Dreams DO Come True!

I'll make this short and sweet.  The interviewing process for a position of Substance Abuse Counselor in Maui has taken longer than expected, but just when I thought it was halted and possibly not going to end well...I received a call from the director of the center where I will be working.

I got the job.

They have agreed to my requirements for salary and my date of availability.

I am moving to Maui on October 13, 2016!

The worst part of the deal is that I have to move there alone initially.  I have to leave my husband and children in New Mexico for 6 more weeks past my start date, but then he will fly the children to Maui in November 2016.

Dreams REALLY DO COME TRUE!

Never, ever give up hope in believing that dreams can come true and miracles really do happen.

I can't wait to put my toes in the sand and smell the ocean air, doing the job that I love most in the whole world (other than being a mommy...)

Soon, my family will be with me in Maui too. 

Now the real blogging begins...I want to share my experiences with all of you!  Perhaps, your dream of moving to Hawaii can come true too!

Aloha and Mahalo

So Many Choices...

As soon as I started applying for jobs in Hawaii, it seems that many doors where I currently live in New Mexico have suddenly opened to me.  In the past week, I have been offered three new employment opportunities and that job in Maui that I desperately sought is not a closed door, but one that is being delayed.  Apparently, I was being considered for a position when a new center on the island opens in a few months, not the center where I thought I would be working.  I am interested in working at the new center, but it was a surprise to hear that my hiring might be put on hold.  In the meantime, two job opportunities arose in my area without me sending out a single application.  I was contacted by these companies and I was offered a promotion and major salary increase at my current employer. 

Many people might say "forget Hawaii."  Many people would just gladly take the promotion and be satisfied.  I did take the promotion.  It's my second promotion at my employer in the past 8 months.  I have been doing well, but I still want to move to Hawaii.

It will only bolster my resume and give me a better chance of landing my perfect dream Hawaiian job!

It's difficult to consider new opportunities at any other locations at this time.

I still find myself having dreams of being in a warm, tropical breeze, listening to the sound of waves crashing on the beach while smelling the salty ocean air, but for now, it will have to just wait.

Life is best lived one day at a time, and today, I am happy to have received a promotion and being doing well at my current job.  I have income, food, clothing and a roof over my head.  That is plenty to be content with and thankful for...

Until next time, Aloha and Mahalo for reading my blog.

Close to A Dream

One step closer...

This week, I interviewed for a position at a substance abuse recovery center in Maui.  The interview went very well and we discussed salary requirements and starting dates. That's always a good sign.  The hiring manger told me that I must speak with the Executive Director of the site before I will be officially hired for employment.

He is supposed to call me within 3 business days of the interview. It has already been two days.  Monday will be the third business day.

My heart tells me that the job is mine.  I believe we will have a good conversation and the hiring will be final. 

Then comes the actual moving part.

We are cleaning our house today on Saturday and beginning to think about all the household items we need to sell or give away before the move. I am still working at my other position, so I have been quite busy with work lately, working 12 hour days.  When I come home, I'm too tired to think about moving, but it needs to be done.

The greatest part about this job (at least to start) is that I will start working for them from home.  I can do telehealth and provide counseling sessions to clients via Internet. I can also start completing trainings online. This will help me to make some extra money to save for our moving expenses.

It's all working out.

I just wish it was finalized.  I'm a TYPE A personality and I need everything organized, completed, finished yesterday...

Waiting is not always my strong point.

I'm so excited though.  I think our move is actually getting ready to happen.

I'll keep you posted after I talk with the executive director.  I've started thinking about logistics of how to ship my car to Hawaii from a Pacific port, such as Los Angeles.  If I can get plane tickets, first/last rent and utility deposit money, and have the money to ship my car a couple weeks ahead of my move, I will be fine. 

My husband, due to his military discharge, may be left behind for a few months.

That's ok, we'll be together in our forever home in Maui soon.

:-)

A Will and A Way

It's been a few days, and I've filled out about 20 new applications.  I've decided that somehow, some way, we are moving to Maui.  I've narrowed down the search from all of the Hawaiian islands to Maui.  I want to live in Maui...

Today, I have another interview for a substance abuse counseling position in Maui.  It would be perfect for me.  My fingers are crossed and my prayers are going up.

I have been reading that finding a job in Hawaii (any of the islands) without actually being ON the island at the time you apply can make things very difficult.  However, I have also read that working in any type of healthcare job makes a person much more marketable, and possibly will help me overcome the difficult of being hired from the mainland.

My husband has also been applying for many jobs, but his situation is a little different.  He is unsure of when he will be discharged (exactly) from the military and therefore cannot list an availability date.  I imagine this may keep him from getting a job anytime soon, but we will see!

I knew moving to Hawaii would be hard.  I knew there were challenges.  We have only been trying for less than a month to really find employment, but like with any job search, this one is already getting annoying.

I have never liked the whole process of filling out applications, having to list the same information over and over and over, even when I have a perfectly good resume and cover letter to attach.  It seems highly redundant, but it's absolutely worth the effort when the right job comes along.  I looked for several months before I landed my current position.  I love where I work, it's just not in Hawaii.  That's the only problem.  My company has no facilities on Maui, or I would just transfer there and save all the trouble.

Last night, I dreamed of telling my boss that I was giving my notice of resignation.  Maybe it's a sign of how this interview will go today, or maybe it's my brain just wishfully thinking about moving again.  I've been having other dreams.

My brain is entirely focused on this move. 

I've been told more than a few times in the past month...YOU ARE CRAZY.  People constantly ask, "Do you know that it's expensive to live in Hawaii?" 

Uh no...I don't...just kidding.  Of course I DO!  I know how crazy this all seems, and I know that many people probably think we are going out there to sink ourselves financially.  They look at me with half-cocked eyes and just take a deep breath. 

One of my neighbors finally said something positive.  She said, yes it's expensive, but it's MAUI.  What if you go there and you have to figure things out for awhile, but you get to live on MAUI.  What if you go somewhere else and just settle and end up miserable?  Will it be worth it, just to save some money? 

My husband and I both have excellent education and experience in technical and highly-demanded fields. He works with electrical/mechanical systems and I am a counselor.  We are not looking for hotel front desk jobs or to become waiters (not that there's anything wrong with that), but we are looking at better paying jobs.  We won't go if we can't pay our bills.  Period.

I probably watched too many tv shows about Hawaii living.  The man said, "You don't have to be rich to live in Hawaii, you just have to want it."  Well, WE WANT IT.

I believe that man.  I believe where there is a WILL, there is a WAY.

Breaking the News to Family

I really don't know what is happening to us...we have gone a little mad.  All I thought about 24/7 yesterday was moving to Hawaii.  It was the main topic of conversation in our family.  My husband has been finding great jobs to apply for, and he said he is getting very excited.  He is not usually one to show much excitement about anything, regardless of how great.  Since we've been married, I've rarely seen him excited about anything at all, except the birth of our children.  That was very exciting to him.

When asked about what he dreams for his future, he will simply say one thing..."I always wanted to have a family and be a good husband."  He told me again yesterday that his career is second (always) to being a great father and husband.  This has always been true in our marriage and family. 

I am a blessed woman to have married this kind of man.  He loves us dearly.  When I told him yesterday how excited I was about moving to Hawaii, a giant smile spread across his face and he said, "Well, we're going then!" 

I truly believe he feels that life exists to make me happy.  Not in the "I'm crazy controlling and take advantage of my husband kind of way", but just because he loves me.

We decided yesterday that WE ARE GOING.

Eventually, a door will open and we will make our way there.  Once we get there, we will never leave.  This is our grand plan.

Yesterday, I finally broke the news to my parents that we are earnestly seeking to get jobs and move to Hawaii (probably Maui). My parents have always been negative at times, or maybe just very realistic, about our moving and our dreaming.  They tend to bring us back down to earth and hash out the little details, showing us why our wild adventures are not a good idea.  I love them, but sometimes, their realism is just a little too much. :-)

Yesterday, I decided...it's time to tell them what we are planning when my hubby leaves the military.  It's been a question in our families' minds because secretly they all want us to move home (home for my husband is deep south and my family is from the western side of the US).  These are not "home" locations for us to consider. 

We have our own dream, our own "home." 

My mom's response to divulging our plans was most surprising.  She said, "How exciting!  Keep us posted on what happens next."  She then said she would come visit us.  My husband duly noted that he has the feeling that she believes it will never really happen, and therefore, may not be threatened by the possibility.  It's just a dream, nothing more. 

I got the feeling that she may have finally been supportive.  She knows that my career is in a good place, we will have plenty of funds and employment (before we go) and this is an excellent time to take the plunge.

At least, that's what I told myself as I drifted off to sleep.  We WILL go.  As my husband said, WE ARE GOING. We'll just have to wait for our golden opportunity.

Researching the Islands of Hawaii

Yesterday, I think I hit the peak of my Hawaii frenzy.  I applied for three more positions on the island of Maui.  The other positions I've been looking at were on the Big Island of Hawaii.  I have a friend who lives on Maui and absolutely loves it.  I have another one who lived there for several years and recently moved back to the mainland.  They have never had a single negative word to say about making the decision to move to Maui.  They have said that it's different than the mainland.  We know.  We've lived on a more remote island in the Pacific Ocean than Maui. 

Island living is DIFFERENT. That is for sure! 

This morning, I had a good talk with my children about the possibility of moving to Maui.  Lord willing, if the door opens, we will be going soon.

We know that we will be moving away from New Mexico, one way or another.  My husband will be discharged from the military and we will be moving.  New Mexico has been nice.  The Hatch green chilies are amazing.  I will miss some things about New Mexico.  I've missed parts of every place we've lived before. 

This move is different.  We don't plan to be moving anymore after we land in our final resting spot.  We are looking for our "forever home," a place to raise our kids, enjoy our family life, seek God and give back to others.  We want to live in a place where we feel that we are "at home."

Island living is for us.  It may not be for you. 

Despite the charm of the Aloha spirit, things move at a slower pace than on the mainland.  I remember waiting and waiting in Guam for appointments to actually start, and a few times, the person we were meant to see didn't show up at all.  We had to just say "Hafa Adai"--the saying in Guam for everything that just kinda meant "oh well, life is good."

Yes, the gas is expensive.  However, yesterday I was pleasantly surprised to see that a Costco exists on the island of Maui and is selling gas for $2.35/gallon!  That would be have a dream for us when we lived on Guam. I love Costco and with a large family such as ours, this will save us a lot of money.  I have researched the prices, and although slightly higher than mainland, we may not have a heart attack EVERY time we visit the grocery store.  I remember in Guam that commissary was closed for one day per week and we HAD to go "off base" to get groceries if needed.  Even "on base" the groceries were HIGH.  Off base meant we just had to suck-it-up buttercup and pay the price of being ill-prepared.

We quickly learned through a couple of these trips that planning is KEY to survival while island living.  As I noticed also in the news yesterday, a tropical storm Darby was about to hit Maui and Big Island.  We know about this too.  My husband is from the deep south (New Orleans--Katrina, anyone?) and he knows a thing or two about these "tropical storms."  When we moved to Guam, I was 6 1/2 months pregnant and when I was 39 weeks pregnant, we had a typhoon rolling into our back door. I had to leave my children with the neighbors next door while my husband bravely went out into the storm and secured generators.  I had to go spend the night at the hospital because the typhoon might prevent me from getting there in the event that the baby made his arrival during the storm.

We have done island living, at its best and worst.  All in all, it was TOTALLY WORTH IT!

I think living on Guam really has prepared us to move to Hawaii, Maui, Kauai or Oahu.  At this point, I think we'd definitely prefer Maui or Big Island, with Kauai being next and then Oahu. I LOVE Kauai and went there as a teenager (where I caught the bug to move back), but I don't know if moving there is for us right now.  I haven't applied for a single job in Kauai yet, but I do love it there and want to visit once we live in the Hawaiian islands. Maui seems to have the hometown country feel that we desire (we would want to live Upcountry) and Big Island has diversity in geography that are not found anywhere else.  You can visit the beach and a volcano with snow in a single day.  We think that's pretty amazing. There are some really good schools for the kids on Maui (and we know people there), so those are major positive points for moving to Maui.  Plus, the three new jobs I applied for are on the island of Maui. 

I think Maui would definitely become my #1 choice, at this point.

I have been reading, and reading, and reading about culture on the different islands...doing my due diligence, as my previous interviewer told me.

I think when we look at cost of living, education, geography, culture, "the feel" of the island, job opportunities and overall lifestyle, Maui is the ticket.

Now, I just need a job.  My husband is skilled and has 6 months to a year to find a job there, while I live on the island with the kids (if necessary).  I'm going out ahead, adventuring forward, and it's an amazing feeling.

Now, if only the first door will open.  We will go.

Living there becomes more about who you're with and what you do in your off-time than what you can do to buy more stuff, or achieve more success.  The success we seek is simply being there with our family, enjoying our lives together and having enough money to pay the bills.  Money and success in mainland way are something of the past.  That's EXACTLY why we want to move there forever.

God Will Make a Way

Before I became a professional counselor, I was in Christian ministry for 8 years. I spent time doing volunteer ministry and paid ministry, being a servant and a leader (which should still be a servant). I was very active in a prayer ministry in Guam and have held many different positions in the church in the past decade.

I'm about to get a little serious with you.  One major reason we desire to move to Hawaii is because we believe God is doing a great work there. Many years ago, I was praying with a friend when I had an overwhelming sense of God's presence and felt His heart toward the Hawaiian islands. Even in paradise, there is great struggle and suffering, homelessness and hopelessness, violence and substance abuse. 

There is no perfect paradise on this earth.  The Garden of Eden is hidden from us and we live in a dying and corrupt world.  Enough seriousness for ya?

I just felt like getting real with you this morning. 

I want to go to Hawaii and bring hope to those who are suffering in paradise.  Not everyone lives in a mansion by the sea or drinks out of little coconut cups all day.  There are real problems there.  Crime, drugs, domestic violence, child abuse.  As a counselor, my heart is drawn toward helping those that are suffering in life. 

I currently work at an acute psychiatric hospital, as mentioned in previous posts.  I work with the most severe patients in the hospital.  I work with patients who have absolutely no sense of hope or motivation to live anymore, or they want to kill others, or they believe they are not human or even hailed from this planet.  These are my people, day in and day out. 

These people exist in Hawaii, and Bali, Fiji and the most beautiful and amazing places in the world.

The place you live in will not be your ultimate happiness, regardless of how amazing it may be. 

I have peace regardless of where I live, or where I go, because I have faith in Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior.  Since one fateful day, June 10, 2007, I have been at peace in my soul.  I know that I am forgiven for the many, many things I have done wrong in my life and I live with a sense of hopeful and joyful expectation that THE BEST IS YET TO COME!

I'm being honest because our adventure to Hawaii is not just our own dream.  It is where we feel God is leading, calling and drawing us.  He has placed a dream in our hearts and the Bible says to commit your way to the Lord, trust in Him, and He will establish your plans (Psalm 37:5).

We are committing our way to the Lord.  We do trust Him in all things.  We know He will make it come to pass.

#spiritual moment

PSALM 37:5 (KJV)
Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.