Never Mind

So in case any of you reading have every wondered what it would be like to live with or be a contractor, let me just give you a tiny glimpse into my world! We choose to live in a Fifth Wheel which is basically like an RV because on any given day, at any given time, a contractor can be told they need to be in a different location within a few days. So, a Fifth Wheel beats living out of a hotel, and I feel like we aren't just "throwing our money away".

Right now we are in Lamar, CO and I think we will be here until March but we could also be here until June, or they can tell my husband he needs to be somewhere different next week. We just never know. This was the main reason I quit my job and we sold our house and put basically everything we own in storage. Some people would probably be a little stressed out if they knew their world could turn upside down within a matter of a few days. But since we live full time on the road, I really would welcome the opportunity to travel more.

However, this is where I will also put my foot in my mouth. One of the main guys that my husband is working with right now is moving to Hawaii in February to become a site lead for GE. Greg has told him several times that if he needed anyone over there to please let Greg know. This was supposed to mean that we would like to come over there for a month or two. Well, this is how it apparently was interpreted: My husband calls me yesterday morning and all he says is this, "Do you still want to go to Hawaii?" Well, yeah! But he doesn't tell me the whole story until after I say "yes". After which he proceeds to tell me that there is a position open with GE (he is a contractor now and is not employed by GE) that the guy here thinks he can get Greg hired on. And, since it would technically be less money, there was also a job opening for me as a data entry person. Basically we would both be working in HI making the same amount of money that we do now but minus the whole traveling part. But here was the kicker. We would be LIVING in Hawaii until at least 2014. Now, I know it's probably easy for someone to say they would move to Hawaii in a heartbeat, but to actually do it is another thing.

So yesterday I spent all day stressing about this huge life change and looking up information about Maui online. Housing is so expensive. One can literally spend $250,000 on a "house" and all they will get is maybe a stand alone home that is 500 square feet or more than likely a condo that may go up to 750 sq. ft. That didn't appeal to me at all. Then, we have a dog, and Hawaii does not have rabies, so they make incoming animals from the mainland be quarantined. Which not only made me feel so sorry for our precious Shady, but we would have had to get a microchip implanted in her prior to moving, and then all the necessary forms/paperwork. Another thing was that my husband said we would sell our truck AND our fifth wheel. Which made me sad because we had talked about turning it into a lake place one day, but whatever. Do you want me to keep going? OK. We would have had to ship my car to HI which from OK would have probably been a few thousand dollars. Then, since everything we own is in storage, we would have had to probably spend a good week going through everything, re-packing them into pre-sized boxes that would actually fit into a crate to be shipped. We would have literally had to either sell or give away probably half of our belongings.

Along with the reality of the impact this move would have on our lives, I had other worries as well. We wouldn't be able to just drive to Oklahoma if we wanted to so we wouldn't see our family and friends except maybe once a year. I was afraid we would be working so much that we wouldn't even get to enjoy the island anyway. I'm scared of tsunami's and earthquakes. What if the two volcanoes on the island suddenly decided to erupt? The cost of living is higher. Etc, Etc, Etc.

Last night we talked it over ALL NIGHT LONG and still went to bed not knowing what would be best to do. This morning my husband texted me from work and said that with GE he would be sent to more schooling and he would be more qualified which could advance his career in the future. So, I told him if he thought we should move, then let's do it. And then I cried. I knew that I had a lot on my plate prior to moving and that I would be super stressed out until we lived in Hawaii for probably a month.

I decided to go to the library and load up on some books on Hawaii. I have all the books in my arms ready to be checked out when my cell phone rings. It's Greg. Calling to tell me that they had already filled the position and that we weren't moving.

That's the life as a contractor.