Another week in the USA! Things are going really well I think. Slow, but well.

We just got back from about a week of Northeast traveling. We went to DC, Syracuse, Buffalo and Pittsburgh. It was amazing and we all drank WAY too much beer. I also had my fair share of whoopie pies. Yum. We all feel guilty about our week of debauchery so we're all attempting to be good little healthy people the next few days.

I've started my "job"! It's giving swim lessons at the community center where my mom works. It was funny when I started I had to fill out a whole bunch of tax forms. I was like "Damn, I forgot in the USA you have to pay taxes!" I'm doing two hours a day, six days a week for about three weeks. Not a lot, but it's something to start with. I'm really loving it. I'm so damn good at teaching swimming. Though I have to do the parent/kid class which I hate because I don't really like babies, don't understand developmental stages in them, and never know what to do with them. It's basically singing songs and splashing around. Lame. I also wrote the nearby private middle/high school where my mom works as a sub and swim coach. The middle school director wrote me back "from your resume and qualifications you would be a good sub for our school" Felt like saying "I'd be a gooddam good TEACHER for your school, but I'll start with subbing" They said I can "interview" for the position end of August. Perfect. I'm hoping to be able to sub for both the middle school and high school.

I also started looking into the tests to add certifications to my license. I'm going to try to add middle school science, math and Spanish. Then I'll always have a job, muahaha! Those tests start in October and go to December. I'll buy the study books and start going at it soon enough.

My SO hasn't had an interview yet and he's starting to feel pressure. I don't know why, he's only applied to six jobs. I keep trying to tell him "it could take six MONTHS to find a good job, we've been here for three WEEKS" He wants to talk to me about moving up to PA for the Reading job. Maybe for only a few years, but to get a USA company on his resume. It could be a good idea but I want him to try a little harder in NC first. There's so many damn jobs here, I know he'll find one. It's just going to take time, effort and patience. It's one thing that, I hate to say it, is really bothering me. He can't job search on his own. He's never had to look for a job, he has had the same one for 14 years! He's really awful on the internet and for whatever reason doesn't understand how to look up jobs. So I spend a lot of my time looking up jobs, reading through them, asking if he'd like to do them, and then doing the long ass online applications for him. It's getting frustrating for me. I don't mind helping him, but doing the whole thing? Ugh. I need to show him better how to google jobs, then google to see how close they are, then apply on his own. I mean I found my job on my own in Costa Rica. He's perfectly capable of doing the same thing here.

Some good news- we opened our first joint bank account! It was very exciting, even though it took all damn day to do. We got our debit cards in the mail. Wohoo! I'd like to apply for credit cards but since both of us are unemployed right now I think it'll be best to wait.

Great news- my stepdad's mom is MOVED OUT! Yessssssss. They found her a really nice place about two miles away and today my SO helped my stepdad move all her shit. She'll move in officially tomorrow. I haven't seen the place yet but my SO says it's really nice, that it looks like a nice apartment complex. So hooray! No more creepy old lady who doesn't flush the toilet! I'll go visit her, but I'm happy she won't be around 24/7 anymore.

So overall things have been fun here. The only part that's been difficult is getting our sex life back on track. Our room is directly across from my mom's and our door doesn't have a lock. My mom would never burst in (actually, I think she might) but I like the security of a lock. Then I feel like we have to schedule our sexing around when my mom and her husband aren't around. That was easy before I started giving the lessons, but now it's more difficult since I'm working in the mornings. I get home around 1pm and am tired from yelling at kids and being in the sun for three hours. I feel like I have to chose between napping (which is probably the thing I love second most, right after sex) or sex. And it's all really not sexy at all. I feel like a damn teenager: quick the parents left, have the quickest, quietest sex possible! We gotta figure things out, or find our own place!

The fun thing is, I think I've convinced my SO to go to India with me! For even the past few months or so he's been kind of like "well that's if I can find a job", just generally not very excited about it. I hope to buy the tickets before the week is up. He got more excited about it after going out with my friend + her husband (the ones getting married). My friend is going to help us with the visa process. I keep looking stuff up but the sites I find seem really sketchy. I'm also slightly worried about getting a visa for my SO since he's not a US citizen. I hope it's okay since he is a resident. This Thursday we're supposed to go over to my friend's house to have her mom cook us some yummy dinner! Her mom is a damn good cook and I want my SO to try *real* Indian cooking. I think it'll make him more excited about the trip. We still have to decide how long we want to go. My friend's friend is going at a certain time and it'd be nice to tag along with her (even though she doesn't speak Hindi, that lame Indian ), but we could always go later and see things by ourselves.

Anyways, so that's that for now. Can't wait for an Ioanna blog!!!!!!!