aloha

I'll be honest, my first 2 days in Maui were bumpy.
Overcast Hawaiian skies and the sleep deprive week culminating in a packing all-nighter the night before my departure did not make me too ready to embrace beauty in any shape or form.
To top it off, I realized that even in paradise, I missed San Francisco.

My arrival to this beautiful island started with sleeping shamelessly for 2 straight days. Interspersed amidst the decedent naps, the pragmatist in me cleaned my studio, and dabbed olive oil on all the door and window frames. Arlene would be proud.

Though settling into a slower pace did not come instantly for a city dweller,
other things were as natural as breathing.
Little things like:
greeting the dawn by the ocean every morning,
endlessly watching waves like none I'd ever seen in my life,
consuming heaps of gorgeous locally grown organic lettuce from Hana farms,
falling asleep to a myrid of stars outside my window
and my first session at Kanaha beach - without neoprene
I'm starting to love this place - wind, ocean, neighborhood, people and all.

The neighbors are an fun bunch - Kathlyn, who was excited to meet another windsurfing buddy, her son Hans, who missed his flight from Honolulu and pawned off 3 Bintang shirts to pay $30 of airline penalty. Steve and Nu, who drink coffee on their deck by beach I visit every morning. And of course, my landlord who had to duplicate a key for me when I lost it at the beach by mama's fish house my second day here.

for how hard it was leaving san francisco
it's nice to know that 36 hours of sleep can change your mind
aloha, i'm in love...