So, first of all, tonight we're going to an appointment with Alyson.... at the birth center.... so we can use the ultrasound machine. You know what that means, right? We will hopefully find out if we're having a boy or a girl tonight!! I can't believe we're to that point already. We're almost to the 20 week mark, which is not the halfway mark for me, but close. I can't wait to see the baby on ultrasound in just a few hours! Seriously, if this baby is a girl like we think it is, I am so looking forward to shopping!!
Oh, and we will also be making our registry at Cottonbabies.com this week, once we find out what we're having, so for anyone interested in getting a present for the baby, that'll be a good place to start. I'll post the link for that when we get one.
OK, and otherwise, WOW. This past week has been insane, with Thak taking his resumes around town. Peers of his have been commenting that he is the most prepared they have ever seen for getting out of the Army. That's very good, and I really have no doubt that we will be fine out there. The response to the resumes has been amazing. We still have no final decisions on which offer Thak will take, and we have a little bit longer to make a final decision since all of this will begin with his internship, and that doesn't begin for another couple months. He has to go back to BMW and tour the shop, and meet again with the service manager, and everything like that. Their way of saying it was that they want to be sure it's what Thak wants. Well, we know it's something Thak would want. It's if they want him. It seems like they do. Basically, we're just trying at this point to figure out what the busiest shop is, where he'll be able to bill the most hours each week. His friend who works at Audi can bill 50-60 hours per week, easy, and the Audi business is growing. We don't know how many hours mechanics at BMW bill each week on average, but we do want something in that 50-60 range. (The way hours are billed is not quite how it seems. He would not be at the shop that many hours in order to bill that many hours. This is standard in the automotive industry.)
The crazy thing is that everyone and their brother has advice for us on this. It's kind of a pain, really, when they're not in the automotive field. We are really leaning heavily on our connections within the automotive field, especially locally, because they are most able to help with what the next move should be, since they're already where Thak is trying to be. We are so thankful for them. For everyone else, I wish they would remember that we're not stupid. Obviously he will choose whichever offer will pay higher, and whichever one more likely has a longterm need for techs. What's more, it doesn't matter what kind of car we would want more as far as where he would work. The fact is that on what a mechanic, even a Master Tech, makes, we couldn't afford any of these cars in the first place. What we would like to drive does not figure into it. By that standard, he would work for Dodge or Chevy, and the way they manage their shops just really is not a fit for who he is as a mechanic. Plus, the pay is way better in the luxury shops, and frankly, he's worth it. His instructors are all telling him he belongs in a luxury shop, and we're going to take their word for that. Judging by the response, it seems they were correct.
It has been an insane past week or so, and it's only going to get more so as we move into our last few months of Active Duty, and prepare for Thak's final test date, internship, and subsequent graduation, in addition to the baby's arrival. It's a very hectic time, with lots of big decisions and changes, but it's very good. For as crazy as it is, it seems to be working out for us so far. We just hope it continues that way.
Oh, and I can't believe I forgot this. It's amazing news. Thak's graduation date was moved back by two weeks! This means two really good things. For one, his results from his final test date will be in by then, so when he walks across the stage, he will have broken the school record for how many certifications he has gotten. His current number ties the record. Also, I will have had the baby by then! The original date that his graduation was planned for was a date when I really could quite well have the baby, and wouldn't that suck if they top graduate missed his own graduation because his wife was in labor? Yeah, that would really blow. Now that's not going to happen. The baby will be in the audience with mommy and Orren (and Erin if she doesn't go to Florida, which she probably will) to see daddy graduate! That was great news!
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