Getting Back to Normal

My camera is sitting dormant awaiting repair funds, so no cute kiddie pictures to post today, but I thought I'd share a few thoughts on how our New Year is starting out. "Getting Back to Normal" is the best theme I could come up with to link this loose collection of ramblings.

1) Job Hunting: I am in full search mode now. Had my first interview last week, but they haven't called back yet, so I'm still cranking out resumes and hoping for more phone calls. I am still stuck in the ranks of the unlicensed in Oklahoma, but that seems to leave enough options open at this point. I really, really need to get out and working again! Aside from the obvious financial issues, my day-to-day world has just gotten too small: I take Nick to school, we go to church, I go shopping, there's the occasional doctor's appointment... and that's about it.

2) The Big Clean-up: Those of you up North have probably forgotten all about the ice storm that hit us in early December, but believe me, it's still in the news around here. This week's reports state that only 50% of the massive collection of storm debris in Tulsa County has been picked up. On one of our trips running errands in south Tulsa last week, Amelia and I passed block after block with dead branches piled up probably 3-4 feet high and just as wide along the curb, all the way down every block. Properly disposing of all of it involves a complex system of monitoring to make sure that only the appropriate materials are being disposed of in the dump sites, and that truckers aren't trying to double-bill their loads. Seems like the bureaucracy is going to cost as much as the disposal itself, yet you can see the potential for abuse of the system if the monitors weren't there. Ahh, human nature.

3) Soccer Season: starts in March in Oklahoma! Nick took a pass on Little League, and signed up with the Sapulpa Soccer Club this week. Youth sports are a big deal down here. In Berwyn, the rec district's "uniform" was a T-shirt printed with the team name and a randomly assigned number, and pretty much any shorts they wanted to wear. Here, we had to purchase 2 official jerseys -- which will have his last name and a specifically assigned number on the back -- and the official shorts. He's already practicing! I have to admit, soccer is at least easier to practice in an apartment complex than baseball.

4) Weather: yes, we do have winter here in Tulsa. Of course, what they call "bitter cold" here is a day in the upper 20s, but I have to confess that I have driven Nick to school instead of walking on quite a few mornings. The killer thing out here is the wind, and I'm just not in the mood to walk in it at 8:30 in the morning.

That's about it for now. We're getting closer and closer to that "normal" groove -- one which I'm looking forward to staying in for a while!

Love to all!