Tammy gave me great advice...

She said, "SAVOR each minute, don't waste any of your time there...
always have your camera... and taste evertyhing you can...
smell everything you can."

And that is exactly what I'm going to do!!

(can someone from Guam help me? What are the name of these cherry-like things. They're super sweet and its juice is kind of grainy?!?)

Beach Day

So...I can't believe it's actually taken me as long as it has to do a day-at-the-beach. But I had to fix a criss-cross bathing suit tan that was just...uhm, not the tan line I wanted to go back to SF with. It took me literally one hour to fix that. The sun in Guam is incredibly hot. I mean...it is literally 50 feet above your head.

Emi and I were chillin' behind Hotel Marriot. Next time we'll remember the se'besas and the snorkel gear.

Marissa and Velma, Version '08!

Sophia sweetly shared her turf with Isa!

Riss and Velm, thanks for my beautiful nieces.

wacky trio

Yo...too funny!

ROTARY SUSHI!!

An all-time favorite when residing in or visiting Guam.

I had one wasabi dynamite plate, one spicy mussels plate, one unagi plate, kim chee, and a spicy tuna plate. YOOOO!! SO DAMN Good. :P (Followed by a walk in Tumon to BULLY's. :)

Another Mickey's riddle...

Okay...so Nicky, Emi, and I think we figured this one out, but I need to hear other possibilities!!

I finally made it out of Tamuning...

Traveling down Marine Drive in East Hagatna! Heading to...any guesses?? Local favorite, The Venue! And what were you doing at 2pm on Wednesday afternoon?!?!

Hmmm...

I live in earthquake-city 338 days a year (at least!) and I come to Guam only to be shaken out of sleep by a friggin' earthquake! ai aday...

LAAAAAAKKKKKERRRRRRRRRRRRRSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

YO! I just spent the last two and a half hours at House of Brutus watching the Lakers kick some Spurs-grandpa azzzzzzz!!

I'm drunk. I'm happy. I'm on vacation.

Tropical paradise...

And these are just the pieces of paradise in between my home and my grandmother's next door! That is the walkway to my Nana's house from mine. :)

Good morning from Guam!

Dude...

...it's storming outside!

Memorial Day

It's pretty gray on the island today, which means the weather is perfect for the 'returning resident' a.k.a. visiting resident! With 3 weeks on the island, I'm letting myself get acclimated at a decent pace.
I have been doing early morning beach runs and my gawd, this place is beautiful!
At 530am, the Pacific Ocean that lines Tumon sands is so calm and still. The water is nearly transparent and literally looks like a reflection of the sky.
It was high tide so the water actually came up to my neck! This is a seemingly rare occasion in Tumon, although...I suppose maybe being in the water at 530am might make this a frequent pleasure.
The early morning beach patrons are pretty typical: one young couple sitting outside their hotel chatting, joggers, fishermen, and of course the passed out drunk right in front of Matapang Beach.

And now it's time to wait for another Laker beatdown! So very relaxing. :)

Something's translate so easily...

A LAKER BEATDOWN is exactly the same at 11am, Saturday, GUAM time, as it is in the mainland USA at 7pm on Friday!!

GOT DAMN MY LAKERS ARE BALLINNNNNNNNNN!!

Visiting in the driveway

I was home literally 15 minutes when I saw a couple walking up my grandmother's driveway. It was Maria, formerly Cristobal and now Calori, and her husband Will, who were on an evening stroll around the neighborhood. We were both surprised, since Maria and Will normally do this trek and were stopping by to say hello to my auntie Amanda who was unloading my Nana's luggage from the car.

The next 20 minutes were spent visiting and chatting in my Nana's driveway. Maria and Will's four-month-old, Apu, was at Auntie Hope's and the new parents were taking a nice break.
I've been neighbors and friends with Maria since I was 3rd grade!!

I love being reminded how small the island--and neighborhood!--is! I look forward to all the random run-ins as my trip continues. Aww...home...

Exiting the A.B. Won Pat International Airport...

...is always the same: your entire body is instantly welcomed by a wave of dense, I MEAN THICK, HEAVY humidity. Your first breath is almost a gasp as you noticeably need a little more lung capacity to pull in that thick island air. And that's just the first step!
Every step gets warmer and warmer as if the air is just wrapping you tight in a blanket. And by the time you've reached curbside pickup less than 50 yards away from the exit, it is undeniable--You are HOME!!