Monday, January 9, 2012

Homecoming/ Wrap it Up!

The flight home wasn't as long as the flight to Hawaii in August.  As we touched down in Chicago, I got a little misty-eyed.  It was finally real that my time in Hawaii was over.  It was finally real that I was going to see my family soon.  It was finally real that I was home.  I was more excited than I was sad or upset.

Tawni and I walked through O'Hare in the direction of baggage claim.  We surprisingly didn't get lost (although it is a pretty fool-proof system, ya know, 'cuz there are signs everywhere telling you where to go.  Even an idiot like myself didn't get confused).

My family came into view as I was coming down the escalator.  I probably squealed and yelled some inappropriate comment, but whatever, I'm over it.  My mom, dad, sass-ter, and cousin Michelle were all there to meet me!  Brother had school so he couldn't come.  Sass-ter had made me a lei out of fabric to welcome me home, which was really sweet.  Tawni's parents were there to greet us as well, with flowers for Tawni.  We all hugged excitedly.

We got our bags and made our way to the parking lot.  It.  Was.  So.  Cold.  Thankfully my family came prepared with my winter coat.  It was so bulgy.  It felt unnatural.  Too many layers.  Closed toed shoes.  WTF.  And there wasn't even snow on the ground!!  It was a little disappointing.

All of us huddled into the equally cold van and headed off for home, making pit stops for lunch and to my aunt's house who lives near Chicago.  It was strange seeing billboards and squirrels and flat, brown, dead land.  I missed my Hawaii scenery of lush green mountains and sunsets in the ocean.

It got dark at like 4pm!  Which actually helped with my jetlag I think, because I didn't really feel any at all.  We dropped Michelle off at the Oasis where they my parents had met her and I passed out in the car for the rest of the way home.

I was dreading getting to my house.  I knew that Hannah wasn't going to be there and it was going to be awful.  Although it was glad to see my house again, there was a huge pit in my stomach knowing the sadness that accompanied being home.  I lugged my suitcase up the garage steps.  The first thing I noticed was that Hannah's bell she rang to go outside wasn't there.  I immediately broke down and burst into tears.  I cried on and off the rest of the night.

Bittersweet homecoming, indeed.

Brother gave me her ashes, and we decided to put them in Sister's room, because that was her favorite spot in the house.  She was always on her bed looking out the window and watching over us and the house.  And that's where she'll stay.

Even now, 3 weeks later, I still anticipate her being there when I come through the door, or when I get out of the shower, or when I wake up.  It's still sad, but it's just become a reality of life.  I can now talk about her without crying.  It just doesn't seem like she's gone.  I keep forgetting.  Even yesterday some friends were talking about taking their dogs to the park and I was like, "Oh!  That sounds fun!  Can I come?  I'll bring ... oh wait ... nevermind."  I just miss my fatty-fat-fat.

To prevent this from turning into another memorial post for my dead dog, I'll turn the conversation in a different direction.  Winter break is now coming to an end.  I have seen all my friends and family, tried picking up where I've left off with everything, and started preparing for this upcoming semester at Illinois.  I'm so excited to get back down to Champaign and see all my friends there.  This past weekend we moved my stuff into the apartment that I'll be living in this semester (but have been paying rent for it since August... I don't wanna talk about it).  Anyway, here's my room!


I'm friggen pumped!

Well, Hawaii and post-Hawaii adjustments are complete.  The rest of my college career and life awaits me out there somewhere.  I doubt I'll be able to study away again and be able to graduate on time, so I'm very thankful that I had this opportunity and took advantage of it.  I would recommend everyone during their college career travel somewhere, anywhere.  Just get out there and explore.  Because you will never get the opportunity again to live in another part of the world for a brief period of time (unless you're a nomad traveling with no purpose in life... but that would be kinda cool too).

Big mahalos first and foremost to my family for being so supportive throughout this whole process and making me feel less homesick than I probably could have been.  Mahalo also to Tawni for everything.  If it wasn't for her, I would not have gone to Hawaii in the first place, wouldn't have even thought about it.  She played the most essential role in me even going.  Also to Kelsey and Janelle, and everyone else I met and became friends with during those four magical months.  Without my roommates, especially Kelsey, my time in Hawaii wouldn't have been half as exciting as it turned out to be.  All my great memories involved Kels, and I can't thank you enough for that, Babygirl.  She made every experience enjoyable, and I am so grateful to have found a friend like her.  She was a crucial part of my happiness on the island.  We'll all stay in touch with Skype and roadtrips, which I couldn't be more excited about!  Room 603 will never be forgotten.

With that, my semester in Hawaii and blog are officially pau.

Aloha!

Thursday, January 5, 2012

Last Weekend in Hawaii

My last weekend in Hawaii.  Do I still even remember it?

Of course I do.

Friday was sad when Janelle left us.  Her room was all packed up and she said goodbye to us and then left us to fend for ourselves.  Right now she's probably getting ready to hop on a plane and go back to UH to start spring semester... lucky bitch.

Just kidding.  Love you Janelia!

Friday night was full of shenanigans.  Finals were done and it was the beginning of the end for my time in Hawaii.  Enough said.

Saturday - TATTOOOOOOOO.  I was really really pumped about this.  I had wanted a sea turtle with a hibiscus flower in the shell for an eternity or so.  Even before I even thought about spending a semester in Hawaii.  Don't ask questions, I really don't know why it got stuck in my head.

After it hit me in the summer that I was really going, I looked up different tattoo shops to find credible artists and all that jazzy jazz.  I may have been a little too excited.  The tattoo symbolized me taking risks and being spontaneous, just living life because it's so short, and taking advantage of opportunities.  Plus, the tribal turtle and hibiscus flower are essentially symbols of Hawaii, which made it even more perfect.

As the semester went by and I thought more about it, my tattoo had another meaning.  Sea turtles lay their eggs on the same beach where they hatched  themselves.  No matter where they travel to, they always come back for their family.  It's their instinct.  And that's so amazing.  For me, this tattoo is a reminder to always come home, always come back to my family, no matter where life takes me.

I had made the appointment in like October, and made sure to get it on one of my last days on the island because I wouldn't be able to swim in the ocean or a pool or lay out on the beach and tan.

Sidestory.  On the bus ride to my appointment, a woman with a very large dog got on and sat right by us.


He was a mastiff/great dane mix.  HUGE dog.  Woof.

I had spoken with my artist, Alex, a week beforehand to explain what I wanted.  So Saturday when I showed up, he already had an idea on paper for me.  I didn't like his original drawing, so I changed a bunch of things and made the poor guy redo it.  But hey, it needed to be done how I wanted.

Waiting for the final sketch!


As Kelsey and Jimmy, another friend who wanted to come with, waited alongside me for the final sketch, we saw a couple about in their late 20's who were also getting tattoos.  I overheard the woman explaining what she wanted, and she had the same idea as me, a turtle with a hibiscus flower in the shell on the back of her right hip.  Same.  Exact.  Tat.

I wasn't really surprised though, because girls get this tattoo all the time.  It didn't really bother me.

Alex called me back to get started.  We figured out where the stencil should go and got straight to business.  He wore a headlamp!  Here:
He was supercool.

The whole thing didn't take very long.  I'd say it was like a half hour.  The part that hurt the worst was the outline, but it was bearable.

In the middle of my tattoo, the young couple from before came in to start their tattoos.  I then told the woman that we were getting the same thing.  They were really nice and we all started talking.  Turns out they had ran the marathon too!  That was their whole reasoning behind their tattoos.  The man was actually getting the marathon warrior man whatever from the logo, which was pretty cool.  It was both of their  first tattoos, and they were really sweet.  We then realized that both of us had gone to the north shore on the same day to watch Pipemasters.

Same tattoo, marathon, Pipemasters.  How crazy of a coincidence was this??

Anyway, here's the final product of my day:

Love it!

Healing it over these past few weeks has been a bit of a challenge because I turned out to be allergic to the moisturizer I used on it, which resulted in tiny red bumps everywhere around the tattoo.  It looked hideously disgusting.  I was so concerned I even thought about going to the doctor to get it checked out.  But it's healing now and I'm still in love.

Saturday afternoon-ish, Serious Rob wanted to take me out on his motorcycle around the island.  I happily complied.  It was so breathtaking getting one last glance of the windward (east) coast on the back of a motorcycle, during sunset no less.  As we were on one of the major roads, I realized that I had traveled that road by car, by foot (marathon) and now by motorcycle, which was cool to me.  After a few hours it started to get dark and chilly so we made our way back home.

Kelsey and I decided we wanted to check out this huge Christmas display that was set up in downtown Honolulu.  We also wanted to make a video of us dancing around idiotically, so naturally we went to Goodwill and bought flamboyantly annoying Hawaiian shirts to wear.

A combination of pouring rain and getting lost trying to find the display led us straight to Jack in the Box, which I had never been before.  So our shitty night ended with fast food.  It was absolutely delicious.  I don't know how I had never encountered this tasty establishment before that moment.  It also may have been due to the fact that I had almost eaten zero fast food in the last four months, and I forgot how good it was.  So bad... but so good.

Nope.  Not kidding.

Sunday morning Kelsey and I finally made it to the Christmas display and filmed our shenanigans just how we wanted.  Then we met up with Tawni and whoever else was left on the island and beached it all day.  I even got some sand volleyball in, which made me oh-so-happy.  I made sure to cover my tat, though.   We watched the sunset and I went shopping for Christmas gifts for everyone and it was a successful day.

Monday morning Kelsey, Jimmy, and I ate at Eggs N Things, a yummy little place that we had been wanting to eat at for a while.  Then we beached it up some more.  Spent my final moments at Fort DeRussy beach and made my peace with the ocean.  Then I had to go home and finish packing and leave for the airport.

I had to say goodbye to Kelsey earlier than I thought, because she had to go pick up her brother at the airport.  We cried and hugged and promised to Skype (which we did!) and said our goodbyes.  Which really aren't goodbyes, because I plan on visiting her at Haverford sometime during this next semester!

I managed to fit all my shit in my suitcases without having to use the vacuum bags I needed when I flew here.  Even better news?  I didn't have to spend $90 for an overweight suitcase, also unlike when I got there in August.  Boo-ya!

Sitting in the terminal waiting to board the flight was surreal.  I didn't want to go.  But I knew I had to.  And I was excited to see my family and all my friends back home.  It was the most bittersweet feeling ever.

Tawni and I boarded, popped a Nyquil, took off into the air, and dozed off as we made our way back to the mainland.

Aloha!