When Did 28 Become So Old?

I’m at Starbucks, studying for a test that I haven’t yet signed up for. The last time I took studying seriously the world was ridiculously different. My first cell phone didn’t have text messaging capabilities and wi-fi was non-existent. When I went to a coffee shop to study I actually studied. This time around it’s a little harder to stay focused when I could be doing any number of other things that don’t include making flash cards reading books.

Honestly, I’m not sure I could have finished school if I’d had so many distractions. And let’s keep in mind that I’m still relatively young. I finished college five years ago and in that time so much has changed.

Also: what the hell are the kids wearing these days? Is it just that I live in a warm-weather city so the shorts are short? Or is that way every where? I see girls wearing heels and carrying purses to school and think back to my own school years where it was just kitten heels for dances only.

In short, I feel old. Well, not all the time. We have three 60-year-old (ish) women staying with us and as Wes and I were griping about the differences between us I realized that by the time we’re their age, our niece will be our age. If we happen to visit her in our golden years she could possibly be griping about the same thing the two of us were.

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We’ve been talking about kids lately, and what our time line is and I swear there is nothing that will make you feel older. How is it that we can be old enough to have kids?  How is it that my parents managed to take care of two kids before they turned 25? I keep telling myself that we’re too young to think about kids; that we have years before it should even be a topic of conversation. But we’re not that young, kids-wise. We’re both pushing 30 and this is the right time to start thinking about them. But I still can’t help but feel too young.

I’ve been recruiting all my married lady friends to have kids at the same time so that at least we can have a mom’s group and we won’t all go crazy with newborn babies. If my first two weeks with Tsunami were any indication of how I’m going to react to a baby, I’m going to need a huge support system (though that is not an invitation for my mother to move in for 6 months while I adjust).

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And speaking of visitors, we’re in day 4 of our second of three sets of visitors for the month of January.  I’m not sure how it happened that almost the entire month of January was taken up with family visiting, but it did.  It’s impossible to say no to family, isn’t it?  Wes and I are treasuring any time we have to ourselves with – wait for it – laying on the couch and watching tv or reading in complete silence.  I have never treasured silence so much.  As much as I love seeing family and spending time with them, I’m looking forward to February.  I may spend the entire time walking around the house naked just because I can.  Probably not, as that would mean I’d have to shut all the blinds and we have a lot of windows so it just seems like a lot of work.

365 Days of Aloha

I still tell people we just moved to Hawaii.  Even though, as of today, it’s been one year.  It’s hard to keep track of time when every day feels like the one before it.

Our first view

We started out in a hotel room in Waikiki.  The hotel could use an upgrade, but the views were amazing, even for two people who moved from Huntington Beach and lived just a block from the beach.

Wes' office

Wes started out in an office in Honolulu, which I can now see from my building.  It was great while we were living in hotel, but the commute once we moved to the west side of the island was a bit much.  Luckily it didn’t last long, as he’s now working only 5 miles from home.  I, however, am still making that ridiculous commute.

Our road!

While house-hunting we came across Renton Road, which actually is named after Wes’ family.  Drive down this road a bit and you’ll see the sugar plantation that his great grandfather ran, as well as the house that his grandfather probably grew up in before leaving Hawaii in his early teens.

Celebrating finding a place to live!

After searching for a week and looking at what seemed like every house and apartment on Craig’s List, we managed to find a place to live and celebrated by having dinner and delicious beer at Kona Brewing Company.  My favorite is still the Pipeline Porter.

Pearl Harbor

Our first non-house hunting related activity was visiting Pearl Harbor.  When we found out we were moving we both knew that this was one of the first things we wanted to do in our new home.  Wes’ grandfather is from Hawaii and even though he moved away at a relatively young age, he was still quick to sign up after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor.  My grandfather was in the Navy at the time and was on the USS Oklahoma.  He was trapped when the ship sunk and flipped, but managed to get out.  It goes without saying that visiting this site was important for both of us.

Moving Day!

After another week in the hotel, we finally were able to move into our new place, which is about three times the size of our apartment in Huntington Beach.  You would think that we would have plenty of empty space, but we filled it up in no time. We managed to find a place with a guest bedroom, which meant that we had to get another bed – KING SIZE!

Tsunami!

We survived a Tsunami attack after the earthquake in Chile, and then we bought a dog and named her Tsunami.  And then I almost went crazy because puppies might be the worst thing ever.  Luckily, she grew up to be pretty good and we haven’t had to accidentally lose her yet.

Hiking

My parents came to visit and we did all sorts of fun things: hiking in mostly mud, visited the Dole plantation and cooked a lot of food.

Wedded Bliss

In June we left the island to see one of my best friend’s get married.  I thought it would be warm in Tahoe in June, but it wasn’t.  I ended up sleeping under 7 blankets in order to keep warm.  I officially realize how awful it will be when we (hopefully, finally) move the northwest.

Mourning

As soon as I land in Hawaii, I receive a call to let me know that my grandmother has died.  With my wedding less than two months, and a honeymoon directly after that, traveling isn’t something that can happen.  But two weeks later my aunt dies and I know that I have to go home to support my mom.  I fly to Boise then drive with my parents and brother to Utah, reliving almost exactly my grandfather’s funeral three years before, except that this time I’m in Utah and not Washington.

Mother & Son

In July and August, Wes’ family makes the trek to Hawaii to visit and we realize that all we needed for them to visit was an ocean between us!  We enjoy three weeks with them before relaxing for the week before our wedding.

Mawwiage

In August we flew to the mainland to get married and it was awesome.  The entire day memorable in the best way possible and I’m actually considering getting divorced just to marry him again.  Unfortunately, my parents won’t pay for the next one so I suppose we’ll just have to have some kick ass anniversary parties to celebrate.

After our wedding we spend one night at home before heading to Thailand for our honeymoon.  We visit a lot of temples and Bangkok and are so thoroughly overwhelmed with everything that we both wonder why we chose Thailand.  But then we quickly head to Chaing Mai and fall in love.  The city is beautiful and our hotel is amazing.  We do as much as we can in the less-than-two-days we’re there.  The best part is riding elephants through the jungle and swimming with them.  After our quick trip to the north, we head south to Koh Samui and enjoy some diving.  At the end of the two weeks we are both exhausted and ready to be back in our own bed and with our puppy.

Do you have tickets to the gun show?

Two weeks after we returned I participated in my first triathlon – a super sprint.  I ended up getting first in my age group, which sounds impressive until you know that I was beat by three women who were about 20 years older than me.  But I enjoyed it enough to want to tri (!) again.

Old friends

In September two of my best friends came to visit.  We’ve known each other since 6th grade, but haven’t spent much time alone together since we left home.  It was great to be around two ladies who have known me for so long and still love me.  It gives me hope for my marriage.

Still not the end of the swim portion.

In October I competed in a sprint triathlon at Ko ‘Olina and I came in 5th in my age group.  It was double the distance of my first triathlon and I felt in much better shape.

13.1

At the beginning of November I ran a half marathon in preparation for the full marathon in December.  I finished 15 minutes faster than my last half marathon three years prior.

 

Seattle

At the end of November Wes had a meeting in Bellevue, WA, so we got a free trip to the northwest.  We enjoyed a late Thanksgiving with Wes’ family in Portland before heading across the border to visit friends (me) and get some work done (Wes).

By December we were both looking forward to some down time, but it was not to be.   Instead I ran a marathon and wanted to die.  After that we had a couple of friends visit for three days from Seattle.  While they were here they got engaged!

 

And then my parents and my brother and his girlfriend came to visit for a belated Christmas visit.  I haven’t had the chance to spend a lot of time with my brother’s girlfriend, nor have I (and they) wanted to spend some time with them.  In short, my brother dates some lame ladies.  But this one (hi Coop!) is pretty awesome.  She fit right in with the family and it was nice to spend some time with someone who means so much to my brother.

Mele Kalikimaka!

All in all, the first year in Hawaii has been a success.  Something about living in this climate has made me more active.  We’ve met a lot of good friends – the upside to living near military folks who are as new to the island as we are.  Neither of us are sure how long we’ll be here and though we’d like to be closer to friends, family and skiing/camping/snow, we’re both enjoying our time here and are looking forward to what the next 365 days have to offer.

Year in Review: 2010

Taken from Linda over at All & Sundry.  Because while I was reading through hers I thought to myself, Let’s take stock of what I did this year.

1. What did you do in 2010 that you’d never done before?

Starting January, I moved to Hawaii.  Went to Pearl Harbor.  Survived a Tsunami scare.  Got a dog, named her Tsunami.  Changed careers (if you can really call what I was doing before and what I’m doing now a “career”).  Got married! Went to Thailand.  Rode and elephant. (Am still procrastinating on writing anything about that.)  Competed in a super sprint triathlon and won first place in my age group.  Competed in a sprint triathlon and came in 5th in my age group.  Ran a marathon.  Made things (specifics omitted so that my family can still be surprised when they arrive).

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions and will you make more for next year?

I’m not sure I made any specific resolutions, but I know that one of the things I wanted to work on was getting out and making friends and being positive, which I did.  We have made so many good friends in the past year and our social lives (and calendars) are so much more full than they were in Orange County.

This year I want to continue with that.  I also want to work on my attitude.  I find it easy – way too easy – to get caught up in the small things and let them ruin my day.  So I’d like to work on being more positive and not letting small issues ruin my whole day.  I’d like to focus on the friends who mean something to me and phase out the friends who don’t bring anything to my life.  And all that will hopefully lead to less gossiping.  Once my mood sours I get caught up in blaming/griping about certain things and people and I need to stop doing that.  I know that there will always be people who don’t fit in my life and instead of bitching about what they do, I need to focus on the people and things that work in my life.  Hopefully it will lead to a more relaxed and happy me.  Also, I’d like to stop procrastinating and plan ahead.  I’m constantly forgetting, oh, everything and I hate that feeling.  This one will be the hardest.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

This year we had four friends give birth to beautiful and healthy babies.

4.  Did anyone close to you die?

No one close to me, but I watched countless friends and family deal with the death of loved ones: my mom’s mom and sister, two weeks apart;  a friend’s dad died suddenly; another friend lost her mother after a long illness; another lost her brother after battling cancer; a friend whose dad died last year lost her aunt, uncle, and a cousin’s week-old baby.  I think we’re all hoping that 2011 holds less death for everyone.

5. What countries did you visit?

The airport of Korea and Thailand for our honeymoon.  Though, every time we leave Oahu we jokingly say we’re “headed back to the states.”

6. What you like to have in 2011 that you lacked in 2010?

Like Linda, I would love  a shorter commute.  I only work 3 days a week for 6 hours each day and yet I’m gone from home for 10 hours each day.  It’s exhausting. 

7. What dates in 2010 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

Without a doubt, the day Wes and I got married – August 14, 2010.   September 24th because of the triathlon.  December 12th because of the marathon.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?

Jeez.  Getting married and staying relatively calm throughout the process.  Running a marathon because 26.2 is so many miles. 

9. What was your biggest failure?

Every time I lost my temper over some bullshit issue that, for the most part I can’t even remember. 

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

Nothing serious.  Barely a cold.  Aches and such from races. 

11. What was the best thing you bought?

Our bed.  A king size bed in Hawaii is a must.  It’s just too hot to be scrunched in a queen size bed with another person.  Also, our puppy. 

12. Where did most of your money go?

The dog and our wedding & honeymoon.  Also, rent.

13.  What did you get really excited about?

Hate to sound like a broken record, but: the wedding and honeymoon, our dog.   Moving to Hawaii.  And two engagements: Brette & Wiley in April and Ken & Jackie just last week.

14. What song will always remind you of 2010?

I won’t know that until the song comes on the radio in two months. 

15. Compared to this time last year, are you:

happpier or sadder? Happier, definitely.  Hawaii has been more welcoming than Orange County.  We have friends, a decent sized apartment (we have four visitors right now, and though cramped, no one has to sleep in sleeping bags on the living room floor!).  We’re married and we have a puppy who is the cutest.

thinner or fatter?  Thinner.  I’m not sure what happened, but when we moved to Hawaii I lost about 20 pounds.  Who knew that hating your city and sitting for 10-hour days in front of a computer will make you fat?

richer or poorer?  Money-wise, poorer since I’m not working.  Experience-wise, definitely richer.

16. What do you wish you’d done more of?

Camped and skied.  But we don’t have a ton of options in Hawaii. 

17. What do you wish you’d done less of?

Getting mad over stupid things.

18. How did you spend Christmas?

We had an early Christmas with Wes’ family in November.  We’re having a late Christmas with my family whenever their presents arrive (we’re all crossing our fingers for tomorrow).  Christmas day itself we went to a brunch at friends’ house and then made dinner for two couples at our place.

19. What was your favorite tv program?

Community.  Bones.  NCIS.  (I’m addicted to crime dramas.)  Hawaii 5-0 (I know it’s pretty awful but I love seeing my city on TV).

20. What were your favorite books of the year?

As much as I love to read, I hate this question.  My memory is not that great.  Perhaps having the Nook will help since I’ll have my entire library at my fingertips. 

21. What was your favorite music of this year?

I have a friend who sends out compilation CDs and those are my favorite.  I’m pretty bad about finding new music on my own.

22.  What were your favorite films of the year?

Having a puppy has really put a damper on my film-seeing life.  I think the only movies I saw this year were of the chic flick variety and those aren’t anyone’s favorite. 

23. What did you do on your birthday and how old were you?

My birthday was 4 days before my wedding and Wes had to go to the mainland early for work so the weekend before he surprised me with skydiving and it was awesome.  My actual birthday I worked, had lunch with my boss and flew to Portland.  I was 28 years old. 

24. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

A shorter commute.  A full-time job that I absolutely love.  To be able to take awesome pictures on my awesome camera.  Goal for 2011: learn what the hell all those buttons on my camera mean. 

25. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2010?

I’ll wear anything that doesn’t make me sweat as soon as I step outside.  Fashion in Hawaii has sort of gone out the window in favor of not melting when I walk outside.  So: skirts, shorts, dresses.  Lots of wearing my hair up.

26. What kept you sane?

Running.  My puppy (unless she was making me crazy).  Wes.  Writing.  Swimming.  Cooking.

27. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2010?

One that I feel like I’ve learned often and then promptly forgot: nothing matters except what matters.  Basically: stop letting all that little stuff get to you because it doesn’t matter.  Focus on the important things because they do matter.

Happy New Year, All.