i haven't been here in two years. Long enough to see it with new eyes.

I can see my breath and I forgot how fun it is to watch it curl into the sky. This place is quaint--cozy pizzerias, artsy coffee shops, piles of white glistening snow. I realized how well my parents have done for themselves. I think I knew, but pulling into our subdivision and being slightly disoriented because of the dark and how much time has passed--I realized how nice this place is. Huge houses, huge yards (remember, I've been living in Hawai'i, where everything is mini compared to here), BMWs, Porsches, Mercedes, trees and professionally hung lights, it's a nice neighborhood. So much of our house is redecorated now, and my mom has such great taste... I don't know if it's because things here are so much grander and more extravagant than on the islands, but it just seems so...rich. Nicely done, ma and pop.

I've long felt that I didn't quite fit in here, and it's so wonderful to be back but I really know that I'm just visiting. I'll take a Fight Club house in Hawai'i over granite counters anywhere else.

There are pictures of me everywhere. Of all of us. It's nice to have so many reminders of my life around, and to know that my family looks at them every day.