Tough Times

Some of you may be asking yourself "what happened to this guy? He hasn't posted in over two months..." 

Yes, we are still in Hawaii.  Yes, I am still working at my new (not so new) job.  And yes, we are still struggling in many ways. 

I wouldn't say that we have island fever, the place still feels pretty darn big to me.  But I would say that we have a severe case of homesickness.   Unfortunately, home for us is California.  And few states are seeing worse effects of the recession than California.  Unemployment continues to climb, and so many people are out of work or underemployed that it is questionable whether or not California ever will recover.

Mind you, Hawaii (and other states) have their troubles too, but no where near the scale of California.  And the more I grouse about wanting to go back, the more my friends tell me the obvious.  I am working. 

Our troubles in Hawaii seem not so substantial when I think about not having a job again.  But nonetheless, they are still quite substantial.  We are still basically living off of one income, and everything here is more expensive.  Worst of all, we are worried about our son's future.  Hawaii schools are very bad.  Only a few elite public schools rate high on any education scales.  These are in affluent areas that we cannot afford to live in.  The alternative is private schools, but once again the costs are prohibitive.  Because of the high demand, the charter schools here are placed by lottery, and anyone with common sense knows the likelihood of winning a lottery. 

I know that it would be foolish to leave when I am gainfully employed, especially to a place where there is hardly any work.  But it makes my heart sick to see my son suffer.  Kindergarten should have been a year of fun times.  Instead he has a teacher who is on her cellphone in the morning when I drop him off, and on her cellphone when my wife picks him up.  Instead he has classmates who constantly bully and pick on him coupled with a teacher who is utterly oblivious to the comings and goings of her students.  This does not feel good.  This does not bode well.

For now, I fear I will have to stick it out and hope for better opportunities for all of us.  Where those opportunities will come, I do not know.  But I certainly hope we find them soon.