Roses and thorns Hawaii

I have been struggling to post anything lately.  Call it low motivation or call it low effort, but mostly it is the confluence of both plus the whole having a baby thing.  Anyway, to the post.

Lets start with Hawaii.  It was, as vacations tend to be, some good and some bad (roses and thorns).

Roses:
 - Q getting to go to the beach for the first time
 - Swimming with a sea turtle
 - Yummy fish tacos
 - Time for Q to spend with his grandma
 - Q laughing most of the day having 3 people paying attention to him full time
 - Boogie boarding
 - A week away from work
 - Paia 
 - Cinnamon Rolls

Thorns:
 - Q thinking sand was food......and delicious food at that
 - Q waking up at, on average, 430am, every day
 - Q having teething pain the last 2 days and screaming every few hours throughout the night
 - Near record high temps for the week
 - Road to Hana = rain rain rain
 - Crazy afternoon winds
 - Losing power in the bedroom/bathroom one night due to a short (and short circuiting our 'anniversary dinner' in the process)

All in all, it was really nice.  I can say I have no immediate urge to visit again anytime soon.  I feel like I can see roughly the same stuff in Florida (and stay with family).  Still, I can't help but feel like I could use a vacation after the vacation (sans baby).  For all the things Maui was, relaxing isn't necessarily the term I would use.  I think we might need to look at a driving vacation or a 'stay cation' the next time around.  Especially considering our yard, after just one week of neglect, looks like we left for a month at least.  Mercifully, the plane ride wasn't really that bad.

In other news, I finally received my offer letter from OHSU.  For all the talk about pay rates, mine will actually go up about 5%.  This will largely be negated by the nearly $80/month I will owe in union dues, but it isn't nearly the pay reduction I thought I would be receiving.  Plus, per their union page, the negotiations are in process for the next 3 year contract (expiring in Sept of this year) and they are seeking an additional 8% each of the next 2 years.  Whether that is likely to occur, or if it is just a negotiating tactic, I don't know, but it is certainly an exciting possibility.  I still have a lot of questions and there are some things that are a bit unsettling (like that we will all be subject to drug tests, background checks, and a 180 day probationary period...all generally applicable to new employees only, not current ones which we supposedly were being hired in as), but overall my hope is that it proves positive.  No idea when my clinic will make the transition though.

I hope this won't be the last post for awhile, but who knows.  I will try to be better at it as always.  Now if I can just get the yard under control.