Been awhile since the last post, here’s what’s been going on…
I ended up selling all my furniture, appliances, pots, plates, etc (even a broken sleeping bag, booyea) through craigslist and did fairly well. For me, moving at the end of March made the most sense even though I don’t have to physically report anywhere until May. My lease was up on March 30th and my TExES test is on April 25th so I figured I’d quit work, move, and save myself another months’ rent and a flight from Missoula to Texas (which are nowhere near cheap).
The drive down was very uneventful, which is a great thing. I took off on March 30th after I passed final inspection for my apartment. I stopped in Billings that night with a good friend for another ‘goodbye’ send-off. The next day I took off to Denver, where I stayed Tuesday night. Not only did my Denver adoptive family provide me with enough toll money to make it through, they even packed me a full day’s worth of meals to make the last 880 mile trek of the trip. I literally only spent money on gas and coffee the last day. I took off from Denver at 5 am and made it to Dallas around 6:30 pm.
Between then and now…
The last few weeks have been refreshing. My biggest duties have been pulling shrubs from my folks’ yard, burning brush at the pasture, working my folk’s garage sale, and other odds and ends. I was looking forward to some menial labor as I thought it would be a good catalyst for me to refocus on something other than the corporate gig. I was right. I spend all day outside working with my hands and get no phone calls or emails. For those out there that are in the professional arena, if you can afford a month or two off before TFA gets cranking, I highly recommend it. Come to East Texas, hunt a hog or two.
It’s really good to be back home. I’ve seen more family in the last two weeks than I have in the last three years. I get to go fishing at PaPaw’s every weekend and get home cooking just about every night. Not to mention all the bluebonnets. God Bless Texas!
Now I’ve started my pre-institute work and have begun studying for my test on the 25th. So far I’m enjoying it. I watched “All The President’s Men” last weekend with my aunt and remember telling her how I hope I can be as passionate about something as much as Wood-Stein were in their pursuits. TFA is the answer. I’m eating it up. I’ll keep you posted on my progress through the pre-institute requirements and the TExES test. Also, I’m taking the Rosetta Stone Spanish series. I figure if Michael Phelps can learn a new language while winning gold medals and smoking pot, then surely I can learn a new language too.
