Finally !

I heard back from HMSA (Blue Cross Blue Shield of Hawaii) today. I start Monday @ 7:30 ! Looks like I'll be staying here for a while. :-)

Apartment Update

Thought I'd show you what I've done with the place.

Here's the back guest room.


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All of the furniture, bedding and even the computer monitor I got for free.
I need to clean up the end table and the foot of the bed, but it's kind of a neat doohickey.

The bed's a King. I got the bedding yesterday from a gal on the Marine Base via FreeCycle.Org.

Here's the front guest room.



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I got the bed frame and the night stand free. The bed's a queen.

Here's the family room.



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I just got the lamp yesterday. Someone in my building threw it out. Looks and works fine.

So with the beds, flip couch and futon, I can have sleeping arrangements for up to six people.
I still need to buy pillows, but that can wait for now.

I also found these chairs and table for my lanai. Again someone in my building was throwing them away. So now there's a chair for me, Stan and Londo.



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Not bad huh ?

Mele Kalikimaka !

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Things I Didn't Expect About Hawaii

• Trash and litter everywhere. You'd think living in paradise would make people a little more appreciative of their surroundings.
• Graffiti and vandalism. See above.
• 25 MPH speed limits everywhere. No one drives that slow of course, most people drive 40 in those zones.
• Not as many flowers as I expected. Not as many bugs either, so I guess that works out.
• Kids get home from school shortly after noon. No way they could learn much in only four hours. It shows too.

We Made It !

The flight went well.
When I got to Springfield airport I carried in my cats and the people at the counter said, "We don't ship animals." I could feel the blood draining from my face. I said, "I was here last week and talked with you and you said there wouldn't be a problem." They didn't realize I was flying with them. Oh ! That's not a problem ! Whew !

We got to Hawaii and the Quarantine dude said my paperwork was perfect so the cats were able to go home with me right away. Funny, after flying in jets, neither cat complained about my driving.

I finally got Internet Friday and have spent most of my time sending out resumes since then. Here's a couple of pics until I get some free time.



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Here's Londo relaxing on the lanai.



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Stanley's not impressed with the view.

Almost Done With Missouri

The movers came for my car yesterday. I'm renting a car until I leave Monday morning. The cleaners came by this morning and got the place cleaned up well before noon. This afternoon the carpet cleaner will be here and that's pretty much the last thing I have to have done before I leave. I plan on going to visit my folks in Shell Knob for one last time Saturday. Then Sunday I have a couple of people coming by to pick up the last of the things I have. My new internet connection will be hooked up in Hawaii on Friday. So I can start blogging again then. If I don't post between now and then, aloha !

The Move Is On

The movers came and got my things today. I'm waiting on the guys to take my car. They called around noon and said they were just past the Pennsylvania/Ohio line. I don't expect to see them until tomorrow. At any rate, my media server is in route so there won't be any pictures here until it arrives in Hawaii and I set it back up. Me and the cats leave Monday morning. If I don't post before then, Aloha !

Moving

I will shut down my media server tomorrow.
I have to ship it to Hawaii.
It will be a month or so before my server gets to Hawaii and all media (pictures, movies, songs) are back up and running.
CYA then ! Aloha !

Move To Hawaii

I will be moving to Hawaii this month.
Service for my media server will be shut off on 09/24/2008 and I will need to rebuild the links once I'm there. It should take a month before my computer equipment arrives in Hawaii, so none of my media (pictures, movies and music) will work until then. Thanks for your patronage and I look forward to serving you again ASAP.

Aloha !

My Apartment

I found a nice apartment in Miliani.
It's easy to find. Take exit seven off the H2 and keep making rights until there's a wall in front of you. Then take a left. There she be !
It's tucked away in a valley with a creek running below my lanai (balcony).
It has all new everything. Here's some pics.



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This is the kitchen from the front door.



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Looking back into the kitchen from the family room. Washer, dryer, dishwasher, the works ! I stocked the fridge with beer and coffee before I left. I also bought a coffee pot.



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Here I am in the kitchen.



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A view of the family room and the lanai. What's nice is the two guest rooms are to the left with their own full bath. The master bedroom is off to the right. So guests will have some privacy (me too). Also the building is all cinder block. No noise and no worries for the once-a-century hurricane.



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Me on the lanai.



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The master bath.



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The guest bath.



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Views from the lanai. I'm six floors up.



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The trees are eleven stories tall.



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The creek is very tranquil. I'll look forward to coming home to this place.

I picked up a cell phone yesterday so I'd have a local number. Tomorrow I'll pick up supplies like an inflatable mattress, bedding, toiletries, cat food, cat bowls, litter box and litter. Oh and beer ! I'll also get my drivers license.

Hawaii Hotel

Well I finally got to my hotel. It was a bitch to get to because they were having a parade and shut down some streets which backed up traffic on all the other streets. At first they put me on the sixth floor, which is cool. But then I kept hearing this base music that wouldn't stop. It turned out they put me right over the bar. The bar doesn't close until 2:00 AM. So I got another room on the twenty-first floor on the other side of the building. Here's some pics of the view.



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I went across the street to buy some beer. No MGD but they had Corona so I bought that. Got back to the hotel and found out the bottles weren't twist off. (sigh) back down to go back to the store and buy a bottle opener. Seems like half this trip is waiting for or riding in elevators. Oh well, the beer's cold. I took a dip in the ocean. It's like bath water, with salt. It's beautiful here.

I Ran Into Kathy In Denver

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I was hanging out at The Smoker's Lounge in Denver International Airport and was about to leave to catch my flight when I spotted Kathy. She sat to my left at Mercy. We were able to chat a bit and share a drink. We joked before that we'd wave at each other as our flights passed, but who would've thought we'd get to see each other waiting for connecting flights ? I had to leave before I wanted because of my flight to Hawaii. As it was I was the last onboard and they closed the plane door behind me. Whew ! That was close ! It was great to see her. Maybe we'll run across each other again sometime.

The Day Before

Well, I got my cats down to my Mom's place. It went better than expected. Stanley would bitch when I took a turn too fast and then Londo would back him up. Other than that they were good. Stan seemed to remember the place from three years ago pretty much right away. Londo took a couple of steps out of the car and then went back in the car. I had to pick him up and set him outside and feed him a bit before he started relaxing. Then he went under the car. After about an hour he saw I was feeding Stan and came a running for the trailer. I spent the night with them in the trailer and Stan did the usual good job of keeping my feet warm. Sometime in the middle of the night Londo jumped up on the bed purring up a storm. He licked my nose, nibbled on my fingers like he hadn't done in years. I think they'll be ok while I'm away.

Had a good visit with the folks. As I got there Orb was taking the old boat down the tram. I had to look after the cats so I couldn't join him. My folks just bought a new boat so he was taking the old boat to his brother's launch site to put on a trailer and pull out for the last time. Mom soon had to go show a property and took their dog Coco with her. So it was me and my buds rediscovering the S&S Ranch. Orbie got back with the boat really fast so we got to catch up on things and reintroduce him to Stanley and Londo. Mom came back with Coco about an hour later and by then the cats were feeling ok with the situation. We spent the night talking, having a great dinner and watching some great stunt shooters on TV. I went to bed early and didn't even open my last beer.

Mom made me a big breakfast this morning and I headed out ready to get the few things left to do done knowing my buds are in good hands.

I picked up some Nicorette, a power adapter and some decent headphones at Wally World and triple-checked what I needed on my laptop. Fitting everything you need into a laptop bag is a challenge, but I did it.

So come tomorrow, I'm Hawaii bound !

Let you know how it goes !

Aloha !

Happily Unemployed !

Today was my last day at work ! I can't believe the day finally came. I've been planning this for years ! It went well, had to actually work, stayed until 5:30. What was weird was they sent the claims department home early so it was just me and two other people in site. Jill and Amy gave me a Hawaiian Shirt and a very nice card as a going away present. I never had the chance to work with them, but we were smoking buddies and had a lot of talks over the years. I'll miss them both much, as I will everyone. James and Amos wanted to go out to lunch today. We went to Applebee's and it was pretty good stuph. I've worked closest with them and I've had a lot of fun with them. I also respect and admire their work and will miss them most. Well, now time to get down to it. It will be a busy weekend and then an even busier week !

Goodbye Get-Together

The gang in Data Control threw a little shindig for me today. It was really sweet. They had Hawaiian Punch in a pineapple fountain, ham, turkey, cheeses and crackers, yummy rolls, some cheese hash brown concoction that was great ! All kinds of stuph ! They gave me a large beach bucket with a shovel and in the bucket they had all kinds of things. A can of Spam, sunscreen, Aloe Vera Gel, two sets of Hawaiian key chains, packages of macadamias nuts, a hand-held fan, tropical trail mix, a beach towel, Sudoku, Word Search and Crossword books, A card signed by everyone, and a ledger started off with thoughts from everyone. It was really wonderful. They also gave me an Hawaii shirt and a Hawaiian Tropic "Official Judge" tee shirt. A really good bunch of people. I will miss them.

Booked

Priceline had the best deal.
I'll be flying out at 8:31 A.M, arriving in Denver at 9:26 A.M., leaving from there at 11:42 A.M and arriving in Honolulu at 2:45 P.M., a little over eleven hours.
I've decided to buy a laptop to keep me entertained during the flights there and back.
I'll be staying at the Castle Maile Sky Court Waikiki.
I leave Friday, September 5, 2008 at 10:15 P.M. arriving in Denver at 9:03 A.M, leaving there at 11:18 A.M and landing back here at 2:02 P.M.
Flight, Hotel and Car $997.17.

The plan so far is working.

While there I will be finding a place to live, opening a bank account and registering the cats with a Veterinarian Hospital.

:-)

Milestone

I received my Visa card today !
Now I can book my flight, hotel and rent a car for my reconnoissance week in Hawaii.
:-)

Milestone

I turned in my one Month notice today !

Saved For The Move To Date

Milestone !

$20,132.50 !

:-)