Story time

Backstory. I’ve made mention of my subwife friend on here a few times. She was with us at SOAC in CT, then her husband stationed in Hawaii with us now. She was renting a short term rental from another sub family in Kaneohe and recently moved to a more permanent location. Her old landlord had brought her some limes from her tree, but had too many so she shared with me.

Fast forward to Wednesday. There was an event held by the Marine Corps officer spouses club (Kaneohe Officer Spouse Club, KOSC) (all officer spouse groups tend to co-mingle and allow other branch wives to join in). It was bingo night at the O-Club (officer’s club, a restaurant on base that, in theory, only officers (and their families) and above are allowed at. I offered to bring a prize for one of the rounds, which was a glass from Tiki’s, two rum nips, a small can of orange and pineapple juice, and a lime that Caitlyn had brought me.

I entered this big, restaurant room they had reserved with three or four large tables and took a seat at what was probably the head table (the chairs and bingo ball puller person(?) was there). Two women sat near me, one next and one across. It was quickly revealed that we were all Navy wives (we somehow find each other) and the one next to me was a subwife. She had told me that I looked familiar, and I kinda brushed it off because I hadn’t really met anyone yet at any events and everyone in subs starts to look familiar. So we both sat on it. She told me she lived in Kaneohe, and had been there for a while (6+ years). Kaneohe was where my friend was renting, and her landlord had been there a while. After a long delay, my brain has been fried from work, the thought occurred to me they must know each other, so I turned to her and asked her “Do you know the Jones’?” (name changed). She look across at her friend, who is about to bust out laughing, and turns to me and says “I am the Jones’!!” and we all erupted in laughter.

A little while later, someone wins my prize and I tug on her shirt and say, “Do you know where that lime came from? Your tree!” And we laughed again.

She had been inviting my friend to Thursday night booze cruises on their boat docked at Kaneohe Yacht Club. I had brought up a conversation my friend, her husband, and I had had about their boat and if it was a sail boat or motor or what. She took this to mean I was trying to nudge at getting invited to one of these, and that wasn’t the case at all, I had truly completely forgot that was a thing. Regardless, she told me to come tomorrow (Thursday) on their boat booze cruise. And if there’s anything that’s going to make me feel at home, it’s a boat booze cruise.

I was kinda caught up in the moment, so I didn’t get any pictures of their actual boat except one, but it is a house boat of sorts. There’s a below deck with two bedrooms and two bathrooms and small living area. They have a deck and front walkabout. We took it out, “chased” the sailboats for their weekly Thursday night race, got rained on, and moseyed on back to the dock. It was SO picturesque and I really enjoyed photographing regardless of the rainy weather. This is the same bay we went to the sandbar on Saturday.

This first picture is of me on the front walkabout before it started raining. I didn’t bring a towel to wipe my lens again. Face palm.

The next set of pictures are them on their way out. Lots of sailboat pictures, it was so fun to photograph!

Marine Corps base in the background

You can see the heavy rain we’re about to get hit with in this next one.

And on their way back in.

Brian was on duty last night and even if he wasn’t he probably wouldn’t get home early enough to come. I am so thankful he is a really supportive husband of me going out and doing things on my own. I’m harder on myself about it than he is. I almost feel a little guilty, and I also just know he’d love doing it with me. I married him because I love spending time and doing these types of things with him. I remind myself this won’t last forever.

He just got home, so we get to eat dinner!

Oh, one last thing, we caught the Marine Corps practicing search and rescue drills.

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Sarah’s Work

I get asked a lot if I am able to work in Hawaii and what it’s like, so my intention is to shed some light on what I’m up to.

I left my job at Conformis in 2019, my last day at work was the day Brian proposed. I worked my way up from being a CAD engineer to Lead MES (Manufacturing Execution System) engineer over the course of 7 years. That role meant that I was sole owner of the manufacturing automation system; the maintenance, the projects for updates, upgrades, it was a lot. The factory worked 24/7. I didn’t have anyone else to help, and if I were to go on vacation the only way I was completely off the hook was if I was out of cell service range. There is a lot that goes into leaving a job, but it came down to no longer wanting all that stress on my shoulders, particularly for the amount of money they were paying me (70k for 24/7 availability was not enough). I also had no where to go promotion wise.

In comes NECI, which reached out to me via a recruiting company on LinkedIN. Their interview process was what really gave me confidence I was going to the right place. The interview was tough, and I knew it would take decent quality people to get through it. It also gave me the opportunity to go from working inside a facility to consulting on projects as the outside vendor, more opportunities for promotion, less 24/7 availability, and more take home… on the order of 30k more.

Two years later and I am very happy with my decision. When I was working in Cambridge, NECI opened a remote office there for me and a couple people to take advantage of. It was a five minute walk from home. Then we went remote because of COVID and I’ve been able to be remote ever since. Currently I work Hawaii hours, but I start at 7am after my sunrise walks, so it’s decently early. That’s noon EST.

It’s been working nicely with my current project, because by the time they sort out the details and hand the work over to me, I have about 6 hours of work I can get done before I hand it back to them for review. My day to day currently is working with a company called ElevateBio who partners with researchers who want to learn more about gene therapies to cure things like Alzheimers. I use a software (Syncade) that records data, shows step text, collects signatures, calculates, and does a whole host of other things through a step by step process. This used to be, and still is, done on paper in some places. So I worked on building Elevate’s process into this Syncade so that an operator can just click buttons and sign off and get calculations and data collected.

This project is coming to an end for me shortly, and I’m moving on to a project that is working with this data to present it in a manageable, readable format. I’m not entirely excited about that, it’s something I had to do at Conformis and there were a million people who had a billion views on what data should look like or what data we should be looking at, but it’s something new and data is the new “in” thing so I’m sure it’ll be valuable for my career.

They very generously offered unlimited PTO this year, so people could take some extra time after a pandemic year with so much stress, which I value tremendously and used a lot to travel from Connecticut to Hawaii. I’m hoping they keep this for another year.

In the meantime, I offered to support Conformis as a contractor. They took me up on that offer and paid me $90/hr (there’s a lesson there, somewhere). So I worked to train a new hire for them that was replacing me. For a lot of reasons this training has continued to the present time. However, after Brian telling me multiple times I work too much (particularly when I was recovering from COVID) and me just realizing it’s probably the better for the both of us, I am ending that relationship in the coming month. I also want to be able to enjoy Hawaii while we’re here. It’s one thing to work extra in gray boring Connecticut during a pandemic, and another in beautiful Hawaii. I’m not sure if I’ll miss the extra money, but I certainly won’t miss the extra stress.

I also work for TED. This originated back when I was desperately paying off my student loans. It’s really basic, I answer customer service emails (Yes, if you write into contact@ted.com, I’ll be the one answering the email if it’s the weekend. No one’s ever taken me up on that, though). It’s not usually more than 4 hours on the weekend which I fit in while watching a movie or watching football etc. They’re also really chill and don’t need me, so if I don’t work a weekend or two they are very ok with that. I also work customer service for their conferences, so this coming week I’ll be online helping out with behind the scenes stuff. They pay $15/hr. In the budget in my head, I use this to pay for way more than it can actually pay for. I’m not really sure why I do it still, but my colleagues are fun and it has certainly improved my customer service voice and ability to deal with people. They love that I’m in Hawaii because the conference is in California and I can cover the late late hours. (I start working at 5pm my time).

And finally, I’ve made a little money taking photos! Who knows where that goes.

So, yes, I still get to work while in Hawaii and it’s Hawaii hours. It can be a little lonely. I do often joke with Brian that if someone offered me a full time job teaching people to snorkel (is that even a thing?) I wouldn’t say no. I am the envy of a lot of military families to be in the position I’m in, and I try to remember that when I am looking outside at the adventures that await me.

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Gender reveal and Kaneohe Bay Sandbar

Friends of ours are having a baby in December and invited us for gender reveal cake cutting and pontoon boat to the Kaneohe Bay Sandbar. You can rent Pontoon boats from the Marine Corps base (another reason I love them.) You need to get your license first, which I am going to a “hands on” course in a couple weeks for. There was a rainbow right as we started!

It’s a girl! (There’s a theory that submariners only have girls because they are around men all day and their bodies believe the world needs to be populated with more females. I think there’s an actual study going on about this).

Then we took the boat to the sandbar, it was low tide so some parts were uncovered. Behind me is the island Mokoli’i, aka Chinaman’s hat. I feel like I need a crash course in posing.

The dog (Kylo) had ZERO fun…

Neither did the humans

The water coloring gradient is unreal and something you just need to experience in real life, but here’s the best I could do.

Saw a hydrofoil and a bunch of turtles

There were plenty of other people who had the same idea, but this sandbar is massive so it’s like you’re not near anyone.

We rented it from 8am-12 noon. Which gives you 8:30-11:30am at the bar, and I thought that was plenty of time. I think the cost is $80. And we’re on our way back!

It was on and off rain most of the morning, but we made the most of it. It’s just kinda part of life and it’s not like we aren’t wet already anyway. The hardest thing was keeping my lens dry, which I’ll do a better job of bringing a specific lens towel next time and keeping it dry. This last picture is a bit fuzzy because of my wet lens. We can’t wait to do it again!

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Sunrise and Breakfast 24July21

Believe it or not, prior to today Brian had never joined me on my sunrise walks. Well, he joined for his first on the worst sunrise I’ve seen so far. Ha. We have a hurricane passing us by and it’s been rainy/cloudy/windy of and on for the last week it feels.

I walked by one of the usuals that I am starting to be friendly with and said “I have a husband” and he said “good you have some adult supervision now”. I laughed. I always think of the wittiest things to say after, but I should’ve said “Shhh don’t let on to our secret sunrise parties”.

We tried a new breakfast place and got takeout. Moke’s Bread and Breakfast. I had the pancakes with an “amazing passion fruit” spread. It was delicious. Passion Fruit is known as Lilikoi here and will often be advertised as such. Brian had an omelet.

I will be back for their stuffed hashbrowns.

As for the rest of the day, Brian took three naps. I took two and fit in a golf lesson at the Marine Corps Base Klipper golf course the Marine Corps Base spouse club organized. It was a crazy week for the both of us. The first lesson was putting. It was really awesome, and I look forward to being able to play a round when my parents visit. The views are supposed to be phenomenal, but I could be un-phased because I’m so used to them by now.

We then went to church and a 10th anniversary/new hale (house warming) party after. The family is a sub family that is also Catholic and I’ve received a lot of help from her for little things during this transition. Her father is a deacon at our church. It was great to meet another sub family there as well, and I look forward to interacting with them more.

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Family photo session 2

I had another opportunity, which came to me via word of mouth, to photograph a family here on vacation. This time, it was twin sons aged 13, a 7 year old, and their parents. It was a TON of fun. They were a really great family to work with.

I’m still uneasy about posting pictures of children. Even if I get their consent, I feel like they don’t quite understand the impact of what it really means to have their picture on the internet. So until I get over it or feel more comfortable with it, you’ll just have to deal with imagining how some of these come out, seeing backs, and adults. I also tried using my software to blur faces, but it seems it’s missing that feature unfortunately.

I am really really enjoying this. I am not really sure where to take it from here, and I don’t have anything booked as of now.

I asked if she thought the value was equal or greater than what I was charging, and she said definitely yes. She mentioned that a lot of photographers will charge extra for the unedited versions. Personally, the editing isn’t my skillset or favorite, so by all means I’ll charge less to get that off my hands to be honest. At this point it’s really nice to not be doing it for the money and to not care.

I told them I’d remove people in the background in some photos, you can tell I didn’t make a huge effort for these. That’s honestly the most time consuming. Instead of spending a ton of time doing that on photos they may never print, I did it for a few and told them to pick a couple out they really wanted me to do it for when they had a chance to review and let me know.

I thought overall this was a huge improvement on my first on and I did a lot better getting everyone’s attention. I had to work a little harder with my instincts and own creativity, she didn’t come with any ideas this time and it went a bit quicker. It’s funny how some poses work better with some families than others. I didn’t have everyone sit somewhere, so I think if there was one takeaway, maybe I can start creating a list of my favorite poses until I get them more ingrained just to have on hand and refer to during the session.

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Sunrise 22JUL21

I feel like I didn’t NAIL the framing for this and I’m pretty annoyed. This is when a wide angle lens really comes in handy. I’ll share some additional framing tries and vies. Or the sun needed to be closer to the Mokes!! Nonetheless, it was absolutely spectacular to catch.

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Mid Pac Golf Course Tournament

This past Monday the Mid Pac Golf course was hosting a tournament for the Japan-American Society of Hawaii. They had a Helicopter ball drop to raise money. I was able to snag a couple pictures of it.

They did two, the first was a little far away. The second was at the hole right by our gate.

They also opened with a Taiko Drum session. I took a video of it from my lanai. Pretty neat, I’d like to experience one up close.

Been a crazy week. Will update more when I can catch my breath!

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Just Hawaii Things

This was actually a double rainbow for a bit! You can just barely see the one on top.

This is a video of one of my favorite non-ocean roads to drive. As usual, the video doesn’t do it justice, but the palm tree landscape is just *swoon*. Also enjoy Brian’s commentary.

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First paid family photo shoot

Word gets out quickly about offering affordable photoshoots. A family was coming for vacation and wanted to get some for a Christmas card while they were here, and offered to pay me (ME? Me, a hobbyist photographer?) to grab some pictures of them. I charged them $150 for ~1.5 hours of photography on the beach and some editing. I figured that that’s reasonable for a rookie? I’m kinda winging it here.

I always ask people before I post their pictures on this blog. She kindly requested no faces of the kids, so you’ll miss out on some of the really fun ones, but I loved this session. (I have no idea what we’ll do about the picture and social media and kid thing… thankfully we’re not there yet) The boys were a ton of fun to interact with and the mom came with some specific posing requests, which was helpful.

I’m pretty sure I edited people our of these two pictures, but at this point I can’t remember.

The general flow was some casual walking down the beach to a quieter spot. Taking care of some specific poses in front of the Mokes, next to a boat, etc. Then we let the boys get a little dirty and play in the sand. Some things I learned this session:

  1. Having the kids look into the sun can be tough, so counting down to eyes opening is helpful
  2. Trying to encourage everyone to smile and look at the same time (it’s not as obvious as I’d expect!) I felt like there were a lot of missed shots because one person wasn’t smiling or looking at me.
  3. Learn names earlier (Face palm! So obvious)

There were a lot of the blue jellies washed up, I think because of the wind and storm heading our way. One of the boys had been stung earlier, so they were super conscious about it and made it a bit tougher for relaxed beach walking.

I think the best part is I have a ton of fun doing it. I’m definitely a little nervous leading up to it, but keeping the price so low makes it feel really low pressure.

I ended up with ~600 pictures and edited ~94. I think that’s worth $150, right?

Hope so! I have another paid gig on Friday.

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Tiki’s and walk back

After about a 30 minute walk we arrived at Tiki’s. It was worlds different; so much busier. We had reservations and sat right down.

Brin bought another design tiki glass for our collection and I bought one as a prize for a Officer’s wives club bingo I’m going to.

For dinner I got guava glazed ribs and Brian got the prime rib. Both good, but we’re here for the souvenir glasses and sunset. Unfortunately we were kinda tucked behind some palm trees, so we left to watch the sunset.

I really felt like the scenery and colors weren’t working with me that day, but I tried.

Finally a couple pictures from the darker walk back. ABC stores are a Hawaiian chain convenience store kinda, but we haven’t gone in one yet. I just liked the look of it.

And finally some cool lit up palm trees.

Brian and I have decided we probably won’t be going back to Honolulu much during peak tourist season. Phew.

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