High Five for Friday: Death on Two Legs

Can I just sleep the rest of this year? Just until Thanksgiving? Yeah, I know, hibernation isn't a human thing. Honestly though, this campaign is going to kill someone. This is the finale, folks. The last week has hit like a twister in June and it is ugly. But it also means that this is almost over; voting ends Tuesday and it is high time my reading hobby kicked back in.

To the end of this week and the beginning of the end, here are my high-fives from this week:

1. My boss and his wife are hilarious, kind, generous, on-the-go people. They have maybe gotten five hours of sleep since August; I'm pretty sure they have chronic delirium at this point too, which really just works for me. I love and will miss them dearly come this December's departure.

2. We recently discovered the amazing taste of the Country Burger at Seven Brothers and will never turn back on it. It's the vegetarian option and is heavenly. The amount of avocado on it is illegal in Arkansas (not only because it's a huge amount, but because Arkansas is an idiot). We ate it three times this week.

3. Glen had some gross really neat experiences at the ER this week, which I'm hoping he'll start posting about soon so we don't forget them #hintnudgewink

4. We went to Fiji Market earlier today for lunch and got the pumpkin curry plate. So tasty! We took it to T-Bay and watched the waves because nothing. You don't need a reason to do that. It was my first time at a beach in two weeks. This campaign really needs to be done.

5. We just bought ice cream like two minutes ago. Super Fudge Brownie -- whatchoo know 'bout dat?

Oh, and Happy Halloween everybody + happy birthday to A.J./Uncle Herb tomorrow :) Love you both mucho.

Aloha Friday.

High Five for Friday: My Glen

This is a very special Aloha Friday, one that came with haste because of our busier schedules these days. And while today is a HF4F post, it's a bit different because today is.

Glen has been and ever will be my best friend, my companion, my happiness. He has been in my life for a long time, I'm not sure anyone knows the real answer to that, but we'll go with our usual one -- we have known each other since he was 12. He has always laughed, joked, and been goofy; I think and I hope to the heavens that those things will never stop and that I will always cherish them.

This Friday is special because today is Glen's birthday. Not only that, but the last time his birthday was on a Friday was the first time I gave him a birthday present. He was out on a group date all day, which translated into a Harry Potter marathon for me because my brother went on that date too. They were pretty much the only people I hung out with at the time. When quoting line-for-line became a little too embarrassing (only for the lack of audience), I decided to make Glen a present.
I ended up drawing a picture of us from a night he had worn his fake moustache to institute and we went home afterwards and took silly photos together. It was my "I like-like you" gift; so adorable I can hardly stand it.
So, obviously that date didn't lead to anything because I'm Mrs. Gray. Did the drawing tip him over the edge? Probably not. Did I give him an awesome 'like-like you' gift, duh.
And even though we can't find that drawing any longer and the fake moustache was mysteriously thrown away lost in the space-time continuum, I know that it doesn't matter. We are happy, healthy, in love, and filled with hope for our tomorrow. He gives my lungs breath and my smile meaning; there is no denying it.

With that super sappy introduction, here's some more in the form of high fives:

1. Glen always supports me, no matter the cost or time or effort. He is the spark that lights the fire of my hopes and dreams. I would have never finished college without him encouraging me and pushing me to go for it.

2. Glen is science to me. I don't foresee that changing. I am not really sure why I like this so much yet. It's just awesome that we're so not alike in that way, I suppose. He tells me how things work and I tell him Harry Potter facts. It's fun.

3. Glen has some serious brain activity going on. At first I thought it was annoying how he could get an A with D effort when I was teetering on B/B- with word-for-word lecture notes. As time went on and we moved into major classes, we stopped taking academic courses together and my jealousy subsided. Now, I appreciate the fact that he was free to help me or just spend time with me during what would have been hectic semesters for any normal-brained human.It made our experience in Hawai'i sweeter.

4. Glen is a man of service. On his birthday (today), we woke up early so I could drop him off at the hospital to volunteer in the ER. We have some down time right now, relaxing and making our Halloween costumes together, and in a little bit we'll go over to the temple to volunteer there until night falls and the day is over.

5. Glen loves me. Like a ton. He is forever trying to make me happy and my days brighter. There is no greater high five than love from my husband.

Aloha Friday and the happiest of birthdays to my Glen.

Hulina Lani: Pu'u O Kila

The friend that left this time was Jorey (you might recognize his name from when we helped him propose here to his now wife, Lauren). He has been reunited with his beautiful wife in Utah for about a week now and we miss them. Most of our friends are from Glen's classes (that whole thing about me not being good with friends... yeah) and I actually love it even though science ain't my thing. It's fun to see Glen be such an amazing friend to others. It gives me an example to fall short of follow. Jorey has spent many nights sitting on our couch talking about things over my head and eating freshly baked somethings because that's what I contribute to the conversation. Ha. 

This last outing with him was a hike in the heart of Kahana Valley. Kahana is a beautiful State park that is actually inhabited by families with ancestral ties to the valley. The people who live there now must have relation to those who inhabited the land before it was a State park. They don't get to just live there though, they must be willing to cultivate and foster the culture of traditional Hawai'i; it's called a living park for this reason. Glen and I have volunteered there a couple of times to help restore the fish pond in the bay and help in the lo'i (taro patches). They also have a gorgeous traditional Hawaiian garden where all of the plants are intermingled. There are no rows of papaya or banana trees; everything seems haphazardly placed, but the caretaker is keenly aware of their positioning. This form of farming not only sustains the health of the land, but produces more fruit per acre because plants are everywhere. Obviously, a machine cannot prune this garden and neither can a person without experience within it. I believe that if all of us would give more of our time and energy to be more self-reliant and responsible, this earth would benefit greatly from it. By no means am I an environmentalist in the extreme form that is used today, but I love this round planet.

On the afternoon we went to hike here, I thought it was extremely inappropriate for the children who were playing outside to be threatening our group just because we look white. As we walked passed them, they were shouting at us and calling the men names. The culture of Hawai'i and its people will never live on if we continue to discriminate based on outward appearance; it hurts me deeply whenever I hear or see this kind of behavior. 

Individuals are not characterized by their heritage or looks and we should especially not generalize characteristics within such bounds. One of my ancestors from Hawai'i was a murderer, so if we are to generalize based on his looks and ancestry, all Hawaiians are murderers and should be hanged. You might think that's an exaggeration and you're entitled to your opinion, but know that this is happening. Racism will not end until we can look at one another without judging based on historical acts or what we have heard. A person is a person, while we might inherit certain characteristics from being raised that cannot be seen in a glance or two. I cannot say that I am completely free of this kind of behavior, but if we could all just try a little harder to be kind and loving toward one another we could spread happiness like Coca-Cola commercials without the rotting teeth. I am surely not saying it is those kids who are to blame either, it is a culture throughout the world of racism and fear of differences. We all have the choice to be like everyone else or break free of idiotic traditions like racism. It is outrageous to see so many people discriminate against each other for not having the right skin color. If you think you're free of this, I beg you to search yourself again and often because it is not easy to uproot and will probably never stop being a struggle. And I'm not sorry for soap-boxing (mostly because a whopping two people will read this, but also because it's filled with truth. Okay, okay I'm done).

Pu'u O Kila

We started at the end of the main road through Kahana. There are many trails through this valley and it's easy to get lost on a different trail, pig trail, or just plain lost. I would suggest going with someone who has experience and is willing to lead the pack, Shawn was our pack leader even though he really didn't want to be the leader. 

The only river crossing is this and it is the remnant of an ancient aqueduct used to steer the rains from the mountains to the lo'i and gardens on the floor of the valley. We swam in this stream (except further along its bank) it after working in the lo'i because you just have to after working there. There's no way to explain the amount of mud that is embedded in your skin after a day in the lo'i. We opted out of swimming on this occasion because it was already pretty late in the day and we wanted to reach the valley again before night fall.

Despite the ease of losing your way, there are a surprising amount of signs and markers as you progress along the valley. The trail starts out easy enough, mostly level trail with a little elevation gain and loss, but nothing compared to what's coming. 

After you start the ascent, the valley continuously becomes more gorgeous. I don't know about you, but aerobic activities are not my strong suit especially when elevation is involved. Down is cake, but up is (I don't want to be dramatic, but...) like shoving a Brussels sprout muffin in my mouth while shaking pepper on my face. I hate sneezing. I don't need to say anything about the Brussels sprout thing because that's too obvious as it is.

The views were gorgeous and the conversation was heavily stunted by breathing (for me). As you reach the higher elevations of this hike, the trail becomes less trail-y and more walking on/through/in deathly sharp ferns. Glen swears they feel good and I swear he has the healing powers of Wolverine because I was bleeding from the beginning. There's a Geo-cache at the top that you can put your name in. It was getting dark and I don't do well with unstable-to-no-ground circumstances with full fledged sunlight, so most of us turned back to reach the valley before dusk (it was only another 15-20 minutes to the top, but I wasn't risking it). Glen and Jorey reached the top and put their names in the book, so if you're ever up there... their names are there with ya. And that's Shawn, our leader!

It was a great hike and we were happy to spend some of Jorey's last moments on the island with him. He came over for one last late night couch hangout with cookies and he was gone. We'll miss you, Jorey.

Aloha 'oe

Eating and Other Things.

We have a lot of awesome friends that are leaving us this summer.

It's really sad, but also great that they graduated or whatever ;)

One just left today (June 6)

We went with them [Brent, Janelle, and baby Trooper] to Nico's last weekend.

I have talked about this place before... with much adoration.

Let me just emphasize again the magnitude of the tastiness coming off of that French man's grill.

I love Nico's.

[Furikake ahi plate lunch; Us at Pier 38; Glen: gleefully full of tasty food]

Can you believe that we are standing by a pier?

It is delightful to look out at a pier's waters and not have my mind immediately drawn to 

what scenarios of scientific wonders that led the water to be such murky disgust.

Hawaii is good for that: clear, vibrant hues of blue, beautiful sea.

                                                                                       

The school put on The Hobbit and Gollum was pretty good at being weird.

He even had the little shoots of hair coming out of the top of his head; styling for sure.

We found that sand sculpture on Temple Beach.

It had boogers coming out of it's nose.

Good thing AJ wasn't there or else he would have stepped on it with his big feet :P

[BYUH: The Hobbit; Temple Beach: Rapa Nui sand sculpture; 

Aloha Stadium Swapmeet: Us, rice bag shorts]

We went to the swapmeet  and I got a scalloped-shape suntan because of the neck of my shirt.

Those shorts right there, made out of rice bags.

They are also $30. ha ha. That's hilarious.

So, we are going to try to make them instead of buying them from a swapmeet con-artist.

And by "we," I mean my Mother-in-law; thank goodness :)

[Relay for Life Service Project: First Aid Booth]

We volunteered at the first-aid booth for the Relay for Life in Hau'ula (a neighboring town).

It rained, we laughed, walked, and learned how to suture from Dr. Arch.

He also taught us how to tie a square knot with one hand.

I feel really good about it.

AND we got a free shirt.

We have gotten six free t-shirts since being here... I think they made too many a while back and are just trying to empty out their inventory.

It's wonderful.

It was really cool when they turned off the generators and it went super dark.

Everyone who had lost someone close lit a luminary for that person and they surrounded the track that we were walking on to raise money and awareness for cancer victims.

I read several of them and it was really sad to see so many of them have little messages to their family members on them.

One of them looked like it could have been written by a kindergartner for their Dad. 

And even though I did not know that little child and we never met to my knowledge, I was glad we were there serving him.

                                                                                       

You may ask yourself on occasion, what do those Mormons do for fun?

Well, let me tell you what a "regular" night is like here at BYUH on-campus, married housing (TVA)

We stay up late at night talking about the moon on the balcony with the pleasant roar of a Vitamix shredding up all of the fruit, ice, and ice cream it can muster (which is an amazing amount).

And, so the neighboring building can get in on the conversation, we make tin can phones and hurtle them across the courtyard between the two balconies.

It is quite a party.

[Top 2: TVA party; Bottom 2: BYUH Science Dpt.] 

So, Venus came and went.

Too bad the North Shore is notorious for clouds and rain on the most random of occasions.

Especially when the occasion only comes every like 100 years!

The telescope stayed under that awning all day. All lonely and cold.

There was a 15 second period where the clouds parted and that looking glass was hurried out to see the speck on the sun.

And then, hope was gone again.

Oh well, I'll just be dead next time that happens. But whatever.

[BYUH Aloha Center: Student Art]

That woman's hand is amazing.

It looks better than mine and it's made out of clay.

I guess we're all kind of made out of clay though.

So, it's all relative really.

It's finals week again... that's usually a good indication that I'll be blogging.

When I can't focus, I blog until I'm bored of listening to my thoughts.

That is now.

We come home next week :)

May is a Good Month.

[Tuesday, May 1]

Happy Birthday to Bruce.

Don't feel bad about your age, you've still got a few good years left :)

[Friday, May 11]

The dishes aren't done, I have class in about two hours, work after, I want a nap, and we still have boxes bursting with stuff since the move (we got into on-campus housing).

Too bad everything in that list is true.

1. Dishes need to get done because cockroaches infest my nightmares.

2. Class is an obvious necessity

3. Work because students depend on me and we need money desperately.

(Emphasis on the latter part of that sentence)

4. Nap because we went to the Fireknife semi-finals and then I had to do homework last night.

In lieu of all that, I am blogging because I am trying to run from responsibility without getting off my lazy bum.

[Sunday, May 13]

It's Mother's Day; happiness be spread.

[Thursday, May 17]

Happy Birthday to Amber.

I never realized your birthday was this close to Mother's Day until this moment.

[Wednesday, May 23]

Our friends [Tim & Ruthi] went to Big Island for a fishing trip and brought us back some goodies :)

A slab of Marlin and a small tuna.

We made sushi with the tuna and it was wonderful.

Thank you Tim for being a fisherman and Ruthi for allowing him to take you on a boat while impregnated with his baby girl.

I end with pictures.

[Genki Sushi; Kahana Valley service project; Glen's Chemistry Award dinner]
[Heart-Shaped Cinnamon Bread; Homemade Ahi Sushi; The man and the Ahi]

There are a few more weeks until our feet kiss California soil.

And little over a month until Vi's wedding; Excited!

Decisions, Decisions.

While studying for my history class the other day, I realized something.
I don't know how to memorize for very long periods of time.
Which is a real bummer when you get to the testing center to find
you're out of time because the test closed right when you got there.
That is the moment of utter disappointment and crying.
Sure, midterms aren't important eternally, not even major-ally in this case.
But after studying for eight consecutive hours today, I expect to write my several essays
and spend my night worrying about the results I cannot change.
But I suffer at home wondering if I will even remember what I have studied for long enough.

Well, I did remember with another couple hours of studying and took the midterm the next day.
So, hopefully I remembered enough to get a grade that is worth all of that.

On more school thoughts, I was looking over my graduation information and noticed that
I will either have to stay longer than expected at BYU-H, or go on to graduate school.
You see, in some States you must graduate with at least 150 credit hours to qualify
for jobs in the accounting world.
I will graduate with less than 140
(unless I pull off an awesome GPA with more 16+ credit semesters, which is doubted).
So I either stay and get the 150 or go to UH-Manoa for a year and get a Masters in Accountancy.
I would say definitely the Master's dealy, but I want babies.
Everyone here is pregnant. Excluding the ridiculous prices of Hawaii, we're baby-hungry.
I'm not saying it's impossible. I know that  we could do it without a doubt.
It's just the daunting nature of the whole thing that has made me shy away from it.
Worries said, we're leaving it to a greater mind than ours to decide.

Beyond school ,we haven't really been up to much lately.
I know, we are really boring Hawaii residents;
but, more importantly, we are trying our best to be really good students.
Plus, we don't have a waterproof camera and it has been on and off
horrendous rain here, so we'd rather not ruin our camera.

But...
We did get to see The Piano Guys.

They were way cool and made this video while here, which is pretty cool.
Especially since I actually have been to the places.

We also went to our ward farm for a service project a while back.
A centipede crawled on my leg!
I cried later, when Glen and I were alone.
I was so scared; my body was shaking.
I killed it though, so it turned out okay in the end.
The good things that came out of it:
I cleaned up around the farm area and the boys put up a shelter thing for the new tractor.

There are always fat pigs running rampant through the farm.
They eat all of our hard work and trample the rest.
The boys found one and chased it down, getting quite raucous with the situation
and hurting themselves on things they probably would have seen otherwise.
But, they finally got the little guy.

After skinning it and making a fire, we roasted lunch.

Through the farm, the temple looks beautiful.
I love the temple.
It is one of God's most precious gifts to us on Earth.
To go inside and partake of the Spirit that resides in each of the Lord's houses
is to feel the love of God without restraint.

In other news, I am going to be an accounting tutor starting in April/May
because I have been doing well in my classes.

Back to studying, I suppose.
We love you all.