So, I got a new job. WOOOO! I'm back at UT, and it is awesome. About three weeks ago, I got an offer and quit my job with the charity. I took the rest of the week off and went camping with Baby and our girls at Pedernales Falls State Park. Leaving this job marks the first time I've ever left an employer for any reason other than moving or school. Camping was fun, but Wren and I either had some serious allergies or got sick. Anyway, I'm the IT guy for a medium-small department. I'll post pictures of some of the amazing features and signage of my building as soon as I remember to bring my camera to work. Other than the benefits and generous holiday schedule (for instance, I get just over two weeks off for Christmas and New Year's), the best part of UT is the culture. People here have outside interests and are generally interesting to be around. The staff is not here after 5:00pm, and there are no emails on the weekends. I'm working mainly with professors, who -- despite being prima donnas -- are generally fun people. This will my first job in a while where I interact with undergrads -- those who are using our computer lab, and about six workstudy students who will work for me -- but they're generally pretty easygoing and can essentially be told what to do.
In other news, Baby and I are in the process of buying a condo. For those familiar with Austin, it's near the corner of Shoal Creek and Anderson, by the Short Stop. (I'm not sure why Baby and I seem to be the only people who know where that Short Stop is, but it's my favorite landmark and I'm going to continue using it as a point of reference until LONG after it's shut down, probably for health code violations.) Although it is not our dream house (for instance, it's not a house), it's good for us in a number of ways. For one, we can afford it. For another, it's very close to Wren's school (where she'll be starting in a few months). It's also on NOT ONLY a really great bike path that I can take almost all the way to work, but like five bus lines, three of which go by my office. Also, it's near some of our favorite places, like Alamo Drafthouse, the movie theater where you can drink beer (tm). So, many thanks to my parents, who are helping us out, and to the Federal Housing Administration, who will be insuring our mortgage. After reading the draconian 158 page bylaws of the homeowners' association, we're referring to the complex as Charterstone but we hope the neighbors won't be as meddling/murderous as Mary Worth herself.
Other briefs:
- We found a great independent mechanic who specializes in diesel VW's! And then he moved to Colorado. And then our driver's window fell off its track. Damn.
- Wren has had some amazing quotes lately. My favorite, from a couple weeks ago is: "See that sun? I don't like it." She's also been going on about whales a lot, which is funny because she's not really exposed to information about whales much. She recently confided to us that Arkay has a baby in Scotland. I have no idea where that came from.
