Thursday, August 8, 2013

T Minus 65: Ohana

I'm back! Did you miss me?

Last week, because my editor was on the road stranding himself and my two babies in the middle of nowhere Kansas, I held off writing anything. I refuse to publish something without a second pair of eyes to read over it and double check that I am making sense!

This past week proved to be really productive, though.

Early in the week, I opened the post office box to find the certified copy of our marriage license from Ohio. It worked! The - cue the slightly less foreboding music - DMV accepted that as proof that my name changed when I got married and I passed the written test, something that worried me a bit, so...I took one more step towards becoming local. I have a drivers license with a rainbow on it!

Speaking of becoming local, that same day I met a lady at the bus stop. She seemed to be in a bad mood but she brightened up and started talking story with me. I'm sure you won't be surprised by this but she was super nice. As we parted ways, she hugged me and said, "Doncha worry sistah, you'll be loved here. You'll be happy here. See ya 'round!"

Today, I was walking across the parking lot near the bus stop and I heard a voice yell out, "Hey, sistah!" I looked up to see my new friend, Amanda, at the bus stop waving her arm over her head, beautiful Hawaiian smile beaming from her face. I waved and yelled back. I love this place!

I will soon - well, in another week or so, have a comfortable bed to sleep on. I bought a bed frame from The Maui Bed Store, and I ordered a mattress from Amerisleep. The bed frame showed up yesterday and I set about assembling it. My tool "set" consisted of the allen wrench that came with the bed frame and a tiny multi-tool that frustrated me until I couldn't take it any longer. I headed out to Ace Hardware to buy a real screwdriver.

I also picked up a new can opener while I was out. Lesson learned: you get what you pay for. The first can opener I bought a couple weeks ago turned out to be worthless. I suppose I should have expected that since I only paid $1.00 for it. I had a can of clam chowder I wanted for dinner and I needed a new can opener if I was going to get to eat it.

The can of clam chowder came from an unplanned trip to the grocery. I've been ill the past few days. My Maui Momma knew I wasn't feeling well and she called Sunday to tell me she was stopping by because she had a few things for me. She brought me a can of chicken soup, some honey and lemons for my tea, and a small potted rose bush. She took me out for soup at a vietnamese place called BA LE. The soup was excellent, and there was a lot of it so I have leftovers for a couple meals.

After lunch, she commented that my fridge and cupboard were too bare and that we were going to the grocery. I picked up a few things to feed myself with over the next few days and then she took me home. As bad as I was feeling, that was the extent of my endurance for the day. I needed rest.

Everyone around here makes you feel like you are part of their Ohana. It's great.

Back to yesterday, I finished up the assembly of my bed frame using my new screwdriver. I wish the new mattress were already here. The air bed I've been sleeping on has twice developed leaks that I've had to fix after it deflated during the night and left me sleeping on the floor. I originally thought about putting the air bed up on my new frame but I've since decided that is a bad idea. The slats on the frame have a few splinters, and I don't want to have to patch the air bed again!

Work continues to go well. I enjoy my shifts at the Lahaina location a lot more than I enjoy working at Ka'anapali. First, I can simply walk or bike to work. Second, the store is a lot busier so there is more to do. Third, I don't have to worry about the lack of a bus to get me home. Thankfully, this past week, my Maui Momma showed up both nights I closed to give me a ride home because she knew I wasn't feeling well.

The best news of the week, though, is that I submitted the paperwork for the puppies! I am so excited. This is one of the last big things to get done before I get to see my babies again. After paying for every possible service I could think of - overnight delivery, receipt signature required, delivery confirmation, tracking number, etc. - I dashed off a text message to The Hubby to let him know that the money orders were purchased and everything was on its way to the Agriculture office.

Now, I will continue my dosing up with the DayQuil and the NyQuil - that NyQuil stuff works and kept me peacefully asleep until after 9am this morning! - and resting to hopefully kick whatever bug this is in the butt once and for all. I work tomorrow morning and it would be nice to not feel miserable while I'm at the gallery.

So, back to laying around and watching Netflix as I doze in and out.

Aloha!

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