there are just so many things I want to write about life. a lot has happened in the past month and half and its not even slowing down!!
OMG. I love this place.. I constantly find myself reminiscing about that vacation on a daily basis. In a heartbeat I would up and move my entire life to Hawaii and take the Hawaiian Bar Exam. We left at 6am the morning after my last final and I was already so drained and exhausted to begin with it was OOC. I hate when we have to fly out of CLT early in the mornings and it is always like negative degrees in there! The flight down to Hawaiii wasn't too bad, I took one for the team and sat the middle seat! haha I was j excited b/c liek the first time in my life I didnt spill into the next seat since I lost all this weight! haha its the little battles in life! but the flight was surprisingly not as bad for an 11hr flight! To give you an idea, it is about 18hrs to India, 20 if you go nonstop (which like no flights do but you get it.!) ANYWAYS. we land in Hawaii and I instantly fall in loveeee. the heat was stuffy but it was so fresh and amazing views it was worht it! We couldnt find our shuttle at first so after we got our luggage, we had to wait at the shuttle office and then the rep came to give us our true Hawaiian welcome with leis and everything! ;) the shuttle to our hotel was nice since the airport is in Honolulu and our hotel/resort was in Waikiki so we got to see a nice bit of the island just driving to the hotel! I was j so happy to be there, it was amazing! So our hotel/resort. O.M.G. amazingggggg. It was so so big I was getting so lost the first couple days trying to figure out which tower ours was (the Rainbow Tower) and how to get to the ABC store (ahaha in Hawaii, they are not only liquor/alcohol stores but like convienent stores that have like everything in there as well as like fresh fruit, etc!). ANYWAYS. Our resort/hotel was amazing. If anyone is thinking about going to Oahu, I DEFINITELY recommend the Hilton Hawaiian Village! It wasn't too expensive and the rooms were amazing. There was a beautiful lagoon too that is for only hotel guests and tons of pools and hot tubs (um after lifeguarding, I will NEVER go into a communal pool again hahahh) but it was so nice. The restaurants arent super cheap but they are reasonable for vacation prices haha but the hotel is in a great location, close to bus/trolly stops, close to shopping, the big chain and local restaurants too. I love the hotel! right on top of hte ocean!
ANYWAYS. we did so much in the 6 days we were there, I wanted to stay FOREVER. ok so our first day, we got there around dinnertime so we walked on the beach and explored Waikiki. We walked so so much but it was so much fun! The second day, we didnt know what to do so we decided we would do Diamond Head! We walked forever trying to figure out which bus to take (haha we didnt ask first) and then we got to Diamond Head and then hiked up into the crater and then once we were inside the crater (which itself was probs a good 1mile-ish), we started up the side of the crater! It was about 1.8 miles each way, and 2 sets of stairs, the first was about 90 steps and the second was abt 75 swirly steps. It was def hard once we got to the 90 steps b/c it was basically a 45 degree angle and so so hot but I made it! my mom and sister were kinda slow but my mom doesnt have good knees and my sister is out of shape haha this was where my 6 miles of running a day worked in my favor! I was ahead of them most of the way but that was nice b/c I could take breaks for them to catch up and take pictures of the views (which was amazing/gorgeous btw!). it was amazing though, the breeze and view from the side was indescribable. Probably one of my best memories in my life that I will remem foreverrrrrr. I even met like 3 different VIrginia Tech fan families while I was hiking up too due to my Hokies United tshirt! Make my little (or ginormous, however you want to put it..) Hokie Heart so happy! After we came back down, my mom was waiting for us (she stopped and came back down right before we got to the steps b/c her knees were hurting so bad) and she had gotten us some shaved ice to cool us down/replenish out fluids haha I opted for a gatorade. it was so amazing though. p.s. Hiking w/ my vera bradley bag in a miniskirt was fun too ;) On our way back to Waikiki, we decided to take the bus all the way to the Ala Mona Center which is the most amazing mall I have ever been to!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was the perfect mix of high end designer stores with the common, everyday department stores too. In what mall can you find an Old Navy on one end of a floor in a mall with Versace or Dior or Chanel on the other end??! ALSO, it was like an open air mall too so that made it that much more enjoyable! It started raining at one point while we were in the mall but it was fine , even the rain in Hawaii is fun!!!!! My mom got us these super cute sandals from Coach and these adorbs Hawaiian print LeSportSac duffels for my sister and I. I love those bags, they are the special edition Hawaiian prints that you can only get in Hawaii, a forever reminder of the best vacation I have ever gone on!!!! We had so much fun just exploring all of the stores (IN THE AC!!!) hahaa but once we got back, it was a well deserved rest! I dont remem what we did for dinner/lunch that day... OH I REMEM. on our walk back from the Ala Mona Center, we did lunch at the Cheesecake Factory! I wanted some local establishment but my mom and sister wanted to go to the Cheesecake Factory and it was the beginning of the demise of my diet!!! hahah We had the spinach artichoke dip as an appetizer and omg, so good but I could feel my arteries clogging at the same time! haha whatevs. ANYWAYS, we did so much walking that way , probs worked off all those calories too (um yeah, I hiked like 3.6 miles too hahaha) ANYWAYS. it was such a fun day getting ot know the area! That night after we cleaned up a bit, we went walking around Waikiki at night and it was so much fun too, just people watching and walking around and taking in everything around us!
The next day was equally amazing because the moment we got off hte airplane, I had turned my phone off and I saw that I had some missed calls and an email from the place whwere I interviewed for a job during finals. I was like , omg I hope I get this but its now Saturday so I have to wait until 9-2 on Monday EST (which is like 7 hrs ahead of Hawaiian time) so on our second full day in Hawaii, around 4am was the time for me to call the law firm back and so I woke up extra early and called them back and I GOT THE JOB! It was probs the best thing in my life. Not only was I in paradise/Hawaii, but I also got this amazing job for this summer and not by default either b/c I was told there were quite a few other people who also interviewed for this position from my school. Im so used to getting rejected after applying for jobs all year long for this summer that I was just expecting them to be like 'thanks but no thanks' but apparently not! AMAZING. SO, this just made that day that much better! this day, we had the 120mile island tour! We did this tour so we could see the whole island and get to know the history and whatnot too. it was so beautiful! I cant even begin to describe how amazing that island is! We saw so many local areas, the 'beverly hills' of oahu, we saw beaches where movies were filmed (eternity beach-- from the movie From Here to Eternity, the first movie to show a woman in a 2-piece/w burt lancaster and deborah kerr rolling around on the beach! haha) we saw different parts of the island that were shaped funny, i.e. chinaman's hat, rabbit island, turtle island, crouching lion, the list goes on!!! during our tour, our guide even stopped at a local roadside market so we could get fresh fruit! We got fresh mangoes, coconuts, and pineapples! AMAZING. so so good. before our tour was over, we got to go to the Dole Pineapple Plantation! It was like heaven! After strawberries, pineapple is probs my favorite fruit! we got this amazing thing called Dole Whip while we were there, its a non-dairy, non-fat soft serve ice cream like substance that is flavored with fresh pineapple! my sister got a standard dole whip w/ fresh pineapple on it but my mom and I got Dole Floats! Just like it sounds, dole whip with fresh squeezed pineapple juice in a cute little souvenir dole pineapple. I wanted so bad to buy some fresh pineapples (we drove by all the pineapple plantations!!!) but they were like $20 per pineapple. wayyyyy overpriced! overall, it was a pretty amazing day! love it! we ended the day with a celebration becuase I got this amazing job so there was this DELICIOUS ice cream place in our resort that made fresh ice cream daily and my personal favorite was the maui mango madness! it was a combo of mango ice cream and mango sherbet! it was so so good. but to celebrate, I got myself a sundae, I forget what it was caleld, something like a macadamia nut tunnel? it had macadamia nut ice cream and vanilla bean ice cream with fresh macadamia nuts, hot fudge, and a wedge of waffle cone! AMAZING. macadamia nut ice cream was so gooddddd.
the next day we went to pearl harbor and ford island. Not only was my mind blowing thta I stood in the very places where World War II not only began but ended as well for the United States. It was upsetting though, when we went to the USS Arizona memorial though... so sad. You could still see the oil seeping out and smell the oil too. I cant believe it still. No matter how much I studied about WWII as a history major or watched numerous documentaries on the history channel, talked to historians, etc., nothing could compare to the feeling of standing on the USS Missouri, the very place where the Japanese Empire finally surrendered to the Allied Powers. yeah, thats my mind blowing. ALSO, this was the day that the heat was so intense and we were outside for so long, yes, little brown girl Manisha got sunburn. for the first time ever. whatevs, its a fun story now. when we got back, we needed a rest after walking all day long around pearl harbor and ford island but you know me, I wnet for a run around the lagoon at our resort ;) ran into a hot exotic brown boy so that was fun too hahaha but yeah, the next day after pearl harbor, we went to downtown Honolulu and saw the capitol and saw the old palace and coronation pavilion too. ridic! we also were able to go into the Hawaiian Judiciary Building! The home of hte Hawaiian Supreme Court! We got to see some exhibits there about the history of the legal system of Hawaii from even before it was apart of the United States. Little known fact, Hawaii wasn't even an actual state of the United States at the time of Pearl Harbor, it was merely a territory (kinda like how we have what, PR?). ANYWAYS. after we got back from exploring downtown Honolulu, we went to the Hilo Hattie, which is like the mothership for purchasing touristy items and souvenirs,etc. I got some locally grown macadamia nuts, some Kona coffe (100% and amazingggg), and soem stuff for friends, etc! It was super fun! Since this was our last night in Hawaii, we decided to go to a fancy restaurant in our hotel for dinner and it was delightful! they had vegetarian options too, so that made us extra happy! after, we went walking around waikiki one last time. taking everything in. it was amazing. hanging out in our hotel..
on our last morning, we were so sad, we didnt want to leave at all! we were so cranky with each other all morning with packing, etc it was ridic, none of us wanted to leave. while my om and sister were getting ready and packing, i went to take pictures of the resort so I never would forget anythign! In the morning, since we woke up so early all the time, we finally got to go to the beach and so I obvi laid out since I wanted to intensify my Hawaiian tan! It was delightful. Even the rain in Hawaii is amazing and enjoyable!!! Oh I never mentioned, one of the nights, we went to this place called Maui Pearl Divers and went oyster diving (if you can call it that) and opened oysters to see what kinds of pearls were in them! My oyster had a pair of deep brownish purple pearls so I made earrings! my sister's were more purple and she made earrings too! my mom had a pair of pale pink ones, the ywere so beautiful!!!!
Hawaii was amazing. there arelike no words for it other than that! Check out my fb albums if you want to see more pictures than the ones I posted in my last entry.
WORK
WELL, today was quite a day! I had my first big legal victory today! This morning, I had this CSE case (child support enforcement- court appointed) and it basically went from the agent basically telling me he was going to ask the judge to arrest my client to me finding all these discrepancies in the file and he DISMISSED the case against my client!!! That is kinda a big deal b/c this dude was srsly headed to jail.
In general, work is amazing. I am learning so much and getting so much experience in court, hands on experience working with difficult/any type of clients, learning the procedures for everything (especially b/c I dont remember much from Civ Pro my first year) and definitely making some contacts so hopefulyl someone will hire me next year after graduation! Also, this summer definitely is reinforcing the fact that I want to practice family law. yeah I've always said that I want to be the one to help people get divorced and get pre-nups but it is so much more than that! I want to have that contact with the clients and build those relationships to actually help them in probably some of the hardest times in their lives. Things like today, it really makes me sure that I wnat to be a lawyer and help people and really make a difference in their lives (i.e. keep them out of jail ;) hahha) Next wk should be interesting because the paralegal that was on maternity leave all summer so far is back from leave so it will be different with both of us there! OH YEAH< did I mention that I am getting paid??! Its not much but its over minimum wage and its better than nothing! I wasnt even expecting to get paid this summer at all so this is definitely an added bonus to all of this experience I am getting!!
OH YEAH, I need to update my resume and cover letter because I want to start applying for jobs for the school year. My boss told me she wants me to go to Calendar Call for her in the fall but that is only one monday a month and with my light load, I need something else to occupy my time!
SUMMER SCHOOL
oh it is OOC. I think I am crazy for working this much and taking summer classes but i just keep telling myself that it will be worth it during the academic year. I just finished Secured Transactions the first summer session and that was OOC. the final was ridiculous. 13 multiple choice questions and 22 short essays in ONLY 2.5 HOURS> wtf. it was so hard but at least I finished right????
Im taking Remedies this next summer session so hopefully it won't be as rough. Ive heard good things about this class so we'll see! Its 3 credits so hopefully it will give my GPA a boost!
Speaking of which, we just got our last grade today from Spring 2010 and let me just say, the one semester of law school where I did the least work, slept consistently on a daily basis, I had the best grades EVER. AMZING.
FAMILY
my family is ridic as usual. there was so much drama during my brother's graduation weekend but hey, it was Blacksburg and you really cant get any better than being in Blacksburg on a late Spring day! We had perfect weather, so fun just being back there! The family who came were kinda ridiculous and kinda ruined the wkend with all the drama they caused but whatever! My borther's graduation party, was so much fun hahaha. I drank on my brother's tab and lets be real there is something about Blacksburg that I just get so ridiculous. IDK what it is but something about the plac ;) omg I felt so terrible though on Sunday, I was so sick and didnt start feeling normal until like that evening when I got back to danville. OH WELL. I guess I made an impression on all of my brother's hot (now) DR friends hahaha
other than that, not too much has been going on, my brother moved to Detroit, Michigan and started his residency this week. He's doing general surgery for the first 5 yrs then plastics somewhere for 2 more years.
my sister is ok, she and I are constantly fighting though, I think its because we have kinda had a role reversal because she is very short tempered now and I am so much more laid back and like whatevs about life, because I dont want to 'sweat the small stuff' and all she does is have temper tantrums and drama about the littlest/stupid things. IDK what is going on with her. We just havent been getting along too well for the past like 8 months and its kinda sad b/c we used to be really close.
my mom and I are probs closer than ever righ tnow, we talk about everything, haha she even asks me now if I've met any good Indian boys in law school (um hello Im the only brown girl at my school.) or if Im dating anyone. haha ridic. and that would be a negative. I mean, its kinda awk when ALL of my friends are married, engaged, or srsly dating someone but I just want to have fun b/c Im young and I really dont see myself getting married. Its just not for me and quite frankly, I am too selfish/self-involved to care that much about another person more than myself hahhhha. My family doesnt see it that way at all but whatevs, this is one life decision that I am making for myself.
my dad and I are ok getting along. we dont fight at all any more and I think he is really starting to take me seriously now that I am working so hard at work and school that he really sees that I am going to do this whole lawyer thing. Thats good b/c I remember a time that he told me that even if I had gotten into Duke undergrad, he wouldnt let me go unless I majored in biology or chemistry.
No lie, I am for reals the black sheep of my family. my sister is the promise child- successful career, owns home, does everything that my parents sya like a good INdian girl, my brother is the "fruit of my [dads] prayers" (no lie, that is a direct quote from him) because my brother is now a doctor, almost surgeon. Me, Im just the rebellious, outgoing youngest child that doesnt follow the traditional Indian girl path that was expected of me and does what I want for me, not to please others. maybe my parents, maybe that is like my lifelong goal in life, to please my parents as much as my sister and brother do without lifting a finger! (hey, at least no matter what, I will always have more degrees than them! 2 BAs and a JD *hopefully*)
FRIENDS
my friends, well they are amazing as well! With summer school, I am definitely getting to know the people in my class much better. I am glad because there are some really fun, great people in my class that I didnt really know very well because I usually just hung out with the boys+becky all the time. Dont get me wrong, I love the boys and becky but its just nice getting to know others and definitely will be having some fun manisha time with them come academic year!
Im going to Charleston next wkend for Derrick's wedding! I am so so so excited! I shipped their wedding gift last wk and they got it (I creeped out UPS and delivery stalked the orders haha). I got them sets of 4 of 2 different size places and a set of 4 bowls and a matching platter as well. I figured, at the very least, if not everyone gets them all the plates they want, they have the minimum to get by for everyday use! haha thats one of the perks of having one of your best friends getting married, he tells me everything abt the wedding! this time last year, I was helping him picking out an engagement ring and then he called us the wkend after he proposed in aruba and sent us pictures, etc! and then all year long he shared all the wedding planning crazieness with us and even discussed possible honeymoons, etc (p.s. can I just say how jealous I am of their honeymoon?!???!!?! kinda want to get married jsut to go on a big vacation without feeling bad about it!!) I am so excited for him and Leigh though! I didn't know Leigh very well at first and I am definitely protective over my close friends but after getting to know her much better this past year, I know they are going to be happy together! And really, isnt that what we all want for our friends, for them to be happy and enjoying their lives?!? :) I can't wait to go to Charleston though, I havent been since like 1998. AND for soem beach time too, I am sad b/c I think my Hawaiian tan is fading so I need more sun time!!!!!!!! AND I have some super cute dresses for Derrick's welcome party on next firday and then for the wedding/reception on Saturday so it will be a lovely time!!
all of my other firends, well ,we're all busy wtih work and other life plans but Im sure we will get back to normal once the semester starts back up!!!! yay I cant wait for more school!
SUMMER 2010
Its the summer I fall in love with the great state of North Carolina. Dont get me wrong, my heart will forever belong to Virginia but I am 96%sure that I am taking the NC Bar Exam so I am making this move down here permanent so I am wholeheartedly embracing living here. I kinda want to up and move again and move to Hawaii and take the Hawaiian bar exam. IDK, we'll see. I am probs j gunna take the NC Bar but set aside a week each year for a Hawaiian vacation. I will start saving now.
Right now, Im enjoying working and feeling like I'm actually making a different in people's lives and taking classes and making myself smarter haha loveeee it.
Also this summer, Ive intensified my workouts! Ive gone from 4-5x a wk to 6-7times a week and I run on average 6.5 miles a day now. I've lost about 50 lbs since last August and am now only 35lbs away from my target weight! After the 40 mark, I moved out of the 'obese' category of BMI and I am now in the 'overweight' category. I have about 30ish more to go to be in the 'regular/healthy' level. It has been so hard and has taken a lot of self control but I jsut tell myself that I am not only going to look better, but I will feel better and be so much more healthy that it iwll postpone all of my eventual health problems that I will get because of genetics (both my parents have high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, etc). My weight loss goal is set for January 1, 2011 (my 25th birthday) to lost about 35 morelbs and be at my target weight of 120! And that might sound low or whatever, but for my age and height, that is totally normal/healthy. If I am more than taht, it is fine with me because I also plan on getting more tones and muscular instead of the flab I have right now! yay! my arms are already getting less flabby with my 12 sets of skull crushers a day I have been doing since May! I hope that a few more months my arms will be all nice and toned! We'll SEE!.
This is truly one of the best summer's of my life. I have done so much and still have so much more to do it is going to be nothing more thhan amazing!
THE FUTURE
I dont think I have ever been so excited to start school as I am right now! Im finally enjoying school and its almost over! I need this year to last as long as possible. I was a marshall for graduation this past May and not gunna lie, just watching the ceremony and listening to pomp and circumstance, made me tear up. WTF am I gunna do when I'm the one graduating?!?!?! OMG I need to find a job.
Also, I decided to do a study abroad during winter term 2011! I am applying to this program (
http://law.hofstra.edu/Academics/Programs/AbroadPrograms/Curacao/index.html) and hopefully I will get accepted! Ive had the paperwork filled out for weeks, but jsut today I got my dad's approval. haha I was talking to my parents about this because its quite a chunk of money and I am definitely chipping in with the money I make this summer but they wouldnt have any of that so I guess it will jsut stay in my savings acct for now! Funny, I told them that this year, my brother spent so much money on his Greece trip (um, hello he was there for 2 mos and rented a house there!!!) and on his graduation party, and I was pretty much spending the equivalent on summer school and this study abroad program! haha funny. I cant wait. After this summer, I am definitely more confident in myself and not worrying so much about what everyone else thinks and just being happy with myself and that I know waht I am talking about! IT is definitely a great feeling!
ETC.
so yeah, today, our last grade from spring 2010 finals was finally posted! I did amazing in a class that I basically taught myself everything! I was like expecting the worst, even though I know I answered all the questions correctly but it was amazingggg. I am so busy this summer, I couldnt have imagined what crazieness this summer was going to bring me but I love it. I am really sure that this is the summer that I fall in love with the state of North Carolina and living here so it is great!
OK, it is now 124am and I started this entry DAYS ago. I will post some pictures on Sunday of my summer happenings. GET EXCITED.
FINAL THOUGHTS
I miss Hawaii. And Sleep. The end.
