Adjusting to life in Texas

I've been here in Texas for nearly two weeks now. Unfortunately, I'm still unemployed, which is more my own fault than the fault of anyone or anything else. I just haven't been spending enough time and energy looking for a job. I did originally have something like $800 in my checking account when I got here, but I've purchased some new clothes, update the old wardrobe for the job hunt and such, and I've spent some money on other things, trying to help out with the household and groceries and such around here. So now my little safety net has dwindled to the point of having under $300 in checking and a little under $200 in savings. I definitely need to get myself out there and find something. I went to Lake Dallas to apply for a job they had there which I thought would be a good balance of pay and a relatively short commute, but the job closed on Monday and I didn't show up until Tuesday. Stupid procrastination manages to screw me over yet again. As soon as I finish writing this up, I'm going to head off to the store and pick up some newspapers and look for a few more jobs to apply to either online or in person, if they're close enough for the drive. I'm still not really confident about driving around here, even though the car seems to be doing just fine after its long journey across the country.

And the Kala kitty also seems to be doing just fine after the long trip, too. She's pretty much taken over some little spots here in the house, found her appropriate spots to sleep during the day. She likes sitting next to the open window here in the "computer room" and staring out at the traffic going by and the birds that eat the berries off the tree just outside. She's managed to get outside on a few occasions, escaping through the screens on the downstairs windows, but each time she's pretty much stayed right around the house, which is a good thing. The first time, we didn't even know she'd got out until she showed up outside the kitchen window yowling at the girlfriend as she did the dishes. I think I might need to go down to Home Depot and get some small lumber, maybe 1x2, and some screen and make some kind of barrier that will fit under the window while it's open, which she can't push out easily. Because, quite honestly, if the windows aren't open, it just gets way too hot and stuffy in this place over the course of the day and the evening.

I haven't really been doing very much musically since I've been down here. I did get back in touch with one guitarist who I'd contacted before the move, but he's on-call on his job this week, so we're going to try to get together next week or a bit after and see about jamming. I do need to also reply back to some of the other people I'd sent stuff off to before leaving Oregon, but I'd really like to get a job, get money coming in, and know what my hours will be like before I seriously try to start something in the way of a band. Guess I'd best get out there and start looking now, eh?

Three weeks, and trying to weed through boxes...

I’ve been trying to go through a couple of boxes of stuff every day and weed out the things that I don’t really have to take to Texas with me. Unfortunately, I’ve been something of a packrat all my life, and now it’s coming back to bite me in the ass. I hate throwing away anything that I think might be useful somewhere down the line, even though I know in the back of my mind that I probably won’t wind up putting things to the use I foresee. I’m just not all that great at following up on all of those little plans that I think up. In any case, I’ve given away a couple of boxes of books and a number of other little things from around the place, but there’s still a lot more to go through. And time continues it’s unrelenting march…

On the plus side, one of the guys at work has a cage for a small dog or cat that he is letting me have, since his cat is no more. I already had a carrier, but this is a regular large cage that she can stand up and pace around in, with room for a small litter pan and food and water. So that’s really a good thing, because I wasn’t sure exactly what I was going to do with her while driving. Now at least I won’t have to stop every hour to see if she needs to use the litter box or is hungry.

So, some things are coming together, some still resist me…

See more progress on: Move to Texas