Fall/Winter 2014

Fall in Dallas was hotter than we were used to but we got out and had some fun. We went to the Texas State Fair and had fun people watching. The best part about the fair were all the animals that you could pet and feed. We also took up roller skating and that has been fun as well.

Halloween came and we were able to carve some pumpkins this year. Arielle carved a haunted house and I carved Sheldon Cooper from The Big Band Theory. We bought some candy and were hoping some kids would stop by our apartment complex. We figured a few of our neighbors would stop by since they had kids, but no one came. We ended up driving through our neighborhood to see if Halloween was big here. Once we got into the houses there were kids everywhere and about 75% of the houses were decorated for Halloween which was a nice surprise. We also got a free bag of suckers that someone had left with a sign that said free suckers and happy Halloween in the hall of our apartment complex. Thanksgiving was pretty uneventful but Nicholas came up and helped us eat all the food we made which was nice.

During the Christmas season we drove around Dallas and found a really neat neighborhood. Just like Halloween, Christmas is a huge deal in Dallas. The neighborhood that we drove through had a lighting ceremony, horse drawn carriage rides, and blocks of mansions decked out in lights and decorations. I helped Arielle make some sugar cookies for work and they turned out really well. We also had a small Christmas in Dallas before we headed to Spokane for the holidays.

 

 

As we headed off to Spokane we realized that our flight was delayed and that we wouldn't make our connecting flight in Denver. Arielle went and talked to someone and surprisingly the man at United moved us to an earlier fight that was delayed to our original time and we got bumped to first class. Flying first class was great as we got drinks before we took off and better snacks such as Kettle chips and fresh fruit. We were both missing the lack of snow in Dallas. Spokane didn't get very much this year but luckily there was just enough to go skiing and snow shoeing. We had a lot of fun spending time with family and friends.

Overall 2014 was one of the best years for the Bianco's. Arielle graduated at the end of 2013 but walked at graduation with me in 2014 where we both graduated from programs that were top five in the country. Michigan was one of the best experiences and we still love and miss Michigan. I got a really good job and we are finally starting to really settle into Dallas. We are excited for 2015 as many opportunities continue to lie on the horizon.

Graduation and Move to Dallas

Since the beginning of 2014 the Bianco's have been very busy. Arielle graduated in December with a Masters of Science in Kinesiology with emphasis in Motor Control and Development and I graduated in May with a Masters of Applied Economics in Financial Engineering. Arielle waited to walker until I graduated in May so that we could both walk together and family would just need to travel to Michigan once. Even looking back today it is hard to believe that we both have masters degrees as the time went so fast. Ann Arbor was a great place and we will miss it and our friends from Michigan.

 

After graduation I didn't have a job and we had no idea what we were going to do. Our lease on our school apartment ended at the end of June so we had to find somewhere else to move to. We looked at a few apartments and were prepared to move if we had to. I got an interview at Comerica in Dallas June 9th and had a good time interviewing. Once I got back I knew the chance of getting the job was still slim so I continued to apply for jobs and targeted Comerica's competitors. Huntington Bank called me that same week and had me come down at the beginning of the next week to interview. Arielle had never been to Columbus, Ohio so I took her with me. I was running late to my interview and about 10 minutes from Huntington I got a call from Dallas with a job offer. I told Comerica I would think about their offer and continued on with my interview at Huntington. I had another good interview at Huntington but told them I already had another offer. They responded that they didn't want to get into a pricing war so I told them I'd call them later that day with my decision to whether I wanted to be considered for their position. It was a tough decision to choose between the two. Comerica had a larger staff that would be helpful in career development and support while Huntington lacked the support but they would offer great responsibility since I would be one of the few calling the shots on the model development. I decided to go with Comerica since I liked the team and they made me an offer that I don't think Huntington would have matched. That night a recruiter at Huntington called to see if they could make me an offer before I made any decisions but I had already made up my mind.

So Arielle and I planned to move in a week and a half from when I accepted my offer. It was crazy as we quickly packed everything, set up the moving truck, cleaned the apartment, and looked for a new place to live in Dallas. We found an apartment online and luckily had our friend Alex help us load all of our stuff. We made the trip to Dallas in two days and Arielle's brother Nick was able to come up from Austin to help us unload. Once we arrived at our new apartment we signed the paperwork and walked into the place to smell heavy cigarette smoke. We went back and told them we couldn't move in. They took us to look at a few other apartments that all smelled like smoke. They said they would refund us everything but the application process fee and we were fine with that. Now the panic set in as we had nowhere to go. We went to Starbucks and started looking for new places that were on our list we had made before we moved. Nick arrived and we were able to park our moving truck while he drove us all over Dallas looking at places to move to. Towards the end of the day we ended up at Gramercy on the Park and really liked the apartment. They were very nice and stayed late so that we could process all of our paperwork and move in that night.

The three of us almost died that night as we unloaded our entire truck, we finished at about 1:00 am. If you aren't from Texas you need to know that it only cools down to about 75 or 80. I knew we had to unload it all now or we would have to unload the next day when it was 100. Nick stayed for a few days and helped us setup the large furniture. Now we are all moved in and exploring Dallas and our new surroundings.