no longer homeless!

That's right...I'm movin on up, well actually down the street, from a sleeping bag on the floor in a friend's living room to a bed that's also on the floor but in my own private room. I know it's been awhile since my last entry; too busy and too stressed looking for a room to sit down and write a blog.
I can finally exhale a little knowing I have a place to call home now. Feels like an 800 lb barbell was lifted off my chest. The room searching experience was very exhausting and at times frustrating.

Apartment hunting here is nothing like at home.
No cute leasing agents drive you around on little golf carts and sell you on floorplans and offer special move in deals here. At least nowhere that I or most people could afford.
Here, when you meet to look at room someone is renting out or an apartment, you are selling yourself.
It's like getting a job. If they don't like you, it's no sweat off their back because they can replace you in no time. You meet with the roommates. If they like you, you meet the landlord.
Then you fill out a bunch of paper work. Credit history, banking account number, how much is in your account, personal references, employment history. Even if all that goes well, and you have cash on the spot, you still have to wait for them to make a decision as there are always other applicants competing for the same space you are. I've been turned away at several places after going through this entire process, losing out to friends of the current roommates and people already established with a job or more money(usually from student loans), but it all worked out for the best.

Space is hard to come by, seems like more people than rooms.
I got extremely lucky getting the place I did. No roommates, my own private room, partly furnished, utilities included., great location, very reasonable price for Hawaii.
I was checking craigslist by the hour for places and this popped up one night. I called immediately and left a message. The leasing agent returned my call early the next morning and by noon I had placed down a deposit to hold the room. I beat out a current tenant of another room in the complex. He wanted to switch to it, but had been slow to put down a deposit. So I grabbed it before he could.
While I was signing various forms, three people called inquiring about the room. After lunch I came back and the leasing agent informed me she had five voice mails asking about the room. Things move along fast here.

I arrived here on the 11th and here it is the 25th that I'm finally spending the night at a place of my own.

The room I rented is a 200 sq. foot studio off a major road in Honolulu, just a couple miles behind Waikiki and just before Palolo valley, where I had been sleeping on the floor of a friend's house.

My bed at the girls' house in Palolo

  

The original plan was to stay there for only a week but it didn't work out that way.
Four girls live in that house, all of them with plenty of guy friends so you can imagine things were getting very crowded.
I'm very thankful I had a place to crash while I searched, not sure I would have made it without one. Always good to know someone where you plan on relocating.

Everything I brought from the mainlaind

The studio how it was before I moved in

The view from my window facing east

Over the next few entries I will covering various topics including the food, the culture, surfing, homelessness, Hawaiin politics, tourists, beaches, Waikiki weirdness, Pidgin,  and many others. 

I put a lot of time and effort into each one of these, usually takes me over an hour, so I thank you for reading. Any feedback is appreciated. 

Mahalo.