A Continuation of the Adventures of Paul-San

I have only been in Virginia for about four months now, and already an uprooting is in store.

So much has happened since my last post -so to summarize...

I moved out of Jeff's right after I got back from Ruth's wedding, on the 6th of june, and moved in with a coworker who has a townhouse back in Alexandria. For those of you not familiar with the area, refer to google maps. My rent is low, and I am carpooling with Russell (roomie/coworker). Sweet, huh.

I have decided to move to Coronado with Toni and Jay novemberish, though. They need to sell their house before they move, so my skills have been employed in prepping the house to be put on the market early September. Jay works a lot, and Toni is taking care of twins -PAUL TO SAVE THE DAY! I am working out the best way to balance work and packing up a house. I think moving in with Toni and jay might be the best option, but then I will not have transportation to work (no convenient public transportation). Please pray for me to be wise in making these choices. Also, I am looking to back to school in the fall... Please offer any advice or prayers. I am trying to decide what state to establish domicile in so that I don't have to pay out of state tuition, but I do not know what school I want to go to. Also, I can not attend school in the state for the year that I have to life there to establish domicile. So, I am planning to take online classes at a school in fl while I establish residency in whatever state I choose. It is all so tedious and confusing, not to mention all of the unknown factors that I cannot plan on. AHHH

On a positive note, I am healthy, fairly stable, enjoying my work, no major crises are occurring, and I am happy! Thank you for all of your prayers, and keep em coming!

Love you all,
Paul

Starting a Life

I moved in with Jeff last tuesday. We have been doing a LOT of renovating. We have torn out the walls on 2 sides of his kitchen (including 2 closets), opening it up to the diningroom and hallway. It makes the condo look a whole lot bigger. We also created a large window between the diningroom and living room, and made a pillar where we tore out the kitchen walls. Lots of screws, 2x4s, dry wall, and mud! The last couple days we have been trying to renovate the bathroom, which simply has a toilet. We had to have a plumer come and move the tub drain coming out of the floor so that we can put in the shower. He had been waiting on this plumer since he bought the condo 2.5 months ago. We have thin set the "shower pan", for lack of a better name, to the floor, put in the shower head, the on/off knob, added bracing to the walls around the shower, and put in concrete backer-board.

I am not sure what they have done today (jeff and his dad who flew in town to help this week), because I have been at the shopping center about 1.5 miles away. Why you ask? I turned in an application at Trader Joe's this morning. When I turned it in, the manager interviewed me ON THE SPOT, which i was not expecting. He simply stated, "We believe in first impressions", like it was not an uncommon practice. After the initial interview, he told me that I should expect a call later that afternoon. The call came an hour and a half later while I was next door at Panara. She interviewed me immediately! I am so in love with this company already! But i digress... The interview went really well and she seemed very impressed. All of the employees at Trader Joe's are VERY upbeat, like myself. She told me to expect a call by the end of the weekend! So, keep your fingers crossed everyone; this seems like an excellent opportunity!

Talk to you all soon,
     Paul

Life in Virginia

First blog post.

Toni and Jay would love me to stay with them, but there is simply no room at the Inn. After much much prayer from Toni, and I'm sure many others, I met a gentleman at their church with an available temp. crash pad. I am going to assist him in renovating his new condo, in exchange for a room. His wife will be moving in June of this year. Also, he has a 2000 Civic that he has "just been keepin' around" that he is willing to let me use!) So, for a few months, I have free boarding, and transportation, while I secure a job and start a nest egg. After staying with him for the next couple months, I plan to get a place of my own. Why? THAT'S THE DAILY DOUBLE! lol.

I plan on attending College here, and need to establish domicile (become a resident). That takes a year. Also, I need to become a little more stable, as I come out of the ashes, before I start attending school and working part time.

...that's all for now. Toni and Jay are coming home with the babies today! WOOHOO! wish us luck!

Love and miss you all!
     Paul