Kitties, Starbucks and such

Wow. I can't believe it's almost November already! I feel like the past three weeks have flown by...stores are rolling out the Christmas stuff and it feels like summer still. (Although living in Hawaii it feels like summer everyday). Jeff and I have been busy busy busy. I started my second job at Starbucks this past Monday and it's going really well. Working two jobs is tiring but definitely worth it on payday. I have a feeling that after the holidays I may put in my two weeks at Zippy's so I don't get burnt out. My manager has asked me twice now if I want to be a server and I told her no again. I really like the atmosphere a lot better at Starbucks and would like to spend most of my time there. I enjoy my hosting job at Zippy's because it's easy money and there's not too much thinking involved. After being insanely busy at Starbuck's all week it's a relief. I'm still in training until the end of this week as a barista. There is so much to remember! I do get free coffee and drinks for the entire length of my shift plus a free bag of coffee a week. If any of you want some let me know! I don't usually drink coffee at home so I'm going to be up to my knees in the stuff. I've got a couple bags already.
Jeff came in and took a couple pics of me working.


Jeff has been working hard lately as well. He is participating in the air speed stuff starting on Monday for the next week. Basically he's going to a group class where they learn to utilize their time at work better. (How to fix stuff without wasting time, etc.) After this class and two more "events" over the next year he will get his green belt. If that goes well he will go into the program again in a year and try to get his black belt. If he makes it that far he will be gone for one week every month for 6 months traveling anywhere in the country to participate in more events. All of this will help him in the future when he is eligible to take the test for a promotion to first class, E-6. He won't be able to take that test for another year and a half so he has plenty of time to get as much extra stuff in as possible. I'm so proud of him. =)
The Navy is in the process of rolling out new camouflage uniforms that are replacing their current blue utility uniforms. They aren't available in Hawaii until July 2010 although I do believe California just got them or are getting them by the end of this year. Jeff was lucky enough to have one of his coworkers travel to Virginia to visit family and pick them up for him and a lucky few at his work. They have all of the patches and undershirts at Pearl Harbor though so we went and got his name sewn on and ready to go! Look how happy Jeff is!

I have been anticipating adding two new members of our new Berry family even before we moved to Hawaii. I unfortunately had to leave my loved kitty Lily behind with my sister Erin due to Hawaii's crazy animal import quarantine laws. Jeff and i agreed that I could get two kitties to make up for the loss of one...so finally a couple of days ago we got them! We decided to go to the Hawaiian Humane Society in Honolulu since they have so many animals in need of loving homes. They had at least 50 cats there and I wanted all of them. We spent a good amount of time just sitting in the room with them and waiting to see who would be the right one one for us. I finally picked up one little one who seemed to be interested in me but because she was a lot smaller then the rest seemed hesitant to make her way to me through the bigger ones. She turned out to be a lovebug! She loved being held and basically turned into a big purring pile of jello. We got her. I have named her "Kiko" which means "spot" in Hawaiian apparently (at least that's what a couple websites have told me). She's about 7 months old. She was found as a stray about 2 weeks ago but you can see that she's super healthy looking. Here she is at home.



After we picked out Kiko, we wanted a friend for her to play with. We were looking at the younger kittens for a while but then we went back into the cat area and that's when we found the next kitty we took home. She was shy and very skinny but after petting her for a while she really seemed to warm up...in fact she didn't want us to stop petting her. We took her too. We named her "Nani" which is Hawaiian for "beautiful." Nani is a year old and needs lots of food to fatten up. She was found as a stray but after having her for a few days it is obvious to us that she had a family and probably got out and got lost. She LOVES attention and sleeps under the covers which is funny since I've never had a cat that did that everyday. She loves Jeff and is always near him. Here she is...


I've gotten a lot of comments about how much Nani looks like Lily. They really could be long lost sisters. Their likeness is probably why I took Nani out of the shelter...I couldn't leave her there. I have to be honest and say it bothers me a little bit when it is pointed out to me but mostly because leaving Lily behind really sucked for me and I miss her. Anyway...
Both kitties go to the vet tomorrow. The Humane Society here pays for the first vet visit just to ensure they are healthy and get the best care from their new owners. I know they are going to tell me that Nani is healthy and just extremely underweight, but Kiko has been sneezing ever since we got her home which is weird because she has no discharge and has a wet nose. I had them both tested for feline HIV and leukemia at the shelter and they were negative. So it's up in the air on that one. Also Kiko has two retained baby teeth (her k-9's) and needs them extracted. I'm hoping since they are both loose that this will be an easy fix but you never know. The first vet I called gave me an estimated cost of $290 if she needed to be put under for it. There's no way it should cost that much but you never know. And no I'm not taking her to that vet lol. I may be working extra hours to make up for this one.
This next week will be just as busy if not busier for us as this past one. Grandpa Dave and JoAnn arrive via airplane on Thursday for 10 days. They did rent out a condo somewhere in Kailua. I wish I had more free time to hang out with them but I don't. Jeff will be off for the weekend while I have to work two 14 hour days Saturday and Sunday. Also we just heard from Erin today that she booked her flights today for December! Erin and her boyfriend James will be staying with us for 6 days. I'm telling all of you please take advantage while we are here of the free room we have for all of you! It really makes the trip to Oahu more affordable. =) Unless you are allergic to cats.