It has been almost a whole year since I blogged. To be honest, I find that tricky times leave me either too knackered or too gloomy to blog and once I miss a few I miss a lot.
Last summer we came back from Maine to a moldy and half fixed rental house for which we were paying a whopping $2300 per month. We were still on H visas and so had no real idea of whether we would be allowed to stay in the USA for the long haul. Because of this uncertainty and the never ending insecurity of my job I was really hesitant to buy a house. Mostly this is because of the enormous expense of buying and selling houses in Pittsburgh. Aside from he texes, which are high, the real estate agents here charge a standard 6 or even 7% commission, which is ridiculous.
In October of last year our landlord booted us out with 2 weeks notice. We could not find a new place in time and ended up staying with our good friend Rob O'Doherty who is basically family to me. A very special guy. The kids love him too.
We spent around 2 months at Rob's house while we searched unsuccessfully for a house to buy. Right before Christmas 2010 we moved into a rental house on Ivy St. Small and expensive but a welcome relief. I must admit, this was a low point.
Everything changes. My R01 grant was reviewed at the NIH and scored a 10. The lower the score the better and 10 is the lowest and most perfect score you can get. Nobody gets a 10 but I did! I guess I am still on a high from that. Of course the grant scored in the top 1%. Nice! Then we got word that our green cards would very likely be granted. At least we found out that my "outstanding researcher" application was approved and from there it is only a short hop to a green card.
The crown jewel was that we finally bought a house. It is a rickety old 6 bed victorian on our favorite block in Squirrel Hill but it is a gem and we are looking forward to getting it fixed up.
Onwards!
skip to main |
skip to sidebar
Blogs I Like
Adam's Blog
www.cuteowly.blogspot.com
Bergy's Blog
www.bergsadventures.blogspot.com
Free Hit Counter
2 comments:
getting misty just reading this and realizing all that we've been through this year.
just wanted to add that Rob is very special to me also! I cannot thank him and Miera enough for giving up their space.
and the icing on the cake....we both took our pa driving licenses last week and passed with flying colors/colours - whatever.
May I say congratulations for starting up the blog again big guy - wonderful to have as a keepsake and always a good read.
Here's to an injury free year. Love ya PWBMxox
Great news guys!! We are delighted that things are working out so well on so many fronts:
Although the rickety old house on Squirrel Hill sounds like a job for Scooby Do and friends!! ;) - (seriously, the photo looks great on FB!!)
Post a Comment