Holy Cow, it's been 4 Months...

Where does the time fly?

Well, things have certainly been interesting in the last four months, of that i can assure you. The new job started slow, but has really taken off, both literally and figuratively. I have begun to work on a project which is based in Tulsa, OK. (O-o-o-o-oaklahoma!!) and this sees me flying there nearly every week. I have been returning to Seattle to visit my homies every weekend, but this weekend i am venturing down to Austin, TX (Don't mess with Texas!!) to see my nephew and his dogs. I guess i'll end up seeing my brother and sister-in-law as well.

All in all, things are good. And, i have friends pestering me for a return trip to Hawaii for Labor day, so who knows what will happen this summer.

Ch-ch-ch-changes...

Time to face the world...

I know it's been a while since I last posted, gentle readers, but that's only because life has been rather hectic this past month. I have found an exciting place to live, reconnected with many friends whom I had not seen in some time, and have also been tying up many loose ends on my projects at work under rather tight deadlines.

But all that is about to change, before the end of this current month. As I have mentioned to many of you, I am leaving my existing company, and moving to another one in the industry. This was a decision which was arrived at after months of deliberation, but I feel it is the correct choice. Many of my coworkers with whom I have shared the information agree with me.

However, it is not without its own trials, as this means I will not be seeing the many friends I have within this current company on quite so regular a basis. Fortunately I am only moving to an office 5 miles up the road, so will still be able to meet people after work or on weekends. And it's been a great experience to have so many friends insist that I not lose contact with them, and demand to know when I can have them over for a visit.

And so begins the next step in life.

Home is where you Hang your Hat

Well, the search is over, and I am now, once again, complete within my first level of Pavlov's Heirarchy. By which, of course, I mean that I have found a new apartment.

Many with whom I have discussed my search will be familiar with my various wants, needs, and desires within a residence. I wanted space, a mix of indoor and outdoor space, areas with which to entertain, and also a certain amount of privacy. Prior to returning to Seattle, I was convinced that the only way I would satisfy all of these considerations would be to rent a house. Sadly, there was a dearth of houses within the areas I wanted to live available to rent, so I was forced to return to searching through apartments.

Luckily, I happened upon a few that were really quite nice. There is always a razor's edge to walk in the apartment pricing game between getting your money's worth, and setting the bar low enough to quickly move the property. In just 3 days I quickly remembered that not everyone can deftly walk this edge. I found one place in a brand new development that really struck my fancy, and was well priced, but just felt small. I was having trouble justifying the size, despite really wanting to move in. So I continued to search, realizing that I was at great risk of losing this place to another renter the longer I continued to look.

Today, my gamble paid off. Searching through my usual sources this morning, I chanced upon a posting by a resident who was moving out of his apartment, but so enjoyed living there that he posted an ad for the apartment to let the world know that it would soon be available, and was not to be missed. After viewing the pictures of the unit, and doing some further research online, I concluded that he was spot on in his assessment. I contacted both him and the rental office for the unit, and arranged to view some similar apartments in the building.

I was not able to view the exact unit i was interested, but was able to view an other apartment with an identical interior floor plan. I say interior, because it was the exterior feature which conviced me this unit was a steal. The interior features emminently justify the rental price, for it is a large unit in a good neighbourhood of downtown, in a well constructed (soundproof) building. The rental price for this alone is worthwhile. But, on top of this, I have a private furnished patio as part of my apartment, which is nearly as large as the entire interior of the apartment. Combining the two living spaces, and I am paying just slightly over $1/sq ft for this place. I couldn't be happier. Avalon Belltown is the complex, and I will be moving into it in just over a week.

Searching Sunny Seattle for Safe and Secure Surroundings

So the latest chapter of travelling the globe has closed, and I am back within the confines of Seattle. I find myself in a bit of a tumble right now, as I need to sort out some housing, but can't decide on exactly what I want now that I am here. I was pretty set on renting a house if possible prior to landing yesterday, but after several hours of searching online for properties, I have discovered that there are few availible, and even less in areas I would wish to live.

So I am presented with a quandry: apartment or home. If I choose the home route, as I was previously inclined to do, I will have to move much farther north than I had anticipated. Northerly position is a relative factor, as most of what I like to do for fun and exercise on nights and weekends is around downtown Seattle, but my office is 25 miles north of Seattle. It means that I would spend half my week driving to something.

Also, with the relative costs involved, I would more likely save money if i chose the apartment route. Most of the homes I am looking at are renting for $1250-$1500/mo, but apartments could be had for $1000. the difference might not sound like a lot, but over the course of year will add up to something worth paying attention to.

It's not something that has to be sorted out today, however. I have lodging arranged for the next two weeks, and can spend a few days searching and viewing places before I attempt to decide.

Mele Kalikimaka and Hau'oli Makahiki Hou

Or Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

It is with a heavy heart that I write this, my final entry from Hawaii, and the closing chapter of this round of BigPete's World Tour. If there was any way I could have made it happen, I would have already begun the process of moving here, having enjoyed Maui as much as I have.

The last two days here on the island have been both busy and eventful. Beginning Wednesday at 2:30am, I drove to the top of Haleakala, the volcano I previously biked down, in time to watch the sunrise at 6:30am. It was breath-taking. The setting was further enhanced by some kind soul who took the trouble to carry his accordian all the way up to the top of the volcano, about 100 ft higher than the parking lot, and serenade the first light of dawn.

From there I went to a local beach reknown for its gentle waves and shallow waters, and laid out for my last bit of sunshine. I spent about 3 hours on the beach, then travelled to a stretch of beach near the resorts at Ka'anapali, where some friends had told me there were hammocks for the using. I stretched out in one, and slept to the sound of the surf for a few hours. Wednesday ended with a great dinner at Kimo's here in Lahaina, with Lobster-stuffed Mahi Mahi.

Yesterday, I repeated the trip to Hana and back, but left at 6am, so that I could try to find some of the spectacles I missed on the earlier trip. I discovered the red sand beach near Maui, Kaluilui, which was very interesting, but quite a hike to get to. From there I went to the section of Haleakala national park which stretches to the ocean, and hiked the 2mi trail through eucalyptus trees and bamboo forests to Waimoku Falls, a 300ft waterfall at the summit of the trail. It was truly beautiful. After returning from the trip, I finished off the day with sushi at Sansei's, and thus came to the end of my Maui experience.

I negected to take any pictures of this, but here is a link to some photos on the national park site, which gives a good idea of the sights I saw these past few days

Today I have to pack, and return to the real world. But only temporarily ;)

The Big Kahuna

One of my goals for both the time here in Maui and before in Australia was to go surfing. Both areas are reknown for their surfing beaches. Sadly, I was not able to make it out surfing while in Australia, but that made me all the more insistant to try surfing while here in Maui.

I have been told by a few people that I am too tall to surf. Given that the surfboard is proportional to the surfer, there might be something to that theory, but I was determined to prove wrong all the naysayers. My theory was this: surfing is half standing up, and half falling down. I am exceptional at falling down, so I already had complete command of 50% of the skills needed for surfing. I figured standing up couldn't be that hard.

As it turns out, it wasn't. Thanks to a good instructor at the surf lessons I took, and a 12' long board. I was surfing, as the pictures can show.

Sadly, I was misinformed about the skills needed for surfing. There is a third skill required, and some might even go so far as to say it is the most critical skill. That skill would be paddling. I spent 90 minutes in the water, and probably 60 of them paddling against the waves, using only my arms, while lying on the surfboard. I am therefore exhausted in parts of my body that I had not been introduced to prior to this morning. So, having posted photographic proof of my success, and delivered a solid nose thumbing in the direction of my doubters, or at least a generally easterly direction, I now head to bed.

Another Week of Fun....

So my friend Ninja Dave joined me for a week here in Maui, much to the chagrin of his girlfriend who remained behind in Toronto. It was a "boys week" and we did some hanging out and such.

Ironically, Dave is not much of a water person, so snorkelling, surfing, wakeboarding, and many of the other activities here on the island had little or no appeal to him. I was forced to become creative.

We went to another luau, different from the one I previously attended. It was not as good as the first one, but still enjoyable. There were a larger number of performers, so the show was more rounded, but I still felt the first show was better.

We also biked down Haleakala, the larger of the two volcanoes that form the island of Maui. The start of our bike ride was at 9740ft above sea level, and we biked right down to the beach in just over 38 miles. Now if you think that's hard work, imagine what the participants in the "Cycle to the Sun" race go through each year, which is a bike race from the beach to the top of the mountain, 38 miles of race uphill the entire way. If that sounds hard, imagine what the "Run to the Sun" people go through, which is the foot race that occurs the next day.

Dave and I also drove to Hana, which is on the east side of Haleakala. It's only a 50 mile drive from the airport to the town of Hana, but the road is so winding and twisting that it takes almost 4 hours to make the trip one way. However, this is the wet side of the island, and much of the rainforest here is untouched, leading to some amazing scenery.

The last main trip we made was around to the north shore of Halemahina, the smaller volcano, and the area in which I am living. On the north shore are some old Hawaiian burial grounds, and while one is not allowed into the grounds themselves, one can come very close and peek. It was quite interesting. Around the same area, we found a stretch of coastline where many people had made small sculptures by balancing rocks. I couldn't pass up the opportunity to try my skills, and thus the picture.

Now, I'm back on my own, for the last two weeks of my stay here. I plan to work on evening out my tan, and keeping the beaches from flying away. Going to be hard to return to snow after all this, but I have had a great time so far, and still have plenty left.