Perk at Work

Introducing Buster, my boss' 4 month old puppy who comes to work with her almost every day. Since I work right across the hall he often sneaks over and says hello, so far he is my favorite co-worker!

Help, it's Cold!

It's dropped below 50 degrees and I would say that Kris and I are not adjusting well. We sit in our apartment under layers and layers of clothing and say to each other, "It's so cold, now do you think it's cold enough to put the heater on?" Even a girl from one of Kris' classes was teasing him because in class all of the girls were really cold and trying to stay focused on lecture, when according to her words, "You see big old Kris slipping on his puffer jacket and rubbing his arms for warmth." I think at that point she realized he was from California!

Employed!

I'm happy to share the news that I have secured a job! It was a bit rough out there, with not too much to choose from, but I've found a job that should be great. It's at a small local homeless family organization called the Interfaith Hospitality Network. So, I'll be continuing in the field that I've worked in for the last few years. The organization is much smaller than where I worked in SF, and the shelter only has the capacity to house 6 families at one time, as opposed to the 40 or so that we could offer shelter to in SF. But it has a really warm feeling and the staff seem to be very experienced, I think I can learn a lot here.

The position itself is their Volunteer Coordinator, which will be new for me. They staff their shelter year round with over 2,000 volunteers from the community and local congregations, so I'll be there to make sure that things run smoothly and recruit new volunteers. I'll also get to work with the Development Director some on fund raising events, which should be fun. I go in tomorrow to sort out the details and find out my start date. Thanks to everyone for sending encouragement and good thoughts my way.

Tailgate and Another Win for MI

This week we attended our first official tailgate hosted by our friends Kristen and Kurt from Chicago. It was on the greens of the golf course, which seems crazy to both of us. But we had a nice time soaking up the sun, while we have it, and learning to play corn hole and washers. After that was the game, which was fantastic. Victory came to Michigan in the last few seconds. It was a big win for MI and hopefully there are many more to come.

Welcome to the Big House

We attended our first tailgate and football game here in Michigan yesterday. The stadium, nicknamed the Big House, can seat over 107,000 people, and is the second largest college stadium in the country, with the highest rated attendance record. The fans are absolutely mad and the whole town turns into a sea of blue and yellow as everyone makes their way to the game. Kris has student season tickets, and I bought an alumni ticket in a different section from a friend. We made our way into the stadium with plans to meet up after a quarter or two. Unfortunately we had zero cell reception in the stadium and Kris was not to be heard from again until after the game. I snuck into the student section with some friends and watched the game with many of the business students in row 40. Meanwhile Kris was up in row 90 with a large group of incoming freshman. Apparently he had no trouble fitting in and made friends with his fellow schoolmates. At the end of the game one of the freshman he had met asked, "so are you like a senior?" Too funny!

Ross School of Business Incoming Student

Kris walked the 3 blocks to campus to pick up his schedule yesterday. They gave him a spiffy new name tag!

We've Arrived!

After 2,600 miles, a busted drive belt and a short stop over in Chicago we have arrived in Ann Arbor, our new home. Peggy came out and met us the day we arrived and has been helping us to set up our new place. Our apartment is technically located in the attic of a 3 story Victorian building (the first floor of which is a liquor store) so we have beautiful high ceilings paneled in pine, along with several sky lights that bring in a good amount of natural light. We've made a few trips to IKEA, Target and Trader Joes and I think our place is really starting to come together. Sunday our cable/internet is installed, Tuesday our bed arrives, and hopefully our stove will be repaired in the next few days so we can make our first home cooked meal in over 2 and a half months.

Other than that we hope to spend the next few days venturing out and exploring our new community. Thursday Kris begins a program at school that will last for about a week, and then starts full time classes September 8th. And, as I'm sure everyone knows by now, unfortunately due to budget cuts my position at the school has been eliminated, so I'll be volunteering the first week at the school and then looking for work. Hopefully I'll make some connections while volunteering that may lead to something. I also signed up for a class in metal smithing that starts in September, something that I've always wanted to learn.

So, here we go Ann Arbor, bring it on!