Stories
"I couldn't even remember his name."
Paul and Jessie met during grad school at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. Jessie kept mixing up Paul with another person from Texas. She never really noticed him, until one day, he brought homemade tacos to a beach party.
Everyday life
Friday Fireworks
In the early days, when Jessie had just graduated from grad school and Paul was still a student, a budget date night consisted of walks on the beach and free fireworks shows at Magic Island.
The More the Merrier
About three years into the relationship, Paul moved in with Jessie plus her seven roommates. The quarters were tight, but the years were happy times in good company.
Quarantine Hobbies
Paul and Jessie picked up a lot of skills and hobbies during the pandemic. Paul channeled his culinary side and learned to bake bread while Jessie learned how to solder in her first foray into electronics repair.
Lunch on North Shore
North Shore is famous for its shrimp trucks, but when these two visit, it's all about the kiawe-smoked huli huli chicken.
Sparkly, Purple Joy
In a cliché date moment, Paul won an enormous teddy bear at the 2020 Punahou Carnival. While choosing between the hanging blue, pink, and green bears, Jessie was overjoyed to see the game operator pull out the one and only purple bear hidden beneath the booth.
Weekend Hikes
Paul and Jessie love the outdoors but hate risks. Hikes provide them with what comic artist Nathan Pyle's "Strange Planet" alien character describes as "medium danger."
Dog Whisperer
Paul is in his natural element when napping and being chosen over Jessie by yet another dog, including one belonging to Jessie's own family.
Surveying His Domain
In 2022, the couple moved into a little 700 square foot rental. Fondly referred to as their "Hobbit hole," the unit is built into a hillside.
Distant travels
Among the Giants
In June 2022 Paul and Jessie spent three days being dwarfed in Sequoia National Park. One trip highlight was seeing movement between the trees, panicking that it was a mountain lion, sighing in relief to see that it was a just a bear cub, then panicking again to see mama bear emerge.
The Rockies
In summer 2023 these two visited Rocky Mountain National Park, hoping to spot some wildlife. They were lucky to see lots of elk, a grumpy-looking marmot, and a young moose.
Peeking at Peaks
Paul, Jessie, and their friend Calder caught the perfect moment when the clouds parted to reveal the peak of Mount St. Helens. On this memorable September 2018 trip, Calder also followed them to Portland, where he crashed Jessie's friend's wedding.
Island Hopping
In December 2021 they took a choppy, twin-propeller plane ride to Moloka‘i. Just the next island over, it was like a different world with its sleepy towns and small population. Lacking a single traffic light, Jessie joked about the island's peak rush-hour traffic being 5 cars at a stop sign.
One Way In, One Way Out
Paul and Jessie sluggishly hiked across a stretch of Santa Cruz Island in Channel Islands National Park, almost narcoleptic from the anti-nausea meds they took for the 1-hour boat ride over. The intense quiet and heat didn't help their sleepiness, but the terror of missing the boat back to the mainland kept them going.
Memorable moments
Honolulu Marathon
Paul would do anything for Jessie, including run the 2018 Honolulu Marathon with almost no training. Over 26.2 entertaining miles they witnessed a man lumber over them on stilts, a samurai in wooden clogs clip-clop ahead of his followers, and a Japanese marching band member race by with tuba in hand.
Total Solar Eclipse
The stars aligned! Actually, the sun, moon, and earth aligned in 2024 right where Paul's family lives in Texas. This prompted a quick visit home to witness the once-in-a-lifetime event. Paul's dad demonstrated how a partial eclipse casts crescent-shaped shadows through the holes of a collander.
New Wheels
Jessie's car chose the worst time to call it a day, during the height of the pandemic car shortage. Thanks to their friend network, Paul was able to snag a brand new 2022 Toyota Corolla while it was still on a cargo ship in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
Halloween in Waikīkī
Paul and Jessie rarely do couple's costumes for Halloween, but Jessie dreamed of being a whacky wavy inflatable tube person. The costume just didn't make sense without a shiny new car to wave at, though. They hit the streets of Waikīkī in October 2024, passing out candy from Paul's truck bed.
Dragonboat Racing
Despite being not at all athletic, Paul and Jessie were part of a summertime dragonboat team for several years. Jessie stands here with one the 400-pound dragonboats on race day.
Paul Wages Star Wars
Jessie would do anything for Paul, including endure four days surrounded by diehard Star Wars nerds. Here is Paul dressed as his favorite character, Darth Revan, at the 2022 Star Wars Celebration in Anaheim. Jessie admits that she really enjoyed watching cosplayers.
