A very busy and fun Sunday! This morning we woke up around 8:45 or so to prepare for our own church service before going to Kaimuki. We were a bit delayed though because there were several things which had to be done before actually doing the service. So we started around 10:00 and Naomi and I were able to really meet the Lord. Naomi spoke from Isaiah and I added in a verse of my own from 1 Corinthians. Basically we talked about how we can’t rely on our own strengths or understanding; instead, only from God can we get ‘real’ strength.

Got to church a little bit late but we were in time for the testimonies from the Samoa trip to begin. Sunday services are basically the same as from the Friday Night Services. Some of the testimonies were maybe a little different and there were some other people who came to speak about the mission trip.

After the service Naomi and I were able to see and fellowship with many people. Shirley and Glenn are looking great; Shirley’s really excited for me to come to her sign dance classes. ^_^ I’ve already promised to go to tomorrow evening’s class and she’s simply ecstatic!

Haven’t been able to say hi to Nick yet so Naomi and I spent some time talking to him, Heather, Malia, and Bella. Malia seems to have gotten used to me and now calls me ‘Pintella’. Hmm… got work on her saying my name… :P

Oh, yes! Got to see Dave and he seems to be doing a lot better! He has longer hair now so he says he always has it in a pony tail. Very interesting… not used to this new look yet. Also said quick hellos to Kenny, Linda, Tammy (she’s leaving for home so won’t be seeing her until she comes for vacation), Tina, Matt, Yuriy, Tony, and Jenny. Joe had left quickly so I didn’t get a chance to talk to him. But Tony was saying something about Joe teaching drum lessons sometime next month so who knows? Maybe I’d like to learn from him a bit. ^_^

Naomi and I went to eat some Chinese Dim Sung for lunch and guess who we met there… Sandy and her mother! It was pretty ‘coincidental’ just meeting up like that. We chatted a bit and promised to see her again soon (Naomi might be doing some business at the bank where Sandy works or something like that. :P)

Got home after the delicious lunch (I was stuffed!) and I relaxed in front of the computer with some Moonlighting while Naomi read a book. In this episode, Bruce Willis actually gets a little serious at one point; quite different from the kind of character he plays.

Ericson and Taryn came to pick us up a little after 3 (Ericson drove... ^_^). He had invited Naomi and I to go watch Gilbert and Sullivan's opera/musical, "The Pirates of Penzance". It's a witty, opera, comedy which was sooo much fun to go watch! It's (to try to keep it simple) the story of a pirate named Frederic who falls in love with the Major-General's daughter. Ok, I tried right now to think of more of the plot to write but it's just too complicated to try. Here's a good site to look up more info on the story (http://starbulletin.com/2005/07/24/features/story7.html)

But, honestly speaking, the musical was sooo much fun! The songs were lots of the fun and everyone was so talented. This is the musical from which the 'Fun!' song listing all the elements in the periodic table comes from. (hee hee, very funny!) I gotta say, my favorite character (and Ericson, Taryn, and Naomi unanimously agreed) is the Pirate King played by Curt Olds. He was incredibly funny and had such a nice, baritone voice. (In the picture on the left, he's the guy on the right towards the front with longish brown-blonde hair and a red jacket with ornate gold trim. Pretty kakkoi!)

One of my favorite parts would be when the Pirate King and the Major-General are talking and they get confused between the two words 'orphan' and 'often' (you wouldn't think they sound too alike but trying saying both in a fairly strong, British accent!) LOL! I also like it when the Pirates are 'sneaking' around trying to catch the Major-General unawares; how they 'hide' behind the gravestones is just too, too funny! Especially when the Pirate King tries to kill the Major-General in frustration with Ruth trying to hold him back. The cops are also hilarious, a lot of people say perhaps that is where the Keystone Cops idea came from. (The original play was written 125 years ago.)

*Sigh* Now I just HAVE to get the Kevin Kline 1983 movie version of The Pirates of Penzance... Or at least the soundtrack!

Stopped by Ericson's house to drop Taryn off and I got an outside shot of Ericson's house. ^_^

Ericson, Naomi, and I next went to CPK's for dinner (California Pizza Kitchen). There was maybe a 20 to 25 minute wait so we (actually it was more like 'I') decided to wait in Tower Records. ^_^ Come on, the perfect place to wait! Naomi got me a CD with a compialation of songs which Bob Fosse directed. I also go an Andrew Lloyd Webber album and a DVD for $9.99. (on sale). Hurray for Tower Records!

For dinner, we all shared chip-dip, vegetable-Japanese pizza, and jambalaya spaghetti. We also all got lemonades except Naomi and Ericson got raspberry-lemonade and I got peach-lemonade. Everything was yummy! A great big thanks to Ericson for the great time at the theatre and CPK!

Got home and started listening to the new CDs I got; I simply love all the songs and am so glad I got them! Chatted with Maria for quite a bit as well as Maki who seems to be very busy getting ready to leave for Hawaii. So excited for her to be arriving soon!

Last but not least, a picture of me wearing the eye-patch which came free for those who went to watch The Pirates of Penzance. Aren't I dashing?

What a relaxing day! For the first time since I came to Hawaii, I didn't have to leave the house! :P Ok, that sounded a bit 'lazy' on my part, but it's been quite busy for Naomi and I ever since we got here. To relax at home was nice.

In the morning I picked up where I left off in my fanfiction story, Boromir, Thou Shall Live. Happy to report that I've read till chapter 36, only a few more chapters to go! To tell the truth, it's fun reading my story again from the beginning; I'm getting excited in writing a new chapter soon. Hopefully my readers are still out there waiting for the new chapter. :P Also, it's exciting because I like putting faces to all of my original characters; like Gerard Butler is Damrod, Charlie Sheen is Elbaran, Kiefer Sutherland is Bawuer, and today I've put a new face with my character of Delune... Nicole Kidman! A big round of applause from my fanfiction readers please... ^_^

Naomi went to deliver some packages, including a box of school books (sorry Maria, Tsubasa, and Takuma, they were all 10th grade books... LOL!). It's funny to see the new edition of school books. Back in my day, you hardly had any pictures that had color! And there weren't any colorful borders or anything like that! Now it's unbelievable how colorful the books are! Lucky guys... except the content is still the same, so I guess you aren't that lucky. ^_^ Good luck anyway in the next school year everyone!

Oh, yes, I picked up the mail today from our mailbox (it's exciting to pick up mail from your own mailbox) and there was something inside for me! I got my new debit card; it's all gold with Hawaiian-ish designs on it!

For lunch, I made a mushroom omelette and watched Remington Steele. In one episode he wore a suit over a black turtleneck and he was sooooooooooooooooo COOL! The only 'character' on screen that has looked so good in a black turleneck is David McCallum as Illya Kuryakin... (I wanted to insert a picture of either Pierce Brosnan or David McCallum and Maria and I spend quite a while looking for one... obviously, didn't find one. :P)

Naomi got into one of 'cleaning moods' so I stayed out of her way, reading some more Boromir, Thou Shall and watched an episode of Moonlighting. Such a funny show, couldn't stop laughing when Bruce Willis started singing "Respect" in a high voice wearing HUGE sunglasses (it's the 80's). VERY funny...

For dinner, I had macaroni 'n' cheese and a chicken dish with taco seasoning. Yummy! Naomi had Aunt Jean's spaghetti leftovers but had a bite of chicken. Watched Remington Steele (naturally) then Naomi went out a bit with her friends so I was stuck at home. ^_^ I was all right being alone; got to watch more Moonlighting. I just HAD to share some quotes from some episodes so here they are (David is Bruce Willis, Maddie is Cybill Shepherd):

Maddie: Well, let me remind you Mr. Addison, that one case does not a detective make.
David: Well, let me remind you Ms. Hayes, that I HATE IT WHEN YOU TALK BACKWARDS.

Maddie: David, I just don't think ...
David: [interrupting] That's okay, you look good.

Did you laugh? lol, I did!

Audio chatted with Maria for quite a bit after having a nice telephone conversation with my parents. They said that they had a good Sunday, and that Maki's so excited to come over here! well, Maki, I'M excited for you to be coming her soon! Miss you lots!

Time for bed now, must get up a bit early for the 8:30 service. Good'night, sleep tight!

P.S. ONLY ONE PICTURE FOR TODAY'S BLOG! Here's a random picture for ya'll. From Newsies, when we're all 'posing' and being very 'cool'...

Woke up and immediately started studying for my driver's permit test. :P Ok, I admit I was a little nervous though it was nothing like preparing for my SAT or placement tests. I just wanted to make sure I was fully prepared.

After a quick breakfast and relaxing a bit, Naomi and I headed over to Kapolei to take the test. It was a little crowded so while waiting, I was able to finish my book Never Trust a Dead Man. A few people were staring at me because at some parts in the book I was laughing so hard! Seriously, Vivian Vande Velde is such a good writer; I hope she'll write more books in the very near future.

Ok, after lining up, I had to take like an eye exam. And let me tell you; this eye exam did NOT go well or smoothly so I totally began to freeze up and get all nervous. The problem was, I could not for the life of me read the numbers! I was suddenly seeing double vision and seriously, I began to sweat when I realized that I was having a bit of a hard time. :S Thankfully, the lady giving the test was very patient so I got a few minutes to blink and try clearing my double vision. Finally, I was able to 'see' so was able to pass. Whew, I mean, seriously, that was something I had NOT expected. As we were walking away to actually take the test, Naomi whispered in my ear, 'You almost didn't pass!' I just nodded...

Next took the test which was a total of 22 questions. They were soooo easy; the questions were word for word from the sample questions in the driver's manual! I got a perfect score (^_^) and after paying a total of only $7, they took my pictures and I got my driver's permit! Hurray! I was just so relieved that it's all over (though now I only have to learn how to drive well, take lessons, and get a real license... but I'll worry about that later.) lol

As we were driving home (Naomi's driving; I am not so eager to drive on the freeway just yet), I called Aunt Jean and though we planned to go watch a movie or something, she canceled because she had some plans for later on. So just went home and decided to make sandwiches. Except, we didn't have any tomatoes! Decided to go buy some at Times supermarket.

Except, before we actually went shopping, I got to drive! I drove a little around in the back roads of 4th avenue and I admit, driving is not as easy as it looks. I scared Naomi a few times (:P) but that's only pay back for all the times she scares me!! lol!

Changed places after a bit and bought tomatoes and a few other things at the supermarket. Got home and made B.L.A.T. sandwiches (Bacon, Lettuce, Avocado, Tomato). Oooooh, simply delicious! Watched an episode of Remington Steele and while Naomi started clearing away the dishes, I went over to my computer to have a video conversation with my parents (and the dogs of course). We talked for quite a bit and laughed a lot, too. After saying good-bye, Naomi started reading Court Duel which I recommended to her. And she was COMPLETELY hooked on the book (it's a fantastic book!) so I decided to give her some space so I went to the living room to watch Moonlighting.

All I can say is; wow! Bruce Willis is young, has hair, and is slim! lol! Hee hee, but it's all true! It's funny seeing him play the role of a macho, fast-talking detective. ("Do bees be? Do flies fly? Does Spock beam up?" ha ha!) And who can resist Bruce Willis singing, '~There she goes, just a-walking down the street singing Doo Wah Diddy Diddy Dum Diddy Do!~' He sings a lot on this show...

It was VERY interesting because you'll never guess who guest starred in the first episode... Tim Robbins! Ok, most of you are going 'who?' but all I can say is... "You know... for kids!" (Hudsucker Proxy). Anyway, I've only seen the first episode so I'll see how the tv show progresses. I can't wait to see the famous episode which Orson Welle's does a voiceover, just five days before he died of a heart attack. Interesting, huh? Or is it just me... :P

It was getting close to 6:20 so making sure Naomi remembered the time (she was almost finished but had to put it down...) we got ready for the Friday Night Service. Tonight was a special kind of service because the people who went on a mission trip to Samoa returned and many of them gave testimonies. Some of the testimonies were... interesting. I mean, some kids from the youth group went on the mission trip (ages around 17 or 18 I think) and since I've never really been around the 'youths', it was 'interesting' to hear their testimonies. All I can say is that the kids in KCIS are very mature for their age, so keep it up guys! (Picture on top right, Chris Johnson showing some pics on the slideshow).

Oh, and please be praying for Croz. He's really sick right now and couln't show up to church today. It seems he's been sick for about a week.

<---- (People being prayed for in helping out with a special kids ministry next week. Ericson's there!)

Jenny also got to speak on her new 'Ho'omaikai' for Creative Hearts. It's quite interesting because there will be classes for all forms of arts, dance, and theater! After the service she had some tables set up with fliers and pictures to promote this reach out.

Got to fellowship with a lot of people afterwards (Heather and Bella on the left; Jay and his wife and son towards the bottom right). I also had a chance to have a nice chat with Gay; she had gone to Samoa and she says she's rooting for Maki and I when we start college. ^_^

For dinner, Don, Tiffany, Jay (not as in Jarman), Brandon, Christi, Yoko, Ericson, Taryn, Naomi and I went to eat at Dixie Grill. YUMMY barbecued ribs! Tina and Jin stopped by a bit but they left quickly to go watch a movie. It took a while for the food to actually get to our table but it was worth the wait. I have found a CLOSE friend in Tiffany because she loves all the same tv shows that I do (A-team, Remington Steele, Moonlighting, Knight Rider, etc) Big hug to Tiffany!

In closing, I think I have to be careful around Brandon because he's trying to get my stash of Hi-Chew that I have at home. :P It doesn't help though that he called me 'Rambo'... lol! G-night! Naomi's still reading Crown Duel but I'm off to bed. Zzzzz...

This morning, Naomi and I were sooooo lazy... well, actually not too lazy on my part. We both woke up very late and while Naomi stayed in bed with a book, I was doing a lot of important things. First, I starting writing my application for a scholarship which had to include two 250-word essays. The application also had to include pretty indepth answers to their questions so... whew! Got it done! Next I studied the Hawaii Driver's Manual. Yes, I'm hopefully going to start driving very soon! Perhaps tomorrow Naomi'll take me over to the driver licensing office to take my driver's permit test.

So, I was studying so hard that before I knew it, it was getting a bit past noon. I realized I was hungry (I hadn't eaten breakfast... :P) so as soon as Naomi finished her book, we went to make lunch. I had a honey ham sandwich and ate while watching Remington Steele. *sigh* Pierce Brosnan is sooo cool! It's fun seeing how at first Steele and Laura Holt are at each other's throat but obviously feel an attraction to each other. It's nice seeing Murphy in season one since he doesn't come out again in later seasons. hmph...

A few minutes before 3:00, Naomi and I went over to Heather's house to babysit her two daughters, Malia and Bella. They are both so adorable and it was really a pleasure to watch them. Malia, 2-years-old, was at first a bit apprehensive of me (she didn't remember me from my last visit last year) . After a little while though, I used my 'charm' (^_^) and she now has no problems being near me. I tried teaching her how to say my name, but somehow it keep coming out either 'Hanuiella' or 'Cinderella'...

There was one funny incident where Malia was trying so hard to be nice to her 6-month-old baby sister, Bella. She wanted to put a towel under Bella's head and since she couldn't lift the baby's head, Malia grabbed Bella by the hair to move the head to put the towle down! Naomi and I were too much in shock for a split second and couldn't do anything. It was a bit 'scary' when we saw it but soon we were laughing so hard. Bella wasn't hurt but was looking around with a confused look on her face. :P Malia loves her baby sister so much, but is so young herself she doesn't know how to be gentle with the baby. I wonder if Naomi was like that around me... I might ask Daddy and Mommy about that sometimes...

Heather came home and we chatted for a while and had a nice time of fellowship. Soon it was getting close to 6:00 so we said our good-byes and after picking up some things at the house, headed over to Aunt Jean's for dinner. She made delicious spaghetti and meatballs for dinner, yum! We relaxed after the full meal and Aunt Jean was commenting how grown up I had become in some areas. She seemed really impressed by me when we were at the wedding a few days ago when I was able to talk comfortably with total strangers. :P I must agree, I think I've gotten better at meeting new people especially with the sign dance project. I'd better get used to it since I'll be starting college soon!

Watched one episode each of Monk and Remington Steele. Aunt Jean liked both a lot though I had to explain quite a bit since she had never seen Monk before and hadn't seen Remington Steele in a long time. Her tv is HUGE so I hope to be able to go more often to watch movies at her house. ^_^

Got home and was able to talk with Maria a bit. Unfortunately, messenger shut down and I never could get back to her! Sorry Maria that I couldn't say a proper good-bye! Also, sorry to Daddy and Mommy that I didn't get a chance to talk with them. :S Roadrunner's been giving my laptop a few problems, just suddenly cutting off the Internet... well, at least I'm able to get this blog published before getting to bed! Good night to everyone, please be rooting for my driver's permit tomorrow!

Today was spent mostly doing whatever Naomi and I felt like doing. Had a hard time waking up; took almost 45 minutes to actually get out of bed so it was after 10:00 that I stumbled out of bed to go wash my face and wake up. :P

Wide awake I had a quick breakfast (strawberry yogurt) then checked my e-mail which I had quite a lot this morning. I wanted to do some dancing so I did my stretches and some ballet routines while listening to Broadway tunes. Naomi was also in the living room, doing some ironing and singing along to the music. ^_^

I was in such a 'dance mood' so I popped Dein Perry's Tap Dogs into the DVD player and watched the 'highlights', a term my family uses when we watch only our favorite parts from a movie. Since Naomi hadn't seen it before, I was sure to bring her attention to the show at the best parts. I don't really know if she really liked it or not but I do know she was impressed at some of the cool stuff the dancers do. I think my favorite dancers would have to be Ben Read (he does this 'toe' step I can't figure out how he's doing!) and Gerry Symonds (he dances upside down on the ceiling; enough said...)

Inspired from watching the show, I decided to start writing a review for it on Amazon.com. I had hardly written maybe two paragraphs when it was time for lunch. Oh, well; I was hungry so I didn't mind. Naomi and I had a simple lunch of some leftovers and baby carrots in onion dip. I love baby carrots and eating them with dips and this onion dip was actually very good.

Decided to go see a movie so we drove over to Ward. Before buying tickets, we peeked into Pier 1 Imports where they have a lot of decorations and furnitures for around the house. Naomi couldn't decided on exactly what she wanted to buy so we went to the theaters to watch Fantastic Four. It was, for lack of a better word, fantastic! Both Naomi and I loved it; the storyline was good and the characters were really likable. I thought that Johnny Storm (Chris Evans) would be my favorite character, but Reed Richards (Ion Gruffud) turned out to be my favorite in the whole movie.

Went back to Pier 1 Imports and Naomi finally decided on something like a stand up woven-basket-like-thing. :P Can't really describe it, but it's a nice basket for putting folders and letters in.

Next stop was at Walmart where Naomi and I got little things needed for the house. I also got to buy Moonlighting Season 1 and 2, an 80's tv series which was one of Bruce Willis' earliest debut. Can't wait to watch it! It's sort of like a detective series, but I hear it's mostly comedy however.

By the time we got home it was around 5:30 and since Naomi was really tired, she took a nap. Not wanting to disturb her, I turned on the air conditioner (yay!) in my room and stayed in there. I've been here almost a week, but I actually don't spend too much time in my room so it was nice to try to get a 'feel' for Maki's/my room. I finally made the bed, using the new bedsheets and bedspreads I had bought the last time I had come to Hawaii (in May). I simply love it; the color is really nice and design isn't too 'girly'. I'm very proud of myself because I was able to put the bed 'skirt' on all by myself (which is a difficult feat since I had to carry and move the top mattress alone).

Woke Naomi up a little after 6:00 and she started making dinner. Since I would be sort of in the way (she was making soup), I just stayed in my room and moved some more things around, trying to figure out how I want the room to look. Final decisions of course would be made when maki gets here.

For dinner we had chicken sandwiches, soup (lots of onions, bacon, and chicken), and cucumbers. Yummy! We decided to start watching Remington Steele so we watched the first three episodes. Lots of fun; I've seen all of them before but it's been a while so it was fun trying to guess 'whodunit'.

Had a nice video conversation with my parents; I fooled around a lot, rolling by the camera in my computer chair. :P My parents were supposed to laugh; instead, they just stared... lol Binky was more responsive since whenever I called out to her she perked up and looked around the room. Sooo cute! Sophie of course wouldn't lift her head up even if I was actually there.

Had an audio conversation with Maria next. It's been a while since we chatted or anything though we comment on each other's blog all the time. ^_^ I got to say hi to her grandmother, mother, father, sister, and brother... it was quite an interesting conversation.

Ok, I haven't gotten around to finishing my Amazon.com review for Tap Dogs yet so I'm going to do that then go to bed. Tomorrow we have nothing much planned though we're definitely going to have dinner at Aunt Jean's tomorrow. Hurray, she's cooking! Good night, sleep tight!

I have officially done all I have to do to prepare for the upcoming fall semester! I'm so happy (and mostly relieved) that everything has worked out so well and smoothly for me. But first, what happened today in order of events. ^_^

Took a looong time to actually get out of bed though it was fairly late in the mornings (a little after 9:00). For breakfast made a delicious smoothie from strawberries and blueberries from Jenny (thanks so much Jenny!). Drove over to Ala Moana next for Naomi's and my haircut appointment. Naomi got her hair cut by Monique (who Naomi always gets to cut her hair) and I got my haircut done by Gail. We got to talk quite a bit and I learned she was from Las Vegas though she had lived most of her life in Hawaii. She just recently moved back just two weeks ago. She has two maltese so we were able to talk about dogs. ^_^ Naomi says her hair style hasn't changed much but I'm putting a picture of her up anyway. My hairstyle isn't too much different compared to before but it feels so much lighter (it looks a lot straighter but it's only because I had my hair blow-dryed).

After stopping by Starbucks (I got a Mocha Coconut frappuccino), went home and ate leftovers for lunch. Watched an episode of (you guessed it) Monk. Then left for campus to attend an orientation session. Got to the school auditorium just in time (1:00). I received a Schedule of Classes of booklet, nice to have even though I've really already made up my own schedule for this fall. We had several speakers talk about starting out college and what all the benefits are of doing so. I especially liked listening to Keith speek. He teaches Speech so I'm really thinking of taking one of his classes in the spring. I was able to chat with him afterwards and he says he's looking forward to seeing me.

An interesting experience was during the session they had us introduce ourselves to the person sitting next to you. Practice for meeting new people in classes. The guy next to me was named Keith (not the same with who teaches Speech class) who is a transfer student from Kansas. He's taking Liberal Arts for one semester then is hoping to transfer again to South Korea. I actually didn't have as much a hard time in talking to strangers as I thought I would. ^_^

The session ended then depending on what majors we were taking, everyone was split up into groups. My Liberal Arts group went over to the Iliahi building and a counsellor talked to us about the Liberal Arts program. She was really helpful and gave a lot of tips about how to make sure you do all your recquired courses. Her explanations about the Writing Intensive courses were also really easy to understand.

Went for a quick meeting with Kristie who is my Liberal Arts counsellor. She's such a fun person to talk to and has been so helpful throughout my whole process of getting ready for college. Through her suggestion I'm going to try to take a Japanese course for fluent speakers which will count for four language classes I would need to get a Bachelor's. So happy to learn about this course so that I won't have to take so many language classes!

Stopped by the library to try to get a student ID but unfortunately, the ID machine was down. Will probably go again later this week.

Went over to Costco next to pick up a few groceries and get a belated Mother's Day gift for my mother: Remington Steele Season One! She simply loves the series, most of all because Pierce Brosnan is in it. And who can honestly disagree that Pierce Brosnan is utterly charming, devastatingly handsome, has a great sense of wit and humor, and did I mention the accent? *wink!* Well, those are my reasons for liking Pierce Brosnan... Strange, at Costco I didn't pick up any other DVDs for myself. Strange, isn't it? :P I'm practicing self-control, that's what it is.

It was nearing 5:30 by then and Naomi and I were getting very hungry. Rushed back home and made chicken sandwiches for dinner. It was an excellent dinner, especially since we got to finish up Monk Season Three. There was this one episode, Mr. Monk and the Election where Randy pretends to be this macho bodyguard type which made Naomi and I laugh so hard. And in Mr. Monk and the Kid, (the season finale), Tony Shalhoub played Monk to excellence. It was a really touching episode and it really showcases how Monk is trying to get over his compulsive behavior.

Talked to both my parents through audio chat. For some reason the webcam wasn't working at all later on so I downloaded a Logitech software for it to hopefully work better. Haven't tested it yet, probably will do that tomorrow.

Oh, yes, my fanfiction writing update. For the past two weeks I've been getting almost constant e-mails from my Boromir, Thou Shall Live fans who are urgently (almost 'threatening') to get the show on the road and update the story. So I'm going to re-read my story so that I can start writing again! Wish me luck! Also, fanfiction has finally made a category for The Interpreter fanfiction! I'm so happy, my story A Reason to Come Back is the first story in the category! I do so want to watch the movie again; too bad I'll have to wait till October for the DVD to be released.

Tomorrow I get to sleep in late, yay! I'll probably do some dancing then Naomi and I are hoping to catch a matinee showing of Fantastic Four. Good night!

Certainly a very fulfilling day! Though I went to bed a bit late last night (watched an episode of Monk before heading for bed) but woke up fairly well. Our landlord, Roland, came over just after 10:00 and put up the air conditioner in Maki's/my room. Hurray!! It took almost 2 hours to get it all done... Of course, this is Hawaii so everything is done so... so... slow... :P Ah well, I'd better get used to it, huh?

While waiting for the air conditioner to be put in, Naomi went over to the campus because for some reason my registration hadn't gone through the system. Thankfully, she came back saying that the registration was finally complete; the holds over my TB clearance X-rays had been cleared. Whew! I was so glad because for a moment I wondered if we were going to have to go through more complication. I immediately got online and registered for a total of five classes: Math 100 which is Basic Mathematics, English 100 which is composition, ASL 101 which is the 1st level in studying American Sign Language, Dance 121 which is Beginners Ballet I, and History 151 which a study in World Civilizations. Fortunately, Naomi was able to help me schedule everything so well that I: 1) won't have to go to classes which are too early in the morning, 2) have a nice lunch break, 3) have only one class on Friday and since it's ballet I don't mind, and 4) won't have to go to any evening classes. Thank so much Naomi! My schedule looks something like this:

Monday

10:45 - 12:00 ENG 100

1:45 - 3:00 MATH 100

3:15 - 4:30 DNCE 121

Tuesday

10:45 - 1200 HIS 151

1:45 - 3:50 ASL 101

Wednesday
10:45 - 12:00 ENG 100
1:45 - 3:00 MATH 100
3:15 - 4:30 DNCE 121

Thursday
10:45 - 1200 HIS 151
1:45 - 3:50 ASL 101

Friday
3:15 - 4:30 DNCE 121

Since tuition has to be paid on the day you register for classes and your schedule is completed, after a lunch of leftovers while watching an episode of Monk, Naomi and I headed over to campus. After paying for the tuition (which is quite a simple procedure), we next headed over to the bank. It was the first time for me to deposit a check into my bank account. Also quite a simple procedure; I've become very good at signing my name. ^_^

Headed over to Barnes and Nobles (how I love that place!). I got the magazines Premiere and Entertainment Weekly, two of my favorite entertainment magazines. I think I'll subscribe to both of them now that I'm actually living in Hawaii now. Also got a Vivian Vande Velde book (I know Maria's jealous, though I think she might already have this book), Never Trust a Dead Man. It looks very funny, as most all of Velde's books are.

Got home after stopping by Star Market, Sweet Factory (got some gummy bears and mint chocolates), and Starbucks (Naomi got a frappuccino). Watched another episode of Monk (this tv series is just too addictive). Naomi and I are re-watching the third season in order now. Can't wait to get to the episodes with Natalie in them. We stopped with just watching one episode since Naomi wanted to call her friend, Debra. While she was gabbing away (:P), I got on my computer and was able to chat with Maria and Maki. It was nice chatting with my friends; as all might have guessed it got just a bit crazy, but not as bad as it might have gotten... ^_^ I also got a chance to look over some more classes available at Kapi'olani. There's this very cool Speech class called Performance in Literature which sounds exciting. Since it's a Writing Intensive course, I decided to probably take that class as one of the two required Writing Intensive classes I need to take. There are so many other interesting classes; exciting semesters ahead!

It was drawing close to 6:00 when Naomi and I went over to church since tonight was sign dance practice night. However, arriving there we didn't find anyone there. We waited about 10 minutes before deciding that perhaps the practice had been cancelled. Realizing that I'll be needing a Driver's Manual to study so that I can get my driver's permit (sorry, Erin, couldn't find the manual in your room anywhere). For those wondering, yes, I'm going to be driving in Hawaii. ^_^ Scary thought, huh? Anyway, went to both Longs drugstore and Times supermarket; neither place were selling the manual. It's summer so it seems a lot of people are getting their permit, or at least studying for it. So in the end we went to Barnes and Nobles again. It was funny because the same lady at the register was the same one from ealier in the day! :P

While Naomi started making 'omuraisu' for dinner when we got home, I called my parents and were able to talk to them for a bit. I had so much to tell them! They were happy that I were able to get my registration and paying my tuition done.

Ok, guess what we watched in the evening. You got it, more Monk. Addictive, right? lol! There's this one episode I liked in particular called Monk Gets Cabin Fever. It's one of the FUNNIEST episodes out there! Seriously, Naomi and I were laughing so hard in this scene with Monk and Captain Stottlemeyer. All I can say is, don't let Monk sleep on the bottom bunk if you're on top... :P I'm liking Natalie a lot; she's much tougher and gruffier than Sharona. And of course, still loving Randy; he actually gets to kind of solve a case on his own!

Getting close to bedtime now. Tomorrow's also going to be busy with orientation and meeting with a Liberal Arts counsellor named Kristie. She's a really nice lady and I've exchanged a few e-mails with her already. She's been real helpful in answering all my questions and I hope she'll be able to continue helping me in the future. G'night y'all! (Not much pictures today, so since I talked so much about Monk, here's a funny pictures I found...)

Loooong day... ^_^ Today is Sunday so Naomi and I planned to get up early to make it to the 8:30 service at Kaimuki Christian Church. As you may have guessed, we woke up slightly later than we had planned to. :P Fortunately, we got ready quickly (must be all the practice we have in Japan when getting ready for our Sundays... :P) that we got to service on time. It was my first time to go to the 8:30 service so it was odd to see how different all three KCC services are (Friday evenings and Sunday morning 8:30 and 10:30 servies). The 8:30 service have almost a totally different group than the other services so Naomi introduced me to several people, Lorrie in particular who I've been wanting to meet so much. She's one of the sign dancers and I heard she's really good. I got to see some familiar faces, too, most specifically Joe and his family. Joe is the drummer on KCC's worship team; an EXCELLENT drummer and a man with a very funny sense of humor. ^_^ His wife Mercy and his two daughters were also there. It was surprising to see how much Kyla had grown up since I had last seen her. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture of Joe and his family. :( I promise to get it next time I see them!!

After the service we went straight home (after saying good-bye to Ericson who was there for the youth service at 10:30) and had our own church service. We sang worship songs in both Japanese and English. Naomi led service speaking from Romans 8:31~. I think after listening to the sermons both Naomi and I seem to feel we must truly understand the meaning of 'all things work together for good to those who love God'.

Soon afterwards our landlord came to check out our air conditioner still needing to be hooked up in Maki's/my room. At first he said we could have a friend help put it in but after leaving he called us up and said he'll put it in for us tomorrow morning! Hurray!!

Naomi made lasagna and as we ate we had a Monk-a-thon, watching four episodes from season three. LOTS of fun, we were laughing so hard because there were several scenes which certainly showcases Tony Shalhoub's comedic talent. The Captain and Randy are also hilariously funny; it was also nice to see Glenn Headley reprise her role as Captain Stottlemeyer's wife.

Naomi and I then were going to register me for college online but found out for some reason that it still said that my x-rays haven't been cleared! HMPH! So tomorrow we're going to have to get this all straightened out because the lady at the desk had said I was cleared to be registered. Must be some mix-up, and this is Hawaii...

Then Aunt Jean came over to pick us up and go to a wedding. Her friend's daughter was getting married and we were all invited. Actually, 'kinda' the reason I came to Hawaii so early was to be able to attend this wedding and meet the bride, Anri's, younger sister. More of that in a sec. Wedding started around 5:00 in the outside lawn of Hale Koa, a hotel. The bride and groom's names are Anri and Joe and they were a really sweet couple (Joe looks a bit like a young Dennis Quaid, very cute). I didn't catch what kind of work Joe does, but Anri is a ballet teacher at an university in Utah. Since Aunt Jean's friend, Anri's mother, lives in Hawaii, they decided to have the wedding here.

The reception was in the dining hall of the hotel and we got to eat a VERY American buffet for dinner. The food wasn't really as good as Japanese buffets, especially our church buffet. :P Can't compare with the church buffet, huh? Oh, yes! It was really funny because there were two waiters who looked like 1) Mr. Incredible especially the profile and 2) an even better looking version of Stanley Tucci with very cool glasses. I had such a hard time trying not to stare at the two of them because the resemblances were uncanny. Hee hee!

So many people came from all over; Chile, Switzerland, Mexico, Japan, and Italy. It was nice because during the speech time the bride and groom thanked all the people who came from far so when they said, "And thank you Priscilla from Japan for coming here today," I was like 'Me?" ^_^ I stood up in front of everyone (say over 100 people) and got a very nice shell necklace.

Anri had choreographed a speciall ballet performance which her two friends performed. A simple dance between a couple and it was very beautiful. There was also live music and the woman who sang was fantastic; she had such a beautiful voice everyone clapped after every song she sang though she was singing as background music.

Then came the bouquet toss from the bride. You'll never guess who caught the bouquet... NAOMI! LOL! I'll never let her live this down. It was just so funny because it seemed like a lot of girls (especially me) wasn't really too excited to catch the bouqet. But Naomi got it!

By this time it was getting late and the official wedding ended for the night. Next came the dancing and though the music was really nice (Celebration and Funky Town) and I LOVE dancing, I didn't because I felt it would be awkward to dance with strangers. :P Also, I happen to be... ahem, a bit tall, so a lot of the other guys were a bit shorter...

Picture with the bride's parents -->

Anyway, we decided it was the best time to go so before we left I got to talk to Anri's younger sister, Michelle. She graduated from a film college (the reason I wanted to meet her a lot) and she lives in Hollywood! She's at the moment producing and helping to direct a documentary. After telling her my dreams, we exchanged e-mails and hopefully we'll become good e-mail friends! Maybe someday we can work on a movie together; fun, fun, FUN!

Got home kinda later than I expected, maybe say after 10:00. Got to talk to Daddy and Mommy on the phone a bit and heard Bianca being brushed. Seriously, I could hear the brushing going on through the phone; it sounded like a hurricane or something! ^_^ It was nice talking with my parents; I was a bit tired but they perked me up. :D Going to watch maybe an episode of Monk now. Good-night all! Last picture is one with a pineapple ornament I got to take home, Kiss chocolate wrapped up in a cute little napkin, Naomi's bouquet, and the necklace I got.

I realize that yesterday's post's date was said to be 'Saturday', but it was actually 'Friday'. What happened was that I posted it past midnight so it showed up as Saturday. :P So this is Saturday's blog.

Since last night was so late, got up very slowly past 9:30. Naomi and I got pretty busy soon after getting up; did laundry, cleaned up the house a lot more, and I reorganized the DVDs and videos. Everyone knows I like movies so must realize how much I just needed to have the DVDs and such correctly organized. I mean, seriously, Naomi and Erin just put their movies in just any order! ARGH! At least it's all beautifully arranged by rating, genre, and types of cases. I even organized their CDs by artist, genre, and release dates. Now that's the kind of 'cleaning up' that I like.

Before we knew it the clock read 12:00 so we decided to have lunch. Since we hadn't had breakfast (:P), we had toast, eggs, and bacon. Yum-yum! After reading some fanfiction to settle my stomach, I practiced some dancing. I haven't danced in a while (considering we usually had dance almost every day for a loooong time!) I took a long time to do my warm-ups and stretches. Fortunately, I don't seem to have gotten very stiff at all; in fact, I think I could stretch more than usual. It also helps that because of the warm weather here the muscles warm-up easier than in Japan (cold concrete floors in the Sanctuary don't help much. :P)

Jenny stopped by around 2:30 or so and I realized that I had danced for a little over an hour! Feeling very good (I always feel so genkii after dancing and doing stretches), I relaxed and drank some Dr. Pepper while reading And Both Were Young by Madeleine L'Engle. Most may recognize the name as the author of the Wrinkle in Time series. I simply love this book; I haven't read it in such a long while that it's a pleasure to pick it up once more. I also figured out how to hook my speakers to my i-Pod so listened to nice music. (I hope you don't mind Maria and I'm 'borrowing' your idea of putting the picture of the cover of the book I'm reading. ^_^)

After Jenny left, Naomi and I headed over the theaters to watch a movie. Though I was afraid we wouldn't make it on time, Naomi was luckily able to find a parking spot almost immediately so we got inside the theater just as the movie was starting. Nice because we didn't have to squirm through so many trailers. The movie unfortunately wasn't as good as I hoped it'd be... hmmm....

Got home a little after 6 and both Naomi and I were pretty hungry by then. Our stomachs are still a little mixed up from the time difference. Naomi made a delicious hamburger dish which was more like meatloaf. We ate it with tomato sauce and tomato sauce on top... whoo!

After cleaning up all the dishes, we went over to Tower Records to see if they had something we wanted... and they did! Particularly Daddy, Mommy, Mrs. Ean, and Mrs. Ito are going to be sooo jealous, we got Monk Season Three on DVD! Instead of watching the first episode for the season, we went straight to watching the tenth episode where the character of Sharona is no longer on the show but is replaced by a character named Nathalie. I really like the actress who plays Nathalie (Traylor Howard), especially in her earliest tv show called Two Guys and a Girl (Gotta love Ryan Reynolds as one of the 'two guys'). I'm sad Sharona's gone, but I still like Nathalie a lot! She's much tougher on Monk, and I think that's what he needs sometimes. (Traylor H. is the blonde girl in the picture on the right, Ryan R. the guy on the left of the same picture)

Oh, yes, while watching the Monk episode, Naomi and I drank a mango shake of our own concoction. *muahahahaha* We blended fresh mangos, pineapple sherbert, and milk. Delicious, simply delicious!

Afterwards, we were able to have a video conversation with Daddy and Mommy. Lots of fun; I especially love making weird faces and doing weird things in front of the camera, especially to make people laugh. (You were laughing, right Daddy and Mommy?...) Bianca and Sophie are too adorable, even on camera! I just gotta face facts... they're just too, too perfect. :P

Time for bed! Tomorrow we'll be going to the 8:30 service at church so we're going to get up a wee bit earlier than usual. Then hopefuly, I might get an air conditioner installed in my room (excited, huh Maki?) In the evening, Naomi and I are invited to go to a wedding of Aunt Jean's friend's daughter so am looking forward to that.

On a last note, a picture of our new laundry hamper whom we have named Dr. Pepper. (Henceforth you shall be called Darth... *ahem* sorry, couldn't help poking fun at Darth Sidious. LOL!) Thank you Chio-san for the lovely gift!

My 2nd day in Hawaii was very busy; lots of things to get done! Woke up around 9:30 (Naomi was the one who actually woke me up). Took a quick shower, did my morning ritual (most importantly checking my e-mails and catching up on news) and then after a quick breakfast headed out to Kapi'olani Community College. First things first, and what had to be done was getting my X-rays cleared so that I can finally register. At first we thought there was going to be a problem since I got the X-rays done in Japan but they actually cleared it without any qualms! Thank the Lord because if it hadn't been passed, Naomi and I would have had to drive quite a ways to get it done again. *Sigh* I don't need to experience that again.

Next stop was checking out the Diamond Head Theatre. They're still doing their summer pogram but hopefully, I'll be able to maybe take a few sessions of tap dance classes before the Fall schedule begins. Looking forward to maybe getting that happen!

Off we went next to the bank. Listen up everyone... I have a checkbook now! I know, sounds maybe kinda dull but I think it's really cool. I can write checks and sign stuff and everything! (You can see me going all giddy here.) Also got my savings account worked out and will be getting a debit card in a few days. Exciting!

Naomi went off to Sprint while I browsed around CompUSA. I got a new, very cool mousepad which I love very much. soooo blue! I also got a headphone/speaker splitter so I can hook up two earphones to my i-Pod. Will be very handy so that Naomi or Maki and I can share (Erin, you're getting your own, right? ^_^)

Next went to drop off some stuff for Daddy then Naomi and I made a quick lunch stop at Jack-in-the-Box. Whoah, their hamburgers are huge! Had a hard time finishing mine though it was like 2:15 and I was starved. Since the theaters were near by, we were going to watch a movie but unfortunately, nothing good was showing around the time we got there.

Got home and relaxed in front of the computer for a while. I watched a movie that I had bought yesterday. Crazy and stupid, but very talented actors and actresses... hilarious! I can tell you now that even now the funny scenes keep repeating in my head...

Soon it got around 6:45 so Naomi and I rushed to go to the Firday Night Service. The sermon was relatively long compared to the usual time for Kaimuki Christian Church. Since Pastor Ron is away in Kenya doing some mission work, Jerry preached. My first time to ever see him, but he gave such a powerful message titled "God is With us". VERY powerful sermon, I took so many notes and plan to read Romans 7 and 8 thoroughly.

It was fun seeing many people I've known for so many years. Tony and Jenny are looking good and were both on the worship team tonight. Oh, too many other people to name were there but there was one person I met... you guys just might know him. His name is Ericson, have you heard of him? ^_^ LOL! Yeah, Ericson was there tonight and I got a picture of him with his sister that I hope you like! He's doing well and sends his best (right Ericson?) ^_^
Heather and Nick were also there with their two daughters, Malia and Bella. Bella is so cute as is Malia, though Malia was a bit wary of me and kept running back to her mother. Oh, and Josh has longish blond hair and a beard now! Was very strange to see him look so different...

After the meeting, many of us met up at a Mexican Restaurant for dinner. Don, Christi, Brandon, Yuriy, Tiffany, Byron, Ericson, Taryn, and Yoko were there and we had such a fun time talking and laughing. And Brandon got this HUGE dish, it was a wonder that he finished it!

Before either Naomi or I realized it, it was getting late so we all left the restaurant. As we were heading for the parking lot, we heard the annoying steady honking of a car alarm. We were laughing and joking how annoying it was... then as we got to our floor, we found out it was Naomi's car which was honking!! A policeman was about to call someone or something but luckily Naomi ran to the car and inserted the key, making the honking and flashing lights stop. It was really strange and we made sure nothing was stolen. Very strange... we were all laughing about it. :P

We drove Yuriy home then getting slightly lost, got home. Got to talk to Daddy and Mommy on the phone and chatted with Elly and Meg a bit (sorry I kept getting cut off and didn't get to properly say good-bye girls!). Well, it's very late... must be off to bed! Tomorrow's a big day also since there's some more stuff Naomi and I have to do.

P.S. I put pictures into the previous day's account in my blog, please take the time to look at them!

The beginning for a new life for me has certainly started off with a full, almost two days! I've begun this blog to be sure to keep everyone in Japan updated with what's going to be going on in my life in college! This may possibly be a very boring blog, but I hope that those who read this will be fully entertained! As all those who know me know, I like keeping people entertained and I'll be sure to try to get a smile on everyone's face who reads my blog.

All right, on with the show! I woke up around 9:00 this morning and immediately began the tediousness of doing last-minute packing. Frequent travelers can probably relate to just how much things start popping in which you just have to take with you. :P Fortunately, since I'm traveling with my sister Naomi, I got to pack a lot of my stuff shared together into four suitcases.

After packing is then the cleaning up of my room which I'll be leaving behind. *sniff sniff* I'm certainly going to miss my room; I have a funny feeling though that it would now be considered the dogs' room now... spoiled Sophie and Bianca... Stopped by the church a bit to search for some missings DVDs (:P, luckily I found them) then hurried home to eat lunch with the whole family including Obaa-san and Aunt Kayoko. Yum, korrokke! I'm certainly going to miss them. Finally around 2:30 it was time to leave and naturally leaving the dogs made me cry. I'm going to miss them sooooooo much; the poor puppies because I can't really talk to them long-distance. I'll just have to really make sure to come back for Christmas before they forget me.

I thought I would be prepared seeing the church people who had gathered at the church to say good-bye but it was certainly overwhelming to see so many people I love and care about so much. I hate good-byes and I cried so much; of course, seeing others cry didn't help me to try to stop crying! Mou... Many thanks to everyone who came!

Got to the airport just in time (of course with Daddy's driving we always get anywhere on time) and got to eat a delicious dinner at a Japanese style restaurant. Ikura-don is my favorite dish there but Daddy and Mommy's special sets also looked good. Of course I got a bite (maybe a few bites) and enjoyed what they ordered. Thank you to Daddy and Mommy who bought me a nice book to read on the plane (Batman Begins, yes I've already seen it but I just had to read the book because the movie was so good!) Before long, after peering into many of the airport stores, it was time to say good-bye to my parents. Most definitely the hardest good-bye to say, I really wish I could take my parents with me to Hawaii! Well, I'll make it all up by making sure they call all the time and chat with them. And of course there's always the webcam which I'll set up.

The plane Naomi and I rode was quite old, there were actually ashtrays for every seat (before they outlawed smoking on airplanes). That meant no personal tv for each passenger (*sob*) but all was made up when I got to watch Robots! A very good movie and I laughed so much I was afraid I would wake Naomi up (she slep through the whole plane ride). Unfortunately, I couln't quite give the movie 5 stars; some of the humor was a bit... hmm... crude. It is Robin Williams, what was I to expect?! Funny trivia, the robot Ewan McGregor does the voice for lookes somewhat like Ewan... hee hee! Always read all of Batman Begins which was an excellent novelization and listend to a lot from my i-Pod and played MahJohng on my laptop. Thank goodness for modern technology!

The airplaine ride was actually quite bumpy and turbulent; several times we were recquired to put on seatbelts and the stewardess had to strap in, too. I'm usually not nervous on airplanes but this was pretty scary. Not to worry, we landed safe and sound; and I must say the pilot executed one of the smoothest landings I've ever experienced! Went through customs without too many problems. I was a bit frowned upon for having two passports... :P I can blame my parents for dual citizenship.

Christi, a friend from Kaimuki Christian Church, picked us up in her large Explorer type car and thankfully all the suitcases fit! We stopped by her house and she showed us her lovely little garden. Lots of luck with the vegetables!

Got home and after waving good-bye to Christi, it was time to unpack. Well, unpack may not be the right word; first of all we just dumped everything out of the suitcases in Naomi's room. Then little by little, I took my things to the room Maki and I will be sharing. I couldn't finish much since we had to leave the house to get some things done.

First off was getting the car washed. Ugh... that car was filthy!

Second, picked up some delicious Panda Express and went to Aunt Jean's! She's looking really well and it was so nice to see her! She was happy with the Asiah cd we got for her and we listened while we ate Panda Express. We made plans for when to meet over the weekend; possibly go see a move. ^_^ It's so nice because most all of my relatives loves movies so we get together to go to theaters.

Left Aunt Jean's since Naomi and I had to get some shopping done. We first went to Long's Drugs, then made a quick stop to the Post Office. Next to the Time's Supermarket to get groceries. Yay, got some Chocolate Teddy Graham Crackers! Haven't had those in such a long time.

Stopped by the house then... *sigh* You're all going to laugh. Naomi and I went to see a movie... ^_^ Just had to! Made it in time for the matinee showing of Bewitched. I readily admit that I'm a sucker for a cute chick flick and this was certainly an enjoyable, cute movie. Since I liked the original there were some things from the original that I liked. It starred Will Ferrell so naturally there are some weird scenes where he goes totally beserk and makes all sorts of weird faces (think Jim Carrey) but overall the movie was good. Mostly because of Nicole Kidman who is absolutely a gem. Since I'm a movie critic must include: Rated PG-13 so cannot recommend to younger kids or young teenagers. :P

Stopped by Wallmart to get some things (I bought a few DVDs). Got home and fell fast asleep on Naomi's bed. Didn't mean to, I actually mean to finish cleaning up but I guess I was more tired than I thought... :P While Naomi went to buy sour cream which we had forgotten, I started getting dinner ready. Yes, I do know how to prepare meals occassionaly. ^_^ Naomi came back and finished up so we had a wonderful dinner of steak fajitas while watching the delightful Much Ado About Nothing. Mommy called soon afterwards and got to talk with her a while. Got to talk to Bianca and Sophie, too, but I must say the conversation was quite one-sided...

Finally by 10:30 I pretty much finished doing my room while distracted chatting with some people, talking to Maria and Mrs. Kanai on the phone (Yes, Maria can talk on the phone! :P Sorry, Maria, had to say it...) Some parts are still a mess so I didn't take pictures of the whole room. When it's done and when Maki gets here, I'll include more pictures of the house.
It's past midnight though I'm not sleepy because of the time difference and the fact I took a couple of hours nap. But I'm sure I'll have to trouble sleeping once my head hits the pillow. Until tomorrow! I love hearing from all of you, don't hesitate to send an e-mail or drop by on chat! And especially if you have any questions about movies, don't hesitate in asking DirectorExtraordinary! :P My username, like it or hate it? ^_^