New Zealand Update

Well all the medical checks, xrays, FBI checks, birth certificates and paperwork is done. We sent the package to the New Zealand Embassy in Washington DC. Feels weird to send stuff to an embassy! Silly little thing I know, but seems so official.

The embassy says they'll look at the application next week. We're hoping for a pretty quick turn around just to have the step completed. They we can focus on the next steps... House and Packing...

Wife has been sick for a week. The youngest 2 kiddos are great. Oldest is having some school issues. Cat is great.

Parenting gone Wild

Have you ever gotten a simple question from the kiddo that just ended up going completely wrong in the answer? Somewhere on the way to explaining politics or religion you end up suddenly talking about penis's?

My wife, bless her truthful earnest heart, has recently walked in to the most amazing verbal mine fields I have ever witnessed...

Fatal Knee Surgery

Some family friends probably 1 or 2 circles removed from us recently had the most awful luck with simple knee surgery where through a bizarre chain of mistakes she ended up in a coma and is now pretty lucky to be alive and even now is not out of the woods with recovery. A scarey reminder that all surgery is surgery and can be risky. But of course the reality of statistics is hard to convey to a 7 year old... They don't really play the odds. So when my wife casually mentioned that her knees hurt a lot and some day she'd probably need surgery the first thing our boy said was "That's okay momma, nothing goes wrong in the hospital." To which my wife felt obligated to honestly reply, "Oh no, sometimes things go wrong..." and proceeded to tell the tragic story of folks we knew. Now this was right at bedtime... and immediately I see where this train wreck is heading... MOMMA IS GOING TO DIE FROM KNEE SURGERY. I start giving the "oh please stop" signal to Amy who is apparently convinced I am only shewing a fly... and I can see the 7 year old panic set in. Where finally Amy sees where this is going and tries to wrap up "so she may die... but nothing would ever happen to Mommy."

In case you wondered... Don't tell your kids that mom is going go die from knee surgery... hehehe.

Boy Scouts

Well as you may have read, the Boy Scouts are publicly stating they don't want to have gay scout leaders... something about pedaphiles and all that. Of course any person who knows gay men or women also knows that "gay"means you like the same sex... not sex with children. So the notion is pretty foolish, but religion and politics rarely make sense. So when the boy announced that the Boy Scouts were forming up in school and he wanted to join... again my wife was there to field the questions. So after about 45 minutes I go to check in on the conversation to catch my very confused and flustered wife saying "... and so we just don't let other people touch our penis's..." I just giggled and walked away. Interestingly enough Amy tried to relate her dilemma to another Mom who simply said "We just told our boys that the Boy Scouts don't believe in the same things we do and we were not going to support them."

The Risen Christ

My favorite story... For a time, due to the extreme shortfalls of the public school system, we considered a private school. Well the only private school around was a Catholic school. So we thought we better start talking more about Jesus and the ideology of the Catholic church and what we believed and what we didn't and why we'd send the boy to a Catholic school without being Catholic.

Some of the conversations went rather well if a little humorous. When we told him that Moses talked to God as a burning bush the kid fell over laughing. We had to explain that Catholic people typically don't react well to bursts of laughter over momentous religious events... hehe... even if it is pretty funny.

But again at bed time, the perplexing question of Jesus came up. Nobly, my wife tried to jump in to the theory of Jesus and the whole new testament in about 10 minutes... at bed time... "So Christ was killed by the Romans and then was put in his grave for 3 days where he rose from the dead and spoke to his diciples about heaven." Throughout the story the small 7 year old boy is looking more and more distressed and the wife is somewhat confused about why this story of salvation and life isn't having the calm effect she expected. Finally at the conclusion the boy bursts out crying... "Jesus is a zombie raised from the dead and he's still walking the Earth looking over us!" Much re-disscussion was necessary...

I'm hoping the therapy bills will be covered by insurance...

General Update

Hello friends, admirers, family and random guests... KC is finally beautiful. We're hitting a high of 67 today which is just about perfect for me. I am most pleased as I think this is exactly what I imagine the weather to be in Wellington virtually every day.

Today is Wednesday and that meant there was a staff meeting this morning... woo. Last weekend I had the extra kiddos and we mostly played around the house. We packed up all their clothes to send home with their mom. We decided we will start purging our regular stuff in preparation for our move. While it was just a few clothes, it was really one of the first real actions we have taken to leave. And so it really begins... We will now really start getting rid of things we won't move and making all those permanent decisions that will lead up to our move in January.

This list seems pretty endless. But the most important detail is the completion of our immigration paperwork. That secures my offer and make the whole shabang very real. So we have all the forms and most of them filled out. It turns out we'll need to apply for a "Talent visa" with TNZ as an "Accreditted Employer" to get approval in 10 days. I have to be approved by November 1st to accept the offer. So that's the big deal now.

Chandler's birthday is tomorrow. He'll be 10. I can hardly believe it. For some reason, for many weeks now I have been remembering the moment of his birth over and over. I remember the way he looked and carrying him in to the weigh room. He didn't look like a newborn at all. He was 9 pounds after all. He looked like a normal baby. Probably the most perfect baby I'd ever seen. 10 years... There is so much I'd like to explain to him. But even at 10 he's still just a kid. There is no way I could tell him how that day felt. No way to begin to describe all the feelings I've had watching him grow up. How I feel even right now would be hard to explain another adult. This makes me think of my own folks and how for years they must have felt the same inexpressable feelings. I bet they just looked down and thought the same thing... someday you'll know. And I do... I know now. 37 mom... Sorry it took so long!

Chandler shares his birthday with my mother-in-law and one of Amy's aunts. So while he celebrates at his house, we'll be in Lawrence celebrating with Amy's folks. But Chandler won't miss out. Sabrina's birthday is the 20th and we'll have them that weekend for a double birthday event.

Gabe's big event is Halloween. I think he ranked it as his favorite holiday even before Christmas. We picked out a good ninja costume after much deliberation. I came through with an awesome one-handle cickle that has a secret dagger. Sure to be all the rage with the stylish ninjas.

The ever beautiful and desirable, Amy is doing very well and helping out with all the immigration stuff. She and Gabe are both immediately granted access once I am. Amy will be able to seek employment anywhere in NZ. Which we will need. I will be paying taxes in both countries and with the exchange rate we'll be living on a little bit less income. We are hoping to be able to skip owning cars and cheaper over all healthcare. Even so, a whole new 2nd income would rock!

That's about all the news that is news... cya around!

Seoul Day 2

Okay... so Seoul is the dirtiest city I have ever seen. It is the most densely populated, most traffic congested, most smoggy, most smelly city I have ever experienced. If it were not for the polution and actual garbage everywhere it would be beautiful. From inside the very (very) expensive hotel the views are amazing. I think the local food would be pretty unique, if I wasn't mostly terrified of leaving the hotel. The surrounding neighborhoods are very maze like. The city is spread over steep low mountains so a gentle stroll is quite impossible. Intensely areobic near verticle walking abounds...

English is definitely a challenge here. Even folks that are expected to work with the international public do not speak it well. Expect to do a lot of pointing, smiling and nodding. That is about all the communication you should expect.

Every man, woman and child has a cell phone. I swear to God. I think they must give you one at birth or something. Samsung is based out of Korea apparently. This may have something to do with it.

Despite language challenges, everyone so far has be very friendly (when they are not totally confused). Cab drivers do not seem to know how to get to places... and I don't blame them. The city is huge! It easily sprawls as far and wide as Dallas/Ft Worth only it is 5 times as populated. Massive apartment buildings are everywhere. A typical complex will have 10 high rise buildings of at least 20 stories if not 30 or more. They don't look spacious. Closet sized shops line every street. From small grocery stores to tailors. It is like "china town" covers the whole city. Which is not really surprise since it is almost in China, but I haven't seen anything like a Western mall or district.

Cya on Day 3... g'night.

Seoul Traveler

So I'm in Seoul... South Korea. For various non-interesting reasons, I have a conference here. But was is always interesting to me is the actual act of travelling. I only had 2 flights, the first one to Atlanta and the second from Atlanta to Seoul via the North Pole (I think).

The Atlanta flight was pretty interesting as I had the opportunity to sit next to a US soldier in full uniform. Not wanting to assume that he was going back to Iraq I started some light conversation. But as it turns out he was heading back. I've always respected soldiers. Whether it is right or wrong to use such force, I can not deny the admiration I have for their bravery and willingness to do what I would not do myself--or at least, I have choosen not to do. Put me in a room with a gun and several men out to kill my family and I'm sure I give one them a bad limp and another would be missing an eye. I don't know much about soldiers or what it takes to be one. It was good to talk with this man and hear what he has seen and why he does what he does. As it turns out it was a Colonel responsible for security is Southern Bagdad. I had to ask all my questions. There could be no better source in my circle to get first hand information without the CNN slant.

Surprisingly he felt they were "winning" in Iraq. I had expected to hear the opposite. He did complain about the lack of resources early on hampering their efforts, but felt they were really making progress now. He sited an order of magnitude reduction in violent incidents in his sector (the size of San Francisco). Plus he was gaining more trust from the Iraqi people. This I found particularly facinating. A very large percentage of his time is spent helping rebuild schools, power, sewage and other infrastructure. While we routinely hear about every checkpoint bombing, it was good to hear what the Army is doing at such great costs. Its hard to say if all the loss of life is worth it, but at least it is doing something. I was also surprised to hear how much he desired to negotiate with the "terrorists" in the area. His goal was to get them to stop shooting and start talking... This man.. a soldier, not a statesmen... is trying to work toward peace. He does not have the full diplomatic backing of the State Department, he's doing it on his own. He said his whole unit is behind him, that his men in most cases believe as strongly as he does that they are doing the right thing--a thing that should be done. Maybe it is easy to dismiss the opinions of one soldier. But I have never found a soldier that lied about they way he felt about the situation he was in. Regardless... I'm glad I got to talk to him. I feel better about my own ideas and much more confident in the information I recieved that what I've seen on the news.

The 2nd leg of the flight was 15 hours. It is still much a blur. I watched a lot of movies. I landed at 5 Pm local time which was about 4 AM my time. The cab ride was about an hour to the hotel. I'm staying in the Grand Hyatt in Seoul. I have to say it blows the doors off any other Hyatt I've seen. But in my very limited international travel I have to say that the "american chain" hotels are always better outside the US. This hotel is so fancy I feel self-conscious in my jeans in the lobby.

Seoul is hazy, hot and humid. It also has more city lights than I've seen anywhere. The general terrain and cityscape looks exactly like every 1970's Godzilla movie I've ever seen. Must eat... I'll post more later.

Expression of Interest

The very first step of the official paperwork... fill out an online form called an Expression of Interest or EOI. A whopper of an online form too. I don't know how many pages it had... lots. But it is done and submitted. We'll have to wait about a week or so to be sent our application packet where we have to prove all the things we listed in the EOI form.

I will be in South Korea... I am attending a telecom conference about roaming in Seoul. I even have to present. The good news is that one my new colleagues from New Zealand will also be there. It will be good to chat about really living there with him.

Neal (the colleague) sent me a link to download Google Earth... it is the most amazing location/map software I've seen... you have to try it. Freaking awesome.

More news as it occurs to me...

Wellington, New Zealand

A while ago I was contacted by a professional colleague about multiple hiring opportunities at his company, Telecom New Zealand. Now the "New Zealand" part isn't just for marketing appeal... it really is in New Zealand. This is not a remote position in the US that somehow supports TNZ. These jobs were in New Zealand.

This was one of those moments where the Universe does something to show it really is listening--careful what you wish for! Just a week or so before (this back in July), my wife and I had decided there were only 2 places we really seriously consider relocating to (out of the US). Those were Ireland and New Zealand. So here it was, a chance to apply. I thought "ah heck, why not? No way they are hiring a dude 10,000 miles away." So I gave Neal my resume (they call it a CV... no idea why).

About a week later I asked Neal about it. He said, "I turned it in with my recommendation." And I thought that was pretty nice. Then he said, "I turned it in with my *highest* recommendation." And I thought, "Whoa! Neal is one of their Principal Engineers. He leads their design team and is highly respected around the world. Holy s**t! I'm getting an interview. It was about then I began to think this was more serious than a whim. The interview was about 2 weeks later. When the phone rang that night the Caller ID didn't know what to report. I answered the phone to here a crisp New Zealander woman's accent. "Is Curtis there?" It was a very surreal moment. This wasn't a call center calling me for some marketing survey... this wasn't a New Zealander working somewhere in the US. This was the hiring manager from TNZ calling from Wellington to check out her principal engineer's recommendation. Her name is, Faye.

Faye was very friendly and we must have chatted for an hour or more. After about 10 years in the teleco business, I have enough experience and exposure to, at least, be basically proficient in a wide spectrum of data technologies. I'm a principal engineer myself after all. In a couple of words I am "highly qualified." Now it is really getting real. While the interview went well I had to explain I'd need full relocation to afford the move and some basic salary requirements. About another week later, Faye called again and those details were confirmed. But I still needed to be interviewed by some of her peers in a more formal process.

That inteview was just about a week ago. This time there were two women, Faye and Rhonda. Faye was in Wellington and Rhonda in Auckland. Still very surreal. The first question of the "official interview" was, "Describe a time when your technical expertise was necessary to achieve a solution." At first I thought it was a joke. I'm a design engineer. I have been for about 10 years. There isn't a single day that goes by where my technical expertise isn't necessary for a solution. So I tried not to laugh and just answered the question with a few examples. The next question was, "Describe a time where you had to collaborate with a team to deliver a solution." Again... are you serious? My company can't even schedule a lunch without collaboration. My cup overfloweth with collaboration. In fact I spend a great deal of time imposing my collaboration on projects that have a direct impact on my teams for which we were not initially involved. So again without giggling I answered the question. The rest of the interview went basically like that. It was like they read my job description and a few of my project notes and only asked me questions about things even I would call myself an expert at (and I don't like calling myself an expert--cuz I know how much I don't know!)

This week Faye called with the offer. There are a few things I've learned about offers. They are never as much as you hope (aim high!). But in any case, it was well within what we can afford. I have relocation... I have adequate salary... I have a job offer in New Zealand... Am I moving to New Zealand??? I've always wanted to live out of the US one time for a few years. I just agreed with my wife about New Zealand being on the move for list. It may be crazy to go, but I also know that if I don't go... How could I live the rest of my life knowing I didn't go do something I wanted to do forever.

So I guess I'm moving to Wellington. My tentative start date is January 8th. I have about 3 months to sell everything I own, pack up the stuff I'm keeping and ship it all (on an actual ship by the way) to New Zealand. All our tickets will be paid. Since it is the Southern Hemisphere, it will be mid to late Summer when we arrive. We'll get to see Fall and Winter again. Their school year will start in Feb. My office building is on that harbor above. I better tell my boss!

Here are some other links to pictures. (including the picture above which is copyrighted to Mark Tanner--legal stuff...)

http://marktanner.com/myself/wellington.htm