An update and a poem

Greetings everyone! I'm more than slightly pumped at the moment as I've just this morning added another 6 credits to my college completion endeavors. I passed my English Lit CLEP this morning and am very thrilled to also discover that PHC IS ACCREDITED! This means that I now have 67 credits under my belt and I'm over halfway done in my collegiate journey. What a trek, to be sure. Long and windy but coming to conclusion, beautiful conclusion at last. Anyhoo, with all this studying of English Lit and poetry in particular, I waxed somewhat poetical myself. The following is the result of a recent lunch break and mostly just ramblings on my current condition. Critique, comment, and enjoy!

Purpose on the Run

Sing a song of singleness,
Of life spent by oneself.
Oh what a droll existence,
That depends on no one else.

A time to do and to dare,
To live life to the edge.
With little thought or care,
Of giving your heart in pledge.

Without a someone to miss,
Or someone missing you;
Not your mother or your sis,
But your sweetheart through and through,

You'll go swiftly on your way,
Looking back not at all.
Foreseeing a brand new day,
That for you has such a call.

Then one day a light will dawn,
Your mind-lids open wide.
Seeing where your time has gone,
And so much more beside.

A friend to have and to hold,
To come home to at night,
Share glory in your world,
Oh what a beautiful sight.

Yearning for a family,
That's yours and yours alone.
Protecting them happily,
Their house your only home.

For this cause God made a man,
To leave his parent's door,
And find himself a woman,
To love and to adore.

So while single we are,
We're to follow strongly,
The path before us placed,
And run the race with strength.

But when that one comes along,
Who was ours from the first,
We would fill our role all wrong,
To leave them in the lurch.

So loving one another,
They come to love Him best,
Who gave them to each other,
And sets apart their nest.

Mailing address

For those of you who would like the mailing address, I have confirmed the location of my current abode and it is as follows:

Joseph Moss
21302 Encino Commons Apt 7208
San Antonio, TX 78259-2727

The new domicile

This is the view from the front door as you walk into apartment 7208. The kitchen is very nicely situated and the only downside we can discern is that the cupboard space is too narrow. Dishwasher, refridgerator, freezer, microwave, oven, and range all work exceptionally well. For those of a perceptive bent, yes, that is a 10-inch cast iron skillet on the stove. It is mine. You may admire from a distance, but no, the owner/operator has turned the "no handling" light on. ;-)



This is our small yet functional table. When one is baching it, one should live as though one is baching it, no?











A view from the kitchen into the living room with our couch and one of the floor lamps we recently acquired. Notice the fan has no light fixture. The rooms are similarly accoutered with two light switches and no fan or light.









A little better shot over the sink and into the family room and sun room as I think of it, on account of all the windows. Very nice for studying, sitting, reading, lounging, talking, musing, perusing, meandering, postulating, and divulging. Already a well-used room.








A shot from the sun room into the family room and kitchen. From this vantage point you can see the small workspace built into the wall and the door into the back bedroom. The apartment really is somewhat expansive, and even with all our stuff (such as we brought) it still looks rather empty. We're working on changing that. :~)







This is a closer view of the little workstation and its compactness. Still trying to figure out the best way to utilize this space without making it look cramped.
















View from the couch of my sleeping quarters in the front bedroom. A nice arrangement if I do say so myself.











The bunk bed with the reading lights because as you can see, from the plastic circle in the ceiling where the lights should be, there is no conventional lighting system as yet in place. Even with this fault, the housing situation is quite desirable, and I am in no position to complain.














Everything really is bigger in Texas! And everything, and I do mean Everything has Texas on it. Including our shower curtain, shower rings, and bath mat. If only other states (and commonwealths) could learn by example...









And finally a view of the front door as it appears to the inhabitants. The first door on the left is our coat closet, which is quite adequate for our needs. The slightly harder to see second door on the left is the front bathroom were Texas decor so strongly holds sway. Invisible from this particular angle is a door on the right that leads to the laundry room where we have space for a washer and dryer, even though they have yet to be acquired. All in good time, if necessary, I'm sure.

A quick update

Hey everyone! I just moved to an apartment where I'll be staying for the next while and I wanted to pass along my new address. The other will still work fine, and probably better, for sending mail and things to, since the mail box is bigger. However, if anyone wants to try the apartment address, more power to you. So, without further ado:

Bristol Canyon
21302 Encino Commons Blvd. Box #170
San Antonio, TX 78259

I think I've got that right, but no guarantees. God bless all of y'all and I hope to post pictures of the new place early next week. Grace and peace to you in Him who is both!

To die from curiosity would be so sad...

A certain someone mentioned that they were nigh unto death out of curious interest in the outside view of the house. Out of deference to this fair personage, the following photos are posted. :~)

This is a view of the outside of my current domicile. And no, I haven't upgraded my vehicular transport. That's Woody's Cougar in the garage, of which he is justifiably proud.











A slightly different angle on the house, taken from inside Dwight's car. A smallish house, but a very nice one, and Dwight and I are very grateful that Woody has allowed us to room with him with his wedding fast approaching.

Views from Afar

This is Abe. Working and CLEPing and having a good time are priorities currently. He drove me into San Antonio last Friday for my first CLEP. The bad news: it was raining buckets and an entire lane of the road was under 4-5 inches of water. The good news: we didn't care about the water because we both passed our respective CLEPs. :~)







These are some of the guys I work with. Shawn is going over details with Ryan. We all work in a garage so the proximity from desk to desk is pretty small. In this picture you can see the garage door opener above the bookshelf. The working environment is actually very conducive to good communication and I've already gotten to know the guys I work with very well.







This is the portion of the office that handles orders and the financial aspects of the office. Abe normally works here but Dwight is actually pictured here. You can't see it, but he's taping up a box to ship out an order. We were all assisting with shipping the day I took these photos.








This is Shawn. He handles a lot of the design aspects of CP! He is finishing up his degree and should complete it very soon. Encouraging and motivating to the rest of us who have further to go. He and Abe are housesitting currently and they really are suffering, so keep them in your prayers. I mean, anyone would struggle with looking after a 3-4K square foot house with a pool, right?






Another view of the office. From right to left: Dwight packing a box, Abe looking at the computer, and Luke (who just left to go work on his father's State Representative campaign) keying in some mailing data.










This is the view of the kitchen and dining room at the house where I am staying. As of the 28th of April, Woody will be an old, married man and Dwight and I must perforce move elsewhere. Until then we share the humble abode and thus far it really has worked out well. Of interesting note is the presence of carpet everywhere. Vacuuming is easy, mopping not so much. ;-)







This my (and Woody and Dwight's) bedroom. And yes, I did get the top bunk. A little warmer, but also closer to the fan. No large bumps on the head just yet, and hopefully it will stay that way.











This my view out the living room windows. Quite the vista and currently the temperatures have been downright pleasant as well. That's the top of my car in the bottom of the photo.











Here, you can see Dwight's car out the window and our front door. Most of the books on that shelf I'll be studying sometime soon. Lots of reading, lots of learning.




I think that's it for now. More photos coming later!

Excursions

2 April 2007

Greetings from the sunny (and often very wet) land of Texas! Specifically from Bulverde, which is slightly to the North and West of San Antonio. How did I get here? Why would I go there? Am I feeling quite all right? The answers to these and many other questions will be the subject of many posts to follow.

Most pertinent to the moment is what brought me to this place, both geographically and figuratively. As many of you know, I've recently been given the opportunity of exploring my employment horizon as the result of the past Senate election. God is good all the time, and while this is sometimes hard to see, it has proved visible in this situation.

Initially my foray into the realms of unemployed-looking-for-work was very discouraging and I began to realize the severe handicap that was mine in not having a college degree. I had enrolled with CollegePlus! back in July with the goal of completing my college degree from home through testing out of college courses. With all the hooplah and craziness that began to swell as my boss's election campaign hit some serious (and ultimately fatal) road bumps, I was not able to devote the time necessary to this program. I had however stayed in touch with the folks at CollegePlus! and they found my work for Senator Allen fascinating in conjunction with my being associated with their program.

Several weeks ago now, the Director of CollegePlus! (CP) called me with a request that I should consider working as an intern with them in San Antonio. To be quite honest, I was very surprised. In all my looking for jobs, I hadn't even considered moving outside of some select states on the Eastern Seaboard, much less Texas. I mean, that's where the cattle roam, the snakes bite, and tornadoes take folks out for a spin, right?

Well, I talked it over with my folks and after looking at their proposal, we decided that this was just what I needed and was obviously God's calling for me at this point in my life. You see, their offer of an internship was a little out of the ordinary. The offer as put to me was like this: I would work from 10-4 (Central Time) for them in a Marketing Liaison capacity and the rest of the day would be devoted to studying for CLEPs, DANTES, and TCEPS exams that would allow me to complete my degree in roughly a year. Oh, and they'd cover housing, and food, and gas, and testing fees, and coaching assistance. Basically, I was being offered the opportunity to work for the company that was helping me pursue my degree and what this all amounts to is that I will gain a year of work experience and come out with a Bachelor's degree in General Management, or something similar.

After the decision was made, there was a lot of packing to do. Initially I was going to leave for Texas from a conference my family was attending in Cary, NC. As it turned out, the intern housing situation in Texas was in a state of flux and they requested that I come down a week later than originally was the plan. This was fine with me, although a bit awkward, because, my family and church had already done a beautiful farewell for me. In consenting to come down to Texas, and the dates we'd talked about, at the time of the call I'd already had my last Sunday at my home church, what with some prearranged travel plans. So the farewell was held the Thursday before I was to head out and not small was the surprise on many faces when on the subsequent Sunday, there I was. It was all easily explained and it actually gave me the opportunity of saying "Goodbye" to several families that I wouldn't have been able to, had the plans remained unchanged.

Then there was a flurry of packing and rearranging rooms and loading the car and exactly a week ago today, I set off. I'd spaced the trip into two days, partly because this made the whole trip easier, and because the foolishness or insanity of my thoughts on doing the whole trip in one day was brought home to me in no uncertain terms from select sources I respected and admired, respectively. I took I-64 West to Staunton, VA, where I jumped on that great trucker route we all know and love, I-81. This I followed South to Bristol, passing the car carriers of Kasey Kahne, Mark Martin, Dale Earndhart Jr., and many more NASCAR note worthies. They were headed North from the Bristol Motor Speedway and I must admit they added a touch of color to the trip I had not been expecting.

I then crossed into the land from whence came the likes of Davy Crockett and Alvin C. York. The rolling hills of Tennessee were simply glorious to drive through and as I changed from I-81 to I-40 West at Knoxville, I saw why someone could want to raise generations-worth of a family in such a place. While I didn't quite make it to the Valley of the Three Forks of the Wolf, I do believe that I drove as much as anyone could possibly drive across Tennessee without visiting that singular location. I drove and I drove and I Drove and I DROVE across that state until I finally reached Memphis and the great Mississippi River, having already crossed that invisible dividing line somewhere into the land of Central Time. I barely crossed into Arkansas and at a little Rodeway Inn spent the night.

The next morning I started bright and early and drove on to Little Rock where I looped on over to I-30 West. I saw a great deal of farmland and more sky than I had seen in one place in a looooong time. I also saw an Armadillo on the side of the road that captivated my interest for several miles after I passed his forlorn little body. I guess that stuff they've got on isn't armor at all. Defectively soft from the looks of it and I don't doubt that many Armadillo mommies sent letters voicing their complaints to the appropriate address. Since there wasn't much that could be done, I'm sure the letters will continue to be sent unabated.

Not long after the Armadillo reverie, I crossed into the great state of Texas where I saw more Texas flags than I have ever seen in my life. Virginia is a great state with heaps of pride in its heritage, but I have seen more of the Red, White and Blue in Virginia than of the Sic Semper Tyrannus. In Texas they are everywhere, and when I say everywhere, I mean EVERYWHERE. They've got them on their billboards, for crying out loud. It's quite the site to see and I wish other states were as proud of themselves, at least visibly.

I proceeded on to Dallas and looped around the city to I-35 South. I even timed it so that I would reach Austin at the peak of rush hour and have the opportunity to meet thousands of happy Texans all in one place. The traffic actually thinned out very quickly and for all the bustle and in and out, the Texans I could see handled the situation better than most and favorably impressed me with their vehicular deportment. I continued on down to Bulverde and reached the terminus of my journey at about 18:30 (6:30 PM for the non-military types). My new roommates helped me unload and we all had spaghetti for dinner, a most welcome repast.

Since then I have been working and studying and have even passed a CLEP test on Analyzing and Interpreting Literature. Hopefully English Lit. will follow shortly in its wake. I'm sure that I will have more to tell later, and that y'all will have many good and interesting questions to ask that I can answer in kind. Till then, God bless and God speed!