I am back on-line. When Wenchie theorized I was afraid to say anything because I might wake up and spoil the dream, she was dead on.
Now that I am here, I think it is safe to let you know that I accepted a new job located in:
I stayed silent to not jinx it, but also because I was flying into the
on 
and really didn't want to tempt fate any more than necessary. 
There were a series of phone interviews for the position including one technically based one where they went to individual registry keys and asked me what they did. The techies among you will appreciate how tough that was. After I landed the job, the biggest delay was waiting for the government paperwork to come through.
I arrived safely and after an hour of immigration and customs formalities (My Cochran computer is now officially recorded under my name by the government), I am firmly ensconced in my new apartment. It is just a one bedroom studio, but has a great view. In fact, as I type this on my deck I can see the ocean just over the trees past the pool. Sweet.
They said there were over a hundred and fifty applicants for the position. I arrived on the same day as the company holiday party and met everyone in an informal gathering that was quite nice. They brought in Portuguese folk dancers after the dinner as entertainment. It turned out to be interactive as they hauled a few people up from the audience and apparently I have rhythm.
The apartment is located in a very quiet side street. It is fairly large, furnished, has an air conditioner and Cathedral ceilings with fans. A small TV, cable converter and DVD player were in the living room. I am going to have to invest in a few things to spruce the place up; curtains and the like. Best part was finding a brand new King bed with labels still attached. It is exactly the same model I was looking at getting a few months ago for my guest bedroom, but I never got around to ordering it. I was not expecting that little luxury, but it was very cool to find when I moved in. Ahhhhh, leg room when I sleep. Somebody likes me. I changed the furniture around to suit me and got a little extra room as an added bonus. On Saturday, I went for a walk in the morning and found an 'everything must go' house sale by chance. Picked up a set of Egyptian cotton sheets, Union Jack bed throw and a couple of good sized coffee mugs for $17 which I thought was a bargain.
My place is quite close to work, .4 KM to the grocery store, .7 KM to the ocean and .9 KM to the nearest dive shop. Nice little kitchenette, but it has tiny appliances. I put a 12" frozen pizza in the freezer and could not get the door shut. hahaha
It is a nine-to-five job and I get weekends off. I have been warned that there may be a little overtime, but no on-call duty which sold me. Been there, done that, hated it. They have branch offices in several places including the Caymans and Trinidad-Tobago so I may be taking the odd road trip there. One of my co-workers is certified and takes semi-annual trips to Cayman Brac. Another couple want me to hurry and get my instructors rating so I can teach them their OW before they go to the Philippines. A few people invited me Salsa dancing which was encouraging as well.
I walked into town on Saturday for a bus pass and was surprised how much it has grown in the last ten years. It is a bustling place and has lots of shops, bistros and cafes. The prices were quite steep so I will have to go back and see if I can find some moderately priced places to eat. They said it is 380% more expensive here than the US and I cannot disagree. A small jar of instant coffee was $12. Gas is $1.80 per liter which is twice what it was in Canada so owning a car might not be viable for now, if ever. A motor scooter or e-bike will probably be in my immediate future for my commutes. It is hard to haul air tanks on a bus.
So now I am learning the new company procedures and looking forward to a lot of new adventures both above and below the surface. Am waiting for my shipped boxes to arrive and that should help to make things a little homier in time.
A while back I started a thread on local wreck diving. Little did I know then that I would be able to do it myself in a leisurely manner. Sorry for the delay. It took me this long to arrange for Internet (Long story just for THAT). However, I am up and running and should be a little more vocal than the last few days. It will take until the weekend before I am back to a regular schedule.
