Were moving!

The rumors are true, we are officially moving to Kearney, Nebraska next month. You are reading the blog of the new Instrumentation Technician at the University of Nebraska at Kearney (assuming the background check goes well).

I applied for this job while Nick was still in Nebraska. At first we did a telephone interview, and I seriously thought that I blew it. (I have never really caught on to the whole self promotion thing that is so essential for job interview success.) A week later they decided that they wanted to fly me out there.

I went, and all five of the questions that I prepared to ask were answered in the first ten minutes of the first interview. And wouldn't you know it, I couldn't think of a single new question to ask! What a time to develop stage fright. I felt like such a heel, not asking any questions.

I was wined and dined in fine style. I stayed at a nice hotel, ate cheesecake at Old Chicago, and went in the very first Cabela's. I got a tour of the campus and the town. I thoroughly enjoyed it. The faculty was enthusiastic, full of new ideas and eager to teach. They displayed many of the qualities that are common to my favorite professors. I was impressed from the onset by the variety of instrumentation available for student use. And I love their vision of teaching through hands on research. Needless to say, I was impressed and excited for the opportunity to work with them.

The flight back was quite a bit bumpier, and I almost didn't make it without being sick. Can you imagine getting sick on the plane, while the airports are blaring the latest breaking news of the 'swine flu'?! I would have been horrified. Luckily my flight was late, and I missed the connecting flight out of Denver. That gave me some time to get my rebellious stomach under control. It was still noon the next day before I could walk without the fear of showing everyone what I ate for breakfast, and well into the evening before I felt back to 100%.

They called to offer me the job before my stomach even settled. I asked for a couple of days to decide. I had to make sure that Nick was really ok with moving out there, and that we were ok (if not optimistic) about his job prospects there. I also had to wrap my head around the idea that we really were going to move twice in as many months! That's what I get for staying in the same place for three years. Thank goodness I insisted that we keep most of our moving boxes!