Werth Family OnlineStories and tales of the workplace.
For a work conference, I had the enjoyment of traveling to Las Vegas and was able to get in a full day of sight seeing. After seeing the strip (Fountains at the Bellagio) and the Stratosphere, I rented a car and drove to Hoover Dam followed by Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area. The sites were amazing and despite the heat it was a peaceful and awe-inspiring day.
Now that I’ve signed the official offer letter, I’m willing to announce the good news: I will be starting in a new position at the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU) on December 16th! Since moving to Minnesota, I have been working for the University of Iowa remotely as a temporary, contract employee. This was a convenient mutual agreement for both parties that allowed me to get settled in Minnesota while still working in my current role (Instructional Technologist) for the university.
In the meantime, I noticed a job posting for a Desire2Learn (D2L) administrator position at MnSCU and couldn’t pass up the good opportunity. Having met several of the individuals at the MnSCU office and talked with them on a few occasions, I was familiar with the role as it is nearly identical to my current position. After an interview, I was offered the position and gladly accepted.
Needless to say, I am sad to be officially leaving the University of Iowa as it has been a great community over the past several years and home to many firsts (house, kids, job, etc). Thankfully, I will still get to touch base every once in a while, and I’m looking forward to the coming opportunities. Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers during this time of transition, it has truly helped!
Yikes! It’s been quite the summer. If you haven’t talked to us recently, this post will get you caught up on some major changes. Here it goes…
We just spent the past three weekends travelling: a week and a half on the east coast and a weekend in Omaha (see previous posts). Not wanting to have a relaxing summer, Elise had (after applying) received two offers for job interviews in Minnesota; one in Prior Lake and the other in Rockford. As a result, her and the boys headed up Thursday night (after spending the past two days at a work conference). While the boys hung out with Mary, Elise interviewed and by the end of the day had not one, but two, job offers. So.. now what? I (Jon) hop in the truck and head up to Eden Prairie late Friday night.
Elise and I decided to spend Saturday checking out the two towns and deciding what would be the best fit for our family. Coming to a decision that night, we decide that Rockford would be the best fit for Elise’s job (middle school science at an Environmental Studies magnet school) and for the family (small town).
After having made this decision, I get a call from my parents… Glencoe received a major dousing Saturday night and their house was filled with three feet of water. So…
While Larry heads to Laura’s house (out of power for 3 days and some water in her basement) and Elise calls the schools to finalize the decision, I head out to Glencoe to aid in the disaster recovery. Needless to say, after three feet of water, it was a very emotionally and physically draining time. We pumped out the remaining water, saved what we could, and started to clean up the mess, mud, and ruined belongings. It was quite the experience of digging through your history and tossing a lot of it into the trash. I took Monday off of work to stay one more day before heading back to Iowa City with Elise and the boys.
To keep this giant narrative moving along, I came up the next weekend to help finalize the gutting of mom and dad’s house, who are now living temporarily with Grandma A until they can get a new house. The next weekend, Fred, Cathy, and Teresa came down for a four day weekend over the fourth of July. Why? To finish up the basement remodeling of my house in order to get it on the market! Meanwhile, Elise traveled to Minnesota with the boys for the annual Mouse party and to allow us more construction hours in the day.
So… It’s currently Sunday, July 14th. I have been in a different state 5 out of the past 6 weeks (not including this one). Elise starts a new position Aug 19th, at which point I will continue to work for UIowa, albeit remotely. We’ve started to look (tentatively) at houses in Delano, MN and have arrangements for daycare. Our house is going to be listed tomorrow (Monday). Fred and Cathy have an accepted offer on their new house, and Teresa just took possession of hers. And while I write this, I am at 35,000 feet over New York headed to Boston for a work conference.
Needless to say, it’s been one hell of a summer. Hopefully, my next post will be from Minnesota 🙂
Best wishes, – Jon
The past two weeks have been pretty exciting at the Werth household. Washington H.S. had its homecoming, with the end of the term the following week. Finals went well and Elise wrapped up grading to prepare for the start of the new term today. Meanwhile, Elise followed Jacob’s lead and came down with a virus; which she is starting to get over. Jacob, on the other hand, had an ear infection but quickly rebounded after day 2 of his 10-day antibiotic schedule.
This past Thursday and Friday, I took off from work to give a presentation at the Midwest Chapter Music Library Assoc Conference. The talk went well, with good feedback and interest, and I got to taste some of Indianapolis’ delicious craft beer!
In other news, the UI holds some promising job prospects that should develop in the coming weeks. Also, Jacob ushered in two new firsts: two teeth are starting to come in and he stood up all by himself from a seated position (holding on to his jumper). There will be plenty of pictures and videos coming soon, but for now enjoy these from Halloween!
