Chiquita Hat Wonderland

Once again, I must apologize for my absence on the blogging world. Man that sounds dorky. It’s hard to stay in tune across two countries, especially when suckering into my computer screen is always the last choice on my expeditions. I wouldn’t have any pictures or interesting topics to write about if I took that road. So this will be the last time I will say sorry kids.

So my travels up until have taken me across a good half of the US, up through the volcanic mountain ranges in the Hawaiian islands and back to the green rolling paddocks of New Zealand. Pretty good, aye! Hah, Life is awesome at the moment! No school, work, or rent to pay. However, as charming as that life sounds, it’s still missing the marshmallows in my bowl of Lucky Charms. I’m to that point where I’m eager to start working and being a semi-responsible young lady. Haha. To be fair, I have been piling up my CV (resume) and reference list. Spotted a few jobs here and there, and actually found a room to sublease until January! Its getting there folks. Yea yea.. the real world… blah blah haha.

Hey and I forgot to fill you in on my Hawaii adventures! The islands were beautiful. Maui and Oahu had their idealistic features and to tell you the truth, I would find it difficult to chose if it came down to it. I was surprised to see a lot of landscapes that seemed out of this world. I didn’t word that very well, did I? Just many of the coves and trails had an un-earthy feel, as if I was walking through valleys on mars or in a different universe. Especially, with the treacherous ‘ah-ah’ molten lava, giant swallowing tree vines, and infectious amounts of coral covering the coastlines. Not what you’d picture when traveling to Hawaii, huh? It was honestly really cool though.

The wedding I attended was gorgeous. Picture perfect. You name it. Loads of fun. The whole week proceeding the event was filled with extreme dance parties, an all day luau, evening cocktails on the beach, hula lessons, paddle and surf board sessions, one overly loved hotel room (more like a closet or cubby), and a last minute drive up the coast of the north shore. The food was as expected, average, and a bit overpriced, but I must not include the fruit in this downfall. Hawaii is like a Chinquita hat wonderland. The islands had any type of fruit, you name it: mangos, bananas, papaya, passion fruit, guava, lemons, oranges, grapefruit, necatarines, and don’t forget their infamous DOLE pineapple. Mmmmm… If I moved there I think I would start a fruit farm and simply vege off of that. Haha. Serious.
Anways I better help Cam cook tea (dinner) here. We have visitors today! My friend Jen Huber from the states just completed a semester in Australia is over here backpacking! So excited to see her! And off to Hamilton tonight to catch up with friends.

That’s all for now folks! Now quit reading and go out n enjoy your weekend!
Aloha, Jill

The Pacific Ocean: Maui's playground

It didn’t take long to get moving in Maui. Andrew and Stephen, two comical brothers from my homestay, kidnapped me and took me to the North Shore, where the wind and waves were choice. Within 24 hours, I had already invaded the ocean with surf and paddleboards. Later that afternoon, Andrew took me out past the miles of sugar cane fields to Twin Falls. There, we went on an incredible hike through the rainforest that led to a giant cave, natural pools, and a series of steep waterfalls (that we jumped off). The “forest,” as they call it, was like a free tropical farmer’s market. It didn’t take much more than a leap or some tree shake action to pluck fresh papaya, guava, apple bananas, passionfruit (lily coy), mangoes, or avocados from the sheltering branches. No kidding, this place really is paradise!


The next couple of days I spent weaving into the Davis family schedule. I accompanied Lisa in an intense hilly power walk with their two giant pawed dogs Ben and Bear (or black dog as they also call him) as well as lent a hand in daily errands. I tagged along and witnessed some insane downhill longboard racing with Andrew on the windy mountain roads. I caught a beautiful Saturday sunset overlooking the valley and captured a wide-eyed view of an infamous Hawaiian rainbow. Hal and Lisa (the parents) took me on a snorkeling adventure as well as a coastal tour of some of the most picturesque beaches. I also spent an hour or so creating a pastel masterpiece of the mountainside view of their island bungalow to later give them as a thank you gift.
I’m sure I’m missing a bunch here, however I’m going to have to get back to you all later, because the power just went out and I’m going to need to use the little bit of light from this laptop to lead me to bed.

Sweet Sugar Cane Dreams,
J.man

Mahalo!

9-16-10

All I can live and breathe is WOW. I’ve had a wild ride merely in the process of getting to my destination (which I still haven’t arrived at yet). Just picture me, currently sprawled out on Honolulu’s groovy groomed carpet waiting for my final flight of the day to Maui, just dreaming of the minute in which I can sprint into the Pacific Ocean and flop around like a five year old. And further on: surf, hike, learn to paddleboard, jump of cliffs, drink a mai tai, do whatever it takes to live like a local! I’ve had my ultimate roadtrip but now I’m keen to lay low for a while; in ONE place that is.

The past 30 or so hours Cam and I have been living and lugging our overstuffed suitcases, camping in airports, and weaving through the labyrinths of terminals. Last night we crashed in an overlooked wing of the Phoenix airport and were awoken on occasion to an industrial vacuum and the second to an army crawling bum that camouflaged himself in the shadows under the same set of benches we had set up camp. Creepy, I know. For the records, we moved not long after all the company.

This morning, I split up with Cam and hopped on an 8am flight to Honolulu, Hawaii. Mr. Hayes, on the other hand, ran off to Los Angeles to prepare for his long awaited flight home to New Zealand. So, I AM HERE…but not quite there exactly, if that makes any sense. Jailed in the airport for 30 more minutes awaiting my interisland flight. From then on, Lynn’s good friend Lisa will be picking me up and babysitting me for four days. Cannot wait! It is almost my human nature to stray from tourist attractions and destinations. As perfect sometimes works out; I’ll be spoiled from the start.

Anways, I want to talk about this one native I happened to bump into as I was minding my own business in the security line. He is known by the name ‘Easy Ed’. Full name of course is Edward Nordstrom. Not a name you come across very often, so I found it a cinch to remember. This man was a character I tell ya: referring back to past flight experiences and his retired life. Ironically, we were booked on the same flight, although he was going to use his corporate status to squeeze on an earlier one. By the time we arrived at gate 50, he had revealed his title as the unofficial ambassador of Maui as well as his love of herb. There on, explained that he is one of the only legal marijuana growers on the island. Interesting fellow, I tell ya. Bumping into Easy Ed was a great welcoming to the island; however I was relieved when they announced the final call to his VIP Maui departure. He left me his number on the island, a chocolate chip chewy bar, a copy of the local Maui newspaper, and finally two little sample baggies from his garden. Hahahah
The End. Good story eh?

Catch you in a bit,
Jill

road trip journals will be up sometime soon here... goin to continue onto Hawaii for now

South of the Border

8-24-2010

Current location: I-95 S, just crossed Pedroland; South of the Border, South Sweet Caroline State

So Let me map out the travels so far:
Picked cam up from camp>Maryland>Ocean City>Dewey Beach>Rehobeth Beach>Boston>Fort Lauderdale>Maryland>Cary, NC>Chapel Hill Frat Party with Ryan Slay> Wilmington (yes again)> and now off to the forests of South Carolina.


Sounds Like a lot, Aye? We’ll I think we’re off to a good start! Haha. I’ve already gone on about a few of the stops here, so let’s trek back to North Carolina. The first length with DORIS (our well worn in, maroon-interiored white Ford Explorer) began with a stop to my mom’s apartment in Cary, NC. We stayed there for a night and gathered our stuff together for the next month on the road. In all actuality, it will be the next 11 months! Seeing I’ll continue on west to Hawaii and then off to New Z’s! Damn I’m SO excited! Well from Cary we paid our first visit with Ryan (whisper) Slay, Cameron’s man crush from camp who attends UNC Chapel Hill. There we both had our first REAL frat experience. Unlike most American false portrayals of our culture, this experience was directly on target. Bulls eye! Haha. Blurred night of tallboy 4Locos (if you aren’t sure what I’m talking about, you’re going to have to get on that one of these nights), untucked polo shirts and Lilly apparel, and rooftop shoutouts. It also involved a phone call from a Wilmy friend who easily convinced me to pay one last Wrightsville Beach visit. We played around there for two days, partaking in a living room world series of cornhole tournament, ocean swims, and a late night sloppy joe fiesta at my brothers.

Which brings me to our location now: I-95 South! Sometime late last night we pulled out the Atlas and decided to get lost in the Forests of South Carolina. Cam’s geniusly random google searches point us to Sumter National Park, an area with over 15 waterfalls, ranging anywhere from 15-75ft in height. Jackpot! Along the way we took a few minor detours. First to Lumberton National Park, a cool little abandoned farm hideaway just off route 17. Our second stop was easily triggered by the 100s of billboards advertizing fireworks, Mexican hats, mini golf, and Pedro’s sexy hat collection. Can you guess by now? South of the Border! Haha, enough said through the pictures I will post here! Anyways we left with a few bumper stickers and a handful of sparklers and roman candles. Anyways, better get back to navigating to this gold mine! Catch ya later!

PEACE,
Jill

One Fish. Two Fish. READY fish. Grab your Shoes fish.

So I've taken off. Bye Wilmington. Cya Later Omega. Peace out Kohls. Wrightsville Beach kids: you better stay in touch with me now!


I'm currently relaxin in this salty little beach bungalo in Fort Lauderdale. So far my adventures have dragged me from the wild coast of North Carolina, up to the sweet sunsets of the Chesapeake Bay, and then on to the gum littered, graffiti boardwalks of OBESE-City, Maryland. From there I zig-zagged up to Boston to pay visit to my good friends' Kerry and Danimal.


Which brings me to my current GPS position: 5520 26th NE Avenue, Fort Lauderdale- FLO RIDA! Haha, man don't even want to get into details about the address. Let me just throw some advice out there, if you ever do intend to come here. AVOID TAXIs. They are ridiculous. Don't know how they passed their drivers test? You know, maybe they never did. haha. Anyways tonights our last night in this killer town after a week with some Incredible International kids in these crazy pimped out mansions.

Serious! It was almost like REAL WORLD: FT. LAUDY. 25 wild kids from all over the world (all from camerons camp Iriquois Springs), lots of beach/lazy days in the rooftop spa, pools, and enough alcohol and drama to go around.

Mad cool though! I really don't want to spend my time here typing on this bloody computer. Bout to take a walk, before I have to depart tomorrow morning and head on back to Maryland. Yup. then off to New Jersey, DC?





Haha.. seriously wherever the wind blows me!
Until later,

Jill Kraz

JUNE!!

Tomorrow is June FIRST, aka a very special plane flys across the Pacific Ocean. Cam rolls into the JFK airport at 5:15pm tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Think im excited enough! Mannnnnn its so unreal to think about. 6 months and 9 days later I get to see him! And to think he's never met a single one of my family members or friends! Damn, I guess that is what happens when you fall in love with someone located a continent away! May I also add a roughly $2 grand plane ticket across the atlantic... Just a bit ridiculus. I'm tellin you all, I'm going to learn how to drive a magic carpet here soon!

Other than that, It was my step mother, Lynn's, birthday so we hung out around town all day: swam, kayaked, drank margaritas, and played outside on the mint day! Got rewired on all of the family gossip and drama and really could tell you I'm already set to head back down to wilmy. haha with Cameron of course, buttttt life down there holds all of my friends, activities, jobs, and its hard trekkin back up here to sleep on the pullout couch and hang around with my "non-existent" bundle of friends still here!

haha what do i know! I dont even care at the moment! Cam in less than 18 hours! yus yus yus! Could Anyone in this whole world be happier at the moment??? Nah, don't think it's possible!

:D

xxxxxxxxxxx

Coda... to a New Beginning!

Aright I’m not really “speechless”. You know I always have something to say! That would be kinda ridiculous. I am confused at what it’s going to feel like not having papers and exams, or waking up and skating to my classes, or being called an ALUMNI? To be honest, I really just want to shout off Kerry’s porch here down at Wrightsville beach! Last night was amazing! Completely overwhelming… but in a GOOD way. We can make overwhelming a good word right? Haha, the combination of Red Stripes, Ginny Light, a few games of Hockey (drinking game), mexican-in it in a pick up truck for that free ride, endless supply of beer, drunk plan making that no one ever remembers, hot dogs at 2am, unnecessary comments (cough…Ari) haha, endless hugs, dancing, phony pick up lines, sloppy texts, and the long breezy walk home (well to one of my many beach homes)! Kerry’s last night! That was probably the last of those for awhile. The nights when the bars are filled with your entire FAMILY! No signs of tourists, JERSEY shore kids (no offense), intense lines, and unbearable heat just yet! I really don’t know if I should be talking about all of this in my blog. But hey, you want my life… here it is! Right now im rocking back n forth on Miss Calnan’s porch just about looking over the ocean. I say that because theres a chance here if I stand on the railing that I may catch a sliver of the marble water. I still catch the breeze, that salt smell and warm morning stickiness streaming from the sun just above the horizon! Whats on my mind here? Well first of all, how I can prevent this oncoming hangover. Haha. Also trying to trace recollections and possibly breakfast dates scheduled last night! Believe me, I’m sure I did, knowing Jill. Blocking out the idea of work later on today at Omega at all costs. Next subject, plans for leaving tonight in the direction of Wilkesboro, NC to catch an early start on Merlefest (all day folk/blue grass/indie festival with 8 stages and over 20 artists) SUNDAY!!! The Avett Brothers my highlights! Cannot wait. Even the roadtrip will be mean!! Even looking further… MY WHOLE ENTIRE FAMILY and FRIENDS are heading my way here! Yes to WILMINGTON THURSDAY! In less than a week to see me graduate and celebrate!!! If I wasn’t thinking of sparing your attention, I would hold the exclamation mark key on this one! AND CAMERON ANDREW HAYES will be in AMERICA in less than 30 days! 4 weeks! Now those are things to look forward to! Can I say Fuck? Haha Fuck Yea!!! I’m so excited! Stoked! Thrilled! Well what am I doing here? I just realized its just about 10am and I have to get moving here! Loving Life at the moment and never want this all to end!

I'm DONE.. UNI/COLLEGE, whatever u wanna call it!

SPEECHLESS!

Where does the wisdom go?!

Wisdom teeth out today! Not cool. Not cool. I guess I'll be watching a lot of the olympics! hah. Feel like I'm about to throw up here! Great, Just Lovely! Bumming it in Maryland on my parents' couch til I recover! Be back in Wilmy soon I hope!

xxxxxo

Superbowl Snooperbowl

Hahah so this is probably the first year I could care less about getting off the schedule at Omega, and preppin for the big game. Its the take down between the Saints and the Colts. Well I guess it gives me an excuse to test out my first batch of chili n cornbread from my cookbook. If you were curious...The turkey chili was dank (more than delicious!).

And I've successfully avoided any type of school work and studying on this recovery Sunday...
Instead, I voluntarily kept myself busy attempting to quiet the noisy birds in my house, cooking, cleaning, completing a large load of laundry, skating outside my house, and catching up with my folks who received over 50 inches of snow at home. InSAneee... Can't imagine being snowed in here in the Dubtown! But ayee it could happen. one day!

Oo and had time for a little run the other day on the beach, but almost instantly turned into a stroll, because I easily discovered HUNDREDS of full size conch shells, perfectly in tact. And for those who know me, you know how easily distracted I get with this kind of stuff! Just picture jill... "hands and elbows" full of shells. Felt like so much of a bandit (stealing the seas treasures and all) that i had to lay them down and use the process of elimination to lighten the load. I'm serious yo!

Well considering is 6:17 and I should decide to sneak in a little work or pack up this chili and head over to Bretts apartment, I should go! Later kids!

Goooooooooo TEAM!
haha

Today... Legendary in my book

I am lying on my bed at the moment, unraveling my most wicked day since I've been back.. Surely with my luck it started off as more of a bummer, waking up 15 past 8 when I should have already been seated mid-left of Dr. Miller's little classroom jotting down notes. Oh well, haha. Well I was already planning some adventures for the day because it was my only day off work this week! Sorry I don't want to bore you with details because I know if you were to bump into me on the street and ask me how my day was: believe me, u would not get a short answer. haha, not coming from Jill. It goes both ways though... I love to sit and listen to everyone else whereabouts and wandering experiences. So here goes... I woke up slow, with some delicious plunger coffee. An no not the toilet plunger, retard. Most of the time its referred to as the french press I guess. That was my christmas gift from my brothers this past December. Think the parents had something to do with that! haha, of course. Anyways back to January 28th, 2010. So I had my coffee, bowl of Original whole wheat Cheerios and soy milk and watched the weather forcast for the following days. It wasn't very hard to decide to not attend my PED 347 lecture at 11 because It is not mandatory and I had already been this week. Once is enough right?! Instead I packed up the car with random outfits and gear and cruised down to Carolina Beach (a 20 min drive south of wilmington) to go for a long run! Exercise is always always a good way to start off your day. I'm sure most of you have experienced Then I wandered back up to the north end of the beach and climbed about the jetty rocks until i found the the most apppropriate perch to sink into and read my daily subscription to The Wall Street Journal. While in Carolina Beach I was able to dig out some cool mugs from the OP shop and also stopped by a Seafood market to get the fresh catch that I could grill up for tea (dinner). Which was delicious by the way! Even if my attempt at cooking it from the directions sucked, the fish was literally 'melting in my mouth' good!!!

Also in commencement to my best friend DLos birthday, we decided to hit up his favorite restaurant: Flaming Amys and hang out. My initial plan was not to go out, however I was easily persuaded the other way. I first agreed to drop off the boys downtown at Odessa's first "Dirty Mega" night. Aka night of heckno techno on the second story of this bar off Frontstreet. Picture this: djs out of an old school bus in the wall, flourescent lights, wild wilmy kids running around everywhere and ragin to their own beat! It was incredible! Again, I know I've said this a ton, but It was so good to be back here with all my beach kids! This day was the perfect climax to the first month of 2010! Amazing! Well Its time to hit the hay. So tired! Nite yall.

alrite alrite

So, I honestly don't have any idea if anyone reads this anymore... but if you've stopped (you probably aren't reading this right now) and I don't blame you, especially because my life went from one extreme to the other. For most people you would describe a person like me similar to the non-stop energizer power a robot. "Keeps going... and going..." Truthfully, I may be gettin there, but I'm not there just yet. I start off most days at 7am and continue moving until about 9pm. Usually in the order of class, gym, class, meetings, shower, work, sleep, on REPEAT. Seriously.

Ask my roomate (of my previous flat mates). Its liveable though. At the moment, I've got school, Omega sports, Surfrider, and this new internship I'm working with. Busy as! But lifes been good though. Spent my last Saturday off in Durham catchin up with my good friend Madeline, actually more like sister. I've got to have known that girl for 12 years now! Ridic. but yea nothing else is new. Actually I just came on here to change the picture in the background because it bothered me. Don't really feel like typing anymore. hah, sorry kids. I've gotta tackle this laundry and catch back up on the little sleep of what i had last nite after cramming for my 355 class.

We'll catch up later! peace yo

Just a typical Tuesday

Aloha! Its approximately 4pm and I'm sittin fourth back from the front in my Health 465 Nutrition class. Can't concentrate. This is not good considering is only the 2nd week of classes, but everything Alice is going through on the slides is stuff i've learned a million times before. Haha probably fail the assessment if we were tested on it right now, but then again this nice little lady sittin in the front of the class won't do that to us~ Shes way too nice, and not to mention pregnant. This past weekend was fun finally, finally! And had off work Sunday so I hung out at the beach all day paying visits to my friends and skating/biking down to the south end to catch the sunset with my old room mates! Also the weather here has been MINT!! For all my Americans that read this, mint is defined as a "perfect" condition of some sort in the kiwi slang. School is school! All of my classes (papers) seem to be fine, other than my stupid 355: sport and physical activity measurement class, which is a repeat of the health statistics course with the addition of the 8am time frame and an ANAL professor that wrote our textbook. haha. Do-able by all means though! No complaints! I'm stoked-as to get out of this class because I'm meeting up with Paul Himberger, one of my best friends from freshman year! I think I'm so interested in his life so much because it seems almost like a fairy tale to me. At least in my world. Anyways to make the story short, he met an adorable aussie named Daisy while she was over here studying abroad at UNCW and after he graduated he went to graduate school in Australia. Fast forward to this fall: I received a magnet announcing "SAVE the DATE: September yada yada yada... Oahu, Hawaii, the marriage of Paul and Daisy". I was so excited and shocked to have had the honor of being a guest! In Hawaii, now theres one place I haven't been before! Ah, well anyways hes in town at the moment and we are grabbing a quick dinner before I have work at 6! I love hearing peoples life stories! love it! Well I have lots more to spill here, but I better pay attention to these formulas!

Talofa (goodbye in Samoan)!

home sweet home for awhile

School started back up today! Doesn't feel like it though. Hah, I guess because I only had one class to conquer. My life has jump started again. Back to work at Omega Sports, 16 hrs of class, Surfrider, and lots of social events to catch up on! Not to mention its freezin-as in this beachy town. Anyways, I home! HOME and looking forward to staying put for awhile! No trains, planes, roadtrips for awhile. Lame, I know! I want to apoligize in advance for my stories not being up to par over the next few weeks. But again it is me, and my life always seems to throw me chickens, interesting enough! Good nite kids, I'm hittin the hay! Wonderful 8am class to attend in the morning! Hooray!

xxo

The New Year

So let’s chat about 2009, aye? I guess I should begin on January 1st. Haha. Well Jill started off the New Year as a bum on her good friends’ Jarrod and Dlo’s couch. Thanks to a ‘what-must-have-been’ epic night of underage bar hopping with Miss Townsend, she had managed to re-gift her wallet (fully stocked with my drivers’ license(s), credit & debit cards, $10 cash, and only house key) to some lucky human being! Man she’s a generous lady.

After clocking in several hours with robotic telephone operators and mastering people watching in the Driver’s Motor Vehicle Association while she waited she was able to plant herself in the New Year.

Let’s see here. I guess looking back on it, most of her memories are now short ‘jilltube.com’ episodes from her semester abroad in New Zealand. She did manage to target some other important accomplishments (in addition to her philanthropy efforts).
One of the most ‘brag-worthy’ being her surf-status. She went from being wannabe Roxy sponsored Surfer, to a wannabe shredder with kook wipe-out status. Haha. Jill spent spring break 2009 on a Mexican-packed Nissan Altima road trip down to Cocoa Beach, Florida with some of her best mates! There she spent a week actively participating in Surf 101 with ‘Wilmington’s finest instructor’, Marissa Walch. She also served as a front shelf spectator to the coast’s local dolphin aerobatics show, sunbathed on the Hilton’s first class beach scene, and mamba-ed with locals at the sandy beach-side pubs.

She then, spent the next couple of months before her kiwi-excursion living through her personal assistant, Ms. Monthly View Daily Planner 2009. Some days of which often consisted of a 7am wake up, an 8-11am sandwich of classes, an 11:30am-4:30pm play session with 3 year old Pierce and 17 month old Mary Grace, and then off to play Dr. Scholls, better so, Dr. Omega from 6-9:30pm for her beloved John Stevens. This man being her boss at Omega Sports, Wilmington’s specialty running store.

. As the summer approached she also added opening and closing shifts at Kohl’s Frozen Custard of Wrightsville Beach, to fill in the hours on her ‘not-so-busy’ days. As if she wasn’t completely booked, she also managed to remain loyal to the Wrightsville Beach bars by paying visits on Thursday and Saturday nights with her friends.
UNCW’s Surfrider Foundation group also attracted this little blue and green-eyed girl. Participation in local beach sweeps, recycling promotion, and volunteer work involving the big blue ocean (and mountains, “which drain into the ocean” for our ski trip observation) became a large part of her life. And of course, It didn’t slope off there. Not only did she spend the last few weeks before stepping onto the giant Air New Zealand Aircraft ‘packing’ for her trip, but planning her intended wild 21st birthday extravaganza. Which I am safe to say she made it out fully-clothed and without any major reported bruises or broken bones. Must also not forget she planned an extended layover, in San Clemente, on her way to the Pacific!

Alright I’m bored with the third person here. You all must be miniature-Einsteins if you already figured out that I am the narrator and main character of this story! Hah
I guess this reflection would only be proper if you back tracked to my July-November entries. That would be the only way to get an full understanding of my Fall Semester. I’m going to be as brief as I can, only because I am getting tired of typing here.
New Zealand was INCREDIBLE! Honestly wish I was back there right now! For those who haven’t been, add it to your bucket list, and for those who have, revisit! I also backpacked around Upolu and Savaii, two islands that make up a 1/5 of the Samoan Territory, over my mid-semester break there and examined lots of different scenes of the world.

American is not the one and only! We may think of ourselves as the ‘Godfather’ of the world, or the ‘Full Monty,’ however there are so many different aspects we are missing. Whatever happened to joy of Simplicity? The Coca-Cola without the high fructose corn syrup. The days before freeways. The awesome children’s playgrounds with see-saws and flying foxes (zip lines). The appreciation of blankets, beds, and hot meals. Repetition is great and makes us feel comfortable, however how do we preserve that initial feeling of amazement? If someone has the answer, please fill me in! I’ve found one way… and that is by TRAVELING and be open to new EXPERIENCES. I guess what I’m trying to say is we have to lose ground in order to gain some. We have to allow ourselves to slip to be caught. And upon being scooped up, we should be modest and quiet, leaving room for spontaneity and the unfamiliar. That’s what I have learned anyways. I plan on approaching this next year the same way! Making sure I hop out of the hamster wheel, and fully live. Not allowing myself to get stuck in a cycle of anything. After all, that wouldn’t be any fun, would it?

Again, I’ll let the celebrities do the talking:
“As you enter positions of trust and power,
dream a little before you think.”-Toni Morrison

Cheers 2009! Hellooooo 2010!

I'm back!

Happy new years eve eve kids!

I've decided I'm going to start this blog up again and include my domestic adventures because I believe they are WELL WORTH sharing too!

Looks like I am flying out to Park City, Utah tomorrow with my best friend Madeline and her family to celebrate the New Year! Stoked-as! I will officially start it off tomorrow with a reflection of 2009! Damn it glided on by... and I'm graduating in May. Oh Lord. Alrighty, I'm going to need to calm down and not jump ahead of myself. One day at a time. One day at a time!

“You have four years to be irresponsible here. Relax. Work is for people with jobs. You'll never remember class time, but you'll remember time you wasted hanging out with your friends. So, stay out late. Go out on a Tuesday with your friends when you have a paper due Wednesday. Spend money you don't have. Drink 'til sunrise. The work never ends, but college does..." (Tom Petty)

Thanks Petty! seems to me: you know what you're talkin about!

KiwiLAND...

Oh where to start. Days are going by really fast now and I’m getting closer to the last home stretch here in Kiwiland. I really don’t have a taste for thinking about it. Being here for nearly 4 months has really widened my view on things. Before coming here, I been going with the flow of completing high school, applying to college, choosing a degree, and enjoying life inter-dependently with financial help from my parents until I take that next big step. Honestly, I was just going to apply for an internship and work for a few years until I gain motivation to proceed further through grad school or what not.


Now I have no idea what my plans are. I have met so many people over here and learned so much already. Makes me want to strive for more! I am not limited to a single place. There is a much larger world out there. Sorry this is sounding a bit cheesy. True story though; I want to travel. I want to put myself in uncomfortable settings. I want to continue my sensation seeking and appreciation for every waterfall (which is 14, I believe), sea creature, foreign meal, unfamiliar activity, & language barrier. I want to find more secret nooks like ‘hot n colds’ and the Lalumano village in Samoa.
Why settle for merely what is in front of you? There is so much more to experience! Call me greedy, but I’d say it’s a personal choice. I really enjoy change and the challenge of adapting to them. For example, staying with a Samoan family in Apia and sharing apathy with their tsunami tragedy. Or going to an all Maori party and attempting to blend in.


On a larger scale, adjusting to life in another country and picking up on their slang has really propped open the window for me. And I don’t want to leave this beautiful country. It’s like an extended summer camp. You’re nerves are squirming around when you arrive but by final week, you don’t want it to end! I miss everyone back home heaps and am happy to be home just in time for the holidays, but I’m savoring every day left in my favorite little island! In the mean time, I am throwing aside the departure clock and absorbing KiWiLand! This will explain my absence on Skype and Facebook lately. Fair enough?


Alright back to living… you do the same!
Peace n’ Love, JiLL Krazy

tragic tsunami

Alright Alright... You caught me. Haven't posted on here in a while. Leave it to me to update you guys when something bad comes a long. I'm really concerned at the moment. At around 7am this morning, an earthquake measuring a magnitude of 8.3 struck off of Samoa. This triggered a tsunami waring through out the Islands and the coastlines of New Zealand. It was all so unexpected and happened so fast that before Samoan residents and vacationers had a chance, it had made its way up the south eastern shores terring apart the country. They are estimating well over 100 deaths at the moment: men, women, and children. Houses, Resorts, Fales, and pretty much anything resting on the beautiful picturesque coasts were picked up and shattered. I

t really worries me because I know many of the villagers didn't have much to begin with. Now what have they? Losing family members and all they have; within minutes. What also worries me is all of the people I had come close to while in Samoa, just 4 weeks ago. The tsunami plowed through Lalomanu, one of the places we stayed and grew close to. With emotions flowing, I scrambled through my journals to find Silia's (my good samoan friend from the area) contact information. I tried phoning her through skype and sent out an email to the Taufua beach fale resort, but no replies. :( I have a feeling all of the power is out and it is just a disaster over there.

What really gets me is that newspapers here in New Zealand and online sources only seem to be worried about their 1 or two missing Kiwi vacationers and pay little attention to the big picture. Rescue officials are estimating A HUNDRED deaths! (bodies washing up under palm trees and houses just gone). I'm exhausted and can't type anymore, however please keep SAMOA and the rest of the pacific islands in your prayers! in the meantime, I will keep checking my email for a safe reply back from my village friend.

MY SAMOA EXPERIENCE

Okay so here is my SAMOA JOURNAL entries! finally completed them! I hope you all enjoy! I will add in pictures later, I just have tons of assignments to do lately! Its just a matter of time!