Houseless

I arrived in Grants Pass late Tuesday night--actually it was early Wednesday morning--and have been running around like crazy since then, trying to see everybody I want to see and get everything taken care of. I had a huge surprise waiting for me when I arrived Tuesday. A few of my friends had gone over to my apartment and moved all of my furniture into my friends' garage, where it will stay while I'm overseas. I am incredibly thankful they did that, because I had failed to come up with a good plan to move my furniture. It was probably going to look something like rent a truck, move everything I can by myself, then get some help with the big items at night. Instead, all I had to do was pack up my kitchen, bathroom, all my sporting goods, and other miscellaneous items laying around the place, and move a bunch of boxes. Entirely doable on my own!

It actually felt a little strange walking into the apartment, seeing all of the things I'd left behind. I wondered for a while who this person was that owned this apartment. Was I still her? I eventually remembered and decided that yes, I was her. But I have changed. A year-plus of living with barely anything beyond what I need for my immediate everyday life has changed my perspective on what I should keep around. It was also interesting to see what I accumulated while I was on the East Coast--electronics and a few DVDs, but primarily books. This doesn't surprise me.

I have also spent a lot of time over the past couple of days catching up with people. I've never thought of myself as a very social person, but I hadn't realized how many friends I'd made here in Grants Pass. After I turned the key to my apartment into the landlord, I thought with some satisfaction that I was now homeless. Then I thought about it a few more moments and realized that I might be houseless, but that I have so many awesome, amazing, caring friends that I will never be homeless. So thank you--all of you--for your love and support. It means a lot to me.

The paperwork is being processed to mobilize me so I can fly down to 29 Palms and join my unit, but it takes time. I had originally hoped to fly down there today or tomorrow, but it's probably not going to happen until late next week. In the meantime, I'm taking the extra time to head up to Portland and visit with more friends and family there. So nothing really exciting to write about is going on right now. Give me a couple weeks, though, and I'm sure I'll come up with something. :-)