Hawai'i: My new home.

Well I finally made it to Hawai'i and moved all of my stuff in to my new apartment. It would've never been done if my wonderful mom didn't come with me and help me drag HUGE amounts of stuff from Wal-Mart and the Ala Moana shopping center on the bus all the way to Waikiki. I can tell you it was one of the most complicated things I've done for the sake of relocating :) But now my apartment looks like a home! Well, almost. I still need a plant and a Tiki to hang on the wall, but I have a really big room, a tiny refrigerator (think mini fridge), and a large lanai where I sit in the mornings drinking my coffee and admire the city view.
My place is actually located in an old hotel building they converted to student housing and it's called The Ohia. It has 17 stories and I was lucky enough to get a corner unit on the 12th floor and it's really big compared to a lot of the other rooms. It also means that in addition to a lanai I have a huge window looking out on the mountains so the views are spectacular! Across the street I'm blessed with a Starbucks and a Jamba Juice (even in Hawai'i they always put one next to the other!), and the beach is about a 5min walk.
The pictures I posted above are from the Sheraton Waikiki where my mom and I stayed while she was here. That is the view from our balcony and I have never woken up to a more beautiful view, but alas, I had to give it up since she went home on Wednesday :( Oh well, maybe I'll sneak over there for a peek every once in a while!
Yesterday I was in the loby of my building and I ran into another San Jose State student I recognized from being in the Greek system! It was great to see a familiar face so we introduced ourselves and proceeded to go grocery shopping. Later that evening we walked around the streets of Waikiki in search of a place to grab a bite. We first attempted The Cheesecake factory but the wait was over an hour so we found The Hula Grill and had a drink and appetizers, the crab and macadamia nut wontons were SO incredibly good! They make a mean mango margarita as well :) Next week I think we're going to brave the waves and try surfing. We're both really excited and hope we don't turn into a lunch snack for a shark!
All in all things have been absolutely fantastic and I still can't belive that I live here! I still feel like I should be hopping on a plane sometime soon to go back to reality, but I'm living it already! If anyone would like to keep in touch, you can write me an email, send me a letter, or give me a ring on the phone. Here's my email address and if you want my other contact info, email me and I'll be more than happy to provide it. trippi_chic@hotmail.com
More pictures and posts to come as I settle in more completely...

Sweden 2006!

Yesterday I got back from a month relaxing and having a fantastic time in Sweden! I took a lot of pictures (though not as many as usual), met a lot of new people, partied a few times, and even danced with my shirt off at a club called Nivå, although I must say I wasn't the only culprit :) I had a wonderful time and I will be going back someday, hopefully soon. I am lucky to be able to call a place as wonderful as Sweden my second home and to have an adopted family that I love like they are my own.
Here are a few pics from my travels. I miss everyone a LOT and hope they are doing well!


This is a pic of me in Uppsala, the university city closest to where I was living. In the background is the Domkyrkan which you can see for miles and miles around. In truth, this is my church. I own it. Just like I own the Golden Gate Bridge and the Dalälven (a large beautiful river).
I was there last week on Wednesday with Free and we spent the day shopping and running around. I ate licorice ice cream (the BEST ice cream known to man!!!) by the water and we had lunch near the river.



To the right is a picture of David and one of his
friends whose name escapes me right now.
Well actually I just don't know how to spell it :)
This was on 8/11 in The Grizzly Twister's rehearsal room
(that's the band David's in). We opened the door and all of these people streamed in and began drinking and fooling around. Now you can't tell but this room is tiny. And I mean tiny. But somehow we all fit and had a great time!





This is David and me out by the water at his grandparents summer house. The day was warm, the water was cold, and the food was great! We ate (well, not David) crayfish with pie,
sauce, and bread. I stuffed myself till I couldn't do more than waddle, but it was worth it!


To the right clockwise from left is David's grandma, grandpa, mom, Anders (Christin's boyfriend), Christin, myself, David, and friends of the family. There was so much food the table was creaking :)








This is Klara and myself, out on the town during the City Fest, the big dirty festival that assaults Gävle every year around this time. So in protest everyone went to listen to music at a small venue and proceded to get very very drunk. Good times!

Well I know I didn't post that many photos so more will come later when I have time and I'm not so jetlagged. Ugh.

A new blog is born.

As a request from David I have begun a blog. This will actually function as more of a picture blog than a place to put my thoughts. Another reason I am starting this is because I'm moving to Hawai'i on Friday and I would like to keep the interested parties updated on what's going on with my new life in a new state (scary!). I'll try to post new photos as I take them, which at first will probably be a few times a week :)