Welcome to my Epic Polynesian Adventure

The view from a previous, care-free vacation to Maui in 2012. 

The title of this blog just got way more relevant. Sure, I studied tropical cyclones as a graduate student, but now it's about to get REAL: I will be starting a post-doctoral research position at the University of Hawai'i, Manoa, on August 25. Though, as I am a stickler and always correct my friends, Hawai'i is not in the tropics, but the subtropics. STILL. I am super excited for a number of reasons, but also incredibly stressed out. Trust me, just because I'm buying a one-way ticket instead of a round-trip, this move is neither cheap nor simple. So to document my adventure, I am resurrecting this blog (yes, again).

FAQ's so far:

1. When are you leaving and where are you going??
I leave approximately August 20. The Manoa campus is on Oahu, right in Honolulu, up the hill from Waikiki and Diamond Head.

2. Can I come visit you??!! 
Yes! I plan to have a futon, if not a second bedroom (OK, with rental prices, that's unlikely). But I probably won't be all settled until October, and please bring a tub of Trader Joe's dark chocolate peanut butter cups with you as tribute (there are NO Trader Joe's in the state of Hawaii!).

3. So you're just going to get rid of all of your stuff and take off, right?
No. I am shipping my favorite pieces of furniture. They go by boat and I'm crossing my fingers that the container doesn't fall off the ship on its 4-6 week journey (and buying insurance). Don't try to talk me out of this. I have a very expensive and beloved mattress, and when you add in my couch, desk, TV, kitchenware and other miscellaneous items, replacement cost is comparable to shipping, and I won't have time to do all of that shopping when I get there. But I am selling my car, and a few other things, putting cold-weather stuff in storage with my parents, and getting rid of many things, as one does when one moves.

4. What's going to happen to Whiskey?
Whiskey, my cat, is coming with me. Or rather, she's being shipped to me once I get there and find a place to live. It's expensive for me and traumatic for her, but she's my responsibility. Re-homing options are very thin right now and I think it's downright cruel and inhumane to abandon a pet when moving if you have the means to take them with you. She's moved before, over long distances, and she has a short memory. The good news is that Hawaii has developed a direct-release program if you follow certain protocols, so she will not be subjected to quarantine.

5. Wait, there's no Trader Joe's in Hawaii?
Ugh, no. And there's no Ikea or ZipCar, or Car2go, either. But the local Safeway does have eight types of fresh poke in the seafood section...

Poke (poe-kee) is a marinated raw fish (or octopus, or shrimp, or imitation crab) salad, kind of like ceviche. They have one called THE TSUNAMI.