This place this island

This place is where my alma mater is. This island is where I grew out of my late teens and into my early twenties. This place is where I've done so much (good ones and bad ones) in such a short amount of time. This island is where I made friends whom I will always remember and cherish. This place is where I got my heart broken and mended and broken and mended. This place is a paradise. This island means so much to me. What sparked the light into writing this post? Erin, my best friend, visiting (not for fun) Hawaii this week. We spoke on the phone yesterday and this morning. The conversation lasted longer than usual because I wouldn't let her get off the phone with me, reason being I wanted to feel like I'm in Hawaii too. The feeling was especially real when I couldn't hear her talking because the wind is so strong and all I could hear was the wind... She was walking through the streets that I once was; she was eating at the cafeteria that we often dine in; she was studying at the library that we used to study too! All the good old memories just came crashing down on me. I'm sure most people who lived in Hawaii would feel the same way too, for example, Effa. When I posted old pictures way back in the days, she told me: "Yash..gosh!! I miss Kahawai...seriously, those were the best times ever!!" Effa is from Penang, Malaysia. However, we have to travel half the way around the world to meet each other, we eventually became roommates and she became one of my best friends. Now, we both live in Kuala Lumpur. =) I first went to Hawaii about three months after 9/11. The airport was a scary place to be and everyone thinks everyone is a terrorist, especially when you're holding a Malaysian (Islamic country) passport. Haha. It was also the first time I celebrated my birthday away from home. I remember me staying in a hotel room, my dad and my brother were in the room next to mine sleeping. I watched TV, they were counting down in the Big Apple and later when midnight strikes, fireworks went off in Waikiki and Honolulu. This also marked a new chapter of my life and the beginning of year 2002.
I have too many stories to tell about life in Hawaii. So I will post random pictures and see what story came out of those pictures.

This is Ala Moana beach. Where I hang out most weekends during my first semester at UH.


Manoa Valley within walking distance from UH about a 15mins walk. A very nice neighborhood, they have my favorite Starbucks, Andy's Sandwich (YUM), Long's Drugstore, Safeway (a grocery store) , Manoa Sushi (cheap sushi available), Oh McDonald's too! how can I forget that.


Do you remember where this is? UH's big parking buliding ;)


For those of us who don't own a car on O'ahu. They are our best friends!!!! Will take you almost everywhere. I've taken this bus to UH football game, I've taken this bus to Kailua (what a long journey!), Arizona Memorial (with dad and brother), Waipahu (for volunteering business) and etc.


PUCK'S ALLEY. This is place always give me a hippie vibe... A familiar corner for UH students.


Spring break 02' Big Island. These girls are from Malaysia and one's from Singapore. Thanks to them I get to venture off O'ahu. We had a blast in that few days trip. And our "tour guide" Andrew was awesome! Andrew is friend of Joan and he is local to Big Island so he knows where to bring us to. =) All nine of us crashed at Andrew's place if I remember correctly. We didn't get much sleep those few days coz either we were on the road or getting drunk at night. LOL. One night when we visited Andrew's parents, they offered us a bottle of butterscotch with one worm (dead/drunk) soaking in the alcohol. Interesting ya. I only took one shot of it coz I couldn't bare the thought of a worm "swimming" around in my shot. Who ate the worm? Jason and Andrew shared the wealth. LOL. According to them, the worm is ALL ALCOHOL. Can't even taste the worm... That night we eat, we drink, we play pool, and we drink some more.
Best part of this trip was I get to visit the UH observatories on Mauna Kea (White Mountain, literally). The altitude is so high that we have to take small steps to get around. Oh boy, climbing up the stairs was impossible for us that are not used to the thin air environment. Our guide kept telling us to take small small steps. =) Memorable experience. Oh there was snow on the ground!!!


@ D&B's. What us FSHN (Food Science and Human Nutrition) peeps did best: hang out and drink. Besides making sure we pass all our classes, we also get together for Karaoke, clubbing, and drinking! Coz we are fun ppl!!! Cheers to FSHN.


Glad I took this picture. To remind me how I lived. Single bed, one comforter, two pillows. This room is where I sleep, study, watch TV, and eat! All in one.


Waikiki Beach. Me and Kimmy. Just another ordinary Sunday hanging out at the beach. Such an embarrassing bikini top. Hehehe.


We were bored from all that papers and exams!!!!! So we acted silly, took some pics and went out to Wailana for some good French Toast. Screw school.
I have this room all to myself coz my roomate Effa left me :-(


Carol, me and Erin getting ready (drunk) to go out. We were heading to the W that night. That so called club is so over rated. Thank goodness we got in for free, thank you Lonny for getting us in.


Lanai (balcony) of our hotel. The idea was taking a picture of me and the beach at the back, too bad can't really see the ocean. The building with the green roof is a church. Its roof comes all the way down to the ground.


This a another view from our hotel room. When you look to the left is the beach, when you look to the right it's the mountain. Cool ya? Hawaii is one of the places with mountains and ocean in close proximity!


You see tons of these in Hawaii especially Waikiki. Jungle of hotels and resorts.


They called that little island Chinaman's Hat. Coz it looks like one. Haha. Somewhere near North Shore?


Welcome to Hanauma Bay. A great spot for snorkeling. I once saw a whale there!!!!! Whale was far from shore of course.


Aww Happy times @ D&B's. Sending me off to Chicago. See, I told you, we are fun peeps. Don't know how many brain cells and liver cells I killed over the course of 3 1/2 years in Hawaii.


This was a fun day. We skipped class to hang out at the beach. We stopped by at Blow Hole to take a few pics before heading to Waimanalo Beach.


Waimanalo Beach. Nice surfing spot. Isn't it gorgeous? By the way, I took this picture. Not stolen from the web. =P

There are more to Hawaii than these fews pictures that I put up. Go, discover Hawaii for yourself.
It would be nice to visit Hawaii again with Rina and Erin and Effa and Nora. =) You guys added something extra to my memories of Hawaii.