Aloha Hawaii!

At the airport again waiting for my flight from Honolulu to Seoul! Hawaii is so pretty. I love the lush green mountains here. So different from the ones in Utah. I wish I took more pictures, but I was too busy admiring the views around me. Hopefully I will be back soon! It was so cool to have been able to go back to my roots to see where I was born and everything! So much fun! Cassy and her family were so nice and welcoming. It was so good to see them! Anyway, perhaps I should do a little recap of our fun adventures, huh? 

So on Friday, I arrived at 8pm after a LONG 9 hour layover in LA. Cassy took me to eat some yummy ramen close by and then went home to get settled for the night. 

On Saturday we headed out to Hanauma Bay for some snorkeling after a big breakfast that Cassy and her dad prepared. So yummy! Glad I was still able to move afterwards. It was my first time ever snorkeling so it was certainly an adventure. We got to see some cool fish, although there weren't quite as many as I was expecting. But it was still a lot of fun! I got some good videos under water. After snorkeling, we laid out on the beach for a bit while watching all these interesting tourists. There were some interesting ones, that's for sure. Don't worry, I sneakily snapped pics of some middle aged asian men with their pants rolled up a little too high for everyone else's comfort. It was quite entertaining to watch though. 

After Cassy got sufficiently sun burnt there, we headed for some shaved ice nearby. Yum! Then we went to Lanikai Beach so Cassy could get even more sunburnt (poor thing) which was so peaceful and serene. Beautiful! The clouds set in just as we decided to leave. Perfect timing. So glad it stayed sunny for us before that! The ocean only has that pretty sparkle when the sun is out, so I'm glad I got to see it! We headed home after the beach to shower and rest up a bit. Cassy's parents were hosting a party so they cooked up a bunch of yummy food like BBQ ribs, salmon, and chow mien. 

After stuffing ourselves, we headed out to town and met up with Matt to experience the Waikiki strip. I loved the all the fire torches along it that made for a romantic atmosphere. There was this bar behind this hotel right on the beach playing jazz music that was so pretty. Now THAT was romantic. 

After the strip, Matt took us to his secret lookouts in Hawaii Kai. The first one was pretty neat- it looked out over the bay towards Diamond Head, except it was at night so we couldn't see it very well. I wish we could've gone during the day so we could actually see! But the cool part about it was that there was a bench on a tree that is right over the ocean. So neat! They were telling me this scary story called Morgan's Corner or something that creeped me out while we were there cuz it was dark. The story goes something like this:

There was this couple who were driving on their way to somewhere at night (of course) when their car broke down. So the guy gets out of the car to look for help while the girl waits. While she was waiting, she keeps hearing a strange scratching noise above her. She nervously brushes it off as the tree branches above making the noise. So she waits and waits but her bf never comes back, until she finally decides to get out and look for him. When she gets out, she sees....dun dun dun... her bf hanging dead, upside down with his arm hanging down, his fingernails scratching the top of the car.  

So yeah...that story creeped me out just a little bit. Anyway, after the first lookout, we went to the second one which was close by. We climbed down onto some a little cliff where apparently people jump off to surf. Scary! The waves were so big...don't know how people could be brave enough to do something like that. Apparently a lot of people have died there too. After the second lookout, we took Matt home. Cassy and I were both exhausted by then and happy to hit the sack. 

On Sunday, we went to sacrament at her parents' ward then headed out for our drive up the north shore. We first stopped and got an acai bowl, which was this smoothie made of acai berries, topped with granola, strawberries, blueberries, bananas, coconut and honey. Yum! Our first stop was the Dole Plantation, where we got some of their famous Dole Whip, a few pics, then we were on our way. Stopped and got a coconut to drink, and went to her uncle's beach house where we tried to look for sea turtles. I was hoping they would come to shore, but no such luck. I did catch a glimpse of a few turtles that were close to shore in the water though.  A few poked their heads out now and then, so at least I got to see them. 

So after the sea turtles, we went to the Laie temple and BYUh. Such a pretty temple! We waited for cassy's friend to be done with church duties and went to eat at the famous Ted's Bakery together. I got BBQ chicken and a slice of chocolate haupia pie. Pretty good. We were both pretty pooped out by then (actually we were tired before we even left in the morning) so we headed home. 

Now I'm on the flight to Korea. 11 hours...Cathay is such a better airline. I'm flying Hawaiian this time and they don't even have the tv in front of your seat. What am I gonna do for 8 more hours?! Eat and sleep....heh. And there is this annoying child siting right behind me. I think I should switch seats...well, it's nap time.

30 Days in Asia!

Here we go! Can't believe this day is here already. I had a count down app that started counting down 159 days ago- yes, I know...I may have been a little too excited. I don't know. Anyway, I am gonna try to blog everyday for the next 30 days so I can remember it all! Plus expect lots of instagram pics :) In fact, I almost brought my 17 inch 10 lb laptop so that I could vlog, but my mom stopped me. Apparently I am not too good at packing light- she made me take quite a few things out after reviewing everything I brought. Whoops. I guess that's what moms are for!

Anyway, it's 5 am and I have about an hour till I board the plane to LAX, and then an 8, let me repeat EIGHT, hour layover there before I fly to Honolulu. Daaaang. I have no idea what I'm gonna do for 8 hours there, especially on no sleep. I think I just need to find a corner to camp out at. I should probably take a nap, because I am not a nice (or fun) person when I don't get enough sleep, not that it matters I guess since no one is unlucky enough to have to travel with me while I'm grouchy (or being boring). Lest you don't know how much I value my sleep, you may refere to this post.

My flight is at 7am, and I had to take the shuttle to the airport at 4, which meant I had to wake up around 3. So at midnight, I finally tried to catch some Zzz's. To no avail, however. Laid in bed for an hour and a half until I was too hungry to lay there any longer. Went down to get some food and hang out with my sisters, who were of course still awake. We have sleep issues at our house. One of them was cooking up some tofu at 2 am, while the other was filming herself scrutinizing the large pimple under her chin. I think we might have more than sleep issues going on there...lol. We have lots of fun at our house though if you can't tell.

Well, I'm boring myself so I guess it means I better fine something else to entertain myself with. Until next time!

Letters for the Future

Something amusing happened a few days ago. Perhaps funny is a more accurate term, or sad, depending on my mood. But I guess I'll allow you to determine for yourself which is the better term.

So I was preparing for my Sunday School lesson the other day, and I went hunting for some lined notebook paper for an activity I was gonna do with the class. So naturally I found an unfinished notebook (who finishes using their notebooks anyway? Cuz I never do, and apparently neither does my sister), only to find my sister's old notebook from YEARS ago. As I was flipping through to tear out unused pages, I found 3 letters written in March 2008 for me, our other sister, and our mom to be read in four years. Well. Looks like the letters were hid too well cuz we didn't find them till now, but I guess it only adds to the story's humor.

Anyway, the embarrassed writer snatched the letters away before I could get a glimpse, so she could first read whether she wrote anything too embarrassing to be read. But after much chasing to steal the letters back, the victory of reading the letters was mine. And here comes the funny part: in the letters, she wrote about how she was so sad that she and I were going to be moving out in the fall, and how she will miss living together with the four of us (me, her, our sister and our mom), and how by the time we read the letters, we will probably be married and living far away from each other. Reality check: after over 5 years, absolutey nothing has changed. We are all still single and living under the same roof. HAHA.

Like I said, I'm not quite sure whether I should've laughed or cried, but after everything I've learned since the letters were written, I chose to laugh. Life has a way of making you learn hard lessons, but after you've learned them, you better apply it or you'll only have to learn those hard lessons all over again till life is sure you've REALLY got it.

So apply what I've learned I will and look at my life on the bright side. Because my life has been quite bright indeed! Although I've felt ready to move on to the next stage of my life for seemingly forever now, I'm grateful for the opportunities, people, lessons, and experiences I have now that I otherwise wouldn't have had if I were married already. So life is good! I'm happy and I know that whenever that due time comes, it will be wonderful. Until then, I'll just be living my life the best way that I know how! And life will be good.

Leavin' on a Jet Plane (Soon)

Oh boy...10 days till I leave on my big Asia trip! Don't ask if I'm ready, because I'm getting cold sweat just thinking about how soon it's coming! Eeeek....traveling alone internationally for the first time...SCARY! At least I'm traveling back to my Asian roots, so I will feel right at home (maybe).

Anyway, in 10 days, I'm off to the beautiful island of Oahu for a few days before heading to Korea. Then it's back to my beloved Hong Kong. I'm beyond excited for the food! Food food food, glorious food everywhere! Can't wait! After Hong Kong, I'm going to an island near Phuket, then to Bangkok, and lastly Tokyo. I've never been gone for more than 2 weeks on vacation, plus going alone for half of it this time...it will definitely be a new and hopefully exciting adventure! Be prepared for many pictures and stories to come!