Friday, January 9, 2009

The rundown

It has really only been three weeks or so since I posted last, but boy, what a jam-packed three weeks.

I decided I was going to stay in beautiful San Diego and started looking for a place to live, and began my long-awaited transition away from active duty in the USMC.

I drove 2400 miles round trip to Pueblo, CO, to spend "Christmas" with my brother, my parents, and my grandparents. 2400 miles in three solid days of driving for two days of bond time. Wow. We had a great time, though, and Grandma's Christmas feast was worth the 18 hours each way. Plus, I got to hand deliver the loot I got everybody. Always a good time. Alas, no paintings. Turns out I'm a decent sketch artist, but I need to learn a little more about various other media before I try to gift original art.

Upon arriving safely back in San Diego on Christmas Eve morning after a harrowing first ice-driving experience, I dropped into bed, exhausted, but looking forward to picking up my best friend--we've known each other since we were seven years old--from the airport for Christmas weekend. Noela has ambitions of moving out here next summer, and wanted to get one more taste of the place before she took the plunge. Oh, and I guess she wanted to hang with me, too.

We spent Christmas Eve and Christmas morning with Noela's sister Pearl and her husband Erik. I hadn't seen them in at least a few years, so that was pretty sweet. Pearl and Erik were trekking from Alabama to Alaska, Pearl's next duty station. They left for Thousand Oaks that afternoon.

Noela and I hung out with some friends of mine for "Marley and Me" and dinner, and it was fabulous. I'm glad we did, too, because James and Mandy are moving to NC next month so that James can train as a V-22 crew chief. I seriously hope they're able to make it back out here soon.

Anyway, Noela was here for three more days, and we spent a lot of that time hiking. We hit the trails and the beach at Torrey Pines, and were able to spend some time in long-overdue catching up. We also found Cedar Creek Falls, a triumph for me, since there was zero water in the area last fall.

Oh! And we tried our hand at sledding, up on the 79. We didn't have much success, but it was super fun to try, nonetheless.

After Noela left, I hunkered down to the task of finding a place to live. Eventually I signed a lease on a 2-bedroom in Pacific Beach, and I couldn't be more excited. I'm moving my stuff from the barracks this weekend, and I even have a prospective roommate coming to check it out. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

This week has been no exception to the busy-ness of the last few. I've been checking out of all the various Miramar organizations, like the Post Office and the personnel administration center, and I'll finish that up on Monday with my own squadron. I also flew on Wednesday and Thursday, which was sweet, because it gave me a little closure. I'm going to miss this life, however much I've complained about it... I've enjoyed it for the most part, and I did love the job.

But it's time to move on.

I'll be leaving town for a few weeks by the 19th, heading home, but stopping along the way to visit friends and family I haven't seen in a while. I'll spend some time in Jacksonville with my parents, then I'll pack the rest of my stuff, get my dog in the truck, and make my way back to the West Coast, and somewhere along I-10 it will hit me that I'm not a -53 crew chief anymore. And that will mark the end of an era.

I know it's not who I am, but it has become a really big part, and I'm not sure yet how I'm going to deal with the loss.

But, c'est la vie, non?

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