Still Kickin'

I nearly forgot about this thing the past few months or so.

A lot of things have happened...my family came to visit, taiko's been getting busier for Sensei's 35th Anniversary, work has been nonexistent and so has the pay; I fell in love, met some more new taiko folks, became closer with old friends, and am now coming to terms with the end of my time here.

I think I've realized how independent I've become, so knowing that I'm moving home for a while is kind of hard to accept.  How hard it will actually be only time will tell, but I'm pretty sure, gauging from my 3 week holiday home-time vacations, that it will be HARD.

I know most blogs are inherently selfish and self-centered (I this, I that, me me me me me); the movie Julie & Julia helped me see that (I highly recommend the flick for anyone who hasn't seen it), but this entry will probably be one of the more self-involved contributions.

Having started a relationship here already gives me a lot to think about in terms of being back in LA, but more than that, I only realized today how COMFORTABLE I've become here.  Just like in those movies...you know when you've blended into a new area or neighborhood when your neighbors start acknowledging you.  Like, you're a local now, foreal.  Except I'm leaving again in roughly 3 weeks.

I guess life can be good that way while we're young -- just when you get comfortable or start to get complacent...MOVE ON.  That's what I'm doing...and that's probably what will happen back in LA up until I actually start attending law school.  It keeps life exciting, unpredictable, new, fresh.

I suppose though, life can't be fresh forever.

Or maybe it can, just in a different way.

All of the goodbye events have started to happen - the goodbye BBQ, the last karaoke outing, and soon, the VERY last parties and farewells.  Little by little it's sinking in.  The logistics of moving are going to be the biggest pain, and I haven't even started on that...probably because I just don't feel absolutely ready to fully accept that I'm going to be gone from here.  Forever.  Mmm or to be less dramatic, just will never be here in the same way again.

Hawai'i will always be my second home, though, there's no doubt about that.  When I leave here I'll be leaving a piece of myself behind, the piece I'll have to come back and reclaim whenever I come to visit.

It's been a beautiful 2 years, so I can't complain.  It's just so bittersweet, I could cry just thinking about having to board that plane and head home for good.

The great news is some of my friends here may make it over to the Cali area...so that should be exciting.

And of course, LA is my element.  The people, the places, the FOOD....

I'm just afraid I'll be a stranger in my own hometown.  I guess that's inevitable at first, but it shouldn't take too long to become reacquainted, mainly with friends.  There's still so much to do and so much to see.