Jobs

Jobs was Originally Posted on December 17, 2004 by lavarock

This week is filled with items concerning work and jobs.

As you may know, I’m cutting down high grass to make an area ready to receive thousands of coffee plants! Although a riding mower would be faster and easier to use, I bought a push-type gas mower. Perhaps in a year I’ll get a riding mower or tractor, but for now this has to do. Sesides, we are talking $130 compared to $2000; no wonder I’ll make do…

I donated some coffee to the Royal Kona Resort for their Christmas party give-aways. Then last night I was a guest there and hoped to hear my coffee being given as a prize, but it seems they had already handed out gift envelopes for the smaller prizes like mine. The big prizes are the ones that got big hoopla and no wonder, two nights in Las Veaga, a trip to Anchorage Alaska and so on! You had to be an employee of the resort to win, darn it

I have now received all of the checks for this years macadamia nut crop. Total pick was about 3000 pounds and after my startup expenses I made about $700 profit. Not a lot but certainly a profit none the less.

Because of recent storms and flooding here on the Big Island, the purchase price of coffee cherry has gone up almost 40% from last year. I don’t know if that will effect future roasted coffee prices, but bet they will creep up.

Hersey Chocolate Company just completed the purchase of Mauna Loa Macadamia Company for $130 million. Expect macadamia nuts to hit mainstream stores soon! The Big Island is the second largest grower of mac nuts worldwide.

I needed to drive to Hilo recently to buy some things for my business. A friend and I took Saddle Road across the middle of the island. I had all sorts of ideas of what I thought it would be like and I can report now that most of what I heard was wrong. Although the car rental agencies say you cannot drive it in their cars, I have driven worse roads with their blessing. I’ll post photos soon of some of the sights, including my first official sighting of somewhat close up snow

Up in Maryland, a friend has been working on Capitol Hill for a politician. Today he got the dreaded news, that at the beginning of January, his services will no longer be needed. Unlike the higher up politicians with their trailerload of benefits and “I’ve got it made for life” deals, the lower workers get to forage like the rest of us in the unemployment lines.

In my case, my old company offered me two choices. I could take early retirement OR I could stay and have a pretty good chance of being let go with less benefits. I took the retirement and others who stayed get laid off with essentually no benefits, etc. I KNEW that might happen when I saw that us being asked to retire were required to sign a form stating that we would get full benefits if we agreed not to speak disparagingly against the company for 1 year……. This was a red flag warning because years ago, to have been hired by this company was a priviledge and sought after by many. Not any more.

Anyway, while I talked with my friend, I bagan looking to see just what kind of jobs were available out here in Hawaii. One thing people soon realize is that many jobs popular on the mainland are not available here and some Hawaiian jobs are really local.

Yes, you could work on a dive boat in Florida or Hawaii, but I think working a whale-watching boat might be more aft in Hawaii, Here there is an ad for papaya pickers or coffee pickers, which also seem quite local jobs. Many ads here are hospitality related, helicopter ride sales, luau reservations and yes, even ads sometimes for hula dancers. Many places give preference to those who speak Japanese.

All in all, I love it here. Yesterday I saw two groups of kids walking along the street. One group of 3 boys and a girl were walking southward, one boy strumming a guitar and another group of about 10 kids were walking northward, all carrying wrapped Christmas gifts.