One Year In Blue Ridge

We have now been residents of Blue Ridge, GA for an entire year! In fact, July 16, the one year anniversary of our moving day, came and gone as uneventful as ever. Gosh, it really has not felt like a year. Looking back on this past year, it has certainly been a year of learning, and a lot of drama, mistakes, and a few friendships. Woo hoo, looking forward to the next year! Yee-Haw!! Though I joke, and in all seriously, it is a miracle we have not been lost in all the craziness. So many things to be grateful for indeed ...

Ferber, Plants, Cold Temperatures... And Sparky

A mish-mash entry.

We've started to sleep train Ethan again. Going back to the Ferber method. And it is working nicely, at least for his night time/bed time routine. Ethan had lost most (if not all) of his sleeping routine since we had been co-sleeping with him ever since we were getting ready to sell our house and even before. Only the parents fault to blame, though we did have a lot on our plate and maintaining a good pattern for Ethan was tough so we all just cozied up in bed for his sleep time.

Now he is doing quite well and hopefully is day naps will fall into a routine also.

Plants. Most of my patio plants had to be brought in tonight! It was getting so cold (below 50F) that I did not want to take any chances with them and have them die on me. Not that they would actually, but just to be safe. There are so many of them. And so my fig tree is now inside the house too and I may just as well keep them all in now, though we are expected to have warmer temperatures again before fall weather really sets in.

And so comes the last interesting part of this blog entry.. A stray cat has called our deck its home. I call him Sparky. It is a very scraggly-looking, malnourished, boney, black cat with white-ish paws. It is quite cute, and scary at the same time. He is not scared of anyone and is quite aggressive about winning your companionship! Poor kitty. Kelly won't let us adopt him into the house, and it is going to be so cold outside tonight!

Oh, Sparky.

My Little Fig Tree

Not long ago, exactly two months to the day in fact, we were having movers come and take all our belongings away. That Saturday evening in Durham (July 15th, 2007) our dear friends, the Mostaghimi Family, threw us a going away party. Who knew that we would actually end up staying the night at their place, well, since we no longer had a furnished house to go back to! Hee hee...

Well anyways, that evening, I was personally presented with the best going away gift - a small fig tree. But this was no ordinary fig tree mind you. This tree has some history, not all of which I actually know. Sufficeth to say, this tree has 'come a long way'. And quite literally too! All the way from Shiraz, Iran :-D

The Mostaghimis have this glorious fig tree in their front yard, and some in their back yard too. And the one in the front always produces an abundance of figs, of which we were given some around the time Ethan was born. Three wonderful purple/green figs, one for mom, dad and noomie.

Since then, and perhaps even earlier, I had always "hinted" to Zhila or Parvaneh or Fariba, that I would LOVE to have a cutting of that fig tree to grow myself. Anyone who knows me well knows that I have acquired this huge interest in gardening and in anything that grows in fact :-D

And in only two short months of having this precious plant, it has grown enormously. To be exact, it is well over four feet tall now. An offshoot was growing very well also, until last night's storm, which snapped it off the main plant. This morning, I quickly put potting soil into another planter and stuck this youngling fig into it. I am not sure if this is how to do it, or if I should have placed it in water to root first. Perhaps I should have consulted Mr. Mostaghimi!

But now it would seem I have two fig trees.

Reading some, I found these trees grow quickly (as witnessed personally) and they grow to heights of 25 feet plus! Fariba relayed what her dad had said that I should find a place to plant this tree that is not nearby other trees. If planted too close to other trees it will not bear fruit. I have found a perfect place for my fig tree(s) and I can't wait to enjoy fresh figs from them.

Now, what to do about 'keeping them indoors for their first winter'? Yikes. I hope they don't grow too much more in the next few weeks before I (have been instructed to) bring them in :-D

A-P-P-R-O-V-E-D !!

YES!!! I was just informed by my immigration attorney that my H-1B visa has been APPROVED!! Two weeks ago we heard the great news that my petition was one of the randomly selected by computer-generated lottery, but that only ensured processing. Now, it's official! I am just over the moon :-)

THANK YOU for your absolute professionalism, Aronson & Associates, PA, especially, our immigration attorney, Ms. Sarah Peterson-Stensrud and leagal assistant, Mr. Bryan Bradford. Thank you!!!

With such odds to overcome I was really down-hearted and worried about my chances. I already had my "back up" plan to do an MBA at Emory, though I may still do this down the road. If my H-1B were not approved, I would have had to file for a different visa status (e.g. TN-1) to enable myself to work in the country. If not, I could legally stay in the country as Kelly's dependent (H-4 status), but this latter status is a non-work one, hence my alternate plan to go to school if that were the case.

Now, I can look forward to begin my position as Chief Research Officer for RiverBirch Research Alliance!!! Not sure if I have announced this job on my blog yet, since I was so worried, though I was offered the job, that my visa paperwork would not come through.

I am keen to explore this CRO position and grateful for this opportunity since it will be my first job outside basic science research (academic research). And for the first time I will have responsibilities in management/business/finance and overseeing good clinical research practices and hopefully growing this small company. Surely a lot of learning will go on before any tangible effects of my work will manifest, but knowing me, I will soon have things moving forward. (God willing!)

My first-year roommate from UBC, Doug, who is completing his MBA at INSEAD in Singapore/France will surely be thrilled to hear this news. And I will be sure to pick his business brain in times to come.

1 of 65,000 H-1Bs. Cool.

:-)

One Week 'Til Closing

I am exited, nervous and anxious about our upcoming closing date for our home in Blue Ridge. With less than a week until the big day, we still have a lot to do it seems. Our home in Durham has not sold yet, though we've had a flurry of folks come to see our house ever since it was lilsted on the MLS (multiple listing service). I am hopeful one of these interested people will put in an offer very soon. April and May are usually the two busiest months of the real estate calendar, coinciding with the school year ending for the summer, and also many leases usually end around this time also, and so many relocate during this time.

Now we are just playing the waiting game. We've done about all we can to get our home listed and viewed by as many people as possible and to maintain the house in showing condition with a 7-month old boy is anything but easy, though we've managed now for a couple months to do just this.

It will be sad to move out of this lovely community for sure. But I personally am looking forward to the future, and building a new nest in the Georgia mountains. Keeping Ethan entertained and learning will be a challenge, so hopefully we can have a steady flow of visitors from family and friends to keep us active and upbeat.

Productive Trip

Firstly, many thanks to the Tidmans - Lee and Ray - for putting us in their Lake house and for being gracious dinner hosts.

Phew! What a whirlwind of a trip. Again. Not long ago, Amani and I made this same trip to Blue Ridge to look for houses. This time around, however, our agenda was quite laid out and precise:

(1) meet with Amy at Kaleidoscope Childcare Inc. at 2pm

(2) meet with Bob at Fern Valley at 3pm

(3) meet with Lee and Ray at 6pm

By the end of the evening on Saturday, I could find my way from the Tidmans primary residence, to their Lake house, to Fern Valley and back again, all in the dark. (and boy was it dark!)

We managed to secure an agreed upon purchase price for Fern Valley, which was the best thing that could have happened on this particular trip. Bob and his wife Linda, and son Cody, were very pleasant folk, and they made our visit and "negotiations" very open, positive and fair. Bob and I are still working to finalize a few details and loose ends on our purchase agreement, but a great big 'check' off of my list of 'things to do' can now be placed.

We have mixed feelings about putting Ethan in daycare. Kaleidoscope was OK, though I was not fully impressed. Ethan though was very much liking the place and was constantly staring and curious of all the arts and crafts that the children have made that were decorating the walls of the center. Their open-door policy for joining is convenient though, and the price, reasonable. (certainly cheaper than if we were looking for childcare, say, in Atlanta).

So not fully decided on this issue, yet. Consulting the Tidmans, we may look into the option of a hired nanny, one in particular actually, who had worked with a couple that used to work at the clinic Kelly and I will be working. Having a nanny would mean many great things too: (1) hired help around the house, (2) Ethan would not be coming home with a runny nose all the time from being around other children so much, (3) consistency and recognition of the caregiver (compared to multiple staff which could be confusing to a young infant), as well as many other reasons.

I did not list all the positives for a daycare situation, not the least of which Ethan would be constantly stimulated by other children and adults and be exposed to resources for learning we may not have at home.

And with Kelly's Georgia license now done, things are moving nicely along (thank God) and we are making preparations for our timely employment and relocation come summer.

Fern Valley

Almost there! We are a few steps closer to moving in to our new home in Blue Ridge, GA. Here are a few pictures of Fern Valley - a lovely, Japanese-inspired, eco-friendly, "green" house, about 200 yards to Lake Blue Ridge. No detail has been left out in this awesome Bob Chapin creation.

Now, time to focus our energies on selling our home in Durham...

Home With A View

Hi. Just a quick note. We are in Blue Ridge, GA for the weekend. Meeting up with a builder to see a house and also meeting up with the director of Kaleidoscope Childcare Inc. to check out their facilities for Ethan. We are staying at Dr. Tidman's Lake house which is right on a private cove on Lake Blue Ridge. Gated, and very cozy, the place has a rustic cabin feel with an amazing view. The place we are checking out (our potential home if it is God's will) is literally about 400 yards from Lake Blue Ridge also, though the other end, some 5.8 miles from the Tidmans. Fingers crossed.

Countdown To July

With February coming round the corner, we have (in the vicinity of) 5 months to get ourselves packed and relocated. What with having to prepare our house for sale, house hunting in Georgia, Kelly wrapping up her residency at Duke (and all the paper work involved in getting licensed in Georgia) and visa matters, it will neither be easy nor enjoyable these next few months.

Moving is never fun, though the excitement of starting afresh and establishing a nest and building roots invigorates at times.

I have already begun to search for homes in the Georgia mountains, focusing my search on Blue Ridge and Ellijay. I have found some pretty nice places to live, from Buckhorn Estates in Ellijay to Scenic Heights in Blue Ridge to a really eco-friendly, Japanese-inspired "green" house called Fern Valley. (I would love to have a home that has a name, no?)

Well, it is early days still, but only just. Banks don't tend to secure loan rates for more than 90 days and so making offers now would be premature. Although, mortgage rates seem to be going up a bit, and I am hoping for rates to dip a little come Spring when the housing market is at its busiest. We'll see. So much to leave to the imagination right now, and God-willing things will come together nicely with all of this moving business.

Big Car

Since my last blog entry, I sold my '03 VW GTI 1.8T for a much larger upgrade. It was getting too much to handle getting in and out of the back of that sporty 2-door with Ethan in his car seat, and with some critical things going wrong with the car, and with warranty soon to run out, I could not have sold my car sooner (well I could, but it was timely nonetheless). And I probably got the most car (in this case, truck) I could get for my money in this '02 Ford Expedition Eddie Bauer (5.4L V8 engine) which seats up to 8 people (when the foldable third row seating is being used).


I just got it insured and later today, Kelly and I will register the vehicle under our names through the DMV. However, many great memories were had with the GTI, and thanks Dad, it was the best PhD gift I could have ever received.


The truck/SUV will be perfect when we move to Blue Ridge in the north Georgia mountains this coming summer.

Road Trip, House Hunters

3 days. 2 Nights. 972.7 miles. 3 states.

Amani and I set off to do a quick road trip to the Georgia mountains. Blue Ridge, Georgia, to be precise. We left Durham just after 3pm on Sunday 12/10. Being one for convenience and comfort, I packed a lot even for just a short trip. After all, I figured we were not flying, and so I can pack my car full of comfort things I normally would not take with me on a trip (pillow, comforter, even a portable mattress to sleep on). Amani on the other hand is a very seasoned road traveller, and has put a many miles on his Camry driving up and down the eastern coast of the U.S. many times. He packed a bag the size of my toiletries bag. His own camera case was bigger. OK, so I am stretching the truth some, but he packed VERY lightly. :-D

We drove through North Carolina, South Carolina and then Georgia. We stayed with a Baha'i friend, Sheidu, who lives in Marietta, Georgia (a suburb of greater Atlanta). Sheidu was a wonderful host, very jovial and a bright soul. We had a lot of great laughs and time spent together. But this trip was a rush, and was mainly for one purpose - house hunting.



From Marietta, we drove up the scenic Zeller Mountain Parkway Highway to the Blue Ridge mountains, leaving the sprawling city of Atlanta behind. In fact, what made our trip less taxing was the fact that we were going opposite the traffic for most of the time. As is well known, Atlanta has the worst traffic in the country (even worse than L.A.), and the morning commute did not disappoint. For miles, all we could see on the other side of the highway were headlights after headlights, all 6 or 7 lanes (!) reduced to a humble 35-40 miles per hour (if that). I couldn't help but think exactly where all these vehicles would end up in the city. Sure, not all will stay in the city itself, perhaps just passing through, but the shear volume of traffic and congestion was just astounding.

And only after just a few minutes on the opposite direction travelling north, the bustle of the city behind us, and only the blue mountains and scenic highway drives ahead of us, Amani and I were on our way to Blue Ridge.

We met up with a realtor, Carrie, who took us to many homes in the area. We eventually narrowed a location down - Buckhorn Estates - which was under 20 minutes to Riverstone and 24 minutes to Fannin Regional Hospital. There were a couple of homes in this golf course community that I was really interested in, but still nearly 7 months premature, moving forward on an offer would be too soon. In a couple of months, however, we will likely entertain a few sellers with offers.

More pictures to come, as soon as I download them from Amani's camera.