Peer Pressure

So my dear friend Crystal has convinced me that I NEED to have a blog. She tells me that it'll be easier for me to keep in touch with my friends and family--instead of writing my quarterly update emails, I can just give them this link. Personally, I think it's because she wants another friend on her blogger. But I'm here now, starting a blog which will probably be updated quarterly....who knows.

So you all know (due to my email update!!) that Jerome and I have arrived on the island. The big lava rock. Paradise. Call it whatever you like, but for now, it's home for us. So far, so good. It's a much different experience than South Carolina and quite honestly, I miss the sloooooooow-ness of SC. The "traffic" in SC was pleasant compared to what you can get stuck in here...or LA for that matter. Do I miss anything else? Not really. Just a handful of people and that's about it.

The thing I really love about it here is that there is just so much to do, all the time. Although we experienced a bit of bad weather, the majority of the days are sunny and warm. (seriously, do we really need a weatherman here?) Jerome and I have been able to visit a handful of beaches and have eaten at a lot of fun, local restaurants. We haven't, however, done much "touristy" things such as Diamond Head, Dole Plantation, Polynesian Cultural Center (btw, Amanda, we thought about you when we passed by...hahaha!) or Manoa Falls. We figure we'll be able to do all that when we take visitors...so we can save it. Jerome has been to the Arizona Memorial (we live about 10 minutes away!) with his crew--they were able to bypass the 3 hour line (they were in uniform) and they were even an attraction when some Japanese tourists asked to take pictures with them!

Jerome and I celebrated our first anniversary this past weekend and it was exactly like we wanted: fun and relaxing. Our friend, Phil, and his girlfriend were in town and we took them to our favorite beach, Kailua. We swam in the ocean for about an hour and attempted to go kayaking--but we were too late for rentals. We also had a small picnic with some Teddy's Bigger Burgers and Maui Tacos and it was perfect!! Later in the evening, Jerome and I went to Ruth's Chrisfor dinner. We sat next to some obnoxious guys, but the dinner was fabulous and we got a free dessert. YUM! To top it off, Bella arrived this past Saturday so it was an especially happy anniversary for us. Happy One Year, Jerome. I love you!!

I got a new job and I am anxious to start. The days are so long when I'm home all day. I will be an Intervention Support for teachers grades 3-6 at a school about 5 miles away from my house and I already know I will be happy there. The school is small and the staff is so friendly. The kids seem so calm compared to what I'm used to and there's just a general homey feeling. The principal is especially friendly--and you can tell his heart and soul is in the school. (his kids attended there, he taught there, etc.) He showed me the a/c he installed in the computer lab, the a/v equipment he installed in the auditorium and the walls he painted around the school. He did all this! I've never seen/heard of a principal doing all that for a school.

I have a quite a bit to do today, including getting Bella's pictures taken for the housing office, returning some stuff and going to the post office. Hopefully, I will start work soon (LAUSD isn't the only slooooooow district to get things done...) so I won't be so bored at home.

By the way--if you have a blogger, let me know so I can add you as a friend! :)