The college post

For Layn.

College tip ground ZERO

Mom's grocery list...with comments from me.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1nM7qQyUaZCtM7lYgxoZ3_LxblqcgCWlXzVKzHhtaVfk/edit?usp=sharing


College tip number 1.

You will survive this.  Rats can be killed, so can cockroaches.  You don't always get to have chairs or a dining table in your apartment, and sometimes your power goes out, or your garbage attracts thousands of maggots.  And maybe the neighborhood floods and you've got to move your books off of the floor.

But seriously, it is all going to be okay.  It's life, stuff happens. Now, Layn, I don't really anticipate these issues for you.  You're going into a fully furnished, school provided, approved apartment.  Apples aren't going to be $2.23 a lb on a good day, but milk will probably still be around $4 a gallon.  You'll have other small things that could bug you.

Erase the assumptions that you've had about college life.  It's a brand new piece of paper, and you get to write whatever you want on it.  Analyze your habits, and only keep the good ones.  You'll form other ones as you come to those bridges. 

There won't be Strawberry yogurt in the fridge unless you buy it.

- it also won't disappear as quickly unless you have a roommate that shares your food. 

You'll make a habit of marking your food, and having specific days when you buy different grocery items. Those aren't things that others can plan for you, these are about you and your own personal survival.

College tip number 2. 

Can openers and canned fruit. 

Food goes bad.  You think you'll be home every day for lunch and then, all of the sudden, you have a study group on Monday, a few friends run to McDonnald's and bring you along on Tuesday, on Wednesday someone invites you to lunch, and by Thursday your ripe fruit is....not so ripe because it's been tossed and tumbled in your shared fridge.  

College fridges get a lot of traffic, stuff goes bad fast.

(except tortillas...still blows my mind)

Back to the tip.  Get those little plastic lids that fit on top of standard chilli/fruit cans.  Either that or have a designated rubber band that you use to secure your plasticwrap top.  

Don't eat a whole can of chili at once, and don't forget it once it's in the fridge.

You can freeze fruit when it is starting to go bad, and use it later.  You can also do that with veggies (specifically celery), and then when you make stir fry, or soups, whatever, you and put those in last and it will cook well WHILE it cools the soup a little bit.  Then you can eat it faster.

Go through your food in your fridge AT LEAST once a month.  All of your roommates.  Do it.  Get together and anything that is going bad gets thrown into a mystery Sunday dinner that everybody shares.  

Don't be afraid of innovative food.

College tip number 3.

I will now use a real life example on proper food planning. 

I have rice.  I have macaroni noodles.  I have potatoes. 

The potatoes will go bad first.  Use them first whenever possible.  The rice will keep for. ever.  Macaroni can get soggy if it's too humid.  Use things in the order of when they'll rot and beat the cycle of death!  If, however, I have 2 bottles of Prego pasta sauce and one of them is open in the fridge- it is important for you to use the pasta sauce within to weeks of when you opened it.  Otherwise it will go bad.  So, make LOTS of pasta in the morning and eat it throughout the day.  The next day, make LOTS of mashed/baked/casserole potatoes and eat it throughout the day. 

Sometimes this means that you have some really good stir fry (leftover from a RS activity), and when you don't have rice or plain noodles cooked and sitting in the fridge, this means you have the opportunity to use your potatoes.  

I might have fed the Scotsman stir-fry on mashed potatoes yesterday.  Was it an unusual mix of food cultures?  I'd like to call it bi-cultural syncretism.   But it was good, it was filling, and it didn't take very long.

College tip number 4.

Carrots last forever. You need veggies.  Buy carrots.  Buy the giant bag of carrots at Costco (20lbs, I'm serious) and you can have carrot sticks for the rest of the semester.  And then you can cook them in carrot pennies, or steam them with rice, or put them in soup.....

carrots are great.

and they're good for your eyes.

Celery is good...but it goes bad really fast.  All the ingredients for salad get expensive.  Cucumbers are also wonderful, but they don't last much longer than celery.  Buy baby tomatoes because they don't get so squishy.  Big tomatoes don't last long in a college fridge, they get moved around and squished.

College tip number 5.

Feed your Home Teachers...and the people you Visit Teach.

When you're very first assigned to Home Teachers, it's probably going to be a little bit awkward.  Think about it, these are the people that will be your first contact when you're having a bit of a crisis.  Give them the opportunity to be the caring, on top of it, home teachers that all men in the Church should be.  Start that by inviting them to lunch after church...or maybe on a weekday if they can swing it. You make the lunch at your apartment (if you're allowed to have male visitors....check with the rules on that....but you could picnic it), you all eat, and then they give their spiritual message and help you with the clean-up.  

THEY WILL get their home teaching done from then on. They'll like you, and have a better attitude about the whole thing.

The same goes to the people that you Visit Teach.  I like having breakfast with my VT Companion and 1-2 of my teachees before church on Sunday.  It's great.  Feed them physically and spiritual.  You'll love them more, you'll be more aware of their needs, and everybody likes pancakes and good company...even if they're not a huge fan of pancakes. 

College reality that we'll call tip 6.

It would be a lot cheaper to buy your food together with your entire house.  There would be more room in the fridge.  The food wouldn't go bad so fast.  You could have a wider variety.  You wouldn't have to deal with 3 egg cartons in the fridge at the same time.
As WONDERFUL as that would be...it's not going to happen.
Here is why.
You eat differently than your roommates.  Heck, you eat differently the ME.  You drink milk.  I don't like milk.  So if we go in on groceries together, I end up paying for some of the milk....that I'll never drink.
Not cool.
But, you know, I may eat more cheese than you do and you're splitting that too, so it all works out in the end, right?
It would, and it does, and that's totally the way I see it.   However, that is the long term.  This is the short-term.  You're in college, money is tight, you're in a new place and you don't absolutely unconditionally love these people yet.  Don't give yourselves anything to have contention over.

Now, when you can choose your roommates...
be. very. cautious.

Roommate Abbie and I share a lot of food.  She has a Costco card, and I don't, so we end up getting a lot of things together.  We buy eggs, cheese, meat, butter, fruit, beans, chili, macaroni....etc etc.
We also eat together a lot.  Whenever I cook something, I make sure I make enough for leftovers, and leave them in the fridge for her to eat when she can.  Then I tell her that there are leftovers in the fridge that she is welcome to.   Also- I cook a lot more than she does.  She doesn't have to cook as much, and still eats; as a result, I cook more-ish and our fridge is not as jam-packed as I've known it to be.

We tried to share milk and eggs with our entire house.  Everybody put in $5 per month into a jar and as we need eggs or milk, someone will go get it.  It didn't work.  Different cultures, different food habits, maybe a bit of mistrust and anxiety doesn't allow for that.

And this, Layn, is why people get married.  So that they can put whatever they want in the fridge.  And the fundamental unit of the Church is the Family because the refrigerator system works so much better than having unrelated people live together.


College tip number 7.

Establish a bedtime.  Period.  Set your alarm clock.  Do whatever you want in the morning, in whatever order you want.  My advice, no later than 6:30.
The library is open until midnight....does not mean you need to be there until it closes.  If you HAVE to, okay, the infrequent library lockdown is fine.  Don't make it a habit.  Do your homework efficiently and then go home, and go to bed.


College tip number 8.

Remember people's names.  Control the way you look at people.  They may seem a little odd.  They may be a little weird.  But we're all a little weird.  And that kid who is wearing a kilt, don't judge it, you may just fall in love with him someday.  So be nice.
Go through the halls and assume that 90% of the people walking around are having a hard day.  Uplift them with that assumption.  You'll be surprised at how correctly you've assumed.


College tip number 9.

Social media is a time sucker.
It is also a wonderful way to stay in contact.
It is also the go-to way to make study/meet up plans.

Limit your social media time.  Make a note of the people you need to contact or the questions you need to ask-- literally write them down-- as soon as you think of them; then, when you get to your facebook, take care of those things first.  It's fine to get distracted, but make sure there is a purpose for you getting onto facebook and that you complete it before you sign off.


College tip number 10.

When you find it hard to love someone, when you're nervous about this new person that you're living with, or the new person that is your home teacher, or the new person that is in your assigned study group, or the new person that shares a desk with you at work, serve them.
Small things like, when you make breakfast in the morning, make enough for your roommate and bring it to her occasionally (on mornings when she has an early class or something).  It doesn't have to be huge.
The quickest way to love someone is to serve them, and the happiest way to live is to love the people that you are around.


College tip number 11.

Make goals.  Write them down.  Post them on your wall.  Tell your 3 best friends about them.  AND THEN, don't envision yourself achieving your goal.  Instead, envision all of the little steps that will have to come to pass in order for you to achieve your goal.
Ex:  I want to read my textbook chapters before class so that I'm more prepared for the lecture.
~I need to own my textbook.
~I need to have a quiet study place to read the textbook.
~I need undisturbed time in which to read material that I don't fully understand.
~I will need a blanket because the library is cold, and nobody bothers you when you have a blanket.
~I need to make sure I have my blanket in my backpack before I leave my apartment.

See?  Like that.  With my blanket and my textbook in my bag, I'm far more likely to actually read before class.


College tip number 12

DO NOT, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, DO ANYTHING ON YOUR BED OTHER THAN SLEEP.
Do not study on your bed.
Do not watch movies/shows/youtube on your bed
Do not use you computer while you are on your bed.
Do not eat on your bed
Do not write in your journal, or write essays, while on your bed.

Occasionally breaking this rule is acceptable, but only slightly.  Like, have girl talk, paint your nails occasionally, play cardgames on your bed with roommate 1 when roommate 2 is on a date in the Kitchen.  When you are sick, skype mom from your bed.

BUT THIS MUST BE THE EXCEPTION.
ONLY SLEEPING shall happen WHILST ON YOUR BED.

Why?
Because if you eat, watch movies, do homework, read books, play games, scroll facebook....all of these things happening on your bed--
your brain will cease to associate your bed with sleeping.
What happens when you stop associating sleep with your bed?  You are restless, and it leads to MORE computer use, food consumption, reading and things while you are on your bed.
This leads to sleep problems.  You literally will not be able to fall asleep while you are on your bed.  I know girls (cough, Megan) who had to sleep on the couch in the front room because she did everything else on her bed.

Beds are for sleeping.

Bonus words of wisdom.

Keep a bag of chocolate chips.  When you have the ingredients to make a treat, you don't feel so poor. 

things to know before you buy a car

Check the registration.  Will it expire soon? Is the current owner listed as the owner of the title?

Did it pass the safety check?  Or the Smog test?  When was the last time that happened.  If it doesn't/didn't/won't pass, why?  Check on why by having the owner get a test, if it won't pass for more reasons than you're willing to deal with- DON'T ENCUMBER YOURSELF.

Know where your hazard lights are.  You need to know this the moment you get in to drive a car, whether it's yours or not.

Check your fluids.  Coolant, Clutch, Oil, Window washing stuff, water- do you have refills in the trunk?

Have jumper cables

Know the average gas mileage and how much the tank will hold.

Do all of the windows roll down?  Do the windshield wipers work?  Can you see out the windshield after the wipers have done their stuff?

Air and heat.  Mostly air.  If there is dust coming out of your little vents....well that's just wrong.  Does it work?  Where do you live? Does it need to work?

You do have a jack right?  Know how to use it.  Some jacks are different than others.

Where is your spare tire?  How do you get it out?

Look at the tread on your tires.  Forget that, inspect your tires.  Is there dry-rot?  Are they bulging in weird places?  Is the tread even?

Ask the owner 'When was the last time you had any work done on this car?'  Any work.  Professional.  Non-professional.  Do-it-yourself.

Do all of the doors open?  How do you open the doors that have problems opening?

A lot of used cars have things that have been ghetto-rigged.  Find out what is ghetto about your car.  ex- I re-routed the radiator fluid so that it wouldn't go through the heater core because that's cracked and I don't need heat where I live.   I have to open my trunk with a long phillips screwdriver because the key hole is missing.  The glove compartment latch is broken, so we hook it closed with a bungee cord and a plastic hook.

Know where your car battery is- don't buy it if it is in an unprotected area or if it is hard to get to.

Google your car before you buy it.  Find out what problems other owners have come across.

Become friends with someone who is good with cars.

Know the local mechanics.

Know the numbers to nearby junkyards.  Have them on your phone and in the glove compartment.

Do you have the driver's manual?  It's a good idea to have the previous owner write his/her own manual for you.

random things that I don't want to make individual posts for

Let's start with the most important thing, shall we?  I live in a country that is mostly Buddhist.  I don't know very much about Buddhism.  I know that the priests aren't allowed to earn money, so they go around and call down blessings for people who give them rides, feed them, or give them money.   I also know that they do not celebrate Christmas.  This means that there is no Christmas music outside of my new favorite YouTube playlist.  My playlist lacks a lot of my favorites because there are weird restrictions on which clips can be put in what playlists in whichever country.  This being said, there are no Christmas decorations anywhere and I was rather sad about this, that is, until I *finally* went to the market and saw

CANDY CANES  and my buddy Resae.

And there was much rejoicing in the land.


I think that this is, by far, the most important American import ever.  So I bought the over-priced candy canes and chalked it up to growing the American economy.






Also, we made alphabet cards.  Funny thing about it is that the paint is washable, which is a good thing, but when little dots of it come off (and they do that because, let's be honest, small children are not the most careful painters) they stick to your clothes and then your clothes actually have paint on them because it is so humid.   It washes out, yes, but the paint never completely dries.  Here is the little thing that I made for the ICHope blog because if I post too many pictures, Google will start charging me for the use of their space.  I'm trying to limit myself....hence all the picture collages.























Like this one.  This is play-time.  They think it's really funny to do thumb-wars with me.  They cheat.  That is also very funny.  I'm pretty sure my bike is everyone's favorite toy.  I still don't understand any of their hand-clapping rhyme-game-things, but there you have it.

pouring.

Oh Rage.  We miss you.  Here is the problem with Rage.  The rear, driver's side track bar is snapped.  You see how the wheel is not in the center of the....wheel spot (you know what I mean).  This, my friends, is the last obstacle in my quest for a successful safety check.  I got the break light, and the tires, and the jack, and the driver's window....now the suspension is junk and this is something that must be fixed. And, alas, this is not one of the 'Aria can do it herself'.  Yeah right.  With my credit load I can barely do this.  Rage is in the good hands of J's auto repair in Poonalu'u.  I took it Tuesday morning and hitch-hiked back to Laie.  Why did I hitch-hike?  The bus schedule changed and only comes once every half hour- if that- and I had to get to devotional because I was conducting and I was tried of running after about a mile. 5 mile run/walk.  Yeah right.  I got picked up by Sister McArthur, the Dean's (and my former Stake President's) wife.   So Rage is out of commission for a while.

Meanwhile- you probably didn't know this- Annie (Chris's car- It's the perfect name, red-headed demon orphan child) started smoking two weeks ago after I dropped Kylie off from our nanny jobs at T-bay.  I left her in front of Kylie's house and it's been stuck there ever since.  I asked Matthew, 'Hey, will you help me push Annie back to my house' and got an emphatic no.  Well today I borrowed some tow straps- but they're not the type of tow straps that you use for towing cars.  Too short and too weak.  So my neighbor, MattG, and I ended up pushing it.  Of all my neighbors, MattG is the one I know the least.  It's okay.  0.7miles later- I know him now.  Maybe I'll add him on facebook. 

Dude- I pushed a car.  We ran with it for about half the way.  Only took about 10-12 min.....still made it to half of my class.  Sweet....I mean sweat.
I need to call Chris and tell him that his car is out of commission but that I'm gonna fix it this weekend.  I never tell Chris when his car has a problem unless I know what is wrong and have a way to fix it. 

Car problems.  When it rains it pours.  It's the two-car rule.  When you have two cars, either they both work, or they both don't. 


On a different, completely unrelated note.  Google is wonderful.  I love it.  It also needs to stop.  Slalom-Canoeing has become a bit of an office competition.   

 When I say 'a bit', what I actually mean is 'it was on'.  I'm proud to say I had Richard beat for a while, I was nowhere near Maddy's time, and I can google canoe faster than Matthew.

proof.

i live.

in case you were wondering.
so we'll do some updates.

I went up to the DMV to try and register my car the day school started.  It didn't work out.  I was frustrated-- so I opened a checking account.  man, the world has gotta watch out for this chick. 

 I took my friend to the airport and on the way back I got a new window regulator.  (by 'new' i mean, i got it at my favorite junkyard in Pearl City, i'm on first-name basis with one of the workers there)  I have since gotten it put in. My driver's side window works!  Well, it worked.  It stopped working so I went back to Aaron and it turns out that the power windows weren't connected.  Now they work again!

hey remember that time I put in
the light, it's really hot here and
it's melted.  still works!

These are the local car guys.  I've seen these guys more
than I've seen some of my friends since school started. yikes.

I don't know how it happened, but for the past 3 or 4 weeks my phone has been...

Aside from never knowing who is calling, I don't really miss texting.  Anyone who sends me a txt gets a phone call.  People only call if they really need me, I only call people if I need them.  As always, the best way to get a hold of me is to run into me in person.


I have a new phone to use, but I can't switch the number because it was a prepaid verizon phone....no switching for Aria.  So, FYI, don't txt me because I can't read it and if you call me tell me who you are.



We went to THE DARK KNIGHT RISES and it was legendary. 

I'm a big girl now.  I filed an insurance claim and got the check today.  Remember when I took Obert in for a repair?  Yay for money back in my pocket....actually my checking account.  The new one that I just opened. I deposited it on my way to get my window re-fixed.

I have a 3 hour Developmental Psychology class on days that start with T.  Without fail, I find out one of my friends is pregnant after every class.   Congratulations to Sarah, Jenni, Lauryn, Ty (well, his wife), Tessa, and Kamealani (well, she HAD her baby. that counts)!   I am studying all kinds of development stuff and I am sufficiently scared, anxious, and overjoyed for all of you.  :)

We made s'mores in the firepit in my neighbor's backyard.
My camera broke.  Somehow my camera got fixed.
I met Josh Wright. (YouTube him.  Incredible pianist)

Tonight we went to Waikiki.  Went shopping and got cheesecake.

first day of school, first day of school!

Okay, not yet.  Summer break is over today.  We had a plan to watch 'Endless Summer' and have dinner and....well instead I had a cooler full of Otai and a ton of leftover muffins.  Here's how that went-

So I had a ton of watermelon insides.  I had a lot of big chunks, so I put a lot of it through the blender.  I had 2 bags of ice.  I froze a quart of Half'n'Half.  I cut a whole pineapple and put that through the 'ice crush' mode on my blender and then froze that.  I had about a package of shredded coconut.  I made a gallon of milk, but I put twice as much milk powder in as you're supposed to.  I had a 10lb bag of sugar and probably put in about 3lbs.

Mix it all together and that, I guess, is how you make Otai.

 This is Abby's 'Oh my gosh this is so legit' face.

She tried it and it was yummy.

By the time I was done with meetings and people were ready to be occupied the there were still frozen chunks of Half'n'Half which was great.  It stayed super cold all night.  Everyone drank a bunch.  We did an Otai toast.
I could list of names of the people that were here....but I don't know all of them.   People just kinda walked in.  We played games.  People came and went at their leisure, it was nice.

I gave away 1 2 3...ish gallons of Otai and I have about.....1 2 and a half-ish in my fridge.  Do you see how much is in that cooler?  It's insane.  But it is really good.  Tomorrow we go to school.  Back to real (ish) life.
It's an adventure.  Come what may and love it.   :)

uh-ohs and otai

So today we had a combined ward activity.  Japanese field day.  I was drafted to be part of the rugby demonstration prior to the event starting.  It was at 9am.  We had muffins and had planned rugby, a watermelon eating contest, and a waterballoon race thing.

before

after.  you can't just let all of those go to waist now can we?

We planned to have 80 people- there were almost 20.
Since I'm in the relief society presidency, and I had come with Mike in his car......I get free food!

We opened 6 watermelons and had 6 whole ones left.  Abby brought a full one home, the other 5 were saved for the ward bbq tonight, and well.....

There is absolutely no way these will fit in the fridge.  So I had this idea.  We borrowed a cooler from one of Jess's local friends.  Everyone left for Waimea and I cleaned out watermelon bowls to make-

a mess.  That's the best way to describe it, hopefully when I'm done it will be Otai.

A tiring mess.  Scraping watermelons takes more muscle than you think.

Like I said, messy.  But this mess will, after much more effort on my part, become OTAI!  It's a Tongan fruit drink.

Do you SEE all of that!  AAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

One hour later......TADA!

Then I changed my shirt and went off to get a new safety check on my car since I've switched the tires.  Then I was went to the DMV to switch the titles and get Rage registered.

If only I'd known that J's auto....whatever it is called....behind the subway in Poonalu'u.....would close 15 minutes after I arrived which means that they didn't want to do my safety check because it would take longer than that.  Also- ALL the DMVs on the island are closed on Saturdays.  I suppose I should have checked on that before I planned on doing all of this on Saturday.  I would have taken a day off work.  <sigh>  I went to a grocery store in Kailua next door to the closed DMV and got some household things and some more stuff for Otai.
Namely:  half'n'half, a pineapple (probably should have gotten more than one....oops), I already have some shredded coconut, I have dehydrated milk so I can use that, and I just got a 10lbs thing of sugar a few days ago.  Looks like we're good.  I'll put it all together tomorrow and we'll have it a as a 'last day of summer' party.

Today, the last day of summer, I tried to play the part of the responsible adult.  I guess I'll have to do it on Monday.  Ah well.  C'est la vie.  When I got home everyone was still at Waimea, so I started a load of laundry and then went surfing at Turtle Bay until the sun set. Just me.  (my neighbors MattG and Nick happened to be there but they left about an hour before I did)  Apparently Sara didn't hear me when I said I was going, so my roommates needed me for something and had a bit of a woman hunt.  It wasn't very successful since my phone was on the kitchen table.  *You SNNNNEAKY Aria!* 
The surf was kinda small today, but the view was perfect, we could hear the live music playing from the resort pool, and it was a pretty good day for me.  I needed it.  I haven't surfed in a while.

Oooo even when plans fall through, life is so good.

tiresome day

I got asked to take my roommate Rachel's friend to the airport today.  I went to work.  I came back.  Fit ALL of the girl's luggage in my trunk- sweeeeet.
To pass the safety inspection for Rage, I need new rear tires.  The ones I have no longer have sufficient tread on the inside of the tires.  No worries though- I'd never pay $239 for a set of new tires when I have a full sized tire as a spare and can get a used tire for.....substantially less.  Where?  At a junkyard.  I did my research and found all the junkyards/wrecking yards (there is a difference) on the island and called all of them.
After the airport, Rachel, Brooke (Rachel's visiting sister), and I ate- because that's important- and called junkyards to see where we'd be able to find what I was looking for.

a tire is a tire is a tire.  right?  wrong.  tires have sizes and diameters and potential leaks and dryrotting and what if the rims don't fit on your car????

Luckily I know what I want.  I know a good tire when I see one.  I know what they're doing when they check it, so I know what they're avoiding when it isn't checked.  I've been in junkyards before.  Rachel and Brooke haven't.  We found it thanks to Rachel's iPhone.  It's in a kinda sketchy place, but I've found that nobody stops a girl when she is trying to help herself.  I wonder why that is. 

I have 1 tire.  I MUST replace 2 bad tires.  It is suggested that I replace the other 2.  So I need 3 tires?  Okay.
Getting 3 matching-ish tires at a junkyard is....not easy.  BUT I can have 4 tires that are in good shape- but are more expensive.  $200.  in cash.  $10 to put them on- each.
BUT what am I going to do with 5 tires that don't match the tire size that's on my car?  exactly.
Went back to the junkyard after discussing it with my father and bought 1 tire.  Oh- and a jack.  I am proud to say that I talked him into giving all of it to me for $45.  

Then we went to McDonald's to get icecream- because it's hot.  This McD's is 2 stories and has a conveyor  belt that brings the food to the take out station.  Yeah.

Got a call and went directly to Haleiwa to have dinner with Bree before she leaves tomorrow.
Drove Stef home- visiting teaching for july?  CHECK! it was good for Stef, good for me too.

fix-it

I'm trying to put the break light in the back of my car so that I can go get it safety checked- this means that I'm chillin' in the trunk.

 should I be worried that I fit so well in the trunk? VERY well.  2 people could probably sit back here.

"It's okay that people fit in here.  They do it all the time.  Okay maybe that doesn't make you feel any better."
Hahahaha!  Abby.  :)

RGE

Abby and I bought a car.

Today.

We first entertained the idea of buying this car.....yesterday.

Why? Because our Elder's Quorum President and the Stake Relief Society 1st Counselor are graduated and leaving the island to get married and teach in Korea and go to grad school....and take the world by storm.

This is Laie.  Thus, this is a Laie car.  The back break light is MIA so it won't pass safety inspection so...the registration expired.  That is fixable.  The keyhole for the trunk is gone, but we have this nice, long screwdriver that enables you to jimmy the lock.  I tried it and I can open it.   The passenger side door doesn't open from the inside.  It's the perfect gentleman's car- forcing the driver to get out and open the door for whomever is in the passenger seat.  The driver's side window doesn't always go down.

So we got it for $644.

 "It's name is Rage, because the license plate is RGE" -Monique

 This is Abby, having a moment in the our car.
 1996 Chevy Monte Carlo.  This car is like my grandma's.  It's a boat.  I've gotten used to driving stick (i kinda like it), an automatic car feels odd now.  But it's good.

This is Abby, with the keys.  We're excited.
Pros-
She is going to drive to the gym.  (but seriously, that is one thing she is super stoked about)
I am going to be able to shadow the SLP at Kahuku Elderly whenever I want.
Also, I'll have a car to bebop around with my sisters when they come visit me.
And if Obert breaks, I can get it him fixed. 
And if I need flour, we can go to costco.
Rage is big enough that we can strap boards to it and go surfing....wherever there are waves.
If Abby kills someone, the trunk is HUGE.
When we need to pick someone up from the airport, imagine the luggage we can fit in the back of Rage.

Cons-
Getting it registered will cost us $320.
Gas is $4.50 a gallon.
Insurance for both of us is $36 a month---oh wait, that's a pro.

Pro- If it doesn't work out, we can turn it over in September when all the students will be back on the island and looking for a car.  

We are going to have so much fun with Rage.  
I feel the beginning of many beautiful puns.

Side note- Can I go down in history as the greatest roommate ever?  I bought my roommate a car for her birthday next week.  

experimenting

we decided to make dinner.  students are quite innovative chefs. 

tortellini, fresh tomatoes, alfredo sauce, portuguese sausage, parmesian cheese- baked. 

We I also made bread-sticks.  It was wonderful.  Love food.

covering my bases

Just in case there was *any* doubt that I am my father's daughter....

....let's dispel those right now.

A group of friends went to Cheescake factory on Saturday.  I drove.  I overheated in Poonalu'u....again.
On Thursday Nate and I put some water in the radiator and it started up fine- did you know, a car will not turn over if it is overheated?  I didn't.  HA! learned something.
It drove to Hau'ula fine, I went back to school and drove it home after Kahuku's graduation

Coolest Graduation Ever.  I've been to a few Graduations in my time. 
I wish mine was thatcool.  Dancing, Splits, the Haka, cheer-off, singing... 

but when I got out of the car my foot was wet.  (odd? yes)
There was water leaking into the cab of the car- mainly on the driver's side.  It was late at night, I went and got food, I cooked cookies and headed to a (non-existent) movie night where I caught up with Seth and gave Nate cookies for helping me and discussed what could cause the car to do something that weird.  Matthew remembered that the CD case had gotten wet when we'd driven it a few weeks ago and nobody knew why- now we do.
The Heater core is probably cracked.
Probably- meaning I skyped/took pictures and emailed them/talked to my dad. It makes the most sense.
I am such a dirty mess because I was making sure that it wasn't a leaking hose....but had to find the right hoses.
Do you need a heater in Hawaii?  Not. really.
Soo....disconnect it.  I called Chris to make sure he was okay with that.  He hasn't called me back, but now I know where it is, so I can once I talk with Chris.
Have some pictures-

for fun, here is pretty much everything I think I know

here is the engine

I was told to look on the passenger's side...not seeing it.

warmer, warmer

looking for two hoses, close together, near the center of the
car, going to the 'fire wall'. 

Funny story- my neighbor, Ben, came home while I was looking for/checking hoses.  He saw me looking at my greasy hands- much dirtier than the first pictures.
He asked what I was doing and then said: "Not to be weird or anything, but don't worry about it- if I were your boyfriend, I'd still hold your hand."
   I hope you're laughing.  I was.

these ones go to the heating core.  These are the ones I
should disconnect and loop them on themselves. Right dad?

So, that's what I did today.  What are you up to?