New Leaf

Well I have swine flu... But on the bright side I have a 5 day weekend! Don't worry about me, I'm not feeling too bad... Just a little stir crazy from having to rest in the house so much. It makes reading hard even. Also daytime tv is terrible. I watched gemstv for at least 5 hours and came close to purchasing a sapphire bracelet, emerald ring, and peridot earrings over the course of the day.

*Lysol flist hugs*

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Dear Children,

We had such a lovely week. Why must you plague me with your germs?

*has a cold... already*
Ms. Page

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Holy hell the a/c just went out in my car... In Florida... In July...

I can't breathe, so hot *pant

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Are all dentists sadists?

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A large bug just woke me up by landing on my head and then disappeared somewhere in my room :&/$@/

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Was on my "list of classics to read" so I finally got to it. Never managed to get spoiled though and never heard the story. It was awesome-- a 100 year book spoiler free. LOVED IT. So much. So much so that I did something I NEVER EVER do. I got to the climactic part and couldn't stand it and had to flip to the end to read what happened. Ah. Sweet relief. Great book :D Ok. So no more pleasure reading. Only studying for my Teaching Cert until July 21st. 

Also. Loved yesterday's event. My fav one by far. Cheers Leaky staffers.

I was updating my Blockbuster Queue and was wracking my brain trying to think of things I always say, "oh I want to watch that" then forget- and rememebered how much everyone loves Dr. Who. So I looked for it the first season is in 1963 and I don't see any other options. Is this the right Dr. Who? 

On a totally different note, I have not watched this yet but those of you that went to Phoenix Rising might remember a couple of us did a book club talk thing for Borders. They sent it out via email and also said,

"Totally encourage you guys to share or link to this page or pages as you wish and see fit. On our end, we’re sending a link out to our 14 million Borders Shortlist email subscribers this Thursday morning, June 14. That’s a big launch, folks."

:/

http://www.bordersmedia.com/harrypotter/bookclub/default.asp (sorry i'm having issues linking on my eljay)

Will post more thoughts when I've had a chance to download and watch. Hope I seem coherent- perhaps I shouldn't watch!

Day Seven

This is coming early I know but I got an early start and consequently must go to bed very soon or I'm going to pass out on the nearest bit of floor I can find. The biking down the volcano- here goes :)
2:00 wake up, dead
2:30 went down to meet the shuttle (supposed to be no later than 2:40)sat on the sidewalk, hid coffee cup in bushes so as to not have to carry it-- it's still there... don't feel like going down to get it
3:10 shuttle arrives b/c some turdface yuppie couple couldn't get out of bed. I told them I planned on putting sticks in their tire spokes...
4:10 after driving getting lost twice and having to stop for directions get underway towards top of mountain-- put on ugly yellow windbreakers, gray pants, gloves, helmet all of which will later be grateful for.

Random funny vacation moment: Our tour guide told us to call him "Uncle Russ" i.e. smoked WAY too much pot in the 70's and our driver if you watch king of the hill think boomhower or if you remember in water boy the guy no one could understand what he said... "blahhuhwhatsafetyprecautionhuhwhatdeath" So our driver got lost again on the way and "Uncle Russ" got really mad and got out the van and told the driver to get out and he was like, "Uh-uh!" We thought they were going to scrap! Hehehehehee no one in the van thought it was funny except our family.

5:45 arrive at top of volcano for coolest sunrise ever above the clouds at 9,700 feet or summat (FREEZING COLD)
6:45 begin bike ride, 38 miles downhill, picturesque views, going about 20ish mph great fun! We stopped for picture taking and lunch in a great little side of the road place. It was a great experience other than now feeling like death warmed over.

Interesting tidbit: Apparently a lot of cultures are superstitious about accidentally carrying any of the mountain back with them in the form of pebbles caught in shoes etc. b/c they think it brings really bad luck (particularly Japanese and other Asian cultures). The nat'l forest apparently gets hundreds of pounds of gravel in the mail from people mailing it back to them!

The shuttle got back to our hotel at 11ish and my mom took a nap. My sister and I went to the craft fair though and found some very cool glass sun-catchers. We also had lunch at a really great restaurant on Front Street. And found an internet cafe to print our boarding passes for tomorrow.

This has all gone by quickly. I could stay at least another week-- but I do miss my dogs and Leaky and life is piling up on me. I'm not looking forward to the 11 hours in the air. And losing 6 hours. Ew.

I should go down to the pool for a bit and enjoy the last bits of sun here before I go but I'm just too worn out.

Day Six

I slept in a bit this morning and got up around 10. I talked to Kim a little and she insisted I go drink or to the beach so did so :) I came back and we packed to do the road to Hana. Except my sister took a short cut and we went on the most dangerous scary one lane-cliffs drop off thousands of feet into churning sea water ness :/ We asked her before if we needed gas and she said we'd get it on the way except there wasn't a gas station... so yeah-- we had to get some nice native boys to siphon some gas for us. All in all a rather adrenaline/anxiety attack experience but I'm now having rather fond memories of having to back up and trying not to go over the cliff so the car could pass us... Hehehehe. My poor mama threw up on the "narrow winding road" (signs we kept seeing along with "falling rocks") even though she took some motion sickness pills. It was literally 5mph-- so scary, lol. Good pics though! We ended up seeing where the people that actually live here stay though and some really gorgeous scenery and countryside so all is well. We also had lunch in one of the best hole-in-the-wall restaurants. We stopped a did a bit more shopping as well. Called my aunt and my dogs are doing well!

When we finally did get back to the hotel I went down to the beach and found a spot where the waves were breaking perfectly for some boogey-boarding (I am so cool). It was fun :P

Then came in for a shower and some rest. We're getting up at 2:00am to bike down the volcano and I think I'm going to need it!

I think I can actually pronounce the place we're staying now. Which is totally an improvement.

Day Five

We got up this morning at 6:00 to go snorkeling in Molokini. The boat ride out was great and the weather was perfect! It's a natural reserve for some bird (that I did not see) and also for coral reefs and fishies! We got an under water camera and took loads of pictures! Eeeee! I had some difficulty not inhaling the water :/ But after the second dive I got much better. A sea turtle popped out of the ground right next to me (literally inches away) and I just floated there watching him and taking pics for about 2 minutes before everyone else realized there was a turtle. Then some jackass kid scared it away by touching it :eyeroll: I also fed the fish some muffin and there was literally about 100s of them around me! ZOMG! So cool :D Then out of the corner of my eye I thought I saw a shark and freaked out! It was just a big blue fish though :D On the way back our boat captain gave us a tour and some really interesting info. One island was used for target practice by the military and apparently still has loads of unexploded shells and stuff on it. We had bar-b-que and got back into the harbor about noon-ish. We went back to our room thinking we'd go down to the pool or beach but instead just napped til it was luau time!

Let me just say if I could move my hips like that I would have no trouble finding a boyfriend >.< The dancing was awesome. They roasted a pig and had loads of authentic food. I tried everything (though did not like it all). All of the seafood was really fresh and sushi lovers would have been in heaven! It had an open bar so I had a Mai Thai (supa strong), a blue fruity something (Vodka methinks), and a Strawberry Colada. All delish. And now I'm back in the room and looking forward to tomorrow morning when I can sleep in for the first time since we've been here.

Tomorrow we're driving the road to Hana (which is scenic w/ waterfalls et all and maybe doing the beach thing later on).

Day Four

We got up quite early this morning for our flight to O'ahu. It was a fast flight and we took a shuttle to the Arizona Memorial. We bought the audio tour and I highly recommend doing that anytime you are in a museum that offers it. It's really worth it and enhances the experience. It was a really powerful sight seeing the sunken Arizona. You take a boat out to the memorial that is built on top of the wreckage. Pearl Harbor was something I'm really glad I did (even though it took 2 hours to get in). Afterwards we took TheBus (a really great public transit system) to Chinatown and downtown Honolulu. It was a lot different from Maui. Much more urban and kind of a surprising amount of homeless people. We had McDonalds (b/c my sister is picky about food, psh). We didn't get to go to Waikiki or the North Shore but there was just not enough time! I bought a really nice pair of citrine earrings. My sister got a locket and some amber earrings :) We walked loads and my legs are killing me but it was a good time. We caught TheBus back to the airport and I went down to the hot tub for a bit but there were little kids jumping off the rocks driving me nuts. I sat there for a bit b/c one of them asked me to move (I'm still a Slytherin even in paradise). Then came back to shower and write this entry!

We're going snorkeling at 7:00 tomorrow morning so must sleeeeeeep.

Day Three! (My sister's 28th birthday).

I got up about 9ish and had a bowl of Corn Pops. That's right, bad for you cereal. I am living daaangerously! We went shopping a bit again before lunch at Hard Rock. I had some excellent salmon. We went to an activities booking place and have made the following schedule.
Wed- parasailing
Thurs- going to Pearl Harbor to see the Arizona and Waikiki
Fri- snorkeling at molokani
Sat- driving the road to hana, shopping, and luau
Sun- biking down the volcano

So Yeah. Busy week eeeee! We did the parasailing this afternoon. Good fun. Really pretty views though my sister has some serious vertigo and wouldn't let me flip upside down or swing the harness. Psh.

When we returned to the hotel I went down to the beach and did some more boogie boarding (again... sand) then to the sweet pool for swimming, reading, and a drink.

Back to the room, shower, tv, reading, and sleep so I can get up early for our flight to Oahu :)

Coolest vacation ever.

Day Two!

Okay. Can I move here? Please?! It's like a living postcard. We slept a full 12 hours and woke up well rested. We went to Starbucks to get some breakfast in the Lanai Cannery Mall. I tried a Dulce de Leche Iced Latte. Too sweet! Will stick with my Vanilla Iced Latte. But hey, it's a vacation thought I'd try new things other than boring vanilla! Hee! Then we went down to Front Street and walked in all the cool shops. Much like St. George St. in St. Augustine. We took lots of pics. Everything is by the beach. And I mailed my friend a coconut! We went to Hilo Hatties and got several local artist paintings. And some sarongs! Then we went to Safeway and got some groceries :D

Annnd bathing suits. Yeah, I don't so much love wearing it in public but whatevers, it's all strangers here. I got a boogie board and had fun in the Pacific! Woooot! Then we got really strenuous and laid by the pool and read and drank extremely girly pina coladas and daquiris. The pool is also amazing; it's all lagoon-y with waterfalls and a slide.

So I have lots of picspam but can't find the cord to the camera. Will upload when I do.

Big plans for the afternoon are to go down to Whaler's Village and do a bit more shopping.

This place is seriously paradise. Other than the large quantities of sand in my suit and/or body crevices.

Ok, so I didn't realize two things. 1. California to Hawaii is further than Florida to California. 2. Hawaii is 6 hours time difference.

On with the story.
I'm such a night owl I figured I'd just stay up til 5:15 instead of sleeping for only a couple hours. Our cab stood us up though. And we ended up having to drive ourselves and valet to not miss our plane. 20 bucks a day >.< First leg, on Delta (5 hours) I tried to sleep but couldn't really so watched Wild Hogs (don't bother). The we had a 5 hour layover in L.A. I took a nap on my mom and we marveled at the price of a small fountain drink coke (3.59). The we had another 5 hour flight from L.A. to Maui. Then it took an hour to claim our bags. Then take a shuttle to the rental car place. Then drive the rental car to the hotel. So yeah. We got here around 6:00 local time. AKA 10pm our internal clock time. The hotel is SO gorgeous though. Pictures of Maui... do not do it justice. It is the prettiest place I have ever been. And our hotel is supa swank on the best part of the beach (according to our travel guide thinger my sister kept making me read on the flights). We ordered pizza from Pizza Hut b/c the room service prices are in-SANE! Zomg it's 16.50 for a bowl of oatmeal. And like 20 bucks for a salad. We won't talk about meat dishes. :/ But, for all the grouchy tiredness I know this is going to be an awesome vacation.

So if you've been keeping up that's erm, 16ish hours we've been traveling. We're pretty much dead. So I won't do pics tonight. My big plan is to shower. Then sleep. :)

ETA: After I typed this entry my firefox closed and I thought I lost the entry but it was restored! Hurray! I love when that happens.

The last date to take my Teaching Cert Exam this year is July 21. (Without paying 80 bucks for supplemental administration). This is highly upsetting. No one in 3D world understands, hmph.

...and which lesser Harry Potter character are you?

That's right. I'm COOOOOOL. In your face world!

Right, so if someone has had something life-shattering happen please forgive me because I have not read or posted to the eljay in 4 months. I've been pretty much glued to the sofa since I got home from PR. Which was generally a blast other than having to deal with people with serious passive aggressive issues. I can't begin to say how much I loved spending time with everyone. Wish I got to see you guys more often :sniff: I was talking to Hope though and we both thought our one regret was not spending enough time with Jennifer. I did at least have a chance to huggle her with dooom (which is in Hope's flickr).

Annndd I got drunk for the first time. I was very insulting. Hilarious apparently but insulting... and a bit whorish. Good to know for future reference. At least I don't turn all Huffley :evile grin:

Today I've been painting my room on and off. I decided that kermit-the-frog green would be an excellent colour (felt like the Canadian spelling) choice. Now regretting having to do three coats. Hopefully, I'll finish in the morning as I'm forced to sleep on the couch tonight.

I'll be dog/house-sitting for some rich people all this week so will be making a bit of money hopefully. I really need it right now, lol. Especially as I'm going to Maui on the 11th of next month with my family. I've never seen the Pacific Ocean. I live on the Atlantic so I imagine it's similar but still...

Plus I really would like to make it to Seattle before summer's end. Do I have a vault in Gringotts I don't know about? That would be good.

On another totally random note. I had no idea there were 23519814 wizard rock bands. I seriously thought there was Harry and the P's, Draco and the M's, and The Remus Ls. The elves wanted to make a band so I said Dobby and the House Elves and Delana told me it was taken. So I went to Myspace. Whoa. WHOA.

Hope this makes up for my lack of postingness :)

Just watched it. See it. It's glorious.

James Marsters, Spike for you Buffy officiandos.
This week's Jawline is dedicated to Tams. Whom I have missed these past several Tuesdays. :D