Life is About to Change
I am writing this blog post on Tuesday, February 23, 2016. I'm offering the date because the writing and the actual publishing will be about six weeks apart. The reason? I have big news, but I can't share it to the general public just yet because I haven't notified my job. Once I do that, then I'll publish.
What's the news? We're moving! To Scotland! How incredible is that?! I am feeling/thinking so much about this that I wanted to blog about it. I said as much to Steve and he suggested I blog, but postpone publishing. That way I can share the experience but without letting too many cats out of the bag too early. So here I am.
This whole Scotland thing actually dates back to April 2015. For some inexplicable reason, I had the urge to browse through the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) job openings. Steve works for J&J. I have no idea why I did it. I just did. While there, I noticed that a company in Scotland was hiring a controls engineer. Steve is a controls engineer. Interesting, I thought. But I said nothing. Steve was very happy with his job and all signs pointed to us making Jacksonville our permanent home. So I went about my day, giving the job no more thought.
Fast forward a few weeks. We're at Universal Studios with a friend, Tom, from England. We're just hanging around the outdoor bar in Simpson Land, chatting and enjoying the day. Tom and Steve were chatting about something living-in-the-UK-related (I don't exactly recall what it was) and that prompted me to mention the job posting I had seen. To my amazement, Steve was interested. So interested, in fact, that he applied for the job when we got back!
But the story didn't appear to end well. Steve contacted the HR rep about the pay band. While the pay was okay, there was no relocation package offered. We weren't keen on making a trans-Atlantic move on our own dime. So we reluctantly let the idea go. It was disappointing. I had begun imagining life in Scotland. No one contacted Steve about his application, so we just considered the whole notion dead and buried.
Fast forward again, this time to mid-November. Steve picks me up from work and tells me that the Scotland HR rep had contacted him and asked if he was still interested in the job. Steve wasn't sure what to do. We weren't willing to move ourselves across the pond, but I suggested he pursue it. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, and all that.
The interview went well. Equally importantly, a relocation package was available. After additional talks and much discussion between me and Steve, the decision was made and here we are moving to Scotland! Steve actually starts with a couple of months in the company's sister plant in Puerto Rico before we move to the UK some time in late May.
It was several weeks before we made the decision, so we've been living in limbo. Were we moving? Were we staying? Do I pack the Christmas decorations away as if they're traveling across an ocean? It's actually pretty stressful not knowing which path lies before you. At least it was for me. While I do make it a point to enjoy the here and now, I am a very future-oriented person. Not knowing what was happening was driving me batty!
But here's the thing: Now that we know, it just feels surreal. The actual move is still three months away, so it's hard to wrap my head around it. Once Steve starts work in Puerto Rico, I think it'll start to really sink in. But right now, it's almost a dream.
I'm moving to Scotland. Wow. Just . . . wow.
What's the news? We're moving! To Scotland! How incredible is that?! I am feeling/thinking so much about this that I wanted to blog about it. I said as much to Steve and he suggested I blog, but postpone publishing. That way I can share the experience but without letting too many cats out of the bag too early. So here I am.
This whole Scotland thing actually dates back to April 2015. For some inexplicable reason, I had the urge to browse through the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) job openings. Steve works for J&J. I have no idea why I did it. I just did. While there, I noticed that a company in Scotland was hiring a controls engineer. Steve is a controls engineer. Interesting, I thought. But I said nothing. Steve was very happy with his job and all signs pointed to us making Jacksonville our permanent home. So I went about my day, giving the job no more thought.
Fast forward a few weeks. We're at Universal Studios with a friend, Tom, from England. We're just hanging around the outdoor bar in Simpson Land, chatting and enjoying the day. Tom and Steve were chatting about something living-in-the-UK-related (I don't exactly recall what it was) and that prompted me to mention the job posting I had seen. To my amazement, Steve was interested. So interested, in fact, that he applied for the job when we got back!
But the story didn't appear to end well. Steve contacted the HR rep about the pay band. While the pay was okay, there was no relocation package offered. We weren't keen on making a trans-Atlantic move on our own dime. So we reluctantly let the idea go. It was disappointing. I had begun imagining life in Scotland. No one contacted Steve about his application, so we just considered the whole notion dead and buried.
Fast forward again, this time to mid-November. Steve picks me up from work and tells me that the Scotland HR rep had contacted him and asked if he was still interested in the job. Steve wasn't sure what to do. We weren't willing to move ourselves across the pond, but I suggested he pursue it. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, and all that.
The interview went well. Equally importantly, a relocation package was available. After additional talks and much discussion between me and Steve, the decision was made and here we are moving to Scotland! Steve actually starts with a couple of months in the company's sister plant in Puerto Rico before we move to the UK some time in late May.
It was several weeks before we made the decision, so we've been living in limbo. Were we moving? Were we staying? Do I pack the Christmas decorations away as if they're traveling across an ocean? It's actually pretty stressful not knowing which path lies before you. At least it was for me. While I do make it a point to enjoy the here and now, I am a very future-oriented person. Not knowing what was happening was driving me batty!
But here's the thing: Now that we know, it just feels surreal. The actual move is still three months away, so it's hard to wrap my head around it. Once Steve starts work in Puerto Rico, I think it'll start to really sink in. But right now, it's almost a dream.
I'm moving to Scotland. Wow. Just . . . wow.
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