Hawaii... First 72 hours!

Lei'd by Michelle... Times 2!

Wow... I cannot believe I have been back in Hawaii for 72 hours!

So... What have I been up to, since I got home!?

Well... I got lei'd twice upon arrival!

Special thanks for Michelle M. for picking me up at the airport and for my special leis, they are drying on my counter as we speak.

Michelle and I spent an hour or so catching up over beverages at a local bar in Hawaii near Waikiki Beach.

Getting home was quite overwhelming.  I didn't recall my room ever being so immaculate, though now, it looks like my backpack threw up all over my room.

I spent that Friday night sorting through mail, which I'm still in the process of working on, and the same with unpacking.  I've unpacked 1 of 3 luggages so far, and by unpack, I mean dumped the backpack on my bed which I've piled on one corner.

Mail, yes... 3 months of mail is quite a lot, and since I had internet access in most places that I've gone, I had the opportunity to order my school books and supplies while I was gone, which did save me heaps of money.  Yes, the pic doesn't do the amount of mail I've had to sort through...

I originally told people that I wasn't ready to come home, that I could have traveled for another month or so, and being back in Hawaii, I'm happy to report that I'm glad to be back home.  The weather, the water, my friends... have really welcomed me back with open arms.

Well, after sleeping in my most comfortable bed, the next day was completely geeking out and spent most of my day updating my computer, which being gone for 3 months I was surprised that it really wasn't too much at all... I'm just glad to have a Mac and that updates are painless and just requires a couple of clicks and the rest takes care of itself.

Sunday was a really nice day.  It started with getting back on the bike!  I can't believe my race is about a month away and I was just so happy to be getting back on the bike and doing a quick ride to test out my legs and my bike and happy to report, its not too bad... I got in contact with my coach and now I have a training schedule until race day... so basically I just need to make sure I am well enough to train (I'm currently a wee bit sick)...




Sunday was also my brunch celebration.  I try to hold a brunch celebration at my house at least once every two months, which entails having mimosas at my house (which do not tell any French people that you add orange juice to champagne) then off to Blu Water (most of the time).  Blu Water has really affordable brunch, with entrees ranging from $14-$20 and any entree purchase includes access to an all you can eat pancake bar (with 6 types of pancakes).  Needless to say, having friends there and just sharing our stories of our summer was great - our previous brunch was about 3 months ago discussing our summer plans, so it was interesting to see which ones panned out, which plans changed.  It was a great time to also give out some presents.  I was really surprised I received some presents in return.  One of the best presents I have received in my life came in a form of a birthday card.  Many people have different interpretations of what makes a great birthday present - for me I enjoy taking the time to find a birthday card that really says what I want it to say and also even wrapping - I like the finer details and the thought process behind the gift and this card I received made me cry...

The rest of of Sunday afternoon involved getting my grubby hands on a Xbox live remote and playing a new game Top Spin 4.  Yes, I love tennis.  I can spend countless hours playing tennis.  The rest of the time was basically preparing for school the next day.

The first day of school wasn't too difficult nor too exciting, I think once you've attended the same school for a while the novelty wears off - but one thing that was really great is seeing many familiar friendly faces... I think the novelty wore off when I spent 3 classes in the same classroom - YES! and tomorrow I return to the same classroom for another class... ugh. lol

Alright, just some bits on upcoming Blog posts!!
-Monthly Challenge - Smoking
-Pictures from the trip!
-Weekly reflections on a particular summer 2011 place!
-Training and Fundraising - YES a little bit over a month left!

Mahalo for reading.

Until next time.