Life in Baltimore

So, for those of you who don't know, Aaron and I moved to Baltimore recently. We're still Virginia residents, since neither of us had found a job yet and I wasn't really certain I'd stay up here. But here's what has happened in the past few weeks:

Aaron started Air Traffic Control school at the Community College of Baltimore County in August. He loves it! He's doing really well. He's taking classes in airport management, instrument pilot ground school, instrument flight, and of course, air traffic control. He will get to fly this semester and he's extremely excited about that! Basically, he's learning ATC from the perspective of what the pilots have to deal with (which he has personally experienced as a licensed pilot) this semester, and then next semester he'll learn the ATC side and do the FAA testing. He will graduate in May. ATC-ers are hired twice a year from CTI schools-- once in the spring and once in the fall. We're hoping he won't have to wait for the fall (Nov. 2013) term to apply, but it's a possibility. Please be in prayer about that.

I've been applying for oodles of jobs. In the last 6 weeks, I have interviewed with 6 companies. Applying so much and interviewing so much has been stressful and tiring. But it paid off. Yesterday, I was offered a full-time interior design job near BWI airport. I signed the papers today. I have to get a drug test tomorrow, and then I start Monday. It's interesting how it worked out. I was filing my unemployment claim (part of which includes applying for 2 jobs a week, but I apply for more than that) when I saw an ad on CareerBuilder.com. The ad was for a full-time interior design position with a well-known furniture company. I applied around noon that Sunday. Less than two hours later, the manager called and said he had just gotten my resume. I interviewed with him and the regional manager Wednesday, then with the HR manager Thursday. The following Tuesday (yesterday), they called to offer me the job. Yay! I'm so excited! It will be a lot of work in a (probably) stressful environment, but I am so excited to face this new challenge.

God is so amazing, and has once again proven His faithfulness as the Great Provider.

Now we'll need to replace one of our cars. For my job, I will be driving to clients' homes every day for in-home consultations and I can't very well pull up in a 12 year old car that makes strange noises and has huge spots of paint peeling. Yes, getting a car will be the next step, but I won't need it for a few weeks yet. I have never personally purchased a car before (mine was a gift from my grandparents in high school). We would also like to find a new apartment. Ours is a basement apartment in someone's home. It's not soundproofed at all, so we can hear them square dancing over our bed all night (at least that's what it sounds like) and they use all the hot water and we have to walk down a muddy, rocky hill to get into our entrance and we have to park under a pine tree that drips all over our cars. We're grateful for it and honestly, we might see if we can stay one more month just to build our bank account back up. It's fine for now. But we had to temporarily re-home our pets and we want them back very soon. Apartments are just so much more expensive up here than we're used to paying. Hopefully we'll be able to accomplish all this very soon.

In other news, we just got back from Myrtle Beach on Monday and then on Friday we'll be taking a day trip to Philly! Aaron's sister told us about MegaBus and we were able to get two round-trip tickets for a total of $36. It would cost more in gas, tolls, and parking to drive ourselves, plus this way we can sleep on the drive. =)

--> Do you have any tips for purchasing a new (well, new-to-us) car?

--> What advice do you have for starting a new job? I've done this many times, but never as a professional in my field.

--> Tips for our Philly trip?

--> What kind of crazy adventures have you had this summer?

God bless. Proverbs 12:15, "Fools are headstrong and do what they like; wise people take advice."