On Saturday we went to Waimea Falls Park. It was my first time there...I may have been there in elementary school but I don't remember. It was a nice hike. Well, this is a picture of why the falls is so famous. A powerful wall of water emptying into a serene pool of water. A nice place to swim away from the beach. After a pretty short walk, there it is. I was in shock. It wasn't what I thought it'd be.



This is what the falls actually looked like:


This is what happens when there's no rain. It wasn't the magical backdrop for my picture but it was nice to get out, do something a little different & get exercise too.

Afterwards, we got some shave ice & rounded out the afternoon at Mililani Uka--Neil played some basketball with some old high school classmates & I got a chance to catch up on people I haven't seen in years.

Even though I didn't work out nearly as much as Neil, sitting out in the sun is hard work too. We were pretty bushed but our day wasn't over yet! We got to eat at Ihilani's buffet which had the chocolate fountain. It's not the chocolate that excites me but rather the idea of sticking a whole but of stuff into a streaming fountain of chocolate. I could stick my head in there. I didn't but I could have.

And finally, we rounded out the day with a game of poker. My suggestion is that we start sooner so that we aren't finishing up at the crack of dawn. Okay, that's an exaggeration but maybe next time we'll have time for a second game. I'm bringing the snack next time. All in all, it was a great Saturday...until Sunday when Neil woke up & got sick. It was just awful for him. But not enough from keeping him away from that football of his! It was a great weekend.

Dude, it's back.

Work.

Similar to Kathleen's blog about returning to work, I too cannot believe my vacation is finally over. I had dreams. Big dreams about my vacation. I did a little bit of reading, a little bit of swimming, got a little bit of sun & got a whole lot of television/lounging on my butt time. I got into a little depression at around week 4 because I felt like a big fat slob. Then I began cooking & baking. That seemed to do the trick for a little while but figured that if I kept making delicious desserts, I'd really be big & fat.

I've been dreading going back to work because of my new position. Mostly because it's at an elementary school, which I don't have too much experience in. Secondly, it's a brand new position which also means I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I'M DOING. I'm terrified of screwing up, of dropping the ball, of looking stupid. I've been stressing myself over it since I got the position & within the past couple weeks, been really down at the very idea of facing the new year. I was having bad dreams of messing up at work & tears would come up when the subject was brought up. I had a near meltdown at a restuarant several days before the first work day.

At first it seemed like the classic "Women are from Venus, Men are from Mars" thing. I'd express my anxiety & Neil would give advice. To him, it was practical thinking. To me, it seemed insensitive and NOT practical (since the advice given was no way helping to alleviate my anxiety). After telling him what I needed (a shoulder, some encouragement), I got exactly what I needed. And, like a thousand other times before, I fell in love with him all over again.

Tomorrow will mark the 2 week countdown to the end of my vacation. I don't think I would be so anxious about it if I were returning to my previous job. However, in two weeks I'll be starting a new job at a new school with little kids (who sometimes freak me out). I'm a year more experienced which should mean I know things but I feel even less prepared than before the beginning of last year. I'm sure there's a certain level of expectation from my new school because of my 1 year of experience under my belt which makes it even worse.

Last night, after one dream about pirates (we saw Pirates of the Carribean last night & then came home to watch "The True Pirates of the Carribean" on the History Channel) I had a dream about what my first day at work was going to be like. First of all, i was late cause I didn't set my alarm & also forgot that I need to be there early to greet the kids. Then I felt insecure so I went back to the high school to visit & some of the kids forgot about me & then I felt bad cause I had to tell them I wasn't their counselor anymore. I tried to counsel some kids using the Connect Four but turns out I had about 4 hours to kill.

I've accepted the fact that my 1st year will be a challenge. I've accepted that the 1st semester will be most difficult. It's going to be a world away from what I was trained to do in my internship & during my first year. Problems will be different. Jobs will be different. Techniques will be different. I hope with all this change brings positive outcomes. I'm sure it will. In the meantime, my anxiety will still linger as my summer vacation melts away & the countdown to the next holiday begins.

I thought I would never golf. When I was little, I did the things my brother did. He played soccer, I played soccer. He rode bike, I rode bike. In fact, in the 8th grade, I found the same pattern he made to construct the car we had to make for woodshop & made the same car as him. Yeah, it's pretty lame but I was a young impressionable kid.

However, as the years went by, I decided that my brother wasn't really that cool. He liked computers, computers are boring to me. RC cars...stinky. Then came golf. It was the boringest idea I ever heard of. I believe he was in the 8th grade & I was in the 6th. My brother even joined the golf team in high school. What a dork!

Well, history was made on Sunday...Neil (the boyfriend not brother) took a LONG drive to Kahuku Golf Course & actually played 9 holes. It was fun. Fine, I admit it. The course is not the greenest but it had a beautiful view of the ocean & the sky was so blue. It was a good time while getting some exercise on the side. I'd like to give it another try since I wasn't that bad...wasn't that good either but that's what practice is for.
Fore!

Gone Golfing