It was another whirlwind few days for us on this crazy adventure. Friday, the 26th, I had three interviews with Cat Financial, one on the phone and two through video conference. All three interviews went well and I really enjoyed meeting everyone that works for Cat. They seemed really excited to get a person in the mining portfolio manager position and I felt pretty good about the outcome of the interviews.
Eric did not have to work due to the holiday, so he was at home getting the condo ready to put on the market. He did trim work, paint, boxed up all his clothes, and went non-stop all day. I was also working from home so I was able to get a lot of GE work done as well. After a long day of hard work we ate leftovers and relaxed on the couch while watching Dallas Buyers Club.
Saturday we worked on the condo all day doing paint and trim work. It took me forever to do a second coat of paint on the bathroom but it looked great when I was finished. The trim also looked good and we think the bathrooms are the best rooms in the condo at this point. We also went to lunch with Eric's sister, her fiancé, and her fiancé's daughter to celebrate a belated Christmas with them. They live over an hour from our condo in Orland Park, so it was nice to see them before we move to Nashville. We are trying to see as many friends as possible before we move, so Saturday night we went out with a group of friends to get Mexican and then to a local bar.
Sunday was more work for me while Eric went out in the city with his friends. They had a going away party for him in Wrigleyville and made sure to get him nice and drunk! He was supposed to take the Metra to the city, but unfortunately we pulled up to the Metra station as the train was pulling away so I had to drive him to the city. He was also supposed to take the Metra home; however, they were all so drunk that they missed the train. I ended up picking him up in Lakeview and I found him stumbling down the street in the bike lane completely out of it.
Sunday was an eventful day for another reason because I confirmed that we are pregnant! So we are adding a baby to the mix of craziness that we have going on. In positive news, I cannot help move very much now that I won't be able to lift heavy things. It's a win win for me!
Monday we both went back to work and I was able to tell my friend Liliya the good news about the pregnancy. She was ecstatic for us and offered some advice as she recently had a baby girl. I also received a call with the job offer at Cat Financial which was excellent news. The offer came in about 10% lower than my current salary, so it was not an easy yes to take the job. At this point, I am still considering the offer and what I would like to do.
Monday night we did a little more condo work and discussed the job options for me. There is just so much to think about right now it is hard to focus on one thing! We also told my parents the good news through FaceTime since they are traveling in Australia. They were also thrilled!
Today, Tuesday the 30th, we went to the Bridgeview courthouse right when they opened to get our marriage license. We recently decided that we would get married legally in advance of our actual wedding for tax and insurance purposes so we had to get the license today. Tomorrow we will go to the courthouse in Chicago to finalize the legal part of the process and enable us to file jointly on our tax return this year. It will also allow Eric to be on my insurance while he waits for his insurance to kick in once he starts the new job. He has to wait four months for insurance benefits to start so we do not want him to have a gap in coverage.
I was off work today so I packed a few more items and went to lunch with an old coworker. I also spoke to an HR person at Cat Financial and set up lunch with a couple of the guys I interviewed with for Friday, January 2 when I am in Nashville. Coincidentally, I also received an email from my big boss asking me if I would like to work remote for GE as a senior analyst as we had discussed a couple weeks ago. I was not sure that was a true option and knowing I have two possibilities for jobs in Nashville so quickly is just great news!
Tonight we are off to dinner at my brother's condo in the city to celebrate Christmas with him and his wife. I feel like we have not stopped once in the past few weeks and there is just so much excitement going on!