Five years ago I left Hawaii and relocated with my now husband to Washington. He was in the Navy at the time and was stationed at Bangor. We spent a little over 3 years on the Kitsap Peninsula until circumstances forced us to move to Wes' home state of Illinois. It was a move that I was not looking forward to and one that I faced with great trepidation.
We lived in the Chicagoland area for about a year and a half before we decided to move back to Bremerton. We have been here since February and honestly, I haven't been happier. Bremerton is a sleepy little town, an hour ferry ride away from Seattle. It is in every sense of the word a small town. People honk at me when they see me driving, just to say hello and I run into more than a handful of people I know every single day.
It's funny that I grew up in a town much like this and spent my whole life trying to "get out" so to speak and now here I am in the Hilo of Washington. While we were in Chicago we kept our original tattoo shop (here in Bremerton) open. We were lucky enough to come back and be able to literally pick up where we left off. After much contemplation we closed the shop in Chicago and are now fully involved in the operations of our only tattoo shop.
When I first moved to Washington, five years ago this month, I hated it. I went from living five minutes from Waikiki, with all its people and night life to living in Silverdale, land where everything closes at 9. I knew no one except Wes and was three months pregnant with my son. It was a trying, lonely time. Eventually as the time went on I went back to work and started to make friends. Washington slowly became what Wes and I like to call "the land of opportunity." I landed my dream job, working for a popular cosmetics company, we were able to flourish financially and open Dermawerx.
I always thought I would enjoy living in a big city. I appreciate the time I spent in Chicago. I miss the city: the food, the blazing hot summers, the stores, the museums, the restaurants and the crazy drivers. BUT, I never felt like I belonged there. It's crazy for me to say this, but here in Bremerton, I know I am right where I belong.
Thursday, May 12, 2011
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Bad Karma??
In February the transmission in my '05 Explorer went out. It took us 4 months, a fraud case and $1500 to get it fixed. After all the drama, a blessing came in the form of my in laws who gave us the money to fix our ride.
It was only supposed to take a week or so for the rebuild, but ended up being more like 3 and a half. Such is our "luck." Just like when we originally purchased a new transmission that my husband was going to put in himself. Turns out the company peaced out in the middle of the night leaving us and a lot of other people out of their money with nothing to show. Luckily our bank got the charges reversed and the money back to us.
So... after four months of having to drive our RV around as our only means of transportation, our Explorer is returned and running smoothly. Too good to be true.
Last Saturday, while it was parked in front of our tattoo shop some guy in a Pontiac Grand Dam came along and side swiped 4 cars and then crashed into my Explorer, sending it up on the curb, pinning it between a light pole and the car that was parked in front of it.
As we come to find out, the insurance on the car that cause damaged to 6 cars is EXPIRED. Last phone call with my insurance said they were trying to go after the driver and the owner of the car to collect the money. I'm sure this will be a long and drawn out process. In the mean time, MY insurance (as I am fully covered, like a good, law abiding citizen) will cover this... as long as I pay the $500 deductible for my collision coverage. The money will be given back to me WHEN they collect from the driver and/or the owner of the car.
It's been a week. I'm still waiting for them to send out some guy to check out my car to see if it is fixable or if they are going to total it. *sigh* In the mean time I have no car and no rental. Because I declined rental car coverage on my insurance, because presumably the car and driver have no insurance... even though this was through no fault of my own. *double sigh*
So... I am beginning to think I did something really wrong lately. Or that my Explorer just has bad karma.
It was only supposed to take a week or so for the rebuild, but ended up being more like 3 and a half. Such is our "luck." Just like when we originally purchased a new transmission that my husband was going to put in himself. Turns out the company peaced out in the middle of the night leaving us and a lot of other people out of their money with nothing to show. Luckily our bank got the charges reversed and the money back to us.
So... after four months of having to drive our RV around as our only means of transportation, our Explorer is returned and running smoothly. Too good to be true.
Last Saturday, while it was parked in front of our tattoo shop some guy in a Pontiac Grand Dam came along and side swiped 4 cars and then crashed into my Explorer, sending it up on the curb, pinning it between a light pole and the car that was parked in front of it.
As we come to find out, the insurance on the car that cause damaged to 6 cars is EXPIRED. Last phone call with my insurance said they were trying to go after the driver and the owner of the car to collect the money. I'm sure this will be a long and drawn out process. In the mean time, MY insurance (as I am fully covered, like a good, law abiding citizen) will cover this... as long as I pay the $500 deductible for my collision coverage. The money will be given back to me WHEN they collect from the driver and/or the owner of the car.
It's been a week. I'm still waiting for them to send out some guy to check out my car to see if it is fixable or if they are going to total it. *sigh* In the mean time I have no car and no rental. Because I declined rental car coverage on my insurance, because presumably the car and driver have no insurance... even though this was through no fault of my own. *double sigh*
So... I am beginning to think I did something really wrong lately. Or that my Explorer just has bad karma.
Friday, August 13, 2010
Looking for some Aloha
My recent trip to Hilo has reminded me how much I really, truly miss it. We have all heard the saying "There's no place like home." and there really isn't, but there's no place like home when home is Hawai'i.
I have been living on the mainland for a little over four years now. I lived in a small town in Washington for 3 and have been in Illinois for the last year. While living on the West Coast there I came into contact with a lot of Hawai'i transplants like me. It was easy to get "local food" and there was some kind of sense of community there.
Then I moved to the Midwest... and things are much different here. West Coast free spirit meet Midwestern conformity. I can't say I feel like I "belong." Going back home for two weeks just made that even more evident. In Hawai'i few people take a second glance even with the bright red hair and almost two full sleeves. If they do ask questions, they want to know "Who wen poke my tattoos." I know some people will say that if you have bold hair and lots of ink you are asking to be different, asking for the stares and wanting to set yourself apart.
I have no defense. This is just me. I am more than my outward appearance, but that is if you choose to see beyond. I am, of course, getting off track here. So... back to the subject at hand:
Since coming back from Hilo I am fighting every day to find a little bit of Aloha here in Chi Town. It's here, but it's few and far between. I live in Chicago. Two million people live in city limits. It's the third largest city in the United States (population wise). Everyone is in a rush, makes their own rules while driving and are only in it for themselves. Maybe not everyone, but a large percent of the population. The older I get the more I want to move back home.
It's ironic because I spent my whole life (as far back as I can remember) plotting ways to get out of Hilo. As a little girl I had my whole future planned on the mainland. I was going to go far away and do big things. I'm not sure where I got these ideas, but trips to the West Coast when I was little just reinforced my plans. I was going to move away and not look back.
At 18 my plans to go to the Pacific Northwest for college fell through. Instead I moved to O'ahu (an island forty-five minutes away by plane) and attended Chaminade University. I loved living in the "big city" of Honolulu so much that my plans for moving away got postponed. I was far enough from home, but not too far should I need to go back. I lived on O'ahu for six years and never really planned on leaving... until I fell in love with a Sailor.
I left O'ahu in 2006, following my heart to Bremerton, Washington. Leaving Hawai'i was a lot harder than I had imagined for myself as a little girl. We had Ayden later that year, then got married in early 2007. Having a family of my own now seemed to make home more important. I realized then it wasn't about moving far away and not looking back. If you don't know where you came from, you don't know where you are going. The reality of living several thousand miles away was much more difficult in practice than it was in theory.
A year ago, my family and I packed up and moved again, even farther away from home. At present time I live over FOUR THOUSAND miles from where I grew up. This wouldn't be such a big deal if my entire family didn't still live in Hawai'i. After being home for two weeks last month I really realize what I am missing out on by living so far away. My husband and I do everything on our own. From child care to running our own businesses. My kids are growing up without being around my siblings, parents, Grandparents, cousins, Aunties and Uncles, etc. This is hard for me because I grew up in Hawai'i with my entire family near by. I am aware this is not how everyone grows up, but it is something I would like for my kids.
I miss the sense of community and the spirit of Aloha that lives in Hawai'i. I felt it while I was home and miss it dearly now that I am not. I search everyday for a little bit of that here in Chicago. But it's hard because I constantly compare here to there and honestly, there is no comparison. It's hard because I don't really have any friends here either, just me and Wes. People prove time and time again that "friendship" is not worth it. So, it's just me and Wes against the world per usual.
I'm looking for a little bit of Aloha in Chicago. Does it exist?
I have been living on the mainland for a little over four years now. I lived in a small town in Washington for 3 and have been in Illinois for the last year. While living on the West Coast there I came into contact with a lot of Hawai'i transplants like me. It was easy to get "local food" and there was some kind of sense of community there.
Then I moved to the Midwest... and things are much different here. West Coast free spirit meet Midwestern conformity. I can't say I feel like I "belong." Going back home for two weeks just made that even more evident. In Hawai'i few people take a second glance even with the bright red hair and almost two full sleeves. If they do ask questions, they want to know "Who wen poke my tattoos." I know some people will say that if you have bold hair and lots of ink you are asking to be different, asking for the stares and wanting to set yourself apart.
I have no defense. This is just me. I am more than my outward appearance, but that is if you choose to see beyond. I am, of course, getting off track here. So... back to the subject at hand:
Since coming back from Hilo I am fighting every day to find a little bit of Aloha here in Chi Town. It's here, but it's few and far between. I live in Chicago. Two million people live in city limits. It's the third largest city in the United States (population wise). Everyone is in a rush, makes their own rules while driving and are only in it for themselves. Maybe not everyone, but a large percent of the population. The older I get the more I want to move back home.
It's ironic because I spent my whole life (as far back as I can remember) plotting ways to get out of Hilo. As a little girl I had my whole future planned on the mainland. I was going to go far away and do big things. I'm not sure where I got these ideas, but trips to the West Coast when I was little just reinforced my plans. I was going to move away and not look back.
At 18 my plans to go to the Pacific Northwest for college fell through. Instead I moved to O'ahu (an island forty-five minutes away by plane) and attended Chaminade University. I loved living in the "big city" of Honolulu so much that my plans for moving away got postponed. I was far enough from home, but not too far should I need to go back. I lived on O'ahu for six years and never really planned on leaving... until I fell in love with a Sailor.
I left O'ahu in 2006, following my heart to Bremerton, Washington. Leaving Hawai'i was a lot harder than I had imagined for myself as a little girl. We had Ayden later that year, then got married in early 2007. Having a family of my own now seemed to make home more important. I realized then it wasn't about moving far away and not looking back. If you don't know where you came from, you don't know where you are going. The reality of living several thousand miles away was much more difficult in practice than it was in theory.
A year ago, my family and I packed up and moved again, even farther away from home. At present time I live over FOUR THOUSAND miles from where I grew up. This wouldn't be such a big deal if my entire family didn't still live in Hawai'i. After being home for two weeks last month I really realize what I am missing out on by living so far away. My husband and I do everything on our own. From child care to running our own businesses. My kids are growing up without being around my siblings, parents, Grandparents, cousins, Aunties and Uncles, etc. This is hard for me because I grew up in Hawai'i with my entire family near by. I am aware this is not how everyone grows up, but it is something I would like for my kids.
I miss the sense of community and the spirit of Aloha that lives in Hawai'i. I felt it while I was home and miss it dearly now that I am not. I search everyday for a little bit of that here in Chicago. But it's hard because I constantly compare here to there and honestly, there is no comparison. It's hard because I don't really have any friends here either, just me and Wes. People prove time and time again that "friendship" is not worth it. So, it's just me and Wes against the world per usual.
I'm looking for a little bit of Aloha in Chicago. Does it exist?
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