Aloha and a belated Happy Thanksgiving!!
Some recent events...
Marine Corps Ball
I attended the United States Marine Corps Ball!!! Three of them!!! A Marine Corps ball is a BIG DEAL. It's like Prom, but bigger, better and way more important!Each unit/command fundraises throughout the year to rent a ballroom and catering at a fancy hotel in Waikiki. Since I found out about this Marine tradition (back in my Washington days) I've always wanted to go. This means getting invited by a Marine... and I've never had a date to take me. But since I work for the Marines... all I had to do was get invited by the Senior Enlisted. It just turns out that I communicate directly with the Senior Enlisted on a continuous basis, I asked them to invite me and three of them did!!!! I thought it would be really cool to go stag because then I would get to dance with all the boys. I would have been right, if only all of the boys hadn't come with a date :-(
In all, it was interesting, informative and educational. It's a very formal occasion and has a lot of tradition and history embedded in it. And getting to see all those boys in dress blues was neat too!
Cirque de Soleil
I had another birthday ... boo hoo :-(
My present from my roommates was Cirque de Soleil! It was really neat! I thought it would just be a lot of gymnasts and acrobats but it was a variety show and we all had super fun.
Another present ... I got my ear pierced. :-) I've never got my ears pierced, and I wanted it to be worth it when I finally did it. So for Christmas I got myself diamond earrings!! I've always wanted to get them as a gift, but at this point in my life, I can buy my own damn diamonds! :-)
Bridesmaid
Another one of my friends is getting married! I get to be one of the bridesmaids.
One Year
I been here a year so far and work is already getting easier!!! This past year, I've been executing someone else's ideas and activities. But now I finally got to make my own plan and make changes for the better. Planning programs is easier and efficient. I've done a lot and I kept everything super structured and organized so I can look at my files and make improvements and learn from previous events.
My Blog
After learning about Blogspot.com from another friend (thanks Andrea), I started posting pictures and emails there. It can be found at the following link:
http://marcella-t-c.blogspot.com/
There's some pictures and the lastest emails.
Christmas
Christmas in Hawaii just doesn't have that holiday feel. There is no cold weather and no snow (which is what I LOVE about Hawaii). I watch Good Morning America and the TODAY show and watch people standing out in the cold and all bundled up and it seems so weird. It's 80 degrees here and perfect beach weather.
Rain and Wind Storm
There was a massive rainstorm these past few days. Winds usually come from the northeast - and are called trade winds. It's always windy here, but the wind keeps away the vog (volcanic fallout from Big Island) and the mugginess (cruel humidity).
Well, there was a shift in winds and they came from the southeast. This phenomenon is called Kona winds. The winds came gusting down from over the mountains and brought a lot of rain. It rained almost all day yesterday. And at some points, the wind caused the rain to come down sideways (horizontal instead of vertical). The comparison is a blizzard. People shouldn't have gone out yesterday, but they did (including me). Traffic was awful and there was flooding all over the place. Today there are massive potholes all over the roads.
Gas is $2.18/gallon. That's the lowest it's been since I moved here. One year ago, gas was $2.14/gallon
