Sunshine, Blue Skies, and the Custody School Bus

Thursday was one of my favorite days… Saddening because it was my last day with the full group of my fabulous SMEs (well, minus Evelyn, but she was there in spirit!), but really just a nice day. My Maui motha stayed over at the condo on Wednesday, and that night I drug her out to ABC … For my fellow mainlanders, ABC stores are everywhere… Like a convenient store with no gas and a tourist trap for all of those visitors who wait until the very last minute to buy hokey gifts. Don’t get my wrong… I love hokey, and that’s why the SMEs got their official uniforms from there. My little local ladies are now outfitted in specTACKYlar aloha wear! We were lookin good, aloha shirts and matching bracelets… :). OH and Vera crocheted me the most beautiful lei, now I can keep it Fo-Eva!

We all got to go grab Filipino food together for lunch… I finally got to try Lao Lao, adobo chicken, and even…. Get ready… BLOOD MEAT!!! It was all actually quite tasty!

It was so hard saying goodbye to my new friends/coworkers/family when they all headed out to the airport to go home, but I have a feeling I will get to see them soon…. Well, soon-ish!

 

Friday was a BLUR. It flew by. Started out with me packing all of my last little tidbits of my happy Hawaiian life into my polka dot suitcases, and we all know I couldn’t leave without saying goodbye to my favorite barista , Catherine, at Honolulu coffee company. She is so stinking sweet and asked if I would be stopping by that afternoon for my afternoon pick me up… How could I say no? After lunch, I went to grab an Americano and was disappointed to find out she was actually at lunch. Womp womp! But I left my cheery little friend a note and went on my happy little way do I could make it back for training at 1.

Training Friday was a train wreck. It had gone so smoothly all week, but Friday I had a lot of users join the call without RSVPing… It was a mess, but I came out alive and recovered gracefully … I think :). The First Circuit judges joined today and had allllll kinds of difficulties joining the web meeting, there was a lot of “yes judge” “I apologize Judge” “Hang in there Judge, we’ll get you all set-up”…. Oy. After getting all of the participants set-up, and letting them know that we were recording the session, so if they could please mute their phones and save their questions for the end, I found out that Cisco was about ten slides behind me. Awesome. The beauty of this train wreck is that no one was hostile in the aftermath, only kindness on aloooooha Friday!

After the training session, it was time to say goodbye… I go on and on about all of the wonderful SMEs, but there are so many other people that made this visit one that I will absolutely nevah forget. Annie, sue, Daniel, Velma, Mai, the security guards at the entrance to the District Court house and, all of the clerks and users who were kind enough to greet me with a smile and a “you’re back!!!??” :) this has been an unforgettable three weeks, and I have a whole happy family of nutty Hawaiians!! I absolutely cannot wait to come back, I’ve rallied the troops, so hopefully it won’t be long.

I have always been excited to come home, well, because it’s home, but going through security I got big ol crocodile tears thinking about my new friends.

I am so incredibly blessed to have gotten to make such great friends and try so many new things in a matter of weeks.

Until we meet again my nutty Hawaiian family!!

The flight back was a HUGE success compared to the last time a flew back — not fainting on the plane!! Yayyy … I did fall asleep with an ice cold glass of water in my hand … that was a real treat to wake-up too!   When I finally landed in Dallas, my mom, little sister and Delilah were there to greet me!  Okay, Delilah had to stay in the car, BUT she was there and they all got Leis.   High in Dallas was 102 today, and the high in Hawaii was 82.  So happy to see my friends and family, but WOW, take me back.  it. is.HOT.

 

 

We dropped Delilah off at my house and us girls went to Nick & Sam’s Grill for a delicious brunch a mimosas.  We may have overdone it on the eating front, but I don’t think that surprises anyone who knows us girls…  After brunch I was EXHAUSTED and slept for about 3 hours — walked in, turned on the fan, sat on the couch…. and woke up three hours later.  Best sleep EVER!!!!

I’ve been talking to Denise all day and I think we have all decided the she, aunty kim and aunty del need to make a trip to Texas!!  We can wear our ALOHA shirts :) :)

I’m hooooommmmmeeee, and yes, it is still bittersweet, but I’m not going to lie … I am kind of excited to sleep in my own bed!

Love Love LOVE!!!

Honolularue!