14. Grad Party: Stari Nakano

Stari Nakano holds a piece of chocolate cake in each hand; she will serve it to the guests of her Surprise Grad Party. 

Stari's presence has knit her community together... not only at her party, but for the 17 years since her birth. Sure, the cake is great, but it's this girl's fluid, easygoing nature and aim-to-score humor that makes this Sunday afternoon decision easy: We have to go to Stari's Grad Party.

I've never been to a mainland grad party, but Hawaii ones always seem to ebb and flow the same beautiful way.

First, all the kids and aunties come together to decorate the (usually) outdoor or community center event. Then the aunties get together in the kitchen to prepare all the food. GRINDS! Then the kids start piling in and the graduate gets showered with leis up to the forehead. The party consists of memory-sharing and embarrassing stories about the grad. It always, always ends with cake. 

Stari is pronounced Star-ee like Van Gogh's Starry, Starry Night. 

She's cute, she's fun, and she cruises like a true island girl. Her family and friends gathered round to give their sweet farewells to Stari as she embarks on those "future endeavors". In this case, that means enrollment at San Diego's Point Loma Nazarene University's Fall 2008 semester.

Major: Undecided

Age: 17

Hometown: Kaneohe, O'ahu, Hawaii

Rocks the: Heiresses

Interested in: San Diego Fashion

Worried about: Paying for College

Hopes: To keep her island roots even on the Mainland

Favorite Quote: "Two wrongs don't make a right, but three rights sure do make a left"

Good luck to you Stari on all those FUTURE ENDEAVORS! 

Crush loves you and welcomes you to the family.

Love,

CG Amy 

13. Maui Feet: 5 Minutes of Wireless Internet

Maui Feet

Shades of brown

Create a sound

That's similar to something round

Mix it up with something green

We've just created a perfect scene

For barefoot babies

And woman-ladies

For dreded hippies

Those daytime trippies

This place was home

A place to roam

Inevitably 

Consistently 

The bittersweet taste

Of dark chocolate laced

With Goodbye-Hello

Everywhere I go

Below my knees

I carry these

Maui Feet

Shuffle, Repeat

by: Amy

p.s. This was written in 5 minutes while internet connection was at its best. I have been a vagabond in a place I used to call home for the past week. No consistent bed, but always a place to rest my head. I'm an emotional wreck on the inside, but mostly a happy/nostalgic wreck. Time's up. Over and out.

12. Sorry Ms. Jackson: She is For Real

Meet Megan Jackson.

She's from the Sunshine State.

She enjoys singing, listening to Jawaiian music, dancing to tribal drumbeats, and drinking Starbucks coffee.

Speaking of which, her favorite drink is the Double-Chocolate-Chip-Cream-Frappaccino-Extra-Ice-Double-Thick-with-Whipped-Cream.

She's rocking the Monique sunnies.

Last stop: San Diego, California.

Currently on: The East side, O'ahu.

Next Stop: Argentina for missions.

Meg has been my boss for the past two months.

She ran the entire summer school program at the elementary I got hired at.

She first came to Hawai'i last year as an intern for a church on the east side of O'ahu and has been working there ever since.

This is us jamming at a grad party:

I don't play percussion. Here's the story: I got a random call a few weeks ago from the Youth Pastor at the local church. He needed a djembe player desperately so I told him I stink, but I'll goof off inconspicuously if he needed me that bad. He said he did.

What the?

I was SO relieved that Meg was there. She saved the day and stole the show (while conveniently diverting all attention away from me). Let me just say: I can't play drums, but this girl can SING!

Here's a picture of the Summer School crew after eating some mops Italian for lunch:

From left to right: Miss Meg (Summer School Director/ 1-2 grade teacher), Miss Aimi (4-5 grade teacher), Miss Stari (Summer Staff), and yours truly (2-3 grade teacher)

So far so good with this summer's fun, food, and faculty.

Kudos to you ladies for making work seem a lot more like play!

Love,

Amy

11. Ms. Amy: Hi's and Bye's

Ms. Amy's Class

2-3rd grade 

Summer 2008

I have been referred to as Ms. Amy by these munchkins for the past two months. I apologize for not writing a blog in over a week, by the time I realized Monday turned to Saturday I had clocked in a 50-hour work week; it was the last week of summer school for these guys. 

I don't know if I'll be a teacher when I grow up. 

A 2-3rd grade teacher?

Probably not.

But I have learned a few KEY lessons along the way:

1. Kids have to go to the bathroom six times a day (no joke)

2. "Cutting" in line is a sin and the root of 75% of the day's fights

3. Hangman NEVER gets old

4. Acute angles are cute angles

5. Hannah Montana has been dubbed the new queen. Long Live the Queen!

6. Grammar is weird

7. You can't play Heads Up 7-up with 5 students... well

8. All children are sad that I'm 21 and STILL not married. Poor Ms. Amy.

9. "Dave likes to wear dirty underwear." -Alvin the Chipmunk

10. The marriage between loving to teach and loving the students makes thinning patience, grading papers, and long days worth waking up for

This summer has been good for unplanned reasons, most of those are linked to the notion of growing up. It's coming fast like a storm, but soft like a home. 

I love July,

Ms. Amy

10. Marissa Eveland: My Hero

Marissa Eveland

This girl can do it all. She schools me at pretty much everything fun: shortboarding, longboarding, bombing parking structures, spear fishing, riding bike, cliff jumping, cave diving... etc. 

age: 20

hometown: Mililani/Sunset Beach, O'ahu

rocking the: Love Galore!

college: Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego

major: freshly declared Liberal Studies

pets: 4 dogs (Wookie, Leah, Daisy, and Bear), 3 puppies (new litter, not yet named), 1 lamb

siblings: 4 brothers, she's #3 out of 5

favorite day of the week: nothing beats a typical Sunday at home... church, grab food, gas chambers surf session or just laying out at the beach, barbeque or kahuku superette fun for dinner and just hangin out with amazing friends and my family

Every time I'm with this girl we have an adventure. Whether we're surfing her homebreak or jumping Waimea rock in the middle of the night, I can guarantee myself some achey muscles in the morning. Marissa has got a great heart. She's patient and observant, reserved, but also has one of the best and loudest laughs I've ever heard. Cheers Marissa! 

SHAKA TO YOUR MOM.
photo left to right: Marissa Eveland, Nicole Wiedmann, Yours Truly

and when the pretty girl laughs, oh man, she laughs so loud

-Jack Son of John

These pictures were taken 10 minutes after we woke up and 10 minutes before we headed out to Pupukea for a 4 hour! longboard session. I had never experienced sunburn until that day. Also note the black poster behind me with M-A-R-S-S-A in pink letters. 

That's an amazing montage a la Marissa Eveland with picture of her growing up as a surf star. Her room is overflowing with contest trophies. 

i like bragging about my friends.

one more thing, kids: you can pick your friends and you can pick your nose, but you can't pick your friend's nose. 

lala-love,

Miss Amy

9. Happy Fourth on the North

HAPPY 7th of JULY!!

At least, happy reminiscing the long weekend on another Monday.

I packed my beach bag and headed north this weekend to my good friend Marissa's house on the North Shore of O'ahu.

We celebrated her younger twin brothers' birthday along with with America's good ol' Inderpendiance.

I sure love freedom------>

Marissa, Nicole, Kelliann, and I took to the Morning Glories while the boys batted Spinning Flowers into the air with tennis rackets.

We got a little creative with the camera moves and fire lights. I mastered the art of spelling my name backwards for this shot. It took the entire night and two boxes of Morning Glories, but we all graduated from kindergarten light spelling after hours of sad attempts.

Marissa dazzled us with her fireworks dancing... it's like ribbon dancing, which is a respectable sport, but this is better.

Aunty Peggy--Marissa's mom-- asked the party to gather outside the tent for a group picture, family style. I was stoked to be fully accepted into this tight crew of ocean-loving-tree-hugging friends. They extended their aloha inter-island for this Maui girl and it was much appreciated.

My muscles ache from 3 days of straight surfing and cave splashing and rock jumping. I am continuously falling in love with the Aloha of the islands. We bundle it up like a big ball of string and then play a game of toss-toss across the islands, across the Pacific, creating lines of connect-the-dots between fellow island lovers.

HAhahahahahaHAHAHAAha--->

A kiss, a sigh, with love,

Amy

8. Crushing on the Puddles In The Sky Premiere

"Puddles in the Sky" is a new surf film by Glas, which premiered Hawaiian style at the O Lounge on Wednesday, June 25th. I was there reppin the Joy Crushies as featured in this pic with my good friend Stevie Suzuki (the Glas rep for Hawaii). Together, powers combined, we are happily on our way to becoming known amongst our peers as those rad-ripping-brown-skinned-friends-that-take-pictures-of-themselves-with-chic-sunnies- and-adult-sized-t-shirts. I know: Every kid's dream.
Anyway, back to the premiere.
Neither of us drink, but Stevie agreed to an Open Bar for the first hour of the party... out of his own pocket! These people should give some serious kudos:

While I was scanning scene, I met Kailua "IT" girl Kera Yong. She graciously accepted an impromptu photo shoot in the middle of the dance floor.

Here she's wearing the Candlelight in white.

And now a little bio on the pretty lass:
Hometown: Kailua, O'ahu
Age: 21
Board of Preference: 5'10'' Thruster
Current Job: Promotor... as in parties and premieres (like this one)
Favorite Starbucks Drink: "Oh. I don't drink Starbucks. It's Coffee Bean all the way."
Ok, Favorite Coffee Bean Drink: Vanilla Extreme, ice blended

Take notes boys.

As you can see, this was quite an enjoyable evening with old friends and new ones. Even when it started to look like this:

So here's to a night of gettin' your dance on, enjoying a surf movie via bedsheet-draped screens, and always remembering to drive safe... drink responsibly.

Shout out to Kera for rocking the camera as my featured Crush Girl.

hugs, kisses, holes in my dancing shoes,
Amy