1 month!

Aloha everyone!

It's been 1 month since we moved to Hawaii! And well, this week was very long and interesting to say the least. Work was pretty crazy- I was in meetings on 4 out of 5 days from about 8:30 to 5:30... but I always got into work at 7:30 to make sure I had an hour to get some of my own work done. And these meetings were INTENSE. I basically sat there like a sponge listening to 7 brilliant scientists from all different backgrounds debate the meat and potatos of a status review report for 82 coral species. Unfortunately, I cannot disclose any of what was discussed during those meetings, as it's pretty sensitive information (needless to say I feel pretty privelaged that I am privy to this info!) Basically the report that comes out of the biological review team (BRT) and MY report on what humanity is already doing to protect these corals will determine whether or not any of these species warrant a listing as "threatened" or "endangered" under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Pretty serious stuff with some pretty serious implications! Yesterday after the meeting concluded, I had the privelage of going to happy hour and dinner with the BRT. It was a lot of fun having mai tai's with the guys and gals who are working to save our oceans and marine life! I feel honored to be considered apart of their team as a "management liason" ... HA! Needless to say... I'm really loving my job; especially knowing that what I'm doing is meaningful and important.

On another note, our stuff STILL hasn't arrived from the mainland. Good news though! The container ship was supposedly arriving at the port in Honolulu yesterday (Thursday Sept. 23). So they said once they get everything off and into the storage at the port, they will call us to arrange a delivery. So for SURE we will have our things by next week (and not a second too soon!) On another positive note, Daland had an interview today for a security/loss prevention job at the big Macy's here at the Ala Moana shopping center and is pretty confident that he will get the job. Apparently, this particular Macy's is in the top 20 (out of 800 in the country) busiest stores and has 30-40 incidents of theft every MONTH! The pay isn't too shabby and there are full benefits as well. This will be a great job for Daland to transition into the police force once their recruitment begins. And then we can sigh a big sigh of relief as we will FINALLY have 2 incomes!

Anyway, I think that's about all the news we have for now. So far we have been surviving quite comfortably without all our stuff. The airbed is pretty comfy and the paper and plastic dishes have worked out pretty well. More than anything, I'm missing my personal items that will really make our place feel like home... although I think I'm starting to actually feel like I live here, rather than just a visitor.

Hope everyone is doing well wherever they are in the world. We love you and miss you.

Chelsey