new adventures

Well friends, it's been over a year since I last updated this. Catch up: after returning from Belize, I was a veterinary technician in South Carolina up until almost a month ago. Since last month, I have resigned from my job, hung out in San Francisco for a few days, packed my entire life into boxes and suitcases (after giving away the majority of it to Goodwill), attended a fantastic going away party (thanks friends!!!) and boarded a plane to Maui on February 14th.**

** I also found a home for one of my two kitties. The outdoor one still needs a home... any takers in South Carolina?!

Fifteen hours later, I landed in Kahului and two days later I started the job I've been awaiting for years. So now, I am a Research Associate at an avian propagation facility for endangered Hawaiian birds run by the San Diego Zoo and the Hawaiian Endangered Bird Conservation Program. I had an internship with this program in 2006 and ended up staying a year with a seasonal position. Although I won't be discussing the details of my job, you can find out more by checking out the blog (link on the right!).

Things you should know: I work and live in an abandoned prison on the dormant Haleakala volcano. I'm sure there won't be any volcanic explosions while I'm here, but it's entirely possible you'll hear about some unexplained things happening in the apartment. Weird things. GHOSTY THINGS. I'll just preface this blog by saying that creepy things definitely happened the last time I lived here so don't be surprised if there are some slightly hysterical posts. Just saying.

My first few days have been spent getting settled in and reacquainted with the schedule. My body is adapting fairly well to the time change (currently 5 hours behind EST) and tonight is the first night that I haven't felt like taking a nap at 6 PM HST. I was pretty excited to find out that my favorite restaurant is Paia is still open (Cafe de Amis) and I was able to have a delicious vegetable curry wrap with mango chutney and raita last week. My favorite grocery store, Mana Foods, is still around as well. Nothing has really changed in five years... it's almost like a time warp. The only noticeable difference so far is more traffic and a bit more development in general. It's still amazingly beautiful.

Yesterday was the Pacific Whale Foundation's World Whale Day at Kalama Beach park in Kihei. We headed there after work in time to enjoy some reggae / island music, hippie dancing, and good food. It's been pretty cloudy and rainy over the past few days, but the sun broke through just in time for it to set. There was a mass migration of people from the festival to the beach to watch the sun set and, fittingly, there were a couple of whales breaching right off of the beach. I've seen many, many sunsets and this one was by far the most beautiful. The image on the right doesn't really do it justice. It's pretty unbelievable that this is my life now. How did this happen? I'm not complaining.

Tomorrow beings my weekend. I'll probably lay low tomorrow since I still things to do to get settled. Maui has a pretty reliable and cheap bus system which I think I'll explore on Tuesday and find my way to the beach. I have to get the first sunburn over with at some point, I suppose. It'll take me about an hour and a half to walk down the mountain into town and the bus stop, unless somebody offers me a ride. Hitchhiking is actually a pretty good way to get around on the island if you don't have transportation. I've been told that if you're going to hitchhike, Maui is the place to do it. One of these days I'll get my own car. One of these days...

I think you've been sufficiently caught up... stay tuned for more updates!