If you had asked me 6 months ago where I planned to be by August of this year, I couldn't have answered you. By nature I am a restless person and this is a feeling I usually relish. Not this time, however.
At the time I was bitterly frustrated with my job (I would still be, had Friday not been my last day) and courting an opportunity to work in Frankfurt, Germany. Those of you who know me, you know that this would be a pretty exciting prospect for me. Alas, 'twas not to be so.
See, my impending marriage has left me rather confused of late. Not because I doubt my decision; I look forward to the day that I wed my beautiful Polish princess. Rather, the problem lay in the logistics of the situation. Switching jobs at the time was out of the question. A wedding overseas does requires a lot more vacation than any employer would have been willing to give me. The Frankfurt employer was willing to work with me on this, but my fiance does not speak German very well, and there were not many jobs for non-German speakers in her field (elementary education). Time came for us to consider other options...
Trolling the local job fairs, my fiance came across some school boards in Phoenix, most of them offering generous benefits. I was pretty hesitant from the get go. "It's hot in Phoenix, you know!" "Denver looks pretty nice, right?!?" Most of what I've heard of the city is bad, and almost everyone I spoke to about it was doubtful that I would like it. I had to give it a chance though... for her.
Well, a couple months, a short weekend trip and two job offers later, things are looking up. Soon we will be living off two incomes instead of one and half. I will be walking to work, and in August I will begin classes in pursuit of my MS. Oh yeah, and I discovered Phoenix ain't so bad after all.
Best of all, this job switch and move will afford me to be unemployed for the first time since college graduation, and for a month and a half to boot! Some of the fun we have planned:
-Up to Seattle to see my brother.
-Off to Warsaw to get married, of course!
-Krakow and Zakopane for a honeymoon of sorts.
-Dublin for some good ol' Irish fun.
-Vegas for our "official" wedding
The trip will conclude with our eventual arrival in Phoenix, where we will be able to enjoy our new life together, starting with a clean slate, both career- and lifestyle-wise. I couldn't be happier with the way things are going in my life right now.
Things are definately looking up.
P.S. Anyone want to buy a house in Vancouver, WA?
Follow the continuing adventures here.
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Friday, January 19, 2007
First post of 2007
Let me get everyone up to speed first:
-We finished the work on the inside of the house. Kitchen tiles are up, new appliances are in. Both bedrooms fixed. Spiral staircase installed. We're still polishing up a few things, but the major, back-breaking work is pretty much done. As always, the most up-to-date pictures are here. Thenext venture, which we are going to abandon until the spring is the outside of the house.
-That said, we've been having some MAJOR problems with our sewer plumbing. Luckily, nothing gross has ever spewed into any room in our house. Our drains were blocked though, and had to be completely replaced, from the city main to our house. This meant digging up the street and our yard, which of course meant $$$. After some Poirot-like, moustache-curling investigating, we'll most likely be taking the previous owner to court over this.
-Just about the same time that our plumbing problems showed up, we got involved in a car accident. Thankfully no-one was hurt, but Ewa's car has been in the shop for over a month now, hopefully we’ll be picking it up tonight. Some uninsured douchebag was behind the wheel of the other car, but at least he had the integrity to stick around and take the rap for his mistake. I’d hate to have to foot an $8000 repair bill… Sorry man.
Now to the meat of this post: We spent the X-mas/New Year’s holiday in Poland and Italy, and had an awesome time. Warsaw in the winter is pretty depressing, but I can’t think of many cities that aren’t around that time of year. A blanket of snow would have done a lot to change my thoughts on that, but Europe has been relatively snowless this year. Ewa’s father threw a couple exciting parties, and I drank altogether way too much homemade booze. We did however also manage to stay sober long enough to iron out some wedding details, which helped alleviate a few of Ewa’s concerns.
The trip to Italy was also a blast. We drove there, so I got to scratch another country off the list: the Czech Republic. Unfortunately my experience in CZ was similar to that of many midwest states, consisting of ordering a coffee at a gas station (they did stamp my passport at the border though!). I was a little disappointed with the snow conditions in the Dolomites, in that there was barely any. Almost everything was man-made snow. The lifts were much nicer than anything in the states though, which is good, since every run is about 3 times longer there. The hotel was amazing, with 6-course dinners every night and a great spa (sauna, steam room, indoor/outdoor swimming pool, etc.) downstairs.
I had a good time spending some time with this side of Ewa's family. My almost complete inability to understand anyone made it a bit boring at times. Ewa's dad and his girlfriend made an effort though, and I really appreciated it. We didn't get to take too many pictures while we were there, but as soon as we can get some from some of the other attendees, I will post them.
-We finished the work on the inside of the house. Kitchen tiles are up, new appliances are in. Both bedrooms fixed. Spiral staircase installed. We're still polishing up a few things, but the major, back-breaking work is pretty much done. As always, the most up-to-date pictures are here. Thenext venture, which we are going to abandon until the spring is the outside of the house.
-That said, we've been having some MAJOR problems with our sewer plumbing. Luckily, nothing gross has ever spewed into any room in our house. Our drains were blocked though, and had to be completely replaced, from the city main to our house. This meant digging up the street and our yard, which of course meant $$$. After some Poirot-like, moustache-curling investigating, we'll most likely be taking the previous owner to court over this.
-Just about the same time that our plumbing problems showed up, we got involved in a car accident. Thankfully no-one was hurt, but Ewa's car has been in the shop for over a month now, hopefully we’ll be picking it up tonight. Some uninsured douchebag was behind the wheel of the other car, but at least he had the integrity to stick around and take the rap for his mistake. I’d hate to have to foot an $8000 repair bill… Sorry man.
Now to the meat of this post: We spent the X-mas/New Year’s holiday in Poland and Italy, and had an awesome time. Warsaw in the winter is pretty depressing, but I can’t think of many cities that aren’t around that time of year. A blanket of snow would have done a lot to change my thoughts on that, but Europe has been relatively snowless this year. Ewa’s father threw a couple exciting parties, and I drank altogether way too much homemade booze. We did however also manage to stay sober long enough to iron out some wedding details, which helped alleviate a few of Ewa’s concerns.
The trip to Italy was also a blast. We drove there, so I got to scratch another country off the list: the Czech Republic. Unfortunately my experience in CZ was similar to that of many midwest states, consisting of ordering a coffee at a gas station (they did stamp my passport at the border though!). I was a little disappointed with the snow conditions in the Dolomites, in that there was barely any. Almost everything was man-made snow. The lifts were much nicer than anything in the states though, which is good, since every run is about 3 times longer there. The hotel was amazing, with 6-course dinners every night and a great spa (sauna, steam room, indoor/outdoor swimming pool, etc.) downstairs.
I had a good time spending some time with this side of Ewa's family. My almost complete inability to understand anyone made it a bit boring at times. Ewa's dad and his girlfriend made an effort though, and I really appreciated it. We didn't get to take too many pictures while we were there, but as soon as we can get some from some of the other attendees, I will post them.
All this vacation at a cost to me of less than 200 euros, including the flight.
Of course, all that I need to do now is learn Polish.
Wednesday, November 08, 2006
Political Banter
I'd usually steer clear of politics in the blog, since there are already plenty of political rants out there. Instead I'll just make a few points:
- Democrats: Congrats on the victory thus far. Now don't screw it all up!
- Rumsfeld fired: For a guy who has done little but fuck shit and apologize his whole career it's amazing he's held on so long. I wonder what high-paying CEO job he's gonna get now: Bechtel? Kellogg? RAND? G.D. Searle? Acme Stamping Machine Co.?
- Rumsfeld's replacement: He comes pre-tainted with scandal!
- Virginia Senate: If only I hadn't moved! I could have cast that one Macaca-crushing vote! Damn.
To everyone that's been waiting for a change in the government, you got your wish yesterday. Don't turn around and go home yet though, keep the pressure on the Dems to enact change. If it takes too long for them to do something, anything, to change the situation in Iraq, the GOP will turn the tables on them come 2008.
That is all.
- Democrats: Congrats on the victory thus far. Now don't screw it all up!
- Rumsfeld fired: For a guy who has done little but fuck shit and apologize his whole career it's amazing he's held on so long. I wonder what high-paying CEO job he's gonna get now: Bechtel? Kellogg? RAND? G.D. Searle? Acme Stamping Machine Co.?
- Rumsfeld's replacement: He comes pre-tainted with scandal!
- Virginia Senate: If only I hadn't moved! I could have cast that one Macaca-crushing vote! Damn.
To everyone that's been waiting for a change in the government, you got your wish yesterday. Don't turn around and go home yet though, keep the pressure on the Dems to enact change. If it takes too long for them to do something, anything, to change the situation in Iraq, the GOP will turn the tables on them come 2008.
That is all.
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
Tim and the Amazing Technicolor Living Room!
As usual, I am once again apologizing for my tardiness in putting up new posts. I think this time around I have my most valid excuse yet: We have been remodelling the new house.
For a look at our progress, check out my new picasa web album here.
Ewa is much better at updating her photos however, so there's more to be seen here. (Including the promised pictures from Labor Day weekend.)
That's all for now. We finally get the internet switched on at the new place Friday, and so updates should be more frequent then.
Oh yeah, and if you happen to be here in the Northwest around late Nov., come by for Thankgiving. Already attending: Stupor, Dana and Drew Diefenblahblah, Mr. & Mrs. Hoochie and a couple Canadians trying to cash in on a second Thanksgiving. Trips to Mts. Hood and/or Baker are in the works, snow permitting.
For a look at our progress, check out my new picasa web album here.
Ewa is much better at updating her photos however, so there's more to be seen here. (Including the promised pictures from Labor Day weekend.)
That's all for now. We finally get the internet switched on at the new place Friday, and so updates should be more frequent then.
Oh yeah, and if you happen to be here in the Northwest around late Nov., come by for Thankgiving. Already attending: Stupor, Dana and Drew Diefenblahblah, Mr. & Mrs. Hoochie and a couple Canadians trying to cash in on a second Thanksgiving. Trips to Mts. Hood and/or Baker are in the works, snow permitting.
Thursday, September 14, 2006
Labor Day and Beyond...
Labor Day weekend didn't start out so well. Business forced me to make a sudden trip up to Seattle on Friday that kept me on the road until 8:30 that night. This was a bit of a nuisance, since it was my three year anniversary with Ewa and we had plans. She came with me though, and we kept eachother entertained on the long ride. The rest of the weekend was wonderful. We went camping (my idea) and horseback riding (her idea) in the Mt. Baker/Puget Sound area of Washington. The weather couldn't have been better. I learned that polska kielbasa is 10 times better than hotdogs for grilling over a fire. Pics will be up soon on a flickr account.
Things have been progressing steadily on the home front, and I will be signing the papers and getting my keys tomorrow. We won't be moving in right away though, since there's some work to be done, and we still have out current place through the end of November. "Before" pictures will also be up by the end of the weekend. I suspect things are going to get even busier for me soon.
In anticipation of being busy after we get the keys to the house, we've spent our week taking in our new obsession, Lost. I know, late to the party, but there nonetheless. I don't watch much TV, even with the DVR, but I've found I have no problem sitting down every night and watching a DVD worth (4 episodes) of this show. To feed this new obsession I've signed up for the new Blockbuster Online service. Same fees as Netflix but we get 4 free in-store rentals a month, for when you just can't wait for your DVD to show up.
Ewa got a job yesterday, contracting part-time to Intel doing Polish translation QA. The plan is for her to split time between that and substitute teaching. I'll feel a lot better signing those papers tomorrow now that I know we'll have two incomes.
Finally, it's starting to snow up on Mt. Hood, which has me getting giddy about the upcoming snowboarding season. Granted, there's still 2 more months until they start the lifts, but with the weather turning in a more fall-like direction, I know it's going to start raining soon. Then I'll be seeing my only sun for 5 months from the top of a mountain.
Things have been progressing steadily on the home front, and I will be signing the papers and getting my keys tomorrow. We won't be moving in right away though, since there's some work to be done, and we still have out current place through the end of November. "Before" pictures will also be up by the end of the weekend. I suspect things are going to get even busier for me soon.
In anticipation of being busy after we get the keys to the house, we've spent our week taking in our new obsession, Lost. I know, late to the party, but there nonetheless. I don't watch much TV, even with the DVR, but I've found I have no problem sitting down every night and watching a DVD worth (4 episodes) of this show. To feed this new obsession I've signed up for the new Blockbuster Online service. Same fees as Netflix but we get 4 free in-store rentals a month, for when you just can't wait for your DVD to show up.
Ewa got a job yesterday, contracting part-time to Intel doing Polish translation QA. The plan is for her to split time between that and substitute teaching. I'll feel a lot better signing those papers tomorrow now that I know we'll have two incomes.
Finally, it's starting to snow up on Mt. Hood, which has me getting giddy about the upcoming snowboarding season. Granted, there's still 2 more months until they start the lifts, but with the weather turning in a more fall-like direction, I know it's going to start raining soon. Then I'll be seeing my only sun for 5 months from the top of a mountain.
Friday, August 25, 2006
"There's got to be a better way!"
Could anyone please explain to me how MasterCard's new paypass system is so revolutionary? So I can now "tap" my card to pay for stuff, instead the usual "swipe" motion. Great! I still need to sign for my purchase anyway, or if I'm using the debit feature I have to type in my PIN. Is there a problem with swiping-related injuries in the United States? Something that tapping can solve? At least it's not as bad as those retarded min-cards that Bank Of America sent out a couple years back. I refuse to change my payment motion until I can get a chip implanted in my hand and just snap my fingers to pay for stuff. That'd be cool. Besides, I'm tired of looking like an idiot when I am standing in line tapping my card on a machine where the stupid paypass thing doesn't work.
That reminds me of a sci-fi short film I saw one day. In the future, everyone has a card with a kind of timer on it, which they can use to purchase anything they want. However, for every purchase, a little bit of time is subtracted from the timer. Only problem is that the timer indicates how long your life will be. Essentially, increased spending results in shorter lifespan... interesting concept. Takes out the middle man we have right now: work. 'Cuz right now the whole increased spending = more time at work = shorter lifespan isn't for me.
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
This Land is My Land
Well, it's official: I'm buying a house.
After wrangling with some old lady over the price of a house a couple weeks ago, we gave up on her and the prospect of purchasing a home... or at least we'd though. That night, I went home and searched the listing service, finding a very decently priced place, located even closer to the downtown area than the one we'd bid on earlier. A quickly placed call to the realtor had us taking a tour of the house the next day, with 4 other groups of potential buyers! We liked it, a pseudo-bidding war ensued, and we emerged victorious.
Now is where the real fun begins. The inspection revealed what I had expected: that that house is really old and is going to need some work. It was built in 1936, for god's sake. The location is perfect though, and the work is manageable. Wrangling with multiple banks to find the best loan has been a hassle, and getting contractors to come out for estimates has proven even more difficult. As long as everything proceeds as planned, I should have the title in my hands some time mid next month.
The thought of posessing my own little piece of land, with a house on it, is pretty exciting. I see potential for this place, and I'm excited about doing the work to take it there. It's taking a bit longer for Ewa to warm up to the idea, but either way, we will both be happy to stop paying rent.
I'll get some pictures together for the next post. Anybody up for a housewarming party next month?
On another note: Check out "So This is Goodbye" from the Junior Boys. Give it a listen, and let me know if you would like to catch them at the Doug Fir next month. Other live music I plan to check out in the next couple months: Decemberist @ PetAID, Killers @ Roseland and Sufjan Stevens @ Crystal Ballroom.
After wrangling with some old lady over the price of a house a couple weeks ago, we gave up on her and the prospect of purchasing a home... or at least we'd though. That night, I went home and searched the listing service, finding a very decently priced place, located even closer to the downtown area than the one we'd bid on earlier. A quickly placed call to the realtor had us taking a tour of the house the next day, with 4 other groups of potential buyers! We liked it, a pseudo-bidding war ensued, and we emerged victorious.
Now is where the real fun begins. The inspection revealed what I had expected: that that house is really old and is going to need some work. It was built in 1936, for god's sake. The location is perfect though, and the work is manageable. Wrangling with multiple banks to find the best loan has been a hassle, and getting contractors to come out for estimates has proven even more difficult. As long as everything proceeds as planned, I should have the title in my hands some time mid next month.
The thought of posessing my own little piece of land, with a house on it, is pretty exciting. I see potential for this place, and I'm excited about doing the work to take it there. It's taking a bit longer for Ewa to warm up to the idea, but either way, we will both be happy to stop paying rent.
I'll get some pictures together for the next post. Anybody up for a housewarming party next month?
On another note: Check out "So This is Goodbye" from the Junior Boys. Give it a listen, and let me know if you would like to catch them at the Doug Fir next month. Other live music I plan to check out in the next couple months: Decemberist @ PetAID, Killers @ Roseland and Sufjan Stevens @ Crystal Ballroom.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)