I went to my new house today to meet an exterminator who was going to take care of some ants that have taken up residence under the house. 

While I was walking around the house, I noticed a spider in a bush on one side of the house.  I asked the exterminator, whom I suppose is an expert in these things, if he could identify it and he said that he didn’t know the real name of it, but locally they call them banana spiders.  He added that it would grow about three or four times bigger and indicated that it would be about as big as his hand.  He said that it was relatively harmless to humans, and they are good to have around to catch mosquitoes.

The picture I have here was taken with my cell phone and it is not very clear at all.  Apparently, this one is a baby.  It is only about an inch and a half across.  If this one survives and is still around when we move in, I’ll try to get a better picture.  In the meantime, if you are interested, here is a very good picture of a banana spider that I found and a little bit of information about them.

Link: photo
Link: information

We closed the deal on our house today.  As of 1:30pm EDT we are home owners in Raleigh, NC.

We move in on July 10th.

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Here are some videos of the recreation facilities in our new neighborhood.

We’ve signed a contract to buy the house we want.  Unless something very unusual happens, we will get the house we want.  We’re set to close on June 22nd.

Deb and I are in Raleigh this week.  I’m mostly working in the office, but Deb has been looking for houses.  She saw twenty houses on Monday and narrowed the list down to four that I looked at on Tuesday. 

All four of the houses I looked at were nice, but one of them really stood out and we put in an offer on Tuesday night.  The video shows the exterior and front and back yards of the house.  It’s has four bedrooms, two and a half bath rooms, a large kitchen with a walk in pantry and breakfast area, a family room, a formal dining room, a formal living room and a two car garage.  The house is on a corner lot with huge front and back yards.

There are some photos, including some of the interior, as well as some more details at the realtor’s website.

I’ve  been offered a promotion at the company for which I work.  I’ve been a software developer at Coleman Insights for 13 years working on various software projects as a programmer or designer.

With the promotion, my title is now Director of Technology.  In this new position I will supervise several software projects at the same time as well as manage all technology for the company.

Over the years, I’ve always worked for Coleman from home, first in Dallas, then in New York, then in Dallas again and finally in Brooklyn.  In July, we will move to Raleigh, NC so that I can work from the office.

This is a big move in many ways.  It will be our fifth move in ten years.  This will likely be the first one that Isaac remembers.  He is in the second grade now and will start the third grade this fall in North Carolina.  He will be leaving friends and teachers.

Deb is leaving her job behind and doesn’t have one lined up.  She’s going to take this opportunity to rethink her career and perhaps start a whole new one.  For the time being, she’ll stay home and put our new home together.

I’m sad to be leaving the city I love, New York, and the city I’ve grown to love, Brooklyn.  These places will always be home to me.  I’ll miss my mom and my sister and her family.  I’ll miss the neighbors I’ve come to know in our little corner of Brooklyn, Windsor Terrace. At the same time, I’m excited about all of the new opportunities this move will afford us. 

See more in the move category.