NEWS

Dan and Alex and I received a long-awaited letter in the mail last Tuesday. It was the offer letter for a new job for Dan...in Hawaii. This is something we've talked about pretty much since Dan got back from visiting Cate in HI last Christmas. But the search began in earnest last August-ish, when Dan began to really not enjoy his current job. The pull factor of Hawaii combined with the push factor of crappy Austin job did the trick. Apparently, though, there's not a huge tech community in Hawaii, so jobs for Dan aren't just popping up all the time. Then, all of a sudden this opportunity came along and BAM, it was a phone call from a recruiter to job offer in about two weeks.

So, the fun of making a HUGE move is overtaking this household. We are in the process of selling all of the big furniture right now: bed, couch, desk, bookshelves, etc etc. because it is more expensive to ship stuff than to just buy new stuff. The good thing is that this is the same on the other end. Craigslist in Honolulu (an on-line classifieds website) is FULL of people doing the same thing in reverse. They are leaving the island and have to sell it all. We should be able to furnish our house with nice used stuff pretty easily once we get there.

In addition to selling the big stuff is the process of purging the little stuff. Dan and I both have pack-rattish tendencies, and so between us we have quite a bit of stuff that we are sure will be useful...someday...but currently is sitting in a box and has been ever since we moved here, making it seem as if maybe this stuff is not as useful as we thought. So, we have several boxes going in the living room now: stuff to pack, sell, give away, throw away, etc. The living room looks like bombs have gone off. Unfortunately, this is the room that people have to go through when they come to look at the stuff we are selling. It's mildly embarrasing everytime. I try to head off the embarrasment by meeting them at the door with, "We're moving, excuse the mess," but I know that people must be feeling sorry for Alex..."How can that baby survive in this pig sty?" And I am afraid to put him down for fear that I won't be able to find him again :-)

It's New Year's Day. I'd like to toast to a very empty house very soon (anyone out there need a new bed or t.v. cabinet??).