New Resident of the Great State of Hawaii

So I am not completely sold on wanting to do a blog for my time in Hawaii since I am just going to be living here and its not like im a tourist, considering how many times I've been to Hawaii. But I am thinking that it would be a good way to reflect and to share hopefully what will become really cool things related to my new job.

So in case you are unaware of what the heck I am doing in Hawaii, im going to fill you in. After graduating from UCSC with a degree in Environmental Studies, I went out into the real world in search of a job. I applied mostly to federal jobs because I had experience working with the NRCS already. I also knew that I wanted to work in Hawaii at some point. I decided to go the Hawaii Conservation Conference in the beginning of August in the hope that I could network and maybe get hired. I learned a lot and met tons of great people, but wasn't offered any jobs. What I did learn was that there was a group called KUPU that placed people in environmental positions in Hawaii using Americorp funding. They had year internships with a living stipend and an educational award at the end. After inquiring about my chances to actually get picked, I was pretty sure I had found my next employment.

So I was interviewed by a couple of groups that were interested after looking at my resume and application. It was all phone interviews mostly asking what experience I had, what I was most interested in, and what my responsibilities would be if I worked at their office. Both of my interviews were with the Dept. of Land and Natural Resources: Div. of Forestry and Wildlife but were different focuses in that department. I quickly heard back from the Forestry section and agreed to be their intern for the year!

I have been lucky enough to have experience with traveling and moving somewhere new, whether it was moving to Santa Cruz for college or studying abroad in New Zealand. I kinda thought that this would feel the same way. However, as I was on the way to the airport, I realized that this was probably the last time I would call LA home. There is no return home ticket waiting to bring me back to all the friends and family in California this time. It was a bit of reality check since I had made this big decision on a whim. Add in a bit of stress about having two very large suitcases (at the maximum weight and still short of belongings) and two bags pushing the boundaries on the term "carry on" and I had a bit of a freak out.
Once I got to my gate, I heard they were offering a $400 flight voucher, $30 food vouchers, a hotel room for the night, and 1st class tomorrow if you gave up your seat and I instantly agreed. Then I had a voucher to come home at some point AND got to fly 1st class. So I got a shuttle to the hotel, and Heather D. joined me at the hotel for some dessert, compliments of Delta. The next day I flew in style, drinking mimosas, coffee, tea, eating an egg omelet and chips, and pretty much over indulged in a way that only a coach flyer would.

Yesterday was my first day and I went and picked up my car which we had shipped out so I wouldn't die riding a moped (thanks mom) and then ran some errands. Mostly it was me attempting to put off unpacking, which I successfully did (still incomplete). I am staying with family in Manoa which is pretty close to work, which is in downtown Honolulu. I went to check out my work today to pick up paperwork and to get a feel for the office (aka figure out work appropriate clothing). Turned out they were doing a meeting going over their various projects in the office. I got a general overview of what my responsibilities were and even ended up with my name on projects despite not officially starting work until Monday. The most exciting thing was learning that there would be a lot of new things to learn. I will get a lot of opportunities to build on skills I already have (private land conservation projects, GIS) but I also get to learn new ones like spatial analysis, compliance, lobbying for legislation, all things I am eager to do. Best part, there will be island hopping in my future! DOFAW (Dept. of Forestry and Wildlife) has a couple of easements on various islands and each year they have to do monitoring of the property and I get to go along! Theres at least one on the big island and one on Molokai that I get to go see. I also have a field trip planned to do some invasive control at a marsh on the winward side so hopefully I will have some fun pictures for you all soon.

Well I guess I should probably get back to unpacking, still have a whole bag and a half to deal with :)