Gary and I tried to pull a heist this past Saturday and "relocate" (how do you like that term my 3rd floor IC3 peeps?!) a couple of air-conditioning units. Hey, they're technically ours. The department paid for them, and they are in a condemned building on campus, so we just want to put them in another building that our people work in. Totally legit, I swear! We spent a long time trying to figure that out, but once we realized we probably needed more than just he and I, we went and talked things over with the head of the department (yeah, yeah, yeah... probably should've just done that in the first place, I know) - who happened to be working on a Saturday afternoon - we decided to go through a slightly more legit way of obtaining these units, and went to run errands instead. Gary agreed to take me to a bookstore. Poor Gary. Anyone who knows me knows that I can spend HOURS in a bookstore. He seemed okay with it though because he found more books to purchase than I did!
Sunday was... awesome. Gary and Karen lent me their mustang convertible for the morning/afternoon. *Sigh* So I was driving around Hawaii in a mustang convertible with the top down, wind in my hair, sun on my face, and a huge smile! I got some amazing photos that I'm going to post to Facebook later today, promise. Later that evening, Gary and Karen took me to the international market in Waikiki and I bought some Hawaiian apparel (upon the urging of Karen that it looked good on me) and then proceeded to Margaritaville for some Volcano Nachos and - what else?- margaritas! Afterward, we decided to walk along Waikiki beach, where Gary decided to walk out in the ocean to let people listen to the waves on my phone (I about had a near heart attack!). We stayed to watch the sunset. There was a cloud bank off in the distance, so it wasn't a complete sunset, but still... one word: Gorgeous! Again, photos will be posted to Facebook later tonight!
I still can't believe I'm here. Who would've thought that this short girl from Lincoln, Nebraska would ever be living in Hawaii. *speechless*
Although this weekend was amazing in many respects, I also have to acknowledge that it was the ninth anniversary of the September 11th attacks, and also the one year anniversary of my great-aunt Sue passing away. A year ago when I found out the bad news I had to make a split decision, one week into school, about whether or not I was going to fly back for her funeral in Colorado. My roommates were amazing at rallying together to comfort and support me at that time. We barely knew each other. To those amazing girls, I will always remember that genuine moment of kindness.
Nine years ago I was sitting in fourth year Spanish and then American Literature. I remember sitting on LHS fourth floor north building facing the Nebraska State Capitol (where I would later work... weird) and thinking "what's next?" Now I'm in Hawaii, and things are "back to normal." I talked to my host family about that day from the Hawaiian perspective. It happened so early in the morning Eastern Standard Time, that the majority of Hawaiians were asleep and did not hear of the news until they work up almost 4-5 hours later. It didn't have the same impact - not that it wasn't still devastating. There is a September 11th Memorial here in Honolulu. I'm thinking about going to visit it. It was placed there two months after the attack, and apparently is well visited here in Honolulu. (http://www.hawaiiforvisitors.com/oahu/attractions/honolulu-hale-memorial.htm) 'A'ole poina (never forgotten/forget).
A weekend for remembering. A weekend for finally starting to feel at place. A weekend for truly appreciating where I am, what I have, and how I've gotten here. :)
P.S. Stop thinking dirty! Makana means "gift from heaven" or "reward/blessing" in Hawaiian.
P.P.S. My first case of hives in Hawaii officially turned up after a day in the convertible and Waikiki beach. Stupid sun allergies. :P
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