The end is in sight!

We're moving into our new house on Tuesday, and I start my new job on Wednesday. Stay tuned for pictures and move/job details!

I has a job!

Whew. I was getting worried there.

I'm now working at MIT (yes! MIT!) for 50% more than I was making in San Diego. Take THAT, California. I'll start Monday or Tuesday; I'll report back on details as I get them (how sweet the benefits are, etc.). I plan on obtaining a whole new degree while I'm there, in rocket science, and using that in my ongoing quest to conquer the world.

And I can finally quit interviewing.

We're hoping to finalize the house this weekend, with a lease and various certified checks, and I'm also hoping we can get moved in there next weekend. Fingers crossed!

A place to live, but still no job

We may have just found our new home! That's the good news. The bad news is that I still don't have a job with which to pay our new rent. Still interviewing heavily, moving to the second stage with a couple of places this week. I'm sacrificing small goats to every god I can think of to get some kind of gainful employment. Hopefully someone will realize soon how awesome I am, hurry up and give me a paycheck, and then we can get moved in/settled down and finally put this move behind us. I'm ready to quit living like a refugee.

We'll have the housing details finalized later today, but if all goes well, we will soon be renting an entire house in Canton, MA. That's right, an entire 3 BR/1.5 BA house, with two floors, enclosed garage, woodburning fireplace, and at least a quarter acre of yard, for not much more than we were paying for a crappy 2 BR apartment in San Diego. I'm particularly excited about the yard; we can finally grill, garden, landscape, and let the cats frolic to our heart's content. The decor leaves something to be desired--split level with drop ceilings, and it looks like 1973 crawled inside and died. Complete with fake wood paneling. And it's way back in the 'burbs; it's not nearly as convenient to civilization and the train station as I'd hoped. But hey, it's a house, we can afford it (if I can get a &*$%ing job already), and DH has already been assigned all yardwork/snow shoveling. Plus we can quit hoarding quarters to do our laundry. Free laundry! Woo hoo!

Meanwhile DH is suffering through his first cold since moving back East. This past weekend, we saw our first Boston play, directed by one of my old chums from grad school. The play was great, and it was good (if disorienting) to see him again. I realized exactly how long it's been since I've seen him last, and it triggered a wave of "Jesus, I'm old," plus an onslaught of "Holy crap, what the hell am I doing with my life?" I've got a fairly significant birthday coming up, and while I was happy to see the beginning of this particular decade, I'm not so sure about reaching its midpoint. Therefore I will spend it in New York with good friends, and plan various housewarming/dinner parties.

I just realized--this will be my first ever opportunity to have a housewarming for an actual house. I haven't lived in a house (vs. an apartment) since I moved out of my parents' house, lo these many years ago. Yowza.

You're all invited.

Cape Cod

Yesterday DH and I explored Cape Cod, all the way up to Provincetown. I imagine it's a zoo in the summer, but in the off-season, it was quite lovely and not at all crowded. Of course, mid-October in Massachusetts is a bit chilly, especially at the beach.

We drove through many of the quaint little towns, explored the national park seashore, and stopped in Provincetown for some super-fresh seafood. DH had lobster, I had fresh Wellfleet oysters and halibut. Quite possibly the best oysters I've ever had. Combined with the fresh-out-of-the-tree maple syrup we'd had with our breakfast, DH declared it to be "one of the best food days ever." The sand dunes at P-town were beautiful and otherworldly, and combined with the deserted beach and cloudless sky, made me think about the end of the world (hey, I've been reading a lot of Stephen King lately. Give me a break.).

Otherwise, not much to report. Still interviewing a lot, and getting tired of it. Tried to talk myself into driving to Nashville next weekend for my uncle's big birthday party, and just couldn't stomach the thought of an 18-hour drive each way. Will comfort myself with some black bean and butternut squash chili later, though I'd rather be eating a bushel of Wellfleet oysters.

New England, revisited

Yesterday DH and I went on a little field trip. As everyone keeps telling me, the best part of living in New England is the fall. Which--hey!--it is right now. So we drove up through New Hampshire and Vermont to see the leaves.

We were a bit early for prime leaf color, but the leaves were still changing and the colors were still pretty. We drove through the White Mountains of NH and near the Green Mountains of VT, and came within 70 miles of the Canadian border. The last time I drove through NH and VT (last summer's road trip), it was pouring, so I didn't get a good sense of the scenery. Yesterday I did. It was one of those perfect fall days--55 degrees, crisp, sunny, and not a cloud in the sky. Gorgeous, just gorgeous.

We stopped off at the Brattleboro Food Co-op, where I purchased fresh maple syrup on tap (as well as molasses and honey), several fresh local Vermont cheeses, and some beautiful organic locally grown root vegetables (parsnips, white turnips, celeriac, butternut squash, and rutabagas, as well as some kale and rainbow chard). I was dismayed to discover DH could not correctly identify any of the vegetables I bought. Then I realized that unfortunately, most adults would be hard-pressed to correctly identify a rutabaga. I comforted myself with local goat cheese, made on a fully organic, wind- and solar-powered farm.

(Not that the farm's energy source had any affect on the cheese's taste. But I felt so crunchy and liberal eating it!)

Bits and pieces

Some entirely random thoughts:

1. Still interviewing a lot. Starting to get good feedback.

2. Fall has started to come to New England. The leaves are changing!

3. This makes me want to go to Vermont and buy maple syrup.

4. I think my cats are getting cabin fever from being cooped up in this small hotel room.

5. I am too. But it is nice getting clean towels every day. And never having to clean. And having a pool, outdoor grill, and exercise room at my disposal.

6. DH's birthday is today! He's now the age of the answer to life, the universe, and everything. (You Douglas Adams fans will know what I'm talking about.) He's requested that we do absolutely nothing all day long. I'm down with that.

7. I've been sleeping a lot lately. Maybe I'm finally catching on my sleep from the move/trip to New York/the weather changing.

8. This makes me want to go to Vermont and buy maple syrup.