Got the keys!

I'm really excited about our new apartment!



I went there tonight to drop off all the luggage and items I've collected over the last 2 weeks and don't want to bring back to NB only to bring them back here again. It's going to be a long time before we are settled though.



We arrive back at the apartment April 9 but our furniture and all our belongs do not arrive until sometime between April 14-27.


There are so many items you don't think of that you will need. Of course the first thing you think of is a bed, so some sort of blow up mattress will be required. But there are so much more, like silverware, towels, bed sheets. And what about a pot and pan, and coffee maker? It's going to be strange living with nothing, but kind of freeing at the same time.

Here are some photos. Probably hard to tell what it really looks like in these but the dogs can literally chase each other in figure 8's from the living room, thru the kitchen, thru the spare room, thru the 2nd bathroom and back thru the kitchen again.


Entry


Living room, dining area and door to patio

Kitchen from Dining area

Desk nook and entrance to Master bedroom


Galley walkthru kitchen, fully equipped


Master Bathroom

Master Bedroom walk in Closet. Thats my extra large suitcase for contrast.


Patio doors in Master bedroom


Hope you enjoyed the tour :)

President Obama

Today I had a chance to do something that most American's who have lived here all their lives do not get to do... Shake the hand of the President of the United States!!


This photo was taken immediately after he approached me, asked how I was today, and shook my hand.




I managed to say "I am very good, thank you". I kept my Canadian thank you in there even under pressure :)

The 'conversation' was caught on video which is also kind of cool.

We also made the news http://lasvegas.cbslocal.com/

A HUGE thank you to my friend and co-worker Ginette who invited me along with her for this amazing opportunity!

The Summit at Sunridge

I've found a new temporary home for us... The Summit at Sunridge.  It's going to be perfect: 15 mins to work, 2 pools, lots of grass and paths, garage for storage, 2 beds, 2 baths, patio, all we could want except a back yard.  The dogs will enjoy all the walks though. 

Tonight I'm settling in with some Law & Order, glass of white wine and some knitting.  I need to find a pattern for a scarf with sea silk.  I started a pattern but not crazy about it and being $40 yarn I really want to be crazy about it.  I'm exhaused after this week.   It feels like Tuesday when I left Moncton was forever ago.  Busy and fast week and I'm in need of some down time.

Big storm coming to Vegas tomorrow.  Wind, rain and even a little snow.... can you believe it?!

Las Vegas bound

The journey continued yesterday and I have arrived in my destination of Las Vegas.  It started with an amazing flight from Buffalo to Chicago. The pilot decided to take a detour to Niagara Falls and stay at 4000ft to give us a great view of it.  Apparently this is very rare and they never do this, but he must have heard about my detour the day before and thought it was such a grand idea.  All flights were on time and pretty smooth so that is a perfect day of travel in my books.  And I got to finish the leg of a sock while listening to the podcast Cast On.  Brenda has the best voice for podcasting :)

It was pretty neat to see Niagara Falls and the desert from the air all in one day.  We live on a beautiful and diverse continent and I've seen so little of it. 
I settled into my hotel room last night and bought some groceries for cooking.  There is a full kitchen so I don't have to eat out every meal, thank goodness.  There is a little doggie staying here that made me wish Zuma was here.  I actually dreamt of the dogs last night during my broken sleep.  The bed is comfy but the time difference got me and I've been awake every hour since 1am.  It's only 415am right now, I'm waiting until 5 to actually get out of bed but I think my sleeping is done.  I should have taken the melatonin, not sure why I didn't. Lesson learned.

Busy day ahead for me.  I have a lot of meetings and also I'm meeting the relocation person, Wendy, for her to show me around and talk about rental places.

For those wondering, still no word on if the house is completely sold.  They had until yesterday so I was a bit stressed when there was no word but my realtor assurred me all is fine, someone just isn't doing their job well and she's going to get on his case tomorrow. I think she is talking about their realtor.  She told me not to fret so I won't but I'd still like confirmation today!

Mission accomplished

Today was a big day!  I'm happy to report I have been granted my Visa to work for 3 years as a Senior Development Manager in the US.  This is a big milestone and I'm so happy it is complete.

I managed to get a little sock knitting done as well.  I'm using hand dyed sock yarn from Heidi of London Wul. Making a plain jane sock with garter rib cause that's all my brain can handle right now.

On my way to Fort Erie I took advantage of being only 30km from Niagara Falls.  I haven't been to the Falls since I was 11 years old, and it was even more impressive than I remember!  I spent $15 for parking and only spent 30 mins there but it was so worth it.  Who knows if I will ever get back there again, and I did say I was going to enjoy each step of this journey :)

First leg of many

All packed and ready for the first leg of this journey to Las Vegas.  I'm calling this trip the "Visa Trip" since that is the main purpose of it.  Tomorrow I fly  to Toronto, rent a car and then drive to Peace Bridge border crossing between Fort Erie, ON and Buffalo, NY.  There I will meet the lawyer hired by my company to make this process go all smooth and quick.  Let's hope he's worth the money!

After meeting with immigration people and successfully answering all of their questions I should get my L1-A visa.  Everything should go fine as it's an intra-company transfer, but I'll feel much more comfortable tomorrow night once I have it.  I'll be crashing for the night in Buffalo then flying out Wednesday morning to Las Vegas, through Chicago first.  Never been to Chicago, not that the airport really counts.

When I get to Las Vegas no time to rest.... the very top guy of our company will be there for a meeting with all the staff... I should look and feel great after 2 days of travelling :)

No pictures to share tonight unless you'd like one of my giant suitcase.  Until tomorrow when hopefully I'll be reporting I am the proud owner of a visa to work in Vegas!

Journey of a lifetime

We are about to embark on a journey that will change the course of our lives forever.

A couple months ago I was approached to take a position with my company in Las Vegas.  The position sounded terrific but the task of selling up and moving there sounded overwhelming.

Jumping 2 months ahead to today and we are well on our way!

We've sold the car and almost sold the house.

Still having the open house today... which I'm not looking forward to.  Even though we are selling I still can't get used to the idea of strangers walking through our home while we are not here. The dogs even find it strange running around sniffing when they return and someone's been in their house.

Some steps toward this journey are complete, but there are still many to come... Visa, temp housing, buying a house... It is going to take a long time to settle again and come back to a 'normal' life.  So during this time of flux I am going to try to enjoy each step in the process and consider it all part of the adventure.

Come on in!