n Uniform Data System, a system of reporting we use at our center, on December 8 and 9. This seminar is an annual seminar/training/updating on the use of the UDS. If there is an immediate change that is needed to be done they would hold another training update usually in June. The venue of this seminar is Honolulu, Hawaii so when he said I will be going and heading the delegate; the next thing I did was search my Google Earth to look at the Honolulu map and started plotting my adventure.Hmmmm, Honolulu in December plus pocket money equals shopping! Let me see, sale in this store and that, discounts on this day at that mall, wow, so many places to go with so little time. We were scheduled to leave on 5 December at 1 pm Pohnpei time and will be in Honolulu 5 December at 2 am Honolulu time. So I have Friday, Saturday and Sunday as free day then half day of Tuesday before returning Wednesday morning. Wow, 3 days of going around Honolulu.
I preparation, I called my friend whose son and daughter are in Hon
olulu. I have stayed with them last June and planning to again stay with them this month. Their apartment is located at Lusitania Street in downtown Honolulu so it is very convenient to go around. Though staying in Pagoda Hotel would be much better, being near Wal-mart store which is open 24 hours and Don Quijote also an all-nighter store, but it would save me money for shopping staying with these guys. And I really enjoyed my last stay in Honolulu when I stayed with them. Then next was to buy some fishes, Lapu-lapu, tuna and if available mahi-mahi, and some crabs for my auntie and cousin living in Honolulu. No available tuna that time so I settled for crabs and lapu-lapu. Next task was to talk to another friend who would take c
are of my pupp
y and to check on the house every now and then. All done and I was ready to go. Ooops, wrong. I was scheduled to go on duty on December 6, I have to talk to the Medical Services Chief about it and when I did, he changed my schedule with another doctor who was supposed to be working 12mn to 8 am Friday. I agreed and later on realized it was a wrong move somehow.Thursday I reported for work 8am to 5 pm then cleaned the house 6pm to about 10 pm then started preparing for my duty at 12mn. I finished my duty at 8:00 am and was home at 8:30 am then started packing and calling people who asked me to buy something for them. I finished at 10 am and went to the airport to check in and was done at 11:30 am. I had no sleep for more than 24 hours.
I slept. From the time I was seated, seatbelt in place, I slept and woke about a few minutes prior to landing in Kosrae State. The weather was bad and the landing was worse. I really hate landing and this one made me hate it more. It was raining heavily and according to the pilot visibility was not that good that we have to go around the island again and try landing the second time, so I already have an idea of the outcome. And sure enough we landed after bouncing twice before the plane got its grip. Whew.
After 45 minutes we took off for Kwajerlein State of the Marshall Islands. We had an uneventful flight and landing, but I still hate it. The landing I mean. Then off again for Majuro State of Marshall Islands and here, we made touchdown after bouncing 3 times again due to bad weather. After this a 5 hour travel till we reach Honolulu. This is the part when it gets kind of boring but that time they featured 2 good movies which I haven’t seen so more or less it was okay.
We arrived at Aloha International Airport Honolulu delayed for 45 minutes. My friend's son-in-law was there waiting for me without his kids. He informed
me that he is free that Friday morning so he can drive me around. I infromed him that the seminar is not until Monday so I plan to walk around town that day, I just told him to go straight to Walmart store for me to pick up some toiletries since there is no hurry for us to go home. And at 4 am we were window shopping at Walmart.I woke up at 7:30 am and as soon as I was able to change I left the apartment with the guys still sleeping. Once I got my bea
ring straight, I walked to my favorite breakfast area: Chinatown. I discovered this eatery in the middle of Chinatown market. They serve Filipino, Thai, Vietnamese and local food turo-turo style. Usually I start the morning eating Vietnamese style noodles then come back lunch for a variety of Filipino foods from toge, labong, pak
bet to goat meat cooked in different ways, adobo, kilawen , sea foods, and a whole lot more. Boy, I really forgot about diet. So breakfast was noodles then at lunch I had Labong, papaitan and kilawen
kambing. These for only $7, whew. I did some strolling in downtown Honolulu, enjoying the sites in town and taking advantage of its emptyness being early in the morning. I went and visited the
Iolani Palace, The Honolulu Arts Building and the Legislature building. I then walked all the way to Best Buy Store at Dilingham to check some laptops and netbooks. They informed me that most of the best laptops were out of stock after they had the Black Friday sale a week before. A lot o
n display was the Xbox 360 and the Guitar hero set. I almost got myself one that day. Most of the things I was looking for were also out of stock anyway, but was able to stop myself and look for the ones I really needed to buy, not by impulse. From there I took a bus, which I now am pretty good at, a
nd went to Ala Moana Mall. I went around the mall window shopping. Nothing new to see, most of the stores were on sale but low on stock I got some of the things I needed to buy.
From there it was a short walk to another favorite hang ou
t of mine, Starbucks Coffee Shop. They were serving a good brew that day and there was a seasonal mix they have, peppermint mocha, and it instantly became my favorite. So I vie my time at the stall, checking out the people going through and fro, smiling, big shopping bags at hand and th
e unusual heavy traffic. I guess traffic during the holidays is common all over.
After an hour, I walked to the Walmart store and got myself a walking shoe, a Dr. Scholl brand and it felt really good on the feet. I then went to the electronic center where I was hoping they would still have the netbook I was looking for. I got a little bit frustrated when they informed me they don’t have the blue Acer One netbook but when I saw the white one, boy, it looks better. Without any hesitation, I got myself one. I did a few more rounds checking the list of bilins from time to time. After which I went back to Starbucks, ordered another peppermint mocha this time warm, then tried out my net book, and was easily on the net. After another hour, I took the cab home and called my Auntie.
She was really glad to hear from me and she told me she would pick me up early the following day to have breakfast. My Auntie is my mom’s 1st cousin. They are almost of the same age so they were close and practically grew up together then. Until she moved to Honolulu way back in 1965 and has stayed. The last time she saw my mom was in 2002. So at around 8:30 am Saturday, we met and went to Zippy’s. According to her she is a regular customer and you can tell; for the people working there already know her name and she knows theirs'. My other auntie, her sister, was with her. She told me we never met before because she left Manila in 1967 to go to London, England and later in 1977 transferred to Honolulu. She went back to the Philippines only once so I never got to meet her before. We exchanged interesting stories, happy and sad events in our lives. We had a long talk about my mom the three of us trying very hard to hold back our tears. So we end our brunch at about 10:30 am and they told me they’ll pick me up Sunday afternoon to have dinner with my cousin and my nephew
s and nieces. I went home and changed then walk again around town. There was an unusual light traffic at Punchbowl Street that afternoon and I noticed that the roads were blocked i
n some portions in preparation for a parade. On reaching King Street, people were already anticipating the parade; children were running around, parents are sitting on their mats with picnic baskets on the side. It was a fiesta atmosphere. I hang around the area and waited for the parade, but later learned it is not due until 5 pm. So I took the bus and went to Ross Store and looked for some clothes. I needed to buy some new ones for me. The last time I had shop for clothes wa
s 3 years ago. I went to 3 Ross Store, in the Downtown area, the one near Walmart and the other at Ward center. I got new sets of working clothes. Then I went back to Honolulu City Hall 
and listened to the live Orchestra playing Christmas tunes in front of a big Christmas tree.
Sunday, I took another long walk to China town then back to city hall to look at the display they have. There were a lot of people the night before so I just stayed outside and listened. They have plenty of Christmas trees on display. One tree for every department of the City. They also have sma
ll bread houses on display. Again, one for each department. After going through it, I took a bus and went to Wards Center Mall. I have been in Honolulu for several times but this wo
uld be the first time I would really explore Wards Center. Again plenty of people were out shopping. I went around the mall grounds and found some interesting stores. I also saw a Sports Authority store where there were lots of nice stuffs really making me wish I could take them back home. I found a Starbucks outlet and stayed there for some Peppermint mocha until about 5:00 pm and went back home just in time for my Auntie to pick me up.
I had dinner at my Auntie’s house. I met with my cousin and her kids. They served plenty of good dishes that I again forgot about diet. Then after dinner, my cousin bake
d some cookies and boy, they were really good. I was asking her for her recipe but she just gave me more of the cookies instead. I stayed until about 9:00 pm and my auntie took me back home. Monday was the start of the seminar. My 
friend took me down to the Ohana Airport Hotel that morning very early. They already placed the breakfast buffet at the seminar area so I help myself to some. They have cakes, muffins and fresh fruits. The seminar went well, and they introduced the new points in the system
. Lunch was served buffet style and we we introduced to a Hawaiian lunch feast.We finished at around 3:30 pm and my auntie was there to take me to Costco.
I told her I have no plans of buying that much but she insist for me to buy what I needed. So I got my coffee, creamer and juice but she insisted to get some nuts and dried fruits for me as my snack and told me it would be good for my diet. We passed by some ham on display and she took a big one and told me to cook it for Christmas to share with my friends. I did not complain. She placed so many food and stuffs in our cart adding more to what I got and was surprised to learned that it
was all for me. Thank you and merry Christmas auntie. She then suggested we have dinner but I feel so full that time. She said she knows a place where they serve vegetable salad that would be light and healthy for me, and so we did. We ate at Kenny’s Barbeque and she suggested the salad. I was reading to the ingredients, lettuce, carrots, special dressing, chicken pieces, a few meats, and nuts. But what puzzles me was the price. It was $10. How come it is so expensive for a vegetable salad? When it arrived that’s when I realize that 3 or four people can eat from one serving. It was a gigantic serving of a salad. And my Aunt ordered grilled fish for me because I might not be satisfied with just a salad, so she thought. I ended up eating half of the things she got for me.
Tuesday morning, I was back at Ohana Hotel to continue with the seminar. It went o
n until about 3 in the afternoon again after which I did my laundry at Don Quijote and got the rest of the bilins in my list. I spend some more time walking downton Honolulu again to the City Hall and listen to the orchestra. It was really a very good sound and the Honolulu City Lights Display m
ade the atmosphere really good. At about 10:00 pm I went back to the apartment, packed up and went to bed.
I had no trouble checking-in in the morning and I had a very good seat. The flight back was uneventful, landing was smooth all the way, thank God, and I arrived in Pohnpei 20 minutes earlier than schedule. My friend picked me –up at the airport and brought me home.
Settling down and sorting out my luggage, one thought keeps coming back to my mind: when will I be going back to Honolulu.
Iolani Palace, The Honolulu Arts Building and the Legislature building. I then walked all the way to Best Buy Store at Dilingham to check some laptops and netbooks. They informed me that most of the best laptops were out of stock after they had the Black Friday sale a week before. A lot o
n display was the Xbox 360 and the Guitar hero set. I almost got myself one that day. Most of the things I was looking for were also out of stock anyway, but was able to stop myself and look for the ones I really needed to buy, not by impulse. From there I took a bus, which I now am pretty good at, a
nd went to Ala Moana Mall. I went around the mall window shopping. Nothing new to see, most of the stores were on sale but low on stock I got some of the things I needed to buy.From there it was a short walk to another favorite hang ou
t of mine, Starbucks Coffee Shop. They were serving a good brew that day and there was a seasonal mix they have, peppermint mocha, and it instantly became my favorite. So I vie my time at the stall, checking out the people going through and fro, smiling, big shopping bags at hand and th
e unusual heavy traffic. I guess traffic during the holidays is common all over.After an hour, I walked to the Walmart store and got myself a walking shoe, a Dr. Scholl brand and it felt really good on the feet. I then went to the electronic center where I was hoping they would still have the netbook I was looking for. I got a little bit frustrated when they informed me they don’t have the blue Acer One netbook but when I saw the white one, boy, it looks better. Without any hesitation, I got myself one. I did a few more rounds checking the list of bilins from time to time. After which I went back to Starbucks, ordered another peppermint mocha this time warm, then tried out my net book, and was easily on the net. After another hour, I took the cab home and called my Auntie.
She was really glad to hear from me and she told me she would pick me up early the following day to have breakfast. My Auntie is my mom’s 1st cousin. They are almost of the same age so they were close and practically grew up together then. Until she moved to Honolulu way back in 1965 and has stayed. The last time she saw my mom was in 2002. So at around 8:30 am Saturday, we met and went to Zippy’s. According to her she is a regular customer and you can tell; for the people working there already know her name and she knows theirs'. My other auntie, her sister, was with her. She told me we never met before because she left Manila in 1967 to go to London, England and later in 1977 transferred to Honolulu. She went back to the Philippines only once so I never got to meet her before. We exchanged interesting stories, happy and sad events in our lives. We had a long talk about my mom the three of us trying very hard to hold back our tears. So we end our brunch at about 10:30 am and they told me they’ll pick me up Sunday afternoon to have dinner with my cousin and my nephew
s and nieces. I went home and changed then walk again around town. There was an unusual light traffic at Punchbowl Street that afternoon and I noticed that the roads were blocked i
n some portions in preparation for a parade. On reaching King Street, people were already anticipating the parade; children were running around, parents are sitting on their mats with picnic baskets on the side. It was a fiesta atmosphere. I hang around the area and waited for the parade, but later learned it is not due until 5 pm. So I took the bus and went to Ross Store and looked for some clothes. I needed to buy some new ones for me. The last time I had shop for clothes wa
s 3 years ago. I went to 3 Ross Store, in the Downtown area, the one near Walmart and the other at Ward center. I got new sets of working clothes. Then I went back to Honolulu City Hall 
and listened to the live Orchestra playing Christmas tunes in front of a big Christmas tree.Sunday, I took another long walk to China town then back to city hall to look at the display they have. There were a lot of people the night before so I just stayed outside and listened. They have plenty of Christmas trees on display. One tree for every department of the City. They also have sma
ll bread houses on display. Again, one for each department. After going through it, I took a bus and went to Wards Center Mall. I have been in Honolulu for several times but this wo
uld be the first time I would really explore Wards Center. Again plenty of people were out shopping. I went around the mall grounds and found some interesting stores. I also saw a Sports Authority store where there were lots of nice stuffs really making me wish I could take them back home. I found a Starbucks outlet and stayed there for some Peppermint mocha until about 5:00 pm and went back home just in time for my Auntie to pick me up.I had dinner at my Auntie’s house. I met with my cousin and her kids. They served plenty of good dishes that I again forgot about diet. Then after dinner, my cousin bake
d some cookies and boy, they were really good. I was asking her for her recipe but she just gave me more of the cookies instead. I stayed until about 9:00 pm and my auntie took me back home. Monday was the start of the seminar. My 
friend took me down to the Ohana Airport Hotel that morning very early. They already placed the breakfast buffet at the seminar area so I help myself to some. They have cakes, muffins and fresh fruits. The seminar went well, and they introduced the new points in the system
. Lunch was served buffet style and we we introduced to a Hawaiian lunch feast.We finished at around 3:30 pm and my auntie was there to take me to Costco.I told her I have no plans of buying that much but she insist for me to buy what I needed. So I got my coffee, creamer and juice but she insisted to get some nuts and dried fruits for me as my snack and told me it would be good for my diet. We passed by some ham on display and she took a big one and told me to cook it for Christmas to share with my friends. I did not complain. She placed so many food and stuffs in our cart adding more to what I got and was surprised to learned that it
was all for me. Thank you and merry Christmas auntie. She then suggested we have dinner but I feel so full that time. She said she knows a place where they serve vegetable salad that would be light and healthy for me, and so we did. We ate at Kenny’s Barbeque and she suggested the salad. I was reading to the ingredients, lettuce, carrots, special dressing, chicken pieces, a few meats, and nuts. But what puzzles me was the price. It was $10. How come it is so expensive for a vegetable salad? When it arrived that’s when I realize that 3 or four people can eat from one serving. It was a gigantic serving of a salad. And my Aunt ordered grilled fish for me because I might not be satisfied with just a salad, so she thought. I ended up eating half of the things she got for me.Tuesday morning, I was back at Ohana Hotel to continue with the seminar. It went o
n until about 3 in the afternoon again after which I did my laundry at Don Quijote and got the rest of the bilins in my list. I spend some more time walking downton Honolulu again to the City Hall and listen to the orchestra. It was really a very good sound and the Honolulu City Lights Display m
ade the atmosphere really good. At about 10:00 pm I went back to the apartment, packed up and went to bed.I had no trouble checking-in in the morning and I had a very good seat. The flight back was uneventful, landing was smooth all the way, thank God, and I arrived in Pohnpei 20 minutes earlier than schedule. My friend picked me –up at the airport and brought me home.
Settling down and sorting out my luggage, one thought keeps coming back to my mind: when will I be going back to Honolulu.
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