Time to go

In a few minutes I will be leaving to head to the Minneapolis St. Paul airport to return home for the holidays. Thanks to our successful contract negotiations Rick and I will be able to be back in Michigan from today straight through the New Year. In addition we won’t have to feel any sort of financial strain, as we negotiated in payment that will not effect our vacation. This is probably the best outcome of our previous negotiations, and I am very much looking forward to being home for almost two entire weeks. I plan on spending as much time with Kylie as I can, and in fact she will be spending the night with me tonight. In addition to the Holidays, Chris and Tracey were nice enough to schedule Delaney’s birthday party for the 30th, so that I could be home to attend it, so I am looking forward to that as well. This will be a well deserved vacation, and I am looking forward to it very much.

Finally, I Visit Minneapolis

After being out here for 3 months, I have finally made it into Minneapolis. Last night Rick and I took the 30 minute drive into the city to walk around a bit and find a nice place to sit and have a beer.  We ended up finding a nice Irish Pub where we each had a Guinness and something to eat. It was a nice pub and the fellow behind the bar was real friendly, as it turned out he was from Belfast. As it turns out Minneapolis is a much smaller city than I realized, and while we were driving around looking for a place to go we drove past the Vikings stadium, along with the Target Center which is where the Timberwolves play. All in all it was a nice evening out with a real good friend. Maybe if the weather breaks while I am still here I will go down into the city one day and take some pictures.

Back to Burnsville

Today my temporary state of elation had to come to an end, as it was time to come back to Minnesota. I spent the day playing with Kylie as much as possible and packing slowly, as it is not really something that I was looking forward to doing. After Tiffany got out of work it was time to start heading back towards the airport, I needed to fill the gas tank of my rental car – a PT Cruiser which hopefully I will never need to drive again – and then return it to National Rental. We also decided to have dinner at Bob Evans before they dropped me off at the airport. Due to a long line returning the car I actually got to the airport later than anticipated, I think this was actually a good thing as it allowed me to spend more time with Kylie, but it also did not afford me the opportunity to have a long good-bye with Kylie. I think this was a good thing because the short good-bye that I was allowed was very difficult, had it been any longer I am not sure I would have been able to handle it. During the day Kylie would periodically get upset when I left her site, one particular time I was going to use the bathroom and she followed me down the hall, when I started to close the door she looked like she was going to cry. I had to cancel using the bathroom and pick her up and hold her for a while and explain to her that I was simply going to use the bathroom and that I would be right back. At first I didn’t think much of it, however I did realize that she had already picked up on the fact that I would be leaving soon. At the airport, while saying good-bye, I realized just how much she understood and just how much me being gone affects her. When I got out and opened the back door to giver her a kiss and tell her how much I loved her and that I would see her soon, she immediately started to get upset. She started saying “no” and shacking her head, she even pushed me away slightly, but then I leaned in and started talking to her and telling her that I love her and that everything would be ok and I would see her soon. That’s when she grabbed the front of my shirt and held onto me and just kept saying “no.” I am happy that she does not want me to leave, but I am not happy that she gets so upset. I found out later from Tiffany, when I called to let her know I made it back to Minnesota safely and to check on Kylie, that it was a good thing I didn’t turn around, because Kylie was sitting in her seat crying and shacking her head no while watching me walk away. I truly hope these next three months go by rather quickly…

A longer stay

Negotiations ended today for Rick and I to stay out here in Eagan for another three months, and as it turnes out we will be staying. I am happy enough with the terms that we reached to say that I would stay, but like all things they could have been better. Basically I will be getting another raise, for the duration of the stay of course, they will continue to pay for my housing, and I will be receiving a bonus upon completion, in addition I will also be receiving a slightly larger stipend each month. In the grand scheme of things it isn’t really much, especially when I consider that this means i will have to spend another 3 months away from my daughter. I can only hope that the time will go by quickly.

On a side note however, I am leaving tonight to fly back to Michigan for the Thanksgiving holiday. I will be home for 5 days and 5 nights, not nearly long enough, but at least I will be able to spend time with Kylie, and that is what I miss most being out in Minnesota.

Another offer

A few days ago Rick and myself were approached by our boss and asked if we would like to stay in Minnesota another three months, bringing our total stay out here to 9 months and 6 months respectively. As of this time neither one of us have fully made up our minds as to if we are going to sign on for another 3 months or not, as no formal offer has been made nor have we decided what it would take for us to stay. I myself have stated that i would have to talk with people back in Michigan, and that first and foremost I would have to make sure that everything was taken care of for my daughter. In approximately my boss’ boss will be coming out to Eagan from Ireland and one of his many meetings will be with Rick and myself to discuss this opportunity. While I know that this is a continuation of a great opportunity, I will have to see what offer gets put on the table because one thing I know for certain…I miss my daughter.

Time to go back

They say all good things must come to an end, and today it did. This weekend went by way to fast for me, and now I have to wait another month before I can see and hold my daughter again.

The day was nice, but the time went by all to fast. I spent the day with Kylie and Tiffany again, trying to spend as much time with Kylie as possible, cherishing every second I got to hold her. We spent the morning playing and laughing and having as much fun as we could. Aunt Sissy came over to Mommy’s apartment and then we all decided to get some dinner at Texas Roadhouse. This would allow us to already be downriver and near the airport, so I could spend more time with Kylie and then they would all come with me to drop off my rental and then bring me to the airport. The last few hours went by faster than I thought they could, the speed in which they did go by was only heightened by the fact that we were allowed to board my plane at the time it was supposed to be tacking off, because it took them that long to turn clean the plain and prepare it for our departure.

The flight itself was not that bad, except that once again the plain was packed and this time I had a middle seat. One thing I did realize on the plain though was that I want an iPod. I will have to save up and try to get one before my next flight, because an hour and a half flight, plus time on the tarmac is extreamly boring when you have nothing to do. In any event I am now back in Minnesota, and the drive from the airport to my apartment was a lot easier than the drive from work to the airport. Now I just have to wait for the next month.

It’s good to be home

After a very stressful day, I am finally back in Michigan for the weekend. This is my first time back since leaving for Minnesota, and I am very much looking forward to seeing Kylie. My day started off pretty well and I was very happy that I would be coming home, I left work a little early to make sure that I would make it to the airport on time, so my day at work seemed to go by quickly. I had gotten directions from work to the airport from mapquest and they said that the drive should only take about 15 minutes, an hour later I had finally made it to the airport. Lets just say the highway signs out in Minnesota suck, my directions told me to get off on 55 but failed to mention that I shouldn’t take the exit for 55 because the road I was on turned into it, even though there was an exit as well. I have to admit that I was really afraid I was going to miss my plane, but thankfully checking in my luggage and going through security was a lot faster than I had anticipated. The flight itself was packed but thankfully short, only an hour and ten minutes once we took off. Getting my rental car once I got into Detroit was nice and simple and relatively quick, as was the drive from the airport to my apartment. In addition to spending as time as I possibly can with Kylie, I have a months worth of mail to go through and various other things to do, I am sure this weekend is going to go by way to fast.

Mall of America

So today I finally adventured out to the Mall of America, which is only about 20 minutes away, and I have to say I am really not impressed. The mall itself consists of 3 floors that circle around a small amusement park in the center. I only walked around the third floor and half of the second, but I feel like there was a lot of store repetition, either of the exact store or the same type of store. For instance I think I saw 2 or 3 Lids in half of the store. I took a few pictures with my phone while I was at the mall, mainly of the amusement park so everyone could see it. I am planning on going back one of these days to see the rest of the mall, if for no other reason then to say I saw the entire thing. All in all though it is just another mall, rather large, but still just a mall.

Three weeks

Its hard to believe that I have been out here for three weeks already. Some days the time seems to go by fast depending on what I have going on at work, and then of course others seem to drag on. But every day I have spent out here so far has had the same highlight, the same moment that is the best part of my day; that moment is when I hear my daughter’s voice. Everyday when I get home from work I call Tiffany to see how her and Kylie’s day went, and Tiffany always puts her phone on speaker so I can talk with Kylie. Sometimes she lets Kylie walk around with the phone and she just chats away with me. On the days I don’t get to talk to Kylie I listen to a voice mail that she left me and that helps me make it through until the next time I get to talk to her. I am glad the days seem to be going by faster than I had realized, hopefully the next two weeks go by just as fast, as my first trip back home is scheduled for the weekend of the 21st.

Work is going well, and regardless of being so far from Kylie I think it was a smart decision to come out here. I am meeting more people from within the company and getting more exposure to different things that I would otherwise not see. I do not think a day has gone by that I have not learned something new; how to set up structured cabling runs, assembling wright line racks, installing and mounting many different types of servers, and all kinds of network equipment. Hopefully I will continue to learn and continue to enjoy my time here.

My new (temporary) home

So I finally got to move into my fully furnished apartment today, which is a nice change from the hotel. I will try to get around to taking pictures of the place soon, but I am not to sure how soon I will get to that. I am staying in Burnsville MN (Map) at a place called The Provence and it is all set up through a company called Oakwood Corporate Housing. So far I have no complaints about the place, and I don’t foresee having any. My apartment is fully furnished; dishes, towels, sheets, pillows, washer and dryer, everything. They even have some really nice paintings on the walls; they have a kind of desert western theme. The only thing that is going to make my stay here any where remotely difficult is missing Kylie.