Martha's journey

I'm Martha... a fan tail gold fish. I'm sharing my story about a long trip I made.

My owner wasn't sure about how to bring me along for the long 16 hrs trip they are going to take. So they went to a pet store and ask for information.

Here are the tips they got.
1. Take all the decorations out from the aquarium
2. Take half of the water out. Please keep my water clean by not putting too much food in it.
3. Cover my aquarium so the water won't splash.
4. Put me on the floor of the car, not in the trunk.
5. During the trip, if you need too make an overnight stop, don't leave me alone in the car. It can get too cold or too hot.
6. When you stop, take this opportunity to open my cover for fresh oxygen.

It may be a good idea to put layers on the bottom of the floor. I still splash...

Once you get to the new place, you can add the decorations back, add some water and make yourself home.

Just a tip to transport fish for a long trip...

Moving to Wisconsin

You just got an job offer from GE Medical Systems in Waukesha, Wisconsin.
Should you move to Wisconsin? What is it in Wisconsin other than cheese, beer and sausage?
How about school, life and other activities?

If you like me, you may have all those questions in mind before making a decision. I thought I want to share our experience moving to Wisconsin.
We moved to Wisconsin because of a job at General Electric. The headquarter is located in Waukesha. Naturally, we're looking for a place in Waukesha area.

There some neighboring area near Waukesha that is worth checking including New Berlin, Brookfield, Hartland, Delafield, Pewaukee. Since we have school age children, we were looking for a place in about 10-15 min radius driving with affordable housing and good school. Fortunately, City of Waukesha met all the criteria.

About 1 exit down from exit T (where GE head quarters is), there is an area called Rolling Ridge. It has easy access to highway 94, close to grocery stores and strip malls and excellent elementary school. Meadowbrook Elementary is part of Waukesha school district that has a smaller classes and great teachers. Schools usually starts after Labor day and ends about 1-2 week after Memorial day.

Within 5 miles radius, you'll find Montessori school, parks, church, bike trails, Waukesha County Technical College, UW Waukesha and Pewaukee lake. If you are looking for temporary place, there's apartments for rent or even houses for rent. Zillow.com is a good place to start to look for rentals or houses for sale. There is an apartment in Pebble Valley area that may worth checking. This great house caught my eyes. http://jim.firstweber.com/1202590

Drive further to downtown Waukesha, you'll find shops, Waukesha Library, YMCA, restaurants and more. What I like the best is their farmer's market and art fairs.

The weather in Waukesha, Wisconsin tends to be a little bit humid during Summer, nice during Spring and Fall and cold and dark during Winter. The lowest temperature I've experienced was -15F, not including windchill. It only happens during mid of January. The deepest snow I've experienced was about 12" on the ground.

If you are into recycling, a composting bin truck load sale is on June 25, 2011. http://eeinwisconsin.org/net/calendar/details.aspx?s=96590.0.0.2209&c=3532867
A $100 composting bin will be on sale for only $38.

If you are into boating, water skiing or even kite surfing, Michigan lake is just within 30 minutes from Waukesha.

There are so many interesting things going on in Waukesha area. It's a great community, good neighbor, great schools and great place to live.