Employment becomes me

Or I become employed, something like that.

Yes, friends, after 8 months of joblessness and about TEN months of looking, I will start a new job June 1, 2009. It'll be nice to work again and move to a bigger place (this one-bedroom stuff is ok for one person, but not two adults and a baby).

However, the bigger place is in the Philippines. Just south of Manila (scramble frantically for Google Earth now, dear readers).

To cut to the quip: if I'da known I'd be on hiatus for 8 months and then go back to Asia, I'd have just stayed in Asia.

Maybe I'll update the blog more while I'm employed. But probably not :^D

Updates for my remaining 3 readers

Maybe I still have 4 readers, but probably not.

On the job front, I didn't get the job in New Jersey. Woe upon me and my family unit as it was our last option for imminent US employment. The good news is that the Philippines job is pretty much tied up, I just need to pass one phone interview (not scheduled) and the high-level management interview in Pittsburgh next Friday. Wish me luck!

In better news, GP once again got a "1" ranking for her school work, the only one in her class of 50 (there can be more than one 1, many 2's, etc.). She was the only person to get a 1 rank all three years and that means she gets one last scholarship check. She also received her diploma (well, her friend in Suzhou has it) and the Mouse and I are very proud of her. Good job, GP!!!

Finally, here are some new Mouse photos. She's getting bigger and funnier every day. I'm hardly ever tempted to toss her out the window anymore, though we do talk about leaving her with Grandma Joyce for a few months. That also gets an "ok!" from Grandma.

Mouse hit the 6 month milestone of foot grabbing. Also sock removal is standard.


Today I broke out the penguin bowling set from Steve and Kathy.


GP wanted a laptop and now we know why. All she needs is a cat in the mix to complete the assembly.


We bought a Bumbo chair for the Mouse and today added the accessory tray. She really likes the tray - it makes a great drum.


I'm always baby juggling. No spit up accidents yet.


Stretchy leg baby has started to damage some of her more oft worn clothes. Time to change to the spring wear anyway.

Hating the internet

It's stressful enough working on your resume, searching Monster for jobs, etc., but especially aggravating when the DAMNED internet connection of five kinds of flaky!! I need an emoticon here for me throwing the window open and cursing to the gods.

So, now you know what I'm doing, job searching and updating everything on Monster. I hope I don't get to start over AGAIN because the connection needs to "refresh" itself every 10-60 minutes.

Today went surprisingly well. We took the Mouse to Shanghai for her one month checkup and decided to try it by taxi-train-subway-taxi instead of rental car. I have to say, even given the packed train (standing room only) and subway stations (rush hour in a city of 20 million), it was still less stressful than sitting in the car. Mouse slept almost all day and the doctor pronounced her healthy and growing well :) She's at 4.6 kg now (1400 pounds - wait, I did something wrong, 10lbs 2oz) and about 21 inches.

I think one of the major points today that led to success was the Baby Bjorn that I bought in the US. It made carrying the baby very easy and, more importantly, getting on/off trains, in/out of taxis, etc. was MUCH easier than having to use both arms. She seems comfortable and sleeps well in it. I hope this bodes well for success in our US move in 3 weeks.

By the way, it's hard to sneak around the house in "don't startle the sleeping baby" mode when you have Rice Krispies ankles.

In San Francisco, Happy Birthday Oscar!

So, I've been in San Fran for two days, I have a Friday interview (in about 15 hours) with a company that sounds *very* interesting. If there's an offer from them, it would have to include a big number after the $, though. Cost of living here is high.

I had dinner with Becky (remember her?) last night and it was fun doing a little catch up (she also thinks the Mouse is ultra-cute) and getting her opinion of good and bad in this area. She's doing quite well and offered to babysit if we move to the SF area.

****

Happy Halloween Birthday to Oscar, the cutest 1 year old boy in China (his mom is one of my (former) engineers). Let's all wish him a happy and healthy (he has a cold) 1st birthday.

It was a good day, today

I had a "meeting" this afternoon, so I decided to take the whole day off from work. Such a day usually begins by sleeping in, and I did . . until about 6am. Better than my usual 5:30, but not quite what I wanted.

GP and I spent a leisurely morning, I guess that's typical for her. We went out to buy some eggs and veg across the street and hurried home to watch more swimming. Ayi made lunch (very tasty) and then I dressed up (suit, no tie) and drove East.

The interview went well (yes, I had my first job interview) and the best part was how I felt about the process. Talking about my skills, etc., made me feel good about myself and my career. I don't know if this company is high on my list, but it was still a great interview. GP's particularly excited as one of the possible locations is not *too* far from Las Vegas.

Details for anyone who is interested.