The delay in writing this post is entirely indicative of how frantically busy our life has been over the last 4 months. I can hardly believe I have let so much time pass without a full story of how many changes have happened in a short period of time! This will be a post devoid of photos, however, as the resident photographer has broken his camera. I have a post pending that he has taken photos for already, but not loaded them for me. You know how it is.... the cobbler's wife goes shoeless, the photographer's wife never has any pictures to post!
As most of you know, Jay and I were very ready to see the end of 2011. In many ways it has been one of the most trying times we've ever experienced. I lost my Aunt Faye, a huge support in my life in so many ways, and in September we lost Jay's mom. By October, though, I thought that things had calmed down. We could grieve and begin to figure out what life was going to be like without those two women.
In November, I got an email. It was a friend asking if I would be interested in applying for a job at Amgen. For a while now I have been thinking about what to do next in my career. I was not interested in continuing in the post-doctoral track, something that would be unavoidable if I stayed in academia. I had been considering making a move to industry, but what that move would look like and when it would come I wasn't sure. The specifics of this job were very appealing to me, and I decided to apply. I interviewed right after Thanksgiving, and I was offered the position the next day. To start in two weeks.
For those who live outside the hallowed halls of academia, most job changes and moves are planned out months in advance. To give two weeks notice is unheard of. But I did it. Poor Patricia! It was hard on her. But I committed to helping wrap up the project on weekends and to write the manuscript. It's in my best interest as well, and I hated leaving a lab on those terms. It felt like a betrayal; but I also knew I needed this change.
This also meant that we had to move. Our apartment was through UCLA housing - since I would no longer be a post-doctoral researcher, we had to leave. Besides, Amgen is in Thousand Oaks, much closer to Jay's offices in Agoura Hills and Woodland Hills. The move made sense. So we completed a whirlwind house hunting, and found a two-bedroom, two-bathroom townhouse in Thousand Oaks. It's less than 3 miles from Amgen, and less than a mile from the 101 Fwy. It has a washer & dryer, tons of space, a fireplace, 2-car garage, and a private garden courtyard that Meow can enjoy (and she does). Once I get Jay to take some pictures, I promise to post them.
So, here we are. Beginning of December. Wrapping up at the lab. Shopping and shipping Christmas gifts. Writing Christmas cards and getting them mailed. Packing up our apartment. Starting at my new job! Headed to visit Jay's brother for the holiday weekend.... and then it hit. I began work at Amgen as a Scientist II on December 19th. Amgen's winter shutdown was scheduled for the following week. We were flying to San Antonio, TX on December 24th, returning on December 26th. Movers arriving on December 28th. I got the flu on December 23rd. Jay came down with it on December 27th. When we came back to LA, we discovered that I had left the interior light on in the Subaru. That car was stone-cold dead, and nothing we did was getting it to start.
Moving day was chaos, pure and simple. We were both sick, and we had no car. Our movers loaded everything, and we drove together with Meow in the U-Haul to Thousand Oaks. We rented a car, and returned to LA where Jay managed to get the Subaru running. We spent the 29th and 30th in bed, trying to recover from the holidays, moving, and the flu. New Year's Eve I dragged Jay out of bed. No matter how high our fevers, by heavens I was showing 2011 the door. That year could get gone and good riddance! We finally began unpacking on New Year's Day. And we've been adjusting and settling ever since!
Oh, and the new car? That just happened this weekend. Jay decided that he wanted a 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid, and he got one. Lucky boy! This is the first time in almost 6 years that we have been a 2 car family.
So, on the whole? I love my new job. We love the new house. Jay just got the new car, but so far it's been nice. 2012 is looking much brighter than last year for us both.
