After Burn

My mom, along with my aunt, uncle, and a cousin, took my grandmother and step-grandfather back down to their property in Rockport, TX for the first time since Hurricane Harvey made landfall there on Friday. It was quick trip to just get a basic assessment of the damages and get a tarp on the roof of their home to prevent further rain/water getting in. We’ll go back with more people on Saturday to start a more thorough clean-up and salvage job. From what I heard it was a tough trip seeing what Harvey wrath. Dead animals in fields. Homes and businesses destroyed. Palm trees snapped in half. So much debris. There isn’t any electricity or running water back in the town yet. I set-up my grandmother’s FEMA claim yesterday and they’ve already started communicating and responding, so we’re hoping there will be some decent help through that. Unfortunately they don’t have any homeowner’s insurance. None. Which was quite the surprise to the rest of the family. My grandparents have been pretty w...

an image that cuts half invented memory half premonition a destroyer of hope, faith, happiness, and health an end of the road inevitable only a matter of time this is all too true acceptance and growth can they be that far behind or still out of reach

Had an impromptu interview today in person with two former co-workers at a place I worked at from 2004 to 2010. A former supervisor of mine that I have remained friends with had initiated me coming in to apply for a current open position. I had never considered it in the past because I had left that place of employment on not great terms with the company since I had hastily quit on the spot without giving notice. But apparently they are open to me returning now, as I had good relationships with co-workers who are now in supervisor & management roles. It’s a position that is a few rungs down the ladder from where I had left the company seven years ago, but that’s just a part of starting over. My immediate goals are just finding gainful employment, paying off my debts (which really aren’t much), getting a car, and getting the fuck out of my parents house. I also have a second phone interview this afternoon with another company, so after a slow period the past month and a half I final...

I had a first phone interview today for a position with a physical therapy office in a part of Austin that I very much would like to be working (and eventually living) in again. It went pretty well, but they don't seem to be in much of a rush to hire because I will be having a second phone interview next week. Meanwhile I get a phone call from a former boss of mine inquiring if I would be interested in possibly returning to work for them again. This company I had worked for from 2004-2010. And didn't leave on the best terms, at least with management. I wouldn't even be returning to my exact position, but in a lesser role. It's worth considering since it is also in the area I want to be in South Austin. Last summer, shortly after my separation and moving back in with my parents, I received a similar offer from another former boss/employer of mine. I had worked for them from 2012-2104, and had only stopped working for them when I got engaged and moved five hours away ...

Yesterday my cousin got engaged. I am happy for him and his new fiance, but theirs will likely be the first wedding I attend since I got divorced. And it’s hard not to think about that when my cousin was one of my groomsmen and my cousins’ now fiance really hit it off with my new bride at our wedding. And then today is the birthday of another of my other male cousins, who is also married with a kid. And they have good jobs and finished college and I know their lives aren’t perfect but they are happy and at least functional adults. I would say that I turned out more like my many female cousins, except not really because they are all currently married and have lots of kids, even if they have a few divorces and multiple baby daddies between them, but they still have families of their own and are all pretty happy. So then I think about what would’ve happened to my brother if he were still alive. Would he be married with kids like our cousins? Would his family had taken me in after my divor...

I calculated based on my size & age how many calories I need to have daily in order to more effectively lose weight and I counted up my calories today to find that I’m only slightly over, by less than 100 calories, the number I need to hit in order to lose on average a pound a week.  So not a bad first day considering I didn’t plan my meals today based on this calories count calculation. My dinner was higher than normal in calories since it was a casserole, and my lunch was a salad with grilled chicken that was smaller than a full entree size so I may have over counted it.  And I had a very long, intensive work out today so that felt good too. Trying to do what I can to keep the diabetes at bay. I know I’m pre-diabetic at best, with my family history (all four grandparents & mom are diabetic) and having been carrying this excess of belly fat since I was about 28 years old (I’m 35 now).  Was able to lose 15lbs the summer after I turned 30 but I was working ...

I can’t speak for everyone but once you’ve been through your own divorce celebrity couples splitting don’t really have much impact anymore. Haven’t experienced the break-up of any couples I know in real life yet since my divorce so we’ll see if that still affects me, but I’m guessing it won’t all that much.