Back in Maui...

I've been back in Maui for almost a month now and the change from San Diego back to Hawaii was smooth, like I expected it would be. It's difficult to ever be too sad about moving back to a place like this. I made the decision to move back when I was out here over summer. I'd spent most of it visiting old friends and spending time at the beach. While surfing one day with my dad we got to talking about how much he'd like me to move back and how much I'd like to move back, and by the time we'd paddled out of the water I'd all but made up my mind to move back.

In my situation it's actually far less expensive for me to live in Lahaina than it is for me to live in San Diego. I'm not sure how he managed it, but out here he my pops pays the same amount to rent a two bedroom duplex as I was paying to rent a single room in a house in San Diego.

The only catch is that now that I'm here I'll have to spend a year acquiring residency before I can go back to school. Non-resident tuition at the community college out here is astronomically high (more expensive than in-state tuition for a university). I know that what I'm about to say will sound extremely nerdy, but I love school. For the past two years I have taken 15 or more units each semester and attended summer school. Many of the classes I've taken have had little or nothing to do with my major of choice (nursing)... I just love school. I think it's useful to know a second language or be knowledgeable about our political processes. When I'm going to school, learning, and working towards my major I feel productive.

I've been back for nearly a month now. Although I've been making an effort to find work, the sad state of our economy has drastically slowed down business in the islands, and very few places are hiring. I'm hoping to get my old job back as a hostess at the pizzeria down the street, but that wouldn't be until March.

Luckily my friend Jordan made the move out here with me, so we've been filling our free time together by going to the beach and visiting friends. I've been spending the last month trying to readjust to the slow lifestyle out here, which is a complete 180* from how I've been living in California.

I've been missing a lot of people from California. I managed to find an amazing bunch of friends over the past few years. My final two weeks really showed me just how amazing and tight knit our group was. New years in Huntington, Snowboarding in Big Bear, mine and Kyle's trip up to Ventura... I already can't wait to go back and visit.

I haven't talked to Kyle since I moved except for a few text messages every now and then. I expected that that's how things would go. Neither of us like to talk on the phone, and it's easier to make a clean break in a situation like ours. I really think that it would make me too sad to talk to him knowing that we're so far apart. More than anything I miss having him around when I could use a hug on the days that I'm feeling down.

I feel extremely grateful that I've been able to live in so many places over the past few years. I think I always knew that I would end up back in Maui... it was really only a question of when.