My interview adventure

I took the “push mobile” to the other side (aka the other side of the island) today for my interview. I had one of my roommate go with me for security sake. We made it to Wally World (aka WalMart) so I could get some dress shoes so I looked professional for my interview. Eric and I went in to Wally World and did some shopping, then came out and hopped in the Jeep. She did not start. We waited 5 minutes then tried again and still no start. After 10 more minutes, time was getting tight, so we started walking to see if I could find a car rental place. LUCKILY, No Kai Oi Moters (roughly translates to The Best or #1) was across from Wally World. I was excited because that was were J&J and me got a rental car when we first came on vacation & I knew it would be cheap. They had a car – 96 Toyota Tercel for $115 a week. I took it. It is defiantly a Maui cruiser, but it starts on demand and runs well. We proceeded to Haiku and were about 45 minutes early and found the company that I had an interview with so we decided to go in the local grocery store that was in the same building as the company as I had an interview with. There was a Hot blonde walking in as we were walking in and I could not help but to notice her. I went to get some water – and she was there again. I went to the deli to get a sandwich – and she was there again. I went to cash out and she was standing in front of me. Someone called out her name, and I asked if she worked at the company I was interviewing with – and she was. I introduced myself and told her I had an interview with her at 1PM. She looked at me like I was crazy. I then asked if there was another “same name” at the company and she said yes. Surprisingly, she turned around and said – that is her… So I introduced my self to her. She replied, “I was so impressed with you resume that I figured you would be in a suit and tie…” I explained that I would be, and was early on purpose and had a change of clothes in the car.
After lunch, a bathroom break and changing clothes in the parking lot – I went to the office and asked for her. I was told that there was an application to fill out, and then Lisa would meet with me. I filled out the application, turned it in, and then we met at the picnic table outside. It was an easy interview and she expressed her concerns that 1 – I did know about Hawaiian art and 2) I did not know about pre-process color printing. To make a long story short – I have never been so happy not to get a job. She told me her concerns and was honest. She was SO VERY nice and HONEST that I was grateful. She gave me the name of a recruiter she used and suggested that I contact him. She also suggested that I contact some other companies and said that if I had any questions, concerns or just needed to talk – to PLEASE call her. I have never been on an interview where I knew I was not going to get the job and been so HAPPY and GRATEFUL to meet someone who really cared and wanted to help! I was also happy to hear that she was impressed with my resume (that is always good to hear :)
After the interview, Eric & I took the long road back. We Went to Wailuku to see if Eric could get an ID and so that I could get a Social Security Card so I could get paid for being an OPC. I successfully applied for my card, and Eric successfully got denied on his ID. Next we went to Iao Valley since he had not been there. (Ioa Valley was the last hold out of the Maui warriors when King Kamhemaha unified the islands of Hawai’i.) The coolest part of that trip (other than the fact Eric never had been there) was seeing a native Hawaiian jump from the 30-50 foot bridge into 6-8 feet of water. I was truly amazed – and grateful to see it.
We went back to Wally world to see if the push mobile would start – and we could not get the freaking door open. There was no way I was going to drive it if I could not get out in an emergency and was about to abandon it -when the door opened. Luckily, we made it back safely with me driving the push mobile and Eric driving the rental (that I have for a week).
Wish me luck on my interview tomorrow – it is THE job I want…
Aloha & Mahalo!

Hana the rain forest

Hana was absolutely beautiful. It was my first trip to a rainforest. It is a good 3 hour drive from Lahaina. One and a half hours are treveled over a curvy raod that is only wide enough for a car and a half. The bridges are only wide enough for one car. It is the curviest road I have ever been on. It has over 500 sharp curves and 50 single lane bridges. Some of the curves are blind, so you have to honk your car horn as you are approaching the curve to alert people that a car is coming.

We camped at Haleakala National Park at Kipahulu. The camp ground is located on a rocky cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean (south east side of Maui.) The seven pools in Oheo was only about a 5 minute hike. The fresh water from Haleakala (the highest mountain on Maui) runs down the mountain and into the ocean. On the way down, the water has created some magnificent water falls and fresh water pools. While it is called 7 pools – there are actually more than 7 pools. This is a picture of the bottom 3 pools with the one lane bridge at the top:

Our first day at camp, we went to the bottom 3 pools and did some swimming. Walking on the lava rocks is a challenge. The only way I was able to walk was with my Teva’s on. It sure did make a difference and helped to absorb some of the pain that is incurred when walking barefoot.

After a swim in the cold water, we decided to go hiking. It was a 1.8 mile hike through the rainforest across varying terrain. You pass all of the pools that are above the bridge on the trail. We came across a bamboo forest on the trail. The height and thickness of the bamboo was incredible. It grows so straight, and blocks out about 90% of the daylight, but we did find some good walking sticks to help on the trail.

While we were hiking on the way up, I wondered what the end of the trail was. What were we hiking to? I think it took about 1 and a half to 2 hours to reach the end of the trail. It was a waterfall! We had reached Waimoku Falls! It was a 400 fot water fall. It was the first time I had seen a waterfall that close. It was the first time I had seen such a BIG waterfall (I guess I should clarify that – I have seen Niagara – so it was the biggest waterfall in Hawaii I had seen.) The temperature was about 15-20 degrees cooler than when we started the hike. We hiked up hill almost the entire way. We took a short break to cool down and enjoy the beauty of the falls. The hike back was a heck of a lot easier. Downhill and we knew the path, so it was not too bad. It was still quite a hike and I could feel it in my legs, but the beautiful Waimoku Falls made it all worth it. Here is a picture of the falls:

It turns out that I am a snorer – and a loud one at that. Paul and Eric were my tent-mates – and I snored so loud that they did not sleep at all. They got up (well, actually they were already up) and went to watch the sunrise. I decided to get some more Zzz’s. After the sunrise, they same back and slept for about an hour. I woke up to Eric proclaiming that he going to walk to the country store in Hana. I knew it was 30 minutes by car, so I decided I would get up since he was so determined to get some food. We went to the store and ran into the Hippies that we had met the day before at the store. We decided to meet up at Red Sand Beach later in the day.

We went back to camp and went for a dip in the fresh water pools. We looked for Shari – our other house mate, but could not find her. We decided to go out do some more exploring of Hana and while waiting for traffic to pass at a one lane bridge, we spotted her and Eric yelled out her name. Turns out she had hitch hiked to the store and was on the way back. She was carrying an 18 pack of beer and a nice tourist couple had picked her up and gave her a ride for a beer. It is amazing what 1 beer can get you…

We went to Red Sand Beach. It is not marked, and you have to walk through a school to get to the trail. The trail is basically on the side of the ocean with cliffs that go up and down. It is not a bad hike, but it does pay to have 3 points of contact at certain points on the trail. We rounded a cliff and saw the beach. It was the first time I had seen a red sand beach (actually it was more like tiny rocks.) It was beautiful. We made it down the trail and were greeted by our hippie friends that we had met. One of the hippie guys was naked. No one had mentioned it was a clothing optional beach, but no biggie. If he wanted to walk around naked on the beach, then good for him – but I sure was glad when he put his clothes on. We settled in and then went snorkeling. It is a protected cove, but the water was stilla little rough because outside of the rocks that were protecting the cove, the ocean was rough. There was not much to see while snorkeling. One piece of coral and some fish – but nothing of any significant size.

Paul and I went back to the beach and had a beverage, while I happened to look over and see a breast. Sweet! The naked beach is much nicer when you are looking at breast rather than balls. The naked girl got up and got in the water. It was then obvious that she was pregnant. Now I hope you all do not take this the wrong way – but I think pregnant chicks are hot. There is just something about them that is sexy. So I stared at here the rest of the day.

Now I got a kick out of several things while there. The first was the father that was playing with his son that talked to the naked chick for at least 30 minutes. I especially liked when she started putting on sunscreen. I waited and waited for her to apply it to her breast. She waited until her conversation was over with the father and his son. Then she did it. I think the anticipation was better, but I still enjoyed it:)

The other thing I got a kick out of was when the little kid broke his little pink bucket that he had been putting water in. When he broke it, he started crying immediately. Daddy fixed it almost right away, but he continued to cry. I miss the simple days that all you cared about was playing and if the toy broke, you got so upset you started crying. Ahh, the good old days. Kids have a way of making us grown ups appreciate the little things in life.

The next stop was Black Sand Beach at Wainapanapa State Park. We went to the fresh water caves first. The fresh water comes directly out of the mountain and fills a little cave. I was the last to jump in. It is supposedly the coldest water on the island and I was a little hesitant, but I finally jumped off a 5 foot rock into the 7 feet of fresh water. It was COLD!!! There was a little cave that you could swim into. It was amazing. It was the whole reason I jumped in. Being in the cave and looking out into the main pool with the sun was cool. The one down side was it really smelled in the cave, it smelled like farts – and lots of them – so I did not stay in the cave too long.

Our next stop was at black sand beach. There was a little cave off the beach, so we went in and then climbed out of a blowhole in the cave. Here are some pictures from the cave:

It was a beautiful day. I saw so many sights – so many different beaches. After we made it back to camp, we went to Shari’s front yard. She set up camp down the path over looking the cliffs and ocean. It was cloudy, so I could not see the sun set over the mountains – but I did manage to see Venus set over the mountains after the sun went down. The colors in the sky were pretty – so many pinks and blues.

Here are my camping friends: (L to R) Eric, Me, Shari and Paul:

You learn so many things about people when you are camping. I am not a big camper – this was only the second time I had been – but I made it through it and I am glad I went. It was a great experience. Hana was beautiful. The waterfalls were beautiful. The pools were beautiful. Red and Black Sand beach were beautiful. Another beautiful couple of days in paradise:)