smittenbyu: (relaxed)
The list of natural disasters is just getting so long! Yeeks!! Several of our members have been affected by the hurricane, earthquakes that have been happening. Closer to home, my colleague's son just started college in Puerto Rico. He managed to get flights back home for both times. While my colleague was sharing her stresses of trying to get her son out, I had to recount a story from my college days. 

Back in the 90s, I was in college in Hawai'i.  I lived in Honolulu on the island of Oahu. My grandmother lived in Bangalore, India. She discovered while reading the newspapers that a volcano was erupting in Hawai'i. She immediately called mother, since she didn't have my number at the time with the news. She frantically with so much concern tried to convince mom that she is happy to pay for my ticket to fly home right away. Mom, of course, called me. This was the days before google. I woke up that morning going, "what volcano?!" There's no active volcano on Oahu. Mom called grandma back and reassured her that everything was fine and not to worry. 

But poor grandma was never convinced. We all picture volcanoes to be like Mt. St Helens. But Hawaiian ones are not as dramatic and have been erupting for a long time now. In fact, I think the Kilauea is the longest erupting volcano in the world! So, when I did go to see the volcano, I remembered to take a picture and send it to grandma to show that everything is OK. Of course, it made her worry more that I was walking close to the volcano - clearly proof that I have lost my head! 

ah grandma! Love her.
smittenbyu: (Sketch)
Sunday, April 28

This was the most exciting day for both MIL & myself! We were going to meet our friends!! MIL was going to meet her pen friend from France (she and her husband came up just to meet us). They "met" as pen friends when MIL was a senior in high school. My MIL is from Pondicherry (a former French colony and so French was/is widely spoken. So they were writing for MIL to practice French and Francoise to practice writing English). They stayed in touch a few years and lost touch almost 25 years ago! 2 or 3 years ago, Francoise through her daughter's Facebook account randomly looked up MIL to find her!!!! So, they have reconnected and when she found out we will be there, they planned to be there!

So, we took the Thames Clipper (a commuter boat) to Greenwich village.

Francoise

So, why Greenwich? Well, I was going to meet my two very best friends from college who live in London there too!! They have three kids under 5 years of age and figured D could also use a day of just running in a park!! Oh it was such a happy day! I didn't care about actually seeing the Prime Meridien. I was so happy to see Thomas & Moon!
Read more... )
smittenbyu: (relaxed)
One of the ladies in our First-time-Moms-to-be group is now in Hawai'i. And for whatever reason, it makes me so happy (I am literally doing a dance!) and yet makes me so sad. I want to go!! I want to be there!! I have never missed a place like I miss Hawai'i. It would seem so "duh! Who wouldn't miss Hawai'i?!" of course. But believe me, I have met many number of people who hated the place - I can see why but I don't understand them.

I enjoyed going back to see Brazil, I loved being back in Rome and seeing it through adult's eyes, I looked forward to going back to Singapore - but never got a chance, even though I lived next door in Malaysia for four years. But if you give me a ticket, I will be the first in line on the flight (and hey, now I have a baby and I would qualify to be first on the flight! Oh the benefits of being a parent are really starting to pay off!), to Honolulu. We have been saving up to go. And my best friend is back in town (another condition I had before we thought of going for a visit). And that time can't come sooner! 

I guess this answers the question, "which place did you like the most?" The thing though is for most it seems like the obvious answer. It's Hawai'i for goodness sakes! But it really is home. I just love the place, the people, the spirit. It fit me so very well! If only it didn't sit 2000 miles from any body of land, but maybe it is what it is because of that distance. But mostly it was the place where I spread my wings. I picked the college, I arranged everything, I flew there on my own from Singapore, I grew up there! I don't think I ever will get the kind of life I had there ever again. It was a huge challenge that I overcame. I was someone who was timid, afraid of everything, and for me to overcome that and love it, was a huge achievement.

If anyone asks me to suggest places when they are going to Rome, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur - I share a few suggestions. But the excitement, the joy doesn't come through the way it does when someone tells me they are going to Hawai'i! I can't wait for the day I get to take my husband and little one to show them my home. Until then, I have to live through other people's visits.

And those malasadas at Leonard's bakery are just to die for! The day to visit can't come fast enough! And you know, I will never think the time I will have there would be enough. But I will take what I get.

snowing!

Dec. 18th, 2009 09:48 pm
smittenbyu: (fun fun)
It's started to snow! The flakes look more like dust particles at the moment! Started earlier than forecasted! But if it snows as forecasted we will get a foot of snow by tomorrow night and that will be my first "big" snow! The last time I saw snow was 8 inches in Tulsa, Oklahoma (where the userpic was taken).

It was a US Jaycees national convention. It was February 2002. My first time to Tulsa, where they were holding the national convention. Apparently we brought in the cold front. The temperatures were somewhere in the 60s (around 16C)  the week before! The convention brought delegates from every corner of the country. As we walked into the hotel lobby where the conference was to be held, everyone knew the Hawai'i delegation was in the house! I guess the Asian ethnicity and the tans gave it all away (for some reason at the national level, Asians were somewhat a minority nationwide). Well, anyway so we thought. But what really gave it away was that in 60F weather we were all bundled up in jackets, gloves, and mufflers!! 

The following morning we woke up to nearly 8 inches of snow - apparently a record high for Tulsa as well! So, we ditched the morning sessions and the whole Hawai'i delegation was out in the snow playing! We were kids again! I remember fondly a delegate from Kansas who just looked at us so baffled enjoying the snow. She didn't like snow much. She feels it's nothing but trouble! hmmm... we played and we played for nearly two hours - maybe more. By then our gloves were drenched and we were beginning to feel the chill.

We also remembered that some of us had shopping plans - going to Bath & Body Works (a store Hawai'i didn't have then)! Important things. By evening we all hated the cold and couldn't wait to get on the plane home! Luckily we were leaving the following morning. It was freezing. We all rushed into the van that took us to the airport. I always looked forward to returning to Hawai'i. I always missed it and always felt it calling me when away. But this time, it was felt even much more!

We landed in Hawai'i that was also hit with a cold front with highs of 73F (23C)!! For us we were in heaven. We nearly fell to the ground and kissed it! But we figured that would look too strange. For the rest of the week, we truly enjoyed 73F "cold"!! Other local friends thought we were mad.

Oh yeah, that following week, University of Hawaii was in Tulsa playing, I think basketball (or maybe Football?). The sportscaster was in his Aloha shirt enjoying a nice 75F weather in Tulsa OK!! Go figure!

And yes, we are spoiled in Hawai'i! It's truly a paradise that I miss so very much! 

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