Hmmmm

Pretty sure Jaime hasn't been entirely forthcoming with me, based on what she received in the mail recently - (be sure to click on pics to see the full size!)







Now the fun part - how best to fill it out so that I can get them to read as much of the response as possible before I totally screw with them...


Check back later for my responses...
Best part is - it came with a pre paid envelope for return.

..........

Life
sometimes it feels like everything is happening all at once...
because it is.

To say that the past few months have been intense would be a mild understatement. We've had some highs, and some serious lows as of late. But closure, even when it isn't what you want, can at least help make life a little less hectic. If you want, please feel free to skip these first few paragraphs, it's all pretty downer stuff (I'll take no offense, I promise)

March and Early April - in mid March my uncle Chuck went to see the doctor because he hadn't been feeling well. The following week he found out that he had liver cancer. He met with doctors, and they recommended chemo. It was later revealed that it had actually started in his pancreas, but was a rarer form of cancer that may be better treated with chemo.

He had started chemo in late March.

We came together as a family, we planned meals, we got him a new recliner, we took care of his cat, we felt the love...

Sometimes love is not enough

Unfortunately his liver was too fare gone. He passed away 3 weeks later on April 6th.

About the same time, my boss at work left to fight his battle with Urothelial (bladder) cancer. Fortunately that's fairly treatable and everyone at the Help Desk looks forward to his speedy recovery.

Jaime didn't get the job at Childrens. It sucks that their study won't go as well, but whatever, that's their mistake and we're over it.

Begin more uplifting (and totally randomly spaced) blog post...

Jaime and I had dinner at Teatro Zinzanni back in March - good food, great wine, drag queens, and my awesome wife - loved it!

We had a great time at niece Kendal's Easter concert, and she's a great performer -


I've been promoted! When I return from our trip to England/France I'll start training for my position as a Help Desk Level 2/Escalation analyst. It's not huge, but it's a step in the right direction for me, and I'm starting to feel like the 2+ years that I've worked my tail off at the Help Desk are starting to pay off.

Went to Opening Day at Safeco field with Deke and Miranda, and despite an M's loss, had a lot of fun.

Earlier this month, we had to take the Sportwagen to the shop because the check engine light came on - but you know what? I didn't care, because our new Tiguan has reached port! I've been tracking its journey from Emden, Germany on the "Cygnus Leader". Nerdy, eh? The ship arrived in San Diego this morning and offloaded its cargo, including "Tigger" (Jaime has already named our car and we don't even have it yet!).

(Somewhere inside that boat is our new car)

Holy Crap! Barring continued volcanic activity, Jaime and I leave for London in a week and a half! We've been planning this trip for about a year, and it's finally almost here. That reminds me, I need to buy some power adapters! We've got our Eurostar tickets, a hotel reservation in Paris, a new prime lens for the camera, and all kinds of plans...But the most fun will be to spend two weeks with niece Isabel and nephew Peyton!!!! See you guys soon!

We had a wonderful visit with Jim and Judy two weeks ago! They came out because we've finally decided to actively look for our own house and they came to offer advice/guidance. Their visit was also a great excuse to hold a barbecue, and since Jim was here, the weather was spectacular. No solid leads on the house front yet, but we're not under a timeline, so we're taking it slow.

So, that pretty much sums up the past two months. As usual, I've just kind of dumped out my thoughts into one gigantic post (no one's forcing you to read the blog, mmmkay?) We're still working on plans for a "Summer of 30" party. Stay tuned. I hope everyone is doing well, and if you haven't heard from me lately, forgive me.

The decision is in...

Well, not the decision we were hoping for, but at least we know. I unfortunately didn't get the job with Children's Hospital. But on the bright side, my parents are here this weekend and we are having a great time. I couldn't have asked for a better time to have bad news delivered than to have my husband and parents (my biggest supporters) around me.

So now at least I have a little clarification and a path to follow. And like all paths in life, I'm sure it will be full of surprises and be a great experience. I get to continue to work at Epigenomics with a team of people I really admire. Luckily we just got more funding, so it all is looking a lot better. Wish me luck...

No, Seriously

It's almost laughable at this point (except that we both REALLY want Jaime to get this job!) Still no word from Childrens...

In other really crappy news - my boss has left work after being diagnosed with Urethral cancer, and my Uncle Chuck was recently diagnosed with liver cancer...we wish them both a speedy recovery.

For some uplifting news, Jaime and I traveled up to Bothell to see Kendal perform in her first "concert" with her preschool. We had a great time and I got to be family photographer for the event (though I came unprepared without my tripod - there was a balcony and several people who had obviously done this before). Enjoy!


We also had a RAD date night on Friday night at Teatro Zinzanni! Great food, wine, theater, burlesque, and men in drag - this is a guarantee for a fun time. I highly, HIGHLY recommend it!

No job update

Jaime kicked ass in her 2nd interview with Childrens. Now we're just playing the waiting game again...

Waiting is so much fun...

Not so much.

Sleepover!

So Jaime and I got a little parenting experience this weekend - we picked up Kendal Saturday afternoon, took her to the aquarium, the park, and then home with us to spend the night. As it turned out, we ran into neighbor Chris and daughter Jordan,5, who was ecstatic that she might also be able to spend the night with Kendal...sure, why not? Kendal, Jaime and I made pizza for dinner, and afterward Jordan came over and we made dessert pizza. Good times. Jaime and I enjoyed it thoroughly, except that we didn't sleep much because either one of us would wake up and check on the girls. Hey, it was our first overnighter with kids, mmmkay? More importantly, the girls slept in till at least 7, and had an absolute blast! Link to complete shutterfly album here, and some selections below.

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.