Hello again

This year has been a year of transition. I guess it really started last year with my severance from the Paper company. It was unexpected and a total shock when it happened. However, it did provide me the chance to work in my chosen field which was being delayed by managers at the Paper company.

It also allowed me the chance to meet my future wife. We would have never met if my job situation had not have changed.

Another transition occurs this coming Monday. I start my new job in Wisconsin. It hasn't hit me yet that I start Monday. I will start getting nervous this weekend as it gets closer. I hope it never hits me. I hope it will be completely natural stepping into a new company.

Tomorrow we'll be flying to LA again for our final wedding planner weekend. Everyone is asking if I'm nervous that our wedding is less than a month away, and again I have to say no. Why be nervous? I feel married as it is. This will just formalize what's in my heart.

My brother G. called me today for advice on a job. He's been offered a sales rep position with a base salary of $64k plus commissions. On top of that, all expenses are covered and they give him a car. Not bad for someone who doesn't even have a GED. My mother isn't happy with the job since he'll have to move to Nashville. He has to take this job. He'll never have this opportunity again if he turns it down. He'll forever be making upper 20s or low 30s a year otherwise. I have no clue why my mom is so against this.

But then she was against me getting married. Not for 'who' I was marrying, but that I was getting married. Her plan was that I was going to take care of her in her old age. I don't know what to say about that. My wife will always be my #1. I can't live my life alone any longer. I never wanted to be one of those who just exist, alone and unwanted. I'd rather not be here if that was what was to be. Life alone is not living. It's just existing.

We've had no luck selling the house in Memphis. This will be week 7 with no bites. The realtor did call and say she showed the house and the family loved it. Hopefully they'll make and offer this weekend. We are thinking of waiting another month and then review our options. Change realtors are perhaps just rent the place out. We can't afford 2 mortgage payments. Especially if we need to save up to pay for my income taxes for next year. I've made mad money the last 5 months as a 1099. No taxes were taken out. I'm thinking I probably owe close to $20-25k in income taxes. That some serious savings over the next 6 months.

Mizike

A Southerner in Wisconsin

It’s been a while, hasn’t it? Where to begin?

Right now I’m watching Nick @ Nite. Skyprincess and I love all these old shows. If we could, all we’d watch is old TV shows, the Match Game (70s version), and poker. I absolutely love the Match Game! It has to be the greatest game show ever produced.

Now to do a bit of catching up.

I was tendered an offer for the Wisconsin job on Thursday. We grabbed a non-rev ticket to Minneapolis on Friday morning and drove the three hours to the job site. I signed my letter of intent and started searching for a place to live. We only intend to stay a year and move to their Minneapolis office. I need at least a year to reach enough experience with their organization and systems to be able to support them in their satellite office. I would be the only person in that office, so I need to be at a level of confidence I won’t need to see anyone face-to-face.

We spent the majority of the day reviewing different rent houses, since we won’t be buying here. We found one we loved and put a deposit down and signed a lease. Now we need to wait until the owners conclude their credit check and it’s ours for a year. Unlike most houses we’ve seen, it’s fairly updated. Most houses here are circa 1950s with terrible smells and wood paneling. This has a very open living room and kitchen. The basement is huge with just about as much room downstairs as upstairs. I’ll have to upload some pictures when I get a chance. Perhaps when we move in with the furniture.

I think this will work for Skyprincess and myself. She’s able to work from home the majority of the time, and Greenbay’s airport is only 1.5 hours away. There is a local airport here, but American Airlines doesn’t serve this location. She will try to fly other airlines when she needs to, but when that’s not possible, she’ll need to drive to Greenbay to grab a flight when she needs to do hotel reviews.

Last week her little Honda Civic 2 door car died. It’s been on it’s last leg for some time and the transmission just gave up the ghost. Replacing the transmission will cost more than the car is worth, so we’ve upped the timeline on replacing her car. Initially we had planned on doing this after the wedding (September). But we needed to get it done now.

We test drove several cars and had a tough time picking. I would love to have another Volvo in the family, but 2 would be a bit much. We tried the Audi, but I really wanted a stick and the ones we looked at didn’t come with a stick. We test drove a Mercedes, but it drove like it had a 2 stroke engine. Very sluggish, and I hated the body style. We both hate traditional American cars, and I refuse to own a Saab. The Lexus looked too much like Toyotas and the same for the Acuras. What we ended up picking was this car.

At first I didn’t want the one we picked since they didn’t have a stick. We did a search for all cars in the US, and we couldn’t find the stick we wanted with the color and options. We could have special ordered it or waited for the 2007 to arrive, but we needed it by next month. So we found a car with everything we wanted but with an automatic. *sigh*

It’s getting late so I’ll go ahead and close. Next time I’ll fill you in on our sick kitty Andrew.