• Let’s go with Jay, to minimize surprises.
• Location — JC or NY
• Initial home location — Bayonne, or JC. No car
• Job security ? Less important than expectation. Therefore, I favor contract. ibanks are 80% likelihood. Alternatively a 3rd-type including exchanges, with lower-caliber colleagues

J4: discard early, to avoid painful decision towards the end

• electronics tend to become outdated
  • discard external disk since I have many USB drives? Yes less reliable for valuable backup
• tech books tend to become outdated
• discard citibank.NA checkbooks

最近我注意到许多过去或现在的印度同事， 在美国适应的很不错. 英语是一个原因 — 大多数印度移民平均英语水平比较高, 另外, 我也注意到印度人做管理的比例挺高, 感觉好像每10个就有一两个. (中国人也有, 但比例低, 感觉10个里不到一个. 然而在纯技术领域, 中国人看起来比较有优势.) 印度弟兄管人, 管项目 … 都需要进一步融入美国社会. 我觉得包括和白人黑人打成一片.

要融入当地社会, 我觉得年岁是个不容忽视的因素. 像我现在40多这个年岁, 对美国的许多方方面面都有点不容易接受. 例如开车；例如美国大多数政府机构服务不到家，所以很多事都要自己去问自己去跑； 还有美国的电视节目, 流行音乐… 走在纽约购物区大街, 熙熙攘攘, 感觉到大都市的能量, 激情, 热闹, 那是我三十几岁的感受. 现在我更注意到脏、旧、乱 (但我不会去比新加坡, 不会把纽约定位在”肮脏”).

我觉得这都是迹象 — 很多上年岁的移民不适应. 不愿适应, 或者适应得不够快.

对于我亲爱的老婆来说, 英语是一个基本的，核心的障碍, 阻碍她顺利地适应美国环境. 在新加坡她可以利用中文的特长, 拥有自己的工作. 我觉得经济自立对她真的很重要. 在美国社交依靠英语。所以我希望买房子买在华人区。

–some random items worthy of mention:* I brought all the fake fingers bought from SimLim. (I need them now) Otherwise likely wasted
* the water bottle with big opening is easier to fill
* cough medicine
* additional water bottles — multiple-use
* 2 laptops — both useful
* multiple packets of garlic peanuts

• –home@small items
  • usb drive? in clear pocket of small luggage
  • erasers (cheap)? same as usb drive
  • sleeping pill? with medicines

Each human being has a limited “concurrent processing capacity”. When planning a relocation, we all juggle and shuffle several /priorities/, either consciously or subconsciously. Some people are naturally focused on the right things, so their subconscious focus is good. I tend to feel subconscious focus is unwise, as we tend to be irrational and lose the proper perspective. Here are some of the many subconscious focuses:

• MRT card remaining value will stay in the card, which may get misplaced and the value lost
• cancel unused credit cards
• get new GV movie card for family, but worry about them losing it.
• laptop get damaged en-route

These /priorities/ can often displace other items of more importance, such as

• safe keep of important docs
• sufficient rest on the long journey
• learning efficiency on the journey? LG2
• forgetting where at home I kept XXX or YYY

What will change if the relocation is for the entire family? I would have to let go of many smaller /concerns/ in order to focus my limited mental energy on other things like

• proper clothing for kids on the journey
• first few days in the new country for kids
• grocery shopping for the first days
• cooking for the kids

 

It’s only around a month, so commute time is priority rather than cost.

—- Base plan:

• stay close by
• walk + shuttle. Not train (too infrequent) not taxi (gui4)
• cycle if safe (buy cheap one from 8th ave Brooklyn)
• If taking shuttle then go home by other means, but come in by shuttle.

—- learn driving asap as a long-term solution

• practice theory tests on-line

Once we know start date, need to decide the timing.

–j4 earlier:

• each day I don’t work, I lose $572 pre-tax.
• fingerprinting at 11 Wall St
• start GC earlier
• set up driving license
• move stuff from XR’s place
• look for a home
• set up home
• buy printer
• buy furniture
• buy lamp
• buy rice cooker

–j4 later:
each day I spend there has a rental cost + living cost

one more weekend with family? we had so many already