tip number 1001 about visiting Hawaii

one of the most useful tips I can give you about visiting Hawaii (if you are staying in Waikiki)

make lunch the big meal of your day..breakfast time, if you are out early enough you will find seats but you better get out of your room by 7am or else you will stand in a long line...at lunch time a lot of people are at the beach, so make this your main 'big' meal. lunch prices are usually cheaper than dinner and you may not be as tempted to buy drinks (alcohol) which REALLY adds up and who wants a hangover in Hawaii? go swim

get dinner early..go to Subway or something quick that you can take with you to the beach. something 'to go' . most restaurants will be packed ...most tourists will hit the streets before sunset and the sidewalks will be crowded, not something fun to navigate when you are hungry.

don't bother to dress up. no one cares unless you are single and even then they probably still don't care

instead, pick up something light and easy and walk over to the beach, find a place in the grass or on a bench and then you don't have to deal with sidewalk traffic. while everyone else is waiting in line and hurrying to eat to catch the sunset, you will already be finished with dinner and have your camera ready.

once the sun drops, stay out on the street if you like activity..the street comes alive.

no we are not rich to live in hawaii :)

a customer recently commented how we must have 'struck the lottery' to be able to afford to live in hawaii. i'm here to dispel the myth :)

you CAN live a mainland lifestyle but you better arrive with a healthy inheritance or a sugar daddy.

my husband moved to hawaii with a few hundred bucks about 13 years ago to go to college. he worked as a busboy and learned english by watching shows like Three's Company (hahahaa) . he drove a scooter or rode a bike, and lived with roommates. he made his way thru his masters degree in marketing and got a job in Honolulu. his life, when i met him, consisted of work from 8 to 3, then he'd play volleyball at the beach, surf, then go home and watch ESPN.

when i moved to hawaii i had about 10k and two suitcases. i mailed a few boxes of silk here. i rented a room in a house in pearl city for the summer, then moved into my own place in waikiki, where i really wanted to be, a few months later. i used the bus a lot. i made veils on the fourth story balcony of a high rise. after a few good sales i bought a surfboard for three hundred bucks and then a good portion of my non working hours were spent in the water (after the initial cost of a board, surfing is FREE).

when we met, i was living in a hotel room with a microwave and hot plate and my husband was renting a room with about the same. when we married we found a place , a one bedroom that was the bottom story of someone's house, outside of waikiki for $1100. We have no debt and again our free time was spent at the beach. We did not have dinner out very often but when we did we stayed away from waikiki and high prices.

because of strict budgeting we were able to live on his income and stash mine..we saved up to buy a condo in waikiki. we paid cash and so our monthly fees came to a few hundred a month for association dues. it's by no means luxury living. we're sandwiched in with other non-rich people , it's not always quiet. someone's always parked in your space. your kitchen is the size of a closet.

but again the beach is free.

we dont need much because there isn't much space for belongings. aside from a few possessions, we dont have a lot of books, cds, or furniture. if you were asked what three things would you take with you to an island you'd have an idea of what we own. we splurged for a big screen tv and do have a computer (modern needs!) but other than that, what we own is minimal therefore the upkeep is minimal. our insurance is minimal. we wait until someone is desperate to leave the island and we pick up their furniture (or car).

it's not a life for everyone..i've always said unless there is something about hawaii you really can't live without, it doesn't make much sense to live here. try LA. for us obviously we like being outdoors and going to the water. if you want a yard it's best to stay on the mainland. if you want sun year round come to hawaii (but don't bother with hilo)

what would you be willing to sacrifice to live here? maybe your paradise is where you are.

bright and bold

tomorrow many fellow citizens and travellers will hate me since we are flying for six hours with a baby. a baby with his own mind and wishes who doesn't undertand things outside his own sphere yet. i'm planning on taking a dose of benadryl to make me groggy enough to not snap at people when they glare at me cuz the kid is fussing. hey peeps i don't want to do this either. six hours on a plane just by myself is bad enough but with a baby!!!! i'm going to make a public apology and general announcement of warning about our baby to everyone as we board the plane. just say upfront, dudes sorry. the next six hours may really suck. you can have a discount at akai.

i'm scared and nervous. returning may bring a flash of insecurities i thought i outgrew (or ran away from) when i moved away from arizona. away from family drama and strict state and 'little LA' where the norm is to be gorgeous without trying. i wonder how many boyfriends still live in phoenix or area. ex that is. he doesn't count as a boyfriend if you just went to dinner or movie and didnt even make out, right? that's just a date. had a lot of those.

well so is it ok with everyone if i am just me and dont have to hide in a corner and not participate in online discussions to be professional and what if i go back to the nurse field? I know of a lot of nurses who have good raunchy blogs. please dont make me hide. this voice doesnt want to be quiet and behaved ALL the time. i promise to only wear my blog uniform when i'm blogging. i'm just not good at the whole artist mystique thing.

can i vent about anxiety and antidepressants and implants and farts and rotten people who have road rage or the butthole who was rude to me yesterday and i totally took it personal?

well the baby just woke up so i have to start chasing him. i wonder if aloha can be brought to the mainland in large doses? i wonder if living in Hawaii really is like a fairy tale since a good portion of our visitors bring joy and happiness. the island is a happiness for so many people, all at the time time. i wonder if, overall, hawaii's tourist population nudges us over into a significant statistic suggesting that hawaii is the happiest state in the US? it's not very often we see a bitchy tourist. and most of the population of those who live here full time are ohana and very kind, generous people.

..question??...cuz i've forgotten mainland etiquette...is it ok to hug someone and touch cheeks when you first meet them? cuz that's what we do here. aloha spreads itself into hugs and cheek touchs or cheek kisses. am i gonna get clobbered if i do that to someone on the mainland?

am thinkin about the plane trip and gonna go throw up