Update

Well, it's been a somewhat busy week or two.

First, I just want to say that if you ever have a chance to camp in south Texas in July, don't. Not unless you want to punish yourself.


This is the gator that I almost tripped over. Neither Adam nor I saw it until we were about 8 feet away. That will really wake you up.


But, all in all, it was great to spend a couple of days living a simple life. When I get to a cooler climate, I gotta do more of this.


We also got to look through the telescopes at the George Observatory. We got to see globular cluster M13 and the Ring Nebula. It was darn cool to see them in person.

Secondly, and on the same theme, if anyone asks you to help roof in Oklahoma in July, don't do that either.

Oh man, that was hot. I had to keep remembering to take lots of breaks and I've never drank that much water in my life. (but because I did those two things, I didn't have any problems)


The heat was unbearable. But it was great to spend time with family. I'd loved to have stayed for longer, but I needed to get back home.

Now I've got to kick it into gear and get the house prepared to go on the market. It's been too easy for me to get lulled into not getting much done during the day. I'm still in "work mode" where my time at home is relaxation time--not work time.

Up next...

Ok, so I'm sure most everyone knows by now that I got laid off. I can't say that it was a bad thing. In fact, I'm convinced that in the long run, this will have been the best thing that's happened to me in a while.

But that doesn't mean it's not scary as hell right now. I got a severance package and some savings to float on, so there doesn't seem to be any immediate danger.

So, the question is: what now? I've got a ton of options, and I think I've settled on a basic plan.

I've never felt particularly attached to Houston or Texas. Yeah, the people are generally nice and the cost of living is low, but it just doesn't seem to "fit" me.

So I'm heading out of the southwest. I've been thinking about a few places, but the two top contenders right now are Chicago and Portland. (but I welcome any other suggestions)

I've been to Chicago a couple of times and really enjoyed it. And it doesn't hurt that I've got Adam to guide me on the lay of the land.

I might meet Adam in Portland in a week or two and check that place out. It sounds like a good fit for me, but I'm worried that I won't be able to find a job there.

Oh yeah, as far as jobs go, I think the general plan is to go ahead and get another programming job so I can get a semi-regular paycheck coming in and some benefits.

I've got a whole other plan that starts at that point, but I'll post that later. The focus now is to figure out where I want to go and get stuff closed-up here in Houston. (I'll probably see about getting a management company to lease my house)

Lastly, I wanted to give a big "thanks" to Adam. He's been hanging about my house since I got laid off. (strange timing) He had to listen to me gripe and moan about all of this stuff for almost two solid weeks. He had to listen to me lament no longer having a paycheck. He had to endure countless rhetorical questions about what I can / should do. And the man was a trooper--he never complained once. (although I'm fairly sure that if I had a gun in the house, it would have been a very different story)

So, thanks Adam for helping me through the (hopefully) worst part of this process. And thanks to everyone else for their ideas and advice. It's more helpful than you imagine.