Hospitals, Circuses, and Yoga

Aloha all!

A few days after our last post, we paid a visit to the Emergency Room. After almost 6 hours, loads of drugs, every test taken on me, and an estimated $4500 later, no one knew what was wrong with me...

Let me back up...

On Saturday, February 5th, around 2:00pm at work I got sudden sharp pains in my upper and lower abdomen. I just thought I was hungry. I was dizzy, light headed, nauseous, and sweating a lot. Again, I figured since my body was getting used to not having a break at work, I was just starving. After a well balanced dinner that usually does the trick, there was really no difference in the pain. NOT a good sign. I began using the heating pad and hoped it'd be better in the morning.

It wasn't. I worked the next day and the pain seemed worst when I was not moving, so I tried to keep busy. By God's grace, the restaurant got slow and they wanted to send someone home so the other servers could make more money. They ended up sending 2 people and I was able to go. I called the hubby, cried over the pain and went straight to the doctor's office within the Whaler's Village complex. He couldn't disgnose anything without a blood test but most signs pointed toward Appendicitus. The fact that I was not nauseous anymore, my appendix wasn't ridgid or hard to the touch, and that I had an appetite were signs that I did not have appendicitus.

The dilemma: T.S. Restaurants will provide health insurance for employees who work 20 hours or more a week, implimented AFTER 4 weeks of working 20 hours or more. I had only worked 2 weeks. SO go to the ER for a blood test that night to see if I actually do have appendicitus, becuase if you do have appendicitus- time is of the essence! OR wait until the next morning and go to the local blood test facility and wait for results (less expensive option). Where the appendix is located was not hard or ridgid at that point, and I thought I could bear through the next day. SO I glued myself to a heating pad and slept maybe 10 minutes that night.

We went to the get blood test early in the morning. Sadly it took 6 hours for results, and by that time the pain was so bad that we went to the ER for help anyways. Any slight movements, laughing, talking, even breathing hurt. On the way to the ER ( which is about 1 hour away, on the other side of the island) the doctor called with the results and said it came back NORMAL. A-Whaaaat??

The doctors gave me morphine for the pain ( :D ) with some anti-nausea meds so I just slept in between the tests. They did a blood test, urine test, CT scan, ultrasound, and an vaginal exam... After the CT scan, the Doc comes in and tells me from reading the results, it looks like I have a 3rd kidney... ummmmmmmm is that possible?? But not to worry, it's on my left side and the pain was dominantly on the right side so it shouldn't be causing the pain. Other than that the results were normal. I fell back asleep a little worried. The doctor came back in and said he talked with those who administered the CT scan and they said it's just that my left kidney is higher and a little misplaced than where it usually is. Well THAT's a relief! Haha... So I called my aunt who was waiting in the waiting room (Jonny had to head off to work) and told her what the doc initially said so I could hear her reaction. Now the running joke is I was high on morphine and imagining that the doc told me I have 3 kidneys! But it DID happen! He DID tell me that and left the room so it was real for about 10 minutes!!

More tests were done and the results came in and finally the doc came back and said I have a case of: we-don't-know-what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-you syndrome. Cool...

So with no insurance covering me, and with too much in our assets to be elligible for the state's charity program for those without health insurance: this mishap was just extremely inconvenient. If only my stomach waited a few weeks to freak out, I would of been covered with health insurance. Now, since I missed so many days of work I'm out of the running to get my insurance by the first of the month of March. The 4 weeks of 20 hours has to be consecutive to qualify. Not a big deal as long as that abdomen pain does not come back!



After 3 1/2 days straight of using the heating pad constantly. I have heat rash.
Even some scabs from too much heat.
BUT IT WAS THE ONLY THING THAT MADE ME FEEL BETTER!!!

But I can safely say that I feel ALL BETTER :) Hoooooray! Who knows what happened. Many people have told me that it is not that uncommon for young women to have intense abdomen pain but can't get a diagnosis. I just hope it doesn't come back. Because I don't know if it was something that I did, and how to NOT do it again!

Anywho: moral of the story- We are in Maui, enjoy it!

Updates:

Jon has just finished being trained as a server at Pineapple Grill for the afternoon shift. And as a busser at Plantation House, he's had to cover many shifts because 2 bussers were recently fired. Well, one was fired, a new guy was hired and after his first day he just said: Nah, I don't like this. I'm not going to work here.  Ummmm... okay. You'd think people would appreciate getting a job in this economy, but he threw away that job like last week's left overs! Anyway, Jon has worked a double 3 days in a row last week, and every day this week to get his server training done and make up for many bussing shifts at Plantation House. He's a hard workin boy, and a TIRED boy! We are hoping for his schedule to even out soon.



See the Whale fin pokin' out under the branch?



I'm loving my job. It's a bummer that my entire day is gone and the sun is almost down by the time I'm home from work, but the landscape is just gorgeous during the day. Being able to see the various colors of the ocean, the 2 islands of Molokai and Lani on the horizon, and the view of whales playing in the ocean flipping their fins and flapping their tails making cute white splashes. Apparently this is the slowest season for the restaurant in the past years, but is has been extremely busy since Valentine's Day weekend! Our manager mentioned we have been selling lunches to the same degree as before August 2007- before the economy crashed!

Since Jonny is working nights, and my abdomen no long hurts, I've ventured out for some fitness classes in the evenings. I've started going to a Zumba class hosted at a local Elementry School's cafeteria. I've offered to sub if needed, but I'm not yet interested in committing to teaching my own class. I've also gotten into yoga.

I took a yoga class back in college for a semester but I was in the middle of an 18 unit semester and I was too stressed out about my day to let myself relax. Now all I want to do is relax. Yoga will be so good for me. Although I was and am a dancer, I'm extremely stiff, and my previous injuries are always so sensitive because they have not properly healed or lossened up. I am so excited to heal with Island Spirit Yoga. It is a very different experience than the yoga classes I took in college and at 24 Hour Fitness. The teachers come around and help you feel the correct positioning and it has a much more spiritual aspect. Although I do not believe in the spiritual side of yoga, it still makes it so much more relaxing and calming. I just pray instead of meditating and "picturing myself smiling in front of myself and hugging myself..." I've loved every class I've gone to so far.

We have gotten very little time together, but we definiely cherish it when we do.

Reading on the beach

Friday night Jon got his night shift covered and we went out on a great date. First eating at Duke's Beach House (which is a T.S. Restaurant so I get 50% off). Then we went to Cirque Polynesia. It was entertaining (but not really worth the $70). The first few acts made mistakes, or didn't complete their trick so the rest of the entire show I was so nervous the whole time because I was afraid they were going to mess up again. Which is scary when they are spinning on a wire by their neck or walking on a tight rope and faultering. Ughhh! I guess the nervous reaction to every act made it more enertaining when they actually did complete the trick but it was scary for me! Then we went to Hula Grill for drinks and food. Great night out. Jon finally got to hang out and relax after so much work, and I got my hubby all to myself finally!






 Having fun at dinner...

 

 

Now for some picture story tidbits...



We house sit for my aunt at least once a month
 so I get my doggie and kitty fix

I spy a kitten... can you see her?
I heard a lot of rustling in the kitchen so I come in and see nothing. I started freaking out
 like it was an imposter! I hear more thumping and I come back in and search the pantry and nothing...
While I'm in the kitchen I closely examine and look up and see Kiko poking her head out of the decoration baskets. So funny.

 

I caught a baby gecko running through the apartment!

 He's so freaky when he scatters away, reminds me of a spider!

It's so funny seeing the cruise lines on the horizon. See the huge size difference
 between the normal boats and the cruise ship?!

  

I was invited to try out paddling either for recreation or on a competitive team.
Not sure if I will- I'm not really into manual labor. I dance my way to a fitter me :)

 

Unknown creature by my car. A HUGE moth?? A small bat?? A FREAKY butterfly?
Anyone know??

Well that's all for now! Make sure to "follow" the blog so you can get email notifications when we update the blog! Mahalo!

Maui No Ka Oi 

Settling In

Aloha to our new and improved blog! Become a follower by clicking the Follow button to the right --->

 We are finally settling into our new lives!



We went out picking up and turning in applications right away. We had interviews at Pineapple Grill, Outback Steakhouse, Plantation House, Hula Grill and one on one manager semi-interviews with many places while turning in applications. It was great experience for future interviews! I stopped in at Hula Grill a few times before I was able to finally talk to a manager as I turned in the application. And the timing was perfect! Apparently the day before I came in, they had just fired 2 employees! They told me to come back in at 3:00 for an interview! The first extensive interview went really well, the manager Vince was impressed by my past experience and ability to handle so many tables. I was honest that my alcohol beverage knowledge is quite low due to the fact that I just turned 21 and am not a big drinker. He went and got another manager to conduct my 2nd interview.That was with Will (who reminds me of my old manager Tony) and he was impressed by my high energy and personality. They then grabbed the General Manager named Orin to conduct the 3rd interview with me. We just kinda hung out and talked- he's awesome :) It was nice to get all 3 interviews done in one sitting and not have to come in multiple days! I got a call the next day at the beach from the Human Resources lady Christie offering me a job as a Daytime Barefoot Bar Server!! :)

Hula Grill is an oceanfront restaurant located in Ka'anapali in West Maui. It has a gorgeous outlook on the ocean and the sun sets directly across from the restaurant. I work in the Barefoot Bar which is named after the fact that many guests are actually barefoot because the ground in sand! We have a dinning room that has concrete as the ground but the popular (as you can imagine) seating area is in the sand. Have you realized after a full day of walking on the beach the next day you are sore in random areas? That's what happened to me after working for the first few days in the sand for a 5-7 hour shifts. My hip flexers, arches, calves, and "backside" were definitely sore!! How funny, wouldn't have expected to get a workout while at work!

View after dropping Jon at work

That same day, Jon went to his second interview at Plantation House and came home with a job! He was hired as a busser for the morning/afternoon shift. Plantation House is at the top of a gorgeous downhill golf course so you can see the ocean and the beautiful course from the restaurant!  The next day he went to a second interview at Pineapple Grill (where we had our in with Nane and Candy) and he was hired as a server's assistant for the evening shift. Pineapple Grill is also on a golf course. It was recognized as Maui's Best Restaurant in the Maui No Ka Oi magazine. His schedule has worked out for the most part with the schedules being fairly set. AND He still has his afternoons open to enjoy the Maui sun!

So we went out to celebrate our new jobs that we got in one week of arriving in Maui. God has definitely blessed us with these jobs and timing. We went to Umalu at the Hyatt.  It was delicious but my nachos were HUGE, and it was cold. I had to keep myself warm with the candle!

We bought a 2004 Honda Civic from the local dealership No Ka Oi Motors. It was underneath the price we were willing to spend and it drives well! it has little tiny dents and paint chips but it gives the car character and makes it obvious that we are locals since we don't have a sleek shiny car! We just picked up our Dodge Caliber that was shipped over to Maui last week, so finally we can get around to our jobs with out using buses or dropping off/picking up each other from work

Slowly but surely we got our apartment together:

We got a mattress and bedding.
 No need for a box spring or a bed frame... :) 

Microwave is very much needed.... for popcorn especially!

One of our few decorations (had to buy it behind the husband's back,
 he doesn't seem to think decor is important haha)

More decor

Futon



Fully equipt kitchen... except for a dishwasher. All hand washing :) LOTS of fun



Our Kmart cheapo dresser, but it gets the job done!

With my new Hula Grill server job, I had lots to learn. On my first day (picture shown on the left) I started by training with the hostess to understand the layout, then the busser to understand

where plates go, and proper cleaning. Then I shadowed a server, followed the food runner, and then began to take tables while under the care of the trainer. Every night I would come home and study the extensive food descriptions I was given in my training notebook, as well as their alcohol selection, T.S. restaurant policies, sauce ingredients, prices, etc. After working 10am-5pm I'd come home and study until about midnight and do it all over the next day. It was very stressful and overwhelming because I am new to serving  fish and alcoholic beverages so I had to understand those basics before learning the menu. What's nice is that I get a free meal before or after my shift, and 50% off for me and my family plus one guest (picture on right). Trying the different entrees is important to properly selling the menu when I have a personal opinion on the dish.



Studying...



I hadn't been able to update the blog because I was too busy studying but I just took my test yesterday so now I have time! I haven't heard back about the test but I believe I passed! I'm already on the schedule to start tomorrow serving tables on my own :) Whoooooopie!

On the other hand, Jon has adapted really well and seemingly effortlessly to his two jobs. He has had to memorize table numbers, adapt to using a tray to take food out and clean off tables, and keep his clothes clean and remain clean shaken- which is painful for him :( 



On the way to the beach



A quick walk down Hui F Road
down to the beach



Finally lounging on the beach

Jon has had his afternoons open mostly while I'm at work. But I had one day off to go to the beach with my husband, and after my test and today I was able to finally get some sun. It is a little embarrassing claiming I live in Maui when I am this white girl that looks like I haven't seen sun in months (which is true until now). We received one set of snorkel gear as a present from Casey, Jon's brotha (Hawaiian pronunciation), but we have yet to buy another so that we can both go snorkeling. But when we do, we plan on bringing our Kodak sport HD camera that can go under water (up to 10 feet) and sharing the video with everyone! Today there were turtles in Napili Bay (the closest beach to us, literally a 5 minute walk). A lot of the time they hang out on the coral close to the top of the water so when the wave comes back in they are revealed. Hard to get a picture of them because they are the same color as the coral and rocks but they are pretty big turtles. When Jon, Spencer, and I were in Maui in July, we were snorkeling with the turtles and we swam right on top to them. Sadly we didn't really understand how to work the underwater camera and missed many Kodak moments!



Chapel on the left that opens up to Kapalua Golf Course



We've checked out 2 churches so far in Maui. We tried out Lahaina Fellowship Church and Kumalani Chapel. So far I like Kumalani Chapel in Kapalua the most (Picture on the right). Their pastor is really good and it has a gorgeous location. But they don't have any young adult, young married, or college group which is what we'd love to get involved in. Hopefully we can find a church where we can get involved.

A few lessons and tidbits we've learned:

 

All food/restaurant employees are required to get a tuberculosis test
 because Maui is so close to Asia where TB is a problem

 

The weather changes so drastically so quickly!
About an hour before this is was clear blue skies 

    

Geckos are good, they eat the bad insects. free them outside,
DO NOT KILL!

 

 

There is a very sad reason this sign had to be put up on our street :(



Gnats are a big issue in our apartment. They fit through the screen door and end up in our bathroom because it's the brightest room/area. If I look at my phone at night with all the lights out, a gnat will fly over to my phone for the light. Happens almost every time. They come to the bathroom to die it seems like... We killed almost 30 in a row one night. Now we don't even try to kill them, they just die on their own haha





This is what we found scratched into the back of our futon... NOT JOKING.
Weirdest thing ever!!! Someone was a little angry the day they packaged this futon up.

I'm sorry we had to change blog sites on everyone. If i could, I would have kept the blog with wordpress. But it took me almost 4 hours to be just OKAY with the outcome of the last update. The formatting ruins all changes and deletes sections for no reasons. I was close to tears multiple times from the mere frustration of the blog. I tried again today for this new post and couldn't take it only 5 minutes into it. SO, please subscribe to this new blog, I will no longer be updating the wordpress blog. Remember to press the follow button at the top right of this blog to get email alrets when I update the blog! The new address is:

 http://russosinparadise.blogspot.com



Just Arrived

Aloha Friends and Family!

 We have arrived in Paradise! The day before we got here, there was a terrible storm. Then God cleared up the skies and allowed us to fly in safely on a beautiful day. But the next 2 days it rained horribly, they said it was the worst storm they’ve had in Hawaii in years! As residents of Hawaii now, we accept that rain is good, without rain it wouldn’t be this lush and beautiful here

Arrival Day:

Next Day:

3rd Day: Thursday, our one year anniversary

4th Day: Friday

So for those curious about our apartment, here are a bunch of pictures. It’s just one big room- studio apartment style. But it’s all we need I really don’t seem to miss the extra space- yet. Maybe I will but I’m just too excited and happy to be here at all right now  

Cluttered from moving

A little exhausted from the first day...

The bulk of our apartment

Stairs to the upstairs apartment where Nane's cousin stays

View of the Patio

Bathroom

Our second day in Paradise was the horrible stormy day, and that was the day that we needed to go get everything for our apartment, because it was empty. Can’t start a life with an empty apartment!    



Walmart cart... a little embarressing :/

Car stuffed full after our shopping day in Kahului



Everything we bought (and still more needed to be bought when there was more room in the car)

 As far as jobs go, we have done some good networking. The first night Jon and I went out with Candy and Nane (my aunt and uncle that we are renting from). We went to their favorite restaurant in West Maui called Pineapple Grill. It is an upscale restaurant with some casual dining in the bar and on the Lani (outside porch area). The owner and general manager both stopped by the table and offered their business cards and told us to give them a call and we’ll set up a time to chat. The owner said to bring some letters of recommendtations and a resume. If there are no available spots then we can discuss his opinons on other restaurants in the area and make a few calls for us! Knowing a local really helps! My uncle is a native hawaiian born and raised in Hawaii. He runs the Mauian hotel that is beautifully nessled on Napili Beach (Nah-peel-ee).  

  Also, on Thursday night after the rain cleared we went down to Front Street to check out some other restaurants. Cheeseburgers in Paradise is an awesome restaurant that has a prime location in a busy tourist spot right on the beach. They are a casual dining restaurant that is just our style and food that we are accustomed to. Luckily, we saw that they had a “Now Hiring” sign up. So we grabbed an application. Then we ate at Hard Rock Cafe that is at the end of Front Street. I asked if they were hiring and one employee seemed to think they wouldn’t be. His advice was “just put in applications everywhere, someone will hire you, you’re cute…” Haha, alright. I talked to another guy named Jonathan (coinsedence?!) who said “ah, yeah, they’d hire you on the spot, no doubt about that.” So he got me a resume.

 We will also be applying to Hula Grill which is a beach front busy restaurant in Ka’anapali (Kah-ahna-poli) that actually has sand on the floor, and a fine dining restaurant section toward back. Hula Grill is owned by the Dukes restaurants, if you are framiliar with that restaurant.  Jon will look into some gyms, we may check some ice cream joints, and I also turned in an application to Cirque Polynesia (Cirque du Soleil hawaiian themed) as a reservationist. Monday we will go out and turn in applications with resumes and letters of recommendations. I am still waiting on 2 more letters so hopefully I will get them by Monday!

So a few lessons we have learned within the first couple days will be illustrated with photographs, enjoy! 





Gas prices are pretty high!

Don’t leave your shoes outside if you don’t have an over hang. Maui is tropical, it will rain



Wear your bug repellent if you are going to be outside in the evening. I got 6 quarter-sized bites on my first day. They are possibly the itchiest mosquito bites I have ever had!!!



Be aware of where you park your car during a storm. There are extremely high winds here in Maui, matched with a storm=branches breaking. It's okay, the rental car wasn't hurt



Your fridge is not only for refridgerated items, but also for dry crispy food items. Because of the humidity, if you stick them in the fridge they will last longer!

Do not leave chocolate in the car while running errands on a sunny day... it will turn to liquid.

 Which means: eat it right away!



Well I hope you learned a little something about living in Maui with that presentation. WordPress will not allow me to upload videos directly onto this blog page without paying for an upgraded blog. So, we do have videos on our Flickr page. It too has restrictions on videos, only 2 allowed per month but, at least there’s a way you can see them! So click on the flickr album on the right hand side margin. There is a video of a walkthough of the apartment, and of Jon using our HD underwater camera for the first time. The sound cuts in and out I think becuase the water covers the microphone for a few seconds then clears. But, it was our first try with the camera. The water is not clear becuase Jon was right where the waves were breaking so sand was pushed up everywhere, and its hard to hold the camera still while being thrown around by waves, but it stabalizes a for a little while for you so grasp the Maui ocean and beach.

Please leave comments, questions, concerns, etc. We would love to hear from everyone back home! Mahalo and Aloha!

 Maui No Ka Oi