Nomads

And we're on the move once again.

J has finally moved over to Lackland after working temporarily out of his company's Port San Antonio office, while I'm working from wherever we happen to be staying. Today, I'm writing from our room at VOQ on Randolph AFB. Randolph is a gorgeous old base that was built in the 1920s, and the accommodations here are nicer than those at Lackland. Last night, J and I sat on the VOQ's second floor balcony and rocked in white rocking chairs overlooking the palm trees. It was a beautiful night, the air humid but cool after a brief but torrential downpour. Something about the whole scene felt very southern.

Moving from place to place has taken a toll on us, mostly in the exhaustion and absentmindedness departments. Since leaving Denver, we've stayed in a hotel in New Mexico, crashed with friends in San Antonio, crashed with two different sets of friends in Virginia, stayed at a Marriott near Dulles Airport, moved from Lackland to the Hyatt on the Riverwalk back to Lackland (we lost the room keys five minutes after checking in) back to downtown, and now we're at Randolph. So it's not a huge surprise that yours truly is a disorganized mess. I've misplaced phones, room keys, and chargers more times than I can count, but at least they all turned up after extensive searches. Somewhere along the way, I also lost a folder containing my W-2s and other important tax documents and receipts. Yeah. Words can't express my frustration with myself. I'm the kind of person who never forgets or loses track of anything (and prides herself on it); these days, I can't find a damn thing. No bueno.

J is more accustomed to moving around, having done so during TDYs and pre-deployment trainings, but even he's expressed frustration with living out of a dead body bag (it's just a giant, zippered canvas bag, relax) for the past few weeks. It's a lot easier to live like a nomad when you wear the same boots and wash-and-wear uniform every day; now that J is working in the private sector, he's dealing with dress shoes and ties and drycleaned slacks and trying to not repeat the same combinations of clothing. All very new to him.

The better news is that we move into our new place tomorrow...though even then, we'll be sleeping on an air mattress and living out of duffel bags until our household goods show up sometime between the 8th and 18th. I probably sound a lot more negative than I feel--this has been a fun adventure, and we've enjoyed seeing old friends, trying new restaurants, and taking long walks. Still, it'll be good when we finally have a place to call home.