Hilo House

Aloha kakahiaka!

2008-04-14T10:12:00.000-07:00

well its been a good month for us, and a month of blog silence (sorry.) Life has been good, we are pretty much in a routine, Steph's job has very long hours and of right now she never gets a day off, but soon she will be done with longs and have a typical 9-5 Mon- Fri. I have been doing good, just working and trying to get freelance graphic work were i can find it.

Some of the exiting things you may have missed in hilo:

The Merrie Monarch Festival, this pretty much the biggest thing in hilo, 7 days of arts, crafts, music, and most importantly (and for around 5 hours a night) Hula!

here is Wikipedias take : "The Merrie Monarch Festival is dedicated to the memory of King David Kalakaua, known as the Merrie Monarch. King Kalakaua, the second (and last) elected king of Hawai'i, came to the throne in 1874 and reigned until his death in 1891. He was a patron of the arts, especially music and dance. Kalakaua almost single-handedly restored many of the nearly extinct cultural traditions of the Hawaiian people. These included myths and legends, and the hula, which had been forbidden -- due to the influence of Protestant missionaries"

It really looked like a fun event, hopefully next year we can plan out a better time and actually go. (I guess the reason that hula was forbidden was the hole topless thing)

The other interesting note is i found out about our Big Island Hawaii monk seal,

I was walking along one of our close black sand beach when i saw a large section was taped off, as a got a little higher i saw a large blob on the beach and immediately thought that it was some sort of sad animal that had washed up. Thankfully i was wrong, it was non other than our very own monk seal mother. I went over and talked to the volunteer, who incidentally was from Traverse city originally, and she told me that this seal was one of 4 that frequents this island and the other 3 were all her offspring.

For all you sports fans, i'm sure you have been dying to know how the Elevate basket ball team is doing, last night we had a game against New Hope Pride, and let me tell you it was a close close game, but in the end Elevate pulled off the win. This puts us at something like 4 wind to 1 loss or something. But all gears up in two weeks when we have the tournament. (and no i'm not playing)

When thats about all from us, We are exited about coming home in may (from around the 7th to the 24th or so) hopefully well get to see you all soon....

LAVA!!!!!

2008-03-12T15:01:00.000-07:00

Well, we finaly saw lava yesterday, It was kinda exiting, alitle disapointing, but well worth the trip. They opended it up to the public last weekend but our first chance was on tuesday, it was a fun time, we went with a couple we met a few weeks ago. It was about a hour and so drive then a 10 minuite walk to get there, we were around allitle less than a mile (complete guess) from the lava, so needless to say the sights wern't to spectacular. but you could see the lava swirling around and steam from the ocean.

In other news Stephs Dr. office moved last week, so it was a busy stressful time, Its looking good at the office, he is gone this week but called her to come in and work on scanning and doing fallow up reports, I've been working as normal we are winding down on the easter season and then thats it till Halloween. In realy exiting news we finaly got a TV!! movies on the big screen definitely on of lifes litle pleasures. i'll leave you with some video of the lava, its about as exiting as the top picture.

Miller trip redux

2008-02-28T10:12:00.000-08:00

More pictures soon, tying to re-upload so you can enlarge.....

Hawaii trip with the Millers!!

2008-02-24T18:30:00.000-08:00

Big post comming soon

2008-02-19T10:22:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the lack of post soon (hopefully tomorow) we will be posting a huge picto-blog, The miller are flying out tonight :( but its been a wonderful vacation, and will be sad to see them go.

I need your help!

2008-01-30T13:52:00.000-08:00

This is a common spider around here as far as i can tell its called a "crab spider"

puss got his first hair cut!

And so did I! (well my first Hawaii haircut, it was weird cause it was done by a Hawaiian with tourch)

Hurray a new used futon for cheap!

Here is were i need you help, I've designed these for a logo contest and i need help picking a winner. please click to enlarge and leave a comment on which is your favorite.

Well Mom and Dad Miller are in the air flying as i type. Were not sure if they will be in Hilo today or tomorrow depending on if they spend the night in in Oahu. they will be here till feb. the 19th. Steph and I are very exited for there stay.
In job news Aaron started a job at Kawili Dental as a receptionist, and steph didn't quit but is only going to work the weekends and hopefully either find a second part time or a good full time job.
All else has been going well, shy of a few car not starting issues and alike, its getting colder here but don't worry about us we will make it somehow (in fact up in a town called volcano they actually got Hail on Tuesday). thats it for now, don't feel shy about calling or commenting...
All our new found Hawaiian Aloha (in this case we mean love, not hello or goodbye) back to you all on the Mainland.
zane

happy new Year!

2008-01-18T21:44:00.000-08:00

one and a half weeks later!!

Well if you haven't heard mom and dad miller are flying to hilo the first weeks of February, that very exiting for us, In preperation I requested my vacation time and stephanie put in her final notice. Yup on the 30th stephanie will oficialy unemployed, (i'd be lying if i said that didn't make me nervous) oh well i'm sure something will come through. Aaron had 2 realy promesing interviews at a dental office so we will keep the old fingers crossed on that, and stephs puting out as many resume's and applications as we can find.

The weather here has been amaizing the last two weeks, we went from seing the sun for about 5 minuites a day to almost full days of sun (now i know what the dry side of the island must feel like) although the nice thing about living on the rainy side is you definitely learn to apreciate the sunshine (kinda like a sunny day in wintery michigan).

well i hope this finds you well, Thanks for the continued prayers and comments.

love steph & zane

happy late new year!

2008-01-18T21:01:00.000-08:00

more later (sorry)

Mele Kalikimaka

2007-12-25T09:42:00.000-08:00

No snow on Christmas, oh well.... Its a wonderful rainy day in hilo, so i guess we have to imagine the rain as snow and we'll be ok. We just wanted to say we love and miss you all, wish we could be there.
zane and steph..

Luke 2:10-12
But da angel guy say, "No scared. I come fo tell you guys Good Stuff from God dat goin make you guys and all da peopo stay good inside. Dis day inside king David's town, one boy wen born dat going take you guys outa da kine stuff you stay doing. De da Christ Guy, da spesho Guy God wen send. He da Boss. Dis how you goin know him. You goin find one baby dat stay wrap up inside plenny cloths, lying down inside one ting fo hold da cows food."
-from "Da Jesus Book" The New testament Translated into Hawaii pidgin

A few late photo's:

Hapuna Beach

Steph Swimming and frolicking at the beach. Hapuna beach is actually known as one of the best beaches in the world, and i'd have to agree, crystal clear water, perfect swim area and really nice sand.

Mauna Kea

These are all pictures from the half way point on mauna Kea, the tallest mountain on the island, in a few of them you can see white fog, that fog is actually clouds. Lots of different plants, lots of wierd memorials, and definitely an interesting mars like terrain. Another interesting not is the same day we were here we saw the man from Michigan who was is still lost.

Waimea-Kona

The first three are from our new favorite eatery, Tako Taco: the last are from Kona during one of there few storms.

Random:

Military base,j cave, me and that guy, hilo plaza

I'll be home for christmas, if only in my dreams......

long time

2007-12-18T11:28:00.000-08:00

Well its been unusually wet even for Hilo, but i guess back in MI its not doing so well either. The only new updates are that Aaron had his first interview on Monday and we think it went well, just hope it leads to a job. Stephanie's flight and training went "ok" She still needs two more Longs Drugs training courses until she will be certified for their pharmacy tech position so its kinda discouraging but she's making it. we've had on adventure since last post and that was we drove half way up Mauna Kea (the road was closed due to bad weather) we had fun just exploring some of the hills around the base though. its definitely a fun area even just half way up its was around 35ish degrees, so it kinda felt like home.
If you didn't hear yet Hawaii has been very proud of our football team going undefeated (first ever) so every one is exited for the sugar bowl pretty soon.
BIGGER CHRISTMAS POST COMING SOON!

stephanie left me.....

2007-11-28T09:31:00.001-08:00

But first things first, Here are a few photos from our adventures

Thanksgiving morning we decided to go for a walk,

to were else but the abandoned neighborhood! this is about a 2 block section of the town that basically was abandoned a few years back. Needless to say i saw allot of great fixer uppers.

Ah yes, Hilo and there love for letting things sit around, here is a smashed car thats been there for a few weeks now. From further investigation it looks like no one was inside at the time of the crash.

Some of the nice alleys and foliage, the last picture is a banana plant.

Yesterday (monday) we found an area with allot of neat lava forms. The spikes in the first photo were actually sharp and pretty sturdy.

Before we left a lava tunnel Aaron and I built an Ebenezer. and made a special message for our friend Steve Loomis, coral graffiti is all over the place on the sides of the coastal highway.

Well as i said Stephanie left this morning, got on a plane and headed for Honolulu for her Longs Training session. She just called me to say she made it there safely, If i understood correctly there will be around a 4 hour training session and then around 5 she will be flying back to Hilo. It'l be a fun time i think, in any case its a free flight to a new island. Back home i get to go to work at 11, so needless to day i'm kinda jealous. keep us in your prayers expecialy that Aaron will be able to find a job. Thanks again for reading......

Turkey

2007-11-21T10:43:00.001-08:00

its definitely starting to get colder here at nights, steph gets too cold but i feel just about right. Stephanie received a letter from the hospital that said no thanks its a bit discouraging because i know she was well qualified for the position, but oh well it may be for the best.

we have been invited to a family's house for thanksgiving, i think it will be a good chance to meet more of the church and hopefully at least some great food.

we talked to the auto dealership again but he seems pretty content in letting us foot the bill, so i'm not sure about whats going to happen with that. we definitely are going to file a complaint with the better business bureau but i know that won't really do much good.

So to all our familys and friend happy thanksgiving, We love you and miss you
zane&steph

Aaron got here

2007-11-13T09:24:00.000-08:00

Aaron arrived on saturday, and was very relieved to be here. due to the airlines fault he missed his connection flight out of Las Vegas, unfortunately Aaron hates las vegas. but all is well now. we spent the weekend half exploring and half trying to show the town. on Sunday we went to Kona for what we thought was a nice beach, turned out the sand quickly became large really slippery stones. but we had a good time exploring anyway.

the church we have been attending seems like a good place, we hope to meet people and hopefully make connections and friendships. on thanksgiving we are planning on going to a gathering with the church community, i'm exited about that.

Steph hasn't heard anything from the hospital yet, but we keep our fingers crossed. at wallyworld we are getting Christmas trees in today, something like 5 semi trailers full (with like one thousand plus or so trees each) then once they have arrived we have to empty all of them to attain a accurate number.

(Click to enlarge!)

Birds and Lizards and Cops oh my!

2007-11-01T22:53:00.001-07:00

These birds are in an over abundance out side of our house, there beutiful and kinda remind me of African finches i've seen.
That was the only non camera shy lizard I could catch out side of the house. He settled down enough for a close up.
Yup thats what the police look like, Mustangs or Honda pilots mainly. they definitely look more aggressive than the old crown victorias of years ago.

things are still quite bumpy, there seem to be allot of discouraging circumstances, but we are trying to look at the good things. It seems things just keep getting worse, for instance after supper at the mall we returned to our subaru to find some one decided to smash out our window. This whole experience has definitely shown us how good we have had it in Lansing. i guess there are always these setbacks when moving far away but it definitely gets tiring.

The good, The bad, The ugly, Hawaii

this is a view from up the main street we live off of, beautiful no?

Rainy Friday

2007-10-26T20:08:00.000-07:00

(our front yard from the porch)
Hello all, time sure is flying over here its been a week or so over a month, and i think were doing pretty good. Steph's interview went well and they seemed to be impressed with her knowledge and education so with all hope she will get a call pretty soon. Walmarts still Walmart and i can't wait for next week to be over so we cam move on past Halloween. We found out earlier this week our Jeep probably needs a new head gasket, so it looks like we will have to save up for that, but thankfully the Subaru has been working fine so far.
the house is definitely growing on us, it interesting to look back at our first thoughts (that this house is kinda dumpy) now its starting to feel more comfortable and more like home. steph was able to pick up some cheep peiced of furniture so its not so empty.
the weather is usualy in the low to high 70's during the day and at nigh it gets pretty chilly probably in the 40-50's (i know our chilly is nothing like Michigan's)
thank you for reading

Horay Hilohouse's first video post

2007-10-19T20:33:00.000-07:00

Now don't get too exited this video was shot by me (zane) and for anyone who saw stephanies homecoming video you'll know that i'm not that great of a shot, but anyway here it is this the main water fall at the boiling pots (im not sure what the name comes from) but here it is.....

All is going well, the new news is Stephanie has a second interview with the hospital, in two weeks i'll be starting full time at walmart (although yes thats a funny use of "good".) We finally got our jeep here is a picture of bolth the jeep and Subaru our two baby's.

In other news we have found a new favorite tv show, its called Sassy Girl, probably the best and only Korean tv shown we've watched but be warned its addicting. hopefully more good news and furniture (as all we have now is a matress)
but please remember to pray for Steph and her interview monday at 6:30 michigander time.

and how i'll leave you with a picture of the long road home from the west side.

new place new car

2007-10-10T23:39:00.001-07:00

This is it our new place! its not nessasarily the Conrad Hilton but its a good start. the inside is pretty bleak, allot of questionable construction/design elements but what can you expect. On the inside are 2 bedrooms, one bath, kichen, living room. out the side door we have a small patio or "lani" connected to a washing machine room and a second bath (i'm not sure why they put a bathroom outside but oh well.)
we also purchased our first car, a 1993 Subaru outback. nice cheap zane/aarin car. it has 250k miles and revers doesn't work, but oh well for $500 it drives just fine.

another nice waterfall of the road.

Yum yum, anyone for a snack made up of dried anchovies and macadamia chips

or if thats not filling enough maybe some dried cuttlefish?

Adress: (good for letters)
421 inia ln.
Hilo, HI 96720

(better for packages hint hint)
P.O. Box 7695
Hilo, HI 96720

shockeroony

2007-10-06T22:49:00.001-07:00

-rare clear skys

-WALMART!!!!

-Wonderful night sky on a long walk home

-good photo effect eh?

-this is what it looks like when you go from 300,00 to 25,000 dollars, definitely an accurate reaction. (from "are you smarter than a fifth grader")

Good news every body, on monday we are going to be visiting a 2 bedroom house. steph started at Longs Drugs so far she has only been reading reading reading, but happy to have a job.
so far so good
from hilo,
zane

Big in little moderation

2007-10-01T23:19:00.000-07:00

Time for another big pic post! these are pictures form our journey from hilo to kona and to north kohala.

click for map

Click to enlarge

two beach shots in Kona, the first is steph and i's first sea turtle we ever saw, second is a surfer dude

this is lava tunnel, hot lava would moved through these spaces but when the lava dries or is plugged it leaves a nice "cave" to explore

various pictures from various parks/ waterfalls
special notes: we found a fancy native head piece, doesn't it look great on steph? There are free range roosters here and there, not sure what the legality of taking a chicken would be. also it seems the islands faith in duct tape far excised my own this hand rail was next to about a 600 ft drop.

COWS!! lots-o-cows!

Some wonderful picture from the drive home, the views are amaizing

Other news, stephanie has an interview with the hospital tomorrow, i start my first day in the garden department. we were accepted by one of the realty agents, which is very good news (means we will be able to rent from them.) lookin up definataly up

Looking up?

2007-09-27T21:04:00.001-07:00

allot has happend in our first week here, steph basicaly has a job now, and it looks like i will be working in the garden section. still looking for housing, still loking for a car. its definitely been a up and down week.

pictures, steph getting soaked on the "beach"
these birds are everywhere kinda like robins or something
thats me after i climbed out on some lava rock

various orchid pictures
Click to enlarge

Tuesday Turnkey Dreams

2007-09-25T20:52:00.000-07:00

It seems as though Hilo has changed our perspective on what is and isn't nice anymore. Passing by a grey cinder block complex with wood accents, I nudged Zane, "Too bad we can't live there" I mention as the For Rent sign is taken down. Progress is moving slowly. We've spent the past couple days driving in circles while passing by the same 7/11 and shopping complex. Albeit frustrating, we have managed to check out 8 rental homes, check out the college, complete 2 personal interviews (Zane @ WalMart and me @ Longs Drugs) and fill out a couple applications.

The natural shots we took yesterday are helping us want to make a go of this whole thing. When you see this waterfall pic just imagine Zane had to climb practically over the edge to snap this one.

sleepy sunday

2007-09-23T21:55:00.000-07:00

Ahhh lazy sundays, (yes we went to church, but found a Saturday night service- elevatemovement.com), we slept in till around 8am (1pm you's time) then drove out to "paradise park", one of the largest subdivisions in the U.S an A, not bad area depending on your neighbors, it had kind of had a run down out in the country feel, but they have allot of new houses, cheap rent on up to one acre lots (great to raise chickens and goats as we saw).
On our way back to town we stoped in at Mauna Loa the macadamia place nothing realy special accept for now i now know what mac trees and mac nuts look like.
We then drove up twoards the hospital and ended up stoping and seing our first Big Island waterfalls (really great kinda reminded me of Turkey Run State park in Indiana).
over all a great day, still don't really know the roads well but am definitely getting used to the culture.
-zane

2007-09-23T02:15:00.001-07:00

we are staying at the reeds bay hotel for the
week, the water and tree pictures are outside
of the hotel. we saw the HILO HOTEL, and
thought it was a good representation of 75%
of the residential and commercial buildings.

"Paradise" is definitely a tricky word
-zane