Today was spent mostly at the bowling center…and the reason why will become apparent in just a bit.

First things first…last night we meandered around the streets and actually did a little shopping. My goal was to get a couple different Aloha shirts and the really nice lady at the shop was so friendly and assisted us in our selection and purchase. I decided to wear one of those shirts today.

Yesterday at the practice session, I saw the most beautiful girl working behind the counter of the snack stand. She was gorgeous, exotic, and really nice too. I had ordered a Philly cheese steak sandwich and she offered to help me carry something since she saw that I had a lot of bags. But in that brief moment, I got the feeling that I’d known her for years.

We got to the lanes this morning a little after seven for the first round of the tournament. As soon, and I mean AS SOON, as we walk through the door, we are greeted by a REALLY attractive girl in a flower-print skirt and bikini top. She gently placed shell leis around our necks (she had trouble with mine for a split second, but her apology and the fact that she called me “baby” seemed to make everything alright). It was almost like whiplash coming through the door…it was so unexpected, yet so amazingly wonderful. The perfect wakeup call. A wakeup call named Tina.

The tournament was a bit interesting. Sir Mounts did well and was close, but unfortunately didn’t make the cut for the next round. He is going to try again tomorrow at the next tournament. Alas, Tina won’t be there so it will be hard to stay so attentive.

Amidst all the bowling, I made my way to Pearl Harbor and snapped a few pictures. Brian and I both ended up going back and visiting the Arizona Memorial, which was a very amazing experience. History is definitely interesting to me, but it was especially emotional to hear and remember all the events of December 7, 1941.

After the visit, we headed back to our hotel and ended up trekking up the beach here in Waikiki and jumping in the water. On our way back, we stopped at another hotel and utilized their ultra-hot hot tub. I would have also made a move on a cute girl that was there (see, I’m growing…), but the timing just wasn’t right.

Now, I think we are pretty much going to call it an early night. Our time here is dwindling and I will have to rejoin the real world once again. But it’s the weekend…time to relax! Oh wait, that’s what I’ve been doing. ;)

Waikiki has officially made my favorite place list. We had a blast cruising the strip last night…there was a comfortable breeze in the air, so shorts and flip flops were the attire. There were so many people out that made people-watching fun. You can see everything and pretty much buy anything you want along the side of the road; everything from sketches…artistic, spray-painted renderings…massages…girls. Whoops, did I just say that? Yes, some of the most beautiful, yet sketchy, girls come out in some of the most questionable clothing and, yes, sell themselves. Right in front of the 5-0 too. It’s quite interesting. And all of this while a local church choir is singing on the street corner next to them. But there is definitely a lot to do. We window shopped a bit, had a couple local brews in a local watering hole while listening to a short set by this guitarist. We watched some of the older folk cut a rug on the dance floor. I had Cold Stone. :)

And after sleeping in this morning we woke up a little late, threw on our board shorts, and headed back out to the beach. I was seriously like a little kid again…I threw my shirt and flip flops in the sand and got in the water. I had a grand old time dodging waves for the longest time. It was awesome! The water was so warm, the waves were HUGE, and the scenery was nice too. ;) I think I’m starting to discover a new-found fondness for girl surfers. I enjoyed checking them out. ;)

After playing in the water, we walked back to the hotel and got ready for the practice round at Hickam Air Force Base. And that is where we are now. Brian is rolling while I’m typing this. I’m starting to get hungry, so I think I might grab something to eat. Check with you later, homies.

Well, I should have prepared myself for this night, but for some reason I didn’t. Not sure why. I mean, I totally and absolutely adore Kellie Pickler…but after watching and getting to know all the Idol contestants, I know that eventually we would have to say goodbye to her. There are so many good contestants; and although it’s hard to choose who is going to stay from week to week, the choices of who should stay are getting smaller and smaller. Eventually, you have to say goodbye. And this week, we sadly say goodbye to Kellie.

But seriously, getting back to my previous thought, how on earth did I not mentally prepare myself for this? Maybe getting ready for it would have softened the blow and prevented tears…just maybe. I don’t know, though. I still think it would have been sad and difficult. Nevertheless, our American Idol cutie thanked everyone for the experience, as the true southern lady she is. I know big things are in store for her. If you are ever back in California, Kellie…call me. ;) You will always be my American Idol.

I just got back from hanging with some bowlers at the LBC, and I’m ready for some shut eye. Tomorrow is a semi-busy day as we head back to Honolulu for the rest of the week. We are going to *try* and get up early for breakfast…but we haven’t had much luck with getting to restaurants in time to eat actual food. Tomorrow we may luck out.

Here are a few pictures I thought I would share…

Well, I was pleased to find out that they do have wireless internet access at the place we are staying at. I did not know. I have been without internet for like 4 days, only briefly checking email on my cell phone…and then there was our little adventure last night at the resort down the road…5 minutes to myspace and email. I mean, it wouldn’t have been as fun and exciting…but still, had I *asked* the nice people at the front desk if there was internet, I would have been informed that there was wireless access in the lounge downstairs.

See…it pays to ask. :)

And now I am going to post some of stuff from last couple of days and then we are going to go out to get fish and chips. Woot!

I just woke up, so I’m a little groggy still. I can’t believe that it’s only Tuesday. Anyway, the rest of yesterday was pretty cool. In the interest of Fact Finding Missions, I headed back out to the beach and walked around snapping photos. It was gorgeous. Except for the rather large woman sunbathing on the beach, everything was picture perfect. Brian rang a few hours later and we headed out to The Beach Hut for some fish and chips and a sweet ocean view. We then decided to cruise, so we headed out to several hot spots: the former location of Whalers (which by the way is one of the most amazing views I have ever seen), and then we headed west to check out this secret beach off of mile marker twenty-one. You have to hike down this narrow, but well-trodden path to get to the beach…but once you do, it is so worth it. We also cruised as far west as we could go, stopping at the Russian fort and checking out other locales…then after the two-lane road turned into one lane and my cell phone signal went kaput, we decided to turn around. It looks a lot like California in some ways.

We headed back to the resort and thought food would be a good idea since we were both pretty hungry. However, most places shut down between 8:30 and 9. We found ourselves at another resort trying to find food and we finally found internet there for 15 cents. We put a buck in the machine and we both raced to do as much emailing and myspacing we could in five minutes. It was truly intense.

Since most places were closed, we headed to the Lizard Lounge bar and grabbed a late dinner and a few drinks. I went back to the resort a bit early to crash and Brian went back to the LBC to see what was going on there. Today is pretty much sight-seeing again. Should be pretty sweet.

Well, I’m taking a quick breather before heading back out, so I thought I would write a little bit. I slept in today on my first official “work” day of vacation. Brian had to be up and out of here to be at the lanes at 8 30 this morning. I got up and around 10 am and headed out to the beach. Unfortunately, I realize that 1) I didn’t put on any sunscreen and 2) I had to the entirely wrong lens on my camera. Oh well. What can you do? I snapped a few flows along the way, but I walked up the road about a mile or so to Wailua family restaurant for some lunch. I also poked around some of the shops and looked around a bit before heading back. Now, after sitting around for a bit, I think I will head back out to snap some more photos and look around. More later.

So we are a couple of tuckered out guys. I left the room for like 3 minutes to run out to the car to get the video camera and the lei I left out there and when I came back, he was out like a light. It’s been a long day. Technically speaking, we woke up at about 1am Hawaii time. It’s now 11pm. It feels like it should be 2am. I am soooo tired! But I’m going to try and recap some highlights…

First of all, the flight over was long, but once I saw land it was amazing. It just goes to show how little I know about our 50th state. For example, these islands are HUGE. They look so tiny on the map that it’s deceiving how big they actually are. And not only that, but they are so spread out. It took getting on a third plane to fly from Oahu to Kauai and it was a 20 minute flight. The same amount of time it took to fly between San Diego and Los Angeles. Crazy, or what? And it’s also surprising how much of the land is uninhabited (at least from the map’s point of view).

Crazy story…we got to Honolulu a tad late because our flight out of LAX was a tad late. So we missed our island-hopping jet. We were hopping mad. But, had we not missed the jet, they would have never put us on the next flight out. So, we they call our group and we start to board the aforementioned later flight and I see a woman I recognize. I don’t give it a second thought, but I look at her again and I KNOW I recognize the girl standing next to her. The girl was Courtney Smith. And I *knew* that if I looked around some more I’d find…yes…her sister, Caroline. Caroline is a friend from high school…and I actually was hoping that she was there. Sure enough. Tell me what a small world this is…it seems I’ve been running into her at the most random places. At the movies in Mira Mesa, for instance. Anyway, it was good to see her…her family is vacationing on Kauai too. Total coincidence.

We got to Lihue and drove right over to the bowling center, or the LBC (Lihue Bowling Center) for the practice rounds, which Brian was already late for. He bowled until around 4 and then we drove out to our resort and checked in. The place isn’t bad. Right on the beach, nice ponds. The Jacuzzi could use a little work, but that’s okay. After laying around for a split second to catch our breath, we headed back to the lanes for a luau for the bowlers. It was actually really nice: quite the variety of Hawaiian favorites and some entertainment by this guitar dude and his REALLY hot daughter. I fell in love. She did a few hula dances with another girl and it was amazing to watch. The story they tell with their hands is amazing…but the way they move in other places is amazing too. This girl had the most amazing smile and bright eyes that could light up a room. I couldn’t take my eyes off her.

Alas, the night did come to an end…I met a few of the bowlers and then we cruised around the south side of the island a bit before heading back to the resort. We hit the hot tub, which is filled to capacity with people…but it was awesome when the rain started coming down on us. Everyone got out, but a few of us stayed in and enjoyed the rain. The droplets, along with the gentle Pacific wind, made it quite relaxing.

And now I’m about done for the day. I’ve been awake for nearly 22 hours and I need to get up tomorrow for a day of exploring. Good night, all!

Well, I did not lie…we in fact woke up at the butt crack this morning to head out to the airport. I was awakened by the song Holiday…and it’s still stuck in my head, even at this very moment. We got to Lindbergh at a little after 5. Our cab driver went on about Schwartzenegger and some other stuff that I couldn’t really understand since he was of a different ethnic variety. So I nodded and laughed at what I could understand.

Check in was a breeze, with the exception of Brian’s balls that he carried on. They gave him strange looks and ran his balls through the scanner a couple times. It was exhausting. They made me take off my shoes and belt. You have to realize that this is my first flight in many years (my last time in the air was back in 2000 when I went to Scandinavia). Things are much different now. But you would think that they would carpet the area where they make you take off your shoes. But nooo, there is nothing but cold tile. Definitely not foot-friendly.

We decided to take an earlier flight out of San Diego to get the ball rolling…and now we are sitting at Gate 77 at LAX waiting for our flight to Honolulu. Our first leg was fast and friendly. Brian and I were the emergency door handlers. I definitely think my leadership skills would have paid off had their been an emergency. Also, the fact that I’m buff also would have helped. Our flight attendant was totally hot too. She looked sort of like Kristin Davis (a.k.a. Charolotte from Sex in the City). I was going to ask for her number, but considering the fact that I’m a wuss and she’s from Utah, I don’t think it would have been a good idea. Besides, long distance relationships just don’t work…especially when they are with hot flight attendants.

More later….

Well friends, I depart for the Aloha State in approximately 6 hours, which means I have to wake up in about 4. Ugh. The best part is I don’t have to work for the next nine days. Woohoo!

Had an AWESOME photo shoot with model friend, Jennie. We were going for a Maxim sort of look and shot at Doug D.’s cool downtown pad. I think we got some really sexy and classy images…

Well, I’ve just reduced my sleeping time by about 3 minutes, so I think I’m going to get going now. Stay tuned for adventures from Hawaii…if I have internet connectivity. Otherwise, you’ll hear all about it when I return. Later!

I just received the following email from the “Internal Revenue Service” regarding a refund:

After the last annual calculations of your fiscal activity we have determined that you are eligible to receive a tax refund of $63.80. Please submit the tax refund request and allow us 6-9 days in order to process it.

A refund can be delayed for a variety of reasons. For example submitting invalid records or applying after the deadline.

To access the form for your tax refund, please click here

Regards,
Internal Revenue Service

© Copyright 2006, Internal Revenue Service U.S.A. All rights reserved

I may have been born at night, but I wasn’t born last night. What do they take me for? This has to be a phishing scam…I mean, why on earth would The Government give me money?

**By the way, if you get an email like this, delete it, destroy it, incinerate it…do not give anyone your information. I’m sure you already know that, but I thought I would say it anyway.

Happy Easter everyone! I hope everyone had as good of a weekend as me. Not that mine was extraordinary or anything…but Easter is definitely one of my favorite holidays. We don’t do too much around here…but I definitely reflect a whole lot more. It’s one of the more emotional times for me to remember what Christ did for me so long ago. It humbles and moves me.

What made this weekend even more special was it was my grandma’s birthday. She’s getting up there in years, but always reminds me to be young. She is one cool chick. We took her out to dinner yesterday and then today a bunch of friends and relatives came by the house to offer her well-wishes and birthday greetings. It was like Grand Central around here. No exaggeration.

Last night was a good time…I went over and hung out with Nurse Melinda (one of the Hot Nurses) at her place on campus and we watched Hitch. I seriously love that movie…that guy is smooth. We also grabbed Santana’s after we got rejected from the guy at McDonalds. So what if they were closed?!? Anyway, we had some fun together. This weekend was chock full of Spanish speakers…not just with the family, but also with Melinda. I’m sure I was turning her on with my linguistic abilities and mad skills in ordering Mexican food. Next time, I’ll give her a French lesson.

No, seriously. I took French for 4 years. Get your mind outta the gutter. ;)

I had another self-realization too. I got some disappointing news about a certain someone. Amazingly, although it sort of sucks, I’m sort of okay with it. Sort of.

I have a tendency to take things seriously or invest too much in people. Take, for example, the cute Olive Garden girl. Now, I asked her out and we went on a date…and then nothing else. I was crushed. I still am, to this day, sort of bummed. But seriously, how well did I know this girl? And seriously, how much did we have in common? (And seriously, how funny is it that an Olive Garden commercial just came on the TV? :) ) But anyway, she was a cool girl and all, but I don’t think that we were soulmates or anything like that. Why did it affect me so much? It’s because I invested too much in her. My thoughts, my energy…I made too much of things way before they should have been made into things…if that makes any sense. So when push came to shove and things didn’t work, of course I was crushed. I was in too deep.

So there is this girl that I sort of like. I guess you could say I still have a thing for her…but fact of the matter is she’s taken. Old Aaron would have been devastated because he would have been thinking about her constantly, dreaming about what could have been, and wondering what he did wrong. But new Aaron doesn’t care. He thought she was cool, but didn’t go beyond that. He didn’t commit thoughts or invest energy into making it turn into something. And new Aaron isn’t wondering what he did wrong because he knows that he is the man.

Well, sort of. While I don’t know if things would work out or not, it’s still sort of disappointing not to find out. There is always the prospect of maybe…but I’m not going to lose sleep over it.

Actually, the fact of the matter is perhaps I’m being TOO cautious now. Is that the guarded, pansy way of not letting my feelings get hurt? If I’m not careful, will my life be full of superficial relationships? I sure hope not, because a passionless life is no life that I want to lead. But at the same time I want to be careful. I don’t want to get hurt, but who knows if the future Mrs. Aaron is a girl I played it safe with. I think ultimately my life has been about missed opportunities. And I don’t want to live with regret.

But I do want to eat some green bean casserole. Talk with you later, homies.

I’m not quite sure what is prompting me to write about this, but it is something that has been painfully obvious to me recently. Today was the first day I have had fast food for lunch in a long while. That fact is not terribly significant. But I love people watching as I sit and eat my Classic Double and my small chili with cheese and onion. (Don’t worry, I mint or use gum as not to offend my co-workers). It rained pretty hard while I was out today … and as I sat there macking on fries, I watched a small family come in the restaurant. A small boy and a girl. Mom. Grandma.

It kind of made me think about being little. Watching the boy lead his little sister around by the hand. The little girl wanting to explore on her own. She was covered in pink from head to toe … similar to my sister, except for the fact that my sister absolutely hated the color pink. As we grew older, her independence stripped me of my “Big Brother” rights and responsibilities. But that’s another story in itself.

I continued to watch. The kid was remarkably loud and obnoxious; slightly precocious, but just enough for you not to hate him. Similar to me, he thought he was the poo … even though his feet didn’t touch the floor. It got me thinking, trying to remember what it was like to be that small. Trying to remember what the world looked like from a 4 ft. perspective and child-like innocence. It’s hard to remember.

But I can remember wanting to be older. Bigger. As a kid, you’re so excited to grow up and do things. Adult things. You can’t wait to vote. Drive. Be done with homework and ever having to think about algebra. But there’s a downside to growing up. Getting old.

Not many things scare me. Well, at least the things I’m willing to publicly admit. But getting old scares me. Those of you that are close to me know that I spend a lot of time with my grandparents. I lived with them during college and even though I’m out on my own now, you’d think a still live with them! And equally surprising, they don’t seem to be sick of me yet (and if they are, they do a good job of hiding it!) Now don’t get me wrong … both of my grandparents are well into their 80s and both seem to have more energy than I do at times. But the underlying frailty of getting older becomes more apparent with each passing day. It’s a constant reminder that we are human. And human is not forever.

However, that’s not what I thought 22 years ago. I thought my grandparents with live forever. At least, that’s what I wanted to believe . But the theories of a five year-old are slightly flawed. After all, can you really take someone who ties to towel around their neck and jumps off the stairs expecting to fly seriously?

I didn’t think so.

I was at a church service last night up in Rancho Santa Fe. Beautiful music. After the service, the congregation was instructed to leave the building in silence. The lights were dimmed. All of a sudden, there arose such a clatter. Someone had fallen … and he couldn’t get up. I make light of it now since the dude is okay … but an older gentlemen, who couldn’t see where he was going, stumbled over a row of chairs and fell to the ground. Immediately, about eight people rushed to his aid and attended to him. It reminded me of someone else I know who falls down a lot.

It’s painful. Physically, yes. But I can only imagine the pain and frustration of not being able to do things on your own. To have to depend on other people for things. I’m sure it gets downright annoying at times.

In retrospect, I wouldn’t mind having someone to do my laundry or make me dinner. I wouldn’t mind not having to pay for a car, an apartment, food, or life’s other necessities. I wouldn’t mind having someone to drive me places (except, of course, if there was a cute girl involved). Oh wait, I forgot that girls have cooties. Nevermind …

But it’s a trade-off. You give up the convenience of a maid, a cook, and a chauffeur so you can stay out all night and eat pizza and ice cream for dinner. But sometimes freedom is a drag. And sometimes, it’s pretty darn expensive. But as the years go by and your freedoms dwindle away involuntarily, you remember the “good old days” and what it was like to tie your shoes on your own. Or go to the store for some milk. Or go for a walk. The unknown is something so … unknown. And I would be lying if I said that didn’t scare me a little. But … we’ll see what happens.

What I ought to do is tell you about how I used to make forts in my grandma’s living room … or, how I used to play catch in the front yard with my dad. Or how I would steal my brothers Legos and erect elaborate creations (I just wanted to use the word “erect” .)

But I’ll save those for other time.

Since I’ve been sharing about the cool stuff that friends of mine are doing in the world lately, I thought I would mention another. Natalie Jost is an exceptional web designer and an all-around wonderful person…(not to mention a friend from my high school days.) She’s recently redesigned her ultra-cool web site and blog…and chatted a little bit with Stacy Harp of Active Christian Media about her life, her designing, and other stuff. Since I’m all about the coolness of podcasts (and Natalie), I highly recommend to give it a listen and check out her site. It’s amazing.

• Listen to the podcast
• Visit NatalieJost.com | Standards For Life
• Visit ActiveChristianMedia.com

As you can see on my sidebar, one of my good friends is the amazing Simone Finney. I seriously and absolutely adore this girl. She is my most favorite story teller…and here is a recent story she tells in photographs. From her recent trip to Bulgaria.

Read the story and see the pictures.