#189 - JUNE

i haven't written anything in a month! i've been busy and i promise there was some excitement. first of all, i finished school and graduated! yeehaw now i am waiting to take my NCLEX, the national board exam for nursing. after i pass that i will be a RN. my parents, sister and uncle all came up from hawaii to visit and participate in my graduation ceremony. it was awesome. unfortunately, no pictures of graduation yet. sorry.

my big june event was a trip to alaska on a cruise ship! it was my first cruise and while maybe not the last, i don't think i'll be going on another anytime soon. it was a lot to take in, for sure. especially when it came to eating. most of the meals are included in the price, unless you want a fancier meal, then it is $10-$25 set price. we ate a lot at the market cafe, which was buffet style. towards the end we started eating more in the restaurants but you could still order as many appetizers and stuff that you wanted. it was a lot of eating, what we are really good at!

it was cool cause i got to spend a lot of time with my sister, who i miss a lot. we get along fantastically. i also spent a lot of time with my parents. it was nice but a little cramped. we all shared one room and i slept on a bunk! it was interesting and i wish we had two rooms. it would have been a lot more expensive tho i think. there was a lot to do on the ship, a lot of which i did not partake in - crazy dance parties, a pool and hot tubs, casino, bingo (played once). we did go to all the night time shows though, with the jean ann ryan company. they did 3 shows - andrew lloyd webber tribute, cirque pacific, and "band on the run" 70's. it was really neat and we saw the chinese all-star acrobats, which was badass! another awesome thing was the magic show! shawn farquar is a two time world magic champion and he was awesome! here is one of his best card tricks, it's amazing!


we did four different outings off the ship in different ports of call. one of the best was the glacier day. we went to see mendenhall glacier by taking a bus ride from juneau. the glacier was cool but it was far away, i thought we'd get closer but i suppose it is better if people stay far away from them.i also wanted to see the glacier calving, which is when big chunks fall off. but we did not get to see that unfortunately. too bad, but what we did see was maybe even better...a BEAR! it was a baby i think and who knows where the mother was. i was standing at a lookout trying to get a picture of the glacier when i look down and there is a bear! i said "oh my god!" and screamed like a girl. that probably wasn't the best idea but that's what happened. the bear didn't even notice me or the other people around. he was 10-15 feet away from me, only a 3-foot cement wall separating us. oh man it was scary!after that experience nothing was going to be awesome so we got back on the ship and went on our merry way. the plan was to go see sawyer glacier but for whatever reason it was not accessible, so we went up a different fjord and set sail for dawes glacier. it took over 2 hours and everytime there was a little bend in the road we thought it would be around the corner! it took forever and the scenery didn't change much. it was cold and rainy and we were standing on the bow so all the wind was going right into our frozen faces. it was pretty spectacular though.we also had stops in ketchikan, skagway and prince rupert, canada. we went on a scenic train ride in the yukon area and learned about the gold rush. basically there was gold in alaska and so a bunch of men went there to get some. what do a bunch of men need? a bunch of women. so in every gold rush town there were lots of brothels. we went on a tour of one...that's all i remember about skagway. my sister and i nicknamed it "skankway". and if you get a chance to go to prince rupert, canada - don't. there is nothing there! we're still not sure why we stopped there. so that was my trip.

now i am back in portland, studying for my exam and moving (again!). also i have to look for a RN job and start working. yikes! for all those who have been hounding me for a picture of my bf, here is one of me and jeremy at a park. we had just finished a big meal of sushi and were hanging out in the sun.

#160 - vacation thoughts

i'm here still, lots of sun. portland is still snowing i think. it's crazy! i've been pretty busy, seeing friends and doing things. today i'm going to the hawaii bowl to watch hawaii beat notre dame! it's always fun to beat them, even if they aren't necessarily good this year. oregon state beat them 41-9 in the fiesta bowl some years ago, that was AWESOME! right after my dad and i are taking a flight to maui to join the rest of the fam. yesterday i went golfing and the day before i went surfing. i've been to a few potluck dinner parties and hung out with pretty much all my friends here. it's been good.

the only thing is i'm missing lots of snow! i've never been in a real winter. portland usually has an inch a year, maybe. it's not a big deal and it's gone in a day or two. now this is real snow! it's still there after a week and it's gettin bigger! i want a white xmas. too bad it's not snowing here, that would be cool.


i've eaten a lot here too and haven't been to the gym as much as i planned. i've had loco mocos, manapuas, pork hash, cake noodle (mmm), and lots of dessert. i think i went to the gym twice. ooops. i did surf and golf though, if that counts as exercise. oh and tennis once! ha! i'm headed to maui where i don't have any friends, only family, so definitely more gym time. i'll need "brandi time" and i'm sure to be eating a lot more ono stuff so i'll need the gym. i've got a lot of projects that my grammy has for me. paint the front door and build a mailbox are two of the big ones. i always try to do some projects when i'm there cause its fun and makes my grandparents happy. plus, i like painting. it's fun and messy!

i am glad i still have another week of vacation cause i need it. once i get back it'll be non-stop for a few months at least. work, school, clinicals, dodgeball, etc. somewhere in there i try to squeeze in sleep but i'm figuring out that i like to take a 2-3 hour nap during the day. i'm not sure how i'll be able to incorporate that into my daily schedule but when i get back but i want to try. good luck with that eh? i better finish packing and do some chores my mom gave me before i head off to the golf course for lunch...adobo fried rice! oh yeah!

GO WARRIORS!

#117 - vacation

in five hours i leave for the airport. i will not be blogging here, but on brandi travels 2008. half of my brains says i should sleep. the other half is beating it into submission. i've got a couple more cds to burn. couple hours sleep, shower, left over thai food for breakfast, then off to the airport. adios.

#113 - about halfway

well i set a few goals for june. and now it's practically halfway through the month. boy how time flies!! i met goal #3 (pass my class) by getting an A...superstar! other than that, i have been doing pretty well i think, haven't spent any money at a bar yet. i did go to a few restaurants for lunch (3 times this month), bad planning on my part there. the only grocery shopping i've done all month was to get stuff for a camping trip. i still have lots of food from that because we ended up only staying one night instead of two and so i'm a little set back on goal #4 (cleaning out pantry). i fear that goal #2 (bikini body) is doomed but i still have a little over two weeks. i've been riding my bike all over the place and going to the gym regularly. i'd say the goal i am farthest from reaching right now is goal #5 (simplify) because i have been working a lot and been dead tired so not had energy to clean/organize much. i'm not really sure when that will happen. i have a feeling i'll come back from my trip and just get rid of everything cause i'll be so used to living out of a backpack. 17 days till i leave for mexico!!! i am so excited but not nearly ready. first of all, my spanish is horribly non-existent. also i have a rough itinerary but nothing set in stone. i have no reservations for places and will basically be very flexible.

i'm going to the coast to dog sit for 10 days. during this time i will be doing lots of things (some with dogs) besides hanging out at home with the little devils:

• hike neah-kah-nie mountain
• beach bonfire
• hang out with jake and kate
• golf with jake
• fishing
• workout at fitness center
• read books
• yoga
• eat at wanda's and bread & ocean
• bike ride to rockaway, garibaldi, cannon beach
• take photos
• go to beach with doggies
• watch sunsets
• hopefully avoid seeing sunrises
• avoid the tourists

it's gonna be a nice vacation from the city. as much as i love portland (and i really do for so many reasons) it is nice to get away for a little while. it's nice to not see a lot of cars or people if i don't want to. it's weird how your physical and emotional being totally changes when you're at the coast, or at least me. i think it must be the ocean. there is just so much power in the ocean and i become totally mesmerized. i feel a total awe and respect for the ocean and it definitely reminds me of home. even if the ocean looks cold, dark and scary out here sometimes, i look out at the horizon and feel the warm sands of waimanalo. no joke. i KNOW that 3000 miles away is my hawaii. it is comforting.

two more weeks for my goals. two weeks till i leave. two weeks to enjoy life before i go out and explore/discover the world!

#109 - herron island 2008

i don't quite remember what i did for memorial day last year. i may have been working. usually when i am at home i visit punchbowl cemetary and give thanks. my dad's parents are inurned there. it's cool because the boy scouts put out flags and leis on each of the regular grassy graves. it's neat. this year a friend from dodgeball asked if i wanted to come up to his property on herron island. it's one of many islands in the puget sound (washington) but is privately owned so you need an invite. the island i believe is about 1.5 by .5 miles and is home to 150 year-round residents. how could i pass this opportunity up?

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in order to get to the island you need to hop on the ferry or a private boat. when we got there we just missed the ferry so i called my friend and he came and picked us up. it was one of the best weekends, filled with friends, fun, and food. we got to his trailer property late on saturday. we took the opportunity to drive up the coast and see a little bit of oregon and washington's coastline. it took a few hours extra but was a nice side trip. we were in time for dinner, which was grilled elk, cedar grilled salmon and sturgeon! it was all amazing! we then had tastings of a dozen red wines. someday i will have a better idea about wine but for now, let's just say i enjoyed them all. we were of course stuffed but found lots of room for other tasty libations. we were invited out to the dock for a bonfire and met quite a few locals there. it was a great first night. we got back, crawled in the tent and slept.
when i woke up it was raining. i looked out and saw my backpack, which i had left outside like an idiot! of course when i went to bed it wasn't raining, but this was the pacific northwest afterall. so dumb. so then i had to deal with a bunch of wet stuff. oh well. we headed down to the little community center for a little cinnamon roll and coffee action. i couldn't eat it cause it was too sweet but when we got back to camp, there were a few different breakfast casseroles and biscuits & gravy, delicious. i was craving the salty i guess. after stuffing ourselves silly it was just hanging out until kickball. we invited some locals, adults and kids, to join us in a friendly game o' kickball. i haven't played since october but i dusted off the cleats, and it felt great! we just headed out to the field by the community center with our cooler of bevvies and were ready. it was good times of course. at one point one of the kids kicked a ball and headed for first base but didn't see this other kid casually walking across the first base line. heads collided and kids started crying. boo. he recovered eventually after some tlc from mommy. after kickball we went back and decided on some croquet, but not just any croquet.
(our gracious host, scotty)
drinking croquet. in this version, the first person through a wicket gets to make a rule. then when you break a rule you need to take a drink. we had 8 wickets and some pretty silly rules by the end. and the end was ONLY four hours later. it was certainly the longest game i've ever played. rules included jumping and saying "woo" before you hit, spinning around on your mallet, scott can't talk (that was the best!), running to your ball, high fives, chest bumps, etc. it was a riot! let's just say a lot of people broke rules. four hours + rule breaking = lots of drinks. it was a pretty fun game and the "peanut gallery" of four people tried to speed it up by getting dinner ready. it pretty much worked. the hot lasagna with lots of goodies in it (zucchini, spinach, cheese, olives, peppers, etc) and garlic bread was almost enough for us to call it quits but we got through it and finished. after dinner we all sat around the campfire and hung out. it was a chill night and i was exhausted!

woke up at 5:45am to the sound of crows. they were loud, obnoxious and very awake. i laid there in my tent for awhile and tried to sleep. i eventually did and woke up for real about 9. everyone else had the same experience. some were trying to throw rocks but were not successful. we didn't do much but eat some leftovers and break camp. i did get to get another ride on the boat though, seeing a few of the other islands and driving too. whoohoo! there's nothing like boating and going over huge wakes! when we got back we went to sit in line for the ferry. it only holds 11-12 cars and goes every hour or so. since it was the long weekend there were a ton of people waiting. not to worry, we were on island time, and didn't really want to leave. it may have been a fun-filled and packed weekend but it was very relaxing. now since i've been there, i know the rules and can go anytime i want. it's a dangerous open invitation because i definitely want to take advantage of it. i love sleeping in a tent (but also having the trailer for bathroom/shower), relaxing, sitting around a campfire and next time hopefully fishing or clamming. i will be back herron island.

#19 - hawaii

this is where i'll be in about 2 months. i'm getting plane tickets today for my trip home for the holidays. dec 17-jan 3. i can't wait. it's only week 5 of school but i'm done already and ready to go. it's midterms week and i am not ready for the two i have to take!!! so here is an incomplete list of things to do when i'm home, in no particular order.

what to do in hawaii:

• surf


• watch pro surf competitions


• eat shave ice


• eat other stuff


• play firecrackers for new years


• karaoke with friends


• beach-going


• wii party @matt's house


• get a tattoo


• get a tan


• boogey boarding at waimanalo


• relax


• see friends and family


• hang out with the sister


• see some movies


• dave & busters!