CHAMORRO HAPPINESS

Everyone has a story to tell. Everyone. It could be true, it could be made up, it could be a little bit of both. But it is interesting to hear stories regardless of the truth to it. I am a lover of stories and I think that is why I like the movie "Big Fish". The movie is based on stories and whether they are true or not, the point was that stories should be enjoyed while there is still time. Now drama and stories are two completely different things and drama is what I'm trying to get away from and stories are what I am wanting to hear. I want to travel to also meet new people and hear what they have to share with me. I want to hear about what others are remembering what is important in their lives. I want to hear their stories and where they have been. I hear so much drama when I come to work and listen to others talk shit about everyone and it is so draining and irritating to me. I have been only been working in the city market for 8 years, where others have been here …

Hafa Adai!! There are so many places that I plan on visiting when I start to travel, but there is one place that I want to go to more than any other place in this world and that is the mythical place of Guam. It is where I was born, where my roots come from, and where a large portion of my family lives now. I am proud to be from that little island in the middle of the ocean. Chamorros (people of Guam and the language of Guam) are very proud of our special culture. If it wasn't for my Pa being in the Air Force and being stationed in Guam, my Mom would never have met my Dad. By the way, it is Mama's birthday today! Happy birthday, I love you dearly!!! My Mom lives in Florida and my Dad moved back to Guam many years ago, along with my younger sis and bro. I think that once I get over to California, that is when I'll buy a ticket to visit home. It is so expensive, it is ridiculous. An average ticket is around $1600. And of course, I couldn't go without going for at least …

Vacations really should be banned. Yeah, it is great and euphoric while you're away from reality, but then it happens. You have to go back to the same reality you left. Usually, that reality is worse than you left it. It is more depressing to go back to the everyday repetitive life that we all have grown accustomed to. A vacation is a glimpse into the laid back life that we all crave. It is a small taste of living life how it should be lived. We all desire freedom from work and stress. I just got back from a 5-day cruise to the Bahamas and it is sad to come home. For me, the feeling is so bad it makes me want to cry. I want to leave so bad it hurts. I had no car to come back to (still working on that), I forgot about a load of laundry in the washer (yes it is very stinky), our ice maker had plastic stuck in it (our roommate claims I did it while I was gone-haha), me and my boyfriend are both sick, and I'm sunburnt! But I can say that it is still a wonderful life and I am o…

The basic theme to this blog is to tell of my travels hopefully. Basically. Possibly. We will see. That is what I have started my idea with and I will build from there. That is of course what my passion is and I am wanting to write about what I am passionate about. I am obsessed with my wanderlust. I am obsessed with my yearning to get out of here. There are only 4 days left until I get to go on the cruise. There are 22 people coming on this cruise with us to share our mini vacation. Just a temporary fix of my wanting to see other places and meet other people. We will probably be getting drunk for 5 days and we will meet many others doing the same thing, but me personally, I will be the one remembering the sunrises and sunsets rather than the many other people I will meet. Is there something wrong with that? I hope not. I get jealous when I see my friends in other countries traveling around, seeing the world. Maybe I shouldn't use the word jealous, I am happy that others get …

There is something to say about a place that has OK temperatures year-round. I don't get too hot or too cold. Most of the time it is bearable. Charleston does have it's a fair share of above 100 temps, and the humidity levels can be extremely high, but for the most part, very nice! Some tourists visit during July or August and complain about the humidity. This is just part of the area. Just like snow is a part of New Hampshire's winter. You should expect it if you visit somewhere else and are not used to the change in the weather, then you probably shouldn't visit there. When visiting Charleston or anywhere else for that matter, one should keep an open mind to the change. Not just in weather, but in your surroundings as a whole. The winters here in Charleston are generally mild and cool. We used to rarely see snow, but it seems to be every year now, but only a light frosting, if any sticks at all. The darn changes in climate and all the global warming going in,  it i…

I feel that when I'm outside my mind is clear and at ease. Just being around trees and beautiful flowers make my soul feel great. I know there are many others that feel the same way that I do. I do right now have the luxury of walking around downtown Charleston in the early morning when there are no cars or people around. The historic buildings are interesting, but I prefer the random gardens, the window boxes with flowers, and the hidden alleyways with nature peeking out and trying to survive in little cubbies. I try and get a jog in while I venture through all the streets I've been down many times, but it is hard to jog when there is another flower that needs me to remember it. So I stop and take a picture to preserve the beautiful images I get to experience. I love the smell of nature, and I am very grateful for this small gift that was given to me. Who wouldn't be happy to smell a hibiscus with the early morning dew on it? I'm grateful for my sight (half-ass visio…

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   There she is, Hurricane Irma. I am not a fan of this at all. This could be the reason that everyone leaves Charleston. I was in Charleston for Hurricane Hugo back in 1989 and it was devastating. There was so much damage and loss of lives, just plain sad. We were without water and electricity for weeks, which seemed horrific back then, but now, I think that I could honestly say that electricity is a luxury. I am watching the info about Irma and how quickly it has formed and how quickly it is picking up power and it might turn out to be one of the worst hurricanes recently. Charleston hasn't had a bad one since Hugo. There have been small ones that came close, but nothing this large. I am hoping that Irma goes straight north and disintegrates into nothing. None of the islands in the Caribbean or any of the states need this freak of mother nature touching us. Hurricane Harvey has just recently hit Texas and they are flooding everywhe…

Sometimes there are signs and indications that shouldn't be ignored. I believe in karma and things that happen for a reason. I also believe that most don't see signs and take things as they come. Well, an awesome opportunity arose for me, and I took it. My long time boyfriend of 10 years, Nic, says that his friend has a motorhome for sale at a great price. An opportunity, a sign, this was it.  We bought it! It was a little larger than I had ever wanted. She is 31' long. But now that we bought her and have her, I wouldn't want it any other way. We had a PDI (pre-delivery inspection) done to see if there was anything majorly wrong with her that we didn't know about already. Minor things are wrong, and we are now in the process of fixing her up. I think it's been 3 months that we've had her now. We had to leave her at the shop in line for 3 weeks. All good though. I have just finished putting the 1st coat of paint on the cabinets in the kitchen and enjoying …

I have always looked in awe at RV's when they passed me by on the road. I remember as a child, sitting in the back seat (with no seatbelt on, of course) of my parent's car, staring out the window, watching these homes on wheels go by. I was always wondering if they had everything that meant anything to them with them. Were they on vacation? Were they living in there? Where are they going? What cool things are they going to see? The same questions still arise when I see them go by me. That was before one of these became mine! Now I'm asking myself the same things. Well kind of. I always knew that my days here in Charleston were numbered, but I didn't think it was going to take this long to finally make the step to leave. For the past 2 years, I've been preparing myself, even though I didn't know if I was going to be buying an RV? Buying a boat? Working on a boat? Backpacking? Or what, I just knew that the time was coming, that this itch had to be scratched. …

Let me start by saying that I love Charleston. I really do. I love Charleston. Who wouldn't love Charleston? It has been voted number one city in the world like 4 times now, best food city two times, and believe me Charleston deserves it. The people are wonderful, courteous, and compassionate. Charleston has recently been tested with how we pull together as people here. The Charleston 9 fire, the Emmanuel church shooting, the police shootings, all test. There were outsiders who came to our city and tried to get everyone to protest and cause a fuss,  well guess what, you were told by us to get out and don't try that shit here! The people here truly stick together, whites, blacks, every race! And the city's architecture is beautiful with deep ties in history. It is full of great food and restaurants, great landmarks, and surrounded by waterways that keep going.
   So why am I leaving? Because the word has gotten out and everyone knows how beautiful it is here and how great…