On Going Home for Christmas

I've been looking forward to seeing everyone at Christmas. I miss the family terribly, especially since this is the first time I've been this far away for so long. I know living away from everyone will get easier with time, but for now, 6 months has seemed far longer.

Cameron hooked up with a couple of local bands when we first got to Phoenix, but it turned out they just didn't have their stuff together. Lots of indecisiveness and being vague as to what they would be doing next made it not worth the effort. At that time, he was going to have a gig during Christmas week so I was going to fly to California and he would join me later.

Well, since the band thing went awry, we are now looking at other options. Rental cars are pretty expensive and so we're currently planning to hop on the bike for the trip. I got a backpack carrier for Tuesday, and the cats will do fine with an extra litter box and lots of food and water. The bike needs new tires and servicing so that's our main focus. At least the money put into the bike will carry over to regular use when we get back.

Ah, the car. It's still sitting in limbo and there's no estimate as to when we will arrive at a decision as to its fate. Probably won't even consider it until after the holidays.

My bike is coming along slowly. Without a garage to work in and less daylight hours, our time is somewhat limited. Add to that exhaustive classes and my bizarre work schedule, it's hard to get much done at a time. We are making progress, though. It will be fantastic to have my own transportation again. I'll definitely be needing some sort of saddlebags and/or tailbag for the bike in order to pick up groceries and such.

I'm starting to look for other work, or at least something extra to bring in more money. With the cutbacks at the store, they have reduced everyone's hours. So, instead of almost 40 a week, I'm getting almost 30. It's just not enough. I've found several possibilities, but that, too, will probably be best taken care of after the holidays. It's hard to take time off at a job you just started.

Phoenix does seem to have a winter, though not as definitive as Albuquerque's. We've had some cold breezy days and chilly nights/mornings. A pronounced difference from the days in the upper 70's just last month. It makes for cold rides to and from work.

I can't help but wonder where we'll go after he graduates. BMW has dealerships all over the world and there's only 2 campuses in the US that train certified mechanics for BMW. Apparently, most graduates have a job waiting for them when they leave MMI, so I guess we'll know some time next summer. I haven't really decided what I want to do after he gets situated and it's my turn to get some new training. I think where we move to will have a great influence on my choices, depending on what is available and our general situation at the time. What lies ahead in the coming months is totally up in the air. The only sure thing is his school, as sure as that can be, anyway.