Back from Berkeley (posted by Sarah)

Well, it seems Justin may have made a broken promise. We didn't take any pictures! But, to make up for it, I've included a very well-lit picture of our new apartment building that was taken from a very flattering angle. Yes, we found an apartment!!!

Thursday, we spent the day driving and walking around Berkeley, marking off a map with a big area that we considered "safe zone" for an apartment. We knew we had one apartment appointment at 6pm, but really...what are the chances of looking at one place and deciding it was the place for us? Well, it happened, so the safe zone map went to a very lucky wife of one of the newly admitted students. Well, okay, let's say we're not 100% in yet, because they still have to check our credit scores and call our landlord references. Unless the credit bureau or a former landlord is out to get one of us, we should be all set. We'll let you know when it's official.

The place is great. It is a two bedroom on University Avenue. You can check out the details by clicking ME! The apartment is kind of small, but everything is brand new, there is plenty of storage space, it is in a great neighborhood, there is a grocery store right across the street, and the BART stop is three blocks away. A special note to my mom: the building is constructed with seismic reinforcement, the latest in earthquake safe architectural innovation. So, we'll be safe if there's an earthquake...as long as we happen to be in our apartment :)

Friday I spent the day with the other admitted students. We saw panels of current students, alumni, professors, etc. Sounds exciting, huh? The best part...I was forced, against everything I believe in, to participate in karaoke. It was a scene unmatched by any other. I have spent the past three days thanking my lucky stars that no one had a video camera. Did I mention I sang the Backstreet Boys?

Friday night we met back up with Allison and Brian. Brian works at a pretty famous comedy club, and we were treated VIP style to a free comedy show, drinks and dinner. Very funny stuff...most of which I would feel dirty repeating.

Saturday we took it easy. We spent the afternoon with Allison and Brian and then went out to dinner with June and Bill. They treated us to a wonderful French dinner, and we had a great time. Justin wimped out and got the boar. I was daring and went with the chicken. That Justin never tries anything new!

Anyway, we will keep you all in the loop as new updates emerge! Thanks for listening...

4 Days Until Orientation

Hi gang. This picture is from the last time Sarah and I went to San Francisco and after the first day we both looked at each other and knew that we would end up here soon enough.

We are heading to Berkeley on Wednesday to attend the Haas Admitted Students Weekend. It’s the weekend where all the admitted students get to visit the campus and meet there potential classmates. It will be interesting to see how it compares with the Duke Admit Weekend we attended last month.

We’re also hoping to check out different neighborhoods in Berkeley/Oakland, so we can decide which area to live in. We have a few friends in the area that will help us out with this. There are some really nice parts of Berkeley and Oakland however some not so nice ones either. We will be sure to stay clear of those.

We will also have the opportunity to have dinner with June and Bill. We are really looking forward to seeing them. June is SO nice and Bill is always good for a laugh.

We will be staying with Brian and Ally. They are a couple who moved out to San Francisco about a year ago. Sarah used to work with them at John Harvard’s. They are good people. Sarah also has another friend in Berkeley/Oakland, Rick. Rick is a great resource since he is a student in the Berkeley area and lived in Berkeley for a year. He has already helped us out by directing us to a great resource on the web for available apartments, and telling us to stay clear of South Berkeley. Word.

The job search is going well. There are a ton of jobs out there. However, I’m going to try and get a contract job initially and during that time find a permanent position.

Look for the next update when we get back with pictures.

It's Official!

Well some if not all of you know that Sarah got accepted to the Haas Business School at the University of California, Berkley. WAY TO GO SARAH!!!
I am SO proud of her!

After much thought Sarah has decided to accept and we are going to move to California in July.
We are super excited to finally move to the state we've always wanted to live in. Even though it will be a tough move, especially for the third member of our little family our little buddy Felix, we are looking forward to the adventure that only a cross-country move will offer. We plan to drive the whole way! We will stop in Evansville Indiana, where Sarah is from, to visit with her family for a few days. Then we will continue on to the promised land.

We are expecting things to move very fast for us in the coming months, beginning with a visit out to Berkley for admit weekend the first week of May.
We hope to look at a few apartments and maybe sign a July lease right then. That way we would have the entire month of July to move. We don't have a set departure date yet but our last day at our jobs will be June 30th. Whoo Hoo!

Welcome to the Exciting World of Justin and Sarah (posted by Sarah)

Around a year ago, my job began to become pretty slow, so I took it upon myself to begin prancing into work about a half hour late everyday. Little did I know this would work to my advantage, not only because it allowed me to be a more well-rested individual, but also because if it weren't for this self-appointed schedule, Justin and I wouldn't have ever met.

One day early last summer, I was going through my normal morning routine... pry myself out of bed, go to Starbucks, walk to the Porter T station, get on the last car of the train, sit, listen to music, and try not to make eye contact with anyone. Well, that was until I spotted Justin right as I boarded the train and determined that I was going to throw the eye contact rule out the window. We caught eachother stealing a couple looks during those few minutes we share in commuter hell. As he got off the train, he winked at me (dork), and I couldn't help but smile and think about this cute boy for the rest of the day. The next morning, I get up to do the routine again. I stumble into Starbucks half awake, and who is standing in line, but the cute boy from the train! He sees me, I see him, we immediately started talking like we'd known eachother for years, and we haven't left eachother's sides since.

The two of us recently moved in together, along with our fat (big-boned) cat Felix. Alina, my roommate of the past two years, is also living with us, but will move out in June to do a little domesticating of her own. Justin has a great job where he can use all of his kung-fu computer tricks to save the world. I have a job where I can use my ninja-like typing skills to write on this blog and instant message my friends. We hope to ditch Massachusetts at some point fairly soon because the weather is unbearable. However, we are going to be smart about it - waiting to decide where to go based on my acceptance into various business schools around the country.

We will use this blog to just keep everyone in the loop with what's going on in our world. We'll probably complain about things (primarily me whining about my job, I'm sure), but we'll also post pictures and stories.