Finally Engaged!!!

Yesterday was a day to remember, that's for sure. Joseph had said that he wanted to wake up, do some homework, fly kites, and pack a dinner so we could have a picnic at The Point while watching the sunset. Now.. This sounded like just a normal date (though a romantic one) so I didn't want to get ahead of myself and guess if he was going to propose or not. Well, we had a really late night on Friday so we slept in Saturday and... it was rainy. :( So we weren't able to fly kites.. So instead, I cleaned my room while he did homework. It was getting close to sunset when I finally finished cleaning and he got to a stopping point, so we rushed to Foodland, a local grocery store, grabbed some bread (a nice, hefty loaf of french bread), mayonnaise, and the most affordable meat we could afford. honey-glazed ham. Mmmmm... Then we walked up the road to the Point, a rocky location off the beach overlooking the ocean. It's a great spot for sunsets, but because of the rain, the sky was covered in clouds. There was a nice break near where the sun was going to set, though, so it looked like we'd at least get some color from it. :)

We put together the sandwich while we had extra time before the sunset. Joseph was sitting behind me and I was sitting in front on a little ledge beneath his little ledge (only a couple inches difference in height) Katie and Jessi both called during this time LOL. I didn't know what Joseph had planned so I actually answered the phone. Joseph let out a small "No D:" when I did. XD Anyway, when the sandwich was all made and I was off the phone, he told me to hold on just a sec, that he needed to do something. So he stood up and sat beside me and sang "Our Savior's Love" which has a special meaning to both of us. Then got down on one knee and asked if I'd marry him. I felt bad for his knee because the terrain was so jagged and rocky! I held my breath for a moment, letting it all sink in, then said yes. I didn't realize how long of a wait it must have been for him.. hehe... The ring was a ctr - proxy ring with a picture of the ring he ordered for me cut out sitting behind the ring. It was so cute of him to do that. It's the perfect ring THAT'S for sure! I can't wait until he puts it on my finger.. again.. Hehe... It's being resized and should be ready within a few weeks or less! Maybe even by the end of this week!!

So he got back into his little spot and we watched the sun set. It was a special point of the day when the sky and almost everything it touches turns purple and the clouds turn gold/brazen. It's his favorite time of the day and now every day when it reaches that point, we'll remember that special event. <3

While watching the sunset we were taking bites of our epic sandwich. I'd take a bite, he'd take a bite, I'd take a bite... we'd try to get the other to eat the best parts of the sandwich. It was fun. When the sun had gone down and it was getting pretty dark, we packed up and headed down to the GCB to play some cards with some friends. Great, great night. <3 And of course I called home and told them the great news. :)

A Chance to Dance

I apologize in advance for any grammar or spelling mistakes.. it's 4am and I've never stayed up this late before.. I don't think... Kinda... It's been rare.

Anyway, I had to document this.. If you don't want to read about a romantic night, don't read further.

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Tonight was amazing and I feel like Joseph and I bonded really closely without doing much. we were watching It's a Wonderful Life and had plans to go to the dance afterwards. Well, the 72 minutes of watching the movie were used up and the dance was about over, so we decided to go since Joseph had volunteered to help clean up. Such a wonderful, service-oriented guy. He's also very pro-active. I'm so thankful for him and his personality that allows himself to be who he is. I know that probably doesn't make sense, but at 4am, it makes sense.

While watching the movie, we cuddled and he told me to let him know if I'm uncomfortable in any way, to make sure he moved so I could be comfortable. I told him to do the same. After some adjusting, we were both quite comfy. He's really fun to cuddle with <3 He makes me feel so loved and appreciated... Something I've never experienced with such a fullness that I feel when I'm with him. He goes the extra mile to make sure I'm comfortable and loved; I can only hope I at least return the love that he gives me. We both feel very spiritually, emotionally, and physically attracted to each other... Tonight he called me to tell me of a quote written by.. what was his name.. Marvin... Jensen..? Something like that. Anyway, it explained a little about how when we meet someone who shares the same goals, especially in teaching the gospel principles to children, it's the most spiritually gratifying feeling one can feel. I'm probably butchering the quote somehow, but that was the essence i got at 4am in the morning. :D

I'm so zonked... I wonder how late I'll sleep in tomorrow. I love Joseph so much, (Yes, it's Joseph now. Me and San broke up after a 4 month relationship because we prayed about it and it was a "No" answer. Then Joseph comes along and I pretty much get a YES! DEFINITELY YES! answer before we even started dating) neither of us can wait until we get married. But we'll try. :) Today(yesterday) we applied for TVA housing (Temple View Apartments) for married couples and had to pick a date for our wedding, which is now tentatively April 6th, 2012. I honestly want it sooner.. Hehe.. but we have to have the test of time. I think we're already having separation anxiety. XD We've only been dating since July 5th, 10-11 days. A week and a half. And it feels like it's been an eternity. He told me the other day about a comparison in relationships as to when people should get married. He said that relationships are like plants. Once they grow up to a certain height, they can't go higher. That apex represents marriage. different plants grow at different rates and some grow faster than others. I see us as one of those plants. We might even already be half way grown by now and we really don't know. Anyway, next thursday is our ward temple day and I'll be praying and fasting to know if he's the one (which I already know is true) and when we should get married.

Another thing to note about our relationship:

We've promised not to kiss each other on the lips until the alter. I've always wanted to try it! I thought it was so romantic and sacred when I first heard about a couple who hadn't kissed til the alter. Mind you we kiss on the cheeks, nose, chins.. but otherwise we don't kiss on the mouth. We've come close so many times but we're keeping our wits about us. Which I'm about to pass out now. Gnight~

Hawaii Befu

CIS Class assignment

Ignore this~

Hello World!

This pages is all about me. Isn't it all about me?

I love CIS 100!

Adam fell that men might be. And men are that they might have joy.

Things you should know

These are some books I like.

• Book of Mormon
  
• Great Lives
  
• The Real George Washington
  
• Screwtape Letters
  

	Heading 1	Heading 2
Row 1, Col 1	Row 1, Col 2
Row 2, Col 1	Row 2, Col 2

Letter from Brother Ritchie

Brother James Ritchie just sent the students out a letter of what we'll be talking about in class today. It was so awesome I thought I'd share it with ya'll. :)

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Below is my Life Lesson for the weekend and a note home to my kids, grandkids, and friends..it focuses on what I want to talk about in class this week.  Ponder it and be prepared to challenge me if you think I'm being too hard on the 'normal'  leaders who make up the masses of people called and presently serving in many parts of the world and Kingdom.   Does it describe you?  Does it describe the leader you aspire to be? 

My Dear  Family and Friends,

Why do I love reading about William Wilberforce (the hero of Amazing Grace)?

Why do I love reading Captain Moroni or Ammon stories?

Why do I love reading Gordon B. Hinckley stories?

What did I respect most about Ronald Reagan?

Why do I love reading about Churchill, Eisenhower, Patton, MacArthur,  Golda Meir, Lincoln, Washington, John Wooden  and Nelson Mandela?

Why do I love reading Jack Rushton? 

Why did I record nearly everything David B. Haight taught me? 

Why?  THEY WERE LEADERS!!! 

And WHY were they Leaders? Why did they stand out from the crowded podium of the many others  who are 'called'  or 'appointed'  to be leaders but never seem to end up much nearer to Zion?

The Answer, in my opinion, is that  those who REALLY become our Leaders and Heroes and Role Models  identify with a GOOD CAUSE  and then they distinguish themselves 'fighting' for that GOOD CAUSE with an inward driving force that eventually differentiates GREAT leaders from the rest. That driving force of Leadership has CAUSED Jack Rushton to excel as a Quadriplegic on Life Support for over twenty years; William Wilberforce to never flinch or quit fighting for the freeing of the slaves for over fifty years;   Churchill to never, never, never give up on the CAUSE of saving freedom for the British people and the world;   Mandela to survive 27 years in prison and then peacefully defeat Apartheid;   Pres. Hinckley to add over 100 new temples to the world landscape;  John Wooden to create a basketball legacy that inspires all aspiring coaches;  Ammon and Capt Moroni earned the right to represent the scores of other great leaders of the scriptures who identified their great CAUSE and then even today still motivates every bright future missionary to know  the secret weapon of missionary work - which is to identify a CAUSE and then work their hearts out to take those they lead to HIGHER GROUND; David B. Haight's  CAUSE was his missionaries who needed to learn the formula for their future leadership opportunities, to 'get their education, make their mark and get prepared to build the Kingdom'; Eisenhower, Patton, MacArthur, Meir, Washington and Lincoln were just a few who became Leaders by using a WAR of freedom as their CAUSE. 

Perhaps "War"  best describes the CAUSE  that is the baseline of nearly all great LEADERS, not necessarily a 'killing' war but instead a WAR (or Passion)  for - or against - something and by so fighting for that CAUSE they will take a quorum, a class, a Scout Troop, a ward, a stake, a mission, a campus, a community and especially a family... to that Enoch inspired Higher Ground called Zion. 
May that lofty CAUSE capture all of us and may we limit our beach time  and our wasted time and instead make  all of our time, sacred time - committed to a CAUSE, any CAUSE that will inspire the next generation to leave their beach front comfort zones and join the CAUSE of preparing themselves and others for HIS RETURN...may it happen quickly  - and may it find each of us at our post, buried in HIS good CAUSE. 

Mahalo from the north shore's enticing beaches - the CAUSE of the masses - ha.

bro Jim

No Sleep!

The passed few nights I've been going to bed at the normal time- between 10:30 and 11:00.. but waking up at 5! And my body won't fall back to sleep! I'll just lay in bed until my alarm goes off at 6:30. :( I want my 8 hours. T_T If it persists, I might as well just go to bed a little earlier and wake up at 5 like my body's telling me. Gawl that'll be weird, though.. It's so dark even at 6. I wonder if the library's open at 6. *sigh* If I wake up again tomorrow morning at 5 I guess I'll try it out!

Hawaii Beth

Another date night...

Soon every night will be a date night! Hehe.. XD

It was fun. We had dinner *free food~!* and then went to the cafeteria cuz San was still hungry. We met Trezlyn there and talked about tomorrow. I hope she invited Jacob to the Hukilao! We're all riding up in San's car to watch the sunrise at Sunset. :D We'll have fun with the beach there, then we'll go to the beach at the Hukilao for a barbaque. This will be the perfect time to bring snacks <3 Yay! I'm really looking forward to it! All of my dates with San have been wonderful and uplifting. Then after dinner, we dropped some rice off at my house for the potluck on Sunday. We found ourselves wandering around after that.. towards the temple. X3 This time it was early enough that the gate was still open. So we walked around the temple, admiring it.. He was telling me that he was there for the re-opening of the temple dedication in October.. and how he saw the prophet.. and how lucky he was XD So I said that I was lucky, too, because I WORKED in the temple. :D We were both lucky.

Then there was a lot of people sitting in the benches overlooking the temple grounds, so we kept walking. Earlier today I went to the temple for initiatories, and afterward sat behind the temple where there was this BIG tree.. I chose that spot to stop at. He really liked it. Then we just sat there and talked for a while, kissed a little, and just had a fun time. Then we left before the temple closed and walked me home. Neither of us wanted to go, but we needed to so we could get enough sleep for tomorrow! And that's where I'm going to leave off because I need to go to bed. XD G'night all!

Having fun in Hawaii,
Hawaii Beth

Last Night's Date

It was so awesome! San and I were trying to find some time we could spend together, so we started by having dinner at the cafeteria. The food wasn't that great - Mediterranean Chicken.. you think it'd be good.. but then they served some chow mein noodles afterwards that THAT was good - but the company was very pleasant. Afterwards, he walked me home and we sat on some benches a little down the road and talked for a few minutes until he had to go back to campus and attend some kind of group.. thing. I just stayed home until 9, which was Chinese Class. DANG IT'S HARD! XD That was the first time I've tried actually speaking chinese and I have a long way to go if I'm to learn it. Then we stopped at the Spanish/Latino Club where they were serving empanada. They weren't the kind I'm used to, though. They were more of a mexican-y flavor than south american. I just had a bite of Trezlyn's. Then Masa was there.. I don't know what he was doing there, but when San and I started dancing, I think it made him jealous LOL. Later he and Trezlyn were dancing together! I have to get the story on that. Neither of us can dance very well, but it was a lot of fun. That's the first time I've ever danced with a guy on anything but a slow song. I want to learn more.

Then after a few moments being there, we left and walked to the temple. We walked a shortcut through the temple view apartments (which I assume he's walked before, because he knew where he was going.. and I didn't XD) We stopped at the gate to the temple (it was closed) and just stared at the temple for a while. He told me a story about one of his friends getting married in that temple and how it was the first time he saw someone get married at a temple. Therefore Laie is his favorite temple (I think). Then we sat down and talked about his business plans and family and just a bunch of stuff. I didn't know that he had had a goal of running or creating a business by the time he was 25! But when he went to school he had to put the company on hold. He plans on going back to it eventually, but he needs a new team to help run it.

So it was a great night. Very uplifting and 'informative'. With not a lot of kissing LOL. It was cute. At the end he was talking about how he's playing the roll of the boyfriend, and how he wants to do it better, but "right now I need to play the roll of the student. We need to go to bed." XD Then we chanted "student discipline. Student discipline." a few times while walking home. It was awesome. Yep! Great night. I gotta go to class now. Hope you enjoyed reading. XD

Hawaii Beth

Just the Essay Version of Elder Bednar's Talk

Elder Bednar Devotional

“My message is just for you,” Elder Bednar started out saying. This is a special devotional that was not recorded. It touched on the connection between Personal Testimony and On-going Conversion. A testimony is “personal knowledge by the Holy Ghost to our souls that things are true”. The Holy  Ghost is a teacher and guide to all truth. Conversion was defined as a mighty change of heart, a new creature in Christ; a fundamental and permanent change in our nature via the atonement. He later defines it as “a deepening devotion to the knowledge we’ve received”. It includes a conscious effort to become a disciple of Christ.

Come unto Christ and offer your WHOLE soul unto him. Knowing that Christ is the Redeemer is good, but coming unto him requires more effort on your part. We need to have a disposition to never do evil, but to do good continually. We need to improve and become better. We need to have a mighty change in heart, no disposition to do evil, walk circumspect before God, Keep the Commandments, and be Diligent. Gradually we can align our thoughts, words, and deeds to God’s will, but in order to do that, persistence and patience is necessary.

Belief leads to faith, which leads to repentance, which leads to a change of heart, which leads to being firm and steadfast in the faith. This is the pathway to an ongoing conversion to the Lord and if we are in possession of something that keeps us from fully converting to the Lord, we need to LAY IT DOWN NOW!

Because of this devotional, I want to always be in the process of changing my heart and becoming more fully converted to the Lord. To do this, I must stay on the pathway of ongoing conversion. Right now I’m working at aligning all of my thoughts, words, and deeds to the Lord’s will.

Elder Bednar Devotional – Jan 20, 2011

I ask everyone who reads it to read it with a spirit of prayer, that the Holy Ghost may touch you as you read these rough notes, that you can take something from it that will better your lives. :) It is, after all, spoken through one of the 12 apostles. I like to think of this as a Patriarchal Blessing for the BYU Hawaii community who assisted the devotional, but hopefully someone can be edified by reading this, if not at least informed.
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‘My message is just for you’. No one recorded this broadcast so only our notes of this event are proof that this took place!

There is a connection between Personal Testimony and On-going Conversion

Testimony: personal knowledge by the Holy Ghost to our souls that things are true.

·         The Holy Ghost is a Teacher and Guide to all truth.

Sincere Heart, Real Intent, and Faith in Jesus Christ, Responsibility, Duty, Accountability

Conversion: mighty change of heart, new creature in Christ; a fundamental and permanent change in our nature via the atonement.

·         Includes a conscious effort to be a disciple of Christ

Come unto Christ and offer your WHOLE soul unto him. Knowing that Christ is the Redeemer is good, but coming unto Him requires more effort on your part.          

·         No more dispositions to do evil, but to do good continually – improve and become better.

Mighty change in heart, no more disposition to do evil, walk circumspect before God, Keep the Commandments, Diligence

Gradually align your thoughts, words, and deeds to align to God’s will

·         Persistence and Patience is necessary

Belief -> Faith->Repentance-> Change of Heart-> Firm and Steadfast in the faith = Pathway to ongoing conversion to the Lord.

Having a testimony is the initial step to deepening conversion. “As many of the Lamanites did converted never fell away.”

If we are still in possession of what keeps us from fully converting unto the lord, we NEED TO LAY IT DOWN NOW!  

Conversion = A deepening devotion to the Knowledge we’ve received. Being consistent to the gospel is also conversion. Be true to the gospel.

Lamps of the virgins à Lamps of Testimony / Oil of Conversion

·         It cannot be borrowed by someone else. It comes from the steps and experiences we personally have. Each of us must “buy our oil and lamps, adding ‘line upon line, precept upon precept’ the oil’ (It’s our responsibility to increase our light of testimony and ample supply of conversion oil to the Lord)

Come to the Knowledge of Truth and be converted – we will be ready at the coming of the bridegroom.

“I bear apostolic witness that ‘They’ live and love and know each and every one of us. They speak. I leave you with a blessing that you may have eyes to see and ears to hear, to be more fully converted unto the Lord and assist others.”

Notes from my Entrepreneur Class

Taking Control

(IGNORE)(As you begin to observe life, what are you going to leave your posterity? Learn to write your biography – record your thoughts as you learn life lessons. You need to be watching life and recording it.)

(IGNORE)(Best in the world – 97% retention in training and most people (internationally) bought the product. A year from now they could predict accurately how much of the trainees would still be buying/using the product. Franklin Time Management was the best in training because the ‘memorizing’ lasted longer. Most ‘training memory’ is very temporary and won’t last)

60 minutes per day x 17 hours = 1020 minutes every single day (if you get 7 hours of sleep) Those are 1020 (or 960 if you get 8 hours) moments you can take advantage of. (He had us stare at him for one minute without looking away. It was a fairly long amount of time)
Time = series of events that happen one after the other. Those who take those 1020 events seriously and use them wisely truly rule the world.

Abigail Adams to John Quincy Adams:

• These are times in which a genius would wish to live. It is not in the still calm of life, or the repose of a pacific station, that great characters are formed. Would Cicero have shone so distinguished an orator if he had not been roused, kindled, and inflamed by the tyranny of Catiline, Verres, and Mark Anthony? The habits of a vigorous mind are formed in contending with difficulties. All history will convince you of this, and that wisdom and penetration are the fruit of experience, not the lessons of retirement and leisure. Great necessities call out great virtues. When a mind is raised and animated by scenes that engage the heart, then those qualities, which would otherwise lie dormant, wake into life and form the character of the hero and the statesman.

We’re the generation who will either solve this international crisis, or be consumed by it. You do not become great in calm waters.

Franklin Tri-quation
Self Esteem = Productivity = Event Control*
All three are equal. What you do to one, you do to the others.
We all feel a low point of one of all or one of those in our lifetime. It’s 100% personal. To go back up, or increase all three at once. To get those back up to a high point, control more events in your day*. Take the 1020 moments in your day and control them! It will increaswe productivity which will increase self-esteem. (So how I can apply this, is, instead of playing video games or doing things online, I could do something more productive – look for a job.. read up on current events.. read a book that I still need to finish.. etc)

PLAN
PRIORITIZE
COMFORT ZONE

Plan & Prioritize- Everything starts with a plan. It only takes 10 minutes to plan! (or less) Prioritize it. Write all the things you have to do or want to do that day on a list. Go down the list and put the activities into one of 3 categories: A, B, or C. A’s = HAVE to. B’s = OUGHT to do. C’s = WANT to do. Then take all of the events in category A and number them.. 1,2,3,4,5… in order of priorities. Then do the same to categories B and C. You can now take control of your day! It magnifies your priority. (What comes to mind when you think of a magnifying glass? BURN ANTS! You focus all of that energy onto one point on the ground and it burns ants.) So now you can focus on the most important things with all of your energy. Make a checklist. Use the endorphins you get from checking it off the list as motivation! Don’t you just feel SO GOOD checking things off a list?

• Put an arrow next to an event you were unable to accomplish that day, but need to do another day.
• Put an X next to an event that is no longer important.

Comfort Zone- Imagine people standing in a circle holding a piece of cloth with a ball in the center. It’s going to be drooping down a little, right? That’s the Comfort Zone. Resting at its lowest point. We all have them in life. Bed, videogames, friends, the beach.. you waste time when you don’t have a plan. The ONLY way out of your comfort zone is having a GOAL. You have to have a goal to get out of it!

GOVERNING VALUES

The Franklin Pyramid             Now –> Productivity Points (Using those 1020 moments)
(It’s supposed to be inside a 3 tier pyramid)

                                                                Today I will…          Using Today’s Goals to get to the “I will” goals

                          I will…  short/long term goals to get to the “I am” goals
                                                                   What will you do in order to become___? By
                                                                   doing these goals you become what you want to
                                                                   become in the “I am” goals
                                      I am… (Positive Affirmation) Governing
                                                                            values/principles you want to become.
                                                                            Example: “I am like God” “I am a
                                                                            wonderful husband” “I make time for my
                                                                            family above everything else”

 

*YOU WILL NEVER EXCEED YOUR GOALS*

Best Day Ever

So yesterday started out great by me getting a 97 on a math test = my first math test in probably 7 years. Well actually probably 4… I forgot I took a math class in College. I don’t count it. XD

That started my day off just fine. Then I did some laundry and was looking forward to going to Kaneohe to the mall with all of my friends! While calling everyone to make sure we knew what was going on, San said that he’d be later getting out of work. So I talked to Trezlyn about it and they took the bus while I waited for San. So San and I drove in his car to Kaneohe, leaving an hour later than everyone else, and when we got there, the people riding the bus  had only been there for 15 minutes. Wow. That’s a LONG bus ride. We decided later to squish everyone into the car (5 people in a 4-seat car) since the bus ride wasn’t very appealing to the others who had ridden it to get to the mall.

We shopped in a little clothing store but didn’t buy anything. Took some fun pictures, we know it’s there now, so we might go back there sometime. Though much of their attire isn’t very fitting for someone with garments…

Then we went to the chinese market on the second floor of the mall! THAT WAS SO COOL! I bought some Pineapple flavored Ramune and everyone thought it was such a cool looking bottle that they all bought one of every other flavor. Mine won as most tasty. :D It was so funny – San bought a container of just.. dried seaweed sheets to eat as a snack. When he opened the lid, there was a seal so you couldn’t get to the seaweed. So we all tried stabbing it with our fingers and it wouldn’t tear! So San poses to like.. do a judo move or something. ‘gathering energy’ to poke the hole. And it doesn’t go through! XD He hurt his finger along with the rest of us. So I got out my keys and STABBED it, Karate style. MWAHAHA.

Then we hung out a little, going to a few more shops and ate sushi at the end. Reinya and her friend… I can’t remember his name now… James…? No… Scott? Might have been Scott.. iunno. I got a video of us all eating and having fun. Then Reinya and her date went home on the bus because they had an all-day ticket and the other girls rode home with us. After San and I dropped them off, he asked me what I wanted to do. I said, “Well, honestly, I don’t feel like going home. So whatever you want to do.” So he makes the suggestion of going to the beach. He had wanted to buy a towel while at the mall and couldn’t find one, so I said that we should go to Foodland and get him a towel for the beach. :) While we were there we bought some cheap flipflops so we could walk on the sand with something other than our nice shoes. We headed over there, parked the car, then walked a ways on the beach, (I brought a flashlight) checking out the crabs along the way. They’d run SO fast towards the water that it looked like they were surfing the sand!

We found a good spot and placed the towel on the ground and lay down, looking up at the stars. We talked for probably an hour and a half, each of us knowing what was coming next. XD Finally he broke the ice and asked if I would “Hang out” with him. (CUTEST THING IN THE WORLD! He mixed that phrase up with ‘go out’) Then he held out his hand and I held it. We just sat there looking up at the stars holding hands, talking a little bit… I asked at one point if he was jealous when Masa hugged me while at the ‘Linger Longer’ on Sunday, and he said yes. Then he asked if we could hug again. And we did. Which led into kissing.

best kisser in the world

It started to get cold so we headed back to the car to find that the gate leading out of the parking lot was closed and locked. XD So we walked home, leaving his car there. It was a nice walk. We walked down the road where the temple is and I was surprised to see SO MANY COUPLES just sitting on temple road. XD At.. 1am. But then again, there was a dance going on last night until midnight, so I guess it’s not that surprising. We walked until we got to my home, kissed goodnight, then the moment I walked in the door, my room mates were all “Tell us!” So I did. It was great fun. The only thing is.. I went to bed around 2, didn’t really ever fall asleep because my heart was pounding the entire night, then woke up at 5:30 to get ready for a sunrise breakfast with Trezlyn’s ward. BEAUTIFUL sunrise. I was feeling a little sick because I didn’t get a lot of rest, I was hungry, and a little cold.. But I realized I was starting to feel sick because I’m dehydrated. So I’ll be drinking PLENTY of water today.

So that’s that! Best. Day. Ever.

Hawaii Beth

And no this is not going to affect my studies.

o_o;

Sooooooo…… Sam gave me 12 boxes of ramen today LOL. Chicken flavored 8D I think he’s actually starting to like me cuz he HUGGED me today! *GASP*

Today in Relief Society our lesson was on Sacrifice. I learned something the other day about the story of how the Young Nobleman asked the Savior what more should he do since he’s been keeping the commandments from his youth, and the Savior said that he should sell everything and follow him. Well, after the kid sulked away cuz he didn’t wanna do that, Jesus said that it’s easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into heaven. Well, I learned the other day what the “eye of the needle” really is. XD When camels go into a city, they pass through a small door-way entrance.. thing.. It’s just tall enough for an unloaded camel to move through. So if a camel had all of its packings still on it, it’d be nearly impossible for it to go through the entryway, thus they had to be unloaded before coming in. So it’s easier for a camel, UNLOADED (symbolism = without riches) to enter through the eye of the needle than for a rich man (STILL LOADED WITH RICHES) to go to Heaven.

Get it?

I thought that was awesome.

Now to read the scriptures and do my Religion Class homework. :D I’m happy to do Book of Mormon homework on Sunday cuz it keeps me focused on good things!

Hawaii Beth

A date?!

So tonight – ew… my roommates are farting… loudly… That’s so gross… It’s one thing if they’re friends- eeeeeeeeeeeew TMI REALLY D<

…so…

Tonight I went out to eat at the cafeteria. Bumped into Sam (chinese) from my ward and as he was saying hi to me, he did the classic… *saying-hi-to-girl-while-walking-and-doesn’t-see-the-guy-behind-him-walking-towards-him-CONTACT! plate and food drops* So I felt bad for him and sat with him (especially since those were the only seats available). We talked about random things while eating then when I was about to go, he asked if he could get me some water. Sooooo I went ahead and said yes since I hadn’t had some (I don’t think he knew where the water was ((it took me a while to find the water my first time, too)) so I watched him try to find it XD) I introduced myself to some of his chinese friends while he was gone and I finished and… he left with me. o_o So he walked me quite a ways until the library where we split. While walking I learned that he LIKES X JAPAN! WOOT! He asked for my number and is gonna call me in like.. 15 minutes so we can meet up before the fireside. Now.. this would be great and all….

except that I can’t understand half of what he says.

Wish me luck tonight D:
Hawaii Beth

EDIT: It turns out that I CAN understand him. It's just that the cafeteria was so loud that I couldn't hear half of what he said.

Busy Day

Today was SUCH a full and busy day that I’m just exhausted. Lots of adding, dropping, and waiting for people to call at the right times. Plus returning my spanish book. THAT WAS SUCH A PAIN! But I’m proud of mom for doing such a big-girl job! Yaaaaaaay. She scanned and sent me a copy of the receipt used to purchase the spanish book. And Katie couldn’t even get the scanner to work before! I was able to figure it out while over the phone not even looking at what’s wrong. B) But I’m SO glad that’s over and done with. That was my biggest headache that lasted all day long until 5ish when I could finally return it.

So my goal tomorrow is to do a steak-type of day. Drink water all morning and have dinner at night. I need to eat more salad. Trezlyn’s such a good example setter for me cuz she’ll just eat healthy food for all her meals. Good for her. I just eat tons of starch. LOL. I’m trying to get back into proteins and fruits/vegis. So that’s my other new years resolution- to get back on track with eating right. But tomorrow I’m going to sleep in as much as possible til maybe 7:30ish. So tiiiiiired. I need to do laundry and read the book of mormon tomorrow. Then I’ll see whatever else I need to do before monday. G’night all!

Hawaii Beth

First Day of School in Hawaii

How many people can leave their school and have it be a perfect day, though slightly more on the warm side (about 75 degrees), with awesome Hawaiian/Polynesian music playing about a block away so you can hear it when you leave your classroom… on January 5th? 8D

So today was my first day of school and it was alright.. except for lugging my books around. Which I didn’t need to do in the first place. Cuz it’s the first day of school and you never use your books on the first day of school. Not to mention I was lugging them around in a laptop-carrying bag (laptop was NOT in there with the books thank GOODNESS! That’d be an extra 7 lbs added to the already shoulder-wrecking weight) Now.. that’s not even the beginning to why it was annoying. I got up this morning, sleeping in til 7:30, and had a bunch of things that I had to do today – get my TB-shot read, apply for a few more jobs, add another class, eat breakfast, print a syllabus, hope to find and talk to an academic adviser, and find my classes before they actually started. Thinking I wouldn’t have time to come home before class started, I lugged my books around with me. The entire morning. Only to find that I had an hour of free time after I had finished ALL of this stuff. So I lugged the books back home to find that my shoes had worn my heel down to bleeding. 9_9 Took a nap, put on Band-Aids, and trudged out the door again. I went to my religion class (Book of Mormon), did that for an hour, then had to make my way to the other side of campus to my Spanish class. I walked in a few minutes late because WITHOUT the added baggage, it could take up to 10 minutes just to get there. For the record, that’s longer than me walking to school from my apartment. THEN add a 10 lb bag to the equation with damaged heels… I got to class late. Oh, not to mention the professor (an Elder by the way; a missionary) let us out a couple minutes late. XD

So that was the first half of the day. Then came Spanish. Of course I could understand everything she said while I got to notice how newbies to a language react when they can’t understand a word that’s being said. In the ramblings of the teacher, (she was speaking 90% spanish the entire class period) she said “and if anyone can understand me, you’re probably in the wrong class”. XD 8D~ MWAHAHAHahahhaa… It was really fun to see how she taught, though, while understanding her completely. Then for the last part of class we went outside in groups of 7 to talk about why we wanted to learn Spanish. The Tutor of the class (Mexican girl) came to our group of 6 and I got to speak with her in Spanish for the majority of the time- AND I’M VERY RUSTY. I can understand everything but thinking of what to say is just.. Blarg. So that’s why I’m going back to the basics- so I can learn grammar and increase my lost vocabulary and hopefully by the end of the semester or by the time I get to the 300/400 class, I’ll be able to speak fluidly again.

Then we went back to the classroom and it had locked behind all of us. And the teacher didn’t have the key. LOL. So we had to wait for someone to come open the door for us.

Then I ran into Trezlyn and she accompanied me to my apartment and I finally showed her around! I checked my student bulletin e-mail and there was something about a choir class that was open to students and faculty to come sing if they wanted. (Trezlyn had already told me about the e-mail before we came home and I opened the email) So we tried that out and I wasn’t so sure about staying in the class or signing up for it, but Trezlyn was all for it. By the end of class, I was totally loving it and want to go to it TWTh, but Trezlyn wasn’t so sure about it because she wasn’t really confident about singing in a real choir setting. But I’m sure she’ll do fine. And the worst that can happen is that she comes away learning a bit more about choir and how to read music. It was a big enough choir of music majors that they can make up for us non-majors :)

So that was fun and here I am. We were thinking of doing something else after we skyped our parents, but it’s dark now and I’m sure she won’t want to be prancing around at this hour. I know I don’t really wanna. XD But there’s a dance on Friday from 9-12 and I might wanna go to that, at least for an hour. Well, I’m not gonna take much more time writing this. I’m gonna get ready for bed. Night all!

Hawaii Beth

Finally Moved In

Well, this is my first night officially living in the “Tevita’s House”. Really it’s a nice apartment with its occasional cockroach and ant line. But it’s nicer than any of the apartments I lived in while in Spain. And so far all of my room mates are very nice. I just have to remember who’s who and what’s what around here. XD

Oh, and I had my first run-in with a small cockroach. I named him Mate (Not “mah-tay”) and he lived in the toilet paper roll that was hanging next to the toilet. I took some pictures of him so maybe I’ll include one in this post that I’ll edit later on. Tomorrow I have to get up super early so I have to go to bed now. Good night all! Oh, one more thing, my CIS class was cancelled this week! So I don’t have to worry about my morning classes on Wednesday and Friday this week! But next week will start it all sooooo I hope I can enjoy it while it lasts X] Good night~!

Hawaii Beth

ps. I still don’t have internet. For some reason the security key wasn’t accepted so I’ll need to fix that later. Right now I’m on an open internet connection.

Moving in

So today my parents and I stopped by to get my key and fill out some paperwork. My room-mate was there as well as another girl who I believe was just moving out of that apartment.. They seemed VERY. VERY nice. Mission-worthy nice. Maybe even nicer than some of my companions.. and that’s like.. near impossible. o_o I wonder if Irene’s served a mission.. I’ll find out.

Anyway, we stopped by and made my bed, got the room a little situated, and started marking things with my name using a sharpie. Then we went upstairs to get the contract signed.. and I left the sharpies and keys on the table.. and before we left, I realized I didn’t have my key 8D And it wasn’t until we were back at the hotel that I realized that my sharpies were missing as well LOL. So Tavita stole them (my landlady’s son) and who knows where they are now. I might mention it to her later. But I got my key back at least. XD She has such cute kids.

Tomorrow we go to the school to get some papers signed and my ID taken care of… etc… Remind me to get a TB test as well. XD~ I’ll forget that… Then we’ll finish moving me in and that’ll be it! I’ll be officially moved in! So crazy. I’m looking forward to it very much, though. =3

That’s all for now! Take care all and Happy New Year!!!

Hawaii Beth