I was reminded recently of some details about the past year I left out of my earlier post reflecting on 2011. I wanted to record them here - this post is mostly for me, so I don't forget.
1. Our India trip almost didn't happen - several times! There were many things that had to fall into place, in the right order, and just getting on the plane was an emotional roller coaster. Where to begin? Brandon first threw out the idea of an extended trip to India in January. He began asking all the people who needed to sign off on the trip, to see if it was even a possibility. It started looking like it was going to happen - and the timing couldn't have been better. Since I was unemployed, I would be able to come along for the ride - perfect! We needed visas, plane tickets, a place to stay, and a departure date! I applied for my Indian visa (Brandon already had one from previous trips). Literally the day after my passport came in the mail with my visa stamped inside, I received an offer to interview for a job in Cedar Rapids. We put the India plans on hold, and I interviewed for the position. A week later, they turned me down. Okay, let's go to India!
We decided on a departure date, and the day before we were set to purchase our plane tickets, I received another offer to interview for a job - this time in Muscatine. At this point, if we waited two weeks for my interview, another 1-2 weeks to hear back about the job, then purchased tickets to leave a few weeks after that...the trip was just getting pushed further and further back. We decided to go ahead and buy the tickets - and we could just cancel mine if I ended up getting the job. It would mean Brandon going to India without me, but we'd deal with that if it came.
I interviewed for the position, and found out a week later that I was not offered a position. Five days later we were on a plane to India! ....But not before I received another phone call...this time inviting me to interview for a fellowship I had applied for. My proposal was to create a position that would be a collaboration between the children's hospital and a local non-profit legal services agency. I already had people on board at the hospital and legal services agency; the fellowship would have provided the funding for my salary. Thankfully, they were really flexible and let me do the interview by phone from India in early April. (I found out shortly after my interview that I was turned down for that, as well).
Man - I am emotionally wrecked just reliving that in my head.
2. While we were in India, I had a lot of free time. Like, I basically had no responsibilities. Our hosts in India had a full-time, live-in nanny, a women who came to the house twice a day to cook, another woman who cleaned the floors daily (it was really dry and dusty), a gentleman who came daily and dusted, a gentlemen who came daily to walk the dog and water the lawn/plants - you get the idea. I spent a lot of my time reading, blogging, doing a little bit of exploring, and just processing in general. One of the things I did was make several lists of goals: Goals for our time in India, Goals for 2011, five-year Goals. One of my goals was to visit Maine in the summer. Totally random. I have no idea where this came from. I visited Maine when I was very young, but I wanted to go back, and summer time seemed the best time to visit. Imagine my surprise when Brandon came home last summer and told me about a conference he wanted to attend in Bar Harbor, ME! And maybe I could come, too. It worked out that I got to tag along for the week on this beautiful island. It was extra special because it was sort of a baby-moon for us, just weeks after we learned I was pregnant. And the trip was just days before our 5 year wedding anniversary - so we got to celebrate in style.
3. Squirrels. I used to lay in bed at night and hear strange noises. Brandon used to tell me it was all in my imagination. Or he would point out that we live on the top floor of our building, with a large tree overhanging the roof above our bedroom, and I was probably just hearing animals on the roof.
And then I started hearing them in our closet. And in our living room. And above our porch. They were clearly not on the roof, but in the roof. Gross. We were in India for six or seven weeks, and the lack of noise from our apartment must have emboldened the squirrels. When I returned from India (a few days ahead of Brandon), I heard them everywhere. Gross. We called in an exterminator. And he put a cage on top of the roof. Seriously? Apparently, found a little hole where they must have been getting in and out, and he set the little trap right next to the hole. And every day he would come back and change out the trap if there was a squirrel inside. (Brandon asked once, and apparently he was required to take the squirrels 20 miles away and release them - not kill them). I was a little suspicious, because who's to say a squirrel from a nearby tree wasn't lured into the trap by the food? How did he know the squirrels were actually coming from inside our roof? Thankfully, we don't hear scampers above our heads anymore.
Just a few things I wanted to write down so that I don't forget...
1. Our India trip almost didn't happen - several times! There were many things that had to fall into place, in the right order, and just getting on the plane was an emotional roller coaster. Where to begin? Brandon first threw out the idea of an extended trip to India in January. He began asking all the people who needed to sign off on the trip, to see if it was even a possibility. It started looking like it was going to happen - and the timing couldn't have been better. Since I was unemployed, I would be able to come along for the ride - perfect! We needed visas, plane tickets, a place to stay, and a departure date! I applied for my Indian visa (Brandon already had one from previous trips). Literally the day after my passport came in the mail with my visa stamped inside, I received an offer to interview for a job in Cedar Rapids. We put the India plans on hold, and I interviewed for the position. A week later, they turned me down. Okay, let's go to India!
We decided on a departure date, and the day before we were set to purchase our plane tickets, I received another offer to interview for a job - this time in Muscatine. At this point, if we waited two weeks for my interview, another 1-2 weeks to hear back about the job, then purchased tickets to leave a few weeks after that...the trip was just getting pushed further and further back. We decided to go ahead and buy the tickets - and we could just cancel mine if I ended up getting the job. It would mean Brandon going to India without me, but we'd deal with that if it came.
I interviewed for the position, and found out a week later that I was not offered a position. Five days later we were on a plane to India! ....But not before I received another phone call...this time inviting me to interview for a fellowship I had applied for. My proposal was to create a position that would be a collaboration between the children's hospital and a local non-profit legal services agency. I already had people on board at the hospital and legal services agency; the fellowship would have provided the funding for my salary. Thankfully, they were really flexible and let me do the interview by phone from India in early April. (I found out shortly after my interview that I was turned down for that, as well).
Man - I am emotionally wrecked just reliving that in my head.
2. While we were in India, I had a lot of free time. Like, I basically had no responsibilities. Our hosts in India had a full-time, live-in nanny, a women who came to the house twice a day to cook, another woman who cleaned the floors daily (it was really dry and dusty), a gentleman who came daily and dusted, a gentlemen who came daily to walk the dog and water the lawn/plants - you get the idea. I spent a lot of my time reading, blogging, doing a little bit of exploring, and just processing in general. One of the things I did was make several lists of goals: Goals for our time in India, Goals for 2011, five-year Goals. One of my goals was to visit Maine in the summer. Totally random. I have no idea where this came from. I visited Maine when I was very young, but I wanted to go back, and summer time seemed the best time to visit. Imagine my surprise when Brandon came home last summer and told me about a conference he wanted to attend in Bar Harbor, ME! And maybe I could come, too. It worked out that I got to tag along for the week on this beautiful island. It was extra special because it was sort of a baby-moon for us, just weeks after we learned I was pregnant. And the trip was just days before our 5 year wedding anniversary - so we got to celebrate in style.
3. Squirrels. I used to lay in bed at night and hear strange noises. Brandon used to tell me it was all in my imagination. Or he would point out that we live on the top floor of our building, with a large tree overhanging the roof above our bedroom, and I was probably just hearing animals on the roof.
And then I started hearing them in our closet. And in our living room. And above our porch. They were clearly not on the roof, but in the roof. Gross. We were in India for six or seven weeks, and the lack of noise from our apartment must have emboldened the squirrels. When I returned from India (a few days ahead of Brandon), I heard them everywhere. Gross. We called in an exterminator. And he put a cage on top of the roof. Seriously? Apparently, found a little hole where they must have been getting in and out, and he set the little trap right next to the hole. And every day he would come back and change out the trap if there was a squirrel inside. (Brandon asked once, and apparently he was required to take the squirrels 20 miles away and release them - not kill them). I was a little suspicious, because who's to say a squirrel from a nearby tree wasn't lured into the trap by the food? How did he know the squirrels were actually coming from inside our roof? Thankfully, we don't hear scampers above our heads anymore.
Just a few things I wanted to write down so that I don't forget...
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