Well, It's Been Ages...

...2768 days, to be exact, since my last blog post. I cannot believe that I let this poor, neglected blog lapse for this long. But then, maybe I can.

A lot has happened since 7 August 2011.

For one thing, I am no longer in Lubbock. I'm also no longer married. (An unexpected and generous inheritance saw to the latter.) And while I still very often look back at Dirt City with great fondness, I am also experiencing the peace of mind that had eluded me while I was in a marital state.

I must say that since I have moved to Texas, it has treated me very well. And that treatment got even better once I moved to Houston to be closer to my daughter as I started my new life.

However, there was no way that I could have predicted the trajectory my life would take after my move to H-Town.

First of all, getting to Houston was a bit of a challenge, especially since it was 500 miles away. It wasn't as though I could just hop in my car and drive down there to go look at rentals.

So my first step was to contact various Unity and Unitarian Churches in the area to see if they could hook me up with someone who could help me find a rental house. (It had to be a house, because with my dogs, apartment living would not do.)

The only church to respond was the Unity Church in Cypress, which was just northwest of Houston. I was put in touch with Beverly, a phenomenal real estate agent who also turned out to be great friend and fellow animal lover. 

In the meantime, I had quit my job at the end of July (mainly because I did not want to endure another annual performance review in August) so that I could finish up packing (which was a bit of a challenge due to my still recovering from rotator cuff surgery in May).

I had my sights set on August as the time I would be moving. However, it wasn't until late September that Beverly and my daughter found the house that I would eventually move into. And the move did not occur until the end of October.

Thankfully, I had an awesome neighbor who agreed to drive down to Houston with me on moving day and help wrangle the dogs (which didn't need much wrangling as they were heavily sedated for the long drive down).

The new house was in the Bear Creek part of northwest Houston, just a stone's throw from Katy. It was in a quiet maze-like subdivision. 

After I had gotten unpacked and settled in, I had to resume my job search. I figured that with my having been able to land a job in Lubbock three months to the day of moving there, that it would be a snap to secure a job in a city the size of Houston.

No such luck.

Three months passed...

...then four...

...then five.

And with the passing of each month, the inheritance money was dwindling. The situation was getting so desperate that I starting to give Plan B -- packing up all the animals and everything I could stuff into my Xterra and leaving everything else behind, while heading back east to throw myself at the mercy of my remaining family -- some serious thought.

However, just at the eleventh hour, I received a job offer from METRO for...

...get this...

...a light rail train operator trainee.

Never, ever in my wildest imagination I would have expected to find myself operating a train through the 'hood in Houston.

And I had never expected to have been at it for as long as I have.

But I will say that for all its drawbacks, this job has allowed me to live well, and to even buy a house.

I now live in Baytown, in a house that is "me," and that was found for me by the amazing Beverly. It's nice being just minutes away from a nature center that's at the meeting point of three bays. Dang! I'm living close to water again! And I am totally digging the vibes of this place!