From the So-Far-So-Good Dept....

I had planned to mention something yesterday about my dentist appointment....but forgot.

So, on the intake questionnaire there were lots of questions about health history.  One of the questions asked whether or not I've had any "serious operations, or hospitalizations".  For every other question I marked No.  As anyone reading this knows, the answer for me is yes, so I checked that.  I was honest.

It asked for specifics, and provided a little line.  I could have used a whole sheet of scratch paper to list them.  Well, I wrote "Misc".

So, when the hygienist started taking X-Rays, one of the first things she noticed was the bright metal screws and metalwork in my jaw.   She asked if I had had any jaw surgery - the obvious answer was yes.  She asked if I had been in an accident, and I simply told her that I my jaw had to be rebuilt.  And that was that.

She had a name tag with her name followed by R.D.H.  I asked her what that stood for....she said "Registered Dental Hygienist".  I told her I thought it stood for "Reliable, Dependable, and Honest."....that I didn't know her all that well yet but she seemed that way to me.  She liked that.

The big news of the day is obviously the Supreme Court decisions on same-sex marriage.  I don't need to say how important and historic all of this is.

But.....

I've said before and I'll continue to say that the biggest issue for most transpeople I know isn't marriage....it's jobs.  It's workplace discrimination, and our ability to get and keep appropriate employment.  That's not to say that the marriage decisions aren't a big deal.  They're huge.  But there are lots of LGB people for whom marriage equality is the be-all-end-all, the top of the mountain.  It's not.  ENDA, and recognition of workplace quality, can't be forgotten in all of this.

Anyway, that will not mute my celebration and my happiness for these milestones.  They're big steps along the the cultural journey toward recognition and respect of personhood.

I took a self-portrait today after work as I was headed out to do a few errands.  Nothing special....just an iPhone pic on my back patio.  It's pretty accurate.....I'm glad I've got a hair appt. this weekend.  I need a little blonde in my life, if you get my gist....  :)

In the be-careful-what-you-ask-for department I'm getting busier at work.  I'm glad about it - still enjoying it.  Which is a good thing, since I've come a long way and had to make significant life changes to do this.  It "felt" good to me.  But there are always situations where a feeling can lead you down a path that needs a U-Turn.  So far so good in that department.

The right to reassess

Ouch.  My teeth ache.

I went to the dentist today.  Simply admitting that is a fairly significant thing, as one of the hardest parts of moving is finding new people - doctor, hairdresser, dentist, etc.  It was time to go to the dentist and I had a good recommendation, and I'm glad I went.  They took good care of me, but when it's all done the teeth are sore for a little while.  This, too, shall pass.

I don't think I've ever seen as much lightning and thunder as I have here over this past month.  According to the new, in Charleston they've had over 33" of rain so far this year, which is 13" above normal.  But it's not that the rain has been oppressive.  Just lots of lightning.  And locally significant storms but I've avoided most of that for the most part.

The thing that concerns me...hail.  I see cars driving around with all kinds of dimply pock marks in them so I know what hail can do.  But the fact of the matter is that there's nothing I can do about it so I don't worry too hard.  Still, it concerns me.

Tomorrow the Supreme Court will announce their decisions on DOMA and Prop 8.  It will be an interesting day, especially given the decisions that have come down these past two days with regards to Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act and Affirmative Action.

But that's tomorrow.  Tonight I watched Bourne for probably the 20th time, or more.  I went to the gym after work.  I talked with my mom about her eye surgery yesterday.  I made myself a good dinner.  And now it's time for me and my sore teeth to get ourselves to bed.

This isn't the most amazing blog entry I've every written, but it's life for me at the moment.  Fairly mundane.  Stable.  Full days.  And I'm not complaining about any of it right now.  Although give it a few months for the cold to start blowing thru and I reserve the right to reassess.  Few things can make me whine the way that cold can.

Simple, but more.

As is typically the case on my down weekends, I got half the things done I had originally planned.  I also got things done I hadn't planned.  These kinds of weekends are a good microcosm of my general life in general.  I make lists, I have plans, but I've learned to be very much a go-with-the-flow kind of person.  The "flow" doesn't always lend itself to plans or lists so general flexibility rather than needing some kind of carefully structured, neat little world has become a key element to general survival for me.

I spent a little time with the women who work in the rental office at my apartment complex on Saturday.  They're half my age...younger than my son...but lots of fun.  One of them already has already come up with a nickname for me - "D-Dog" - a term of endearment, I assure you.  

I had planned on doing to the movies.  Didn't do that.  I did clean my make-up brushes.  I spent some time on the treadmill.  I got a few more things for my apartment and set up some of my stereo stuff.  My clothes are 90% unpacked and put where they'll need to go.  I even put up a couple of pictures on the wall, which is something that probably seems trivial but it's amazing how some relatively simple things can real change the "feel" of something.  All things considered - although this isn't "home" for me in a deeper sense it's where I'll be spending most of my time for the foreseeable future and is far more "put together" than my little nest in South Carolina at this point.  I'm ok with it.

Of course, I've actually spent a little $$$ for furniture from Craigslist, which I haven't had the time nor the funds to do back home given how quickly things happened.  All I could possibly still use here would be a couple of side tables and some book shelves but those are nice-to-haves not need-to-haves.  Oh - and a real mattress, although I'm sleeping well (and very comfortably) on my air mattress so that's not a high priority at the moment.

As I unpacked some of my slacks I found a couple of pairs that have fit me in the past, but are a bit "snug" now.  That's how I gauge where I want to be weight-wise.  As I've shared in the past, I find weighing myself to be a depressing, self-defeating activity.  Instead, I find that using a practical measurement is more helpful for me than an artificial one.  I'll try them on once a week until I fit into them the way I want to again, which I expect will be about a month or so assuming I'm as disciplined as I hope/expect to be.

Apparently, the schedule for SCC has come out.  I'm scheduled to do a workshop on Friday morning.  I haven't been there for a couple of years particularly because I've made it a practice to not go to events where I don't actually have a purpose.  Honestly, I don't feel the need to just show up to remind anyone that I'm still alive and around.  The politics of these kinds of things can get funky if you let yourself get sucked in by them.  I've made some dear, dear friends at these kinds of things over the years and don't expect that to change.

I've moved on in life in some things.  There are others that I probably should move on from but don't (or won't) for one reason or another.  But I don't put going to conferences into that category.  I go if I've got a purpose to be there beyond sitting at the bar (which I don't do much, anyway).  Pretty simple equation.

In bigger-picture stuff, there was closure on a recent newsworthy situation in Colorado when a court sided with a family who's young trans-child was being denied access to the elementary school girl's bathroom (story here).  I didn't have much doubt as to which way this would go, and it's nice to see the right thing happen.  I hope they can all put this behind them, although I'm not so naïve to believe as it's simply as easy as that (although it certainly should be).

As I was driving into work this morning, I drove through the guard gate where the guard scans and checks ID's.  The best part of my entire day comes when the guard looks at me, validates my credentials and says to me, "Have a nice day, ma'am".  That's what makes it all worthwhile.  Nothing more, nothing less.  Like putting pictures on the wall in my apartment, it's a seemingly such a simple thing.   But it's deep.   It never gets mundane.  It never ceases to make me stop, and to appreciate life.  I hope I never get to a point where it feels otherwise.

The Longest Day + 1

Yesterday was the "official" first day of summer.   It has felt like summer for a few weeks, so whether or not it was "officially" here, nothing has really changed.  Another milestone of the day was that had more hours of daylight than any other day.  From here on out....the days get shorter.  Can winter really be far behind?  I hope it can....

The high temperatures here yesterday were in the mid-90's.  It's supposed to be like that all thru next week.  No complaints here.  You won't ever hear me complain about the heat, dry or otherwise.  It's the cold that brings out the whiner in me.

I met a friend out for dinner this week at a local burger place that I've heard about.  Honest to God - I'm still full.  There was just so much burger.  Oy.  Again - no complaints here.  It was a very pleasant evening.

I woke up this morning, and the remnants of a brief conversation that I had yesterday were reverberating in my head for some reason.  It was a discussion about the early days of my transition - the days that were the backdrop for my book (that's what started our chat in the first place).

The sorrow, the confusion, the terror of the time has faded.  But I couldn't help but feel a sense of deja-vu.  At the time, circumstances were such that I had to leave home and I moved into an apartment.  I really didn't have much there...just the basics.  A bed, a sofa, a tv, a dresser.

Fast forward 14 years.  I woke up this morning in my little bedroom - the one I shared the photo of a few days ago.  I'm in an apartment - separated from what I consider to be home by circumstance.  Thankfully, the much of the emotion of those days gone by is gone.  But I'd be lying if I said that they hadn't been replaced by other, just as forceful, emotions.

I was watching MoneyBall they other day - the Brad Pitt movie about the Oakland A's - and his daughter in the movie plays a song for him that she wrote.  Her parents are divorced, she's a young teen, and the song really seemed to catch all of the complicated elements involved in those kinds of things.

The song really resonates for me, as well, and could very well sum up many of my own feelings right now.  I've played it a half dozen times....


Anyway - it's complicated.

This is the first "down" weekend I've had in a long, long time.  I'm not traveling.  I'm not moving a bunch of furniture into or out of someplace.  I don't have a long "to-do" list.  I had originally planned to be in Charleston but those plans got changed, so I've got a couple of days to relax.  I don't know that it's a bad thing, but I'm going to need to just gear down and enjoy it.  I need to clean my make-up brushes. Maybe I'll go to the pool for a little while.  I need to get to the gym and work off that burger.  I'd like to see "World War Z" in IMAX 3D.  I want to do some exploring.  I still need to do unpacking and nesting.

 All things considered, I don't expect I'll be bored.

I'd love to go to a Barre class.  But, believe it or not, they don't have a place that does barre here. The closest Barre studio to here seems to be just outside of Kansas City... a 3ish hour drive.  Lord knows it's not beyond me to get in my car to head there to do something like that, and I suspect I'll do that at some point in the future, but not this weekend.  I'd rather avoid the 6 hours in the car and the expense of the gas at the moment.

In an earlier post I mentioned the tree just off my patio that I needed to prune to get my satellite tv installed.  Over the past week I have learned that the tree is home to several birds.  Sometimes they land on the ground near the base of the tree.  Sometimes they just sit on a branch and chirp - loud and proud.    I'm thinking of putting a bird feeder in it for them.

As I type this that's the scene...me sitting on my couch, with my back patio door open, the relatively cool morning air flowing into the apartment, and the sound of a bird chirping.  It's actually pretty peaceful.  Not a bad way to start the day....

Flight Path

I gave myself my estrogen shot today.

It has been several weeks since my last one.  The main reason is simple - it's financial.  Each little vial of that liquid gold costs anywhere between $150-$200 so it's not an insignificant investment. With all the moving expenses and other craziness lately I just haven't been able to swing it.

At one time these shots were hard to do to myself.  The whole concept of plunging an inch-and-a-half long intramuscular needle into your own butt can be a significant mental barrier and I know some who just can't get past that.  But, as is my general mantra in life you just do what you need to.  So, I do.

Estrogen, and hormones in general, lacks any sort of consistency whatsoever when it comes to post-op transwomen.  I know a number of us who have stopped altogether.  Others are on a relatively small maintenance dose.  As for me - there's no substitute for the injectibles.  I don't have any scientific support for that, and in fact I don't really need any.

Regardless, the thing is that I'm more emotional when I've had my shots.  The magnitude of what I'm doing, and my reaction to some things, was magnified today.  Estrogen?  Perhaps.  But real nonetheless.

I should be doing more unpacking but I'm getting ready for bed.  I'm tired.  I was going to go to the gym after work but ended up coming home and cooking a half decent dinner for myself.  It was nice.  And needed.

I'll share a couple of photos from my new little world.

The first is my bed.  I don't have a mattress, so it's an air mattress.  Thank God they invented auto-pumps for these things.  I don't have enough air in my lungs to fill up something like that.  Around it is the bedroom set I bought off Craigslist this past weekend.....for less than my vial of estrogen.








The second is of the flight path.  My apartment complex is near the end of a runway where big planes take off.  I suppose some would perceive that as a negative, but watching these big planes take off and bank into the sunset and feeling the rumble on the ground is pretty cool.

I still need a couple of things for my place.  LIke, artwork for the walls.  That's the big thing missing right now to make it feel more like home.  That's the big thing.  Home.  Or, more accurately - Home away from home.   

Solutions

So...

Today, the DirecTV guy came to move my service.  They've got a moving package that includes installing in your new location so long as you've got (a) your Genie box and (b) a TV.  I brought both back from South Carolina with me.

So, the guy shows up in the window that he was supposed to.  I'm on the first floor, and I specifically wanted to be facing South as that's where the satellite is.  It's all line of sight....if you can see the satellite you can get signal.  If there's something in the way...like a building, or a fence, or a tree...you can't.  Pretty simple.

When I signed for my lease yesterday I signed a half dozen addendums.  One said that I'd inspect for bed bugs within the first x number of days and if I didn't contact them then any that showed up would be my own fault and I'd be responsible.  Another had to do with pets.  Another had to do with...well...satellite TV dishes.  There was a deposit involved.

Anyway, I digress.  So, I live in this one bedroom apartment with a little patio.  And, a tree.  Well...the tree turned out to be a problem.  The guy said that it was in the way.  He ran some initial tests and the readings from 2 satellites needed to be over 90.  Well, the readings from one was in the 80's, and the there was absolutely no reading from the other.  Not good.

So, I told him to go about what he needed to do to put the satellite dish on a pole in the ground, pointing in the right direction.  He was very limited in what he could do with regards to where it got mounted, or anything having to do with the tree.  I told him that I'd take care of the tree.

As he was doing his work, I came out and started to climb the tree.  It's not all that big of a tree and it wasn't long before I was within reach of the offending branches.  The problem wasn't with the entire tree - it was with a few specific branches that needed some "pruning".  So, I was there to do the pruning.

He said he'd never seen a woman climb into a tree like that before.  I told him I was unique...that I was a problem solver...and that if the tree was the problem that I'd solve it.  Before long I was pulling back branches and he was measuring the signal.  And - damn if we didn't get above 90 on ALL the readings.

He seemed appropriately impressed.  But, as I tried to explain to him, it's all about finding solutions.  When all I've got to rely on is me - I need to find solutions.  So, I do.

Today was furniture moving day.  I spent part of the week buying various bits of furniture on Craigslist but now that I've got both time and keys to my apartment today I went to pick it up.  I've actually already got more furniture in this apartment than I do in my place in South Carolina.  Like, a dining room table.  And a bedroom set (with no mattress, tho).  I actually like the way it's all coming together.  But, as usually happens while you fill an empty apartment with furniture you get a true sense of how small (or large) it is.

My last trip of the day involved a couch and a dresser.  Both were too big and heavy for me to move by myself and the potential for rain was making me nervous.  So, I stood in the parking lot of the apartment complex waiting to ask the first guy who happened to come by if he'd help me.  It wasn't a couple of minutes before some young studly guy heading to his car took pity on me and helped me carry them into my place.  He was very nice.  Again....problem solved.

Little by little....I'm getting settled.  In a way it's a little unnerving because this makes the third place in the country where I've got "stuff".  I've done this before, and it took a while to subsequently consolidate it all back to only 2 places.  Regardless - I'm doing what needs to be done.  And, I'm looking forward to heading back to Charleston for a visit in a couple of weeks.

Until then - there's still more unpacking to do, and things I need.  I'm pooped from the expenditure today - both emotionally and physically.  I could have been asleep an hour and a half ago but we watched a fascinating show on CNN that kept me awake.  But now, as I type this, I've taken a shower and I'm about to fade into bed.  It has been a long day.  I suspect that tomorrow will be similarly long and draining, with more problems that need solutions.

Getting Settled....

Friday is done.   It was more emotionally draining than I thought it would be.

During lunch I went and signed my life away to get the keys to my apartment.  I signed release forms about pets, about satellite tv, about bed bugs....I think it was more paperwork than when I signed for my mortgage.  Crazy.  But I've got my keys, and as I stood in my empty one bedroom apartment the distance between here and home seemed greater and the magnitude of this came into perspective.  I'm in friggin' Nebraska.

As I type this it's pouring outside....tornado watch is in effect for the next 45 minutes.  It's quite the water and light show out there.  Regardless, I'm hoping to be asleep shortly.

Tonight isn't the first night in my new place because the only thing there at the moment is my Cox connection.  I'm still in the little basement haven at Meredith and Lynne's house where I've been since I arrived.  They have been absolute life-savers....I have no idea how I would have been able to do all this without their good energy, their kindness, and their help.  I'll start moving "living" stuff, like the little bit of furniture I've got here, in tomorrow.  I may stay there tomorrow night, but more likely I'm thinking on Sunday.

There's a special Anderson Cooper CN360 tonight about recent news that an ex-Navy Seal has come out as trans.



Some Still seem so shocked when these kinds of things happen.  But the reality is that many of the trans-people I know are over-achievers who became hyper-masculine in an attempt to deal with their "secret".  The old stereotype of a feminine boy that others must somehow realize is trans is proven to be wrong over and over and over but still, the we titillate when things like this happen.

I give Kristen all the credit in the world for sharing her story so openly.  And I wish her nothing but happiness and success.  This is hard road, but I think she's already recognized that many of the traits that made her successful as a Seal are necessary to survive transition and beyond.

To bring things full circle - that's why I'm here in Nebraska.  We do what we need to do.  There's no use complaining of having a pity part - I've got a good job doing some pretty interesting work, I like the people I've met here so far, I'm healthy, I'm relatively happy, I'm focused, I allowed an unexpected opportunity to happen, and I'm dealing with the logistics now.  Those are instincts for survival as much as simply life traits that I honed as a teen and have helped me throughout my life.

Today or tomorrow I will be making a shopping trip I've made a dozen or more times before.  Filling up the refrigerator, stuff for setting up a new place to live (shower curtain, silverware holder, welcome mat, pots and pans, etc.)  Getting settled is a process.  But this part of it started today.

Midwest Nest

Another week is coming to an end.  It marks the end of my third week in Nebraska.  So far so good.

I pick up the keys to my apartment here tomorrow.  They're coming to install my internet service later in the day, and DirecTV is coming early on Saturday.  I've bought some furniture on Craigslist that I expect to pick up over the weekend.  Little by little - I'm nesting to make a bit of a home here.

I'll say this - that I've felt more at home here than I ever did in Raleigh.  Not that there was anything wrong with Raleigh...it's just that whatever magical ingredient of feeling comfortable somewhere has prompted me to do things here in a relatively short period of time that I never really considered doing there.

Of course, none of this replaces Charleston in the whole equation.  I've already made arrangements to go back for my next visit.  But there's a bit of time between now and then, and I'm going to make the best of it.

Work is good.  Overall mental health is good.  Content factor is fairly high.  That could change on a daily basis, though, so we'll see what tomorrow brings.  I really don't have too many distractions here so the combination of work, fitness center, and visiting with the friends who have been so hospitable to me since I arrived fills up the days.  I realize that there's more to life than just those things, but it's nice to have the number of things going on at any point in time reduced to a number less than 10.

While I get ready in the morning I watch the streaming morning news from Charleston online.  The heat index there was near 110 today.  The high here was in the low 80's - very comfortable.  We had dinner at a delightful little Greek restaurant.  I took a little ride on my way home to see an area I hadn't been to before - explored a bit.  All in all, a good day.

Whoa

First - It has been a long time since I've posted here (well, it's only been a week but it seems longer).  Admittedly, part of it has been the pace of life.  But I wrote a long entry late last week that just disappeared.  Typically, Blogger will save them until I click on the "Publish" button but for some reason last week a fairly long entry ended up in whatever cosmic bit bucket is set aside for unseen stuff.  I'm just sayin'......

All the things I discussed in my last entry have come to pass.  I've made more stable, longer term arrangements here in Nebraska.   I'm not going to end up in the hotel thing again.....I'm just not.  My new arrangements are two miles from work, it's out in the country-ish, and I'm hoping it will be a good pseudo-home.  In some ways, I suppose this will be home and my place in South Carolina will be the pseudo-home for a little while since I'll be here far more than I'll be there in coming months.

Regardless, for a one bedroom apartment, it's nice.  I chose it over the lofts downtown in the heart of "stuff", and other potential options.  So - that decision has been made.

My trip over the weekend was pretty significant.  Friday I packed, went to work, left early to drive to the airport, flew to Charlotte, then drove from there to Charleston.  It was a long day - I pulled in front of my house after 11pm.  But it was worth it.

Saturday was devoted to taking care of some errands, spending some down time with a certain someone, and packing up the truck.

Sunday I was on the road by 7am and hit my daily limit just past the 1,000 mile mark in central Missouri. I stopped at a hotel, took a shower, and got some sleep.  I was up at 5am yesterday morning morning and on the road less than 20 minutes later.  I pulled into the parking lot at work at 10 and was there for the rest of the day.

The last time I did a drive like that there were some residual effects, as in - feeling like crap for several days afterwards.  Generally speaking, so far so good in that department.  Nothing is hurting or aching, and I'm in pretty good spirits.

I still can't believe it....the fact that I'm here, and now my truck is here, and that I've made arrangements for a place to live here.  It still hasn't soaked in yet.

I will continue to be vague on some of the details of why I'm here out of necessity.  It's part of the deal.  But know that it took a lot to pry me all the way to the middle of the country from my cozy little world in South Carolina.  But sometimes in life unexpected opportunities come your way and you just need to be open to grabbing them.  That's what I've done.  But home is where the heart is, and mine is 1,300 miles from here.

I have found it to be interesting to see what motivates me these days.  The allure of this opportunity of others wasn't money, and it certainly wasn't location.  I knew I'd probably need to leave Charleston to do what I do career-wise - the only question was where.  But in this case, the driving force was to do something new, and interesting, and....well....just cool.  I'm still learning and growing, and the need to do new things is a stronger one than I realized.

I've had a few people ask how long I'll be here.  That depends.  But, I'm comfortable enough with what's happening at this point that I'm signing a fairly long-term lease.  At least by my standards.

Much of the next few weeks will be spent trying to get settled.  Nesting.  I need to make things as comfy as I can.  And getting things going at work.  After all, that's the reason I'm here.  As I've mentioned, I don't have many distractions here so it's actually fairly easy to focus.  And although I had done a good job of getting back into the fitness mindset I'll admit that my time in Charleston involved more eating than I usually do.  That's ok - it's a balance thing.

Speaking of balance, I got an email today saying that a workshop I proposed for SCC this year had been accepted.  I'm not really surprised, as I had asked them what topic they'd like to see me propose and they gave me a couple of options - one of which I chose.  But I haven't been to SCC in a couple of years so it'll be nice to get back and see some friends.

There's a lot of water to pass under the bridge between now and then, though.  A whole summer.  Still, as quickly as time seems to move these days I suspect autumn will be here before you know it.

Anyway - time for bed.  I'll share a couple of pics of some of the weather from the road trip.  Things got pretty intense a few times which made for an interesting day.  But, as usual, we got through it ok.  I'm bringing my truck to the local Toyota dealer tomorrow for some loving.  She deserves it...

The edge of a storm...

Crossing the Mississippi River in St. Louis at sunset.

Just before the sky opened up....

Beautiful evening in Omaha.  The city is all decked out for the College World Series...

Doing Pretty Well

Today marks one week since I first arrived in Nebraska.  That may not seem like much, but I'm still in some level of denial/disbelief/amazement at it all.  Today was the nicest day since I arrived - a beautiful, bright, coolish kind of day.  Really, really nice.

I'm getting closer to making more substantial long-term living arrangements here (by long-term, I mean six months).  Unless something implodes, I've pretty much made my choice and now it's just a matter of going through the logistics and taking care of the details.  We'll see.  One of the lessons I learned from my time in Raleigh that staying in hotels for weeks on end sucks, and the fact that this is too far away for me to flee back home every weekend requires more "homey" arrangements.  Anyway - it's a work in progress.

I'm not giving up my home base in South Carolina.  Au contraire.  I hold it dearer now than I ever did.  But the reality is that I'll be renting my space north of Charleston and an apartment here for LESS than I paid for my spot downtown.  Pretty crazy, huh?  I looked at a few lofts downtown here on Saturday and although they were nice the fact of the matter is that my "downtown" life in Charleston was an anomaly rather than a new habit.  Charleston is unique.....

I'm going back home Friday.  Unless something significant happens to change my mind, I'll be driving back late on Saturday and all day on Sunday.  It's a 1,300 mile drive.  I've done that in a single day before (it's similar to Austin->Phoenix, Dallas->Charleston, Rochester->Charleston) but I'd prefer not to if I can avoid it.  Anyway, that's a plan that's still forming so we'll see how it actually plays out.

Work is fine.  I was at the gym 3 days in a row, taking today off.  I'm getting generally enough sleep.  All in all - I'm doing pretty well.  I think.

Do Some Adventure

Today is Adventure day.  It's the type of day I never let myself have when I was working in Raleigh because I was always so anxious to get back to Charleston on the weekends.  The thing about being in Nebraska is that I'm too far away to get back to Charleston every weekend.  It's a good thing, in a way, because it not only provides the opportunity to get to know the area it makes that a necessity.

I've already scoped out some local places of interest....the local dive shops, the malls, the gyms, the DSW Shoe Warehouse, the downtown area...that I'm going to visit today.  I'm looking to rent a spot to live.

Yesterday was another of those nights where I just hit a wall and was ready to sleep.  I was in bed by shortly after 9, which of course meant that I was awake before 5.  Thankfully, I slept well so I've been using those early morning hours to do some online investigating.  I'm getting ready to leave the house to do it in person now.

Yesterday was the first day it didn't rain here this week.  Given the dangerous weather in Oklahoma (and even further south in Nebraska) it could certainly be worse.  Parts of the day are sunny and bright. But the clouds can build and the thunder move through in less than an hour....it's unique.

Anyway - I'm off to do some adventure.  We'll see how it goes.