Schaumburg, Illinois: It's Happening

Whew!  Back after yet another brief hiatus.  Our computer broke last week (I deleted some necessary files by accident), which explains some of my silence.  Life, though, is moving fast.

Last Friday morning, I was sitting on our hotel bed doing a crossword and watching the West Wing when Sara Beth called, telling me to pack.  She received her next assignment, Xiamen, China.  The start date: Tuesday, April 30.

Sara Beth had to be at work in Des Plaines on Monday to prepare.  It's her first billable assignment in a technology that's new to her, so she's justifiably nervous.

Preparing is technical the way she tries to describe it.  My understanding is that she looks over specs, schematics, and other data about the unit, so she can be knowledgeable and competent.  Imagine cramming for an exam, except the exam is running a multi-million dollar petrochemical unit without issue.  Those tests seem a whole lot simpler by comparison.

Tuesday was a whirlwind.  We drove to the Chinese Consulate in downtown Chicago to drop off our visa applications.  The drive takes 28 minutes according to Google Maps, but it took us over an one hour and fifteen minutes in traffic.

One of the many perks about working for UOP is that visas are quick to process because the company and consulate work together.  By sheer coincidence, one of the travel managers called the consulate as SB was standing in the office.  We had our applications in by 11:00 A.M.  They were ready by 3:00 P.M.  That's efficient.

We weren't there to pick up our visas, though, because we had to drive to Madison.  SB helped host a recruiting event at our alma mater, the University of Wisconsin - Madison.  It was a bit of a homecoming for her, because the event was hosted by the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE), which she was the school's president of for two semesters.

While in Madison, we also had a Bon Voyage meal with our parents (and my brother Mike).  The gravity of leaving hit me at dinner, when I deactivated my phone.

For years, all off my family and friends were at my finger tips, a call or text away.  When clearing the phone's memory and SIM card of their contacts, it felt I was deleting them from my lives and myself from theirs.  Of course, we can still keep in contact just as easily by e-mail, Facebook, and/or Skype, but it feels far less personal, reliable, and easy.

Excitement quickly replaced the gravity, though.  The hardest part about leaving was anticipating the goodbyes, but they were simple and sweet.  We left our heaviest luggage there and are lighter and better prepared for the journey.

Between now and Tuesday, I don't anticipate it slowing down.  There are a lot of hoops to jump through before we go through the plane doors.  Who knows if it will be any easier on the other side?  On the road?