Zortik

Buddy, you gonna have some REALLY eventful birthday days in your future.

haha - no, they'll be upset that they have to share

YAY! (looks your avatar and wonders... ) Danse baby, danse?

Yeah it can get busy here. I try to reply to as many status updates as possible but sometimes its hard.

Yep, got a minute to finally look over and read some intro posts and respond. All done though, it's late and sleep is calling.

No, flying sucks. Driving is great as long as you don't have a schedule to keep to...or children to sooth.

Yeah well 12 hours to sydney nsw aus is a pain 

It was 19-20 hours of driving for me. Flying wasn't a valid option, I'm relocating for a new job opportunity. So I packed my car to the brim with essentials from my house and started the drive early April 1st. Got into the last hotel (about 10 minutes from the new apartment I'll be moving into) about an hour or so ago.
Meeting the landlords tomorrow morning for the keys and to sign the last few documents.

Have a great move, and be safe!

Thanks. Still driving at the moment. Taking a short dinner break.

yeah, Rikifive has the spotlight this morning

That's what happens when you'll use Welcome skill, that has scope set to all new members and use it, when there are 3 pages of new threads in the introduction section. So much exp. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

I also noticed that! I was surprised.

Aw, hope your little sweetheart will get well soon!
 

Tell her to get well soon!

Thanks

You'll be okay! And you'll find a balance that works for everyone, I'm sure of it.

Thanks for the vote of confidence! ^_^

I'm going to have the next two weeks off and outside of required planning and packing I think I'm gonna focus on relaxing and enjoying the freedom.

I'm not sure why there is such strange spacing on this status... oh well.


I also looked into Harry Potter audio books and learned that I didn't care for Jim Dale (the US Version) and much preferred Stephen Fry (UK Version) only to find that due to copyright I cannot purchase the Stephen Fry audio books .

I have much sadness about this.

You would not believe the happy dance I did when they did this one. I got it right when they started, although it's worth noting that the numbering for The Hobbit is out of order. No clue why.


As for audiobooks, some are just awful. Some guy with a bland voice reading a book at you. Ugh. At the very least with these, The Hobbit has more in common with a radio play, and may well have been one at one point.


As for me, the happy dance came about because I used to have this version of The Hobbit on cassette tape. 8 of them, in a neat little wooden box. Well, this got lost in a move and I never thought I'd find it again, never mind legally. I happily threw money!

This is a picture of him from "Labyrinth" and it's a fun unique avatar. I don't know if I could ever make a game that'll do labyrinth justice without a team of talented people to help out .

You can try though

That was my situation when I left the bank to work for Degica.  Working at the bank was great, and I know if I'm ever looking again, I can go back to them.  To help you decide, which one will get you and your family closer to the place where you want to be in 5 years, or 10 years?  Go for that one.

Thanks, @Shaz.

My Wife (and her immediate extended family) have been discussing this pretty heavily the past few days. We'll probably keep up the discussion as it comes down to the wire (This Monday).
Career A offers us the chance to stay in Iowa where all of her family is at. Family is really important to her. It also offers just barely enough money for us to sustain the lifestyle we desire. 
However, it has a high risk of ending suddenly (contractor work) and there is nothing in the area that could replace that level of income.

Career B offers us the chance to move near my family again (I'm not a big family person...), It offers us more money, really good benefits, retirement plan, PTO, etc. Comparing jobs it's an absolute no brainer in which is better. 0 doubt.
The concern comes from uprooting my wife and very young daughter from the somewhat close-knit small family here in Iowa. This is where all of the deliberation and weighing of pros and cons is occurring.

We're making progress but it's a rough conversation to have since her family is pretty much desperate to not see us move away. My wife is fine with being able to come visit for the holidays though ^_^.

Ultimately, you, your wife, and your daughter are your family - your primary concern.  When you're looking out for your future, what your relatives want should play a very small role in comparison to what's best for your family.


If visiting during the holidays is enough for your wife, you should not let yourself be swayed by the fact that they don't want to see you (or her) move away.  If your contract falls through and you have no income, are they going to come to the rescue and provide for you for as long as you need it?  It also depends on how far you're considering moving - maybe her family can come and visit as well, rather than your family doing all the travelling - that would allow them all to see each other twice as often.


I don't know what kind of work you do - if it's primarily internet-based, there's a lot of work around where it doesn't matter where you live, as long as you've got good internet.  Otherwise if you really want to stay, looking around for other similar roles, or reskilling, are also options, though probably not as desirable.

It will probably be better than the last one. Good Luck!

And I'll be starting my new job in ~31 hours.


I don't want to! D:


~ Anyway, good luck!

Plans changed at the last minute! We were invited out to eat by my wife's parents.

@Vox Novus
I've never heard of stuffed french toast before.

@Zortik http://www.cosmopolitan.com/food-cocktails/a6740/stuffed-french-toast-recipes/

Nutella stuffed...hmm

@Nirwanda


So, I tried a piece of eggplant raw. It was the yuck.


So I sweated it after slicing it down (a bit of salt on both sides and left in a strainer. for 30 minutes). Tried it again and nearly all that bitterness was gone. Kinda reminded me of a raw potato.


After this though, when I coated it in seasoned flour, egg, and panko breadcrumbs and fried it up... it actually tasted kind of yummy. Sort of like a tasty potato chip.


@mlogan


Food cooking was a great success. However, we still prefer chicken parm over eggplant ^_^. It was an interesting alternative and now I have a new recipe for my friends who don't eat meat.

You're a braver man than me, zortik.

Glad to hear the experiment was a (relative) success! And yeah, I was a vegetarian for a few years, which is why I ate this dish, lol. But I was picky about it for sure. 

My mistake, I sincerely figured you were just asking for general information.


This is the model "Energy Metal Dance Pads"


http://www.ddrgame.com/ddmuplsuseen.html for your browsing convenience.


I was able to find a coupon on retailmenot for free shipping. So it was cheaper to order from the website directly than to order off of amazon.

Got the chance to test it tonight. Has a little bit of flex, but nothing that concerns me.
Sensitivity and everything was excellent!
0 regrets for this purchase.

Nice! I'll get one like it eventually. I think maybe I don't have space for something I can't squirrel away somewhere, sadly. Have fun with it!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v465/kalyfa/Miscellaneous/2016%20valentines%20picture.jpg