We kicked off our first round of shows this Friday with Mr. A-Z Jason Mraz. We were essentially three rows back in a relatively intimate concert hall.  And it was beautiful!

I have been a huge fan of Jason’s since I heard his first popular single (The Remedy) when I was a freshman in high school. Since then, I’ve followed his work and have found more and more to love about him. I hadn’t seen him live before and it’s safe to say, it was well worth the $225 ticket price (sure, I could’ve gotten $43 tickets and enjoyed the same musical experience fHrom the nosebleed seats, but the Mister gave me the ok to spend significantly more than that–I think he was just as excited to see the show as I was and with the presale code, we couldn’t pass on 3rd row seats).

The man is just as quirky and goofy as his songs suggest and his live music does not disappoint. He joked throughout the entire show and it was pretty clear that he loves playing with Raining Jane. They’re an amazingly talented group as well. I’m glad to have found out about them! He is so vocally talented, it kills me! He broke out Mr. Curiosity–which has an operatic showcase of his voice at the end–and it was magical. I wish I could show you all, but sadly WordPress won’t allow me to upload it.

Sadly, we missed the first 15 minutes of the show. The Army kept the Mister late at work and traffic to Honolulu on a Friday night was not the most ideal (it’s never ideal really at any time of the day). But, we got there in time for 90% of the show and I’d love to see him again!

I got grumped at by security for using a flash on my camera. To be fair, there were no signs posted about flash photography and I know he has done huge arenas  with more flash than humanly conceivable. But whatever. Being that close, I was able to capture a few relatively great shots with just my new point and shoot (my old one did not like the sand at Lanikai Beach and refused to be cleaned so Black Friday blessed me with a new one with better megapixels).  Still, you’d think there’d be a sign. Hawaii, I tell ya.

Up next (assuming I can’t get the Mister out of the house before then–he’s on leave and is content not to leave the loveseat in front of his tv) is the Diamond Head Classic basketball tournament on the 22nd. Wichita State v. Loyola Marymount and Nebraska v. Hawai’i. Gonna be a great time (at least for me).

I start training for H&R Block on Monday for 9 hours (3 hours/day) so I’ll probably fall off the grid again. I’m not sure what could possibly require so much training for a receptionist gig, but it’s paid, so I’ll take it.  But after the 18th, I’m free until January 5 at the earliest.  Plenty of time to squeeze in a few more day trips out of 2014.

Until then!

-A. xoxo

On December 8, I lost my Grandad. I got the call from my dad bright and early Hawaii Time and even in my sleep-deprived state, it hit me like a ton of bricks.  I’ve rarely seen my father cry, much less heard him, but when he called, his voice cracked and he lost his composure. True to form, however, he made his phone call short and went on to teach his class. Lord knows if I were in his shoes, I wouldn’t be able to do it. Always the rock, a lot like his dad.

In early 2012, Grandad suffered a stroke the took away his ability to speak properly. I miss hearing him say (more like yell) “Hey Chicken!” with a huge smile on his face when I came in the door. I’m not sure why, but he always called me chicken. After his stroke, he still was relatively the same Grandad we all knew and loved. He was ornery as sin (always had been) and we could tell it frustrated him to no end not being able to communicate the way he wanted to. Still, the stroke did something to him. He started to decline, as most people do with such a traumatic brain experience.  Soon, he was in the Alzheimer’s unit of a nursing home. From then on, he got quieter and started to lose more of himself.

But thankfully, my memories of him were not as tainted as some in my family.  Luckily, my parents chose to keep him in their lives after he divorced my grandmother and we were able to have so many wonderful times with him.  It was this man who took me to my first powwow as a kid.  He instilled the love of our Cherokee culture in me and made sure I honored it appropriately. He gave me my first wolf for my collection–the animal that turned out to be my spirit guide. He taught me how to fish and regularly took us out to the lake.

We spent our childhoods playing hide and seek in his house. My mom enjoyed riling him up about his love for Oklahoma football–she’s a Nebraska fan.  We’d have football parties when the teams played each other and yell between the rooms. We’d play Uno and hearts at nearly every family get together. He’d make his famous chili and vegetable stew–we never had a traditional Thanksgiving meal at his house and we always celebrated on any day, but Thanksgiving.  He was a jokester and loved to tease us. Even when he couldn’t speak, you could see the mischievous glint in his eye and that familiar jut of the chin when you teased back. He had the gravelly voice of an old Marine and he loved to sing along to Kenny Rogers, specifically The Greatest. He used to go square dancing and loved John Wayne films.

He made a point to come to as many of my school things as he could, even my golf meets. He used to cuss the officials louder than the rest of the family at my dad’s basketball games. He lived his life passionately and without a thought to the risk. It started at a young age too. He lied about his age to join the Marines at 17 and was sent to the Pacific front during WWII. I believe he was in the Philippines or some other island off the main stretch. He once told us that he tried his hardest to get malaria so he could be sent to Australia to heal. The story was much funnier when he told it. The man had a story for everything.

And now, those days are gone. And I miss him so much it hurts to breathe. What I wouldn’t give for one of his famous bear hugs one more time. The Mister wasn’t lucky enough to meet Grandad before his stroke; a fact I’m bitterly aware of. They would have gotten on so well.

2014 has not been a kind year to my family. I lost 4 grandparents (3 blood, 1 adoptive) between April and December. On the positive side, I have no more to lose so it doesn’t matter how far away from home I am. As of right now, there’s no ceremony happening until the spring.  He’ll be cremated and wanted his ashes spread over Lake of Three Fires, one of his favorite spots to camp and fish. The Mister says we might be able to go home for it which would be fantastic.

Needless to say, I’m over this year. I hope 2015 holds a better time.

And I hope my Grandad is back to his ornery self, enjoying that powwow in the sky.

Gvgeyu’i (pronounced Guh gay you he) and ganvdisdi (guh nah dees dee) — I love you and I miss you in Cherokee.

-A. xoxo

This weekend was a little frazzled and confused.  Thursday was the Saint Barbara’s Day ball, but since the Mister didn’t get tickets, he was on duty and today he was part of the honor guard at Pearl Harbor for Remembrance Day, so we only had Friday and Saturday to get out and about. We went window shopping Friday (the Mister wanted ideas for Christmas). Needless to say, it’s been a not-so-routine week. Luckily, leave starts at the end of the week until January! We have a bunch of stuff planned (or I should say I have a bunch planned). We managed a short trip just up the road on Saturday.

We took a walking tour of Hawaii’s Plantation Village.  It’s a replica village that showed the different types of housing used for sugar cane plantation workers (almost all were immigrants so there were significant differences).  It is rumored to be haunted, but I didn’t get that feeling while touring it. It’s possible though!

Next for us is the Jason Mraz concert on Friday night. We have 2nd row floor seats. I’m so excited! I have always loved Mr. A-Z and was stoked to find tickets so close. It was a hefty price, but so worth it. Definitely looking forward to it.  I doubt we’ll go out and do much else that weekend, but seeing as leave starts the following Monday officially, we have until January 4 to go exploring. We *should* have most of our Oahu bucket list checked off by the end of this break.

I start training for H&R Block on the 15th. Three mornings of training then the actual job starts January 5th. I got word that I will likely be in the office that’s right up the road from us, but it sounds like everyone wants to work the same shifts so I might be commuting for another office. Not ideal to commute as I only applied because this office is literally blocks from my house.  Story of my life with this company thus far. But, it’s only through April 15, so I can suck it up and get some work in for some extra funds for us.  I did have an interview with the county of Honolulu for a DMV job down the street, but it took 6 months for them to have an opening, so I’m not sure when I’ll hear back.  That would be ideal. No weekends and steady hours. Time will tell!

On the 22nd, we have UH basketball tickets for the Diamond Head Classic tournament.  They’re playing the University of Nebraska and I’m excited! Though I’m not a Husker basketball fan, it’ll be a good evening doing something I genuinely love to do.  Growing up with parents as coaches has conditioned me to love the competition and feel most comfortable in the gym.

Then it’s Christmas and New Years and 2014 is over!

Been a heck of a year so far and I’ll be sure to update with my end of the year reflections schpeal.

I’ll be posting before then (I hope), don’t you worry.

Until then,

Cheers!

-A. xoxo