Book ‘em Dano

The lead story on the local news last night was kind of exciting. CBS has picked up the re-make of the old crime series Hawaii Five 0! The new series will be in the CBS line up this coming fall! For Oahu this means 130 million dollars could be spent on the island during filming and from tourism based on the series. They announced who the two stars will be and only one was familiar to me because he was one of the regulars on the series Lost, which is ending this television season.

So in addition to the numerous movies that are in various stages of production in Hawaii we can now add Hawaii Five 0 to the list. You might be asking who are some of the “stars” who have been or will be filming in Hawaii. Jennifer Anniston, Adam Sandler and Nicole Kidman have been filming a movie in Maui. Johnny Depp and the cast of Pirates of the Caribbean will be on my island this summer for the fourth installment of the pirate movies. George Clooney was here in April filming a movie and Steven Spielberg is said to be coming to the island to film. I may need to schedule some time off so I can stalk some of these film crews!

Back to reality! Did I tell you there were no “bugs” in Hawaii? Man was I wrong! Have you heard of the 757? I’m not talking about the airplane; I’m talking about the cockroach! Thank heavens I haven’t seen one, yet; but I’ve been told about them! I have however, killed my first cockroach in my apartment. And without screaming!!! Yes, Hawaii has bugs and most notably the cockroach. But there are no snakes in Hawaii!

There are more than 40 species of ants in Hawaii and centipedes, usually between 5 to 6 inches in length, can be found here as well. There are several types of mosquitoes in Hawaii but the higher up in a building you live the fewer flying insects you meet! My least favorite insect is also on the island; spiders! But not the brown recluse!!! Luckily several frog and toad species can be found on the islands along with geckos. I’ve seen little geckos playing on the ground and in trees while walking and sitting in the drive through at McDonald’s. The geckos, frogs and toads seem to do a good job of eating the insects and it is considered bad luck to kill a gecko.

And while I’m trying to end rumors about Hawaii I’d also like to caution you and warn you to start reading the fine print! You know the fine print at the bottom of your television screen during commercials. Okay, you need to get your DVR in working condition and record some commercials then watch them back in slow motion. When the fine print appears, freeze the screen and read; you might find it interesting; especially if you plan to visit Hawaii or Alaska.

Take for example the Subway commercials promoting the $5 footlong sub sandwiches. Great offer as long as you don’t live in Hawaii or Alaska. The fine print clearly states “not available in Alaska or Hawaii.” Oh, and those yummy Pizza Hut commercials that blast out all the special prices on different sizes and types of pizzas. Yeah, not in Hawaii! Nor the Dollar menu at Arby’s and I could go on and on. I guess it’s the “price” you pay for living in paradise!

I know it’s been awhile since I’ve posted anything on my blog and I apologize to my faithful followers for leaving you hanging and ignoring you. As they say, life happens. I had a great visit with my husband and look forward to sharing some of our adventures in upcoming posts. So keep your internet connection up to date as I just might be posting fast and furious the next week or two! So until next time, love and hugs to "my faithful followers!"

Quick Comment

Just taking a few minutes out of the business day to share a few comments with my faithful followers.  That's kind of cool; "faithful followers."  Or rather disturbing depending on your outlook!  Anyway a few items of note:

• Brent will join me on the island May 5th for a one week visit.  This will be his first visit to the island since I moved here March 20th.  We both have become creatures of habit over our 13 year marriage so it will be very interesting to see how our habits work together during this visit!
• My two little boys, Zosimos and Achates, passed their medical tests so they should be ready to fly to Hawaii on July 28th!  I'll be sharing much more on this process as time passes.  I think the process of moving these two boys to Hawaii will be much more interesting then my quick move to the island.
• The food in Hawaii is wonderful!  I have experienced so many different types of food in the 5 weeks I have been here.  Most of it I like and only a few items I can do without.  Needless to say I'm moving the wrong way on the scale but hope it settles down as I continue to settle into island life!
• My co-workers and office mates are still being very nice and welcoming to me.  Perhaps we are still in the honeymoon stage or perhaps this is the way of life in Hawaii.  I tend to think the later!
• I found myself frowning at a driver this morning as I walked to work.  The driver was very impatient and kept honking his horn at those infront of him.  As he kept honking I kept getting irritated at him and thinking "just chill!"  So I guess I have given in to the island way of life and am enjoying some parts of the laid back life!  Now if I could just get payroll to slow down a bit...

Until next time, love and hugs to "my faithful followers!"

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!!!