Oh, Snap.

This is what happens when you screw up in Forensic Anthropology.  From Jantz (1995).

Exhibit B

Further evidence that Hawaii is in fact, not actually part of America:

I'm a Citizens Bank customer, have been for the last three years.  I looked online to see if Citizens had a branch out here in Hawaii.  Nope.  No Citizens Bank here.  

I think that's fine, they didn't have a Citizens in Pennsylvania or in Utah when I lived in those places, so I figured I'd switch to Bank of America.  It is called Bank of America, so they should be anywhere in the U.S., right?

Wrong.  There is no Bank of America branch in Hawaii.  There is however, a Bank of Hawaii.  No First National Bank, but there is a First Hawaiian Bank.  

There you have it:  this "state" attempting to keep its residents (and their cash) as separate from the rest of the country as possible.  Thank goodness for direct deposit and cash back with my debit card.

Not Friends

That is my current relationship status with Hawaii:  not friends.  Maybe it's just that I'm having a bad week, but here is a list of my grievances:

• The bus system here is awful.  Awful, awful, awful.  It costs $2.50 to ride a bus that only comes every 40 minutes(-ish).  I had to ride the bus to work for the first time yesterday, and the driver didn't even know the name of the stops I was looking for.  Are they on autopilot?  Awful, I say.  Maybe I'm just accustomed to a much higher standard of public transportation (three cheers for the MBTA), but I very much don't like it.
• Hawaii is far too far away.  How is it even America?  Most places that ship things within the U.S. don't recognize Hawaii as "within the U.S."  I hate it.  

Hawaii is outside of three standard deviations of the rest of America.  

• Speaking of Hawaii being really far away, a six hour time difference, really?  Basically everyone I like and want to talk to when I get home from work is already in bed* when I get there.  Also, I forgot my phone today, which is the worst thing that could happen, because I wasn't able to call my family on my lunch break and they stress out when I don't call every day.
• Walking to the bus stop today was like walking through a minefield of giant slugs--like two inches long and a half inch thick giant.  I'm just glad I saw a bunch chilling out on the sidewalk before I could step on any, but gross.
• It's been raining in the mornings lately.  It's not normal "America" rain, though, the kind that falls on you from above.  Hawaii rain is like being spritzed from multiple directions by crazy high winds rendering an umbrella useless.  
• I went to Wendy's today, and a Frosty was $1.49.  Dear Hawaii, in America, we pay 99 cents for our Frostys.  Check yourselves before you wreck yourselves.  

Whenever I say a bunch of really crabby things, I have to say one good thing just to keep my karma in check.  So one good thing is that I still really like my job.  Being elbow-deep in bones and formaldehyde powder is a good way to forget one's troubles.  Also, the lab doesn't have any windows, so I don't really have to acknowledge the fact that I'm in Hawaii while I'm there.

*I guess an underlying cause of this is that I don't really have any friends here yet, but it took me over two years to assemble the dream team of friends I had in Boston, so it's a little much to ask for me to do the same in a year here.

One Week!

It's been one week since I landed in Hawaii and I've just finished my first week of work!

As much as I was apprehensive about moving here (and by "was apprehensive" I mean "sobbed like an infant pretty regularly"), I have to say that I'm generally happy.  There are still things in my brain/heart that are still a little off/weird/sad, but I'm a lot more okay about this transition than I thought I would be.  I like Hawaii and I think that I'll only like it more as time goes on.

Enough about Hawaii though--I really, really, really love my new job.  Granted, I haven't started any projects yet, it's a lot of training and administrative stuff right now, but it's awesome.  At the CIL there's a library, and the first time I went through it was something akin to the scene in Beauty and the Beast where the Beast shows Belle the library and she's all like, "OMG...LOOK AT ALL THE BOOKS!!!!!"  Seriously, every book that a forensic anthropologist could ever wish for is in that room, and it's amazing.

I know this isn't the scene I'm talking about, but the size is more comparable to the CIL library.

Also, I love putting on my "CIL Scientific Staff" lab coat and going into the lab to study the specimens.  That's right, study.  Not only will I be doing casework for this fellowship, but I'll be studying and learning so much!  It's basically like I'm getting paid to become the best forensic anthropologist I can be.  I am so glad that I'm here.  I love that I get to be a forensic anthropologist, to be part of the (relatively) small group of people who can look at a skeleton and see more than just a pile of bones.  Who can reconstruct someone's life out of bits and pieces of minerals and proteins.  

It's really, really, really awesome.

Aloha! (For Reals This Time)

Guys, it's official (like Facebook official):  I live in Hawaii now!  Surprisingly, the six-hour time difference between Boston and Hawaii has not kicked my trash yet, but that could be because on travel day I was awake for 24 hours straight so I basically forced myself to adhere to a new system of time.

Observations thus far:

• It's freaking hot.  Except when it's not.  It's basically mid-eighties and sunny every day, but yesterday we did get some rain while at an outdoor polo match.  I'm going to have to adjust my New England wardrobe a bit and be pretty proactive about the sunscreen, but generally, I'm sure I can handle it.  
• It's freaking beautiful.  Before I got here I was skeptical that there would actually be palm trees, but there are.  It's amazing.  There are hibiscus flowers everywhere and really cool birds that I've never before seen.  Anyone who is Facebook friends with me will see lots of pictures.
• Food is freaking expensive.  People have told me this, but again, I didn't quite believe it until I saw boxes of cereal for over $6.  Between the hot weather and my not wanting to spend a fortune on groceries, I think I can probably count on getting pretty skinny this year.  Unless I eat these; then I might die:  

Honolulu's answer to Cambridge's "Live Poultry, Fresh Killed," I guess.

Aloha! (Almost)

Chilling at the SeaTac Airport (note my haggard appearance--a mix of "I've been up since 5am and on a plane for the past several hours" and "I still haven't figured out how to take good webcam pictures").  Nine-ish hours and I'll be in Honolulu!

Also, this is the first time I've ever done the whole WiFi thing at an airport!

I'm Afraid I'm Going to Be Terribly Boring...

My blog posts these days have been either very short or very impersonal (e.g. restaurant reviews).  I'm trying out using paper and pen (a traditional journal--something I haven't done since college) as an outlet for my every thought and emotion, as tempting as it may be to release every wave, pang, and ache of feeling onto this blog at 75 wpm*, where I know it will be seen and by whom.  Until I can achieve some type of post-catharsis equilibrium, I'm afraid I'll be taking a break from blogging anything less than generic.

Hope to be back soon.



*Thank you, Mavis Beacon.