Desperate Times... Desperate Measures

 Life is an adventure. I have been marveling lately over all the adventures that Brian and I have shared. We got married one year before we graduated college (in Santa Barbara, Ca) and we have since then lived in San Diego, Japan, Florida, and now we are in Hawaii. That is five very different locations in five years. I think that has to be some kind of record! I have done something different in every location. It seems I am a Jack of all trades master of none. I completely thought that of myself in high school... little did I know it would follow me into adulthood (I'm pretty sure I am actually considered an adult at 25 now :). Photography is always on the side everywhere I go, but this time around I am working at a dive shop. Because what other way can one truly enjoy Hawaii? I spend my days on the water in a kayak and went on my first dive Thursday. My question is how the heck did I get this job? The question can only be answered by the picture below...

I saw an ad on craigslist about a week before coming to Hawaii. I had responded to a similar ad the day before (a job as a kayak guide). I really wanted the job and was deliriously responding to it late at night thinking, I have no qualifications for this job. I need to stand out. They want a picture? There are only two pictures of me on this computer... and so I sent the picture above in my response to the email making some comment about how I am outdoorsy and athletic and promising that I am professional despite the ridiculous picture. Somehow I received a call from them a few days later (I had already forgotten about it thinking they had hired someone else). They asked to do an interview the day after I landed and asked how soon I could start. Next thing I knew I was “working” three days after arriving in Hawaii. The program that I work is called Warrior Adventure Quest (WAQ) and it's a contract they have with the military. The people that come out for this program are signed up by their unit and they get to do kayaking, stand up paddle board, snorkeling, and diving. I have been on the kayaks for the most part, but will be learning to dive next weekend so I can help in other areas. With my dive certification they will also have me work in the dive shop on the days that they don't have WAQ. Which means, I have a steady job Monday through Friday. I have no idea how this happened. I just got lucky. Really lucky.

So... Hawaii. It's going awesome :)

Road Trip - Reno, Nevada

Road trip of the year. I didn't exactly go on any other road trips in 2011 and now that I am in Hawaii “road trip” is not something really in their vocabulary. Or if it is, we did it yesterday because we took a “road trip” to the north island (a whopping hour drive). Which brings me back to my initial point that Florida to Indiana to California was and is the road trip of the year.

Brian's parents live in Reno, NV and they were our last stop before hitting my parents in California. We stayed the weekend there and enjoyed a visit to Lake Tahoe, a hike, and some good time with the family :) The flowers below are all snaps from our hike. I like the image below and I am not sure there is anything to say other than throw your arms in the air and sing... aaaahhhhhhhh! I don't know how to spell a tune. Sorry. It was light at the end of the tunnel. I enjoyed the road trip and time visiting all my family thoroughly, but I was SO ready to get to Hawaii, reunite with Brian, and get settled into my own space. It wasn't a bad tunnel. It was an exciting tunnel, but I was finally beginning to see light at the end of it :)