Tsunami threatens Maui

Our time on Maui has been quite eventful. Its been 2 months now and we've had extreme weather, ER visits, 3rd kidneys, gecko shower intrusions, and now a tsunami. Why did we come here again...? Just kidding =)

March 11, 2011 tragedy struck in Japan when an 8.9 magnitude earthquake hit Northern Japan. At 9:30pm they sounded the Tsunami warning on Maui. The tsunami was suspected to hit around 3:30am. As to be expected, the news freaked us out to panic and displayed footage of the stores and gas stations PACKED with people stocking up for the worst. But my aunt said we are high enough up a hill that we are way out of range if a tsunami were to do damage on this side of the island.

So by now I'm sure you've heard that we are fine. The tsunami came and went and no one was hurt, but evacuations were implimented for those close to the shore. So all I have for you are stories.

~The only thing my aunt warned us about was that on tsunami days we should unplug our electronics because the tsunami could cause a power outage and when the power comes back on it could cause a surge and blow out the electronics that are plugged in. So I woke up the next morning (thankfully my day off) with like 4 texts asking if I was okay, many Facebook notifications, and a lot of emails. Our internet didn't work (it goes in and out anyways), and our cable box was unplugged and would not turn back on. So I woke up in a little bit of a panic becuase I didn't know what was going on! But everyone was fine :) !

~ What I did find a little odd though was that the highway curb, which has a strict No Parking- unless emergency Law, was cluttered with cars, even about 11am. On my way home around 12pm there were less cars which is what the pics are from but it was kind of weird. I'm guessing employees had to get to work but couldn't park in the lots yet because the evcuation hadn't been lifted yet...? Not sure...

~Hula Grill was open the next day. For those who don't know, Hula Grill is located in the center of the main shopping village of Ka'anapli which is where the bulk of all tourists stay when setting up camp on the West side. All of Ka'anapali was evacuated becuase all of the hotels are oceanfront and were in danger of the tsunami. Everyone was let back to their hotel rooms around 8:30 that morning. They came back sleep deprived, stressed, and starved :-/ Not good for the employees. But like I said, it was my day off!! Wooooo. Apparentely it was the worst day most people had ever worked. Bummer.

~The tsunami hit Central Maui the most in Kahului:
Maui effected by Tsunami
Apparently a 40 pound turtle was washed up to the middle of the road in Kahului and needed help getting back to the water! Poor guy!!

~A lot of friends were evacuated and had to find places to stay for the night. Many were tired and stressed, and up all night.Others prayed. Some used it as an excuse to party and drink more. People dealt with it in their own way.

~Two days after, I did work and was asked by my table where they could get a "I survived the tsunami!" T-shirt. I didn't have an answer for them.... But Jon and I went to a craft fair today and they actually did have those shirts!

 Far away island, but still a small world

• In our last post, I explained the connection I had with someone I met at a friend's church. She and I had gone to the same Elementry School and same High School together back in Sacramento and were only one year apart.
• A friend from work named Joel mentioned he recognized my area code because he used to live in Sacramento as well. He lived in Fair Oaks, and worked at Leatherby's!! He worked there about 10 years before me and at the other location, but boy what a coincidence!
• An old acquantence from High School named Sean got in contact with us via Facebook. He had just moved to Maui in January as well! He grew up on Oahu and came back to Hawaii after college. Coincedence.
• Another friend from work named Ola is in a fairly popular band called The Throwdowns. We were chatting and he used to play at The Underground in Roseville with an old band when he went on tour and we discussed old experiences of our days there. He toured with Sherwood a lot as well. (For those totally lost, The Underground is a local concert venue hosted at a church in Roseville/Granite Bay. I used to frequent The Underground to see my brother-in-law Andrew play with his band, and Sherwood was a great band that a friend's brother was in that got pretty streamline and was signed with Myspace Records)
• I talked with one of the live musicians that plays in one of the time slots at Hula Grill during the day named Evan (haha I think it was Evan... shoot). He used to live in Truckee and we chatted about our experiences in eachother's towns.

In an island that is a melting pot with people from all over the world, it's exciting when I find someone to talk with about my hometown!

As well as hometown discussions, I continually find SO many people who live on my street here in Maui, on Hui F Road. My manager used to, one manager lives literally 2 houses away, a Hula Grill bartender, a Pineapple Grill bartender, a Plantation House busser, Joel from Hula Grill (previous Fair Oaks/Leatherby's worker), and I'm sure we'll find even more people connected to Hui F! I'm starting to understand the phrase  "it's a small island" (in regards to the people, literally that phrase is true as well :)

Jon and I have tried out a bunch of churches. Kumulani Chapel in Kapalua has been our most frequent church home. We had tried Lahaina Fellowship Church as well but didn't connect to it well. Every Sunday Night I've been going to my friend Sarah's church over in Kahului after I get off of work- which is about a 45min- 1hour drive from Hula Grill. I've LOVE the worship. It's the loud rock music kind of worship that lets you feel like you can let loose and just scream out to your God insetad of being self conscious of very quiet or off key worship music. It is called Ke Aha Vineyard Christian Fellowship. If you see the picture to the right, the sign above the church banner says Hawaiian Carpet One. The service is held in a carpet warehouse becuase of a connection they have at the location. I think that's pretty awesome :) It's a small church that knows every single person on a personal level, they are just one big family. They hang out together all of the time outside of Sunday service. I'm not used to such a small church family since I usually go to Bayside churches and Arcade Church. I really do like it. The only thing is it is very far away, and hard to make close relationships with people when I have to drive so far to hang out! And sadly I probably won't be able to go much longer becuase they need me to work Sunday nights at Hula Grill now. Two head waitresses are going on pregnancy leave soon and they need me to help fill in shifts.



All of the rolls on the side and front are huge carpets,
 with the band set up at the front. Sorry so blurry!



Jon and I went to a new church today. It is called Calvary Chapel. Their 8:30am service is inside a normal church building. But the 10:30am service is held at Wahikuli Wayside Park Beach! Now that's my kind of church service! Combine worship and spiritual teachings with God's great beauty and creation as a backdrop= amazing! I was pleased with the message and enjoyed the pastor's story as well. The worship was not my favorite kind but it was worship and I will enjoy worship in anyway that I can!

Some new awesome news: I got another job!! Zumba instructor at Valley Isle Fitness Lahaina! I start this Thursday. My classes are Tuesday and Thursday at 6pm and they want to add 2 morning classes as well if the class is successful. I'm excited to start teaching again. I really miss it. I got to teach a few songs in a friends class and realised how much I've missed it! 

Now for Picture tidbits:

Picture with the lovely Kea snuggled on my lap
 when we house sat for my aunt and uncle last week :)

My very thoughtful husband bought me my most recent favorite movie Burlesque
and wrapped it up in the Maui Times newspaper to suprise me when I got home after work :)



Just got our Hawaiian plates for our Dodge that we shipped over.
 Now we can legally be driving it in the Maui street!



Sorry for the blurry picture.
This is a HUGE centipede that had found it's home in Jon's pants.
I was freaking out so the camera wasn't too steady

I screamed and got my uncle over who's a local Hawaiian boy and grew up with these things and knows how to handle the situation. His remedy: Grab it with tongs and throw it down the garbage disposal =)
(That's what the silver things are in the picture )

Gorgeous rainbow

This one I could see the full arch and the beginning and end of the rainbow as well!

Maui's Own Craft fair every Sunday 9am-4pm. They have some pretty cool stuff, I recommend everyone check it out when they visit Maui. There were a lot of earring and jewlery vendors that have some pretty cool stuff

We found they awesome sign to help spice up our white walls. I love it

My sister-in-law's parents came to Maui with some friends
 and came to Hula Grill for lunch one afternoon while I was working! 

And that concludes today's blog. Jon's parents and brother are coming to visit us next week, we are definitely looking foreward to framilliar faces and some good family times :) Can't wait!!

And I leave you with this last picture:

Play on words with HI as the State abbreviation and the greeting Hi :)



Maui No Ka Oi

Chasing Rainbows

For the first time since we started working here in Maui, we had an entire day off together!! Jon didn't have to work that morning or that night so we had the whole day together!! So we did something that we've been wanting to do since we moved-- go on a hike!

We started out the day at one of Jon's places of work- The Plantation House- for breakfast. It was an amazing breakfast at that!

View from entryway



Gorgeous view for breakfast. Great food too (for half off!!!)

  We went on the Village Walking Trails in Kapalua which about 10 minutes away! A friend of mine emailed me a bunch of great hikes around Maui. Many were quite a drive and others required fairly dangerous roads to get there. And we wanted to be back in time for dinner. The Village Walking Trails are structured around an old golf course that they let nature take over. We walked the Lake Loop Trail that was 3.6 miles. The trail is paved, which is nice, but it was deemed "difficult" for the many steep hills. The pavement is seemingly more dangerous because it rained most of the time and made it fairly slippery! Here is a photo story of our journey:

View during hike. That may look like pretty sky. No, that's ocean then the island Molokai, then the clouds and sky

Tripod for the Camera worked out well for us :)

 

Dancing while waiting for Jonny to set up camera...



  

"Yeah Brah" is what his shirt says... bahaha

Stairwell overgrown by nature

Hidden meadow off main trail...

Dancing in the meadow. (I like to dance in God's beauty)

One-walled house

We nicknamed it the Trail of Butterflies. There were butterflies everywhere,
dancing together and hangin on the plants

The trail was in Kapalua. And after going on the Trail of Butterflies,
 we figured out why Kapalua's mascot is a butterfly



During the hike, it rained almost the whole time. But it was light and soft so it felt nice. Almost whenever there's a long period of rain, there'll be a gorgeous rainbow to follow. We drove around chasing the rainbow for the perfect picture

 



AND WE FOUND THE END OF THE RAINBOW!!
It ended in this valley right in front of us! Sorry... no gold. Or Leprechauns.

An interesting little story: I went with a new friend to her church on the other side of the island. The church group hangs out afterwards and I saw someone I recognized slightly. Sarah introduces us because this other person was from Sacramento as well. She says you look really framilliar! And I said ya, you do to. Come to find out we went to the same High School! AND the same Elementry School! AND she was only one year younger than me!! HAHA! Crazy connection made in a random place very far away from the source!

BUGS:

Being on a tropical island, bugs are aplenty! You know when you feel a tickle and by reflex you brush your hand against your skin just in case it is a bug, but it rarely ever is. Well, here, more often than not, it actually is. Usually it's a gnat. But I have itched my face and looked down at my finger at a squished mosquito and my blood all over my finger. And mosquito bites pop up randomly every week.

There are ants galore as well! I ate an apple in the car. Went into walmart. Came back to my car. My wrapped up apple core had ants all over it in that short amount of time. WHAAAT?! In a car?? It's crazy. The ant problem does keep us up on cleaning better here than in Sac. (Food wise that is)

I take my contacts out before I shower at night because they suction to my eyeball for some reason if I try to take them out after the shower. SO blind as a bat, I'm showering. And I grab the shampoo from the top shelf and something fairly large falls on my toes. It was a tanish-green and slimy. Ughhhh. It pops up and starts jumping everywhere. I FREAK.
"JON!! JON!! WHAT IS THAT?!! JON!"
 He's just laughing.
"AHHH!! I CAN'T SEE!! JONNNN"
"What is going on in there....?" (He was busy eating. He won't interrupt that activity very easily)
"GET IN HERE!!"
He's still laughing.
"JON! I can't get it I don't have anything, and I can't get out to get anything cuz I'm blindddd!"
Finally he deems it necessary to get up and look.
"HELP!" The lizard/gecko thing is hopping around by the other bottles.
He looks at it, laughs and walks away.
"JON!!!! WTH! GET IT OUTTTT!"
He takes his time and gets a tupperware container to trap the insect
"HELP!"
...
Finally he took care of it while laughing at me.

Picture Story Tidbits:



Jonny found me ADULT gummy vitamins!! I will definitely take them now!!

 

Got a new dress for my uniform at Hula Grill. I couldn't imagine working in a dress before.
 A sigh of frustration arises when something falls on the ground but for the most part it's alright!

  

All the sand in my shoe after a few shifts (it gets stuck under the lining)

 

LONG stream of sand while pouring it out



Gorgeous plant upcountry falling beautiful from the vines above

Wine tasting at Tedeschi Winery upcountry next to Ulupalakau Ranch
with Sarah, a friend from work

  

Wine list (a little hard to read sorry)
Our favorites were Maui Blanc and Maui Splash!
They specialise in their pineapple flavors added to their wine



Tour around the grounds of the Tedeschi Winery



Then we got VERY lost on the way to lunch. Eventually we found our way to Cafe 808
(808 is the area code of Hawaii)

 



Island Spirit Yoga

This picture explain how I feel after yoga. TOTAL relaxation.
The teacher gave me that flower



NEW Pineapple Smirnoff Ice! Yessss! Blended with some ice and Mmm Mmm GOOOD

Mahalo friends and family for stoppin' by! We miss you all! 



Maui No Ka Oi

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