Update

As of yesterday afternoon, we're all packed, the movers came and loaded our earthly posessions onto a 18 wheeler, stuffed the cat into the cage (they are so going to kill us later!), and packed the dog in GF's car and off we went.

Boy am I going to miss Austin! Even though this city has been poor in job opportunities and rich in flaky people, you can't beat the warm weather, the food (oh yeah!), and its various interesting aspects. A friend of mine from my Iraq days came to say hello. It was kind of weird time, he was on a cross-country trip, kind of a reward/job search trip upon his retirement from the army. He's rather young for someone who is retiring (38), and is about to pull his hair out because he thought that getting a job would be easy upon retirement, after all, the war on terror is still going on, and he being ex-military, would be game for any defense contracting firm. The thing is, he was either too busy or unwilling to pick up additional skills aside from driving a tank, and chasing girls, so he's having a hard time now.

It's funny, he didn't have that much of fun in Iraq, since his girl chasing reputation preceeded him. For a while, he had a crush on my then roommate in Iraq, unfortunatly, his devotion did not yield to what he had wanted. He's a self-confessed pervert, but that was what was so enduring about him, at least he was honest about it. He told me over coffee that he thought that I was a bit of a prude when it came to that area....I just laughed. You see, one doesn't always have to be downloading porn all the time in order to be a perv. It was good to see him, between all the worries about jobs and frustration, I wish for all the best for him!

I also, through my friend, got to talk to another friend of mine from Iraq. She was a postal clerk there, and she came back to the reserves after about a 15 year break. Kind of interesting, like myself, she's not very military at all. A 47 year old free spirit, and a vegan, we had fun making fun of things and sometimes other people. She had kept in touch with my other friend but couldn't get in touch with me because she did not have my information. When I finally got to talk to her, I found out that she wasn't doing well. The war has affected her so much that now she's on antidepressants, and in counseling. It sucks but at least she's making an effort to help herself better.

My grandfather has become quite ill, and so far no one really knows why he's ill. His doctor thought that he had a stroke, but a brainscan found out that it wasn't true. Guesses included diabetes, chemical inbalance, etc. He's in a stupor all the time, cannot stay awake, doesn't really want to eat, and also cannot walk. I'm pretty worried about him. I know that he's pretty old and falling apart physically is part of the deal, but nevertheless, it's still pretty hard to accept. I really hope he feels better soon.

I've got to somehow buckle down and get back to work, unpack, and make our lives in a strange new place again. I have no idea how it'll all turn out, I hope that it'll be good though.