Hawaii – Real life, Real nurse

While I was in California, (the last time) I was in very close proximity to some of the best food and wine in the world. So, of course I took full advantage of that. In the course of 13 weeks, lets just say I added a little extra “fluff” to my curves. Fast forward to May. I arrived in Hawaii, its 80 degrees out, and everyone is walking around in booty shorts and bikinis. I quickly realized I needed to get myself back into my fitness mode and take better care of myself. So into Penn Fitness and Training I went.

Right from the minute I walked in the door, I felt welcome. There was a man named Xia at the front desk who enrolled me. I told him I was a travel nurse and only needed a temporary membership. It just so happened that he knew a bunch of fellow gym-goers who also happened to be travel nurses. He introduced me to a handful of them and we had great times together! Xia and I went on to become good friends, and then he and his wife moved into our apartment building and we became neighbors!

I digress. Back to the gym. It was not the intimating, meat-head grunting kind of gym that makes a girl turn around and run away scared. Everyone smiles and waves and says hello, or supports you and encourages you to be better, stronger everyday.

I was doing my own training for a short while, and then decided I wasn’t getting the results I was looking for, and needed someone or something to hold me accountable and push my limits. Cue my first meeting with Garrett Hall- Personal Trainer.

Picture Garrett- A very tall, completely fit man with biceps as big as my thighs, who sat me down and asked me what I was looking for in my training sessions. I told him I have been in gyms before and wasn’t afraid to work hard. I told him wanted the “fit chick” look and he talked to me about his plans for me including fitness and nutrition. He showed me his own personal “before and after” photos along with people he has trained for various body building or physique competitions and I was totally blown away. I liked his thoughts, and his theory so we made a deal. We trained 4-5 days a week the rest of the time I was in Hilo. I lost a total of 30lbs while training with Garrett, and I am in better shape than I have ever been. I have muscle definition I never knew was possible. I have pushed weight I have ever only dreamed of (hack squat of 385…what?!) He taught me so much about nutrition and working out, and I have taken that with me and will use these techniques to continue working on my progress.

Before and After
145lb to 115lb!

We spent most of our mornings together. I would go there most days at 8am after working a 12 hour shift, completely exhausted (thank God for pre-workout). I had a goal in mind and I intended to reach it, and Garrett pushed me to my limits. Some days I cursed at him, and he would just laugh and say I developed “exercise induced Tourettes”. We ended up developing an amazing friendship that I will cherish forever.

I am thinking the beginning is a pretty good place to start. I already explained Hilo and a little bit about the hospital in an earlier post. I literally don’t know where to start- my amazing friends, my gym life, my explorations, my new found love?! Or should I talk about the amazing Coqui frogs that make beautiful music at night (I loved them, but everyone else seems to hate them). Or how about the Volcano eruption, earthquakes or hurricanes I survived while out there?

Maybe I’ll start at the end and work my way back? I don’t know. All I know is that I cried like a baby in line at the airport when I left, and then again on the plane when it took off, and AGAIN when I landed in California. It was like someone had literally took all my new found happiness and shoved it down my throat and then tried to pull it out again. Ewww, that was actually kind of gruesome, but you get the idea. I was hurting pretty bad when I left. When I actually explain all the things that happened to me out there- you’ll understand why.

While in Hilo, I made some amazing friends! My roomie, Brooke is an amazing human being. She is a traveling Clinical Lab Scientist (I think is her official title, is that right, Brooke?). Either way- she works in the lab. She is a blood bank specialist and is wicked smaht (Insert Boston accent). She helps me see why the lab (annoying, but necessarily) always sends back specimens and why it’s so important for specimens to be labeled properly, and helped me understand how nursing and lab could work more collaboratively. Not only is she professional, but she is like a big sister I never had! We did almost everything together- hiking, beaching, drinking, driving, exploring, dancing…you name it! We stayed up all night and watched Netflix and ate junk food, and talked about dating. We are meeting up soon in VEGAS, BABY! I can’t wait!!!!

I met so many amazing people! People at work, people at the gym, people at local markets, at the beach. You name it, there were people everywhere introducing themselves to me. Many of these people became life-long friends (or so I hope they remain that way).

Bonded for life with our Sea Turtle Tattoos!

Brooke and I at our Favorite Place- Uncle Robert’s night market. Every Wednesday, there was a farmers market with drinks and dancing- local style!

Brooke and I in Kauai, I think we went November 2018

My new-found friend Alisha was a co-worker/fellow travel nurse who also became one of my best friends. She is hysterical and always makes me laugh. We shared all kinds of adventures. She is also recently divorced so we had that bond in which we discussed many life changes and shared many laughs and tears over our own journeys. Alisha is taking an assignment in Napa, CA so she will be close enough for me to visit her!!