Wednesday Weekend Wind-Up: Francisco's New Job! & the Circus

Last Monday, Francisco started his new job as an Electrical Engineer at A&P Technology. He has been beyond excited for this opportunity. Previously, he had been working as a Building Systems Group Engineer, but he was discovering that this wasn't really a career path he wanted to continue down and realizing that the longer he stayed in his role, the more difficult it would be to switch industries.  A&P specializes in braiding technology, which is "quickly becoming the reinforcement of choice in the engineering world." This company is a world leader in braiding technology, and Francisco has been learning so much every day.

Of course, he chose Maribelle's for his celebration dinner - his favorite.

Gin Mill & Red River Run

Their menu had changed a little bit since we'd last been there, but we still had our favorites - Fries and Brussels. We also had Avocado, which was tasty. They regularly change up their desserts, so we had Cake Pops and a pistachio-layered cake.  

Francisco has been with his previous job for almost four years, and there had definitely been a lot of ups and downs. From the occasional hour and a half commutes (depending on which job he was assigned to) to the constant apprehension that he was going to have to deal with an on-site issue after-hours, there were a lot of undesirable facets to his role. He's definitely missing his iPhone though! He's been making due with my old cracked phone until he supposedly gets a new phone through work. There are apparently some neat perks at A&P, like the break rooms stocked with snacks - I know I'm jealous!

As for what this does for our time in Cincinnati, that remains to be seen. With him taking a new job here, there's an unspoken assumption that we'll probably stay in town for another year or two. My goal has been to at least stay through this year to become fully vested in my retirement account. Truth be told, I think it's going to be tough to leave Cincy. Great restaurants, Jungle Jim's, reasonable cost of living, reasonable commute, and plenty to do around town. Plus, we both have decent jobs here, and it would be hard to choose to walk away and start over in another city - even if one of us first found gainful employment there. The risk of going back to living on just one salary is entirely too undesirable!

We had tickets for the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus Xtreme on Sunday. I won free tickets at work, so I was excited to surprise Francisco with them - and it worked well as an early anniversary present! This circus will hold its final performance in May this year, so I was excited to see them one last time. We stopped at Strong's Brick Oven Pizzeria to use a Groupon for dinner first. Definitely one of my fave pizza places around town!

Now I know there are some objectionable ethical practices in the circus, and they've garnered a lot of criticism. This recently lead to them discontinuing elephant performances and has ultimately forced them to have to close up shop. For me, I was excited to go just for the pure nostalgia factor. I haven't been to a circus since I lived in Hammond (excepting Cirque du Soleil), and I definitely had childhood memories of attending.

Unbeknownst to us, our tickets were actually for the private suite. We had to stop and get directions twice to find the hidden elevator that takes you up to the suites. It was definitely nice to have a private bathroom and not have to deal with any crowds [well, until it was time to leave again].

As for the circus itself, my favorite act was probably the trampoline act or the one from the bottom-left corner. Just because the performers make these incredible feats look so effortless.