Christmas with the snow

So I'm going to try to sum up what's been going on with me since my last update in a mere few paragraphs. After a couple months of roughness in Hawaii, I'm starting to enjoy it. I sort of expected to be unhappy there for the first couple months when I moved there due to a period of adjustment and I think that period has started ending. Within the last few weeks before moving, I went to the beach three more times than the total number of times I had been prior. In addition, I went to the Kona (more touristy) side of the island with a group of friends and slept that night on the beach. It was a magical evening that ended with me attempting to build a sandcastle at three in the morning, all the while drunkenly stating that the sandcastle was "in honor of my brother", as Brendan would have built a sand castle had he been at the beach. During the day. Sober.

A couple weeks later, I flew to Oahu to see my new friend Naomi. This girl is pretty fantastic. Its actually her birthday today so happy birthday to her. I hope its going well. She's a teacher for "Teach for America" and actually worked at a school right down the street from my New York apartment while I was living in New York. So it was quite serendipitous that we met. She actually knows my friend Daris, who used to work at that school as well and also was with "Teach for America". Naomi is like a beautiful girl version of Aaron Hawkins. Those of you who know Aaron know that this is a very big compliment. Naomi took me all over Oahu for the weekend I was there. I got to see Waikiki and Honolulu and I got to hike up into the hills around the Army Base and see some beautiful sights. I also saw waves larger than any I ever saw in Los Angeles or the entire Atlantic. Apparently they weren't even particularly big for that area either. If she'll have me again, I plan on visiting Naomi often in the coming months and I really want to do the Shark Dive (among other things) near where she lives.

Kurt and I also had people come over for a night of entertainment for the first time the week before I left for the mainland. Annie, Maddie and Meagan (the same girls I went to Kona with) came over on a Saturday night and Kurt cooked Barbecue Chicken with a number of sides (scalloped potatoes at my request). We ate, at sat for a while then had a few drinks and played video games. The night was decently tame but a huge amount of fun. I hope I see more of them in the future.

When I started packing on Thursday for my trip to LA, I got very eager to be home. I can't wait. Despite my anxiety though, I've fully enjoyed my time here. I had some issues getting here but the weekend held a Christmas party with my co-workers and I got to see Kristina and John's new apartment (which is only a couple blocks from my old apartment in Glendale). There was a lot of food and some Cranium playing and drinks and a great time. The work week has been hectic but fast-moving. Sam and I even worked from Sam's apartment one day which was a nice break for Sam, I think.

That brings us tonight. Pam picked me up from work and we picked up immediately were we left off last time I saw her. We chatted about her sister's engagement (which she actually seems fairly supportive of), we talked about Kentucky and her plans for a month long vacation (during which she may come to the Big Island for her Mom's wedding) and her eventual move to New York. (I'm a bit envious. I miss those New York devils.) We ate dinner a nice place in Pasadena and eventually headed home as she has to go to Vegas tomorrow and I have to work bright and early.

So all in all things are going well, however I do believe December has been somewhat of misplaced April Fools month for team Ian. Starting with realizing that I had an expired license when I tried to fly to Oahu. This resulted in a pat-down and dust up both coming and going and with me arriving at my gate amidst an announcement of "Ian Adkins report to Gate (insert gate number here). The gate will be closing in one minute." Prior to my flight to LA, I choose to try and get a new license (FAIL)*. I did get a state ID after a few hours, however which would suffice. On my walk home (the cab company takes hours to pick people up) it began raining with a vengeance. I got wetter than I've ever been in my life. When I shower, I'm dryer than I was at this point. When I've been swimming for hours on end, I'm less wet. I believe I may have been dryer when I was in the womb than I was on this walk. Needless to say, I took my phone out of my pocket to protect it from the rain and put it in my backpack. This was like removing a kitten from a tree in order to protect it but choosing to put the kitten into a room filled with fast moving bullets and razors. All the rain pooled at the bottom of my backpack and my phone was destroyed. It didn't just turn the water damage square in the back of the phone red but soaked it enough that the square fell off. No warranty, no repairs, no replacement phone. I'm S.O.L. when it comes to my wonderful Blackjack. Brendan is coming to my rescue though and giving me a phone to use so I don't have to buy a new one just yet. The next prank I played on myself was to miss my connecting flight from Honolulu to Los Angeles. Why did I miss it? The flights were on different airlines from Hilo to Honolulu and from Honolulu to Los Angeles so I had to exit the airport, wait for my bags, go through agriculture inspection, get my ticket and go back through security. I may have had time for this (I got my bags with forty minutes to spare), but Hawaiians are sort of lazy. So, I went to the ticketing counter which had shut down for three hours despite their upcoming flight. So I had to sit outside the airport from 7:30 am til 11:30 am. Yes. Awesome. I flew to LA and had to sit on the tarmac for another half hour or so due to a plane being in our gate. The most recent prank I've played on myself was to break the only belt I brought with me while trying to buckle it. This is a two-fold prank because 1) my pants are much too big since I've lost a lot of weight since about this time last year, so my pants fall down while I walk and 2) despite the aforementioned weight loss, the fact that my belt makes me look like a fatass. Hurrah. Go team!**

Again, I've had some setbacks but things are looking up. I can't wait to get home and see my family and my Louisville friends and Katie and a number of other people. You all are the greatest people in the world. I love each and every one of you. Enjoy my update, belated as it may be.

*- I didn't actually fail the test, they just said I'd have to start over with a permit again, which I'll do sometime in the coming months.

**- I stole this little saying from Naomi.