Homeward Bound

Start of post - Geoff and Jaime are content, and looking forward to a great year, regardless of anything that might happen in the near future, job wise.

So Jaime and I have been mulling over some major decisions lately...
Jaime's current job was scheduled to conclude at the end of 2010. As a result of this, she began testing the waters to see what else was out there. This led to a job posting at Childrens Hospital for a job similar to what she does now, but as more of a project manager. Without realizing that she was (self admittedly) slightly under-qualified, she applied for it. A few weeks later they called her for an interview. So, sometime in early February (I forget the exact date) she interviewed. She was ecstatic afterward - she kicked ass in the interview (as I knew she would!)

A few days later, she was in need of references, so she contacted her old boss. Her old boss was willing to be a reference for Jaime, but at the same time, mentioned that she had a position that would be VERY well suited for Jaime, and asked that she call her to discuss the details. That weekend, Jaime called...

At this point in the post, things turn entirely chaotic

The position that Jaime's boss was offering was similar to the position at Childrens. It also paid more, and offered possible relocation to San Francisco...

Wild speculation begins

We spent one Saturday mulling over the decision, and running the numbers. We decided it was a good idea. Jaime contacted her old boss again, who asked that she fly down to San Francisco (where the company headquarters are) and meet everyone and interview formally for that job. I (gently) reminded Jaime of the numbers. Jaime bought a nice new suit and flew to San Francisco.

She loved it down there, but we had to make a rational decision, and the decision was that the offer was not enough to get us to move to SF. Jaime was bummed, I was bummed for her, but I love it here. We went over the decision again - were we making the right choice? Later, Jaime visited the Redmond office, where they informed her that the number that had been offered was ONLY for moving to SF. While the Redmond number was still good, we decided that it was not worth it in the end. In the meantime - Childrens called Jaime for a second interview...

So we are waiting on the second interview with Children's. Hopefully good news will be available by the end of march. We will keep everyone posted.

In the meantime - my parents have adopted a new Brittany, and we had the chance to meet him Saturday night at a family dinner. He's adorable! I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.




Other update is that we are now waiting on a 2010 Alpine Gray VW Tiguan with nav and awd (but no sunroof) that is expected to arrive at the dealership in early May. In the meantime, my (very awesome) brother has fixed the leaky Sportwagen roof, again, and Pignataro VW will be buying it from us when the Tig comes in. VW is throwing in some additional money as well. The managers/sales staff at Pignataro have been absolutely AWESOME in dealing with the whole leaky roof fiasco (as has my brother!). I must say, I'll be sad to see it go, but look forward to a vehicle with a solid roof.

Ch ch ch ch changes...

Stay tuned...(and NO they do not involve offspring of any sort!)

Too freaky to pass up -

It's the stuffed pig pull-toy, with moving mouth action - be sure to watch the video - and wait for this thing to haunt you in your nightmares!

A Rant

Ok, I've had enough...

So you don't like taxes. You think universal healthcare will be the downfall of this country. You have no idea of the concept of the Boston Tea Party (see taxation without representation, something YOU have!). But whatever. I'm tired of it. You think big government is bad? Fine, since the demographic of your group seems to consist of old white people, here's what we're going to do. Don't want to pay more taxes? Great news, we're eliminating Social Security! My money (that I'd never see anyway) was going to help you retire. No more! Great news! What's that? You own a small business? A farm? Too bad, we're eliminating government assistance with those too. Still tired of paying taxes? Let's not forget that you voted into office a jackass that started TWO wars - one of which has been found to be based ENTIRELY on lies, and yet, you don't complain about that?! That thing has cost us over $700 BILLION thus far (to be fair, maybe you own some stock in KBR/Haliburton, Dick Cheney does!) Are you SO short sighted and self centered that you can't see the long term benefits of a healthy, educated society? Seriously, WTF?

In closing, I'm proposing that we end any government programs that assist whiney, old, self centered white people...
Don't like it - I'll borrow some words generally slung by your side - "America, love it or leave it"

You know where the exit is...

An Early Valentines Day

Jaime and I spent Friday night at the Left Hand Smoke CD release show at the Triple Door. We sprang for a booth and Brook and Eric came along for a good time - food, company, wine, music, and my lovely wife! (Left Hand Smoke is the band that played our wedding, for those that weren't there). They've got a new cd out - Shine On - and it should be available digitally and in stores soon, check it out!


Saturday we headed up to Bothell and picked up niece Kendal for a fun day spent at the beach and baking cookies at our house. Unfortunately we were looking after Kendal because our other niece Natalie was admitted to the ER with RSV - Respiratory syncytial virus - and was having trouble getting oxygen. She's been a trooper and we're hoping for a speedy recovery.


The highlight of Saturday was the point at which Jaime and Kendal were making cookies and Jaime gave Kendal a cup full of oats to add to the mixer. I believe Jaime's words were "Ok, Kendal, throw the whole cup of oats in..." So that's exactly what she did...I came out of the bedroom to find oats all over the counter/floor/kitchen...see resulting mess below.


Saturday night was dinner with friends/coworkers Deke and Miranda in Puyallup. After a few drinks before dinner and some wine with it, Miranda had convinced me to try salmon again (something I hadn't had in YEARS). Ok, it wasn't that bad...but don't expect to see me ordering it when we go out for dinner, k? Thanks to our gracious hosts!

Superbowl Sunday - meh. We headed to the 'rents house to watch the big game, but it wasn't top on our list of priorities for the day. Also, the commercials this year pretty much sucked, except for maybe the Snickers/Betty White/Abe Vigoda piece. Oh well, congrats to the Saints on their first win.

And now, we're 25% through February...crazy stuff. Feel better, Natalie!!!

-Geoff

January Update, part deux...

Back to the real world...or something. The rest of the cruise continued to be a blast - we even had a little rocking and rolling with 15 foot swells on our journey back across the Gulf. Flight back through Houston, and Jaime and Geoff were home once again...

The rest has been the usual - Jaime's been traveling again for work...(though I'd like to point out that she was gone 5 days last week, and I had ZERO corn dogs...)

Hard to believe that January has come and gone...

Wish I had more inspiration this evening.

-Geoff

You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train

I was going to finish my update of our trip, etc. this evening...

Howard Zinn...historian, author, activist, patriot...passed away today.

When I was 18, my Uncle John and cousin Brad gave to me for my birthday a copy of "A People's History of the United States." Maybe they sensed a budding liberal...

For a long time, I put off reading it, thinking it was just another book on American history. And while I had a certain fascination with the subject, it was not something that would hold me through a nearly 700 page book (in hard cover edition). But one day I finally picked it up, and started into the introduction...

"A People's History" was an awakening for me. A seed planted that there was so much more to the world than I ever knew. Suddenly I felt an urge to understand all aspects of a story so often repeated that it had become boring. The Founding Fathers, the Constitution, the Indian wars, the Civil War, the Great Depression, the Labor Movement, World War II, Civil Rights, Vietnam...no longer would I simply accept the common stories, the common answers, the common ideals. By reexamining history, I could learn more about the present, and would be able to ask more thoughtful, more engaging questions about myself and where I might be headed in the future.

Howard Zinn was the man that made it possible. He was the ideal for those of us who felt we might be missing a large part of the story. A veteran; an educator; peaceful, intelligent, well spoken. His voice will be greatly missed.

"TO BE HOPEFUL in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty, but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness.
What we choose to emphasize in this complex history will determine our lives. If we see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something. If we remember those times and places—and there are so many—where people have behaved magnificently, this gives us the energy to act, and at least the possibility of sending this spinning top of a world in a different direction.
And if we do act, in however small a way, we don’t have to wait for some grand utopian future. The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory."

Howard Zinn 1922-2010