Where To Live

Another busy week is coming to an end and onto the last weekend before classes start.  We looked at over 20 houses last weekend, which unfortunately was not very enjoyable.  There were houses that we liked individually, but nothing that blew our socks off together, which made things stressful and exhausting.  The more we kept looking at houses from Oconomowoc, to Delafield, to Pewaukee, to Waukesha, to Mukwonago, the more questions and doubts we had about every place we went.  One of the primary concerns that has come up in the past few days is to find a house that has access to I-43 over I-94 for Jet to arrive to work in downtown Milwaukee since the traffic on I-94 is consistently worse.  Every evening that I have been driving back to Dad’s house there has been an accident or two that has impacted traffic dramatically.  Since Mukwonago is on I-43, that location has come to the forefront – at least in my mind.  With all of the faculty orientation and kick-off sessions that I have attended this week, I have met several other faculty members that live in Mukwonago, have young children, and just love it there.  This has only reinforced my interest in Mukwonago, which I just saw on Wikipedia is a Potawatomi word for “place of the bear”.  There must be some strange forces at work here.  We are just waiting for the right house to come along.  Hopefully it will be just as they say, something that we can both agree on.

As I eluded to just a moment earlier, Jet accepted a position at Chase in downtown Milwaukee.  This was her employer for three years before she left with me to Alabama and she has a great network of friends and managers that are still working there.  Another decision that has been made this week is where to send Ben for daycare.  Ideally we would have him at a daycare nearby where we would be living, but since we don’t know that yet, the next option was nearby where Jet or I worked.  All daycare centers that we saw charged from $200 to well over $200 per week for daycare in downtown Milwaukee and in Waukesha county.  Hearing good things about the daycare center at UW-Whitewater from faculty members that sent their kids there, I checked it out.  It allowed us to pick and choose the dates we sent Ben there and was much cheaper than everywhere else.  Since I usually will not be on campus on Friday’s, that would be four additional days each month that we didn’t have to pay for.  All told, it would be around $130-$140 each week for Ben, giving us savings of over $400-$500 each month in daycare.  Not bad.  It was a little nerve-racking registering Ben for the daycare at UW-Whitewater because the day I brought that option up to Jet, there was only 1 space available on Wednesdays, so we had to make a quick decision.  I think it will turn out to be the right one because the daycare center is next door to my building and will be very convenient.  I all but begged Jet to let me do this because I am very excited about the opportunity of spending more time with Ben each day, albeit in the car.  Maybe I will regret this.  Ben starts daycare on Wednesday, the first day of classes at UW-Whitewater.  I have been asking Ben if he wants to go to “school” with Daddy the past few days and he has said “yes” with a smile every time.  We’ll see how Wednesday goes.  It might actually be tougher for Jet as she has been asking if she can come along dropping Ben off.  I don’t think she should drive over 2 hours just for that.  Jet has been great in getting all of the supplies needed (blanket, pillow, bag, bike helmet, wipes, etc.) for Ben’s first day.  I am really excited about Ben’s first day.  Hopefully it will go well.

Job Job

It has been a few days since my last post, but I am sure that you can imagine that things have been very busy for us lately.  The big news is that Jet has accepted a job working for her previous employer, Chase, in downtown Milwaukee.  In fact, in the past two weeks Jet has had interviews for four different positions, which has resulted in two job offers!  This is great news as I have always known that Jet is an exceptional talent that was always being overlooked at in Alabama – which is the primary reason why we are back in Wisconsin now.  This is also good news because it will give Jet some certainty (the job search has given us both a lot of stress) and a chance to link back up with her friends at Chase.  Speaking of friends, Jet has already made a few after taking Ben to Gymboree in Brookfield and is with them this morning for a play-date in New Berlin.  As for myself, I was invited to a friend from high school’s bachelor party last week Thursday (9 holes of golf at Noye’s park, dinner at Bayshore, shooting a few games of pool) and we all attended the wedding on Saturday night.  Hanging around old friends felt great and is helping as we adjust to our new lives.

It was not all good news, however.  I ended up getting food posioning from the dinner I ate on Thursday night and was sick all day Friday.  What is really bizzare is that in the past 20+ years I had only thrown-up once (self-inflicted, as I reported earlier), but in the past two weeks, I have thrown-up twice.  Go figure.  I am lucky that it was only a 24 hour deal, instead of the 5-7 day stomach virus last time, because the next morning (Saturday) I felt great and did the Irish Fest 5K run with Kristin, Sandy, and Maggie followed by playing an entire match of Aussie Rules.  The Aussie Rules game was tough, though, as it was my first match of the year and I had not been training in the past few weeks.  There were several bad decisions I made and I got winded often in the second half, which likely cost the game for us as we lost 46-42 to Minnesota.  Jet also had a tough go fighting an ear infection these past few days.  I had been putting drops in her ear several times a day, which only provided temporary relief, until Jet got some medicine that seems to have taken care of the infection.  Hopefully that is all we have to face anytime soon.

With the prospect of a job on the horizon for Jet, we started looking at houses on Sunday and will have an agent show us more houses tomorrow (Friday) and Saturday.  There are not many options available for us in Mukwonago, unless we wanted to build, so we have started looking elsewhere.  We visited the Thai temple in Waukesha on Sunday morning and decided to look at houses in the area because we had the time and were a little surprised to find some we liked.  Of course there were some problems.  The first house we liked is in our price range, but is not the “open concept” type of house we like that is great for hosting parties.  The next house we liked was above our price range, but had the most beautiful view of Waukesha that you could imagine and would have been perfect for guests.  The house was also a bit too much of a house for us (5 bedrooms), so we will have to keep on looking.  It was nice to dream about that house for a little bit.  It was almost like dreaming you had won the lottery.  It’s a good thing that common sense has prevailed because the taxes alone (nearly $7,000) would be tough to bear, let alone utilities and mortgage payments.  One thing that those houses we liked have done for us is get us thinking (and liking) Waukesha more and more.

As for our house in Alabama, things are still positive, but nothing done yet.  There have been a few more showings of the house and we have heard that one family “really” liked it.  We were told that the mother of their agent is having health problems, so we will see if that plays a role in their decision.  Our real-estate agent has one person relocating in the area in a few days that liked the house, so hopefully something will get done soon in the coming days.

Looking ahead, school begins for me in less than two weeks (Wednesday, September 2) and all next week will be orientation and meetings.  One of my classes was cancelled and I was given a new class to teach this week, so that course preparation is what has really been keeping me busy lately.  Jet will likely begin her new job just after Labor Day on Tuesday, September 8 and will have a full week of training waiting for her.  Another thing that we will have to work on is finding daycare for Ben, but Jet seems to have a good lead on a place in downtown Milwaukee just three blocks from where she will be working.  Things are starting to shape up a bit up here, lets hope things continue to progress without too many snags!

Milwaukee

It has been a fast few days during our first days back in Wisconsin.  The drive up to Wisconsin took 15 hours (we left Oxford at 5:00pm and arrived in Mukwonago at 8:00am) and was completely exhausting.  Dan and Brandon were amazing in not showing any exhaustion from driving the u-Haul truck with my car in tow, even more so when they helped unload the truck into storage.  Maggie showed up with Dan’s brother and friend who were just awesome in unloading the rest of the truck.  After a few minutes getting things started, I ended up on the sidelines as I was on the verge of collapsing.  By 11:00am, we were finished and Dan and I returned the u-Haul truck and transport trailer to a u-Haul location in West Allis.  I went back to my Dad’s house and slept for 3 hours and was very appreciative of all the wonderful help we received during our move.

When I got back to Dad’s house, he was just leaving with Jet and Ben to the Wisconsin State Fair, where they stayed and enjoyed themselves until the rain came falling down.  The rain was on-and-off for the next few days and on Sunday we began our house search.  We began looking in Mukwonago, which seemed like the logical choice before we returned to Wisconsin because it is situated about halfway between Whitewater and downtown Milwaukee, and is in close proximity (under 30 minutes) from my Dad and sisters in Milwaukee.  From our brief stop, we liked what we saw, but we are still thinking about what the budget should be for our house.  Before returning back to Milwaukee, we stopped by the Elegant Farmer to pick up a couple of apple pies to go with the Alabama BBQ we had and shared with our family for dinner that night.  The weather was forecasted to be in the 90’s that day (Sunday), but coming from daily 90-degree weather in Alabama, the 90-degree day was very different in Wisconsin.  It was very windy out (the only time it seemed we got wind in Alabama was when a tornado was coming through) and was very cloudy – as if it were going to storm at any time.  It eventually did storm out in the afternoon, setting off a few severe thunderstorm warnings/watches and flash flood watches.  It was a little funny seeing some of the family getting worked up about the approaching weather, which seemed like nothing to me.  I am sure when the first few snowfalls pass through this winter, the roles will be reversed.

We spent the day yesterday (Monday) traveling out to Whitewater to check out my new office and I was grateful to meet a few new co-workers while there.  It took about 70 minutes to arrive on campus there from Dad’s house, which took a little longer due to the road construction in the area.  Our original plan for the day was to head back to New Berlin to continue looking at houses, but we decided to take the other way around town (away from the construction) towards Watertown where my other sisters live – just to see how that drive was.  We were stuck behind a truck for a good part of the drive, which made the ride seem longer than it actually was when we finally reached I-94 at Johnson’s Creek.  We were glad that we did take the route, however, simply to see how far of a drive it actually was as we were also considering moving in that area as well.  Although it would be nice being closer to Watertown and our sisters there, right now Mukwonago seems like the best option for us.  It would be funny if we actually did get a house in Mukwonago, however, as it would be a similar situation to our house search in Alabama.  Before arriving in Alabama, we searched online and figured that Oxford would be the best place for us – and it was!  Could Mukwonago be a similar situation? 

We arrived at my Kristin’s house in Milwaukee early in the afternoon to take a rest and eat some lunch, but found ourselves consumed with a search for a kitten for the next few hours.  For the second straight day, Ben did not take an afternoon nap – which I am sure he loved.  And after 4 hours of searching for the cat, both inside and outside the house, it was Ben that called me over to Kristin’s kitchen shouting “Daddy! Daddy! Meaw! Meaw!” and indeed, the kitten was there.  Whew.  I grabbed the kitten and rushed outside to show Kristin and Bryon before returning to the house only seconds later to find Ben crying.  Just before Ben found the kitten, he was consumed with Kristin’s other cat, Badger, who is not always kid-friendly.  I warned Ben – “Meaw Got” (Cat bites) and told him to stay away.  The moment I left the house, Ben cornered Badger and tried to pet him.  Badger then bit Ben in the arm.  I hope Ben will remember that and not try to pet Badger next time.

The week ahead will continue to be busy and will likely rush by just as fast.  I plan on spending more time at UW-Whitewater to continue preparing for the upcoming semester, but with a 1 hour+ drive each way, I will try to find as much work as I can complete from Dad’s house.  On Saturday morning, I am planning to do a 5K at the Irish Fest with Kristin, Sandy, and Maggie.  There is an Aussie rules match against the Minnesota Freeze just afterwards, which will be my first match back with the Milwaukee Bombers and actually my first footy match of the year.  I guess things have been so busy this year for us that footy has taken a back seat to it all.  Perhaps running a 5K before the match is not the best course of action, but I don’t think I ever had a chance to do a run with 3 sisters before, so I just can’t pass this opportunity up.

It Was Almost Like A Song

… but it’s much too sad to write.  Goodbyes are always tough.  The last week here in Alabama has really been no fun at all.  I guess that is just one way of knowingthat we have made some impact on others down here.  We already know how much these Southeners have meant to us.  Man, goodbyes are always tough.

I turned in my keys and my ID card to JSU today and got a chance to say goodbye to some very good friends.  A few at JSU had some very generous words that they shared with me about the impact I had during our three years down here.  I was just part of a great team, however, as there are many others here that make significant contributions without ever looking for recognition.  What a great environment to have been working in and I will look forward to visiting either during the upcoming SAIS conferences or race week.

Last night it was goodbye to the many friends I made at lodge over the past two years.  These are just a tremendous group of guys that was really a pleasure seeing every Monday night.  I should only be so fortunate to find another comparable lodge up in Wisconsin.

Sunday it was goodbye to some of the neighbors during a homemade ice-cream party that Linda and Donald hosted for us.  A few in the subdivision got together and gave us a very nice digital photo picture frame.  It was totally unexpected, but a great gift that we can use to display the pictures we have taken during the last few years here.  It will be even tougher these last two days as we will have to share our last goodbyes with our best friends.  Man, goodbyes are always tough.

I picked up our 26′ u-haul truck today and was very impressed.  I had a message on my phone this morning that the truck I was supposed to pick-up at a location in north Anniston had a problem where it’s engine light could not be turned off.  I started to worry.  The 24′ truck that I took on the drive down here three years ago was such a clunker that I vowed never to drive a truck again.  It was a very long drive when I arrived in Alabama as there were many hills that you had to climb on the way past Huntsville to Birmingham on I-65 and then just outside of Birmingham on I-20 towards Oxford.  I remember very well having to get a full head of steam as I approached hills and started to panic when I slowed down to 35 miles an hour barely reaching the tops.  I even remember rocking back and forth near the tops as if that would help the truck continue on.  I literally lost 5 pounds in sweat in those last hours of driving.  I was re-directed to a location in west Anniston and the truck we got has only 17,000 miles on it and it drives like my own car – very smooth with some good pick-up when you step on the gas.  Awesome.  Brandon (one of our Wisconsin neighbors) came with me and Donald to pick-up the truck and then stayed with me as we loaded it up with all of the items that we had in storage since April.  A few Thai friends joined us after two hours and helped us a great deal by helping us get the final boxes in the truck.  It has been in the mid-90’s this week and the heat had just about sapped the last bit of strength we had.  Hans (our German neighbor) came over for a little bit to help load a few items from the house in the truck.  We have about 90% of everything loaded up on the truck, which should be manageable to load with minimal help on Wednesday.

We have also had a rush of showings too, which has been keeping us positive.  The couple that looked at our house last week did put an offer on the house around the corner (nuts!), but we had another couple look at our house on Monday, one look today at 5:00pm, and another showing scheduled tomorrow for 11:00am.  With all of this traffic, hopefully something will happen.  It only takes one.

Final Days

We are down to just our last few days in Alabama and they have been a real struggle as I have been trying to shake this stomach virus.  I decided not to run the Woodstock 5K at the last minute because I figured it would be best not to stress myself any further than necessary during our final days in Alabama – especially with a big move on the horizon.  What was a big shocker, though, was Jet asking on Thursday whether she should run the 5K with me.  I sat breathless for a few moments while I processed what she said and I think I even shed a tear or two.  There would have been nothing more that I would have enjoyed than having Jet and Ben doing the Woodstock with me – well, any 5K really.  Given my health, the potential for rain, and the awful course (lots of big hills – especially one right at the end … Sandy knows how much I love those), the Woodstock was not to be.  Now that Jet is at least thinking of running a 5K, maybe I can get Sandy, Maggie, and Stephie to help me convince her to run one in Milwaukee.  Here’s to wishful thinking.

I have my last classes at JSU on Monday and Tuesday, need to submit final grades, and then I will be picking up the 26′ u-haul truck.  Hopefully there will be a u-haul truck there to pick-up.  The plan is to load up everything that we have in our 10′x10′ storage space on Tuesday night, then bring the truck to the house to pack-away/load everything left in the house on Wednesday.  I should be able to take care of transferring the stuff from our storage space by myself, but will need to help of our neighbors (for a few minutes) to help carry our furniture to the truck on Wednesday.  I think the toughest part of the loading on the truck will be to separate out what needs to go right into storage in Mukwanago and what we need to survive for a few weeks/months in Milwaukee.  If that turns out to be our biggest problem, we will be lucky.  Hopefully we will have everything packed on Wednesday so that Thursday we can relax and rest-up for the long drive to Wisconsin.  We plan on leaving at around 4:00pm or so, which should put us in Mukwonago by around 8:00am if things go well.  Our Wisconsin neighbor, Dan, is helping us move by driving the truck with one of our cars in tow.  I think that we will be meeting up with his brother in Mukwonago, where we will unload the truck and then be on our way. 

On the approval of our real estate agent, we will be taking our washer and dryer with us to Milwaukee – unless we can sell them first in Alabama.  Is anyone interested, either in Alabama or in Wisconsin?  We bought the set at Lowe’s for around $750 (I believe) three years ago, but have gotten less than two years of use with all of the travel we have done.  Make an offer and their yours (see showroom pictures below)!

I am still not fully recovered from this stomach virus, so I didn’t eat much when we went out to dinner with Donald and Linda last night.  They already have Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas displays up there.  Maybe they always do and I just never notice them.  We then saw Adison, Amber’s new arrival.  While there, we noticed that Amber’s parents (there visiting) had purchased a movie for Olivia to watch, “The Blue Elephant“.  I was shocked!  This is “Khan Kluay“, the Thai animation movie that we bought for Ben and watched 100 times in Thailand.  We haven’t been able to watch the DVD we bought in the US yet because that DVD was formatted for the Asia region.  Watching the “American” version, however, did not have the same appeal as watching it in Thai.  Several scenes were cut, the Thai songs were cut out, and the story just seemed better when I guessed what the characters were saying.  Even worse, almost all of the reviews for the American version pan the movie as “glorifying” war.  Oh well.

Today is the homemade ice-cream gathering at Donald and Linda’s house, which should be a good time.  Dan invited us over to his house for some brats, which still sounds like an exotic meal to me.  I hope that feeling doesn’t rub off too quickly once we return back to Wisconsin.  Our German neighbors also offered to make homemade cream puffs for us.  With the Wisconsin state fair in a few more days, this should be a good treat during our final days in Alabama.