Oh, Hawaii.

“Why do you go away? So that you can come back. So that you can see the place you came from with new eyes and extra colors. And the people there see you differently, too. Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving.” 

-Terry Pratchett

 

Today marks a year since I've moved to Hawaii. I cried my eyes out as soon as my family was out of sight. Once on the plane, there was no holding those tears back. I was so angry at Nick for making me leave! Furious. As I stared out over the ocean with the tears running down my face I regretted ever considering calling Hawaii my home. I sat in silence the whole flight. If I wasn't crying, I was sleeping. I'm pretty sure I cried myself to near dehydration. Haha.

I've learned that this is my new life. This is my fault for marrying a Marine. No matter where you go, there's always some place you call home. And this Marine I married, really wanted to come home after five years. I respect that. I now understand it's his time to enjoy being at home like I did for my entire life. But now home has taken on a new definition. Home is... now our HOME.

Yep, we're homeowners! It isn't a dream home, but it's definitely a perfect starter home. 1272 sq ft of living space, three bedrooms, two and a half baths, two car garage with an extra parking stall on the side of the house... It isn't a fully detached home like we planned on getting, but with the real estate in Hawaii being super expensive and I not wanting to spend more than 400k (even though we did) I really wanted to stay frugal. Somewhat. Haha. The condo we bought is the most expensive one in the neighborhood. Yikes. I'm kind of angry about that, but as soon as I walk into the yard I remember just WHY it cost us so much. Haha. Anyway, here I am rambling about the house... There's so much more to update.

The wedding went well enough. Reserved half the grand ballroom for the Hawaii reception. Luckily, the people who reserved it before us had not made their security deposit for a month so they gave it to us. Helps that Nick's mother also knows all the planners there so they were more than eager to please us or lose business. 

The California one was.... a small bit of a disaster. For one, the catering company was retarded and overcharged us for not enough food even though the number of people we gave them was over what actually showed up. I also ended up passing out from the heat during photos. Hahaha. Wearing all the traditional Korean garb overheated me. I just remember a tear rolling down my cheek... and then I was waking up on the floor practically naked with a bunch of ladies fanning me. Yuuuppp.. Not one of my most proudest moments, but definitely wish someone had recorded it! Last thing I needed was to be carted off in an ambulance. I manned up and walked out of there! With some help of course. Hahaha.

I feel like now we can actually START our married life. The house was just to start. And it's in a PERFECT neighborhood to have children. Yeah, this youngin' has been thinking about kids. I've always wanted them. Now almost everyone around me is expecting or just had a baby. But for me, I know that's not going to be for another... at least five years. Although the pressure is on, this body ain't poppin' no babies out ANYTIME soon. Unless the big man upstairs surprises us(:

Got a job at Coach, the bag store. Could definitely be better but as a starter job, I think I get paid fairly well. More than some of the others anyway. I work as one of their translators. I'm just so awesome with customer service I can't seem to stay away from jobs that revolve around customer satisfaction (sarcasm). I really want a second job though. Something more, ME. Maybe at a local pet store or something. But I know I really need to go back to school. I've been putting it off for way too long.

I got accepted into both Universities I wanted to attend. Hawaii Pacific University and University of Hawaii Manoa. HPU offered me a scholarship, but being that it's a private university I'd still have to pay half that tuition out of pocket. Not to mention, it's on the other side of the island. The University of Hawaii Manoa campus was just more budget friendly. UHM is only an hour's drive; half the drive time to HPU. (Granted, we did think about buying a house on the other side of the island so I'd be closer to the school and he closer to work. But I would've had to quit my job.) But I still need to get a medical clearance. My mother misplaced my immunizations record during her move. I should really get on that.... :/

What else has happened.... I guess that's all the big points. Oh, my parents moved. Leslie's coming to visit next month and Stella the month after. Sometime in between I hope to get in a trip home. Airfare is so cheap right now. :) I'm also SCUBA certified! So I plan on diving up north in Cali when I go visit.

I miss you, Cali. But this girl will be back soon enough.

Nick's promised me a home in Cali, too. He's requesting to get stationed back in CA so I can be close to my parents. We might just bounce back and forth for the rest of his time in the Corps. Hopefully, he'll get a chance to go to Korea so I have an excuse to visit. xD

Oh, Hawaii....