aloha! yay

Oh man I had the absolute BEST time in Hawaii!! This is gonna be a long one!! I'm not even sure where to begin. Here's what I'm going to do. I will explain day by day what we did, and then just post all my pics at the end, and hopefully in chronological order.

Thursday..

I got up at 5:30am, did some last minute packing, and then Sandi's mom and stepdad picked me up at 7:30. We checked in at the airport and got on our flight at 11:00am pacific time. The plane ride seemed to take forever. Anyway, Hawaii time is 3 hours behind California's time, in case you folks didn't know that. We arrived in Honolulu around 12:50pm Hawaii time, and got to our hotel around 2pm. Then we decided to buy a sandwich downstairs at the ABC store for lunch (well I did, Sandi ate something on the plane) and headed for the beach. After playing in the water for a few hours, we decided to walk along the main drag. I can't remember the name of the street, but oh well. We happened upon Cheeseburger In Paradise like a block away. It was SOOOO good. Yumfest. So good we ate there again on Sunday afternoon. Haha. We walked the rest of the strip, then went back to the hotel and went sleepy. Oh man our beds were sooooo comfy, it was so hard to get up in the morning, let me tell ya.



Landing in Honolulu.


I got lei'd at the airport. By a girl. First time for everything I guess. Did you get that one?


That bed was way too comfy.


View from one balcony.. Diamond Head Crater behind me.


View from other balcony.. Waikiki Beach in the background.


Some beach bum took this one.


Our hotel from the beach.


Beautiful sunset.


Yummmy pina colada!


Yeah this guy was interesting. Haha.

Friday...
We literally had to get up at the bootycrack of dawn on Friday. I woke up at 5am. Sandi woke up around 5:30ish. We had to be out at the bus stop in back of the hotel by 6:15am. Why? We were going on a daylong tour/excursion that kicked major butt. Our tourdriver Rocky was so awesome. He first took us to Pearl Harbor and we spent a few hours there. Then he took us all around the island to places like the Dole Pineapple Plantation, the North Shore, and even took us for free macadamia nut samples. So much fun. We saw lots of great beaches, and even sped past Tom Selleck's house. Oh and the property used as "Robin's Nest" on Magnum P.I. You know, the house Higgins lived in.. the old guy. Anyway, we saw so much stuff and didn't even get back until 5pm. I could go on and on about all the neat stuff we did, but that would take absolutely forever. Once we got back we headed for the beach again and played in the water for a few more hours. I had bought a water volleyball thing the night before so we had fun playing with that. Afterwards we proceeded with lots more shopping and topped it off with a late dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. That is my new favorite restaurant. Oh god it's freakin great. I'm in love.

dumb in hawaii

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I took a really scary and pretty hard to see video at like 5:30am. I was hyper and not wearing pants.


Rainbow I saw in line to get into Pearl Harbor.


Part of the U.S.S. Arizona still submerged at Pearl Harbor, and yes it's still leaking oil that's on the surface.


U.S.S. Missouri


Pearl Harbor Memorial wall.


Hugging a palm tree on the North Shore with Sanddawg.


Was I trying to part the Sea? I don't know, but that water is gorgeous.


Lots of vegetation


Mmmm pineapple soft-serve ice cream stuff.


Self explanatory


Cute sailor on the boat on the way to Pearl Harbor.


Part of this mountain/hill was used in Karate Kid II in the tea drinking scene.. well from really far away. There ya go Kimmie.


More beautiful beach.


It was kinda windy.


Wendy I can fly!!


We look cute in this one.


With our tour guide Rocky.


This is called the Crouching Lion.


I wrote my name in the sand.


When Lisa attacks!!

On Saturday we also had loads of fun. We went to the Honolulu Zoo and saw all kinds of neat animals there. It was about a block away from the hotel so it was perfect. Later on in the afternoon/evening we went to see Audio Adrenaline, Mercy Me, Christian rapper T-Bone and comedian Bob Smiley at Waikiki Shell. The music and comedy all had a special message of Jesus and the all of them touched my heart. It was amazing. What was even cooler was that Sandi had emailed the local Christian radio station a month ago.. and the morning show hosts Dave and Kim that were there introducing the bands read her email out loud. She got to meet Dave, and he gave her a free shirt. After the show Sandi really wanted to meet Audio Adrenaline but they left the venue really early. She was really bummed since this was their LAST SHOW EVER. Mark has had probs with his vocal cords so they decided to call it quits after 16 years. But boy was Sandi in for a surprise the next day!!



Milking a fake cow at the zoo.


Elephant!


Really really loud gibbon!!


Meerkat


I forgot what this is called, but he's so cute.


Tortoise


Petting a billy goat.


Be afraid, be very afraid.


Cute little chimp.


View from the zoo. Gorgeous.


Here we are before the concert.


Sandi with Dave from the 95.5 The Fish morning show.


Pretty rainbow during the show.


Comedian Bob Smiley


Getting emotional after the show.


So did Sandi apparently. LOL


Me and comedian Bob Smiley.

Sunday.. oh what a day...

On Saturday night after the show Sandi had talked to a member of the Audio A tour group. (The ones who paid two grand to hang with the band for like 4 days) We found out that the band members would be surfing on the beach on Sunday morning. So we decided to do a stakeout, try to blend in and maybe get an autograph/pic. Well it worked. We got pictures and autographs from Will (bass player), Mark (lead singer) and Ben (drummer). It was so awesome, and they were so nice. Afterwards we went and played in the ocean for a few more hours. In the afternoon we ate lunch at Cheeseburger In Paradise again (I've never had a better cheeseburger) and did last minute shopping. Then we went to the luau (celebration, whatever it was called). In line for the luau, Sandi spotted Tyler, who plays guitar/sings. She didn't want to look like a goober and didn't want to lose her place in line so she asked me to go get his attention. That's exactly what I did. He is soooo cute. He gave Sandi an autograph and took pics with both of us. During the luau Sandi and I were seated with tables full of Japanese people, and all the Audio A folks were on the other side. This was pretty entertaining, since we had to pose for a pic or two with some interesting Japanese tourists. So funny. After the show I got pics with most of the male cast members. May I admit the majority of them were downright sexy. Oh man. Whew. Getting hot in here. Afterwards, we hung out in our room and did some packing, since we had to leave at 8am the next day.


Sleeping beauty. I flatter myself sometimes.


Waterfall pic.


Me and Will from Audio A.


Me and Will from Audio A.


Me and Ben from Audio A.


Me and Tyler from Audio A.


Hangin with the Japanese tourists.


Just a slew of hot guys...










This guy was juggling and eating fire. Whew.




This guy looks just like Al in production here at my fulltime job. Sounds like James Earl Jones though. Good deep voice.

Monday.. :(

Alas, on Monday morning we left. Got up at 7, showered, finished cramming into my suitcase, and waited outside for the shuttle to the airport. So sad. We had an absolutely fantastic time and I'll never forget it. Never! I miss Hawaii already.


Coral reefs. Everything on that island is simply beautiful.

31 hours till boarding.... yay

YES!!!

1. In approximately 31 hours I will be boarding my plane to Hawaii. I'M SO EXCITED!!!!!! AND I JUST CAN'T HIDE IT!! I'M ABOUT TO LOSE CONTROL AND I THINK I LIKE IT!!! I just quoted the Pointer Sisters, but who cares? Life is fantastic. Magnificent. I'm hyper.
   
2. Went to the gym on Tuesday morning and yes I'm going today. Went for 15 miles on the recumbant bike, took about 40 minutes. I was sweatin all over the place. Whoo thank god for deoderant.
   

NO! (LOL)

1. I won't be Myspacin/Bloggin till probably anywhere from Monday/Wednesday of next week. When I get back to Cali I'll probably upload pics onto Photobucket/Myspace, but I won't blog right away. I'll have lots to cover. The very next morning I'm leavin to stay in Lodi for a day and a half with Kimmie, to wreak havoc out there. (Totally 80s sleepover!!!! Whoooooo!!!) So I won't have time for full-on blogging. Now on my trip I might be on AIM here and there, but not much. Won't be on Myspace at all. I doubt I'll be bored, folks. Sorry devoted Lisa blog/survey fans.
   

This is short and sweet, I'm just too excited, folks. Have fun on the mainland!!!!

Amen!

YES!!

1. Only 2 days until vacation from work, and 3 days until I leave for Hawaii!!! I'm so excited. Only drawback is I'm compressing my Bible study, doing like 3-4 days worth at once. Read like 8 chapters of the book of Daniel tonight. Whew, lots of idol worshipping kings, crazy dreams predicting Revelations.. crazy stuff. Also people standing up for their faith. That in itself is awesome. I love learning about the Bible, it's just that 2 1/2 hrs of focused Bible study makes my brain hurt a little. LOL
2. I had a pretty cool weekend. Friday night I ate dinner at home, then went to Kohls/Bed Bath and Beyond with Amy and looked at bedding. So darn exciting. Afterward I went to my place. Cathy and TJ hung out for an hour, then left of course. I made myself a mudslide, but went to bed by like 10:30pm. Saturday wasn't too thrilling either. I hung with Cathy, TJ, Jeff and Alicia for a while but went home early and fell asleep. Noelle was having an impromtu party at her place, and I feel bad for missing it. But I was really pooped.
   
3. Went to the gym on Friday morning, and Sunday afternoon. I'm planning on going tonight and Tuesday evening, if Cathy stays on the ball. If she's feeling tired, I'll just go on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings. There's a gym at the hotel in Hawaii, but I'm going to be really busy and trying to relax. I'll save the workouts for when I get back, probably.
   

Waah

1. I feel bad because I missed little Joey's baptism on Sunday morning. I had to work, did an airshift. I feel guilty since I've missed church for what seems like years just for work. I know God understands (I'm hoping), and someday soon I'll be going back. I miss Pastor Gary, he's pretty funny.
   
2. Still feeling like a Fatty McFat Fat lately, but what else is new? Boo.
   

6 more days baby

whoopee

1. Weekends rock!! I love weekends, and the weekend is upon us. I have no clue what I'm doing besides working my parttime gigs, but it's going to be marvelous.
   
2. A week from now I'll be chillin in Hawaii, probably snoozing by now. We have to get up that Friday at like 5am so we can be on the tour bus by 6:15am, so yeah. I think we'll be too excited to sleep a whole 8 hours though. :)
3. Went to the gym on Tuesday night, and I'm going again this morning. I've found that the recumbant bike gives me a harder workout then the treadmill so I'm going to be switching off between the two when I go.
   

Oh well..

1. My weight still won't dip below 200, and it's driving me nuts. I'm about to go on vacation and I'm going to try not to go over the deep end in Cheaterville there in Hawaii. LOL. It's still a vacation and there's so much good food there, so I don't know. There's also a gym there at the hotel, if I have time I may do a workout or two. Maybe.
   
2. I've been eating a lot of crap ... went to Chilis with Cathy and Amy on Thursday night and pigged out.. got chicken club tacos and a salad. Could have been worse I suppose. Earlier in the day after takin my mom to the doctor she treated us to McDonalds. I was good and got a yogurt parfait and a sausage mcgriddle. I haven't eaten any of them yet. The yogurt is for later this morning on my shift, and I'm eating the mcgriddle when I get back from the gym. I'm not goin to bed today until after noon since my dad has a doctor appt at 11am today. Yes I admit the mcgriddle is evil, but it's better to eat it when I know I'm not eating a lot for quite a few hours.
   

more boring blog stuff

yippy skippy

1. Went to the gym on Monday and Tuesday evening. I won't be able to make it today, but I'm planning on going Thursday morning and Thursday evening. Yes I'm that insane. I've observed that evenings are not only crowded, but full of horny guys gawking at everyone. I prefer exercising in the morning with the old geezers, fat people (I'm one of em) and the gym rats.
   
2. Cathy said she thought I was 20 lbs lighter then my older sister Michelle. The sad fact is that Michelle and I weigh roughly the same amount. Most of her weight is water and fat. Mine is mostly muscle with some fat here and there. I appreciated the comment though.
   
3. Only 8 days till Hawaii!!!

ugh

1. Got in a lovely argument with my older sister. She's always taking advantage of the fact that I take her and my parents here, there and everywhere in the mornings when I should be asleep. When I tell her I'm tired, she gets really bent out of shape. My schedule is insane as it is. Do I really have to lose sleep so I can take her to buy a cat carrier for her obese mentally challenged cat? LOL
   

had a great time

yippy skippy

1. My weekend was pretty cool. Friday I went to dinner at Outback with Amy. After gorging ourselves with evil carbs (and a margarita), we went to Fernando's house. We played with baby Joey and kicked it with Fern, Grace, Michael, Irma, and Irma's kids. Afterwards Amy dropped me off at my house around 9ish since she had to get up way early in the morning. Then I had some long phone convos with Noelle, then Fernando. Fernando really loves to talk, as we all know.
   
2. On Saturday I worked in SF, then came home and took a nappy. Then around 5pm Brad picked me up and we got Victoria, then we proceeded to Giribaldi's for drinks. I had some kind of hawaiian drink, it was made with vodka and pineapple juice. After a while we went to Quinn's Lighthouse down near Embarcadero also in Oakland. We hung out upstairs for about an hour waiting for a seat downstairs, and I had a pear cider. Then downstairs we ate and got merry. I had a sliced pork/turkey sandwich with au jus dipping stuff, and a salad. Also had a rum/diet coke. Really tasty. After that we went to Victoria's house and had dessert while playing with her kitties Xena and Abby and watching 48 hours. Great time.
   
3. I did a pretty good airshift yesterday morning. Leeanne said she heard a few breaks I did, and apparently I wasn't too awful. That's always encouraging.
   
4. Went to the gym on Friday morning, and on Sunday afternoon. Cathy wants to start going during the evenings on the weekdays starting today. If she changes her mind I'm still going in the mornings, I've got to keep up my rigid workout schedule to get some of this weight off.
   

bah

1. Nothing too tragic goin on in my life right now. I'm still a bit bummed that I'm still a chunkybutt though I exercise 5 days a week. Maybe I'm getting smaller and I don't notice. *sigh*
   

Here are some pics from my weekend....

Brad, Victoria and I at Girbaldis..


My froofy drink at Giribaldis..


Don't ask..


These are the crazies I work with.. LOL


and yeah this was a stupid video blog.. I hate Youtube since the audio/video is never synched right.. so it looks like a badly edited Japanese film

yay for fridays

Woot Woot

1. The weekend is upon us once again. Tonight I have no clue what I'm doing, hopefully it will involve my blender and some margaritas/pina coladas. On Saturday I'm supposed to go for drinks at Garibaldi's in Oakland with Brad and Victoria, then dinner at Quinn's Lighthouse. Davina can't come, but I'm sure it will still be loads of fun, and yes I'm bringing my camera.
   
2. Went to the gym on both Wednesday and Thursday, and I'm going this morning too. I'm doin good!
3. Made my final car payment today, that's a major boulder lifted off my shoulders. Starting next month I can intensely pay off my credit cards.
   
4. I just bought Audio Adrenaline's "Adios" CD last night at Borders, in anticipation of going to their show with Mercy Me in Waikiki in a few weeks. It kicks major butt. Now I can see why Sandi is so stoked to go. Besides the fact that it's part of our Hawaiian getaway. Their music is helping me think about a lot of things I've done both good and bad, and how much Jesus means to me.
   

BOO

1. The cat killing dogs struck again, another one of my neighbor Jaime's kitties. Everyone is so frustrated because it's like a serial killer is on the loose in the area, and no one is doing anything. Okay the killer is a group of dogs and the victims are cats, but so what? If that dog somehow magically breaks into my home and takes Turbo, I may commit murder. It won't be pretty.
   
2. I was almost tempted to try Slimquick. I saw the ad on TV about how it's hard for women to lose weight, and it really appealed to me. I even checked out the website. But I realized it's a series of pills, and once you stop taking the pills, you probably gain the weight back. I don't like having chemicals in my body anyway, I rarely take Advil or anything like that. So why would I want weight loss stuff in my body? Good thing I talked some sense into myself. I am in the middle of a lifestyle change, not just a diet plan with some pills. I told myself I would do this the right way, and that's what I'm going to continue doing.
   

happy hump day

yippy skippy

1. Well today's my hump day, the middle of my work week. I actually have a little bit of work to do tonight, just checking up on things later and making some phone calls. Still beats boredom.
2. Went to the gym yesterday morning, and I'm going again today after breakfast with Leeanne. I'll probably get eggs and toast or something not too bad. No waffles or pancakes for me, although they sure are tempting.
   
3. I never realized how many pals I have until I got to work and was bombarded with IMs. I love talking with friends. Makes me appreciate the love from friends I have in my life. Special shout out to Noelle, Sandi, Kimmie and Leeanne. Guess I'll shout out to David since he'll probably be bugging me later on in my shift. Haha.
   
4. Went to the A's game on Monday night, and we lost to the White Sox 4-1. The game was so boring that Sandi and I found more entertainment watching drunk people near us in the bleachers than the actual game. Haha.
   

boo boo boo

1. Sorry to keep bringing up my weight struggles yet again. Just feels like I'm not getting anywhere. I have friends that are dieting and such, but I've been down that road before. First of all I refuse to pay someone to tell me what to eat. Secondly I know that I probably won't eat what they tell me, just because I'm stubborn and don't like people telling me what to do. I'm trying to do this the right way, by eating healthy and exercising almost every day. I just don't see a whole lot of changes yet, and it's been months. Also the fact that my mommy got me a root beer float yesterday at Safeway didn't help the cause. But it sure was good. LOL
2. I just found out that Myspace doesn't allow Photobucket videos to be posted on their site anymore. That means I'll have to use Youtube or Myspace to upload vids. It's not that much of a nuisance, but I hate Myspace for being so corporate and monopolizing the content on their site. I can go on a rant for days about media conglomerates and monopolies (I know Leeanne knows exactly what I mean), but I'll spare the whining for now.
   
3. I've finally realized why my boss says my shift is so grueling. Okay I do have the least amount of work compared to the other operators, that's a good thing. The downside is that no matter how much I sleep, or exercise, or eat right, I'm always exhausted. I guess it's my internnal time clock saying "Hey it's 1am Lisa, sleepytime!!" That's also why sometimes I wake up in the middle of the day and it's hard to fall back asleep. Put in the factors that everyone else is awake and likes calling me at odd hours, and I spend some of my day chauffering my parents to run errands, that's why I'm always exhausted. Almost 2 weeks until vacation!!!! Believe me I need it.