Getting ready to go

Dave and I have decided to start a blog (although we are going to refer to it as a "website" because Dave doesn't like the phrase "blog") to keep all of our friends and family up to date on our crazy European adventures.  Although the adventures haven't started yet, here is a summary about how we got into this current predicament.

I decided it was about time to to complete my PhD, get out of school, and get a real job (does a post-doc count as a real job?).  I started working real hard, applying for jobs, setting up a defense date, interviewing, writing my dissertation, and all that stuff that needs to be done to graduate.

I got a few job offers.  We then started looking for job possibilities for Dave and he got job offers too!  Basically we were down to deciding between becoming computer science professors at Bucknell University, my alma mater, and a post-doc and research fellow  positions at Universitat de Barcelona working with Mel Slater and  Maria V. Sanchez-Vives.

As you probably know by now, we decided to move to Barcelona, Spain to work in the EVENT Lab. This was one of the hardest decisions we have ever had to make, and thank you to everyone who offered advice and help with the challenging decision.  (Even those of you who said to move to Spain just so you could come visit.)

Well, we now had jobs!  In Spain!  But, I still needed to do that whole defense thing. On July 7, I successfully defended my dissertation and I am now Dr. Peck!  Woo Hoo!  We are a family of Doctors! 

We sold our house, packed up all of our stuff (which is now being stored at Dave's parent's house) and moved in with Brad and Megan for a month before heading off to Spain.  Thank you Brad and Megan for letting us live with you. And thank you to the Borland's for storing all of our stuff.

That is pretty much it.  Our adventures begin on September 6, 2010.