Chris & Maria’s Blog

I have no excuse.  I’m such a slacker.  Actually, I’ve just been very busy.  In addition to my day job, I’ve been doing some consulting for a local post production company.  I’ve also been busy with another business venture.

More on that as I can say, but it’s very cool stuff!  I just wanted to make a quick, short post so that you know we’ve not forgotten we have this blog.  I know you were losing sleep over that, so now you can rest.

With only two weeks left till Easter, yesterday Chris and I decided to hunt for Easter Eggs. Not those 2-inch long, not-worth-the-weightwatchers-points eggs, but a proper, big, eat-till-you-feel-sick, real chocolate Easter Egg. The type that is made with chocolate that actually tastes good - i.e. Cadbury’s, Nestle or Mars  and definitely NOT Hersheys. They’re big, huge sometimes, and come with mini bags of Quality Street inside, or two packets of Maltesers, or a couple of Snickers bars also included in the box. They have overly-bright  and overly-large packaging and, if you’re lucky, a hideous Easter Bunny moulded onto the egg itself. These are stacked high and deep on supermarket shelves in England at this time of year, there is a huge abundance of choice, and best of all, they’re so over-stocked, that you can buy all the Chocolate Buttons ones that nobody chooses for half-price the week after Easter!

We thought that World Market in West Knoxville would be our best bet, but alas, although they had some cute Easter products, nothing like what I was looking for. I did manage to find a few online, but they are expensive, as is the shipping. And a lot of the fun of Easter Eggs is the temptation of seeing them sitting on the shelf for a week or two beforehand. I did manage to find some Penguins and Milka there, though, which was cool,  and when we went to the counter to pay the lady asked whether we found what we were looking for. I explained what I’d been looking for and was met with a couple of minutes of silence and a blank stare, followed by the usual ‘I went to England once’ and a question about the Royal Lord London Mayor of Westminster’s New Year’s Day celebrations.  I’m sure it was a great party, but unfortunately, there is no such person.

So we didn’t get our Easter Eggs, and I’m consoling myself with Milka, the knowledge that my diet will be much more successful without them,  and these words of wisdom from the incomparable Bill Bryson:

“..when you move from one country to another you have to accept that there are some things that are better and some things that are worse, and there is nothing you can do about it.”

I had my “procedure” today.  While Rob (uncle/Dr.) couldn’t give me the heat or x-ray vision I asked for, he did shoot high intensity lights into my eyes and told me that I would be okay.  While it was quick, I can’t say that it was totally painless.

The first thing they did was to put drops in my eyes to contract my pupils.  After about 15 minutes, my pupils were about the size of a BB (4.5mm) or smaller.  They then put numbing drops in my eye and had me rest my chin on what looked like a slit lamp. The difference is that this one also had a laser attached.  He then pressed a lens to my cornea which, I assumed, magnified his view and/or helped focus the laser.  His assistant held the back of my head so I didn’t flinch or move.

Next was the fun part.  Once he had the spot picked out, he fired the laser.  It felt a bit like what I would imagine hot pins going into your eye would feel like.  He did this two or three times per eye.  This really didn’t take very long…just a few minutes.  I couldn’t see anything right away.  As you can imagine, my eye was watering as if my face were a garden.

It’s been several hours, and I still have some discomfort.  My eyes feel really dry and irritated (you would too if you had just got a hole burned through you with a laser) and I’ve got a slight headache.  They said I might get a headache, as it can be a result of the dilation of my pupils. All-in-all, not a bad procedure.  If it keeps me from going blind it’s worth it!  If I get fewer headaches, that’s even better.  Thanks to everyone for the well wishes!

Nope, it’s not. It is, however, something similar to acute closed-angle glaucoma. Left untreated, I could go blind. Fortunately, I have an amazing eye surgeon for an uncle and he discovered it yesterday when we went for our regular eye exam.

Next Wednesday, I will have an iridotomy to (hopefully) fix the problem. It’s a simple procedure where they shoot laser beams into your eyes. I always thought that was a bad thing to do, but I trust Rob when he says that’s what I need. On the plus side, in addition to not going blind, this may give me some relief from the headaches I get.

I’m not worried about it. It sounds painless and quick, and as I said Rob is a fantastic doctor. If you’re local to East TN, I highly recommend him.

It dawned on the both of us that we really hadn’t updated on the blog what was going on in the realm of moving and taking new jobs.  Our bad!  We’ve decided that, for the time being, we’re going to stay put.  There were a lot of factors behind that decision.  The opportunity seemed good, but after crunching numbers and spending days (literally) talking about it and trying to see it from every angle, it didn’t add up.  I would have been managing a new product in an untested market for this particular company.  While I have loads of experience in that market, this was uncharted water for them.

Instead of moving across the country and diving head first into a pool where neither I nor the company really knows the depth, I hope to do some consulting with them.  Where that leads no one knows but anyone can guess.  I’m also reworking my other website so that it promotes me and my experience.  More on that when it launches (hopefully this week).

On a very happy note, Maria and I are coming up on our 1 year anniversary!  Can you believe it?!  It doesn’t seem like it’s been a year yet.  It’s been absolutely fantastic!  I look forward to every day because I know I will get to spend some time with her.  She is truly a blessing in my life and I look forward to the future now….  I just wish it would slow down so I can enjoy it more.

I’ve been familiar with Grass Valley for years, but only in the sense of broadcast equipment.  I learned to operate a Grass Valley switcher back in the day of studio production.  I never really stopped to think about that name, though.  Where is this mysterious valley of grass?  Today, I can answer that question.  It’s in northern California, which is where I sit writing this blog entry.

We left Knoxville early this morning via a United flight to Denver.  They had just worked on the heater in that plane, and it was a tropical 85+ degrees inside.  Once we were in the air, it cooled off a bit but it was still toasty.  It’s been a while since I’ve flown domestically on a commercial airline.  I’ve flown internationally and that’s a dream compared to domestic.  The planes are a lot smaller than they were before and they charge you for everything.  Other than sweating off a few pounds the flight was uneventful.

We arrived in Denver with enough time to grab a bite to eat and check email before boarding the flight to Sacramento.  I received a new itinerary from the company, replied, Twitted a few times, then got on the plane.  That too was an uneventful flight, which is always a good thing.  I love to fly, but Maria isn’t too fond of turbulence.  Fortunately, there wasn’t any.  We flew over loads of snow covered mountains and valleys before the world flattened out and the pilot announced our approach into Sacramento.  When I say flat, I mean it.  If trees and buildings weren’t in the way, you could see for miles in every direction.

We got our rental (a Dodge Charger, as that was all they had) from Budget as well as a few pointers from Marget (?).  She’s from Germany but has lived here for over 40 years.  She was exceptionally sweet and nice, and I highly recommend the folks at Budget give her a nice pay raise.  We hit the interstate and didn’t get to see a lot of Sacramento, but I expect we will on Saturday as we’re spending the night there.

I digress (a lot).  We arrived in Grass Valley around 3:30.  It’s up the in mountains about an hour north east of Sacramento.  We checked into the hotel then went walking around the downtown area.  That doesn’t take long.  It reminded us both a lot of Gatlinburg but in a good way.  If you strip out all the cheese, tourist traps, putt putt courses and pretty much all that makes Gatlinburg unbearable and replaced it with unique little shops, cafes, and “pubs” you would have Grass Valley.  It has that same mountain feel….because it’s in the mountains.  Unlike Gatlinburg, it’s clean and quite.  There were a few people out, but not a huge amount.  Every shop we walked past was worth looking in.  Not all of them were open, but they all looked interesting.  Reaching as high or higher than most of the buildings around it is the Del Oro theater.  I hope to get a picture of it before we leave.  It’s a very cool, 40’s era cinema that still has the look it probably had the day it was built (at least on the outside).  There’s a ticket booth outside and behind it sets of doors with large round windows that give you a glimpse inside.  We didn’t go in, but the marquee was advertising all new releases.  I don’t suspect we’ll actually go to a movie, but I hope to go in and see the inside as well.

Tomorrow I visit the company and have a long list of people to talk to.  I’ll wrap it up for now as I need to go iron my clothes.  More post to (hopefully) follow soon!

A view down the street towards Del Oro theater.

As many people now know, I have a job interview in a couple of weeks in northern California.  While it seems promising, at this point it is only what it is: an interview with no promise of anything.  As such, I’m neither holding my breath nor getting my hopes up.  Regardless of what the result of that interview is, life will be difficult for the short term.

The company I work for is having a hard time.  I’ve made it through several cutbacks, but the ship is still taking on water and I can’t see how they are going to patch it up.  I see decisions being made that I and many others in the company see as wrong.  I see people who work hard, bring in value and revenue to the company losing their jobs while other people who contribute less hang on.  And yes, I’m being very nice when I say that.  I’m a realist.  I know I sound pessimistic, but I’m not.  I just pay attention.  I know who to listen to and who not to.  The ship has struck an iceberg and is going down.  I don’t care who said it’s unsinkable.  Stand on the deck and play your music.  I’m looking for a life boat for me and my wife.

If I get an offer and accept, we leave everyone and everything we know behind.  Maria has done that once by moving to the US.  While I have moved around a lot, I’ve lived most of my life in Tennessee.  So taking the offer, should it come up, would mean, for me, giving up the place I know so well and the convenience of seeing my family and friends when I want.

The flip-side of this is that should an offer not be extended, I’m faced with trying to find another way to survive once this ship has gone down.  For me and what I do, the only other option is to throw everything I’ve got behind some of the entreprenurial things I’m working on.  And yes, I’m already doing that with the help of people I know.

There has been lots of talk about this with our friends.  I think some of what has been said has been in jest, and perhaps a way to soften the blow should we move.  But I have to say what’s on my mind.  I think there’s a serious element of truth enderneath it.  I think, to some extent, some people feel like we’re doing this to them…as if we’re intentionally trying to take something dear away from them.  That’s not the case at all.  As much as it pains me/us to consider the possibility of moving away, I can’t risk jeopardizing our ability to have a place to live, food to eat, etc.  Swap places with us.  If you were in our situation, what would you do?  If you don’t go where the opportunities are, you’re being foolish.  Sure, there’s a chance that an opportunity might present itself if I stayed here, but I would be a fool to turn down an offer on the chance I might find something different.  A bird in the hand, as they say.

But to think this is the end is also rediculous.  Since the dawn of time this world hasn’t been any smaller than it is now.  It’s rediculously easy to keep in touch with people thousands of miles away.  Maria still stays in touch with her family.  They didn’t write each other off when she moved here, nor will we write off anyone IF we move to California or wherever else a job opportunity presented itself.  If you’re reading this blog, then you have no excuse not to stay in touch.  Relationships can exist over long distances.  So please, cheer up.  Be happy for us, if for no other reason than we might not have to ask to live in your basement.  Nothing about this world is eternal.  Things change as life changes.  The difference, my friends, is how you look at it.  You have the power to see any given situation in a different light.  Do you have the desire to do it?

Just wanted to wish my wonderful husband a very happy birthday - hope you like the presents, and I wonder how long before you realise this post is here.

As many of you know, we’ve been working for a while on a line of Harry Potter products we hope to get licensed.  The key there is hope.  For us, the thrill would be to be an official part of world of Harry Potter and to do that in a big way.  Official, licensed, and sanctioned…that is our goal.

The first, finished product is done and on display in our house at the moment.  If you’re a friend of mine on Flickr, you can see them here:

http://tinyurl.com/5rjocw

Take a look and let us know what you think!

We’ve been very quiet on the blog, as we’ve been holding our breath on the whole immigration issue.  We didn’t want to talk about it too much, as we didn’t know what we could and couldn’t legally say.  I can now give you the latest, though, as we got the letter today.

We’re approved!  Maria is now a legal permanent resident of the United States!!  Thank you, God!  I know all of you have been waiting with us, and giving us loads of prayers and good thoughts.  We can now all breathe a sigh of relief.  We’ve notified our families, and all of them are so very pleased.

Thank you, all of our friends, for the support you’ve given us during this process.  We couldn’t be happier at this moment, and we look forward to finally being able to put down some solid roots together here, and celebrating this, the holidays and the new year with as many of you as possible.