pinkberry on guam?
i love me some pinkberry. for weeks now that this construction site has popped up within a minute's walk from my house....and then suddenly to see it crowned with this sign, i can only guess (and secretly hope) that it's a pinkberry clone. i tend to snoop around construction sites. gee, i wonder why.
before moving here, i had requested from another pinkberry clone franchise to bring the fro-yo' (FROzen YOgurt) phenomenon to guam but i think this confirms i've been beat. once you try this stuff...the real stuff, that is...you can't help but want to have it all the time.
pinkberry is the monster that first opened in the so-cal area and made its way to select happy palates throughout the nation. it is non-fat frozen yogurt that is yogurt flavored and topped with your choice of fresh fruit, cereal, candy, and the best ever, mochi balls. not to mention, check out the catchy pinkberry tune on their website. you'll be apologizing to ice cream with every bite. but that's only with the real pinkberry. there seems to be some dispute as to who is the original purveyor of the yogurt flavored fro-yo...a reminder to patent your shit.
they aren't open yet...but frozen yogurt, frozen drinks, hot drinks, and coffee a stone's throw away is something i sure won't complain about otherwise. i am anxiously awaiting the "open" sign to prove/disprove my suspicions.
summer on guam means more rain, busier schedules, and more work.
that's the thing with guam - it's always undergoing shifts. nightcrowds never gather in the same places, new faces are always streaming in the same rate that old ones are retracting (like myself), and you never know if you're gonna have unbearable heat or unbelievable rain streaming down your face.
my aforementioned BIG project is just about done and now that just means there is room for more. but busy social schedules have merely been replaced by the tasks of looking for a new place to live, settling in with a new man, figuring out where kylan will be going to school, and becoming a licensed architect.
life is busy in different respects.
the reason i've been inundated, the point, scheduled to open july 8
my car, shoes, and clothes are almost always tainted with dust from a construction site. right now, i have about 4 active projects...this means that they are either about to be permitted, built, or completed. there are also about an additional 4 or 5 jobs in our office on the waiting line. for a firm of 5 people, we do really well and i could not be prouder of the work we are invovlved in.
i am on a job site or having a construction directive meeting about 3-4 times a week, i am busier than i have ever been in all of my career. i have been forced to reduce my nightlife and internet activities because work has been even more involved.
my monster project at the moment is inside the old gameworks space - about 5,000 sf of retail space set to open in july. *crossing fingers
i am doing a comprehensive audit on my expenditures....
i am removing my data plan from my phone, saving $18/month
i am disconnecting my land line and lowering my broadband plan, saving $29 a month
i am buying a butane single burner stove for $15
i have had my AC ducts cleaned and repaired, hoping to reduce my cooling expenditures
i am cancelling my stateside email account, saving me $5/month
my power bill last month was $145 more than the usual, and i was gone for half the time without increasing my usage. my very first power bill when i moved into my unit was $80. read your meter!!!
these days, i am not flat broke but many excesses have been brought to light that i am sure i can do without. i am excited that summer is here and i won't have to pay for school tuition for three months. i have yet to decide where kylan will be attending next school year. coming from the california public school system, where i didn't have to pay a dime for my child to be motivated and happy while learning, i can't justify the cost i am paying for a catholic education.
kylan has been presistent about moving back but my time here is not done. with work obligations and many plans to be set in stone, i know california awaits. i returned from vacation feeling refreshed and motivated to wrap up what i need to so i can continue with where i left off. here life is truly stagnant, while the only thing moving and that keeps me moving is my job. i am very fortunate for the opportunity that i've been awarded. to work and have a first-hand role in expanding the island commercial front is exciting. i get a "backstage pass" on what's being built and there's already a lot of change in the works.
video of the day, if not the week. work safe.
i am amazed that i saw so many faces and places this week
i started in honolulu for two days and two nights. i inaugurated myself by driving solo on honolulu freeways...which was super easy coming from a seasoned california freeway driver. i was able to spend time with kat and her bf kev, gene, min, tj, rod, robin, kelvin, marci, christie from college....and at different occasions, of course. marci was kind enough to take me for a drive to sandy beach, where we gazed at beautiful half naked surfers bobbing their heads and delicious bodies out of the water. i had two nights out at the ever-popular mai tai's. the marquez boys entertained me with rock band and showed me some tricks no one ever enlightened me with. gene park joined me for a spectacular meal at fromaggio's while he watched me drink fine red. the whole gang was more than generous in joining me for drinks and pupus at mai tai's. it was my first time being in the company of min, who is awesome...and i can't believe we've never hung out before! i failed to confirm my intinerary and realized i inadvertently missed my flight out of honolulu. i was supposed to fly out thursday night and luckily there was ONE seat left for the next flight out on friday. kat was busy preparing for birthday weekend celebration at the bellows.
from honolulu, i fly to the bay area by landing in san jose. here in the bay, i saw edison , jude , jhimelle , rose, uriah, aris, and the beautiful noemi, and jules among many others on my first night out in san francisco...where we showed our support at MUD's cd release performance at slim's.
the next morning, i fly to san diego to make it in time for a wedding....where sal graced me with his presence for 20 minutes and provided me with a ride from the airport to the church. it was reunion of sorts...seeing many faces i haven't seen in awhile..including jan, jeng , joce c, didi, marci ...among many other familiar faces. the wedding was themed springtime in paris and was a flawlessly beautiful event. mishella ibit picked me up from the church to make it time for the reception in la jolla...but not until we hit up loehmann's so i could get my shopping fix. as soon as the wedding rituals were done with and the dance floor started...we greeted the bride goodbye and raced off to orange county to join another group.
an hour later, mishella and i are in costa mesa with irma , philsan , and kris. we dance the night away and continue the festivities at ihop, where i make my youtube debut. it was 4 am and we proceeded to the diamond bar for some rock band that lasted us until 7am. 3 hours later, we wake up and get ready to hit the road...but not before carlo treated us to some great conversation and food at bj's brewery.
it's only sunday afternoon and we end up in LA in the company of my sister hazel and her awesome boyfriend jesy. we gather ourselves to pick up philsan for a birthday escape to laguna beach. i am treated to heaven at a little boutique called heavenly and am thankful for discovering it. 2 rounds of jameson, 6 sake bombs, a llaeger bomb, and 1 washington apple later...we are the most wasted in the streets of laguna beach, with the exception of our designated driver, of course.
come monday, mishella and i part ways and my sister and her bf send me off back to the bay...but not before driving me around some key architectural landmarks for my fix. we eat mouthwatering korean bbq in japantown and my journey continues to the bay area as i catch a flight midday. jules and her bro bj pick me up and later in the night we have happy hour at gordon biersch in palo alto and meet up with edison. i take an obligatory pit stop at IKEA and finally meet up with my family in union city...at the kabiling household. i engage in more rock band before the night ends and try to get reasonable sleep while recovering from my crazy weekend.
it's tuesday and i bart to the city to meet up with jhimelle. we catch a meal by golden gate park and do many rounds on a street bike before heading to the san francisco shopping center for happy hour with cil and adrian. after happy hour...i hit up urban outfitters, h&m, and dsw shoe warehouse before they close at 9pm. jhimelle and i are off for more rock band at her place where her boyfriend cooks us a hearty breaded pork chop meal before i take the midnight train back to my family.
wednesday, i hit the roads solo and am back on the freeway. i get a haircut and network with my old stylists. they want to come to guam in august and i happily offer my hospitality. i get a pedicure and meet up with grace dolor at pf changs for happy hour and dinner. before heading home, i cruise the mall to visit forever 21 and steve and barry's.
on thursday, i join my sister in bringing my nephew to school. she later drives me to hayward to join jules at her apartment and we start our day late by having thai food in palo alto. we drive to the city for happy hour to meet with phuc dao and irma cayannan and her fun company. we take over stef's sports bar and close it down happily inebriated. on our way to the car, we take a walk through 111 minna to mingle with complete strangers and look at nameless yet notable art.
it's now friday and i'll be meeting with old bosses for lunch. i will be having happy hour in san francisco with friends. i will be joining jules for dancing beyond the east bay.
saturday my family is throwing me an early birthday bbq where about 40 people will be at our house.
on sunday i depart to honolulu where i will land and squeeze in a beach outing, a bbq with friends, and dinner with a night out before flying back to guam.
my 10 days away from guam has been insanely eventful and i can't wait to go home and be with kylan and get back to work.
so i took that forsaken island hopper route using my one pass miles and it wasn't as bad as what others have described. i've never seen any of the other islands in micronesia and hopping through chuuk, phonphei, kosrae, majuro, and kwajelin before making it to honolulu was something that i actually appreciated. the flights were brief and i got to stretch in between. the longest flight leg was from kawajelin to honolulu, which took about 4.5 hours.
i'm here in HNL til friday morning and making the most of it.
i have been awake since 5am and probably only got about 3 hours of sleep before then. i am attempting to stay awake before getting on a plane to the land of aloha and eventually, sunny california.
it is 3am and i am waiting for the last load of laundry to be done. the nutty part is nothing i've claimed so far. the nutty part is that i am going to spend the rest of my night/morning at the office so i can maximize my time before heading to the airport. i am traveling with only one article of a wheeled carry-on and 2 pairs of shoes...it can be considered blasphemy against my wardrobe.
sotd : working my way back to you babe
yes it's true - but i'll be back here, real soon.
in the next week...i'll be in the air for a total of 45 hours so that i can touch down and mingle amongst old and new friends in honolulu, san diego, la, and san francisco.
it's going to be a whirlwind trip like i never knew.
i'll be busy updating my blog and stay connected through my sprint phone and will be living off all the adrenaline....
and in early celebration of my 29th birthday.
is it bad that i think of tim gunn from project runway when i hear the word caucus?
it just so happens that a friend of a friend is the field director (imported from hawaii) for barack obama's campaign on guam and i got a first-hand experience in the start of their "grass roots" efforts. last week, three women, myself included, operated a phone bank from my house where we contacted those that might have been previously affiliated with supporting the candidate. the uncanny only-on-guam moment was coming across more than one person i already knew and introducing myself as if we've never met. the guam democratic caucus is on may 3rd, after which the winning candidates will be represented in the national convention for the presidential nominee. supposedly, both hillary and barack camps are setting field offices on guam but barack's team seems to be the spearheaders of this frist-ever. guam has played a role in the national caucus for the presidential nomination before but this is the first time a local presidential campaign office has been established and it appears to be quite the buzz since the nation awaits the close race. 9 delegates is a relatively significant representation from our island so i am just hoping people understand the instrumental role at stake in partaking on the national level.
photo by Leslie Travis
