03 July 2008

In the saddle

I've been back to work for about a month now and I've come to the realization that I don't like to work. Oh I do enjoy the benefits of work - the sense of accomplishment, the contribution to something worthy, the paycheck - but the whole crawling out of bed every morning and dragging my rear into a job where I plop down behind a computer all day isn't what one would consider fun. It does pay the bills, of which I've acquired more of with the purchase of a house. That's right, I'm no longer homeless. I'm the proud owner of a cozy 1,600 sq. ft. 4 bedroom house smack dab in the middle of the DFW metroplex. It has a decent yard, lots of trees and a 30 years worth of payments.

Blogging was something I did to pass the time during my trip to Iraq and I'm finding it hard to transition my thoughts from military life to my Mr. Civilian world. My views and priorities are a lot different now that I've returned and if find that it can be challenging at times to get re-adjusted to my surroundings. Not returning home to a family or a house has made me long for a little bit of stability to anchor myself to. I've got a great girlfriend and wonderful friends who have helped to house me and my stuff in an effort to make my transition less stressful, but I still haven't shaken that transient feeling I've had for the past 3 months. I put a lot of hope that the purchase of a house would help me feel more settled, although part of me realizes that it takes more than a building with indoor plumbing and A/C to make it feel like home.


In order to outfit my house with the bare essentials, I strolled over to the "scratch and dent" store located at our local outlet mall in an attempt to get a good deal. In the midst of my hunt for a washer and dryer, I found these:


Either the popularity of this color is a reason they didn't sell so well in the retail store, or else they wash your clothes really REALLY fast!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Congrats on the purchase of your new home. Hope you are enjoying civilian life. I can remember the days of transitioning from a military lifestyle back to the civilian world. Many who deployed with you are no longer blogging but I check your site from time to time to see how things are going, and they look good...I left my job at Bank of America after reading some of your blogs and coming to the conclusion that just like many of you all didn't like being in the Military, I had enough of the banking industry...I work at Delta Air and it's been exciting. I see military personnel passing through the Atlanta Airport all the time, and I think of the sacrifice you all made, and those sacrifices that are still being made on a daily basis...Just be grateful that you have done your time, and know that while things are still fresh in your mind, we are blessed to be in a situation where we don't have to run off and be separated from those we love at this point. You did your job and you did it well...continue to enjoy your life, the civilian life!!!