Life has really turned around again since my last post. My thesis corrections were approved, and I got the hardbound copies printed and sent off. I was starting to get a little depressed at the lack of responses in my job search. Then, at the beginning of May, I found an ad for a start-up company that wanted someone with qualifications similar to mine. The job title said "vice president," though, so at first I was skeptical I would even be a contender since I have never held an executive position before. I convinced myself to apply, and that turned out to be one of the best decisions I ever made! (Three interviews, a couple of them at a decent restaurant, and I got the job.)
After about 3 weeks of a verbal offer over the phone, I finally got the official offer letter, along with a full document package to take to immigration to get my work permit. THAT was an ordeal (details of which I won't post here), but I succeeded in getting the work permit. About this same time, we managed to find a nice house to rent near UWaterloo, where I would be working, and moved out of Michelle's parents' house (FINALLY!!!) late June.
Chloe has been growing up so fast. It's hard to believe she's not even 1.5 years old, yet. We got financial assistance from President's Choice charity and were able to purchase hearing aids for her. The benefit of these hearing aids has been remarkable. Michelle took a leave of absence from her job to stay at home with Chloe.
Unpacking has brought back many memories. There were boxes that hadn't been opened in 4 years. Straight away, we found plenty of stuff to get rid of, and we continue to try to keep our possessions as minimal as possible (our massive book collection is the only real indulgence). We've been at the new house for a month and we are still unpacking.
The job has been delightfully busy, and I'm happy to actually be drawing on all my skills and experiences each day. It has been well worth the effort to get a PhD to finally have a job where my skills are deemed important, and not trivialized like they constantly were in I.T. (And, yes, the PhD is official now...I graduated a week ago.)
