First Kisses

Today consisted of working at Jimmy Buffett's Shave Ice stand -- making shave ice and pineapple smoothies -- until 2:45pm. Not a bad 7.75 hours. I made more than $20 in tips (people tip more when you dress cute fyi) which is definitely a good day. After I clocked out I said hello and good bye to all my favorite Parrotheads and walked across the street to the Waikiki beach right in front of the Royal Hawaiian hotel. Can't miss it. It's the big bright pink hotel.

That's where I decided to lay down to sun bath (I can't let this tan fade. It's just too appetizing. ;-) ) While laying on my stomach I would read one of my library books but when I turned over I tuned into pandora on my iphone and listened to the Something Corporate station (yes I'm proud to say it's a regular that I listen to.) Anyway, The Starting Line - Best of Me came on (awesome song btw). There's one small lyric that really stood out to me while I was listening to it this time. "The next time I'm in town, we will kiss girl." (And here's the video for anyone that needs a throw back on high school days <3 )

That lyric made me think of first kisses and all the excitment that comes with them. If anyone knows me at all I'm completely terrified of commitment. Yes I've been in long relationships in the past but I'm scared of forever and I get bored of relationships quite easily. I enjoy the getting to know you part of the relationship. The beginning. The butterflies. The fireworks. The nerves. Whatever it is. That's the part I live for. Now this is going to be some serious soul spilling here but part of me would just enjoy going from relationship to relationship. Getting to know someone completely and honestly for a several months, maybe a year tops. When the relationship inevitably stalls/burns out then you just go on, by yourself for awhile, until you find someone else. Then you do the same thing with that person. You have all the firsts and the giggles, etc and get to know them completely, and then let them go. I don't understand the appeal of marriage and I'm not asking for any advice on it. I'm just throwing my thoughts out there into the world. I feel that marriage is something you do when you fear being alone. You decide to settle for one person because of the fear that when you're older, there won't be anyone else. It gets harder to meet new people as you grow older. It's all settling to me. Settling for a life that will inevitably become routine. I enjoy the spontaneity of new love and new adventures. Anyway, just my opinion.

I don't know. I feel that my thoughts on the subject are all scattered and confusing. It may be because I change my mind about things every other day/hour/minute/second. These are the only things that I can say for certain right now.

1. Here's to people that you can talk to about all this stuff that will just listen and not feel obligated to chime in with advice. Advice is not what I seek. I will find my way but sometimes I just need to talk about it in order to gather my thoughts.
2. Here's to finding a stable, serious career so I can support myself and if there's anyone else involved in my life then it's out of pleasure and not necessity. I don't want someone to take care of me and I don't want to take care of anyone. I just want to enjoy life.
3. Here's to amazing first kisses from the past that you can look back on and smile. And to future ones, real or fantasies, that allow you to feel hopeful about the future..especially the fantasy kisses with the cute surfer dudes at the beach. sigh.

4. Here's to enjoying the beautiful, Hawaiian weather and delving deep into my own thoughts while looking up at the sky and feeling the power of the crashing waves a few feet from my own feet.

We got older but we're still young, we never grew out of this feeling that we won't give up.

Manoa Falls

I've been to Manoa Falls twice so far. It's a great place to go hiking. You go through a rain forest until you reach a 150 ft waterfall. The first time I went, I journeyed there by myself. I got out of work at 2pm like I always do and I went right to the bus stop so I could take the #5. I got there a little late so I wasn't able to reach the entrance until 5ish. I was unsure about how long it would take to reach the falls and I didn't want to be there after dark. I hurried through the path.

Beautiful flowers on the trees.

Roaming through the trees

Crazy tree root obstacles.

Jumping over rocks.

Until you finally reach the water fall and what a site it is.

Here's a video so you can really see how big the waterfall is.

It was a relatively easy trail. It only took about 30-45 mins to get up there. The second time I went with a friend. Again we went after I got out of work at 2 but we made it to the entrance by 3:30. We went up to the waterfall very quickly and merged onto another trail next to the falls. This trail was definitly more challenging.  It was muddy and long and everyone we met on the way down kept saying that we were half way. LIES! I have no idea what we were looking for but we never made it. We decided to turn around at 6:30pm. The sunsets at 7:20pm. Yes, there was a quick jog down the trail. Fortunately we made it down with enough sunlight to find the bus stop to take us back. The adrenaline to get down made it so much fun. We were part jogging part falling down the path. haha. Good times!

Life is beautiful!

Time to stop and smell the Hibiscus

When I had started typing out this entry I was going to write *gasp* negative things about Hawaii. (Could there be anything negative about Hawaii? - yes. Do I want my blog to turn into a dark, cloudy, sad place? - no.) Therefore we will move on to another topic that I see everywhere I go -- FLOWERS!

There is an abundance of beautiful flowers in Hawaii. Obviously. Here are a few of my favorites:

Now, when you come to Hawaii, hopefully you'll get lei'd at the airport. (That's always a fun place to get lei'd. ;-) ) If not you can find fake leis almost anywhere but the most beautiful real flowered leis are found in Chinatown!! They're pretty cheap there too. Lei's will run between $5-$15. Not bad for a pretty thing to put around your neck.

Next up if you're a girl (or a guy. whatever), make sure you put a plumera clip in your hair. All the cool kids are doing it and it helps you get into the Hawaiian Aloha spirit. These you really can find anywhere. They're too expensive in the ABC stores but definitely try the International Marketplace on Kalakaua (right next to Jimmy Buffett's elevator/Shave Ice entrance!) You'll get a better deal if you buy in bulk so maybe we can get all of New Jersey to wear a pretty flower in their hair!

Just because the beach is full of sand doesn't mean that flowers wont prosper here. You simply must get a beach towel with flowers on it. It will also help if it says Hawaii and is brightly colored. This will make you're beaching experience even better (if that's at all possible).

Oh no. Did your cell phone die? Never fear! Hawaii still has pay phones (when was the last time you saw these?). These are even better though becuase they are decorated with... say it with me now....FLOWERS!

Hawaii's state flower is the Hibiscus. It's a beautiful flower that comes in many, many different, vibrant colors. These yellow ones grow right outside my apartment. They can be found all over the island.

You can find many unusual fresh flowers at the farmer's markets.

However, the best part is running into a few cuties on your walk to work on a beautiful, Hawaiian day. =)

Hawaiian desserts

I'm sorry its been so long. I have been crazy busy. No worries though. I may have been a little too busy to blog but definitely not too busy for DESSERT!!!!

There's nothing better than Hawaiian desserts. Now, if you don't know me, I have a sweet tooth like no other. I am a complete fatty when it comes to after meal snackage.

These are from my bakery. This is what I do every morning when I open there. I decorate cupcakes. I LOVE IT! That's my favorite part of my job. Pictured here we have Lilikoi, Red Velvet, Mocha Mac, Vanilla, Strawberry Guava, Carrot, Haupia, Chocolate, and Devils Food. Everyone that has had the pleasure of trying my wonderful cupcakes have greatly enjoyed them...so have I. Mocha Mac is my favorite followed by Lilikoi but they are all wonderful! haha.

Now this beauty is a dessert at Jimmy Buffett's. It's called the Hurricane. Please pay attention because I will only say this once. Brownie. Vanilla Ice Cream. Brownie. Vanilla Ice Cream. Whipped Cream. Hot Fudge. Caramel. Macadamia Nuts. Cherry on top. Did you get all that? Yes. It is amazing. Yes. It may be love.

Mochi. I don't even know how to describe mochi so I will leave it to wikipedia. Mochi is a Japanese confection made from pounded sticky rice with an ice cream filling. There are so many different Mochi flavors. My favorite is that orange one on the top left photo. It's passion fruit. I love my lilikoi (passion fruit). The other flavors shown are red velvet and raspberry (on the left) and chocolate espresso and chocolate peanut butter (i think -- those weren't mine) and raspberry and vanilla (on the right) Needless to say -- yum! You just need to taste it to believe it. And oh wait you CAN!!! Check it out! Free shipping. Try some!! If you're in Hawaii go to Bubbies on University Ave (thankfully just a 5-10 min walk from my apartment). You won't be sorry.

I was told about this sweet treat by a coworker from the bakery. When she was describing it to me she quoted the slogan written right on the front window. "It's not ice cream. It's not shave ice. It's not frozen yogurt. IT'S SNOW!" I wouldn't exactly call it snow. It's kinda of like a cold cotton candy consistency but with a better taste. Pictured above is mango flavored with mango pops. The pops are so good as well. It's like a burst of flavor with every POP! This dessert hails from The Snow Factory that is less than 5 minutes from my apartment. Unfortuntately this one doesn't ship but feel free to check out the website.

Yes, I know how lucky I am! =)

And then life stood still.... even if it was only for an instant.

My work schedule has truly been insane. I can't complain because after all, I am in Hawaii and I do love it. I just feel like I can't say no. Anyone can ask me "Do you think you can come in for a few hours on [insert day here]". My response is normally "Well I'm going to be working at [insert other job name here] from [whatever time to whatever time] but I can come in afterward [or before in some cases]". WHY?!?! Why do I insist on always being the go-to person. Well, needless to say. This week has been crazy. Mostly working both jobs in a day so my work hours are 7am-7:30 or 10:00 pm. I'm putting up with it now because I have a visitor coming in 13 days and I will like to have at least 3 days off to galavant around the island.

Luckily today I just had to work 7am - 2pm at one job! YAY! That means beachy time at Ala Moana Beach Park with one of my wonderful housemates!! Another housemate ended up just accidentally being at the same place at the same time also. Haha. That's always funny bumping into people you know in random places. It's especially funny when you only know about a handful (or two) of people in the state. It was just nice to be able to lay around and not have to be anywhere or do anything. Tomorrow will be another one job kind of day. I'll be on Waikiki Beach by 2:05 pm. I love it!!

First Month in Hawaii, First Paycheck, First Giveaway

Today was my 1 month-iversary in Hawaii. It was love at first sight. It's funny because it's also the first full month of having my blog. Also, I got my first Hawaiian paycheck today! Yay firsts!!

GIVEAWAY!!

To celebrate my firsts I would like to do a little giveaway. I'll make a little Hawaiian themed package of assorted goodies and send it to someone chosen at random. Trust me, I'll make it worth your wild. lol. Leave me a comment telling me what you're favorite first was and you'll be entered to win! I will keep this giveaway open til Wednesday, May 11 when I will pick the winner at 3pm EST (9am Hawaii time).

Now...GO! Comment!!

Spam Jam

Today was SPAM JAM!!

What is Spam Jam you may ask. Spam Jam is a yearly festival celebrating...SPAM!! They had so many different foods made with Spam. Here are a couple of examples of the different types of food they had. These are my favorites:

 Spicy Spam Wrap, Asian Spam Crunch Salad, and Philly Cheeseateak Spam-wich          Spam Loaded Potato Skins, Spam
                                                                                                                          Bento, Mac & Cheese with Spam

 

Garlic Shrimp & Spam, Spam & Green Onion Omlet Sandwhich                          Spam Fried Rice, Spam Loco Moco, Spam Katsu

 

               Spam ICE CREAM!!                                                                                                             Spam BURGER!!

 Spam Lettuce Wraps, Spam Lo Mein                                                              Spam Poke (a traditional Haeaiian dish
                                                                                                                                 made of raw Ahi--fish)

I've never had Spam before in my life. I worked this morning and informed one of my managers (who is Hawaiian) that I've never had Spam before and the look I recieved was startling. He went on and on about how amazing it is and trying to describe the taste. Everything. He said that now that I am here in Hawaii I must try it. I figured I had to try it...for the sake of the blog!! I really wish I could have tried everything in order to give a well rounded review but I could only afford to try 3 things.

They were giving free samples of Spam Macadamian Nuts. I think Spam was just the brand name because these nuts didn't have any Spam-like flavoring. They were as amazing as all Macadamian Nuts always are. At work I had a chance to try Macadamian Nut Crusted Mahi. Um....simply put, it was the most delicious thing in the world! I want to try and make it myself. I may use Spam Macadamian Nuts to try out that recipe.

 

This was the Spam Katsu -- Aka Breaded Cripsy Spam. It had the texture of a hashbrown patty (which I love) and the spam itself just kinda tasted like salty chicken I would say. All in all not bad. The ketchup definitely helped it go down. Very good.

Next I tried a Spam Baby -- Aka Spam Burger with Sweet Potato Fries. This had BBQ Sauce on it. Again, with the BBQ sauce and the delicious bread surrounding the Spam patty, not bad. I'm not sure if I would eat it alone but with the little extras...sure. Also....

Mary: "You'd eat anything as long as it had BBQ sauce on it."

Declan: "Ch-yea! I'd eat my own hand!"

He said that he may not want to try Spam with BBQ sauce but I say it's not so bad so he'll just have to give it a go. haha.

All in all, it was a great time!! There were dancers, live music, TONS of people, and Spam cans walking around. I had a great time and I'm glad to say that I had a chance to partake in the Spam festival and try me some Spam. Great day!!

Midweek Weekend

It's so nice to have two days off in a row, even if it's on a Tuesday and Wednesday. My midweek weekend was peaceful and relaxing.

Tuesday:
On Tuesday I went to Kaimana Beach which was recommended by my boss. She said it's a beach for locals and it's usually not crowded. I relaxed at the apartment in the morning and set out for the beach by 12pm. This one was a little further than I usually go but I must say that it was such a nice, quiet beach. Unfortunately, this sign was posted:

I hesitated to go in but after a while I needed to cool down and I took my chances. There were a decent amount of other people in the water and only 2 had been stung. The beachwater in Hawaii is amazing. It's always a little cold when you first go in but you're body adjusts so quickly because it's warmer than most water. You can be standing in water up to your chest and you can still check out your toes by simply just looking down. It's clear, refreshing, and unpolluted!! In most of the beaches, especially in Waikiki, the floor of the beachwater is just smooth sand. No pointy rocks or jagged shells puncturing sensitive feet. I spent the majority of my time on the beach tanning.

Wednesday:

On Wednesday I headed to Don Quijote, a local supermarket that's about a 10-15 minute walk from my apartment. You would think that a name like that would insinuate that it probably has a Hispanic influence. You would be totally wrong. It's mostly Japanese and American products. There are aisles specfically marked for Japanese products. It's my favorite store by far because you can find anything and everything there and at a very decent price. I did a small food shopping and got myself some flowers for my room:

I've decided that I don't hate flowers as much as I once did. I never saw a purpose for them because they die so quickly but I'm going to try to keep fresh flowers in my room (weekly or biweekly). I feel like it adds a touch of happiness. Later in the day, even though I should have been looking for another job, I decided to go to Ala Moana Beach Park. This beautiful place had grassy picnic areas along with scenic beach views. There was also a path that encompassed the entire park which was a wonderful walk.

There were so many interesting palms and other types of trees. It would have been ideal if I remembered to pack some food but unfortunately I didn't. Eventually I found my favorite spot to lay down and wait for th sun to set:



The sun was scheduled to set at 6:55pm today. I had to wait for 3 hours and considered just leaving and coming back on another day but I knew how disappointed you all would be. Especially since this was one of the most picturesque sunsets I had ever seen. I couldn't pick a favorite.

I love the colors in the sky and the shimmering of the water.

I love Hawaii.