Eccentricity and Ohana

One objective met: I have a place to stay. I will move in Thursday to a small room in a large (for Hawai`i) house where lives an eccentric, but kind older lady. Her name is Eleanor Nordyke and she is apparently a noteworthy American author who has lived in Hawaii for many years. She is renting the room more for company than money and she is offering me more than a place to stay, she offers ohana (as Stitch would say, "Ohana means family"). Besides the room (furnished by the way), I will also have a private bathroom, a private entrance, washer/dryer, Internet access, but the real seller was her dog. So cute! I love dogs so so much!! I will have kitchen access as well, but the main thing is that she is surrounded by a lot of great people and I will become part of that community and be able to rely on them for some support in a strange land. I will not be so alone. Plus, I have Leo and Sarah and Elise who I am already friends with and all the other friends I am bound to make given my friendly personality. :) Just today I was eating in the campus Food Court and a group of three girls from Taiwan joined me for lunch; obviously they sensed my likeability and wanted to share in that much like Lan and Ashley did many moons ago. ;)

Getting back on track, there is a married couple in their 40s living just down the hall from me and this really nice lady who is a friend of Eleanor's and helps take care of her in the evenings and sometimes stays the night in the guest room. There is also a fourth room which has been turned into an aviary for some birds she rescued 16 years ago that haven't died yet. She sleeps in the living room, which is humongous and has a stunningly spectacular view of UH, the mountains, Waikiki, and the ocean. The house sits up on a hill in this really safe, wealthy, old-fashioned, intellectual neighborhood near campus where people have been living there so long that they know everyone and Eleanor is one of the most popular on the street. Also on the street are 3 of 5 children with grandchildren who are around my age. She has lots of interesting visitors and is working on projects and books as we speak. The living arrangement is relaxed and comfortable and I think it will all work out well. The biggest negative is that the room is very small (it was made for the maid), but really all I need is a place to rest and study. So yeah, one load off my back and I'm already smiling more.

I also think I've sorted out my class situation after the sudden passing of my professor. It looks as though I will only have class on Tuesdays and Thursdays. That means I will have to manage my time well so that I am productive on Mondays, Wednesdays, and weekends in order to not be overwhelmed by having a day full of classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I also picked up audition info so that I can audition for a play here at UH for the fall, A Streetcar Named Desire in case you've heard of it. ;) A job! That's what I need. Feel free to fill me in if you have any leads.