somewhere I could relax at all. Then he shows us the bathroom. Oh please don't make me retell that awful story. Let's just say there is no way I would shower there let alone share it with three other people! EWWWW!! Then he took us back through the house into the kitchen where for some reason he thought it extremely important to show us the freezer. "And here is the freezer" he says as he opens the freezer door. I looked at Amy and gave her a "what the hell?" look. She shook her head as if to say "I have no clue". It was interesting to say the least. Then he opened the fridge to show us the 7 mostly empty mayonaise jars. Amy pulled one out that expired in December of 06 and proceeded to throw it away for them.

All in all it was pretty disappointing. It was really in a great location but not somewhere I could live. So the search continues....

Wednesday night Dominick and I went out to Leilani's for dinner. That is where he works and we had an AWESOME dinner and watched the sunset. Man that sunset is gorgeous!!! I actually get to LIVE here and see that sunset whenever I want. I am feeling like one lucky girl let me tell you!!

So on Thursday Amy and I went and looked at a studio apartment for rent. It wasn't bad but it was SMALL!! It was $950 a month and smaller than my very first studio apartment. I filled out an application and tried not to get too discouraged about finding somewhere to live. While we were driving to another studio to look at Amy remembered that she has a friend who might need a roommate. One call to John and we have an appointment to go look at his place today. The GREAT thing is that it is a 2 bedroom 2 BATHROOM apartment. So I would have my own bedroom and my own bathroom!! Not only that but Amy knows John so I wouldn't be living with a complete stranger which is cool. It is also about 3 blocks away from Amy's house so I would be very near her and still close to work and my brother. Keep your fingers crossed for me!!! I hope this is the place for me to live!!

Today after our apartment appointment Amy, Dominick and I are going to Jaxsons school to his May Day celebration. It should be a fun day!

OHHHHH I just figured out how to put pictures in here!!! More later!!!

Here is a picture I took at dinner with my Brother.

I GOT THE JOB!!!!!!

So today Amy and I took Jaxson to school and then stopped at her condo to print out a thank you letter for my interview. Then we dropped the letter off and decided to go to breakfast. We went to this little restaurant called the Gazebo. It is SUPER YUMMY and right on the beach so not only is it a great place to eat it is beautiful too!

So while I was sitting there eating breakfast I looked over and saw this really cute little jewelry box at a little gift stand right next to the restaurant. I was looking at it on the way back to the car and decided to buy it. I was just paying for it while Amy took Maddox to the car and my phone rang. This lady named Valerie asked if I was Tina. I said I was (well because I am!) and then she said that she was calling to offer me the Administrative Professional position that I had interviewed for last week. I said oh that's great I'm so excited!! She asked if that meant that I would like to accept the job. I said yes of course!

So I GOT A JOB!!!!! I've been unemployed for the last 8 months and I finally have a job!!! I am so excited and relieved. It is a HUGE weight off my shoulders. I have a drug test today and they are doing a background check on me and once the results from both of those come back I can start working. I'm hoping that means that next Monday will be my official first day of work in over 8 months. Wow.... I got a job!! WOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOO!!!!

Everyone please remind me of how good this feels if I ever complain about work!!!