I should be more excited than I am. After all, it was one of the ones I was hoping would call me back. It's the vault position with American Savings Bank.
- Pros
- not really working with the public
- basically doing my own thing all day long
- guaranteed forty hour work weeks -- usually getting half days on Thursdays/Fridays
- paid holidays and my birthday OFF
- very nice benefits including dental and vision which start the day of hire
- $60 to go toward parking
- ASB has been in the top 5 for the past 6-ish years as one of the best places to work in Hawaii
- lots and LOTS of space for growth -- they do reviews every 6 months or so
- I get to wear comfy clothing, like jeans, tennis shoes, and a t-shirt
- lots of potential for overtime (yay money!)
- Cons
- pay for me starts at $10/hour
- for those paying attention... YOU CANNOT LIVE ON $10/HOUR IN HAWAII UNLESS YOU'RE WILLING TO GET A SECOND JOB TO SUPPLEMENT YOUR INCOME!! And after working 40 hour work weeks, I'm not entirely sure I'd like to give up my weekends in the land of sunshine...
- it's in downtown Honolulu so parking is evil unless I want to take the bus (in which case the entire $60 would go to the monthly bus ticket)
- Mondays are usually very long since we will be closed on the weekend -- we stay until everything is done, even if that means 7PM
- traffic
- lots of potential for overtime (sometimes you just want to only do your 40 hours...)
So. Yeah. That happened. I went ahead and told them I'd take the job. I finished my drug test and background check today, so, assuming I pass both, I would start on 2/2. The lady I spoke with said the guy I interviewed with was really excited I had gotten through the interview process and was offered the position.
Funny story... Since I hadn't heard from ANYONE I interviewed with as of Tuesday, I went ahead and scheduled an appointment with a Temp Agency. I went in for the interview/testing on Wednesday and then went hiking at Diamond Head (pictures to follow, my lovelies!). After I finished my hike and was making my Shakeology in the car, I got a phone call from ASB. They wanted to offer me the job. I hemmed a little because during my testing, the lady said I had placed phenomenally high. And she wasn't kidding. I am "Advanced in Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel. Received 8,769 KPH in 10 key; 12,194 KPHY in alpha-numeric; and types 67 WPM." And here I was thinking this was one of my worst typing days... She pretty much said they were super excited I was there and I would be very, VERY easy to get a job somewhere. She had never seen an alpha-numeric or 10-key as high as my scores. I also don't know how long she's worked there for... So, yeah... That could just be her being a newb but I don't think so.
Anyway, she told me University Health Alliance is hiring and she would request I get highest pay, which she indicated was $13.50/hour! That's $0.48 less than I was making on the mainland at Regence BlueShield. With that, I also am not having to pay $588 for my rent/utilities so I'd be saving quite a bit and be able to pay down some debt I have incurred over the last few years. Since it's medical (pretty much the same jobby I had with RBS), they should be offering insurance. It's full time, forty hours a week. Again, it's in Honolulu but I like this location MUCH BETTER than the location for HMSA. Funny, but it's actually a few blocks from ASB. No parking. I'm not sure if they have any form of compensation or not (good questions for the interview!) but it's right on a bus route, if needed. I have also figured out how to listen to books-on-tape on my phone, downloaded from Sno-Isle and Tacoma Public Library, so, yay! Something to listen to while I'm in traffic either on the bus or driving.
So... UHA contacted the temp agency and the temp agency set up an interview for me tomorrow morning. If UHA offers me the position in a timely manner, I'm taking it. Otherwise I'm going with ASB. I'd feel horrible saying, "Nope, sorry! You guys just don't pay enough." And let's face it -- $10/hour and you want me to count a couple all the money coming in and out of your VAULT? It's really not that much of an incentive to NOT steal (not that I would -- I thought about this long and hard while on graveyard shift at the casino... It's a lot of money to 1. get new identification, 2. get out of the country and to an non-extrodition country, and 3. live comfortably for the next 20 years [or whenever the statute of limitations expires]. I haven't thought about this at all! Not.).
On that happy note... PICTURES!!!
View from the walk-in parking (I only wanted to pay $1 instead of $5. It was totally worth it!).
Starting my hike. This trail was quite the teaser, all nice and smooth, and wide...
... Because then I was walking hard up hill through switchbacks on LAVA rocks (I'm pretty sure... Hello! It used to be a volcano? Yeah, I'm pretty sure this was lava rocks).
Catching my breath, part 1.
Catching my breath, part 2.
Catching my breath, part 3.
Catching my breath, part 4.
Catching my breath, part 5. This Panorama was taken where they had some old guns (there weren't any sitting on display like the ones at Fort Casey in Washington State, which would have been 100xs awesomer!). You're looking at the East side of Oahu, where Hanauma Bay is located. Also, there was this little old man there, explaining things about how Diamond Head functioned as a military base in the World Wars. It was really interesting! He gave lots of tips about the island in general, too. He was snapping pictures for tourists as well. I don't know if he was a tourist or paid by the state or whatever, but it was really nice to get some history about this place while taking a break from the long hike up.
There were so many stairs... SO. MANY. STAIRS.
And also a spiral staircase which I thought I would whack my head on... I don't know how tall people could do it!
My first peak at the ocean, cresting those cursed stairs.
Another panorama. Cause they're awesome. You're looking South West-ish.
At the lookout, part 1.
At the lookout, part 2 (that's Waikiki over there).
At the lookout, part 3.
At the lookout, part 4. It's still a bit terrifying but exhilarating not seeing any land ANYWHERE in sight. My breath hitches each time I catch a glimpse of the ocean. I'm not sure that's going to go away anytime in the near future...
At the lookout, part 5. Diamond Head Park, looking toward the East side of Oahu.
At the lookout, part 6. Waikiki on the horizon. No, I cannot see my house from here. See those mountains on the left side of the picture? I'm up over yonder.
At the lookout, part 7. My phone automatically thought this was an epic picture so it cropped the previous picture in part 6 and edited it for me. Which is awfully nice for a phone to do, thanks.
Primp, Primp, Selfie! I'm not glowing... that's sweat, y'all! This was after I wiped my face off. I was dripping and it was burning my eyes...
My big head is blocking Waikiki...
Again with the blocking...
Shiny... With sweat... I'm glad I hiked around 3PM. The sun was out of my way for most of it and since we're on the coast, there was a lot of cool breezes. But, let's face it, when you're hiking and its 77F out, you're going to sweat. I don't care who you are.
Decending. Check out the staircase in the next picture.
Yep, these are the ones.
My shadow was looking extra sexy so it deserved it's own picture.
This is about 20 miles away from Diamond Head on my way home. Check out those storm clouds though!
This concludes my photo narrative of my hike to Diamond Head. I started at 2:40 and got to the top by 3:20/3:30. I made it back to my car by 4:10. I totally took my time, too. There were lots of tourist, mostly Japanese, which was fun to listen to along the way. There was also this group from Illinois -- they were adorable! One would talk about the history of the fort and the others would commentate. There were also a lot of locals high-tailing up the hills in jogging apparel. One day, I, too, shall be able to run full-pelt up that hill.
I highly recommend going. Go with other people or by yourself. Other people are more fun and can take full pictures of you without you're head blocking Waikiki.
Cheers!
LC
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