Sidewalk woes

Currently my primary mode of transportation is walking. There's a whole bunch of benefits to leaving the car keys at home and putting on my walking shoes. 

- I get to enjoy the weather, which is beautiful most days. Yay for vitamin D!

- I count the miles towards my daily exercise.

- I save $60 a month by not parking at work. The CHOA parking deck in Atlanta might have stunk, but at least it was free. 

- With gas costing almost $4.30, every gallon I can save is extra money in my pocket. Fun fact: I've used <4 tanks of gas since the move. 

- And since Hawaii is ranked the second worst traffic city in the nation, I'd rather avoid that cluster as much as possible. 

But walking has its disadvantages too. Let me tell you about the little things that are driving me crazy in a big way. 

1. So I'm pretty sure it's called a sidewalk for a reason ... it's made for walkers. It's not for bikes, razor scooters, skateboards or other things with wheels. I understand those other things might work better on a sidewalk, but please don't run me over... Ick!

2. Hawaii might be in the middle of the ocean, but it's still America. As a result I think sidewalk traffic patterns should mimic road traffic patterns. If you meet another person, take to the right side of the sidewalk. Each time I meet a person I feel like we're dancing as we weave back and worth... Blech!

3. Speaking of meeting other people on the sidewalk, ever hear of giving the right of way?!? Couples continue walking two people deep without caring that it pushes me into the bushes ... Ugh!

4. And people in this city love their little dogs. What they don't love doing is picking up their doggie's doodoo. And dodging the droppings is not my idea of a good time... Eww!

5. For the most part cars are great at yielding for pedestrians. What they are not good at is stopping their car before it's sitting in the middle of the crosswalk. Some afternoons I feel like I'm dodging cars... Yikes!

And even with all my moaning & groaning I would take my 20 minute walk in Honolulu over my 60 minute commute in Atlanta any day. 

And now for the pic of the week:

I still find magic in all these rainbows. 

Mahalo!

Toto, I don't think I'm in GA anymore

A part of being a new employee means having regular check-ins my with boss. At each meeting she has a set of questions that she asks me.  And at each meeting I give pretty similar answers. 

Boss: Has anyone helped you orient or made you feel comfortable at the hospital?

Me: Sure. (I then list 1-2 names of people I work with.)

Boss: Is your job meeting the expectations described to you during your interview?

Me: Yup. 

Boss: Do you have any plans to resign?

Me: Nope. 

 

At our last meeting, the boss got creative, went off the list and threw in a new question. Knowing that I was looking for a cultural experience when I made the move, she wanted to know if Hawaii was foreign enough for me. 

Hmmm. Is it?!?! Let's take a look at the definition. 

foreign- adj. 

1. of, from, in or characteristic of a country or langauge other than one's own

2.  strange or unfamiliar

Thanks Google dictionary, I think Hawaii is foreign. While it's not a different country I'm still adjusting to the new culture. Instead of eating pizza and Mexican food, I'm eating  Asian food several times a week. Technically English is spoken here, but now keiki, pau, mauka, makai, puka and pona are words that I understand. And although I haven't bought a muumuu yet, they do look awfully comfy. Also there are many times I look around the room only to realize everyone else is Asian. 

So I guess I am getting a foreign expirience. My boss can rest easy tonight. 

And now for the pic of the week:

Iced latte on the beach... Don't mind if I do ;-)

Mahalo!

Business as usual

Vacation is over and as the saying goes: 

It's time to get back to the real world. 

When you live in paradise, what does that really mean? For me it means:

- Back to work

- Resuming my workout schedule

- Planning and eating healthy meals

- Still taking the time to enjoy paradise

This week was my first full week back at work. I have patients to see, clinics to manage and meetings to attend. Luckily the parents and nurses are happy to see me back and had lots of questions about my time off. So a lot of my down time was spent reminiscing about my week off with sister. 

There you are... Kapi'olani. 

After days spent at the beach it's time to spend some time in the gym working on my beach body. Why is it that after a week off the workouts seem so much harder? I'm trying to figure out how much of that is physical & how much is mental. 

This is as close to the gym as I got last week. While I may have been right outside the door, my dress wasn't really workout appropriate!

When I did get to the gym, this beast was there to greet me... gorilla kettle bell!

While on vacation I enjoyed all the pancakes, shave ice and bubble tea that I could get my hands on. This week I've prepped to eat lots of lean protein, nuts and veggies. 

My own personal version of "eat this, not that"!

As for paradise? 

Saturday I sat on my lanai and drank Kona coffee. 

Sunday I enjoyed a gorgeous sunset... simply stunning!

Monday I saw a beautiful rainbow from the hospital window. 

Tuesday brought another rainbow!

Today I enjoyed the sun coming up on my way to work. Look at how pretty it is coming through the trees:

And while this doesn't fit into any of the categories I listed above, life doesn't get anymore real than this:

What's a tropical climate without a few bugs; however, I'm on a mission to eradicate all the ants from my apartment!

So I guess that's my version of business as usual. 

And now for the pic of the week:

Here's the sunset that rounded out my weekend. 

Mahalo!

Playing tourist

This past week has given me a whole new perspective on Oahu & Honolulu. With my sister visiting I've been spending the week shopping, eating and relaxing like a tourist. 

I've been to kitschy stores and seen a million tshirts with "hi" printed on them. My favorite purchase of the week: a pair of over-sized purple sunglasses. As the lady at swap meet showed then to me, she saw the glimmer in my eyes and said "I got you"! I bought them not only because the sunglasses were adorbs, but the sales lady was hilarious!

I've eaten at food trucks, holes in the walls and the finest restaurants the island has to offer. The best thing I ate: poke nachos. Sister and I snacked on them while watching the sun set over Waikīkī beach. Delicious!!!

I returned to beaches I had liked before and tried out some new ones. Two of the beaches we visited made Travel Advisors Top 100 Beaches in the World. The best day at the beach had to be snorkeling at Hanauma Bay. Sometimes it takes a new perspective and thanks to Elisa I have a whole new appreciation for my town. 

 And now for some pictures:

Sisters reunitied!!!

Here's the poke nachos... Yum!

Eggs and rice for breakfast at the farmers market. I'm trying to be authentic and using chopsticks to eat. 

Sharing my love  of shaved ice with sister.

 

Dressed up for Elisa's fancy birthday dinner. 

This was everything we ate at the fancy dinner. All the food was incredible! The best thing I ordered was the tomato salad with ling hi mui dressing. 

This is Hanauma Bay. We spent almost 5 hours snorkeling here. Saw a ton of fish, a bunch of urchin and one beautiful eel. 

Check the double blow hole. We had to do some serious hiking to see this. 

And now for the pic of the week:

Some things stay the same.. I'll always love the sun peeking behind palm trees. 

Mahalo!

Too excited to sleep!!!

At least fifteen years ago Walt Disney World had a commercial that has stuck with me over the years. It started with a brother and sister wondering what their trip will be like. The boy exclaims he's "too excited to sleep". Then the screen switches to the sleepless parents & the dad who whispers he's "too excited to sleep".  You gotta love commercials for the happiest place on earth. 

Well in < 24 hrs I think Hawaii is about to become the happiest place on earth. Why?!? Because sister is coming and now I'm "too excited to sleep"!!!

Sunday is my sister's birthday. In honor of Elisa turning 32 she's coming for a week long vacation in Hawaii ... Woot woot! With the help of suggestions from Yelp, co-workers and friends, sister and I have come up with a week-long agenda packed full of good food, beautiful beaches and of course shopping (updates are sure to follow). 

Now I just have to find a way to sleep and make it through work before I can pick her up from the airport. Then let the excitement begin!

If you think these faces look excited, imagine how Elisa and I will look tomorrow!

And now for the pic of the week:

Even this picture couldn't capture the full beauty of the moon that night. 

Mahalo!

Life's a Beach

When I moved to Hawaii I was looking for that magical combination:

Work. 

Play. 

Paradise. 

Silly me, I decided to move in the winter which makes some of the play things harder to do. The upside, the weather in Honolulu is always better than the mainland. The downside, I moved in the middle of the rainy season. Luckily it can rain in the morning and be gorgeous by the afternoon. 

This is not the first time I've lived near the beach. When I was in grad school I had a townhome that was just one bridge away from the beach. Though even with the Isle of Palms and Sullivan's Island just a few minutes away, I only spent a couple of afternoons lounging on the beach each summer. 

With this move, I've made a vow to be different. I know I can't spend everyday at the beach (a girls gotta work, ya know), but I don't want weeks to go by without my toes wiggling in the sand. 

So fingers crossed that the weather and my schedule will be agreeable. And I might as well go buy stock in sunscreen ... with my fair skin I'm still using SPF 50 four months in!

Here are some pictures:

Beautiful afternoon at Kaka'ako Beach Park. 

View of Diamondhead from Point Panic. 

Crab hanging out on the stairs that go right into the ocean. 

View of Diamondhead from Kaimana beach. 

Working on my suntan. 

And now for the pic of the week:

Gorgeous sunset from my lanai. 

Mahalo!

Buried Alived!!!

TLC's "Hoarding: Buried Alive" is a program that is both fascinating and terrifying. Each week they feature 1-2 people whose inner demons prevent them from throwing anything away. They save paper, food, collectibles and sometimes even their own pee and poo. . . Gross!!!

When I moved I was determined to clear out the excess from my life. I went through everything I owned and decided if I needed to keep it or not. With the help of my Dad I made 13 trips to Goodwill with donations. I threw out an incredible amount of junk. And yet I still managed to keep a bunch of stuff. 

I'm living fairly minimally in Hawaii. You can check out my old post "Living in 600 sq ft" for more info. However, all you have to do is look in my parent's attic or my sister's garage to know that I'm still holding on to many things. 

In the last four months I've noticed a lot of people in this town also have a tendency to hold onto stuff, but they take it to a whole other level. I've heard lots of complaints that there is never enough room, but in both the business and the personal realm I've seen people holding onto their junk. 

This hoarding is amazing to me. How can you sit at a desk when you can't fit your legs underneath? How can you enjoy the Hawaiian weather if your lanai is stacked full? I hope to continue living an organized, semi-minimalistic life all while staring in awe at Hawaii's hoarders. Perhaps I should call the producers at TLC...

And now for some pictures:

Check out the boxes on the lanai. 

This is what I imagine the kitchen looks like. (Photo from TLC)

Here's the apt right next to the last one. I don't think they can even get outside on their lanai. 

Their living room has to look like this, right?!? (Photo from TLC)

Even the streets are full of junk. On the first Wednesday the trash men pickup large items so the streets are full of beds, sofas and toilets!

Welcome to paradise ;-)

And now for the pic of the week:

Gnomey making some friends. 

Mahalo!