Dont Forget to Stop

I Was Stumbling tonight and i came across an article about what we miss in our lives, simply because we have places to be and people to see. What a shame it is that in our everyday lives we are often too caught up in our own little worlds that we cant "stop to smell the roses." Even then if we do sniff those prickly plants, what about the plumeria? or the daisy's? What about seeing the sun setting beautifully? or noticing the beauty in the world? How many people walk around, cocooned within their own problems and troubles, i know i do. I think that we as a people should really take a break, give ourselves a little more time to get someplace, so that we can take a look around every now and then, and actually notice whats going on around us.

101 (almost) Things I Have learned since August 19th

Hmmmmmmm  I was instructed to compose another thrilling chapter of this saga that is Bens blog, but I don't really know what to say. Life is going pretty good, school is school, you know. Not much really goes on around here, just a lot of hanging out. This weekend were gonna have a

 barbecue on the beach (one of the plus sided to living in Hawaii) and I''m pretty sure I'm gonna go to the Angels and Airwaves concert in December. As for Thanksgiving I do believe I will be joining a friend of mines family for dinner, because my roommate is going to his girlfriends house. Lets see... it looks a lot like Washington here some days, that is rainy, windy and cloudy... but then its also like 75 degrees out.

Pretty much not a lot of new stuff happening

I have longer hair and glasses now

And a pretty gnarly beard.... No Shave November

Sometimes I wear them

Now its time for a wonderful, magical list of mystical happiness... actually its just a list of things I have learned thus far.

And just for the record, items with a asterisk * I have not myself done, only witnessed.

1. A Jar of peanut butter = Dinner, breakfast, snack, lunch
   
2. A bag of cookies= Dinner and breakfast
   
3. Yes we have a pool... that doesn't mean anyone would swim in it
   
4. You will get in trouble for jumping of the 3^rd floor lanai (thats balcony for all you mainlanders) into aforementioned pool*
   
5. The 2^nd and 4^th floors are off limits too*
   
6. It can rain and you can get wet from an apparently blue clear sky
   
7. If you put your hand in something sticky... wash it. Immediately.
   
8. Don't bother trying to catch the door if the wind decided to slam it. Just lay back and cover your ears.
   
9. Smell gas? Dont bother calling the fire department, you'll just get in trouble*
   
10. Turns out our stoves suck
    
11. In fact that is likely the first thing you will smell if you come to Kalo Terrace.
    
12. No matter what your (Ex) -roommate says, dog and human poop do not look alike
    
13. The ending of Halo 3 is not worth burning your pizza
    
14. Playing Frisbee all day in the sun, while shirtless, without sunscreen will lead to a severe burn that will eliminate most if not all of your tan.
    
15. The beach is fun in the rain, as long as there is big waves
    
16. Black people make about 12 times as many race jokes as anyone else
    
17. Waikiki is nice, but full of old people and Asians
    
18. IHOP is a funny place
    
19. Sometimes is is necessary to consume 2 dinners
    
20. Quarters are like gold
    
21. 7-11's here actually have some alright food
    
22. No one cares what time you swim in Waikiki
    
23. But there are jellyfish if you go out far enough*
    
24. These jellyfish can land you in the hospital*
    
25. Working out sounds like a great idea, till its time to walk all the way there
    
26. You need a towel to work out
    
27. If you have to walk back to get your towel, you are usually not in a good mood
    
28. Naps are not just a kindergarten thing
    
29. If your roommate gets drunk and becomes a drunken tornado, put him in his room, and lock the door... he wont be able to figure it out.
    
30. Biking seems like it would be a good idea
    
31. Until you realize how many hills Hawaii actually has.
    
32. A 6 pack of juice is 2 dollars
    
33. And it is about the best 2 dollars you can spend
    
34. Classes are cold
    
35. Bring a jacket to class
    
36. Especially to Hamilton Library
    
37. 3^rd graders use more technology than I do.
    
38. Chocolate gets scary here... very melty
    
39. Smelling good doesn't always mean you're clean.
    
40. Waking up isn't the worst part of the day.
    
41. Realizing you're late to class is.
    
42. Back scratches do wonders.
    
43. Massages do miracles.
    
44. Glow sticks have glass in them.
    
45. Glow stick juice smells like yuck.
    
46. You can turn any room into a Rave pretty easily
    
47. You need more than 4 people to have a good rave.
    
48. Elbows are evil.
    
49. So are fingernails
    
50. And women
    
51. And small dogs
    
52. And ninja cats that follow you home... well actually they are pretty cool
    
53. Clean your dishes right away... if you let them sit the get nasty
    
54. Breakfast actually helps you think on minimal sleep
    
55. 2 Eggs, slice of Spam and some katsup... Breakfast of Champions
    
56. There is a suspicious lack of bathrooms in Hawaii...
    
57. Some parts of Honolulu can smell just like downtown Mazatlan, and thats not always a good thing
    
58. If you don't speak Pidgin, don't try. You just sound ridiculous
    
59. Say it like it looks, theres not many tricks, just long words
    
60. If you hide ducky, be prepared to suffer the consequences
    
61. Ukulele is pronounced “oo-koo- ley-ley”
    
62. Ancient Hawaiians thought incest babies were on a level with gods
    
63. Ancient Hawaiians had some strange customs
    
64. America wasn't/ isn't very nice to Hawaii
    
65. According to my religion teacher, Hinduism has gods named “Mr. India” and “Mrs. Moneybags”
    
66. Free food is amazing... take advantage of it
    
67. Same goes for buffet style places
    
68. The little old Asian communist lady on campus will never get rid of a newspaper or phamplet
    
69. You will sleep through class occasionally. It is inevitable.
    
70. You can know everything and fail a test. 
    
71. You you can know nothing and ace a test. 
    
72. Don't start a project the night before
    
73. Start at least 2 nights before
    
74. Energy drinks always in moderation
    
75. When the garbage moves on its own, get rid of it
    
76. And don't freak out, its probably the wind
    
77. Sometimes, you just feel dead
    
78. Sleeping on the beach for 4 hours is nice, but counter productive
    
79. Sand... its every where, and you cannot get rid of it
    
80. Late night infomercials very entertaining. Close your eyes and just listen
    
81. You will find yourself laying on the couch on a Saturday night with other people, watching said infomercial.
    
82. Manoa/University area it preeeeeety sketchy.
    
83. Learn what bus goes where, and check before you get on
    
84. “Dude” can be used in just about and situation; verb, adjective, noun, anything.
    
85. When your stomach is upset, eat more
    
86. Everyone sleeps in the comfy chairs in Hamilton
    
87. When it rains, people don't understand that I'm from Washington, it doesn't really bother us
    
88. White people are a minority.
    
89. Sand+headphones = new headphones.
    
90. Things go stale insanely fast
    
91. That means you will have to eat an entire box of Oreos in one sitting.
    
92. 101 is a large number
    
93. I think I may stop it here
    
94. I almost made it
    
95. O well
    
96. Maybe thinking about this ahead of time would have helped
    
97. Hmmmm....
    
98. Thats about all Ive got
    
99. Hah!
    
100. There
     
101. I made it!
     

Ahhhh... Life. Its fun isn't it? College... its everything I would expect, and at the same time, completely different. I love the life, its a fresh start and its refreshing, and yet at times it feels different than I thought it would. Life in Honolulu is so vibrant, and at the same time stagnant and still, it seems to be a place of infinite contradictions. 

What is this place? A paradise or white sandy beaches, with tourists all around? Or is it like Chinatown at night? A dark and scary place, and yet a place that so many are forced to live sleeping on the street. I know that its a city, and that it has different areas and parts, but it 

is such a sporadic and random feeling. I work at an elementary school where you walk out of the Cafeteria and you see Diamond Head framed by palm trees, I live in a little cinder block apartment on a back alley half an hour from the beach.

Life is just so unpredictable, and just when you think you could figure something out, another variable changes, weather its in you or something else? Doesn't matter.

For one thing, I did not see myself doing this much “stuff.” Like last weekend? Yeah, Waikiki Friday night at like midnight-ish, then feeding the homeless in Chinatown (crazy fun) on Saturday night till 2, Safeway at 3, then wake up at 530... thats am... 2 hours of sleep, to run the Susan G Komen “Race for the Cure.” Then a week of Midterms... and I don't regret any of it. I will admit, I am rather exhausted, and yet, I would do it all again in a heart beat. This life I dove headfirst into has been a pretty crazy trip, and I cant wait for the next chapter, or chunk, or thing to do, or whatever.

See? GoWithTheFlowology really worked out for me...

Honestly this has no real point, its just to get whats in my head out, as well as telling everyone how I'm doing and all that jazz. So yeah, Things are good, some of my roommates are moving out, so theres only gonna be 4 of us now. School is good... except for Macro Economics. This last week was Midterms, and yet I have 2 next week... go figure. Ive been teaching myself to play Ukulele (pronounced oo-koo-ley-ley to be authentic) for the past 2 weeks and id say I can play decently now... its really easy. Last Sunday was the official half way point for first semester, and in 2 months ill be seeing all'yall again. I'm really bad at returning letters and emails and the like, but I am working on it.... I apologize for my laziness. But with that warning in place... I like mail... Peace out, hope everyone is good.

God and Island Time

Today I find myself sitting in Glazers, my local coffee shop, sipping an Chai Latte that I honestly don’t have the money for, and contemplating “things. First, some background you should know that around 2-3 in the morning Jordan and I become very philosophical and random and occasionally there will be a real gem amidst all the randomness, and Sunday nights discussion kept me thinking for a while.  To be fair 

to all the other days, Sunday was the night we go to Pursuit (a college group at New Hope, ourchurch) and so we were already pretty introspective.  “God has a plan, but sometimes I think it moves according to island time,” and really, it works.  To bring where my mind is going, a scary prospect I know, even more into perspective this weekend we were camping at Kualoa Regional Park, and I 

was floating in the water discussing personal philosophies and I ventured that I was a GoWithTheFlow-ologist, and that is how I was gonna accept life and everything in it as it happened.  Now that’s not to say I will not do anything productive in my life, but I choose “not to sweat the small stuff” (there’s a mom-ism) and to let God shift the tide to where he wants me to go.

Another thing we did while camping was lie out and look at the stars.  Now anyone who has ever been away from the city lights knows that out where it actually gets dark, you can see some STARS, nothing like the pitiful 3 dots you can see in the city.  Laying out and learning about Jupiter or Saturn or Sparky (the name changed), and all the stars that start with the letter A, was a really fun time and yet I also realized that every one of the stars that I could see had a name or designation… there was a freaking lot of stars out there.  Lucky for us we didn’t bring a tent so we could sleep under said amazing stars, we just had an awning.  Did I mention that we were in Hawaii? That’s a tropical island.  It’s wet there.  It started pouring at about 4 or 5, just in time for us to catch an amazing sunrise, and then fall back asleep.  All in all I have no clue what I’ve really said, but that’s what I was thinking about… I like GoWithTheFlowology

A Month? Already?

Wow Ive been in Hawaii for just over a month now, and I honestly couldnt tell you what Ive done for a month. Lets see... my rooommate's name is Jordan, 

a 23 year old english major who is currently single and looking. The girl is one of 

my good friends Lauren, that is a picture from the trail up Diamond head.  The pic is pretty much who they are, in case you were wondering.  Ok my classes are Pscyh 100, Hawaiian Studies 107, Math 100, Intro to World Religions and Econ 130 (Macro).  I honestly dont know what Ive done for a month already.  Been on a few hikes, been to Waikiki a bit, and just hung around Kalo Terrace, my place. Im doing great, life is good.  Ill try to update this thingy often with pictures and whatever happens to pop in to my little ol' head.

This is because...

I am too lazy to actually email/call/message/contact everyone, and pretty much cause I'm lazy all together.  This is a blog that ill try to update weekly about my life and any crazy shenanigans that I may find myself in.  So sit down, buckle up and hold on to your hats ladies and gentleman, cause away we go!