Holler if you can hear me!

It's been too long, my friends, too long!

I'm back with some updates and stuff. Here goes:


A. I joined my church (www.southcrest.org). I had been attending for over two years, pretty much since I'd moved back to Lubbock, but I finally joined last month. It feels good to have a home church, to have a home, really. I really love it. It's what I've always admired in my churches.

B. I'm working in Brian's dad's tax office for the season, helping out and stuff. I mainly answer phones and file and get checks and stuff. I've actually learned quite a lot, most importantly that I shouldn't have been afraid of any of it. I've had fun working here with Brian, coming to work with him in the mornings and stuff, trying to alleviate his frustrations with people who are milking the system. I've also had the chance to get closer to his parents, which has been nice.

C. I'm heading to Whidbey Island halfway through March for my second residency. If you'll recall, I'm in the MFA program at Seattle Pacific University, and it's a low-residency program, which means it's mostly online but that I meet up with my colleagues and mentors for a 10-day residency twice a year. It's kind of like a writers' workshop, only I have "classes" with my mentors and the director of the program, too. The winter residency is at Camp Casey (no, not stupid cindy sheehan's camp casey in crawford) in Whidbey Island up in Washington. This is where I'll be staying: http://www.spu.edu/depts/casey/Lodging/bachelorofficer.asp


I'm kind of not really looking forward to it, especially because it's ten days away from Brian and my family. Oh well, I'm sure it'll turn out just fine. I am looking forward to be able to experience the area, even if we only get a half-day of freedom to ourselves. I guess I can go sit on the rocks behind the camp or something.


I am especially not looking forward to packing for this trip. I originally wanted to dress all cowboy while I was up there, show those writers how we Texans do, but I don't think I have enough suitcase space for all of my boots. Plus, I'm sure the weather's still gonna be pretty cold, so I'll be using up all that space for sweaters and blankets (apparently the lodgings are quite bare). Clyde's already talking about staying in Lubbock with Brian. We'll see about that.


C. Well, I guess the biggest news is that we're moving to Austin in April. We'll be moving over several weekends in April, and will officially be out of our Lubbock home April 24. I am sad (if you read my thesis, you'll know why) and excited about the move, and we'll leave it at that. However, there is no opportunity for Brian and what he wants to do, not the way he wants to do it, at least, here in Lubbock, so off to Austin we are. He had bought a house there in 2005, and we've been renting that out to somebody. But her lease ends at the end of March, so it's all pretty good timing for us to move there, what with tax season ending and everything.

If you go to Google maps and type in our address (9310 Rowlands Sayle Rd., Austin, 78744), you can see our house from the "street view" link. I love love love the porch! There's a detached garage in the back which Brian is very much looking forward to making into a "man cave." We'll see. I also can't wait to have my own home to decorate without worrying about how many holes I'm putting in the rented walls. Around our house, the area has really developed since last he lived there. There used to only be a Walmart in a shopping center right around the corner, but now there are several of the mass-marketed stores like Bed Bath 'N' Beyond, Ross (yay! so my mom will have a reason to come visit me more often!), etc. Our house is located in south Austin, just right off of I-35. If you take the Slaughter Ln. exit and cross back under I-35, our neighborhood is just a bit up the road. We live in a sub-division called "The Crossing at Onion Creek."

We'll be moving the weekends of April 3-5, April 17-19, and there to stay April 24. We'll stay in Lubbock for Easter weekend and my niece's birthday. I can't believe how close it is!

So far, I've found one really awesome thing to do if my nephews Matt and Bubba come to visit. http://www.cypressvalleycanopytours.com/canopy-tours.php You can zipline through the cypress trees and spend the night in a treehouse! How awesome is that?

If you know of any other cool things to do in Austin, feel free to let me know here. Brian lived there for a few years, and he showed me lots of stuff when we were dating (the bats on Congress, an Alamo Drafthouse, some honky-tonks, Zilker Park at Christmastime, Barton Springs, etc.). Also, if you know of any good Southern Baptist churches in Austin or the nearby environs, let me know! I'll be looking for something solid and conservative in that pitfire of liberalism and hippie-dom they call Austin! Haha.

Well, I guess that's all for now. Church, work, Whidbey, Austin. Caught you up!