aloha

Are there things you do before you go on a trip? I go through a little "process of events" before going on a trip or back to Hawaii.

One, is that I clean the house. Everyday clutter is cleared, the kitchen and bathroom is cleaned and all the fresh foods used to leave the refrigerator empty. The first time I did this on a trip back to Hawaii freaked Satoshi when he came home that night from work. He said it made him a bit sad to realize that I wasn't coming home for awhile.

The other thing is that I send my bags to the airport in advance. Whenever I go back to Hawaii, there is a bag pick-up service that I like to use. Before finding this service, I struggled many a time with my 30-inch suitcase, rolled it down the street, balanced it on the escalators, lugged it off and on the trains, just to get to the airport. Not to mention, I would have to try to get it down the 3 flights of stairs of our apartment building (with no hand railings...)--all without breaking my neck.

Nowadays, Satoshi usually calls for me about a week in advance and books a day for them to pick up the bags, this is decided depending on your flights. You can choose whether you want them to come in the morning between 10 and 1 or in the afternoon between 2 and 6 or later in the evening between 7 and 9. I usually choose the morning pick-up time because I usually have things to do in the afternoons. (Sometimes they come early, at about 10 or 11, and sometimes they come AT 1.) Usually if you book a round-trip--for them to bring the bags back to your home after you return, the rate is a bit cheaper. I can now go to the airport with just my carry-on and not have to stress about my suitcase. This service is definitely worth every "penny"!

Changing the subject, yesterday was the last session for my beads crochet class. We made a cute little crocheted purse with little fresh water pearls that hangs from a long chain necklace. It wasn't too hard to make and we all finished early, and prepped for our next project which will be done at the next class. After class, a group of us went to have tea.

The next session starts in 2 weeks, but I'll miss the first two lessons, so I'll have to play catch-up when I get back.

Hopefully I'll be able to post some foodie experiences from Hawaii, if not, see you all in about 6 weeks!!

Aloha!*

*"Aloha" is a greeting that we say in Hawaii which is very versatile. It can mean "Hi", "Bye", "Welcome!", "See ya". You can hear this phrase a lot in the touristy areas such as Waikiki. In Japanese, it is the equivalent to that of "Doomo".