Movin' on up

So I've been a bit delinquent in my blog updates as of late. But I've been driving 1600+ miles and moving in. I think I deserve some leeway...

Let's recap, shall we?

Friday, June 26, Mel and I (along with J and Danger) set off on our great American 1/2 Cross-Country road trip. Night 1 was spent in Tucson. After a boring drive through New Mexico (although a decent lunch at El Comedor in Las Cruces) we stayed in Fort Stockton, Texas. Oddly enough, we stayed in the same motel that my father and I stayed in 5 years ago on the trek out to California. I love tying up chapters with nice little bows. But I digress.

On Sunday we traveled only a few hundred miles to San Antonio, where we decided to get in a bit of site seeing. We had some margaritas at Mi Tierra at Market Square, and then many more margaritas later on at Rita's on the River Walk. Mel was able to reconnect with a high school friend from Visalia, and I got to listen to their high school stories and recaps. It was actually quite interesting.

On Monday, June 29, we left San Antonio at an un-Godly 6:00 am and made it to my new apartment approximately 45 minutes before the moving van arrived. Everything was unloaded in a pseudo-timely manner, and I begrudgingly handed over my check for $4400 (I was quoted $3200, but that's yet another annoying speed-hump in the road of my life). The drive was long, and Wendy's check-engine light was on nearly the whole time. But we made it. And no one had to throw a cat out the window in the process.

Melanie left on Wednesday, July 1. It's been me vs. the boxes ever since.

While I have very slowly been unpacking and organizing said boxes, the highlight of my Texas adventure so far has been the massive amounts of time I have been able to spend with my family already: cocktails with Aunt Susie, only part of which she remembers ;), swimming with Granny, building furniture with Richard, dinner with my dad, Colleen, and Rachel, and unpacking boxes with my mom. I wouldn't say it's been a family overload. It's just been nice to spend unrushed time with my amazing family - something that I haven't really been able to do in 11 years.

So now I'm sitting in my office/spare bedroom, where a cat is perched directly between my keyboard and monitor, and whose tail keeps hitting me as I type.

This is my new life. And this is my family. Furry children included. It almost feels like home.