Relocation Drama

Well it has happened again - we have relocation drama. As many of you know Jason's assignment is supposed to be finished here in July and we will be relocated. In order to be relocated Jason needs a new assignment, he was supposed to enter an internal job pool process (called PDC) in March and be assigned a new location and job starting at some point this summer. The PDC process is somewhat scary since Jason can say were we won't go and what he is interested in but at the end of the day it is a crap shoot.

BUT last week he was told his unit manager (the big boss) didn't want to lose another engineer and would not enter Jason's name in the PDC in March. In addition, he wants Jason to stay until the project here is completed in order to ensure the "metric" is met. The project is supposed to be done July 1 but things could happen to put it behind schedule. When that is over then we will move back to Houston so Jason can rejoin his group. So as it stands today we think we will be moving back to Houston sometime in August or September.

BUT here is the kicker folks - Jason hopes to be put in the PDC in October for a new assignment since he needs new experience to advance his career. Yes, the new assignment could be in Houston but the experience he wants would most likely mean another move in December 2010 or January 2011 (mostly likely domestic but possibly international). That being said his big boss might not want him to enter the PDC in October either and we would have to wait until the next one in March 2011. So once we get back to Houston it looks like it will be a big waiting game full of uncertainty. Do we buy a house? A car? Do I look for a real job or temp work? The list goes on and on and on.....

We are trying to stay positive about it. The first positive thing is - we get one more long vacation! We think we have settled on Egypt. Not to see Cairo and all that but instead to an all-inclusive resort on the Red Sea! Plus we are hoping for a long weekend in England as well. Hopefully those trips can keep us going until we have to deal with the uncertainty that lies ahead.

Northern Lights

Last night we saw the Northern Lights! We were very excited for the chance to see them in Trondheim. I actively check two websites for "auroral activity" and last night the numbers were really high. But more honestly I got a text message from our British friend who lives near the fjord telling us they were visible. So we grabbed the camera and headed to higher ground for a better view. They had been visible in mid-November but we missed them so we were very excited to catch them this time.

They are beautiful and amazing. I can see how people thought they were a sign from God in the middle ages. They move! I didn't realize that and they move really quickly so they are constantly changing shape- fading and brightening in front of your eyes. From what we have heard at our latitude we can only see the green color but the higher in latitude you get the more colors you can see. It was definitely a really cool thing and something we both wanted to experience while in Norway- now we can cross that off our list.

These last two pictures are from my friend Helen- she lives on the fjord so she has less city light and I think she took these when the lights were a lot brighter.

Pretty sure I could be a Norwegian doctor

Jason and I have both been under the weather since returning from the US - which really sucks! Saturday I woke up with the sore throat and Sunday I felt even worse. By the time I went to bed I was pretty sure I had an ear infection. I called in sick today and made an appointment to see the doctor (not mine but another in his office).

Here is the appointment:

Doctor - looks a me- waits for me to talk

Me- tell her my symptoms

Doctor- "have you had a fever?"

Me- "not sure - I am always cold and my temp never seems to be right"

Doctor- "okay I will look in your ear and throat" which she does and feels my lymph nodes and then says "your throat is red but not too swollen and your ear is full of fluid"

Me- "So I have an ear infection?"

Doctor- "I think so"

Me- "Has it ruptured"

Doctor - "Not sure but I see fluid so maybe" "I think you should have some antibiotics"

Then she give me a prescription- she does ask "if I can take penicillin" but no questions on how effective it is for me etc. I also ask for a decongestant since you can't get it over the counter here. She is confused a little but gives me a prescription for that too. Which as I learn later is something banned in the US...but it seems to work so far!

Total time in office including payment: 12 minutes

So basically you have to diagnose yourself and then the doctor will confirm your diagnosis. I told her I had sinus issues etc but she didn't look in my nose and there was no temperature taken or blood pressure. No question of history - nothing. Love it....not even kidding I think I could pass the test to be a Norwegian general practitioner.

Butterscotch and Chocolate Chip Cookies

When I was in the US I picked up a bag of butterscotch chips since you can't buy them here and they are a nice change of pace every once in awhile. Today I broke open the bag! I made Butterscotch and Chocolate Chip Cookies - the recipe is here. They turned out well - though I am still trying to figure out what the Norwegians call brown sugar really is. It is much grainier then ours but I don't know if it makes a difference in the outcome of the baked goods.

Jason stayed home sick today. We have both been under the weather since returning from the US. Jason is not getting better- he can barely talk but I still had to convince him to stay home from work today. He finally agreed and is tasting each batch of cookies for me :) It was frigid here last week, the warmest it got was about -4F all week. Our dogs were not pleased with the cold and neither were we. It is much warmer this week, it should be about 15F all week but we have not had any more snow (but there is plenty on the ground) and none is predicted for the next week - strange how different it is this year then last.

Evidently when it is really cold outside it is common for ice to form inside the house on your doors and windows. Who knew? This is the door from our bedroom to the porch. Brrr!!

Holiday Trip

We had a wonderful two week trip back to the US for Christmas. We spent our first night in Houston with Philip and Crystal and their new bundle of joy, Clara! We also had the rare opportunity to hang out with some old friends from Houston. Then we moved on to Beaumont, Texas where Jason's family has moved from San Angelo this past year. We had some errands to take care of including dentist visits etc but after that we had some great family time. The weather was great. Chris and Sydney ran into some bad weather in DC and were delayed a day or so but we had a great visit with them once they arrived. Sydney is getting so big and mature!

Christmas morning - which we celebrated early so we could play with our toys before we left

Jason's new toy- we called him "paparazzi" all week

Good home cooking- such a great treat when we are home!

The day after Christmas we left Texas for California. My parents rented a nice house in Palm Springs and we spent a great week with my parents, aunt and grandmother. We had beautiful weather, lots of blue sky and sunshine. I gave myself the present of a 1/2 day spa treatment which was very relaxing and well worth it. We also spent some time shopping at the outlet malls and the living desert zoo. We capped the trip off with a visit with Sarah - we stuffed ourselves with good sushi and some Cheesecake Factory.

My mom, aunt and I feeding giraffes at the Living Desert Zoo

Chutney enjoying the pool at the house

Overall the trip was great - it wasn't quite as much of a cultural shock as I thought it might be. Though our Southwest flight from Houston to Palm Springs included a stop over in Vegas- that was quite an "only in America" moment that included singing, clapping, jokes etc. We did spend way too much money and eat way to much but it was worth it. We left California with 70 degree weather and came back to 30 degrees and 2 feet of snow- our bodies are in shock to say the least! And now we both feel pretty sick too- boo! This morning it is -6 F here...the coldest I have ever experienced and it is not very nice.