When & Where

Settling into a routine. I've got work, that's good. The week before I headed to England, I bought myself that whiteboard that I had been thinking about. Yesterday, I hung it up on the wall that fronts my desk, and filled it with various projects and ideas. It's good to have it there, so I can peek past my monitors now and again to remember the big picture, or glean ideas for what to work on when I need a break from whatever I happen to be working on.

It's a really nice office now, about 135 sqft, but well used since I outfitted it with Ikea furniture, and my new computer equipment. My wife stopped by after her doctor's appointment this morning, to share lunch. She remarked that my office is nicer than hers now, that she especially likes all the pictures on my walls.

Oh, did I say she went to the doctor? Yeah... well, she had to have her first prenatal checkup you see. Measurements say February 10. That puts a bit of fire under our feet to plan our next phase in life. More likely than not we'll be sticking around here through next summer. M is planning to enroll full-time at the community college (hoping to spend two years, then transfer to a University in Hawaii, to study Hospitality, I think). I'll be adjuncting at Lemon University. Rocket is planning to stay on at Rocket Central until the baby is born. Ah, but then what?

We keep talking. One option we keep considering is simply to stick around here. But every time we consider it, the ridiculously high priced housing market dampens our enthusiasm. That, and the traffic. Some of the readers of my old blog will recall the hell I went through trying to take a class in town. There are many reasons why staying here wouldn't be ideal. And there are only a few that make it appealing. Truth be told, if we could manage to afford living here in comfort (meaning buying a house again, big enough for our expanding family, and my garden), we could probably afford to live just about anywhere. And, if that were the case, would we choose to live here? Probably not. That's what keeps hitting us.

Rocket is flattered by the kudos she's been getting at work (her boss recently suggested, for instance, that she wouldn't be sticking in her position for ever, and that she sees Rocket as a viable candidate to replace her when she moves up or on). But, it's easy to be seduced by flattery to want for ourselves what others want for us. It's much harder to know in our hearts what we ourselves want.

This isn't the only place she could work. I've made it clear to her that should she grow attached her job here, then we'd find a way to stay. There are sacrifices we'd have to make to stay here. In the balance, she's not really attached enough to working at Rocket Central that it'd trump our other desires. But exactly what we'll do is yet to be seen.

In part, we're committed to me pursuing (what seems like) one last season on the academic job hunt. It will be a different year this time around though, as I've got more else going on, and less attachment to trying to fit my square self into anything but a square hole. It's a good place to be.

Meantime, I'll also be working on teaching and developing my business plan. This should prove an interesting next few months.