The season of wedding showers and parties has begun.
On Friday night, Erin had a party with her bridesmaids and some other friends. Her friend Lissie did a fabulous job and made a really nice scrapbook from it.
While Erin was at her party, I went over to my (recently married) friend Casey’s house to catch up, play Wii, and have guy time while the girls had their fun.
On Saturday evening, Erin’s parents hosted a party for our Attendants in their newly landscaped backyard. We had wanted to have a party for our Attendants as an opportunity to thank them for agreeing to be in our wedding, and to give them a small token of that thanks as well.
In addition to the parties this weekend, Erin and I also bought a car! We bought a 2001 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo that will be primarily my commuter car. Though we got a great deal on the car, I’m mostly excited that it’s Maroon :)
Monday, June 21, 2010
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
A Glimpse of Houston
Recently, Erin and I loaded up the car and headed to Houston for a few days.
Exxon had put us in contact with a realtor, and we'd arranged a meeting with her to look for an apartment. Before our trip, we'd poured hours (Erin, admittedly, more than myself) into looking at suggestions the realtor emailed us. Having browsed the web for reviews, used Google Streetview to scope out neighborhoods, and reviewed floorplans, we were able to narrow it down to just a few possible complexes before we even arrived.
The first evening in Houston, Erin and I went to a Greek Restaurant and spent some time driving around town to get ourselves oriented. We also found the apartment complex that we had arranged to meed the realtor at the next day.
The next morning, we met the realtor and toured The Gael, a complex we had really liked from our research. After seeing an apartment in the Gael, we traveled a bit further out of town to check out some other complexes. Though each of the apartment complexes we saw had pro's and con's, we ultimately decided that there was no beating the location and price of the Gael.
We went back and signed a contract at the Gael to confirm our selection, and then headed out for lunch and some more exploring of the city.
The next day, Erin and I had lunch with the Exxon recruiter (and MSU alum) who had originally interviewed me last fall for the job. She and I have stayed in touch since then, and it was nice to get to chat with her about life in Houston.
We wrapped up the day with more exploring. Erin and I found my office building and did some more driving around downtown. We really enjoyed the opportunity to just get lost together, knowing that the GPS could always get us back. After exploring the town, we went to a Central Market grocery store (lots of organic, local produce kind of grocery store) and grabbed dinner there.
The next day it was time to go home. Though our return drive took far longer than expected (thanks to two standstill traffic jams and weather that forced interstate travel down to 35 mph), it was a very enjoyable and successful trip.
Looking through a courtyard across the street at The Gael
Driving on the inner loop headed north towards the Galleria area
Exxon had put us in contact with a realtor, and we'd arranged a meeting with her to look for an apartment. Before our trip, we'd poured hours (Erin, admittedly, more than myself) into looking at suggestions the realtor emailed us. Having browsed the web for reviews, used Google Streetview to scope out neighborhoods, and reviewed floorplans, we were able to narrow it down to just a few possible complexes before we even arrived.
The first evening in Houston, Erin and I went to a Greek Restaurant and spent some time driving around town to get ourselves oriented. We also found the apartment complex that we had arranged to meed the realtor at the next day.
The next morning, we met the realtor and toured The Gael, a complex we had really liked from our research. After seeing an apartment in the Gael, we traveled a bit further out of town to check out some other complexes. Though each of the apartment complexes we saw had pro's and con's, we ultimately decided that there was no beating the location and price of the Gael.
We went back and signed a contract at the Gael to confirm our selection, and then headed out for lunch and some more exploring of the city.
The next day, Erin and I had lunch with the Exxon recruiter (and MSU alum) who had originally interviewed me last fall for the job. She and I have stayed in touch since then, and it was nice to get to chat with her about life in Houston.
We wrapped up the day with more exploring. Erin and I found my office building and did some more driving around downtown. We really enjoyed the opportunity to just get lost together, knowing that the GPS could always get us back. After exploring the town, we went to a Central Market grocery store (lots of organic, local produce kind of grocery store) and grabbed dinner there.
The next day it was time to go home. Though our return drive took far longer than expected (thanks to two standstill traffic jams and weather that forced interstate travel down to 35 mph), it was a very enjoyable and successful trip.
Looking through a courtyard across the street at The Gael
Driving on the inner loop headed north towards the Galleria areaMonday, May 24, 2010
Auburn Graduation
I graduated from college about a week and a half ago, and I still can't believe it! It's so different from high school graduation (which has a lot of hype). Even when I was sitting in the crowd in my cap and gown the seriousness of the fact that I was graduating still wasn't sinking in.
We had a great weekend. Gerrit, my parents, and my grandparents all came down for the event and we got together with some great friends!
Now on to bigger and better things!
We had a great weekend. Gerrit, my parents, and my grandparents all came down for the event and we got together with some great friends!
Now on to bigger and better things!
Monday, May 10, 2010
Coming into focus...
The past month has been quite exciting. I’ve been in touch with various people from Exxon and their relocation sub-contractors getting the ball rolling on our move.
We’ve been in touch with the relocation consultant, the moving company, and a realtor for the Houston area. We’ve researched apartments, weighed pro’s and con’s of different neighborhoods, and mostly just been simultaneously ecstatic and terrified ;)
Also in that time, I’ve talked with my future supervisor at Exxon to get a better feel for what my job is going to be like. My official title is “Knowledge Management Analyst”, and I’ll be working on a team that makes sure all of the Information Technology Department at Exxon is keeping their data organized and is making progress on upgrading to new systems. My supervisor seems like a great guy, and the position sounds far better than what I expected for an entry level IT job.
Next week Erin and I will actually head out to Houston to meet with the Realtor and look at some of the apartments.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
It's Official! We're Moving to Houston
I finally got the phone call I've been waiting for today...
When I went to Houston last Fall for my interview with Exxon, they told us that there were several locations throughout the country where I might end up being assigned. They said that Houston was by far the most common assignment, but there was that little possibility of something else that was keeping Erin and I from being able to make concrete plans.
Today I finally heard from the lady in charge of my recruiting division with my assignment. After months of wondering and waiting, I finally know some general information assignment... including the fact that Erin and I will officially be moving to Houston after the wedding. :)
The plan is that Erin and I will go down in May to look for a place to live. I'm waiting to hear back from HR about specifics. I've been a bit more reluctant to do my research than Erin has, but now that I know we're going to be in Houston I'm looking forward to looking at all our options before we get there.
I don't really have too much information at the moment about my specific job, other than that I'll be working in SAP application development. To me, that means it's time to go book shopping so I don't show up on day one needing a syntax lesson.
I'll know more about exactly what my job will entail, as well as what part of Houston I'll be working in (Exxon has facilities throughout the city) hopefully sometime next week. My future supervisor is supposed to give me a call sometime...
I'll keep you posted as I get more info :)
When I went to Houston last Fall for my interview with Exxon, they told us that there were several locations throughout the country where I might end up being assigned. They said that Houston was by far the most common assignment, but there was that little possibility of something else that was keeping Erin and I from being able to make concrete plans.
Today I finally heard from the lady in charge of my recruiting division with my assignment. After months of wondering and waiting, I finally know some general information assignment... including the fact that Erin and I will officially be moving to Houston after the wedding. :)
The plan is that Erin and I will go down in May to look for a place to live. I'm waiting to hear back from HR about specifics. I've been a bit more reluctant to do my research than Erin has, but now that I know we're going to be in Houston I'm looking forward to looking at all our options before we get there.
I don't really have too much information at the moment about my specific job, other than that I'll be working in SAP application development. To me, that means it's time to go book shopping so I don't show up on day one needing a syntax lesson.
I'll know more about exactly what my job will entail, as well as what part of Houston I'll be working in (Exxon has facilities throughout the city) hopefully sometime next week. My future supervisor is supposed to give me a call sometime...
I'll keep you posted as I get more info :)
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