I have an idea: Let's change everything.

Sometime back in October, maybe November, I got a call out of the blue from an internal recruiter with a medical device company in California. One teeny little word on my resume - Nitinol - miraculously distinguished my CV from the ocean of others twinkling digitally on the world wide waste. The company was looking for an expert in Nitinol, which I most certainly was not, but the brief phone interview was enough to kick start my search-in-earnest for a new employment opportunity.

Fast forward about six weeks. It's two weeks before Christmas and I am preparing for a 10-day "vacation" in Songgang, China with my current employer. I get another call from the medical device company, stating that the job description/requirements have changed and I am now looking like a very good match for their needs. This leads to a phone interview with an engineering manager in Santa Rosa, California. One day before departing for China, the manager expresses interest in flying me out for the next phase, a face-to-face interview soon after New Year's Eve. I agree, say goodbye, fly to China and do my best not to freak out at the challenging possibility of relocating to California.

During that trip, and in the month leading up to it, I was very active in pursuing a new job. This isn't the forum to discuss precisely why I wanted to leave... let's just compare it to one of the early chapters in Moby Dick; of course you know it's necessary for the forthcoming story, but it can be downright painful and difficult to see the point and you can't wait to move on. So yes, I had numerous irons in the fire for employment opportunities, and none of them would require a move out of Boise. I mean, why would we dream of relocating? Lauren is pregnant, due in June, and is in the final semester of her graduate degree program. She is teaching an undergraduate English course. We have a lovely home - just replaced all the linoleum with beautiful ten-inch tiles. I recently joined the most gregarious bunch of cycling yahoos I've ever met and can't wait for the upcoming race season.

Those irons in the fire, all the local ones, sort of smoldered out one by one; falling victim to the cold, damp and miserable January winter in Boise. Meanwhile, the iron in California was inciting a full-fledged conflagration of opportunity. I flew down for the interview on January 15th, fending off eight individual interviews in 8.5 hours, all while sitting in a room approximately five feet by seven feet with nothing more than a table, two chairs, and a Cisco phone. They served me a bagged lunch in that same room, and I got to interview while trying to rapidly choke down a mighty tasty though mighty sticky roast beef sandwich with Swiss. I called Lauren at the end of the day during my drive back down to San Francisco. I didn't let on too much, simply telling her the interview went well and I felt like a good match. The reality was much more terrifying; I knew I was a perfect match for the job, the company would present incredible opportunity - both long term and short term - and I fell in immediately and comfortably with every person I met during the interview.

The company flew Lauren and I out two weeks later, paying for flights, a rental car, hotel, and even a few hours with a real estate agent. At that point I had not been officially offered the job, but obviously the offer was imminent and they were providing the opportunity for us to get a feel for Santa Rosa without a 48-hour accept-or-decline clock ticking. That's when the reality really hit for Lauren and I. What would it mean to move? How would the timing work? Is there another option? Despite the lush landscape and gorgeous Santa Rosa wintertime weather, the weekend was filled with tears and heavy emotions. We returned late Sunday evening feeling beyond lost and afraid of the upcoming official offer.

In a nutshell: they did indeed make an offer. Lauren and I discussed, even fought. We turned the offer down. They made a counter-offer. I gave a verbal agreement, then recanted when Lauren decided we just couldn't leave Boise. They worked with us once more, a third time. We accepted and I start work in Santa Rosa next week.

Now... the fallout. This is such a great move if we look at one year down the road and twenty years down the road, but the next four months are going to be harder than anything Lauren and I have faced together. She can't leave her graduate program; can't. She will stay here and I'll rent a room for March, April, and May in Santa Rosa, flying back every couple weekends to visit. Wrapping up school in mid-May, she'll be a mere three or four weeks out from her due date and it doesn't make sense for her to relocate and try to find an OB/GYN she trusts in such short notice. So, at the beginning of June, I will come back to Boise for a few weeks, hopefully catching all of the action and providing the support we both want me to provide. I'll then head back to Santa Rosa and she'll fly down soon thereafter, at which point we'll be 100% moved away from Boise. At that point we'll be moved in to our own place, likely a rented house.

There are so many pros, so many cons, to this move. Fortunately most of the stressors have fallen off the radar and we are left to nerp-out and focus on our relationship. We wouldn't be willing to change everything so radically if not a wonderful opportunity, but that doesn't make the change any easier. Between the two of us, Lauren is a bit more tied to Boise, obviously, as most of her family is her and she is very ingrained in the community. I am excited about the change in scenery and lifestyle but also very sad to be leaving my friends and this home we've put so much love into. Along those lines, we have found a nice younger couple to rent to and don't plan to sell the house any time soon.

Well, I feel like this update started off coherent and well-composed and is losing focus as I ramble on. I think that covers most everything, for now. I look forward to sharing more details about our new town and my new job as we become immersed. Later, then.