Post #454868 by Mongoloid on Tue, May 19, 2009 8:45 AM

Hawaii has a way of what i like to say a "returning to the womb" feeling. It feels like home and the connection with the aina can be very intense and when you have been away for so long then go back for a short period you really feel the loss and the lump in your throat as you depart. Living there and visiting there are two different things all together though. Alot of transplants end up working 2-3 jobs to survive and have limited time to live like a "tourist" or enjoy the original allure of the islands. Or you can go the beach bum route and just kinda live freely and slowly. I moved there when i was 21 with 3 other friends and worked a pretty low wage job (Tower Records) and just dog piled in an apartment, but was stoked out of my mind. I would literraly tell random people do you know how lucky we are to be living here. I didnt require much to survive back then, and it definatelly seemed like a simpler time of my life. I had a connection with Waikiki because my dad had lived there and i would visit him every summer for the whole summer as a kid, and i knew that i would return there as an adult to live. During my time living there it absolutely changed my perspective on whats important and saw a way of life and tranquility that i carry with me to this day. The memories of any trip to the islands always can get me through the day and the prospect of my next trip over there keeps the tiki torch within me burning!