it has been quite stormy in hawaii lately, but did it slow down this free-spirited barefoot girl? not at all. quite the contrary, she found it exciting to walk around sans footwear in the rain and flooded streets.
by sharleen wl
it was a dark and stormy night. i just love that phrase which is usually the opening line of a spooky story.
this isn't a scary post, but the line still fits because if you've been following the news you probably know that hawaii has been hit by major storms recently which brought heavy rain, flooding, power outages, and disrupted the tourism industry. even my apartment complex got flooded, but luckily i live on the second floor, so i'm good. the restaurant where i work was closed for a few days due to flooding and power outages.
i always like to look on the bright side for it makes me happier. in this case it was that i got a few extra days off from work. but above all, it was a great time to go barefoot! yeah, walking barefoot in the flooded streets was especially fun. i got to splash around like a little kid, lol. my feet stayed clean for the most part (sorry to those who like dirty feet, haha).
you know what else is really fun? getting my whole body soaking wet! one evening it was raining heavily. my power was out, so i couldn't cook or reheat any leftovers. so i decided to go to my favorite chinese restaurant right behind my apartment complex which was open. it goes without saying that i walked there barefoot, but i also didn't wear a poncho or bring an umbrella. in case you were wondering, i do own those things but i just wanted some extra fun in that dark and stormy evening :)
needless to say i was soaking wet. the owner, whom i've gotten to know quite well, commented: "oh wow, your all wet! how come no umbrella?"
"oh its ok, i'll take a shower when i get home," i replied with a smile. she just chuckled probably thinking "what a crazy kid!"
well, i actually lied. walking in the heavy rain was my shower for the day :) so when i got home i just took off all my wet clothes, put them in the bathtub, and dried myself with a towel. now i was ready to eat. it was pretty dark inside my apartment. so i lit a candle and had a candlelight dinner. yeah, life is good!
remember i used to
work a barefoot job at a convenience store owned by a japanese family? the daughter michelle (who's the junior boss) and i have become good friends over these years. on friday i was relaxing at home. luckily the power was back on so i could surf the internet. suddenly i got a call from michelle.
"hey lynn, wanna make some extra bucks this weekend?"
"what's happening?" i asked.
"both students who were supposed to assist me tomorrow aren't able to make it. i guess i could survive on my own, but i'd rather have someone with me."
that sounded interesting as michelle and i hadn't seen each other in quite some time. "sure, i'm free tomorrow anyway," i replied.
"but you'll have to work the entire opening hours though, which is from 10 to 6 instead of 10 to 2 like you used to."
"ok no problem!" i said.
"wonderful! see you tomorrow."
i was kind of excited for it would be like nostalgic. it had stopped raining on saturday although it remained cloudy, and it was warm so i dressed in what michelle used to call the "rebellious college kid attire" (lol) - a tank top, distressed jeans shorts, and bare feet.
we hugged each other as i entered the store. apparently only the streets around the store were flooded; the store was spared. michelle said her mom wanted it to stay open. "gotta do what the big boss wants," she said.
"is your mom coming today?" i asked.
"its anybody's guess," she replied. yeah, she liked to pay us a surprise visit, and if she found anything not to her liking she would yell at us.
we had a lot of catching up to do. before we knew it, it was lunch time. there was a chinese restaurant not too far from the store, and i volunteered to go and buy food for the two of us as i was the one barefooted and so had no problem walking on the flooded roads. so i had another fun time walking to the restaurant and back, splashing my bare feet in the water.
well, her mom decided not to show up that day. right before we closed up michelle asked, "hey, you wanna go out shopping next sunday if it doesn't rain?"
"sure, i'd love that!" i replied.
yeah, the store is closed on sundays, and i'm also off. neither of us goes to church as michelle is areligious while her parents are buddhist. we were looking forward to a fun time.
michelle and i did go out shopping as planned the following sunday. how did it go? we had a fantastic time, and she gave me a fucking big surprise. i never expected that in a million years. you'll have to read my next post to find out what it was :)
oh, you may be wondering about the "part 2" in the title. well, part 1 took place when i was literally a little girl (about 9 years old) and in my early days of barefooting. i decided to go barefoot out in the storm to a nearby convenience store about a week before halloween. it was really exciting, but my excitement was dampened by what i saw in the store. you can read all about it here:
it was a dark and stormy day.
from paradise (and stormy) hawaii this is sharleen the barefoot girl reminding you that life is magical. yes, especially when you get to walk barefoot in the storm. so until next time...
enjoy going barefoot and have a magical day!
.jpg)
Posts
