Hello TFP

So, we're still in the Seattle suburbs, but we're going to start looking for places in Seattle itself! The job search was more productive than I had hoped - it took lots of phone and in-person interviews, but in the end I had 2 good job offers and accepted one today. I might be starting in just about 10 days!

So that's why we want to move. My techy job will be - unsurprisingly - on the Eastside (for those who know the local geography) but we still want to live in Seattle itself and enjoy the city life for a few years . Luckily there are buses that get from Seattle to work. We're thinking about the Wallingford area of Seattle if we can find a good deal, as it's in the city and has a neighborly feeling, yet it's not too far from the highways.

So now we have to find a place, move our stuff, and all that fun stuff. Hopefully in a month we will be settled in our new place!

We've tried to take advantage of my...

Tonight I will pick up Abaya from the airport after 10 days in Iceland! I'm pretty excited to have her back . The last 10 days have felt quite long without her here. I can't believe we managed to go through 2 years of Long-distance, a few years ago...

Otherwise, I'm adapting to the area here, but still I haven't been going to Seattle itself - I just don't feel like driving into the city even though I want to go there... Must work on this.

The PNW weather is.. not the greatest. A lot of gray rainy days. Though sometimes you see more sun. But, it's no like this was ever advertised as the sun capital of the US .

The job search is moving along. I had two technical phone interviews with a company and now they want... a 3rd technical phone interview. I guess they're undecided. Hopefully after the 3rd interview they will be ready to invite me for an on-site interviewing day!

My first phone interview wasn't very good,...

Hi again TFP... It's been a while!

So, for those of you who might not know, Abaya and I left Iceland at the end of December, then went to Seattle for Christmas, and then to Lebanon and Thailand for a nice vacation - and we got back to Seattle at the end of February. While we had to deal with family on both trips, we got to go to beautiful beaches and to a great elephant camp by ourselves in Thailand - the highlight of the trip.

And so, now, we're in the US. I just received my Green Card and Abaya is done with the data-gathering part of her research, which is why we moved back.

For now, we're staying at her mother's house in the suburbs North of Seattle. Her mom is away for a while (in Thailand) though her uncle, along with his wife and son, live in the same house. They're nice, but I do miss having our own place, of course. Preferably one in Seattle itself since the suburbs are, well, rather boring.

And, I'm looking for a job....

I have an interview at the American embassy on November 5th at 9:30AM for my green card!!!
Hopefully all will go smoothly and I will have the card before the end of the year, which will enable us to leave Iceland in December

Although I wish they had picked a different date, since I wanted to stay up real late on the 4th to watch Obama's upcoming victory

Get ready America... You're gonna have one new resident next year!

Seriously. It's official. Yesterday was the warmest day ever in Reykjavík ever since they started taking measurements 150 years ago. The temperature reached 26.2 degrees Celsius / 79 degrees Fahrenheit.

It was actually hot!

We took a hike last evening after work, and walked by a geothermally active area. We then sat for an hour in a hot river. The river gets cold and hot streams mixed in it; you basically go up the river until you find a spot that is warm enough (but not scalding, heh). Since it was late, there was only one other couple around (and they weren't right next to us) so we got to take off our swimsuit too while we lounged in the natural hot tub. It was great!

Meanwhile, for the coming weekend (a long weekend since Monday is a holiday) we're planning a trip to the heavily indented Westfjords, in the North-West of the country.

26.2!