Well, now I’ve done it.  I’ve crossed over to the other side.  Broken the barrier.  Embraced my inner artist.   Yep.  I got  mac.  A macbook to be precise.  Jess and I got it as a shared computer since both of our other ones are fading.  Plus we wanted something small and new for when we travel.  I also picked up a Western Digital 1TB My Book, which is pretty sweet.  I’m going to put all the movies on it, and also use it as a backup.  It’s a ton of space, but we’ll probably use most of it up relatively soon.

Anyways, I’m still getting used to the mac, but I like it.   I’ve wanted a mac for a while now.  I like a lot of things they do, so I figure it’s about time.  I’ll probably post more about it at some point.  But right now, I have gadgets to play with. 

I installed a new photo gallery.  I put a lot of work into the old one, but I haven’t updated it in a long time, and the scripts are currently broken.  Given how busy I’ve been, I felt this would be the best way to handle it.  Plus I have TONS of server space, so why not?

Well, this was an unexpected decision. With all of the places we thought we’d go, Poland wasn’t even on the radar, but it’s off to Warsaw we go! I’ll back up and explain.

This weekend, Jess attended a job fair in Cambridge, MA for International Schools. These are usually American, but not always, but are all English Speaking. These are the schools that traveling businesspeople, diplomats, and other expatriates send their children to while they are living abroad. They are typically well-funded private institutions, and Warsaw is no exception!

Anyways, at this job fair, Jess received 10 offers! This may not seem like much, but when you’re trying to decide which foreign country to spend the next 2 years of your life in, it’s pretty huge. Not to mention that the organizer Jess was working with had never in 30 years heard of someone getting that many offers. He could have been flattering her, but the impression I got was that most people got maybe 3 or 4 offers on average.

Well, after hours of deliberation and research, we had narrowed our choices down. But here is the full list:

1. Cambodia – Phnom Penh
2. Thailand – The Prem School (near Chiang Mai)
3. Thailand – Bangkok
4. China – Beijing
5. China – Suzhou
6. Japan – Tokyo
7. Poland – Warsaw
8. The Philippines – Manila
9. Egypt – Cairo
10. Panama – Panama City

The decision was very difficult. The school in Manila had an excellent package as far as salary and benefits. Probably the best of them all. However, the location and job were less than ideal (though not bad by any means). As much as we wanted to go to Japan, it would be too expensive to live there (at this point), and the job wasn’t a perfect fit. We really wanted to go to the Prem School in Thailand, but were very intimidated by being so immersed. Additionally, the job was not as good of a fit as the Warsaw school. But we really hope to go there at some point in the future, if only to visit. Bangkok was a little too overwhelming for us, being simple rural folk.

Little by little, our list shrank to Manila, Thailand (Prem school), and Warsaw. Of the three, Warsaw was the best fit for the job, with good pay/benefits, as well as most likely being the easiest transition to living abroad. Plus it’s centrally located in Eastern Europe, and gives us some travel opportunity. To give you an idea, it is as far of a drive to Paris and Milan as it is to the beaches of North Carolina. Maybe even a little closer. But definitely quicker travel, since we’ll be able to take a train.

Ideally, we will be saving my entire paycheck, and a good chunk of Jess’, since housing is paid for. And that’s if we live frugally. We can also travel relatively inexpensively and see everything we’ve ever wanted to see! Not to mention learn languages and culture right up close. It is going to be an adventure, and I can’t wait!

I’ll be working from home, telecommuting with my current company. I need to work out all of the details, though, but it is going to be really awesome. Difficult, for sure, but I have no doubt it will be worth it.

[edit] The school Jess will be teaching at is the International American School of Warsaw. Here are some more informational links:

US State Department on the International American School of Warsaw

I just got a text message from Jess this morning – She got the job in Japan!  This is pretty exciting news.  She will most likely accept this position, but she still has other interviews to attend, and we have to compare the offers before a final decision is made, but Japan is where she wanted to go most, and it’s on my top 3 list, too, so I think that’s going to be our destination.

But before we can do that, I need to do some research, and take care of our housework.  I’ll post any updates as I get them.

This is a recipe I used as a trial run for a wedding cake, and it came out very good.

10-inch round pan
Ingredients:

• 1¼ cup All Purpose Gluten-Free Flour
• ½ cup Coconut Flour
• 1 tsp Xantham Gum
• 1¼ tsp Baking Soda
• 1¾ tsp Baking Powder
• ½ tsp Ground Cloves
• ½ tsp Cinnamon
• ½ tsp Nutmeg
• (Or replace the above for 1½ tsp Apple Pie Spice)
• 1 stick Butter
• 1 cup White Sugar
• 3 tbsp Brown Sugar
• 2¼ tsp Vanilla Extract
• 3 tbsp Non-Dairy Creamer (Flavored: Vanilla Caramel)
• 3 Eggs
• 1¾ cups Apple – cored, skinned, and finely chopped

Preheat oven to 350°F and grease your pan. Dust the pan with Rice flour (I used Sorghum because we had a lot of it)

In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients (flour, xantham gum, baking soda, baking powder, spices)
Set aside

In the bowl of your mixer, cream the butter for about 1 minute or until softened.
Add both sugars and beat for about 2 minutes.
Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat until well incorporated.
Blend in the creamer.
Turn mixer on low and add the dry ingredients, half at a time, beating after each addition until they are well absorbed.
(You want a smooth, even consistency)

Remove the bowl from the stand and gently fold in the apples.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 40-45 minutes, or until the tester comes out clean and the cake pulls away from the edges of the pan.

Once it is finished, you may dust with confectioners sugar, or drizzle with a glaze made from a blend of fruit juice and confectioners sugar. I used a glaze made from Apricot jelly by first boiling the jelly, then straining it. The resulting glaze was spooned (you can use a pastry brush if you have one) onto the cake.

This would work well as a breakfast cake. The spices were a bit potent, so I would suggest less cloves, and possibly more cinnamon. You want about 1½ tsp of apple pie spice. I made my own mix.

It’s looking very much like Jess and I will be overseas next year for a span of at least 2 years.  She is applying to some international schools for 2 year contracts.  The International Schools are American schools in other countries that the children of ambassadors and other diplomats attend.  They are similar to private schools.  Most of them will pay for housing and some travel, and some pay very well.  So our hopes are not only to see the world a bit, but also to bank some money so that we can afford a house when we get back.  We’ve been trying to save, and have made some good progress, but it’s definitely an uphill battle.

One nice thing is that I’ll still be able to work remotely for Mestek.  That’s great for many reasons.  1) I love the job.  2) I’ll have a job when we come back in 2 years.  3) I’ll have a job while we’re abroad, so I won’t be bored and we’ll also have that extra income.

Everyone’s been telling us “Do it!”.  Most also adding “before you have kids” or “while you’re still young”.  As much as I hate to move away again, after getting comfortable here, I think it will be an excellent experience.  Not to mention a great way to make some extra money.

Ideally, Jess would like to go to Japan, and I can’t say I’d mind going there either.  We talked to a girl who had just returned from a few years in Japan and she loved it.  So that bodes well.  I’m not big on crowds or cities, but I think I can adjust.  Alternately we’re hoping for Italy, though I heard things aren’t that great there now both politically and economically.  So I guess it won’t be much of a stretch from the states!  I also wouldn’t mind most any other country, as long as it’s safe.

Regardless, I’m simultaneously looking forward to, and dreading the change.  But  it’s an opportunity I just can’t pass up.

This past Saturday was our second night spent rocking out at Gianca and Amy’s place with Josh, Tracy, Ben, Karen, and Troy playing Rock Band and some Wii games.  We had a blast, but I had to promise not to hog the drums.  I’ve always liked the drums and wanted to play them.  With Rock Band, I actually can.  And apparently, with a few drinks, I got really possessive.  I guess I didn’t want to let the dream go.  And I won’t have to, since I’ll be buying some real drums at some point.

The game is extremely intuitive, and great fun with a full group.  You feel like you’re really playing the songs.  I wish there was more selection, but I’m pretty sure there is downloadable content, and that that content will be extended.

The Wii was really fun, too, but just can’t compete against Rock Band.  Though we did have some really good tennis matches.  I wish the boxing was a bit more responsive, but it was still good.  Bowling was fun, too, but I was worried I’d smack my hand on something.

As the night moved on, we progressed to Karaoke, which was surprisingly fun.  Normally I’m not the sing-in-front-of-a-crowd type, but I’m getting more comfortable with it, and Jess keeps telling me I have a good voice, so I guess I’m starting to believe her.

We almost busted out the Greek dancing again.  I tried to give lessons last week, but wasn’t as coherent as I should have been for teaching.  But we all had fun with it.  I think we were all too tired this week.  As it was we got back really late and were exhausted all day Sunday.  Lucky for me, I’m not a huge football fan, so I didn’t miss out on the Superbowl.