Scary busy

It’s been a busy few days and they are only going to get busier in the next few.  Halloween is coming and Kiddo is super excited for it.  She will be dressing as a pharaoh.  J and I had a busy weekend, though, since we had to plan and scramble for Tuesday ourselves.

See, J won’t be here for Halloween this year.  She will be in Kuala Lumpur interviewing for a job.  A very good job.  That they are flying her in for.  This is big league stuff.  So, as I went full dad mode this weekend, J coordinated her trip and flight with the school, got an interview outfit and planned what to accessorize it with, she did have her Masters work to do and an assignment to finish, plus lesson and sub plans for the week and days she’s gone, plus she wanted to burn off some energy with a climb.

J is leaving on Tuesday and back on Wednesday.  That means I have a single dad day in there.  However, we can usually dupe Kiddo as J will take her around the building to our American friends to Trick or Treat and I will stay behind and set up the At Home Trick or Treat with her friends.  I’ll have to use my Dad Magic to complete this trick, but it’ll be worth it at the end of the day.

For those wondering about J and her interview, we are keeping that close for now.  Once we know more, we will start talking more.  I can say that we’ve gotten some offers, but they are early offers and not really schools that are in our A tier, so we are passing; for now.  Maybe it will be something we can revisit later, but interviewing and job posting only really started about 2 weeks ago.  This early in the interviewing and hiring process, we’d expect a better offer than a min standard contract.  

I mean, look at it from our point of view.  We’ve had a few interviews and 2 or 3 second interviews and these schools are coming in with offers.  We have the KL trip for J coming.  Second interviews set up with a number of other schools, and two schools would like info to do a “visa and work permit check” on J, Kiddo, and myself previous to a third interview.  We literally still have meetings set up and others who are doing actual vetting of us, but we are expected to take a contract from a school that met J once and threw a standard contract at her?  You better come harder than that if you want to be taken seriously.  

Hey, we met you for 15 min, but are SUPER impressed with you.  Here’s 10% less than you make right now, we won’t pay for dependent visas (so take another $10-15k off salary), and yeah, it’s Friday morning, but if you let us know by Sunday at 9am, we’ll give you a $2500 bonus to sign.

I told J…. I was insulted by it.  Pressure tactics on the signing bonus and a super short timeline, not even a full weekend.  Plus, sending an offer Friday morning with a Sunday deadline… Guess I’ll cancel my weekend plans to negotiate a sub-par contract that they are trying to bully me into taking.  

We are just taking it as it comes, but we’re not gonna jump at the first thing offered.  It’s been fun, but it is also a lot to do.  Researching cost of living, flights, safety of area, taxes, health, ease of getting RX, will we need car or scooter, standard of living, government, stability, regional tariffs and treaties and embargoes, and things like that.  Plus, then we need to discuss the school and fit; for both J and Kiddo.  That is NOT a quick convo and is certainly not a - Take the first sub-par offer tossed at you.  

It wasn’t a total working weekend, though.  We did a LOT of playing.  We made some fairy wings as well.  We all got a handmade Kiddo pair.  Mine is decorated with Brewers and baseball stuff.  Besides, Kiddo declared that it was SOOOO much easier to travel around the house by flying than walking.  

Today is school and a busy night, J will need to pack and prep and I’ll be on it to help her and get her interview ready, but also to be a partner and teammate and rub and love her as needed.  I think tonight will be a back rub cuddle in for J.  Once she’s snuggled and content and blankie burrito’d just right, I’ll sneak out and leave her to slumber.  Tuesday is a big day!

Let’s go, Kiddo.  Mumma is doing her thing and it’s big time stuff.  The KL interview is one that not a lot of people get and for a good school.  We both love you and can’t wait to see where our next year fit will be.  Before that, however, we have Holloween and then it’s time to ramp up for Elfie and Santa.  You’re gonna be busy, kiddo.