Mom said that an annual update is the least that I can do.
I am not in Zambia any more. More than a year after getting back I think back to all of the good and the not so good events of that African chapter. Of course, now with my anniversary having just past in California my memories are a little less vivid but, some how now more important.
It is really important for me to remember and be thankful for the opportunities that I have had and where I get to be now.
In the past year I packed up my little black civic and made for Redding, CA having just secured a position as the regional communicable disease epidemiologist. Excited and slightly nauseated, I began the process anew of learning my surroundings and how I fit into them. There was, obviously, an incredible difference between my trip to Lusaka and my trip to Cali. That difference was not having Kahler and Katy next to me.
It is true that the Cali is not comparable so far as culture differences are concerned however, getting to face the new things with someone that can note all the oddities and accentuate the the tough times with a joke and a drink after work is worth more than I can express.
So, keeping a firm grip on what I have in Texas, I have made an effort to embrace where I am. Terrain, hiking, not sweating, biking, kayaking, climbing, softball, soccer, and trips here and there from Lost Coast Brewery in Eureka and the Willow Creek Big Foot Museum to the beautiful drive to Alturas and the snowy pass east to Susanville, I have struck out to learn and see and enjoy as much as I can about where I am right now.
It is, without a doubt, one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. I have a few pictures here but, I don't think that they do it much justice.
I have gotten to spend time with people that I love in my new home and for that I am so thankful. Mom, Pap, Chris, Katy and Kahler have come to see my new digs and I think, for the most part, agree with my assessment of this neat place.
There are things that are lacking here. Most notably, my family and friends! I have made a few really neat connections here however, being a young, traveled, educated, professional in a small town makes places me squarely in a unique demographic. I do miss Aggieland and getting to hang out with friends at a coffee shop and run back to Houston or Huntsville on the weekends to see family.
I hope and pray this little post finds you happy. Have a fabulous week. I make no promises for future but, say that I will try.
I am not in Zambia any more. More than a year after getting back I think back to all of the good and the not so good events of that African chapter. Of course, now with my anniversary having just past in California my memories are a little less vivid but, some how now more important.
It is really important for me to remember and be thankful for the opportunities that I have had and where I get to be now.
In the past year I packed up my little black civic and made for Redding, CA having just secured a position as the regional communicable disease epidemiologist. Excited and slightly nauseated, I began the process anew of learning my surroundings and how I fit into them. There was, obviously, an incredible difference between my trip to Lusaka and my trip to Cali. That difference was not having Kahler and Katy next to me.
It is true that the Cali is not comparable so far as culture differences are concerned however, getting to face the new things with someone that can note all the oddities and accentuate the the tough times with a joke and a drink after work is worth more than I can express.
So, keeping a firm grip on what I have in Texas, I have made an effort to embrace where I am. Terrain, hiking, not sweating, biking, kayaking, climbing, softball, soccer, and trips here and there from Lost Coast Brewery in Eureka and the Willow Creek Big Foot Museum to the beautiful drive to Alturas and the snowy pass east to Susanville, I have struck out to learn and see and enjoy as much as I can about where I am right now.
It is, without a doubt, one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. I have a few pictures here but, I don't think that they do it much justice.
Brandy Creek
Whiskeytown Lake
Whiskeytown Lake skipping stone
Unbelievable Pine Cone
Sunrise from my apartment on Hilltop Dr.
Road to Quicny
Ridiculously large slug at Brandy Creek
Brandy Creek Falls
Willow Creek Bigfoot Museum
Road to Alturas
Muir Woods, sasquatch pose
I have gotten to spend time with people that I love in my new home and for that I am so thankful. Mom, Pap, Chris, Katy and Kahler have come to see my new digs and I think, for the most part, agree with my assessment of this neat place.
There are things that are lacking here. Most notably, my family and friends! I have made a few really neat connections here however, being a young, traveled, educated, professional in a small town makes places me squarely in a unique demographic. I do miss Aggieland and getting to hang out with friends at a coffee shop and run back to Houston or Huntsville on the weekends to see family.
- Move to 1152 Willis St. Redding CA 96001
- Enjoy my office with a big window that opens to the crisp early autumn air
- Meet Barb Baldwin, a public health nurse, and her husband Dave
- Begin to acquaint myself with Redding
- Climb Mt. Shasta
- Go home for Thanksgiving
- Learn to love Whiskeytown Lake
- Watch the Christmas parade in Redding
- Go home for Christmas
- Move to 655 Hilltop Dr. # 15 Redding, CA 96003
- It gets cold here
- Regional trainings
- Go to training in Sacramento
- Search for church home
- Go to training in Los Angeles
- Become terrific friends with Barb and Dave
- Visit Texas here and there
- Mom and Pap come to visit
- Katy and Kahler come to visit
- Begin to realize a church home is incredibly difficult to find
- New office, bigger window
- Brother comes to visit
- Next stop PhD!
This hardly does justice to the many events that have taken place in this past year but, if I don't get them down in some capacity, the little that is there will escape me.
Next, coming home for Thanksgiving and broadcasting doctoral applications. I have never felt more prepared and able to conquer and earn the heck out of a terminal degree. Travel travel travel! I have learned that California is the cheapest place in the state from which to travel to Hawaii... Methinks it would just be a shame to miss out on that opportunity.
I hope and pray this little post finds you happy. Have a fabulous week. I make no promises for future but, say that I will try.
