SP

SP

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10 years ago @ Well-Heeled, With a Mi... - To Kid or Not to Kid -... · 1 reply · +1 points

I waver on this a lot. Baby fever hits every now and then, but life is really really good as is, and I know I could have a happy and satisfied life… but I'm def. leaning towards kids. Soonish, even. (

Do you see any examples of sr. people in your company that make kids work with the job? I don't see much, which makes me take pause.

Did you read Bridget's post on a related topic? Food for thought! http://www.moneyaftergraduation.com/2014/02/13/de...

10 years ago @ Well-Heeled, With a Mi... - Planning a Big Europea... · 0 replies · +1 points

HAVE FUN!!!

I want to plan a 3 week trip JUST to France. :) I kind of am in love with it right now. In reality, my next big trip is probably Argentina - hiking/trekking in patagonia specifically, the we'll see what else I can fit in from there. It isn't until January - we're skipping the "big" vacations this year!

10 years ago @ Well-Heeled, With a Mi... - Paying for a cheaper f... · 1 reply · +1 points

I really LOVED paris. It is a very charming city, very walkable, an the food is amazing. I love the cafe culture, the wine, walking along the river, etc.

We spent 4 days there (including 1/2 day at Versalles, which you can skip unless you love gardens or ornate palaces) and kept busy every single day. But I love museums, and we could have gone to fewer. (If you only go to one and you are a modern art / impressionist fan this is the best IMO http://www.musee-orangerie.fr)

I think it has potential to be very crowded in the summer, but that is same as anywhere worth going I suppose. :) So yes, 2 days, or more, depending on your itinerary and what you are interested seeing. Also, you'll probably discover this as your research, but you can get advance tickets for almost everything (museums, eiffel tower, etc.) and you should do it to avoid waiting in line. We got lucky since it was off season.

10 years ago @ Well-Heeled, With a Mi... - Paying for a cheaper f... · 0 replies · +1 points

Actually, I should note that I pay a lot more attention to arrival time than departure time for international flights. If I can get an "extra day", I will pay more (even though that "extra day" is often spent jet lagged, it is better than on an airport!)

10 years ago @ Well-Heeled, With a Mi... - Paying for a cheaper f... · 4 replies · +1 points

I can do early flights for international trips, mostly because you get all screwed up on time zones anyway. I've had some long layovers (about 12 hrs in detroit on our way to europe) and I guess I've never really looked at what it has saved me. I've always pretty much just booked the cheapest flight. Sometimes I'll pay a little extra for a direct flight, but departure time and layover length (within reason) don't factor much into the decision. Like you, I'm fine with reading in the airport.

We booked our most recent vacation on miles for my ticket, and ended up flying SFO -> Denver -> paris, when I'm sure there were direct flights available for some cost. (I also ended up flying back into san jose, which is really inconveinet for where I live! And T was scheduled to fly back into SFO from our connection in LA, but was able to change at the last minute so we could fly together from LA.)

I guess I was between jobs, but I think I would have done it anyway. It was annoying to take caltrain & bart home, but the ability to go on nice vacations is in part because we spend only where it matters most to us.

10 years ago @ Well-Heeled, With a Mi... - Adding one more grad s... · 1 reply · +1 points

Congratulations to CB! Engineering is a really great and rewarding field (in my humble opinion!) and a computer engineering degree will give him lots of options. (I'm actually moving from engineering to consulting right now). And congratulations on your impending MBA completion, lots of great changes coming for you two in the next year!

Long distance is tough, but at least the flights should be a little shorter for the next round. It is smart to invest in your careers while you are relatively young. I'm so over my long distance marriage, but I know if I had to, we could make it work for as long as we had to.

(edited because half of my comment was missing?)

10 years ago @ Well-Heeled, With a Mi... - 6 Days in London: A Re... · 1 reply · +1 points

This is so helpful - I'm going in December, but for a little shorter time dedicated to London. I'm not familiar with all of the tourist options yet, but I would say you did plenty!! I like to focus less on seeing everything in a new city, especially if you have a local friend. Anyway, I'm bookmarking this.

I spent about ~8 hour in london on a long layover this summer with a friend that lives there. Funnily enough, we did exactly the things you didn't get to: high tea, kensington palace, and walked past (but did not tour) buckingham palace. We also walked through lots of parks and stopped in Harrod's. I knew I would come back, but was trying to adjust to the time zone, so we kept on the go most of the day.

10 years ago @ Well-Heeled, With a Mi... - How do you decide wher... · 1 reply · +1 points

Being near my family was in direct conflict with career opportunities. Even when i lived in the midwest, I was an 8 hr drive away (or a flight that had to connect thru Minneapolis, so we are still looking at most of a day). Now i have one 4 hr flight (direct) or so. It also is in conflict with sunny weather and being near mountains, but I might have been willing to sacrifice those things. Maybe.

I moved to Cali for #2, strictly speaking, but there were a lot of other big factors and almost no drawbacks.

We are kind of at a cross roads as well. If we have the option to stay here, we will. This is for career, weather, mountains/nature. Another potential options is a city with a somewhat lower, but not low, cost of living, cold weather, and more limited (but still possible) career options for me. We'd also be within a few hours of T's family, but still far from mine.

NYC was another option, but we wouldn't choose it because (compared to LA) it is more expensive, it has much fewer opportunities for me, and it is colder, and just as far from my family. No pros, only cons!

11 years ago @ http://makingsenseofce... - Sunday Meal Plan · 2 replies · +1 points

I made this recipe yesterday: http://www.theppk.com/2011/01/black-beans-quinoa-...

It was easy and great! I also made butternut squash vegan mac & cheese (from Oh She Glows site), but topped it with TJ's chicken sausage since I'm not actually vegan. Yum. Now I have a few days of leftovers!

11 years ago @ http://makingsenseofce... - Why Does It Always Rai... · 0 replies · +1 points

I have the opposite luck - whenever I go on vacation, I have ideal weather! I went to Bergen, Norway (a notoriously rainy place) and it was so sunny! my friend that I was visiting credited me for bringing the LA weather with me :)

that said, I'm pretty positive about things, and surely could think of bad weather vacations if I tried :)