Finished the new blog design while up with Carter since 2 this morning. I was worried Katie would find it too Lego-centric. Turns out she likes it.
Do you?
11 years ago
Lego on the Brain?
Well, I Got It
Most have heard by now: I was one of 5 new Model Builders offered jobs to work for Legoland California. One newspaper article quoted me as saying my acceptance of the position depended on the salary offer: immediately after talking with that reporter we were ushered into secret quarters and given our official offer letters. I was stoked beyond words, and signed the paperwork right then and there.
What does this mean for the family? Well, I report to work in a month. That gives us 30 days to find a new place to live, or I crash with friends or family down there so I can start working while Katie continues the search from home. We're hopeful we'll find a new home, though.
Katie's job was a huge concern for us. She earns more than me, and her boss relies on her a great deal. After she broke the news to him about my job offer, their discussion rather positively turned to talks of Katie working from our new home and driving up to the office to work a day or two every week (and stay with her parents while there!) If this pans out, not only will we still have two incomes, but we can scratch "Find Daycare for Carter" off our To-Do list!
For me this is a nearly $4/hr jump in pay, and working full-time means more hours than I ever had while I've been in school the last several years.
But wait, there's more! Full benefits include:
2 weeks paid vacation from the start!
Health, dental, vision, and life insurance a month after starting
401k six months after starting
Other awesome perks include:
30% discount on park shopping and food
Twice a year there are 50% off days on Lego. SWEET.
4 free passes to the park every quarter
Family Pass to the park Katie and Carter get in FREE anytime they want! Katie about jumped out of her seat with excitement when I told her this, she was so giddy.
There's more, but I don't remember all of it right now. Needless to say, we're super super excited, and we're looking forward to all the big changes, despite all the work and headaches it means to reshuffle our entire life.
Pardon the Dust
While working on updating my portfolio for the Legoland thing on Wednesday, I started messing around with the blog. Don't be surprised if things look different every time you come back, as we try to settle on a look we both like!
Job Prospects
40 resumes sent out and applications filled, and just one response back from a prospective employer.
Any ideas who that one response is from? (Hint: See last post)
Yep, Legoland! After hearing from friends who work in the park about the open position(s), I submitted my application and waited. Last Thursday, I got a call from the park and had a phone interview that lasted about 25 minutes. On Saturday I got an email confirmation that I was being invited to the park on Wednesday and Thursday of this week to participate/compete in a set of building challenges that, if I perform well in, will lead to another interview and hopefully landing the job.
Am I excited? You bet I am. Although it's not the kind of work I thought I'd be doing after graduation (TV jobs are not only hard to find, but don't seem interested in me), at least its work doing something I enjoy doing. The word is that because the model building workshop is expanding so much in anticipation of Legoland Malaysia, more positions will open up within the next 9 months, and those who already have jobs can look forward to promotions if they're good enough.
Getting this job would mean uprooting the whole family and moving down to the San Diego area, Katie would have to find a new job, and we'd likely have to find daycare for Carter. None of these things is fun even by themselves, and all of them at the same time is going to be a special kind of nightmare.
We'll keep everyone as updated as we can throughout the week. I head down to Carlsbad on Wednesday morning!
Star Wars Days at Legoland
This past Saturday we went to Legoland for the annual Star Wars Days. On Friday we drove down to San Diego and spent some time with Papa and stayed overnight at his place (thanks again, Papa!) We were at Legoland to help with the SandLug (San Diego Lego User Group) booth, but we also had time to walk around and go on some rides. It was a very fun day, especially once it stopped raining and the sun came out.
Carter quickly made friends with Bob the Builder.
Part of the SandLug display.
More of the SandLug display (the neon green pod racer is Ryan's).
Ryan's Sand Trooper.
Andy is victorious...Ryan is sad. (Chess set built by Brandon)
On the boat ride.
Ryan and Carter in Vegas.
Family picture with R2D2 and 3CPO...not sure why Carter looks so serious.
Nathan and I on Knight's Tournament. Ryan was on baby duty and we never made it back for him to have a turn...sorry honey :(
Carter on Thomas the Train.
Another Haircut
Carter's hair was getting rather long, but I kept putting off giving him a haircut. Last night we decided to go ahead and cut his hair and make it a little shorter than last time. Here's our handsome little guy.
So adorable
Side view
Thanks again to Gary and Fradel for the balloon. The stick it was on ended up becoming more of a weapon, so we got rid of it. Carter doesn't seem to mind.
Check out that molar! Carter only has two teeth on the bottom, but that molar decided it was next. We discovered it when he was in the hospital, which explains the fever and possibly the ear infection.