Sunscreen and the Single Person

I've officially been in Hawaii one week and officially have my first sunburn!  I took advantage of not knowing much at work and still going through orientation and spent a Saturday beach hoping!  After seeing my hubby via Skype and talking about our week and weekend plans I set out to find an uncrowded beach near Waikiki.  One hint to anyone travelling to Honolulu and looking for an uncrowded beach near Waikiki...go early!  I left the area around 10:30 am and wound my way through the local streets to the seaside roadway and along the coast.  The first area I came to had signs posted that the lot was full!  I kept cruising along at 25 to 45 mph (no 65 mph speed zones in Hawaii) and finally came to the famous Sandy Beach.  I was lucky and only waited 3 or 5 mintues for a family to leave so I could get their parking spot.  I guess this is one of the "hazards" of living in Hawaii...

Sandy Beach was wonderful!  There was a great breeze, not too many people and the sound of the ocean was so comforting!  I wouldn't realize for several hours that I had one problem...I couldn't get sunscreen on my back!  Yes, my back is "as red as a lobster" and as warm as hot, fresh bread right out of the oven!  I'm guessing I need to buy spray on sunscreen or take my back scratcher with me next time!  The seas were a bit rough and warning flags were posted on the beach but I still had the chance to watch some surfing and enjoy the warmth.

I won't bore you with all the little details of the drive to the next beach (like the view of the ocean as I meandered along the coast with the warm, gentle breeze wisping my hair off my face)...  Let's just say I found anouther beach that had even prettier water and I took more time to enjoy the view and get more sun on my back!

Life in paradise does mirror life anywhere else.  After some fun in the sun it was back to the room for some chores.  Laundry, dishes and some cleaning was on the schedule.  Here is where I can ruin your idea of paradise...it costs an arm and a leg!  Some examples:

     The 2 french dips for $5 at Arby's - not here.  The regular combo of the french dip will cost you $8.99.

     The Big Mac combo with a large drink will cost you $6.99 in paradise.

     One load of laundry will cost you $1.50 in quarters (not counting the soap).

     A gallon of gas is now $3.49.

     A box of generic kleenex will cost you $1.66 at Wal-Mart

     A half gallon of chocolate milk will cost you almost $4.00

But the view from my itty bitty deck of the ocean and the mountains is priceless!

I won't kid anyone, the week has been rough.  My new co-workers have made me feel very welcome and remind me of people in the midwest; very down to earth, warm and sincere!  The hardest part has been being away from my wonderful husband and furry kids.  Don't get me wrong, I miss my friends and other family as well but lets face it, I spent all my time in Kansas with my husband and kids and coming back to a small room every night by myself can be pretty depressing.  Lots of tears have been shed by myself and Brent but at the same time we've talked, texted, emailed and Skyped so it could be worse!

Thank you to everyone for the emails, text messages, comments on facebook and prayers.  I know things will be rough but will eventually get better.  Until next time, keep dreaming of your own paradise and remember that dreams do come true!!!

Am I a College Freshman Again?

I started my day in Kansas during a winter storm warning on the first day of spring and ended my day in the tropical paradise of Hawaii with high surf warnings.  Can one day get anymore extreme than that?

My flight from Wichita boarded on time but due to the snow and ice we sat on the tarmac for about 45 mintues while the plane was de-iced before we could take off.  Needless to say we landed in Houston about an hour late and I had 10 minutes to get to my conecting flight.  Now if anyone knows me, you know I am currently out of shape and not known for running!  But I made it to my connecting flight just in time!  As I was huffing and puffing and trying to walk as fast as I could I kept hearing my name on the speaker system: "Would passenger Fletcher please join us at gate 4 for the flight to Honolulu."  I pannicked and tried to run faster.  Luckily the agents at the gate knew my plane had just arrived and were holding the plane as long as they could.  I was the last to board but did find places for my luggage on the 100% full flight!

The 8 hour and 45 minute flight went well.  I got to watch a favorite movie, The Blindside, 3 times!  I highly recommend flying Continental airlines! They were very friendly and even fed us 2 meals and a snack without asking for more money!  I landed in Honolulu at about 2:00 pm and began the journey to my temporary home away from home away from home.  I am in a very nice building that is mostly a hotel with a few rooms that are owned by others who rent them out.  I am on the 16th floor and have a view of the mountains, the ocean and lots of tall buildings.  On the way to my temporary home I stopped at Wal-Mart to buy some basic food to get me through a few days.  I'll tell you about Wal-Mart and Sam's another time, it's very unique!

I am unpacked and trying to get organized.  I feel as if I am a freshman in college again.  I very clearly remember my first week at Emporia State University.  I went a week early so I could go through Rush to meet people and it was the worst week of my life!  I called my Mom at least once a day in tears saying I wanted to come home.  I knew no one and no one was friendly and I hated it and wanted to come home.  My Mom kept telling me it would be okay and I would make friends and everything would be good.  While she was right it was pure torture getting through those first few weeks.  I feel like I am experiencing the same thing now.  I know no one, I am in an unfamiliar place, I am alone and I want to go home and be with my family.  I know the first few weeks will be torture but I am hoping that now, as then, I will get through it and become a better person.  But I will ALWAYS miss my best friend, husband, lover and rock - Brent!

Here are a few pictures of my new location.  Are you jealous?

The small kitchen that includes an apartment size fridge, two burners and a convection oven.  But I have to wash dishes (no dishwasher)!

This is the view from the front door and kitchen.  There is a queen size bed, love seat, table and two chairs.  When you sit on the love seat you sink all the way to the floor so getting out is not very ladylike!

The 42 inch flat panel tv and stereo system.  Perfect for watching the Final Four or Football!!!

One wall is all windows!  There is a small balcony (about 3 feet deep).  Can't do much on the balcony but the views are incredible!

It's rather cloudy up in the mountains this morning but I can see the mountains from the balcony. 

A view of Waikiki beach from the balcony.  Look how clear and beautiful it is!

Just incase you couldn't tell, here is a closer picture of the beach from my room!

Emphasis on the 7

I made it to the first big deadline: the movers!  I've been gathering "stuff" from around the house for the apartment in Hawaii for the last week and I never thought I'd see it all packed up and gone!  Heck, I never thought I'd see the dining room table again!  Picture an average size dining room with an oval table and 6 chairs covered in pots, pans, glasses, silverware, plates, cups, small appliances, storage containers and everything you need to furnish a small house!  You could barely move about the room and when I did I usually knocked stuff over.  What took me almost two weeks to carefully gather took 3 movers 3 hours to wrap, pack and haul away.

Two shippments are now on their way to Hawaii.  One shippment of clothing, books and pillows will go by air and should arrive in Hawaii in 5 to 7 days (emphasis on 7) and the other shipment of household goods, some furniture and more clothes will travel by ship and should arrive in Hawaii in 5 to 7 weeks (emphasis on 7 again)!  Our little PT Cruiser (Elliott) will be picked up tomorrow and transported by truck (ya' know the big semi trucks you see cruising down the road with all the cars in the racks) to California then placed on a ship and scheduled to arrive in Hawaii in 7 to 9 weeks (emphasis on the 9).  I'm going to be very busy in about 7 weeks unpacking and setting up house on a tropical island.

With one big task completed I begin another task: worrying.  Did I take enough?  Did I take too much?  Do I have enough clothes?  Did I take too many shoes?  Did I take my blue purse and did I remember to pack enough towels?  Will I have enough to furnish an apartment?  Will the apartment be overflowing with "stuff?"  How many pairs of flip flops do I need? How many swim suits do I need? And will I really want to burn candles in a tropical paradise?  So this worrying will continue for 7 weeks; or so...

My next big task is packing my 2 suitcases, 1 carry on and back pack for the flight on Saturday.  I worry about stuffing the suitcases so full that they will weigh more than 50 pounds each and cost me even more to check through and I worry about how I will manage basically 4 suitcases when I get where I'm going!  I've always had Brent with me to help with the luggage but not this time.  I figure no matter how I pack Brent will end up at the UPS store or the Post Office shipping me some boxes next week because I won't be able to fit everything in the suitcases!  Thankfully they won't take 7 weeks to get to me!

Spring Forward in Kansas

11 days and counting and I think the "To Do" list is getting longer!  I'm beginning to think Hawaii is a foreign country and not part of the United States!  As part of the relocation package a company has been hired to assist us with transporting two animals to Hawaii and I'm thankful I have their help!  The rules, laws and paperwork to get two small cats to Hawaii is almost as big as the National Budget!

If you are planning to move to Hawaii and want to take fluffy with, be prepared for a 6 month adventure!  Because Hawaii is a state with no cases of rabies (and they want to keep it that way) they have very strict rules about importing animals to the islands.  Their directions are actually pretty straight forward but very lengthy and expensive.  The goal is to basically quarantine the animals at home versus in Hawaii.  With this I am hoping the cats will either be directly released to me when they arrive in Hawaii or at the very least spend one night in quarantine. 

We are trying to become accustomed to the time difference from Kansas to Hawaii.  This weekend Kansas will "Spring Forward" while Hawaii will not.  So come Sunday morning Hawaii will be 5 hours behind Kansas instead of 4!  I'm hoping I don't get the urge to call Brent when it's 7:00 pm in Hawaii; he might not be too happy with a Midnight phone call!

The weekend will consist of more preperations and gathering so everything will be layed out and ready for the moving company on Thursday.  I'm glad someone else will be packing and responsible for broken items but it's hard to hand over that control!  I also can't believe it will take 5 to 7 weeks for my household goods to arrive in Hawaii.  When they say "A slow boat to..." they really mean it.

I've received the information about the temporary housing being provided and I'm hoping the web is honest this time!  The "apartment" is located in a hotel complex and looks very nice!  I'll know more in about 8 days but until then here's a picture of the building: 

The location is west of Waikiki beach and is supposed to be away from the crowds and noise.  I'm just hoping I can hoof it to the beach the day before work so I have a little bit of color in my cheeks when I start work!

Don't forget to "Spring Forward!"

What the Heck was I Thinking!

It is 12 days until I start my new job in Hawaii and my head is swimming. I'm trying to get all my affairs in order, trying to get everything ready for the movers and trying to keep some order in the house for Brent and the kids. Needless to say I'm not sure I'm doing a good job of juggling everything!

The idea of starting a blog about my adventures in Hawaii came from my procrastination and the fact that I can be the "Queen of Unfinished Projects!" Hopefully this blog will keep family and friends current on our life in Hawaii and Kansas. We'd also like to keep family and friends posted on what we and our furry kids are doing.

So, if you don't mind me rambling or blogging about anything and everything sit back and enjoy the ride! We are going to have one heck of a time!!!