Ok, time for the news...
I've been holding off on sharing this news until a few hoops had been jumped through and some legal stuff had been taken care of. Now that all that has, I can share the news...
We're moving to Seattle!! In June, Mark interviewed with 3 different groups at Microsoft, and received 3 job offers (yes, he's an overachiever :)). He accepted a position as a Senior Program Manager. The background check is now complete, and the lawyers at the other end have completed their part so that Mark can get his TN (Trade Nafta agreement) work visa. That documentation is in the mail on the way to St. John's as I write this, expected to arrive on Monday. Once that is done, Mark can book travel to go to Seattle, Washington, to begin work on the following monday with Microsoft!! :)
This is a wonderful opportunity, with a stable job for him that pays very well and gives him work that is not only challenging and interesting, but stuff that he *really enjoys* doing. He's really looking forward to working with the group he'll be with, which he described as "inspiring" when I asked about them after his interviews. It also presents a much larger range of opportunities for me professionally, as the market here in our area is pretty saturated with us kinesiology types (40 of us graduated this spring). The really big kicker for us, is that we will have a much better work:life ratio than we've had up here over the past few years. This is one of the main reasons we were looking for something different. The group Mark will be with is very big on making sure people have a life balance- his boss's boss is a scout leader, so that should give people an idea about people having time outside work to do things.
Mark will most likely be heading out mid-late next week, to be able to get things squared away and somewhat settled before work begins: get into the apartment and the rental car (being provided by Microsoft until our stuff arrives and we get our own place), get a bank account set up, etc., before he starts work on the following Monday. Me, I'm in the rear with the gear! I'm our "move agent" at this end, coordinating with the household movers and the auto movers (yes, Microsoft is shipping our entire household contents, trailer and car for us!). It will take some time to set things up with the movers, get the on-site survey done (scheduled for next week), arrange a pack & load day and auto pickup day, clean & close out our place here and turn it over to the landlord. I expect I'll be here until around the middle of August, then hopefully I'll make it home to NJ for a short visit before being whisked away to Seattle to join Mark.
In his previous visits, Mark had already made contact with the local SCA group. We'll be in the Barony of Madrone, in the Kingdom of An Tir. With the groups in the greater Seattle area, we could make it to 3 different fight practices in one week, or any number of other activities if we wanted to (we're going to start off slow first). Mark met the Baron & Baroness when he was there for his interviews- they hold their monthly baronial meetings on the Microsoft campus! I'm looking forward to meeting a new group of like-minded people and having new experiences in the SCA there and in other activities and pursuits.
There's soo much to do and in such a short space of time!! :D