$ mv chris_and_fam hawaii/ && echo "Success!"
Success!

We did it. After a couple years of planning and execution, my wife Caroline and I have sold our house and all our things, and moved with our two dogs from Durham, North Carolina to Hawaii. I write this from a mandatory 14 day quarantine in our apartment (thank you, COVID-19), with the beach taunting us from both the front and back doors.

Shameless plug - my wife has a blog about the process of moving, and our life here going forward: ournextthing.com

There is already a weight off. Having very few possessions now is something that I appreciate, and hope to continue in our lives, even when we buy a house here. The minimalism of living in this studio apartment with nothing but ourselves and a few items is really freeing. We have a small number of things being shipped here, but I cannot remember what they are, and that makes me question if I really need them. I promise to myself that when they arrive, if they are still boxed in three months, I will get rid of them.

I am expanding this minimalism to my lifestyle as well. I am working 6am to 2:30pm now, to overlap with my team on the east coast some during the day. This gives me a lot of free time in the afternoon, and I plan to use that to the fullest, be it going for a walk on the beach, learning to surf, exploring the island, or just practicing a hobby.

My wife and I agreed that we would not buy a TV when we got here. If we want to watch something, it will be inconvenient and on a smaller device. We both were more sedentary than we wanted to be, and the TV is an addiction, constantly calling out “Come, waste your life in front of me.” I will no longer live that way.

Watch this space, chris.collins.is. To date it has been all career and technology related, but I am more than that. I tag myself “Brewer, Beardsman, Geek, Godzilla Hunter Extraordinaire”, and am more than that besides. The tech will still remain - I am a Geek after all - but I plan to use this space to document the rest of me, as well. Hobbies, thoughts, adventures, &c., and maybe a few candid pictures of the local Godzilla (there are geckos EVERYWHERE).

Now if you will excuse me, the freshest pineapple I have ever seen in my life is calling to me.

Photo by Andrew Coelho on Unsplash