Birthday! And a Big Change

Well, it's my birthday, and I wish I had some of you here to celebrate with.  Some of you know I'm coming home next week.  Less of you know that I'm staying home and not coming back to the UK for the time being.

I'm not giving up on the job search here though.  The decision came down to the fact that the Visa challenge makes it very hard to compete in job applications.  To sum it up - for me to get a job, the company has to sponsor my Visa.  I'm not sure if it involves money on the company's end, but it definitely involves paperwork and extra hassle that they are not willing to deal with.  There other complications too that we can discuss in person.

After some long thinking, the right decision is to come home.  I will get the Post Study Work Visa which does leave the possibility open to come back.  In the meantime I feel like I will have much more freedom in the types of jobs I can find at home.  Then maybe I can get lots of experience and eventually come back here to continue the F1 dream.

Is it extremely frustrating? Yes, absolutely.  Am I pretty mad and annoyed at this situation?  Yes.  But hopefully I can find a job I'm happy with at home instead of just settling for whatever I can get here with someone who is willing to sponsor my Visa.  Entry level salaries are supposed to be better in the US too.  Living with Jessica again will be the best part of it though!

So yea, that's that, I have to keep reminding myself that this is not 'giving up' or anything like that, even though that is kind of what it feels like to me on some level.  I know it's the right decision, even though I really didn't want it to be.  It definitely hasn't sunk in yet, and I'm starting to pack things up, and it just all feels very weird even though I am happy to be coming home.

After making that decision yesterday afternoon, I happened to see something on Twitter for a free ticket to a beer and food pairing event in London.  Since I'll be at the track this weekend, and packing all week, I decided to be impulsive and go, for one last beery night in London.  It was at the White Horse where I've been a few times, including with Will and Jessica.  The beers were from Brains which is in Wales, and they had a couple of good ones.  The food was interesting too, I had my first Welsh rarebit, and also a Cawl pie.  An interesting night, glad I happened to catch it, and glad that I had the flexibility to make it down there.  I did of course have one (okay 2) final beers at the Euston Tap to finish the night.

I was planning on taking the bus to Cambridge today as a kind of birthday present, but after doing London last night and needing to start packing I decided against it.  I might go later this week, but I kind of doubt it, we'll see.