Homer's Travels: Omaha: Part One

Wednesday, April 09, 2008

Omaha: Part One

For those who do not know, we are in Omaha and what a crazy few days it's been so far. We had two reasons to be in Omaha. The first was to look for houses and possibly buy one. The second was for the Wife to interview for a new job.

Last week as we sat in bed talking about all the crap that was going on we came to the conclusion that buying a house in Omaha before we sold our house in Oxnard was a really foolish thing to do. We made a decision then that if the house hadn't sold by the time that we moved, we would rent in Omaha. Right there, the first reason for being in Omaha went right out the window. We decided to continue on our original plan and look at houses so that we could get an idea where everything was and get a feel for the Omaha market. The Wife had picked a realtor at random and he's turned out to be a nice, honest guy. She showed us fourteen houses over Sunday and Monday and we've more planned for the next three days. Turns out there are lots of houses in our price range but they are selling a lot faster in Omaha than in California.

So with the first reason to be in Omaha diminished, the second reason became more important. The Wife had sent out 12 resumes to Catholic schools in the area and received only two prospects. Two other schools responded in the negative and eight others did not respond at all. *sigh* The Wife contacted the two schools who were interested and set up an interview at one (She's at that interview as I compose this post) and left a message at the other. Later that day the other school sent an e-mail saying that the position that had was filled. *sigh* Seems we flew to Omaha for one interview.

When we received the e-mail for the second school (a school the Wife was excited about working at) we both sunk to a major new low. Our plans seemed to be unraveling before our eyes and we seriously started thinking about cancelling the whole move. Even my mom's practical optimism didn't help. The Wife stood up and said lets go out for a bite and we got in the car and started driving. We really didn't have any idea where we wanted to eat. We were both really discombobulated. We were driving down Center St. figuring we would eat at the first restaurant we ran into. The first restaurant we ran into was ... [dramatic pause] ... the Rock Bottom Cafe. We parked the car and the Wife opened the door and almost immediately slammed the door back closed and said that this was a really seedy bar and we were not 'there yet.' We got back in the car and headed to the Dundee area of Omaha (a nicer old part of the city) and ate at the Dundee Dell, a much nicer bar/restaurant.

We sat in our booth and ate a good meal, made a few new plans (plans J and K or something like that) and we calmed ourselves down. The Wife cried, more in frustration than anything else, scaring our server a bit. By the time we were done we felt better. We had an idea of where we we're going even though we realized that we may soon be putting together Plan L or maybe it would be Plan M - I'm loosing count.

We decided we needed a good distraction after Monday's emotional bungee jump so we rung up the Loon Whisperer and asked if we could drop by. On Tuesday we drove out to her place and spent the day wrestling with her three daughters who are the sweetest things west of the Mississippi. Unfortunately I left my camera at my Mom's place so I missed a great opportunity for some great pictures. The spud (3 years old) latched on to me and we played until I was worn out. She kept throwing things at my head which I think means she'd taken a liking to me. The twins (1 1/2 years old) are walking all over the place and seemed to enjoy us being there until I got in the way of the TV and they couldn't see SpongeBob. I corrected that error quickly. One high point was when the spud decided to run around the house buck naked. She said she need some "fresh air." She's a hoot!Our visit was a great distraction for both of us and I'm sure we will be visiting the Loon Whisperer, her husband, and three daughters many times once we move.

Tuesday night we received a couple pieces of news concerning jobs and houses that rekindled our waning hope. If they materialize, I will surely post about them.

So there you go. That's what we've been doing the past few days. It's been one heck of a roller coaster and I know I have never felt so jerked around by my emotions. At times I wonder about the value of this trip to Omaha. Then I remember that we used frequent flier miles and our tickets cost us only $20.00 and we're staying at my Mom's place so there is no hotel costs. If the Wife gets the job it will a very good thing. If not, then down the coaster we'll go and on to the next plan.

11 comments:

  1. I didn't realize you were going to be in Nebraska the same time as hubby and I. Did you check out Lincoln? I know there are several Catholic schools in Lincoln, however, I don't know what age group your wife teaches.

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  2. Hope the flickering hope at the end of this post grows into a larger flame. Will keep the fingers crossed for you.

    Hey, JaG and I like you too, does that mean we can throw things at your head?

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  3. I was just informed by my son that Lincoln Pius X High School has an opening in the paper for an English Teacher.

    Check out www.piusx.net

    Lincoln is 50-60 miles west of Omaha.

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  4. I'm sure the karma you all have acquired will come back in spades, eventually. And if that doesn't work out, there's always China...cheap housing, huge need for teachers...good company...wink.

    You are in my thoughts.

    Take care.

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  5. Dobegil: Hello, welcome to Homer's Travels. I hope your trip from GeekHiker's place was a comfortable one.

    Thank you for the link. I have passed the school information over to the Wife. She happens to teach High School so she is interested.

    GH: Yesterday felt a lot better. Things aren't settled quite yet but they are definitly looking up.

    Bick: Thank you for the good thoughts. We've been wondering if we used up all our Karma. Being close to a good friend is tempting but the commute from China to the families would be a doozy.

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  6. Thanks for the welcome, trip from GH's place is always an interesting one ... never sure where the computer will land ya!

    Hope everything works out for you and the wife. My son, daughter-in-law and my daughter are Pius X alumni. It is so wierd wandering around town, so much has changed.

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  7. Dobegil: Thanks! The Wife lived in Omaha for 10 years before moviing out to California with me. As we drove around loking for houses and stuff, she couldn't belive how the city had changed.

    GH: Almost forgot, you can throw things add my head as long as they are green, wadded up, and have dead presidents on them.

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  8. Something will turn up. And if not, you have plan N, o, p, q and so on. I know you guys will figure out something. Sorry its so stressful. I'll keep prayin.

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  9. MoH: We are a lot more positive now then we were at the beginning of the week. Thanks for the prayers.

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  10. Yeah! I wanna throw things at your head though I don't have anything with dead presidents on it unless you count a book or two!

    I hope things work out sooner than later.

    Also remember time with friends and family is worth the other stuff being bumpy. They are there to pick you up.

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  11. JaG: Why does everyone want to through things at my head ?!?

    Things are looking up. We are feeling a lot more positive. Hopefully something good will happen soon.

    It was nice to have friends and family to commiserate with. That's why we are moving back to be close to family.

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