So we won't be in Pennsylvania after all. I just learned that that position was given to someone else. I was offered a position in Chestertown, Maryland. Middle of nowhere, Maryland. Anyone know anything about it?
As I lamented to Brad about this change, he had a good thought for me. I was telling him that I was sad about how I had let myself get my heart set on PA, that I had started dreaming about things in PA, how I had started counting on PA... And Brad said, this is like when you grab for the gumball in the narrow-mouth jar. You put your hand in, but you can't pull out your fist until you let go.
Yeah, it's only when you let go and turn everything upside down that things come.
Profound, no? I think I married a wise man.
So things are upside down tonight. But it's ok. I can let go. Thank GOD I have learned to trust and let go, and I continue to do so. Now I need to just be ok in uncertainty: no planning, no dreaming, no Option A and Option B, just sit in the not-knowing and wait. Maybe hum a tune, or pick a daisy, and just sit.
Sweet dreams, loved ones.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Sunday, April 19, 2009
DTR
Brad and I had a chat this weekend. I told him while we were running errands that I needed to "talk." He asked sheepishly, "Is this going to be a DTR?" (DTR is code for Define The Relationship, a common chat with early-dating couples.) "Yes, it is a DTR. We need to define our relationship with time and money," I replied.
My semester ended on Friday. No more labs. Possibly no more teaching math for the rest of ever. But as is the occasion every year at this time, I find myself with a new schedule, a relatively open summer, time on my hands, and I know there are projects I've been meaning to work on... I just don't know where to start. This year there is an even bigger list of to-dos with moving, paring down, and making arrangements for this summer.
Here are the knowns:
-- Brad has a job at the university indefinitely. This provides income and health insurance. He would like to quit yesterday.
-- I am paid through mid August. I also have two summer school classes which bring in a bit of extra money. These go through June 19th, obligating me to stay here until then.
-- We can move into student housing as early as June 30. (This is new information as of Thursday! A new decision by the housing office allows us to move in even though I won't be taking summer classes after all.) Rent is about $1600 a month. The two move in dates are either June 30 or August 27. If we move in before August 27th, we have to pay for the whole summer, I believe. So it's either-or.
-- We could maybe stay in our current house until classes begin in September. Rent is $1000 a month. Except that our landlord is doing a short sale due to financial hardship. So we don't really know when we'll be kicked out.
-- We want to leave around July 4th weekend. Or at least that's what we've been talking about as a soft goal.
Here are the variables:
-- I've been offered a job (as of 5:30 on Friday night) as an office manager with a gifted kids summer school program that is run by a particular Maryland university. This would obligate me to be in Easton, Pennsylvania, from June 20 - August 11 or so. It's residential so I'd have a place to live, rent-free.
-- Brad is not allowed to accompany me unless he is employed by the program as well. They're working seeing if there are any open positions.
-- It would be a bunch of extra income for me, but not lots for Brad. Plus we'd need to either pay cobra or get another health insurance policy. But it would be rent-free.
-- What would we do for those three homeless weeks between August 11 and August 28 (when we can move in NY)?
-- Brad has a guys' weekend in August around the 15th. Location is TBA.
-- We want to visit people whom we haven't seen in a while. This includes a trip down the east coast (Virginia, North Carolina) and across the midwest (Chicago, Muncie, Columbus, Oil City, PA). This could be what we do with those three weeks, if we go to PA for the summer.
Here are things on my to-do list:
-- scan in all documents in the giant file cabinet
-- go through every single thing in the house and decide whether to keep and bring to NY, sell, or store for a year until we know what we're doing after my program
-- post the sell items on Craigslist-- aim to do this by May 30
This is A LOT! It's a dream come true, a new beautiful chapter for us, and everything we've hoped for. I cannot complain about the chaos as we are so very grateful for all of this.
It was a great conversation and I feel like we have some direction, at least for today. As of today, we're going to plan on going to Pennsylvania for the summer. Hopefully they'll fit Brad in and we'll work together this summer. Afterward we'll road trip for a while until we can move to NY.
Some questions remain:
-- Where do we store stuff? Florida or New Jersey/PA?
-- DO we store stuff, or do we just sell everything?
-- What about Brad's job hunt in NY?
It is fun to see God molding our hearts; this notion of selling our stuff is certainly not naturally happy for us. But yet we are 100% on the same page, of the same mind, and we are just following what we sense God is telling us. It's pretty great.
My semester ended on Friday. No more labs. Possibly no more teaching math for the rest of ever. But as is the occasion every year at this time, I find myself with a new schedule, a relatively open summer, time on my hands, and I know there are projects I've been meaning to work on... I just don't know where to start. This year there is an even bigger list of to-dos with moving, paring down, and making arrangements for this summer.
Here are the knowns:
-- Brad has a job at the university indefinitely. This provides income and health insurance. He would like to quit yesterday.
-- I am paid through mid August. I also have two summer school classes which bring in a bit of extra money. These go through June 19th, obligating me to stay here until then.
-- We can move into student housing as early as June 30. (This is new information as of Thursday! A new decision by the housing office allows us to move in even though I won't be taking summer classes after all.) Rent is about $1600 a month. The two move in dates are either June 30 or August 27. If we move in before August 27th, we have to pay for the whole summer, I believe. So it's either-or.
-- We could maybe stay in our current house until classes begin in September. Rent is $1000 a month. Except that our landlord is doing a short sale due to financial hardship. So we don't really know when we'll be kicked out.
-- We want to leave around July 4th weekend. Or at least that's what we've been talking about as a soft goal.
Here are the variables:
-- I've been offered a job (as of 5:30 on Friday night) as an office manager with a gifted kids summer school program that is run by a particular Maryland university. This would obligate me to be in Easton, Pennsylvania, from June 20 - August 11 or so. It's residential so I'd have a place to live, rent-free.
-- Brad is not allowed to accompany me unless he is employed by the program as well. They're working seeing if there are any open positions.
-- It would be a bunch of extra income for me, but not lots for Brad. Plus we'd need to either pay cobra or get another health insurance policy. But it would be rent-free.
-- What would we do for those three homeless weeks between August 11 and August 28 (when we can move in NY)?
-- Brad has a guys' weekend in August around the 15th. Location is TBA.
-- We want to visit people whom we haven't seen in a while. This includes a trip down the east coast (Virginia, North Carolina) and across the midwest (Chicago, Muncie, Columbus, Oil City, PA). This could be what we do with those three weeks, if we go to PA for the summer.
Here are things on my to-do list:
-- scan in all documents in the giant file cabinet
-- go through every single thing in the house and decide whether to keep and bring to NY, sell, or store for a year until we know what we're doing after my program
-- post the sell items on Craigslist-- aim to do this by May 30
This is A LOT! It's a dream come true, a new beautiful chapter for us, and everything we've hoped for. I cannot complain about the chaos as we are so very grateful for all of this.
It was a great conversation and I feel like we have some direction, at least for today. As of today, we're going to plan on going to Pennsylvania for the summer. Hopefully they'll fit Brad in and we'll work together this summer. Afterward we'll road trip for a while until we can move to NY.
Some questions remain:
-- Where do we store stuff? Florida or New Jersey/PA?
-- DO we store stuff, or do we just sell everything?
-- What about Brad's job hunt in NY?
It is fun to see God molding our hearts; this notion of selling our stuff is certainly not naturally happy for us. But yet we are 100% on the same page, of the same mind, and we are just following what we sense God is telling us. It's pretty great.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
BRAD IS NOT PREGNANT.
And neither am I, for that matter. Funny thing happened last night, though, and the moral of the story is, don't take your drugs in the dark. Take that literally.
Each night I take three pills: a tiny, round, white birth control pill, a tiny, oblong, white Zyrtec, and a regular sized, yellow caplet of B-Complex. Recently Brad has been affected by the latest bloom of the meleleuca trees so he's been taking the Zyrtec, too. (It's a once-a-day allergy pill. Insider tip: Costco has a year's supply, 365 pills, for about $16. Awesome deal.) Last night I was really tired so I stumbled into the dark kitchen, doled out the pills onto the placemat, and took two little pills and one regular caplet. I went to pick up the other Zyrtec to give to Brad, and found my birth control pill. Brad did not need that. Turns out I took two Zyrtec. Oops! And I'm having zero allergy symptoms today!
In other news, the count is at T-minus-10 days until Brad is done with his program! He will soon be a Certified Compliance Specialist! I'm terribly proud. And selfishly I can't wait to have time for just hanging out in the evenings and weekends. The poor man has been reading and writing papers for nearly a year straight!
In still other news, we went rabbit hunting last night. No, not to kill one, to find a friend for Georgie. Crazy, I know. But we used to see her around the neighborhood with a little gray-brown bun, and when we drove up there a week or so ago we saw it! The more we looked at it the more it looked like a pet instead of a wild rabbit, so we got it in our heads that we need to catch it so it can be a friend of Georgie again. Last night we grabbed a few bits of food to catch it, a towel, and a little cage we borrowed from our rabbit-loving neighbors next door. We got up to the neighborhood too late, but we got to chat with some former neighbors. What we learned made me sad. The neighbors who caught Georgie for us, Mark and Kim, lived three doors down. Here's how the houses went:
Mark & Kim Georgie's Owners Andy & Jessica Brad & Kath
So Mark and Kim saw when Georgie was first brought home to her first owner-- a four year old little girl. Her favorite thing to do was to pick up the bun and put her on the top of the slide, and let her go! It pains me to think of it! Over and over, they said. Sometimes she ran away, sometimes they caught her again. Then when they foreclosed they just let her go. No wonder she hates being picked up! It broke my heart! It must have been so terrifying for her!
Mark and Kim used to feed George every morning and evening, often going back into the house if George didn't like that meal's offerings. They were so glad to hear that she was ok, and they said they'd keep an eye out for the gray-brown bun. Kim also has a friend who cares for buns, so we might go check those out, too. Who knows. I don't want to turn into a bunny menagerie, but just one more couldn't hurt, right?
Cute thing that she is, she's started lounging on the couch. Notice the extra pillows are up out of her reach, and the thread and scissors on the ottoman? That's because she chewed a large hole in one of the pillows. Like the size of my palm. I had to do some creative puckering to get that thing sewn back up. Little rascal.
In other news we've begun the process of dividing up what we'll sell and what we'll store. Brad found a buyer for the Miata-- a friend here at the university! She loves it but needs to learn how to drive stick shift, and she's not in a hurry which is great since it would be nice to keep two cars through my summer school schedule.
Happy almost Friday, everybody!
Each night I take three pills: a tiny, round, white birth control pill, a tiny, oblong, white Zyrtec, and a regular sized, yellow caplet of B-Complex. Recently Brad has been affected by the latest bloom of the meleleuca trees so he's been taking the Zyrtec, too. (It's a once-a-day allergy pill. Insider tip: Costco has a year's supply, 365 pills, for about $16. Awesome deal.) Last night I was really tired so I stumbled into the dark kitchen, doled out the pills onto the placemat, and took two little pills and one regular caplet. I went to pick up the other Zyrtec to give to Brad, and found my birth control pill. Brad did not need that. Turns out I took two Zyrtec. Oops! And I'm having zero allergy symptoms today!
In other news, the count is at T-minus-10 days until Brad is done with his program! He will soon be a Certified Compliance Specialist! I'm terribly proud. And selfishly I can't wait to have time for just hanging out in the evenings and weekends. The poor man has been reading and writing papers for nearly a year straight!
In still other news, we went rabbit hunting last night. No, not to kill one, to find a friend for Georgie. Crazy, I know. But we used to see her around the neighborhood with a little gray-brown bun, and when we drove up there a week or so ago we saw it! The more we looked at it the more it looked like a pet instead of a wild rabbit, so we got it in our heads that we need to catch it so it can be a friend of Georgie again. Last night we grabbed a few bits of food to catch it, a towel, and a little cage we borrowed from our rabbit-loving neighbors next door. We got up to the neighborhood too late, but we got to chat with some former neighbors. What we learned made me sad. The neighbors who caught Georgie for us, Mark and Kim, lived three doors down. Here's how the houses went:
Mark & Kim Georgie's Owners Andy & Jessica Brad & Kath
So Mark and Kim saw when Georgie was first brought home to her first owner-- a four year old little girl. Her favorite thing to do was to pick up the bun and put her on the top of the slide, and let her go! It pains me to think of it! Over and over, they said. Sometimes she ran away, sometimes they caught her again. Then when they foreclosed they just let her go. No wonder she hates being picked up! It broke my heart! It must have been so terrifying for her!
Mark and Kim used to feed George every morning and evening, often going back into the house if George didn't like that meal's offerings. They were so glad to hear that she was ok, and they said they'd keep an eye out for the gray-brown bun. Kim also has a friend who cares for buns, so we might go check those out, too. Who knows. I don't want to turn into a bunny menagerie, but just one more couldn't hurt, right?
Cute thing that she is, she's started lounging on the couch. Notice the extra pillows are up out of her reach, and the thread and scissors on the ottoman? That's because she chewed a large hole in one of the pillows. Like the size of my palm. I had to do some creative puckering to get that thing sewn back up. Little rascal.
In other news we've begun the process of dividing up what we'll sell and what we'll store. Brad found a buyer for the Miata-- a friend here at the university! She loves it but needs to learn how to drive stick shift, and she's not in a hurry which is great since it would be nice to keep two cars through my summer school schedule.
Happy almost Friday, everybody!
Tuesday, April 07, 2009
A Numbers Game
Thirty. Only thirty labs left to teach for the semester. At four per day, that means seven and a half days left of the regular semester. Hooray! I started at 224 labs in January, and time is flying by! I was assigned two summer classes which will be May 11 through June 19 or so. They are two statistics classes and the schedule isn't ideal, but it's extra income and I'm thrilled about that!
Two. Plan Number Two needs to be enacted. Plan Number One, or Plan A, was to move north at the end of June and then I would take one summer school course, allowing us to live in student housing over the summer. Yesterday I learned that I can't do that. So. We are back at square one with travel and moving plans. I was saddened by the news as I had set my heart on moving July 1. Brad had the best perspective: we have been praying for guidance, and here is some guidance! And the house we're living in, which we anticipated would be sold soon and we'd have to move out in April, is still in negotiations. We have time.
Seven. If we get the summer school jobs with the residential gifted summer school program, we'll live somewhere on the east coast for seven weeks, starting in mid June. I applied and interviewed and am waiting to hear back. They said that Brad can't live on campus with me unless he is employed there, too, so we applied for him last night. It's a long shot, but could be a fun adventure. Really, anything that takes us out of south Florida in the summer heat is a fun adventure.
Seventy Three. That's our high today, and it feels like it's about 65 out right now. And breezy. I have long pants, long sleeves, but sandals on, and I'm freezing. Darn the thin blood.
One thousand seven hundred sixty six. That's how much we owed in taxes this year-- wahhh. My job doesn't take out the right taxes since I'm an adjunct, and I messed up when we worked at the computer store and had the wrong withholding. Lesson learned. But God provided! That check I picked up from my former tutoring job will more than cover this. Hooray.
Zero. Zero days until our new scanner arrives! We purchased a little scanner in order to eliminate the need for big file cabinets. It's supposed to arrive today! I'm excited!
Four thousand eight hundred. That's how much it will cost to store all of our junk for a year, at $400 a month. Yikes. So we are seriously considering selling a ton of it and starting from scratch. Bye bye, sofas. Adios, kitchen table. Some of it really pains me, but it's just stuff. Plus, our favorite thing to do is to find deals, and with a full house this early in our lives, our job is done. If we get rid of junk, we have reason to go find more deals! Yay! Our neighborhood doesn't allow garage sales, though, so this will be via craigslist only. Should be an interesting adventure!
Two. That's the number of colors my pinky toe is right now. Toes are supposed to be one color. But I stubbed it something awful, and it actually bruised the end of my toe. That's a new one. (At least it gets me out of running for a few days!)
Three. That's the number of weeks Brad has left in his program. He has one more intensive weekend at the end of April, and then c'est fini! In more good news, I did a little poking around over the weekend to look for jobs for him. I came upon a killer website, one for a placement agency that specializes in compliance jobs! They had over four hundred compliance jobs!!! We're excited about this lead!
A zillion. That's how many of our friends are having babies! It is such a season for rejoicing over Scarlet, Ellie, Isabella, Misaki, Blake... and those are just the ones that have been born already! Our new niece is asking to come out now, instead of waiting for her scheduled C-section on the 17th. It's all so very exciting and joyous.
Two. Plan Number Two needs to be enacted. Plan Number One, or Plan A, was to move north at the end of June and then I would take one summer school course, allowing us to live in student housing over the summer. Yesterday I learned that I can't do that. So. We are back at square one with travel and moving plans. I was saddened by the news as I had set my heart on moving July 1. Brad had the best perspective: we have been praying for guidance, and here is some guidance! And the house we're living in, which we anticipated would be sold soon and we'd have to move out in April, is still in negotiations. We have time.
Seven. If we get the summer school jobs with the residential gifted summer school program, we'll live somewhere on the east coast for seven weeks, starting in mid June. I applied and interviewed and am waiting to hear back. They said that Brad can't live on campus with me unless he is employed there, too, so we applied for him last night. It's a long shot, but could be a fun adventure. Really, anything that takes us out of south Florida in the summer heat is a fun adventure.
Seventy Three. That's our high today, and it feels like it's about 65 out right now. And breezy. I have long pants, long sleeves, but sandals on, and I'm freezing. Darn the thin blood.
One thousand seven hundred sixty six. That's how much we owed in taxes this year-- wahhh. My job doesn't take out the right taxes since I'm an adjunct, and I messed up when we worked at the computer store and had the wrong withholding. Lesson learned. But God provided! That check I picked up from my former tutoring job will more than cover this. Hooray.
Zero. Zero days until our new scanner arrives! We purchased a little scanner in order to eliminate the need for big file cabinets. It's supposed to arrive today! I'm excited!
Four thousand eight hundred. That's how much it will cost to store all of our junk for a year, at $400 a month. Yikes. So we are seriously considering selling a ton of it and starting from scratch. Bye bye, sofas. Adios, kitchen table. Some of it really pains me, but it's just stuff. Plus, our favorite thing to do is to find deals, and with a full house this early in our lives, our job is done. If we get rid of junk, we have reason to go find more deals! Yay! Our neighborhood doesn't allow garage sales, though, so this will be via craigslist only. Should be an interesting adventure!
Two. That's the number of colors my pinky toe is right now. Toes are supposed to be one color. But I stubbed it something awful, and it actually bruised the end of my toe. That's a new one. (At least it gets me out of running for a few days!)
Three. That's the number of weeks Brad has left in his program. He has one more intensive weekend at the end of April, and then c'est fini! In more good news, I did a little poking around over the weekend to look for jobs for him. I came upon a killer website, one for a placement agency that specializes in compliance jobs! They had over four hundred compliance jobs!!! We're excited about this lead!
A zillion. That's how many of our friends are having babies! It is such a season for rejoicing over Scarlet, Ellie, Isabella, Misaki, Blake... and those are just the ones that have been born already! Our new niece is asking to come out now, instead of waiting for her scheduled C-section on the 17th. It's all so very exciting and joyous.
Monday, April 06, 2009
Hm
Two things I do not like about Florida, er, two things I WON'T miss:
1.) The inch-and-a-half-long roach Brad just killed IN OUR LIVING ROOM.
2.) The four-foot-long black racer snake that likes to frequent OUR FRONT PORCH. At really inopportune times. Like when I need to shake out Georgie's hay-filled towels. It's not fun to open the front door and be greeted by that thing.
Ack.
1.) The inch-and-a-half-long roach Brad just killed IN OUR LIVING ROOM.
2.) The four-foot-long black racer snake that likes to frequent OUR FRONT PORCH. At really inopportune times. Like when I need to shake out Georgie's hay-filled towels. It's not fun to open the front door and be greeted by that thing.
Ack.
Thursday, April 02, 2009
A lovely weekend
Georgie is back to her old self and is as spunky as ever. She lived in our guest bathroom for a few weeks, and she loved to plunk down on the towel we laid on the floor for her. This is her "I'm dead" pose. Freaks me out every time. I look to make sure her belly is rising and falling, making sure she's still breathing. Who knew rabbits were such fragile animals?
She is loving her increased greens diet: a large handful of kale, romaine lettuce, flat leaf parsley, curly parsley, and cilantro. Thank heavens it's all pretty cheap at Target. She also has enjoyed a new part of her diet: power cables. Our new scanner/printer/fax had a particularly tasty power cord. Brad had to splice it back together. Not cute, Bunny.
And she has been affectionate as ever. She loves to be pet and loves to be close by us. If I'm at my desk, chances are she's under my feet. If Brad is reading on the couch, she's probably less than 6 feet away, supervising him. She loves it when we get down on the floor with her, and she'll put her nose down low on the ground, under our hand, under our foot, under our nose, so we'll pet her. Whoever's nose is lower to the ground gets the pets, so if mine is lower, she'll lick my nose and groom me. It's a little gross, but a little cute, too.
In other news, Brad ate a burrito!
Since we bought the Miata three years ago we've been saying, "This is the perfect car for a road trip to the Keys." Well, we finally went. (And stopped at Chipotle in Miami.) It's about a 6-hour drive, which is heavenly with overcast skies and an open convertible top. It was a great drive. We basically drove from the west coast of the state, to the east coast of the state, so we could pick up Route 1 and drive as far back west as possible. Not exactly direct, but one can't be choosy when there is only one road and the alternative involves driving through the Everglades. When we arrived at Key West we checked into our motel. Chickens and roosters run wild on the island, and this little guy was right outside our window. Thank goodness we brought fans to drown out his singing at 3 am.
Most of our pictures are on the other camera, so I'll have to download them this weekend while Brad's at school. We drove around, saw a state park, a big ship, the Navy base, the southernmost point in the US, crazy Duval Street with its touristy shops with lewd t-shirts, and ate well. One of my favorite moments was when we went out to the pier at the Navy base to see the sunset. It was overcast so it was a bit hidden, but still beautiful. While we were there, a few fishing guys and their buddy took out a guitar and put on a little impromptu concert. It was really a fun moment!
She is loving her increased greens diet: a large handful of kale, romaine lettuce, flat leaf parsley, curly parsley, and cilantro. Thank heavens it's all pretty cheap at Target. She also has enjoyed a new part of her diet: power cables. Our new scanner/printer/fax had a particularly tasty power cord. Brad had to splice it back together. Not cute, Bunny.
And she has been affectionate as ever. She loves to be pet and loves to be close by us. If I'm at my desk, chances are she's under my feet. If Brad is reading on the couch, she's probably less than 6 feet away, supervising him. She loves it when we get down on the floor with her, and she'll put her nose down low on the ground, under our hand, under our foot, under our nose, so we'll pet her. Whoever's nose is lower to the ground gets the pets, so if mine is lower, she'll lick my nose and groom me. It's a little gross, but a little cute, too.
In other news, Brad ate a burrito!
Since we bought the Miata three years ago we've been saying, "This is the perfect car for a road trip to the Keys." Well, we finally went. (And stopped at Chipotle in Miami.) It's about a 6-hour drive, which is heavenly with overcast skies and an open convertible top. It was a great drive. We basically drove from the west coast of the state, to the east coast of the state, so we could pick up Route 1 and drive as far back west as possible. Not exactly direct, but one can't be choosy when there is only one road and the alternative involves driving through the Everglades. When we arrived at Key West we checked into our motel. Chickens and roosters run wild on the island, and this little guy was right outside our window. Thank goodness we brought fans to drown out his singing at 3 am.
Most of our pictures are on the other camera, so I'll have to download them this weekend while Brad's at school. We drove around, saw a state park, a big ship, the Navy base, the southernmost point in the US, crazy Duval Street with its touristy shops with lewd t-shirts, and ate well. One of my favorite moments was when we went out to the pier at the Navy base to see the sunset. It was overcast so it was a bit hidden, but still beautiful. While we were there, a few fishing guys and their buddy took out a guitar and put on a little impromptu concert. It was really a fun moment!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)