San Diego

 Del Mar

 Cliff walk

 Yep, that's a train on the cliff walk.

Went to San Diego to check out UCSD.  Quite an experience! 

Boston

I love Boston so much!  It's such a wonderful city.  Ronny and I went up for a friend's wedding and had a wonderful time!  We stayed in a vacation rental in South Boston.  It was a great Victorian house close to everything and reasonably priced.  We haven't had much to take pictures of lately, so here some pictures from the weekend.

Rehearsal dinner at The Palms

 Ronny and Chris at Stats in Southie

 Wedding at Boston Public Library

 Friends since middle school.

 I throw my hands up in the air sometimes!

Chris and Sami all the way from Switzerland.

Mrs. Dr. Remington

That's right folks!  Ronny graduated!!!  He's Dr. Remington and therefore I am Mrs. Dr. Remington.  I worked just as hard, so you can certainly refer to me by a name that seemingly does not have anything to do with me.  I'm sure some of you (okay one of you) was wondering if the transition I spoke of  involved babies...no just a diploma and new title.  Ronny is working at UF as a postdoctoral researcher.  It sounds fancy, but it's the same thing he was doing except now he's getting paid a real salary for his work.  Meanwhile, I got a job at UF through a temp agency (got to love this economy and being over qualified--thank you masters degree).  I work for three professors in the Family, Youth, and Community Sciences department (Tebow's major).  It's not rocket science or the job of my dreams, but it is a paycheck and now I can start paying back my student loans! Oh, it's so glamorous!

So what's next?  That's the real transition.  We want to get out of Gainesville.  Ronny has decided that he wants to transition into finance.  Yes, he's a physicist, but what he really does is computer software development.  In the finance field there is something called a quant.  They do the math behind the stock market (no they didn't necessarily cause the crash).  That's what he's looking at.  So he's applied at Twitter and D.E. Shaw.  We'll see what happens.  It looks like my opportunities are in the northeast and Washington D.C. area.  I'm just looking forward to the next step.

Meanwhile, we are seriously thinking about starting a family.  The last two years have been a challenge for me.  I've sacrificed a lot to further Ronny's career and I'm glad I did it.  But now I'm want to start my life.  I feel like we've had to put things on hold and I'm not doing that anymore.  There is not perfect time and if you wait for it you will let life pass you by.  I have babies on the brain and I'm fine with that.  I wanted to start trying to have kids when I was 28, and two weeks ago I reached that landmark age.  I'm not exactly where I thought I'd be professionally, but that's life right now.  It's time to start trying...well maybe we'll start in a couple of months.

Still Here

We're still here.  Many many things have gone on and there's been a major transition, but I don't have pictures to go with it.  When I get done working the last thing I want to do is be on the computer.  Just wanted to let my meager blog audience know I'm still here.

My Feelings on Healthcare

This is a sensitive issue for me.  One of my immediate family members was diagnosed with cancer ten days after his twentieth birthday.  He had surgery and radiation therapy.  He had (and still has) health insurance.  It did not cover all the expenses.  Living cancer free does not mean you are free of the expense incurred from getting sick.  For one year you must get scanned at least every three months to make sure the cancer has not come back.  You should get these scans at least once a year after that.  Those don't come cheap.  The day after his daughter was born, he found out that the radiation therapy damaged his hip resulting in osteo-necrosis, or death of the bone.  His hip was literally crumbling away.  After six months of mind-numbing, debilitating pain he was forced to have his hip replaced at the age of twenty-four.  With insurance his medical bills are huge.

I do not claim to understand the complexity of the healthcare issue.  I passionately feel that it is not okay for someone who develops cancer to fight for their life and then fight to get out of debt.  I just don't understand.  My loved one took care of himself and now works hard to take care of his family.  I put a random Facebook message about healthcare because I don't know how to help him and I was frustrated by the debate.  I don't yet know what the right change is, but something has to change.  When you beat cancer your life should start again; how can you live when debt is strangling you?      

Running the Gamut

I woke up this morning resolved to find out what was the status of my job prospects.  Oh, I am getting ahead of myself.  I quit my job at the restaurant.  Honestly, I was miserable.  My dear friend Annie gave me a stern talking to and suggested that I find a new way to define happiness.  I am a supportive, loving wife and that is AWESOME!  I did some real soul searching and realized that I cannot continue to be unhappy--so I quit.  Of course I gave two weeks notice!
I haven't stopped applying for jobs.  I don't talk about it, I just do it.  I applied for a job at UF and finally got an interview.  It was the best interview of my life.  I answered all the questions well, I made myself available and open to anything.  I left knowing I got the job.  Today I found out I didn't.  I called to see if they had made a decision.  I was told (without asking mind you) that I was their top candidate and "I just feel so bad saying that because we chose someone else".  I was devastated.  This isn't my dream job; it's just a job I need and would have rocked.  The world doesn't make sense to me.  Now, I'm mad.  How can I learn from this?  What is there to improve upon?  Should I try not to be the top choice?
So, I applied for an historic preservation job today.  I got a call this afternoon.  I had a phone interview, and while I'm not getting my hopes up at all, it's a step in a positive direction.
I'm exhausted.  I've cried, yelled, and now I feel optimistic.  Here's hoping....

Now Casting...

Why is it the T.V. shows that are really popular center around twenty-somethings figuring out life with the support of their super close friends who all congregate at the local coffee shop/bar and live across the hall?  Do I need to live in a high rise and drink a lot to find my group?  I've lived in Ormond Beach, Tallahassee, Atlanta, Gainesville, and SwitzerFrance--how am I supposed to accumulate a group of close-knit twenty-somethings when I am not in one place long enough to master the language?
So I'm now casting my own twenty-something sitcom, we'll call it "life" (small "L").  At any point you may be replaced by one of my awesome friends that live in Atlanta, Miami, or Daytona.  Of course, we would have to end up living in the same high rise for that to happen--chances are slim.
To the great friends I have and miss so much, thank you!

Not so Settled.

I'm really an awful blogger.  I was never very good at keeping a diary either so this shouldn't be that surprising.  My camera is very old and the battery pops out, so I don't take a lot of pictures.  Not to mention, we don't have a kid or a pet doing anything cute so there's not much to take a picture of.  I guess I could take a picture of Ronny working on his thesis--because that's what I want to remember forever.

So yes, Ronny is working on his thesis and will defend on June 2nd.  That means he's really graduating!  It's finally arrived.  So now what?  Too soon to tell.

In the mean time, I am the shift supervisor at the restaurant job.  It sounds fancy, but I'm not really convinced.  At least I'm not just standing anymore.

I pretty much feel like my life is in shambles.  What compounds this feeling is my upcoming high school reunion and the fact that I can't seem to get a real job to save my life.  I'm convinced all the "new" jobs created are going to people that already had jobs.  It's just a cycle of employing the already employed.

Preservation's Valentine's Day Massacre

On the 14th, Congress slashed and in some cases eliminated funding for preservation in this country.  Honestly, I can understand why preservation isn't at the top of the list for funding, but it's difficult to understand how job creation doesn't seem to include me.  Preservation is actually pretty important and should be more prevalent.  The problem is how we talk about it.  Preservation isn't synonymous with museum, but there is a connotation associated with the term that makes us think "don't touch".  What we need to work towards is conservation and sustainable adaptive re-use of historic properties.  While in Europe I observed that there was rarely any new construction and buildings were never torn down.  Europe's culture is very focused on recycling and that extends to buildings as well.  Americans love visiting Europe because of the Old World architecture and historic towns, funny, we don't seem that enamored with our own historic structures.

That's my soap box.

My Feet HURT and the Restaurant Opened

I have been super busy training at the restaurant.  I work at Zuzu, a hip restaurant featuring new American Mediterranean cuisine.  We've had wine tastings, plate practice (you have to be able to carry three plates in one hand), cleaning parties, etc.  Yesterday we were open for business!  It was fun!  The food is so good!  I had the best french fries I've ever had in my life--hand-cut fries with salt, pepper, and truffle oil.  AMAZING.  Also got to try potato leek soup and gnocchi-I definitely won't go hungry.  The only bad part is my feet are killing me!!!  The floors are concrete and standing in front of the hostess station is just painful.  I've asked if we can get a fancy mat that provides so cushion because I'm not going to last too long.  I feel old, but if I was walking around and not just standing it would be different.  

Here is a link to the restaurant--www.zuzujolie.com

I Have A Paying Job?

Today I had an interview, no not an interview, a talk with the front of house manager at new restaurant in Gainesville.  She said the owner, general manager, I don't even know his name already told her that he wanted to hire me to hostess.  Sweet.  What is the hourly wage?  They don't know yet?!?!?  The restaurant has not opened yet, but the wage is pretty important is it not?  So I guess I have a job.  They told me it's not about waiting to hear if I got the job, it's waiting to hear when orientation starts.

Tomorrow I am attending a workshop by famous National Park Service photographer Jack Baucher.  He's pretty much the best architectural photographer in the country.

And I am happy to report we now own two end tables in the living room and two nightstands in the bedroom.  There are no more plastic tote boxes holding things up in the main rooms.  The second bedroom is another story...all in due time.

Working It

This post goes out to my most loyal reader, my Aunt Kimmie.

Much is new on the work front.  I started an internship with the City of Gainesville's preservation planner in November.  I now have a project that I am leading.  We are surveying the downtown commercial business district.  I realized that while this internship is unpaid, I am getting valuable experience that will help me get a job.

Last week I substituted for a local high school.  I subbed for a debate class and a reading class with a variety of grades.  It went really well and I wasn't eaten alive.  Most classes thought I was someone that doesn't mess around.  Only one class thought I was "cute" and "too nice".  I think I was a nice combination of structure and relaxation.  I wish that I could count on two substitute jobs a week because then I wouldn't be considering my next topic.

I applied to a local restaurant two weeks ago and I have an interview tomorrow.  Honestly, I am a little torn with this.  I need a part time job because I want to do the internship fully.  I just don't know if going back to the restaurant culture is the best for me.  I am interviewing for the hostess position despite the varied experience that I offer.  The person that I talked with (briefly) when I filled out the application didn't listen to me regarding my experience.  Let's see what they offer at the interview and take it from there.