Arrived

We made it to Oregon yesterday, and were only an hour late for interviews, but at least we remembered the cell phone so we could call when we landed and let them know. It seemed like talking with everyone went pretty well and we both "passed" the written interview exam (which included medical questions and such gems as "why are manhole covers round" with space for 3 separate answers). K is already out on the streets this morning with the ambulance, and I'm headed out shortly, so we should get a pretty good feel for what things are like here.

The trip yesterday was a pain. We brought our snowboards for the Colorado part of the trip, and I completely forgot that I had my ski tool in my coat pocket. Despite what the news says about TSA relaxing the regulations, apparently that news hasn't made it to the local airport, so they're still enforcing the "no tools of any type" rule. The ski tool I had was smaller than a deck of cards and has 4 interchangeable screwdriver bits of less than 1" each for making adjustments to your bindings and such on the slopes. This is still a dangerous weapon on an airplane. I could do equal damage with a ball point pen, but rules are rules and my checked baggage was long gone, so I spent $6 to buy and envelope and postage to send home my $12 ski tool.

During all this, I forgot the carry-on suitcase at the checkpoint, so they paged and K came back to get it because I'd sent him on to the gate when they started going through every pocket (of two coats, my computer bag, and my purse) and when I wasn't there, he asked what happened and the TSA people had no idea. They all claimed none of them had "escorted anyone out" (which they did), and so K began to wonder whether they'd decided to lock me up or something. I was just hiking the 1/2 mile to the mailbox to send the tool, but I was definitely nowhere to be found. Grrr.

More details on K's local job offer...instead of having to work 24h and having 48h off, this one would be 24h and 72h off, so it only pays 42 hours a week instead of 56, but weekly take-home would be about the same as his current job. The health insurance for both of us would be completely paid for. The retirement package is different with both pros and cons compared to his current set-up. K also said that everyone seemed friendly and welcoming when he was hanging out in the station before his second interview, and that it was great to actually feel wanted as he is the #1 pick. I think we're both coming around to the idea of staying local, but it is far from a done deal right now.