Hawaii updateFollow

Well,here I am in Maui, enjoying the mistakes of others. Thi is my last night in the islands before I return home to California. Luckily, the lady who normally schedules all the airline tickets, rental cars, and hotel rooms screwed up and did not reserve me a room on the week of the Pro Bowl. What this means is that the only places left with accomodations are the expensive places. Moreover, since they didn't do this quickly, I am being provided at no cost to me a luxury suite complete with internet access.

I must apologise if this doesn't work out as planned since it all goes through the TV, so everything looks different and must be scrolled through item by item , unlike a normal computer. For all I know, it may go on all one line forcing y'all to read this by using your arrow keys.

Anyhow, I have been offered the job. The interview went well, I got to go up for a free 2 hour flight over the volcanos, and had all my lodging taken care of, sans reservations. The only thing I paid for was a ticket out here, meals, and a rental car, although they would have carted me around to where I needed to go. I wanted to see the islands for myself, so I got a convertable to drive around. Tonight I watched a Maui sunset on a black sand beach. Sadly, I enjoyed it by my lonesome, since Mrs. Totem stayed to take care of the kids (poodles).

Call me crazy, but I haven't decided to take the job yet. The flying would be cool, I talk like I'm a born Irishman --but I'm Dutch! --

Well best not to rush into things and its best to talk to the daughter first and see how she feels, still better than Kentucky or whatever one of the other 50 other options you mentioned were.

Meh its all good as long as the pay and living expenses match up and the job is a good setting, it would suck to goto paradise to have your work be hell.

Anyways, good journies and enjoy your time theref you filthy dutchman

Whatever decision you make I know you'll make the one thats right for you and Mrs. Totem. Gratz on the job offer. I hope whichever decision you do make will make you very happy and content.

I'm not sure if you have kids (besides the dogs), but I can offer some advice. My 2 friends did Teach for America on Maui, and, in brief, the public school system there is not the best.

Private school would be your way to go, should you decide to educate kids there eventually. That is all. Oh, and it's the most beautiful place I've ever been to on Earth.

I'm pretty sure you'd maket the right diecision for yourself.

I just hope the you make the decision soon, you dont want to miss a good oppurtunity either ;-)

It sounded to me from other posts that Totem's kids are older already, but yeah, the education system here is always a very heatily debated subject. I wasn't aware that we're the only state with a Department of Education. It was pretty shocking to hear it.

One of the crappiest parts about Maui has to be the gas prices. Honolulu currently hovers around 2.30~ or so and I think Maui and Kona tend to tack on around 20 extra cents to that. And people on Maui and Big Island for some reason just love their SUVs so you can imagine the gas expenses they end up having. +_+

Did you by any chance drive out to Hana? Muahaha! When you finally get there, a store sells "I Survived the Hana Highway!" shirts.

I've been to Hawaii. Wonderful to visit, but I certainly wouldn't want to live there.
In mid-fall ( time of my visit) temps were in the 90's. And that was down from the 110 Degree temps in late September.'
Add in Active Volcanos, and gee, beaver, I don't think it's for me.

Yep, been there, nice to visit, etc.

The thing that sucks about living in a place like that is your only option to go anywhere else is to fly. And I'm sure tickets can't be cheap to go back to the States. And it smells bad. Not many places to dump your trash and bury it on an island(s). But, I'm sure if you decide to move there it wouldn't be too bad. I mean, there are certainly worse places. Like California.

Ya know... I'm kinda thinkin' that those types of opportunities don't come along more than once in a lifetime. For what it's worth, I'd jump at the chance.

Then all you'd need is a tall, handsome, private investigator friend, and it would be like living in your own TV show.

Here's the deal: They offered me the job, a job which entails flying over volcanos, boiling water, volcanic glass, rough terrain, 3,000 foot cliffs, and other assorted hazards in a single engine aircraft. Mind you, this in and of itself is not necessarily a concern, but I would be flying anywhere from 6-8 hours a day, four days a week, 51 weeks out of the year. It pays on a dual basis of a base daily rate and a dollar amount per flight hour. And while the total amount is equal to what I made before this new company bought out the hospital's air ambulance program, the cost of living makes Kalifornia look positively cheap.

I went past this one corner lot in Waikoloa (a subdivision near Kona) with nothing on it but weeds and the cost to buy this 50'X40' piece of property is $275,000! My wife and I discussed what our needs would be and while we could do this, our disposable income each month would be in the neighborhood of $200. That is awfully tight in terms of unforeseen disasters and terminal illnesses, not even mentioning merely traveling back and forth to the mainland for various weddings, funerals, and Christmasses.

The type of flying would be right up my alley considering tht the talking and tour guiding is something which comes naturally. But the sameness of it after a couple of years might be a bit boring.

The benefits package is pretty good however. They match up to 25% of your salary, have a profit sharing program (which is lucrative), and by year #5 will pay all medical dental, and life insurance for myself and every immediate family member.

All the same, I think Mrs. Totem and I will pass on this opportunity and continue our search for something more... close to home. This could be a great job if I were single or didn't care to keep in touch with the relatives, but as it is, it is a six and half hour flight back to San Francisco, not exactly a hop, skip, and a jump back Stateside.

So, sorry to all you who were looking to score free lodging in Hawaii, but for the time being y'all can still stay here in Kali if you want to visit me and my celebrity and movie star neighbors.

Totem

Totem, have you looked into a newschopper gig? The early commute hours might get annoying, but the ones up here in Washington at least pay well. Dunno if any of these are up your ally.

Position: ENG Pilot Posted: 1/28/2005
Company :
Horsham Valley Airways
(p) 2156742100
(f) 2156742871
(e) dwarbrick@hvaufs.net
Contact Person :
DavidWarbrick

Job Location :
California
Job Description:
Horsham Valley Airways, Inc. is currently seeking helicopter pilot candidates for our West Coast Operations. We provide Electronic News Gathering for major news networks. We have an immediate helicopter pilot position available in our San Francisco-San Jose Operation. If you have a desire to work in a fast-paced news environment, with state-of-the-art technology and top-shelf professionals, then this is the opportunity for you! Email your resume and qualifications to dwarbrick@hvaufs.net or fax 215-674-2871

Position: Corporate Pilot Posted: 1/5/2005
Company :
Southern California Edison
(p)
(f)
(e) employ@sce.com
Contact Person :
HR Recruitment

Job Location :
California
Job Description:
Flight Captain (Ref.# JP18769-SL) Location: Ontario, CA Job Requirements: Certificate: valid FAA Class 1 Medical. Bachelors degree or equivalent combination of relevant work experience and education. Valid FAA Commercial or ATP certificate for rotorcraft; current helicopter instrument rating. Minimum 3000 hrs pilot-in-command of rotorcraft, to include 800 hrs experience in mountain/high density altitude operations. Minimum 500 hours in AS350 or MD500 series aircraft; long-line proficient. Must have aircraft; long-line proficient. Must have excellent oral, written and interpersonal skills. Must be able to work under changing and high-stress conditions. Preferences: Degree: BA/BS. Knowledge of congested area plan procedures. Knowledge of electric utility system, including rigging standards and helicopter work methods; basic computer skills. Typical Responsibilities: Pilot aircraft to transport personnel, equipment, and/or materials. Note: Please include job reference JP18769-SL on all submissions. If you are interested in this position, please submit your resume in confidence by visiting www.edisonjobs.com. Edison International is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

http://www.justhelicopters.com/Employment/PilotJobListing.asp

You can fly in that bear suit?

That's not me, Flea, that's Gitslayer. See the "I'm Lonely and I Need a Date" thread for an explanation.

Totem