Post Bonnaroo, Pre-Outer Banks...

Greetings from Newport Blues. I'm at my good friend Jamie's house after a late night out. Got to see a bunch of friends last night... it was a great time. Still recovering from the phenomenon they call Bonnaroo.. what an adventure that was! I just have to recap some of that experience...
Thursday afternoon I arrive in Nashville carrying my sleeping bag, pillow, and large duffel bag. Turns out the friends I was meeting (who were driving in) were way behind schedule and therefore not arriving at the festival for 6 or so hours after me. What was I supposed to do with all of my stuff in the middle of a farm in rural Tennessee for that long? Well, luckily, I met some guys from Richmond who gave me beers and food and let me hang out with them at their campsite for the duration! They were great people and whenever I download my pics I have to get some of them to them. Camped in my friend Kurt's tent for 4 days.. not too bad except you HAD to get up at 7 am b/c of the heat and then there were no showers to be had. Well, you could pay $10 for a shower, but that didn't seem worth it to me since I would have been filthy again within hours. I didn't have a real shower from Thursday am to Monday pm. I was pretty nasty! Now for the music... Stevie Nicks joined Tom Petty for several songs which was a treat. Bonnie Raitt put on a fabulous show. Elvis Costello, Damien Marley, Radiohead, and Donavan Frankenreiter put on great sets as well. But my favorite was Beck!! He really put on a theatrical extravaganza.

Bonnaroo

Let the fun begin! I am having Lisa's bday thingy this evening and then leave for Bonnaroo in the morning. It looks like it is not supposed to rain this weekend in Manchester, TN, so that is a good thing. I am not the biggest camper in the world but I am going to try to be a trooper. I have to pack!! My body is just about on east coast time. I never adjust as quickly as I would like.

Got to see Gavin and Katie a bunch since I've been home. They are sooo big! I will post pics of us in the Outer Banks after we go next week.

May your days be sunny and your nights be restful. I have to get going on my preparations!!

Happy early Father's Day.

Aloha, Susie :)

And now the latest from Kihei..

A cow fell off of a cliff at nearby Hookipa beach yesterday! There are these herds of cattle that graze on this cliff with a really scenic view of the popular windsurfing beach called Hookipa (about 30 minutes from here). Yesterday, a friend from work told me that one of the cows fell off the cliff, therefore closing the beach. Why? Because the sharks were having a feeding frenzy. Scary! How random is that? All I kept thinking was that the cow that was standing next to the one that fell was probably like, "He was just here.. where'd he go?" Crazy, huh?!

I took off today to clean my old place and unpack a little at my new place. Jack has settled down after a rough time last night. I left him on the deck while I went to the grocery store (that is what I agreed to do when I leave the house) and while I was there my new landlord called. Apparently Jack had been incessantly barking and the neighbors had called to complain. Great first impression on our first night here! I am now paranoid that when I go to work tomorrow he might do it again. The only thing I can come up with is that he was freaked out in a new place and just barked for attention. He usually doesn't bark unless it's AT something and even then it's usually pretty short lived. I am hoping this won't happen again. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

One more week of school! I have lots of work to do here and at work, and then I leave on the 10th for VA. Will get to celebrate Lisa's birthday the day before her actual bday by going to see Kevin and Randy play at the Yorktown Pub. Then I'm off to Tennessee on the 15th for Bonnaroo. I hope I haven't gotten in over my head on that whole venture.

Well, it's back to my boxes. I have to sit on the lanai to check my email b/c my modem doesn't pick up a signal inside. Oh well. At least it works outside!

Aloha to you, Susie :)

I am moving!

I got the new place!! Yipeee!! I am soooo excited! I am going tomorrow to meet with my new landlords to sign/go over the lease. I will post pics as soon as I can. Now you have to come visit me for sure!! What an improvement in location, size, view, and I don't have to get a roommate!! I am soo happy. Now I just have to work out the details with my current landlords and my new roommate. They are selling the place, but said they wouldn't close until august when he leaves. I can't wait to get things all straightened out. They want me in the new place June 1, and I leave for VA June 10. I'll probably have stuff in both places until I get back. My new landlords leave in July for a house swap in Australia, and the people from Australia will be staying in the main house upstairs from where I'll be living. (The ohana is underneath the main house with the same view and lanai as the upstairs!) Nice neighborhood, near a fenced in dog park (of course I have to go when no dogs are there!) and very close to the beaches I like the most. I'll be able to ride my bike (I can't really right now), I won't be apartment living (no barking dog downstairs all the time), and Jack will have plenty of space to roam on the lanai (deck).

Tonight we went to Little Beach. A nude beach during the day, but on Sunday nights they have this drum circle/fire dancing thing where most of the people are clothed (a good thing!) This is only the 2nd time I've gone and it was really cool. I didn't like the fact that they had some small children twirling baton with fire on the ends, but I guess they have practiced a lot. It just made me nervous.

Gotta go finish my book and crash out. Happy Monday to you!

Cross your fingers

I am REALLY hoping that I get this new place that I'm going to look at tomorrow morning. I'm trying not to get my hopes up b/c I'm not sure if they are going to allow a pet, but it's hard not to. The place is 800 sq. ft., one bedroom, has a 500 sq. ft. lanai (deck), has an OCEAN VIEW, and is ridiculously cheaper than any other place with it's attributes! I play tennis with the woman who owns it, and she is discussing the possibility of a pet with her husband. They just had 10 yr. renters move out (I assume they didn't have a dog). PLEASE let this work out! I'm working with my current land lord to make arrangements for my roommate to stay here if I get it. I REALLY HOPE I GET THIS PLACE!!

I'm reading The Secret Life of Bees. I am really enjoying it! Playing tennis tomorrow and Sunday (doubles and then singles). Going out with Paulette Kundis tomorrow night (my high school friend, Jason's, wife who is from here and visiting her parents this week). I'll be home in three weeks. I can't wait to see everyone!

Ciao for now!

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all the mommies. I got to talk to my mom and my stepmom today, but it would have been nice to have seen them! Oh well, in a few weeks I'll be home and I can hug them then.

I had a big singles match today in Wailea. It was such a great match.. I ended up losing in the 3rd set tie breaker which was a bummer, but I was happy with how I played. I wanted to win!!

This weekend was super lowkey. I needed it. I broke down and bought a stereo for my miata.. the cheapest one I could find at walmart- $55.00! My stereo kept dying and the old 'bang it with a screw driver' trick just stopped working. Now I have to figure out how to put it in.

Katie was so cute on the webcam today. She kept waving at me and showed off by dancing for me too. Apparently she takes after her Auntie Susie and loves music. Smart girl.

Tom, a new 3 month renter, moves in tomorrow and my current roomate, Kristine is mvoing back to California. Her contract is up at the nursing home where she works. Tom ironically lived here when he was younger and went to the elementary school where I teach. He will be a senior at Virginia Tech next year (Mike is elated) and is here doing an internship at the Research and Tech center for Haleakala (http://www.nps.gov/hale/). His dad used to be the head of the observatory there and his mom is a writer who runs the Writer's Conference in Wailea every year. I really would love to go to that conference so maybe we can pull some strings!! Most importantly, he LOVES dogs and is going to watch Jack (with enthusiasm) while I am on vacation on the mainland!! That makes me so happy to know that he will be very well taken care of. :)

I better go get my stuff ready for the morning. Hope all is well in your world. I am planning to get together with Jason Kundis's (high school friend) wife and kids this week. My co-teacher graduated high school with her (ironically) so we are all getting together.
Have a great week! Aloha, Susie

Monk seal in Kihei!

(Me, Matt, and Ashley - two friends who are moving off island next month!)
I was walking on the beach road yesterday with some girls and we stopped to talk to a lifeguard that one of them knew, and he told us there was a monk seal on the beach resting. We checked it out.. it was cool! He was just hanging out basking in the sun!! Apparently they do that every now and then, but I had never seen one do it.

Making my plans for my trip to the Mainland. Four days in Tennessee, a week in the Outer Banks and the rest in VA. Can't wait. Someone at work said we have 18 more days at school!! :) Sounds good to me!

Well, I'm gonna go for now. Have a great day.

Much aloha, Susie

Sea urchin

You haven't lived on Maui until you've had sea urchin spines in your toe. Today I went tubing on a little speed boat and had a blast. When we were done, we swam to shore. On the way in, I kicked something (I thought was coral). Nope. A sea urchin. Everyone had remedies. Urine. Vinegar. All I knew was it hurt like hell. Now my toe is purple (dye) and ugly. Damn the bad luck.

I'm playing my last mixed double's tennis match tomorrow (I hope). Not sad to see this league end as it was pretty lame. Looking forward to a ladie's league that starts next week.

I'm so exhausted. I just had to write about my random accident. Good night and good luck.

Kokua!!

Aloha! I know I have been really slacking on this blog. I just had to write after the past week. Went to the Kokua Fests on both Maui and Oahu this past week. WOW. A few local bands, Ben Harper, Jack Johnson, Willie Nelson (surprise appearance from Damien Marley) all on the same stage 2 times in the same week!! It was probably my favorite show of all time (outside of a strickly Ben show of course)!! I have my music fix for now. These shows will have to hold me over until Bonnaroo. No problem. Flew on an eight seater puddle jumper (thank you Jordan) and stayed downtown with my roommate and two girls from CA for the Oahu show. Met some crazy guys at Duke's (one of them had a shirt on that said "I feel a sin coming on..") and ended up spending most of the weekend with them (they were going to the concert too). They were pretty funny guys. The girls I roomed with were major LA drama chicks but for the most part I could deal with them. They were "dose" people. You know, you can only take them for a little bit at a time. Then you need a break!

Anyway, gotta get some rest so I better go. Hope to hear from you soon.

Malama pono, Susie :)

Where is the sun?

I know I won't get any sympathy from mainlanders, but the weather has been soooo crappy here for sooo many weeks. My friend, Hagen, is due in later this evening, and I hope the weather takes a turn for the better!! I wanna go to the beach!!

I am off all week (spring break) and looking forward to some R & R. At the very least I'm looking forward to my alarm clock NOT going off for 9 consecutive days. :) Of course, Jack will want to go out early every day, but I'm hoping to convince him to wait a little bit!!

My roommate is working out nicely. We don't see each other much so it works out nicely. She is considerate and clean which is a bonus of course.

This has been a super low key weekend so far. I think the weather is getting me a little lazy. I went to the gym and the grocery store and that's it all weekend! I'll be all over this island this week with Hagen, so I'm enjoying the calm before the storm (I hope I don't mean that literally). There was a tornado on a neighboring island earlier this week (Lana'i). So far we've just had ran and overcast skies here. But I'm over it!!

Talked to Gavin, Lisa, and Katie for a little bit earlier. They had been at Dad's house visiting Dawn and family who were in town for the weekend. If anyone took pictures, send some to me!!

Oh yeah, someone asked me for the link to the local newspaper, so here it is: http://www.mauinews.com/default.aspx. It is worse than the "Daily Stress" as far as content!!

Bye for now, Susie

Sharks, boats, visitors

Greetings from paradise! I have had a few complaints about my new island attitude towards my blog. "No worries... " "I'll do it later..." "I'm too lazy to download pics from my camera..." These are a few of my best excuses for my lameness. Now it's overcast and I drank too much yesterday so I don't feel like exherting much more energy then this, so here it goes! The latest happenings on Kihei: 2 shark attacks in two weeks (one a free diver whose torso was found the next day, one teenager in TWO feet of water whose leg was bitten), a Pacific Whale Foundation boat (think PETA for Whales) ran over a mama whale and her calf (they apparently are okay although I've heard conflictual info. on them), and the sun is on haitus. It has been sunny exactly three days in so many weeks. I need some sun!! I know I'm not getting any sympathy from you mainlanders. Although I have heard the weather in the BLUES has been pretty good lately. Cool.

I went on a sunset sailing trip yesterday with Kurt and Steve (Kurt's boss) and two colleagues of theirs. We had a blast although it was a rude awakening when the bill came for our drinks at the end of the cruise (we thought they were included in the cost of the trip)! Thankfully I wasn't buying so the awakening wasn't as rude for me. While we were underway, a huge whale swam under the middle of the boat (between the long thingies that keep the boat afloat..I don't know what they are called- no comments Ethan), sprayed his blowhole water all over these guys sitting in front of me, and came out the other side. It was bizzarely cool!

Visitors have been coming like crazy since early February. Of course I love it! Linda and Bob Burgess will be here (just for a day) on the 21st, and Hagen is coming for my spring break on the 26th for a week. I just found out that my friend Jordan (a pilot for Pacific Wings--a small airline) can get me tickets to Oahu, Hawa'i, Kuai or Lanai for 60 bucks roundtrip! SAWWEET. They are usually like $180. No offense, Jordan, but I hope you don't find a job off island for a little while.
This brings new possibilities for island hopping!

Well, I've rambled long enough. Hope things are going your way in your world. Be in touch when you can. Here are the latest pics I've posted.. they are from my mom's trip here...

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/tennisuz/album?.dir=96a3&.src=ph&store=&prodid=&.done=http%3a//pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/tennisuz/my_photos

Malama pono (take care)-

Susie :)

Whale Watching

Aloha to you. Went whale watching on a Pacific Whale Foundation boat today. It was sweet! Apparently we were out at the right time because we ended up seeing these four males "competing" for a female whale. We watched them for over an hour and it was amazing. They looked like they were showing off!! I'll attach pics when we get them downloaded.

I also played my first match in this new mixed double's league in Wailea today. It was good but the guy I played with was a goob. Dad and Maggie came to watch and then we went to check out some sights in the area. We went to a black sand beach I'd never seen.. it was pretty cool. Not as cool as I thought it'd be, but pretty good. The sand was more dark brown than black.

Dad and Maggie leave on Monday. I've enjoyed having them here. I also got to hang out with Karen and Bill Hargette a few times last week. They were visiting about 45 minutes north of here. We had a great time!

Retail therapy

I know I'm not going to get any sympathy from anyone on the mainland, but it has actually been chilly here yesterday and today. The highs have been in the 70's! Today the wind blew hard most of the day and it was too cold for my early surf lesson! Waaahh. My mom is coming to see me this Tuesday for 2 weeks. I'm so looking forward to it. I talked to her earlier and she was watching Gavin and Katie. Gavin was busy doing "man chores" as he called them with Grandfather, and also got to make cupcakes with Gramma. I haven't seen them on the webcam for awhile.. (hint, hint, Lisa..).

Jack got a much needed bath today and is therefore shedding like crazy. I am going to shave that dog one of these days. Give him a few days and he'll be nice and dirty again. My friend Tanya just got a puppy and she's so cute! I don't miss those puppy days though. Cleaning up pee and poop all over the house- fun!

I went to Wailuku (about 20 minutes away) to get my hair cut at his guy Geoff's (he pronounces it Joff) house earlier today. Believe it or not he talked me into not getting my hair cut! He has a 'vision' for my hair he says and wants it to grow out a little bit. We'll see if I can stand it for 3 more weeks as he suggested! Instead I went to the mall and got my retail therapy fix.

Well, I guess I'll sign off for now. Keep in touch when you can. Aloha to you!

Ben Harper on Maui!!

ALOHA to you. I am in a pretty darn good mood! I just found out that Ben Harper is playing on Maui in April!! :) I love Ben. (if you don't know that I'm obsessed with him, maybe we should talk more often!) Here's the website: http://www.kokuafestival.com/ . Hoping to get front row when the presale happens this weekend. Also, my friend Tanya took me surfing yesterday and it was so awesome!! I surprised myself because I was able to stand up pretty quickly! It was my first time and the waves were pretty wimpy, but it was so much fun!! I can't wait to go again.

Tomorrow, I'm looking at a studio that's for rent. Hopefully it is as sweet as it sounds on paper. It will be at least $300 cheaper than I'm paying right now and has a little fenced in yard for Jack. :) We'll see.

Got to play tennis in this round robin social thing on Sunday. I wasn't sure if they were going to keep it up b/c the man whose house it's at passed away in December. He was such a neat guy. His last name is Van Steen and he coached tennis right up until the end. His wife decided to keep the tradition going. I always meet such nice people at these things.

My mom's coming in 2 weeks to visit. :) Can't wait to show her around. If I move into the studio, it will be tight quarters, but I have to try to cut back on my expenses for sure. I have to figure out which days to take off to maximize on her visit.

I hope things are going well in your world. Be in touch.

The Back Way to Hana

Greetings from paradise (or so they say)! Howzit? Hope you had a good long weekend... I did but of course it's over too quickly. Spent a bit of it with this new guy, Devin, that I met Friday. He took me the back way to Hana.. a sweet ride. I didn't see Gomer Pyle or Kris Kristoferson(they live there) but I did see a bunch of locals that look like they've eaten too much Kulua Pork. (huge guys- teeth optional)

Hagen is finalizing her plans to visit me on spring break!! I can't wait to show her around. Jamie says he's coming then too, but we'll see.

This is a short one.. I have to run. Ciao, Susie :)

Nothing much going on

It's Thursday afternoon and I just finished lunch. Thankfully my new student has stopped crying long enough to take a nap. My patience was really getting a workout today!

I have been looking for a new place to live that is cheaper and allows dogs, but so far, no luck. I don't want to have to get another roommate! A yard or downstairs lanai for Jack would be great... I'm sure the place won't be as nice, but this $1400 a month is killing me!

Looking forward to the 3 day weekend. I have a training in Kahului on Thursday, and we don't have students on Friday b/c it's a teacher workday! Now that's my kind of week! Mom is coming to visit on Feb. 8 (my bday) for two weeks. I can't wait!! It will be so great to show her around and to just have her here.

I'm getting back into the swing of going to the gym. I kinda fell off the wagon a little before the holidays unfortunately.. Now girl scout cookies are coming!!

Signing off for now...

The longest flight...

I’m somewhere in the friendly skies on my way back to Maui after two weeks in the Blues. I am trying to keep a good sense of humor, but I may have lost most of it sitting on the runway at O’hare for 3 g.d. hours. Something about storms and then needing to refuel.. I’m just glad to only have 6 hours left on this delightful trip. I may have a more positive attitude had I gotten some sleep in the past 3 days!! Friday night I saw the Wailer’s at the Norva. Good show. The best show I almost didn’t see. I met Jamie and a few of his buddies from work down there, just to find out the show was sold out. Jamie and I headed to Havana’s for a beer and to come up with a way to get me in. I had to DRAG him away from the bar after meeting two attractive girls from Brazil. I almost just took his ticket. I don’t think he would have noticed. My fav songs were “Who the Cap Fit” and “Natural Mystic.” Left my car in the parking garage and rode home with Jamie’s friends. Proceeded to get very little sleep thanks to Jamie’s snoring and Sunny’s obsessive licking habit (Sunny is his dog!). After talking on my cell phone too loudly and trying to figure out how to make a cup of coffee for his snoreness, he was up and we were on our way to the parking garage. Half way there, I was reading the paper and he was smoking (which he says he was quitting today, by the way) and he made the comment about a de ja vous from our LONG trip to Key West. Man, that makes me greatful to be on an airplane right now just thinking about that car ride. What a nightmare! But I digress..

New Year’s Eve was great fun. Jamie cooked yummy grub and had people at his house. The usual 12 guys to 2 girls. I was able to double my cd collection between Jamie and Greg letting me download music to my laptop!! Greg was cool.. first time I’d met him-a friend of Laura’s Carl. Fun guy. I need to get his email addy from James. I accidently took his Rage Against the Machine cd home in my laptop. I was going to make him some cds anyway.. Also got to chat with Pat Cox about Maui –he lived on Oahu for several years. We went to Tapas (it was pretty slow) and then to the Coxs’ house. Got about 4 hours sleep that night (no thanks to Sunny). Yesterday when I left, they were cracking open a little hair of the dog and settling into the couch for all day football. Too bad I had to miss that. My head was grateful for it this morning though!

Overall, the trip home was great. The weather wasn’t too cold (60 on Christmas Eve) and I got to see family and friends. It went by so quickly and I probably put 500 miles on my Honda trying to spread my time here and there. Katie is so damn cute. Ryan, Tyler and Gavin were great too of course. I got to see Olivia and Kimberly for a little bit yesterday. Too cute. I didn’t get to see Billy as planned… I was bummed about that. I’m petty sure he was too. I told him he just has to get out to Maui that much quicker now. Other highlights besides just seeing everyone: mom’s cooking, no work, sleeping in, and no Kihei dust. My feet were actually clean for almost two weeks!! Thanks to a pedicure gift from Gina, I am ready to put my ‘slippah’s’ back on in style. Mom hooked me up with several cute outfits. Thanks to TJ Maxx having leftover summer clothes on major sale!!

Hoping to get some good news about the state of my position at Kihei El. for next school year. Hopefully something can happen so I can stay at that school. I will get my resume out to the early intervention program in the next few weeks. I’m scheduled to take this PLT Praxis test this Sat. that Hawaii Dept. of Ed. requires. I hope it’s as easy as everyone has said it is. I’m pau (finished) with taking standardized tests.

Tom (the anesthesiologist) is due back to Maui today too. I’m sure I’ll hear from him this week. Kim Wade asked why I’d need him to have an edge when he is an anesthesiologist! (If you know me well enough to be reading my blog, you know I’m looking for a nerd with an edge!!).

My battery is running on major ‘E’ and I’ve rambled long enough. Look forward to the Top Ten reasons it was good to be on the mainland!!

Merry Christmas to you!!

Happy Holidays!! I hope you are getting some good family time in! I am not freezing to death like I thought I would be! Yesterday it was 60 degrees and today it's in the 50's!! The links below are You Know You're Celebrating Christmas in Hawaii when... and a recipe for a Mango Cake.. Yummmm!! Enjoy and Mele Kalikimaka to you!


http://www.melekalikimaka.com/customs2.htm

http://www.melekalikimaka.com/recipes/mangocake.htm

12/18/2005

Greetings from Maui! Hope you are as ready for Christmas as I am. Especially the part where I don't have to work. :) The long term sub for my co-teacher has worn out her welcome (actually she did that on Day 1) and it's time for her to go! Yesterday was my nephew, Gavin's, 4th bday. I was on speaker phone today to help sing Happy Birthday to him. I miss him!! I get in Thursday morning (an overnight flight- fun fun!). I'm trying to get up at 3 am on Wed. morning so I'll be able to sleep on the plane. I may have to have a few cocktails at the airport in Oahu. Oh darn.

Jack is catching on to my approaching departure. I pulled out my suitcases and he started acting strange. I tried to tell him that he'll be with Kurt and get to go to work with him, but he didn't listen! At least he doesn't have to endure an airplane ride any time soon! That would be horrible.

We had an 86 year old lady, Miss Tutu, for a substitute sub on Friday (Tutu is the Hawaiian word for Grandma). This woman was spunky and fun!! It was half way thru the day when I realized that she was the same woman that Kurt met at a bar one night! HA HA! Who says it has to be a bitch to get old?? I will request her next time I'm out for sure. The kids loved her!

Well, I'll sign off for now. I look forward to seeing friends and family really soon!! :) Aloha.

Mele Kalikimaka

It's almost Christmas! I'm at home sick (ughh) and kinda bored. I've had no energy for like 3 days now. Is it time to go to VA for the holidays yet? I am happy to have my condo back to myself (my roommate moved back to Canada last week). Not that I was glad to get rid of her, just to have my own space back.. I really have to find a place after the new year that is more affordable. If you know anyone with a condo in Maui, I'll be glad to housesit for free!!

Jill got a new puppy. She named her Luci!! She is soo cute. Here's a picture of her sweetness...

Finally.. I got the pics of Willie. Long story, but I didn't have my camera and this girl agreed to email some to me... and she finally did! My Aunt Sharon LOVES her some Willie, so I was glad to get them. (I'll have to come back and post the pics b/c I'm having troubles with it right now!!)

Back to work tomorrow.. I've been awake now for 5 consecutive hours without a nap, so I'm hoping my energy is back for good!! I wonder how things went in my classroom today. Or maybe I don't want to know!! I'm sure it was fine.

I'm going to try to go to the Billabong Pro Maui (just to watch of course!) whenever it happens( http://www.billabongpro.com/maui05/ ). It's a womans' surf competition up in Kaanapali.. it was supposed to happen today but was postponed due to small waves. I haven't been to a competition here so I'm looking forward to it.

Anyway, I haven't been writing on here much so I wonder if anyone will even read this!! Cheers!