Here & There: Catching Up

It's been a little while since I've updated all y'all on what's going on... Here's what I did last week:

Sunday:

Found a beach. It splattered rain for a bit. I brought my DSLR camera but realized I brought the wrong memory card so I was only able to capture a few pictures. I played peek-a-boo with a sea turtle (I could see him every few minutes coming up for air). I was entertained by the beach crabs (they're small and dig holes in the sand. If I hadn't been paying attention and sitting in the same spot for a few hours, I'd never have noticed them). I was also reminded how much I miss fishing. I've got to learn what kind of fish are around here and what kind of equipment and licensing I need in order to get back at it!
Went for a driver further north on North Shore. Found a farmers market on the side of the road. Bought some "apple bananas" and cherry tomatoes. They apple bananas were about half the size of regular store bought bananas. I couldn't really taste the "apple" in them but they were the perfect size for my shakes in the morning. And the cherry tomatoes? Not so small. They were pretty decently sized. Two of them equalled about one regular sized Roma.
Found a different beach. And I found my bigger waves and a rainbow.
Watched the sunset from an Historic Site, which was recommended to me. (See below pictures for further details.)

Monday:

Went to Ala Moana area in Honolulu to fill out paperwork so I can be a temp and start work on Wednesday.
Went to the beach and watched the sun set instead of hitting traffic.
Still hit traffic on my way home but it wasn't as bad as it could have been.
Found the Park and Ride.

Tuesday:

Went shopping for work pants. I ended up buying some slacks at K-Mart at the Waikele Premium Outlets.
Ended up buying two new bras at Ross along with some new shoes for work, as well (I only had just one pair).
Made sure I had change so I could ride the bus

Wednesday:

Woke up at 4:15AM. Showered, dressed, raced out the door.
Caught the bus at 6:00AM. My heart was pounding the entire time. Listened the my books on tape.
Got off on the wrong stop but still close to where I was suppose to be.
Showed up at the Topa building by 7:00AM -- waited until 7:40 to head upstairs.
Worked my first day of work since Christmas Eve.
Got off at 4:30PM. Walked with my new boss to the bus stop. He dropped me off as my bus was pulling up to the curb. I wasn't aggressive enough and the bus left without me (I'm pretty sure my boss didn't see that, though). I caught the next one 30 minutes later at about 5:20PM. Again with the books on tape.
Returned to the park and ride -- drove home; worked out; ate dinner; went to bed.

Thursday:

Repeat of Wednesday except I didn't miss my bus going home. And whoever was sat next to me on the bus had been drinking. The alcohol was wafting in my direction for my entire ride.

Friday:

Repeat of Thursday except I didn't get my workout in. Another alcoholic was sitting by me. This one decided he would take off his flip flops and rub on his absolutely horrible dry feet. I was miserable for my ride home. All one and half hours of it.

Saturday:

Got to talk with my sister Jessica and my Mom.
Hung around the house and caught up on my reading. Actual reading, not listening to books on tape.

Sunday:

Went grocery shopping
Food prepped for the week while listening to the Super Bowl in bits and pieces (the joys of not having cable and still not really knowing anyone well enough to have been invited to a Super Bowl party).
Updated in the blog.

I've been pretty busy!! Those commutes are no joke. I'm definitely thinking I'll be moving closer to downtown Honolulu. Not only will it save me money in gas but it'll also give me time back so hopefully I don't have to wake up so cursed-early in the morning. I can't wait until I can become a full-time associate -- I'll be able to afford a gym membership so I can workout from 6:45AM to 7:30AM, shower, and get to work on time!

I'm not anticipating anything exciting is going to happen this upcoming week or the week after. I should be getting my first paycheck in the mail on Thursday the 5th. So, that'll be exciting, at least. But otherwise I'm stuck just waking up early, catching the bus, working, catching the bus, working out, eating dinner, reading for 15 minutes, and going to bed early. Repeat.

I hope I haven't forgotten everything I learned last week... Mondays are always crazy, no matter where you work! Here's hoping I'll survive this one!

In other news: I can walk to Aloha Tower for my lunch breaks. This may not seem like a big deal but it is to me. You'll see in the below picture how cool it is.

Friday January 30th, Lunch Time

Yes, the water really is that blue. Yes, there were no clouds in the sky. Yes, that is my thigh in the bottom of the picture. I was worried the wind would knock me into the water so I straddled the bench and ate my lunch sideways. The water is so clear, I could see the tropical fish right below me, fluttering in and out of the rocks. It was great mealtime entertainment! I know they do things like this in oceans like the Puget Sound but I've not been able to see them because the water just isn't very clear, even on a bright sunny day, in the PNW. I told my trainer where I ate lunch and the first thing she said was, "I'm glad you didn't fall in! That would have been a horrible end to the week!" It's great that we think so similarly. ;-) She also showed me a spot, just a block away from Aloha Tower, where I could take a towel and park myself in the grass to eat lunch. Ah, solitude and sunshine!

Tuesday January 27th, Ala Moana Beach

Ala Moana Beach is a great place to people watch. There were a lot of runners, all very fit, running through here. I'm not sure I'll be going back though. I got home and discovered several bug bites up and down my thighs and calves. So far, I've been lucky to not be bitten by anything so I'm sure it was this beach, since I sat here from about 4PM to 6:30PM. There weren't a lot of people here, which was nice. And the water was very, very calm. It was really windy though and as the sun was setting I was wishing I had brought a jacket. I'm definitely wanting to purchase some type of beach chair... I'm also thinking I should leave a "spare" swimsuit in the car, just in case. I was lounging in a tank top and capris. Not exactly ideal tanning clothing. But, hey, I got to read a book on the beach in January. What can you say to that?

Sunday January 25th, Pu'u o Mahuka Heiau

It's a native temple where sacrifices happened. It's pretty huge. All that's left now, though, are just the rocks which form the outlined areas. I wore flip flops (my mistake) so when I went to go on the little hike around the area, I was not very sure-footed. I definately would want to wear tennis shoes next time -- there's some tricky spots and muddy spots which flops are not built to handle.