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Here I am again after almost a month passing between blog entries. Guess I get too wrapped up in work and the daily grind. Big news is that Darcy and I decided a couple of weeks ago to leave the U.S. in the summer of 2006. So she will not apply for the green card and instead renew her TN-1 work visa for one more year. We can do this when we return to Florida after our honeymoon on August 15. By next summer 2006 I think I will have been able to fulfill most of my major goals at work and will be ready to move on. I wil have lived in Florida for six years which is much longer than I imagined. But I've also accomplished much more than I ever thought possible. Beside the subtropical weather here is really getting to me and Darcy. Darcy's professional career has sadly stalled here and she is sick of BCL. Health care is a scary issue here along with rising education costs. Plus the almost constant horrible humidity saps our energy and makes us grumpy! But there just don't seem to be nearly as many job prospects as in the U.S.

So it will be a risk leaving here with potentially no jobs for both or just one of us. We figured that there are three places to relocate in Canada based upon selection of jobs and universities. They are Toronto, Vancouver and Calgary. We both agree that Calgary is the best for having lowest cost of living and being a bit closer to home. So I visited the University of Calgary's website and found an interesting graduate program to possible apply. It is the Center for Strategic and Miltary Studies. It offers a course based Masters program with the description stating "
The Master of Strategic Studies (MSS) program has been designed to achieve a specific educational goal; to provide students with a graduate degree that combines a strong military-oriented, liberal arts core, with opportunities to study more technical subject matter ranging from international law to geomatics engineering. The goal is a well-rounded graduate education which will place the technicalities of war and defence-related subjects, past and present, within the context of the overall human experience. " GPA must be at least 3.4 and requirements seem liberal enough where I would have a chance of being selected. I've always found international relations interesting and the history of warfare intriguing. So I need to decide what to do and begin my application process this fall...

I just applied online for a job at the Higher Colleges in Technology in the United Arab Emirates. Their website is good and they have multiple openings (which can be a good sign or not depending on how you look at it). They have a comprehensive applicant profile that must be completely filled out before one can apply for a position. I naturally applied for the librarian(s) positions and will wait and see what happens. There is a neat applicant job status field to view after you've applied. Darcy and I would prefer to work overseas for a while there before returning to Canada.

My Canadian friend and colleague Dante left for Toronto early Monday, May 2. He was homesick and needed a change of pace. Dante worked his butt off here and will be much happier back in his home town. He will be a branch librarian at Richmond Hill Green Library. So another Canadian colleague leaves South Florida back to Canada. Guess Darcy and I are next if nothing pans out overseas. My dream is to live overseas for a few years and then relocate to North America.

Finally, Enterprise is winding down its last season. The last few episodes haven't been too bad. Luckily friends of ours are taping the shows since we have poor reception. I did a record 210 chinups at home last week. I guess that's all for now....
posted by Michael at 7:15 PM