Winter Weather Advisory

Winter Weather Advisory: These words have meant lots of different things to me over the years. 

As a child I was excited about getting a day off from school. I remember feeling a sense of wonder at the magic that comes with the first snowfall of winter. I distinctly remember one of the "blizzards" of my childhood where I was able to walk to a friends house to play...so exciting!

Fast forward to the ice storm of 2011. As a grownup there are more responsibilities that come with treacherous weather. I remember the stress thinking my home's pipes could burst. Thanks to my HOA I had a 10-step plan to winterize my house. I don't think i made it through all the steps, but thank goodness my pipes survived! I also had to balance the pressures of going into work with the hazards of driving on icy roads. Luckily I had a friend take me in for a night. So again, like in the blizzard of my childhood, I found myself walking through a winter wonderland for a slumber party. 

Now that I live in Hawaii, winter weather has a whole new meaning. The news reporters are warning of record lows with temperatures dropping to 58 degrees. I haven't seen any snow, but then again, I haven't seen the sun for 4 days because it's been hiding behind clouds. But there's still a magic quality to the Hawaiian winter, with each rainstorm you can expect to see a rainbow!

One thing that I didn't expect about my move was that the words "winter weather advisory" would still cause me to worry. Although I may be thousands of miles away, I worry about my friends and family dealing with the chaos caused by the "blizzard" of 2014. My sister has dubbed it snow apocalypse because of the disasters it caused to Atlanta's roads. While I'm glad that I'm not personally dealing with the snow and ice I hate that I'm not there to help people who were stranded on their way home. I wish I could be bundled up with my family, drinking cocoa, enjoying a day off of school like the old days. 

So to all my friends dealing with the winter weather advisory, know that I am thinking of you and sending thoughts of warmer weather your way!

Mahalo!

Hibiscus Smelling

Everybody knows the old phrase "Stop and smell the roses".  Here in Hawaii I'm working on a new version:

Stop and smell the hibiscus. 

One of my main goals for the move was working on work/life balance. I don't mind working hard, but I want to master leaving work behind when I walk out the hospital door. Little did I know what I was getting myself into. 

Hawaiians are the masters of the laid back lifestyle. They are the creators of casual Friday (called Aloha Friday) and it's now extended to every day of the week. Like people from the mainland, they love happy hour (called pau hana). And if you want a snack with your drink, no worries they often have specials on those too (called pupus). This laid back attitude extends into the work environment.

This week one of my co-workers asked if I was okay since my schedule was so busy. I looked at her with a confused look... Was I busy?!? Busy has a whole other meaning for me. 

In Atlanta I learned how to multi-task. I could see 12 patients in a day, attend a meeting with nurses and still find thirty minutes in my day to work on whatever side project I was working on. I could quote every policy and meet every deadline, but I had a hard time finding thirty minutes for a lunch break. 

In Honolulu I'm working on slowing down. I'm seeing all my patients, but I don't have to rush from one baby to the next. I attend meetings, but so far I'm only on one committee. And best of of all I always have time for lunch... With my co-workers! I leave work on time, thinking about dinner or the sunset or what beach to visit on the weekend. And as I'm walking home, don't worry, I stop and take time to smell the hibiscus. Here's some pictures of a few Hawaiian flowers on my route between work & home:

And now for the picture of the week:

I was making "Christmas face" because I got a huge package from Amazon!!! (I like mail and I LOVE packages, even if I'm often the one sending them to myself). 

Mahalo!

E Komo Mai

Last night I attended a late night, three hour class. The course title was vague, E Komo Mai (Welcome). My HR representative informed me that every new employee was "strongly encouraged" to attend. What I later found out was not ALL new employees were invited, just those relocating from the mainland. I thought it was a little weird to be attending a welcome class two months after moving to Hawaii, but with the draws of parking validation, free food and perhaps some new knowledge I signed up. 

After the class was over, I can easy divide the info learned into three categories: useless, interesting & and perhaps I'll use this someday. Let me share some of my newfound knowledge. 

Useless:

- Want to know the names of all the hawaiian monarchs? I'll give you a hint, the first five were called King Kamehameha. 

- Curious about the state fish? It's the humuhumunukunukuapua'a (Try saying that three times fast. Heck, try saying that ONE time fast!). 

- There are rules of Hawaiian pronunciation; however even native Hawaiians don't understand the rules of when to pronounce the letter w like /w/ or /v/. 

Interesting:

- If I sometimes feel like a minority it's because I am in the minority. Hawaii has the lowest percentage of "white population" in the U.S., 43%. 

- The word "haole" is used to describe white people and means foreigner. However; Hawaiians prefer for you to say The Mainland versus the US since they don't like to feel foreign or excluded. I've agreed to continue to use the phrase "the mainland" as long as I don't hear anyone call me a haole. 

- Want to find the wettest spot on earth? How about the highest sea cliffs? Wanna look through the biggest telescope? Maybe visit the most active and largest volcano? Well... They're all in Hawaii!

Perhaps I'll use this someday:

- Turns out I'm mispronouncing the city I'm living in. It's not Hana-lulu, but rather Hoe-no-lulu. Who knew!

-My name in Hawaiian is Peni (but you still pronounce it like the coin). 

- At dinner we were all given poi to try. Poi is boiled and maxed taro root. It's purple mush with no flavor except for a a slightly bitter aftertaste. I discovered that while I love a poi malasada (think donut), I do not like poi. 

When all is said and done, I probably could have skipped the class. The 300 pg book "So you want to move to Hawaii" that the hospital provided when I accepted the job probably covered most of the info. So while I can't get those three hours of my life back, I appreciate the free food and the sentiment. I recognize that my new employer is doing everything to help me acclimate to Hawaii. I choose to believe they value me that much as a speech-langauge pathogist and want to keep me as an enployee forever. Thanks HPH and Kapi'olani Medical Center for Women & Children!

And now for the picture of the week:

Two cute little java sparrows joining me for my morning coffee on my lanai. 

Mahalo! Penny

Living in 600 sq ft

Back when I lived on the mainland in Atlanta, it used to be considered an outing to go to IKEA. You knew you were committing to several hours of wandering through the superstore warehouse. One of my favorite parts was the apartment displays. They had incredibly small homes set up with everything you needed to live compliments of Swedish furniture designers. Each display was labeled with a little sign declaring its size..."Living in 600 sq ft".  

I now find myself living the dream and it's nothing like I expected. My small apt seems to magically change size. When I first moved in, it was terribly small. Then I got all my belongings settled and suddenly it felt "just right". A week ago mama came to visit and I swear the apartment shrunk a little bit right before my eyes. But now she's gone and it feels empty and large. Weird. Magical. Just one of the unexpected joys of moving to Honolulu. 

I've found a couple of ways of coping with my new home. First, everything needs to have a home. Each object needs a spot. And if anything is out of place, the place quickly looks cluttered. I can be an organized person, but my new apartment is making me take things to a new level. 

Next, I try to spend as much time outdoor as possible. I walk a mile to and from work each day. When home, I'm always sitting out on my lanai. I also found out that I'm a beach girl. Give me a  beautiful beach, a comfy chair and a good book and I'm set for the day. Who would have predicted 6 months ago I'd be getting so much use outta my bathing suit in January!!!

Here are some pictures of my place:

My huge lanai where I watch all my sunsets and drink my weekend coffees. 

My bedroom ... With the bed made!

My place comes with a 1/2 bedroom. They suggested it would make a good nursery or office...um, no. I use it as a large walk-in closet/dressing area. 

Tiny bathroom, but it works. 

Luckily my kitchen has tons of storage. Sadly, it does not have air conditioning. 

Dining nook... I have yet to eat at that table. 

Living room. With all the natural light I don't have to turn on lights until after 6p... Crazy!

Instead of sitting inside, this is where I'd rather be. 

While the polar vortex covers the mainland, I'm in my bathing suit. I'm not bragging... I'm baffled!

And now for the pic of the week:

Sunrise on the way to work. Simply. Stunning. 

Mahalo!

Mama Mia!

This week was big... epic...full of adventure (and a little bit of work)... this week my Mama came to visit!

As soon as I announced my move to Hawaii, my family started planning trips to visit. Since December is a busy time to travel to the island, Mom came by herself. The plan was to help me get settled, do some sightseeing and celebrate the holidays. I think we exceeded all of our goals!

Because I'm a new employee I haven't technically earned PTO. Luckily my new boss & co-workers are understanding and I worked several half days this week. This left a lot of quality time for me and mama together!

Mom and I spent our time shopping, watching sunsets and just sitting quietly on the lanai. We went out to eat to try some local food & spent a couple of meals at home so I could show off my cooking skills. We drank wine, beer, Mai tais and prosecco ... All in moderation of course!  Mama did her part to help around the house with laundry and dishes. And at the end of the week what did we have to show for it? Mom had a new lei, I had my belated Xmas presents and both us had about a hundred pictures. Here are a few:

First night on the town. 

Mama being adventurous and trying local sushi... Though I had to give her a chopstick lesson!

Dinner, drinks and a sunset on Waikiki. 

All my Christmas goodies finally arrived!!!

Dole plantation, where we ended up spending three hours instead of thirty minutes. 

Waimea valley and waterfall. 

Sunset on waimea bay (my favorite part of the week). The waves were huge, the surfers were daring and the sunset was truly peaceful. 

Punchbowl National Cemetary, Grandpa Drake would've loved this.  

Although mom couldn't stay until midnight we took several opportunities throughout the trip to celebrate the new year... Including counting down with the ball drop in Times Square and taking cheesy pictures at the mall like japanese tourists. 

As the rest of the city was celebrating NYE, I drove mom to the airport for her redeye flight. Afterwards I was standing on my lanai reflecting on 2013, my week with Mom and what 2014 will bring. I also was in awe at the amount of illegal fireworks being setoff around the city. Can you believe the whole city was smoky and smelled of explosives. The whole effect left me excited about what's to come. As they say in Hawaii-

                 (Happy New Year!)

And now for the pic of the week:

Mahalo!