The end of 2021 was quite busy for me, and so my blog went silent for a while. I traveled from Florida to Ohio for Thanksgiving, then from Florida to California for Christmas. I was in the final interviewing and negotiating phase of changing employment (the new job is the reason for the blog change from "A Random Stranger" to BTMinster). And the changes are nowhere near over, but at least they are far enough along that I can say some definitive things about them.
To begin with, I have accepted new employment in Columbus, OH. I will be moving from Jacksonville, FL, the first weekend in March. The logistics of this are still very undecided, but it appears that my family will stay in Florida for a few weeks after I leave. Some of that is because my wife, Nancy (previously known as "Persephone," "Super Hot 111," and "My Wife" on ARS), will be finishing up her Florida job and won't be ready to go when I have to report for work in Ohio. Some of it is because our daughter, Ella (previously known as "Crazy Jane" on ARS), has received a call to serve as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and begins her service with home-based online training in mid-March and then reports for in-person training at the beginning of April, so it will be a lot easier for everyone if they just stay put in Florida until Ella leaves home. Some of it is because our son, Will (previously known as "Articulate Joe" on ARS), is working on finishing the Eagle Scout rank for Scouts BSA and his 18th birthday is at the end of April, so it will be easier for him to finish things in Florida than to try to figure out how to start them in Ohio. And some of it is because it will be easier to find a good housing solution for our family if I'm there in Columbus to scout and finalize the search. When we were moving to Jacksonville in 2016 many landlords refused to rent to us without us being in town to see the house in person. Should I admire their self-awareness that their properties are disappointing in person, or should I be frustrated with the inconvenience it caused us trying to line things up online from California and Ohio? A little of both.
Like I said, big changes are still coming. I am teaching an online class right now, and in February I will add to that two in-person classes. The weekend after the in-person classes end is when I move to Ohio to begin work on the following Monday. So I'm going to be very busy for the first few months of 2022.
