Author Archives: Taryn Wong

Growing up in Austin, Texas, the hometown of Whole Foods, I had gourmet groceries on every block.  Here in Hawaii a Whole Foods experience is a little different than in the mainland because of the exorbitant island prices.  After a visit to the new Whole Foods store in Kailua, I left overwhelmed, without any real groceries to take home, and a little depressed.

I definitely have a love-hate relationship with Whole Foods.  I love the idea of “high quality, natural and organic products,” but hate the high prices.  Who can pay $5 for a handful of broccoli, $5.99 for 16 ounces of salsa, and $15 for lunch from the hot food bar?

Don’t get me wrong the new Kailua store is impressive! The store is a lot larger than the Kahala branch and filled with wall to wall fresh, tasty, and politically correct products.  “Politically correct-LY” fooling consumers more like it?!!  This brings up my dilemma, “to Whole Foods, or not to Whole Foods?”  Drain my bank account on items that I think are fresh-ER, healthi-ER, and bett-ER than the average grocery store?

So, after a little investigating with the “Taryn price comparing gauge” I found out that a lot of the items found in Whole Foods can be found at many other grocery stores, open markets, and farmers markets, some cheaper and some NOT.

Silk Vanilla Soy Creamer is $2.49 at Whole Foods and  $3.39 at Safeway.  Whole Foods Salsa is $5.99 and up and Safeway Select Salsa vary in price from $3.99-$4.99.  A tiny container of peeled garlic at Whole Foods was $3.99 and at the open market you can get a little more for $2.  You can even get a better deal at the Korean Markets near Ala Moana.  Wine at Whole foods is usually more expensive for the same bottles you can find at Safeway or Tamura’s, but they may have some bottles on sale that are sub-par.

Meats at Whole Foods are the only thing that I will pay more for because they are free range, hormone free, organic, etc, etc, and to me that is worth the extra money.  I am still on the fence with the veggies and fruits because Whole Foods advertises organic and locally grown produce, and you can always get the same veggies and fruits at open and farmers markets for less money.

So what is my conclusion? Nada, nothing, and the continuation of my torturous dilemma of paying a little more for “better food.”  I will continue to shop at Costco, Safeway, Foodland, Walmart, Long’s, open markets, Chinatown, and yes Whole Foods.  I will continue to make my shopping lists, clip coupons, religiously compare prices, scan the aisles for discount tags, and pay $6.99 for a gallon of milk.  As my friends in Texas say, “that’s what you get for living in paradise!” I guess their right!

I recently got married and began the grueling process of changing my name on all my important legal documents.  I’m a little bit of a feminist, but after weighing the pros and cons of a legal name change and the sad look on my husband’s face when I said I didn’t want to change my name, I decided to just do it. 

What I didn’t know was how to go about all this.  There’s no instruction manual on how to do this in its entirety and when researching online I couldn’t find one straight answer.  All my friends who are married and have changed their names couldn’t remember the exact process.  That prompted me to write this post for any engaged persons or newly-weds. 

1. Marriage License. All parties getting legally married in Hawaii must apply for a marriage license in person.  Check out the link for fees and what you need to bring.  This office is located in room 101 (1st floor) of the Health Department Building, 1250 Punchbowl St. (corner of Beretania and Punchbowl Streets). 
2. Getting Married.  Once you do the deed, your marriage performer or officiant will help you fill out and file the proper paper work.  This is the the part where you write your NEW name on the forms.  Once the forms are filed, you will receive your official Certificate of Marriage in the mail. 
3. Changing your name on your Social Security Card.  Next you will need to make the fun trip down to the Social Security Administration office.  This unpleasant place (because of the long waits) is located at 300 Ala Moana Boulevard.  Wait times are usually about 1 – 1/2 hours long.  Meter parking on Pohukaina Street is affordable 2 hour parking, but anything on Punchbowl is 25 cents for 10 minutes.  I suggest Restaurant Row and go to lunch for a validation, get dropped off, or walk/bike.  You will need to fill out a form, show your certificate of marriage, but there is no fee for a new social security card.  This office will just process the paper work and your new card will come in the mail.  You can make an appointment for this office, but appointments are about a month out.
4. Changing your name on your Passport.  Changing your passport is done at the same spot as the Social Security Administration at 300 Ala Moana BLVD, but just at a different office down the hall.  The passport office is by appointment only.  If you have a straight forward case, you can do your passport name change online.  Any questions call the 1-800-881-2464, they are very helpful. 
5. Driver’s License.  Lastly, I went down to my nearest DMV with my current driver’s license, marriage certificate, and $6.  After filling out a form with my new name, I got my temporary license in about 5 minutes.  My new license came in the mail a few days later.     

Credit cards, Costco card, membership IDs, etc. are all pretty simple, just a pain in the a** to track them all down one by one.  If you live on the Leeward side you can always visit the Kapolei office for your social security card and passport changes.  The waits are usually shorter out on that side.   

Did I leave anything out? Or anyone else have any good or bad experiences doing their name change?  Good luck!!