Grand Adventure

As Brady so kindly pointed out recently, I’ve not posted here in a while so an update is in order.

We are pretty much settled in to our house in SA.  It’s in a new neighborhood, and that makes things interesting.  Since we’ve moved in about 3 weeks ago 4 more homes have been started and two of them finished off.  Impressive work…except when you see some of the shortcuts the builder takes.  It reminds me of Iraqi construction codes at times, even in our rental home.  Our home is spacious and we’ll get by fine over the next few years we are here.

Shell is waiting to search for employment in earnest after a trip back to the NW.  She’s put some feelers out and I’m confident she will get some bites in a few weeks.  The challenge is that we are unclear how long we’ll be here.  She’s the type of person and employee every business should salivate over.  Her concern is that we may move next summer (again) and feels its not fair to get a job without letting the employer know she could be yanked out of SA in 12 months.

My work is, well, just a paycheck at this point.  In a non-bizarro world (i.e. the real Army) my title and position would make me one of the critical leaders on all of Fort Sam Houston.  I don’t live in a non-bizzarro world so I’ve got to eat the crumbs off the table as they come.  The good news story is that I’m building coping mechanisms that are healthy and things I’ve wanted to do for a while.

One of these mechanisms is taking nightly walks with the Macster and Shell.  We bought him a harness (v. just using the collar) that helps control him while walking.  No more him dragging us, choking/coughing, and it makes the process so much more enjoyable.  One of the positives of our neighborhood is that there are plenty of places to walk pretty safely since all the homes aren’t built yet.  Shell’s even taken to jogging a few of the stretches with Mac and I when we feel frisky (HE feels that way each time…I sometimes just want to walk).

The price of XBox 360’s went down about $100, so I took the plunge and got one.  I figured it would help pass the time since my work will not be as hectic.  It’s been fun to play some of the latest games, especially on a high-def TV and surround sound.  Shell has a new TV upstairs for her shows, and the only time there will be conflicts is when she’s got something DVRed.  My current favorite games are Fable 2, Shadow Complex, Texas Hold-Em poker and then Oblivion.  Each one has one or two aspects that draw me back.  I’ve also got Halo 3, Command and Conquer 3, Perfect Dark Zero and a host of demos I’ve downloaded.  The poker game is fun during multiplayer (not for real $$ btw) and my skills have gotten better playing others online.  Assuming the others are not 1) drunk, 2) stupid 3) new players or 4) all of the above, you can really predict the flow of the game up until the River card. 

I’ve already had to put some carpentry skills to work around the house.  Hanging up things, shoring up the fence in the back yard, and making shelving extensions for some of the kitchen cabinets.  When Shell is gone I will tackle some wood ramps for the back porch that helps keep out of the mud when it rains.

Another project we are taking on is reseeding grass, especially in the back yard.  It was just a bunch of dirt for most of the backyard.  This project will not only beautify our house, but will reduce mud on McK and make things better than when we moved in.  The owner should thank us.