3.25.07 ~ Kareoke, Ahi Tuna & Beach This Weekend

Yes, its true - Lea actually did a couple of Kareoke songs last Thursday - It was only suppose to be a short after work HappyHour to watch the end of the March Madness with 3 of my female co-wrkrs. The bar is called "HenryLouises" and its is about 2 blocks from the office. Well, come to find out they have Kareoke there every night & my cowrkrs LOVE their Kareoke. (JT --> totally thought of you and in your honor, I sang your favorite, "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" by Pat Benatar !!!) It ended up being fun singing with them, and decided to sing another song ! LOL I have a feeling there will be more Kareoke stories to come! Sorry, no photo moments of me doing Kareoke at this time - lol

The next night, my co-wrkrs invited me to a BBQ PotLuck at a friend of theirs, named Singhi, who had worked at Ceridian for over 30 years. They gather at Singhi's house every so often to eat & "talk story" as they would call it here in Hawaii. I had a good time & experiencing "Ceridian family" gathering! we had steak bbq, homemade Korean Kimchi, King Crab Legs apptzr portions, lumpias, rice, shrimp and my favorite was the make your own Hand Roll Sushi with fresh Ahi Tuna, with all the trimmings and sauces!! I discovered the host of the party Singhi, always prepares fresh Ahi Tuna sushi and has all the trimmings with sushi seeweed wrap and makes the sauces - He was teaching me how to make my own Ahi Tuna Hand roll, and you can really tell that the Tuna was sooo-- fresh!!! sooo -- good !! On the lines of feeling like a family gathering, I was introduced to their kids to me as "This is mommy's new friend at work, she's your new Auntie Lea" - I thought it was cute, & made me think, they are truely making me feel like home, with their "aloha style- everyone is all family".

And yes, it was another beautiful Sunday beach day - was going to venture on the other side of Diamond Head but there was crazy traffic out that way, with some festival by the zoo. So, I detoured to layout in from of Dukes again - Was there for the majority of the afternoon, and listened to the band @ Dukes for awhile.

BTW, my car finally did come in and I had to get this dumb Hawaii Safety Inspection sticker label that had to placed on the rear bumper of the car AND had to switch to Hawaii car insurance -- there was no way of getting around using my ol' Cali Insurance card (and yes, the ins. is a bit higher out here--couldn't believe it is costing more than Orange County!!) ~~~ aloha ~~

Another Beach Day @ Dukes

Check out these surf boards !! Didn't see the surfers that owned them, I must have been napping & relaxing in the 80* wonderful weather for about 4 hrs today... This was my photo from today's beach day - LOVE the beaches here !! My base tan is starting to look pretty good !!

Make your own Ahi Tuna Hand Roll !!

The host, Singhi, was showing us (well, primarily me...the new gal!) how to make the Ahi Tuna handroll ! Singhi also shared with me, that there are different types of Ahi Tuna grade and that there is a type of tuna, that is caught in Japan where they sell the sushi for about $ 30-40 per sushi !! (per sushi = 2 pieces of tuna pieces over rice !! crazy!!) There is a japanese term for this "upscale japan tuna" but don't remember...maybe I had too many wine glasses already!

Lea's New Kareoke Buddy

This is a photo of one of my new co-wrkrs and new Kareoke buddy, Shari Fujisaki , taken from Singhi's house. I met Shari, when we had our first Ceridian district function in Palm Springs back in 2004. Shari is crazy, and maybe thats why we got along so well -- lol -- She LOVES making frequent trips to Vegas and likes to bet on all sports....and yes, she places her bettings to Vegas, from Hawaii !!

Photo with Singhi "Japanese Sushi Man"

Lea's new "Oahu Ceridian familia "~~ Co-wrkr Scott on the left, me, and Singhi "Japanese Sushi Man", who put the Ahi Tuna spread and hosted the BBQ last Friday night.

3.18.2007 ~ Lea's 3 Week Aloha Recap

Aloha !!! Can you even believe, its been already 3 weeks that I've been living in Oahu?? I'm still feeling a bit in transition mode & processing the relocation to the island ~~ Feeling that I'm on an extended work trip or something... Work life is good ~ adjusting to my Honolulu District ways of their implementation processes, on their district's specific installs --very, very different ... And at the same time, learning my new Project Manager role, with the Hawaii accounts. I've already got a few PM accts assigned, no wasting time , thats for sure!!! My new co-wrkrs have been wonderful and so very helpful to me, when asking questions on driving directions to get around & questions on "island life" here.

Daily personal life is okay, and like I said, its an "adjustment process" -- I think the 3-hr time difference that happened last week, REALLY tripped me out and realizing, that all of you in Cali are usually in bed by the time I get home to unwind... and I can't call :( :( :( So, let me know, if its okay to call you after 9pm your time, and you will more than likely hear from me !!

Last night went to a St. Patricks Day block party near the Aloha Tower -- it was fun, there is 2 irish pubs across from each other, and they blocked off a couple of blocks and had food/and drinking of course. Reminded me of Hunting Beach Oktoberfest scenario.... The thing that bothered was the weather -- it could be clear for a minute, and pour crazy rain for like 10 mins--then clear again, then pour.. well, my hair was not liking that idea... and everyone there seemed to be okay with it -- people stayed in the streets in the rain.. talking and drinking beer and the rain didn't even faze them!!! crazy! I guess, I’ll soon adapt.....

I am trying to get into a routine, and that Sundays will be my day to go explore -- so far, last Sunday and today I've gone to the beach and love it !! Actually, today felt a bit colder not quite as warm...but I think, I still got some good color -- lol Today, I actually found my parking garage, that I will be using -- its a flat daily rate of $ 7.00 -- which is cheap! The usually parking rate for parking garages at the big hotels run about $ 20.00 for a full day, if not more. This parking area that I found is kinda hidden and it was a recommendation from someone -- its right behind the International market place, which is then across where Dukes is located !! I layed out in front of Dukes today, and actually hung out to watch the sunset -- it was beautiful ! They had a live band that started around 4pm and of course, there was plenty of tourist around, and a few locals at the bar that I talked to ~~ Its been fun talking to all the tourist and seeing where they are from and sharing my story of relocating here for work. Overall, its all good ~~ working on my tan, don't worry !!

Nicholas & Nambe have fully adjusted to Oahu-- they have acclimated themselves very well, and are playful with each other. The funny thing, is that when they chase each other, Nambe is always sliding around with the laminate floors and his head always hits the door or wall. God, I hope he doesn't end up with a concussion anytime soon! Nicholas doesn't run fast, so he's not sliding around...my fat Nicholas cat....

Below are some pictures to share ~~ enjoy & hope to chat with all of you soon ~~ Send those emails or give me a jingle sometime :) :) Miss you all ~ aloha !! ~~ Lea ~~

Aloha from Nicholas & Nambe

Meow, meow aloha !! We love our new home ~~ when will you come visit our mommy ?? She's left us alone again, and she's gone to the beach

Lea's Favorite Beach in front of Dukes so far

This is where I was hanging out today ~~ this beach is right in front of Dukes ~~ I think, this will be my new beach hangout !! When you come and visit, I will be taking you here to soak up some sun and we can watch the band @ Dukes and watch the sunsets.

Oahu Sunset

Come visit soon !! The sunsets are waiting for you !! This pic was taken at a restaurant that's called "Top of Waikiki" -- its one of those revolving restaurants that overlooks the entire strip of Waikiki hotels. When you come and visit, we can come here too !!