Our next adventure

(Long post; prepare yourselves!)

Well for those of you that did not read it on Facebook, a big change is occurring in Jake's and my life (no, not a baby :). I can't remember if I wrote about this last month, but last month I had an interview over Skype with the University of Iowa to be an Academic Advisor. Well, I wasn't really sure how it went. I felt like I did really well with some questions, and just okay with others. A couple weeks went by, and one of my professors sent me a text message saying, "I just sang your praises to some people at the University of Iowa who contacted me for a reference!" This was terrifying to me - this meant that they thought the interview went well enough/they liked me enough to start contacting my references! Good news, yes, but I almost didn't want to get offered the job simply for fear of big change. I cried to Jake later that day and spilled my fears, and felt a little better. A week later, I was called by one of the committee members that interviewed me and she told me that I was one of their top choices and that I was being "unofficially" offered the position- they still were waiting for the request to hire me to get approved on some levels. The fear set in again, but I was also excited this time. Mostly sad though, because I couldn't stand the thought of being so far away from my family and going to a new city where I will know nobody except Jake. I called Jake at work and told him, and started bawling on the phone from the rush of emotions. He was so happy (happier than I at the moment). I spent the rest of the day crying my eyes out, and over the weekend we talked basically nonstop about it, and there were several times where I insisted I couldn't do it. I couldn't bring myself to tell anyone else yet- I was still coming to terms with the whole thing. Sunday night I called my parents and told them. They were happy and excited for me, but I could hear my dad start to choke up, too.

Over the next couple days, the more I thought about it, the more excited and happy I became about it. I also knew that if I turned this down just because I was scared of change, I would regret it in the future. This is what Jake and I have been wanting for a long time- the chance to experience somewhere completely new and to get out of Las Cruces. We've gone through a lot here and are just tired of the culture. I think we will fit in a lot better in the Iowa City area. There are far more opportunities for college graduates and young people there, and it's much more progressive than LC is. Plus, Jake is able to transfer with his company to Coralville (basically part of Iowa City), so it works out perfectly for us. On Wednesday I got the "official" job offer, and will be starting August 6th! We have already basically found a place to live (just waiting for background checks, etc. to be complete, and hopefully, for us to be approved)- taking over the lease of a married couple's 2 bedroom apartment in Coralville. It is in a wonderful apartment complex community, and it seems like the residents are much more cared for and respected than our current living situation. I was pretty set on renting a townhouse or a nice duplex, or even a house if it was affordable rent, but this apartment community seems way better than ours now and we will have more space in that one. So I can deal with another year or two in an apartment, as long as nothing like "the neighbor situation" from a few months ago happens.

Our tentative plan is that we will leave to Los Alamos this Friday and spend 4-5 days there. My parents are amazing- they volunteered to drive their truck with my aunt's horse trailer along with Jake and I all the way to Iowa City and back. We will be paying for gas and overnight hotel stays, but this will save us soo much money because we won't have to rent a moving truck (unfortunately, the department I'll be working for doesn't have it in their budget to pay for relocation expenses).

I am very nervous about the whole thing- the moving logistics, the being far away from my family and friends, the not knowing people there, and the job- but now I am happy and looking forward to this new adventure with my husband. I think we will love it there, and of course we will visit home as often as possible. Here's to new experiences and living life to the fullest!