The History

Today is the day our journey officially begins. But before I start venting about the packing process, let me take you back to how we even got here.

A few years ago, J needed to find a new position. His dream job of working as a Specialist on the New York Stock Exchange(NYSE) was sadly coming to end. Not to poor performance on his end, but because of the technological advancements. Basically, he was being replaced by a computer. Thankfully, he works for a financial GIANT (the Giant), so he just needed to find a new job within his company.

Having always worked and only EVER wanting to work on the NYSE, moving to another part of the country was never a consideration. However, now that he was moving off "the floor", we began hypothetically discussing what it would be like to move way from the tri-State area. Our goal was for him to find employment and were willing to go anywhere we could find it. The idea of moving seemed exciting enough...but realistically...if you work in the financial industry, New York is the place to be. Thankfully, he soon found a position in the operations department of The Giant and all was good in the world again. Our talks of moving ended.

So the new job was great...but the hours were not. 12 hours days were the norm and he had an 1+ commute each way. I was not happy. When he worked on the NYSE he was home by 6pm every night. Now...he was lucky to be home by 8pm. But hey...in the Tri-state area this is normal. If you want to get ahead...you have to work hard. We dealt with it as best we could...and eventually I stopped screaming at him every night and just accepted it.

After a few months, we learned that his department had a team in Salt Lake City, Utah. "Hmmm. wouldn't it be interesting to move out there" we occasionally discussed hypothetically. We chatted about this prospect with friends, family and neighbors, most of which thought we were crazy. Except for one individual, who said "If you are interested in that, you should tell your boss. How else will it ever happen, if you never let it be known that you are interested in it?" Interesting thought...damn that neighbor. Well, not thinking anything would EVER come of it, he told his bosses "If an opportunity ever comes up within the 48 states, I would be willing to relocate." Now reader please listen and listen well...DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES TELL THIS TO YOUR BOSS UNLESS YOU WANT IT TO HAPPEN.

A few months passed, and J worked and there was no talk of Salt Lake. Then one day, I get a call. His boss had approached him, very informally, and said "Go home and talk to your wife and let me know if you were serious about relocating." Um...welll...um...I guess so but we need more details. I didn't realize that in The Giant's mind this was a yes. So we waited for more details, and waited, and waited, and waited. While we were doing all this waiting, I (little miss Obsessive Compulsive) started researching neighborhoods, housing pricing and schools. Well in mid-may, I discovered that schools in Salt Lake City start in mid-August. WHAT!!! I immediately called J screaming and yelled " If The Giant wants us to do this, then we need to know NOW! Because I will not move my son in the middle of school year!!" J relayed the message and a week later we got the details.

There never seemed to an opportunity to say no once we got the details, but after all that waiting, we seemed to accept that we were probably going...just not sure when. My mother, on the other hand, seemed to think the lack of details meant it was not going to happen. But I think that was just wishful thinking on her end.

So here we are. It's the end of July. Someone just came to pack my Plasma 42inch TV. Our house is rented, we have a house to rent in Utah and Sebastian is enrolled in school there. I guess it's official...Mari and J are moving to Utah. Let the journey begin.