You'll have to excuse me while I indulge in a bit of self-congratulatory backpatting.
So one month ago, AmberFe and I had packed most of our earthly possessions into a 8'x6' U-Haul, given away what we couldn't fit, and set out on the road to North Carolina. There was no real plan, other than that we would be staying with my mom until we were on our feet.
Now, one month later, I'm temporarily using dial-up in our new apartment (which, btw, is far nicer at $50 less rent per month than in Albuquerque) until our DSL gets hooked up. (Speaking of which, we have a home phone, unlimited long distance, two cell phones, and DSL, all for about $160 a month.) I started my new job today (which, btw, pays better than my old job in Albuquerque). After two interviews, they were begging to hire both myself and AmberFe. It's kinda nice to hear that you're "overqualified" for the position. I learned during the interview that I can apparently type at a rate of roughly 80-90 words per minute, which was a shock to me. The interviewer's jaw dropped when she saw that, especially considering that I had achieved that rate with zero spelling errors. Then I informed them that they misspelled "amount" on the test software. I'm such a dick.
In short: We kicked ass, and I'm very proud of us. WOO HOO!
We're working for NCO, but not in debt collections. Interestingly enough, my job is going to be damage notification for UPS. It's funny because UPS managed to damage $650 worth of DJ equipment that was shipped to me, despite the fact that it was packed in a wooden/metal-lined flight case, lined in about three inches of hard foam on all sides. I currently joke that damages occur because of a slight miscalibration in the catapaults that they use for transport. I'm really the only one who finds that funny.
Like I said, our first day of work was good, although very boring. We just filled out paperwork and learned how to log into phones and computers. I once again managed to prove today that my gaydar is completely nonexistent. Seriously. I just don't get it. So then everyone tries to drop subtle hints to let me know, and I still don't get it. Finally, someone will be like, "Jacob, he's gay!", and I'll be like, "Oh, no. I mean, he's really cheerful and all, but I think 'gay' is a bit of a strong word to use." and then I get bitchslapped. It's kind of a sad situation.
So yeah... umm... Saaaan Francisco, San Francisco, San Francisco...
The trip to NC went extremely well. We packed until the evening, and despite being bone-tired, went ahead and started driving, on the premise that we did not want to spend another night in New Mexico. We drove at night, since we didn't have air conditioning. We really probably shouldn't have been towing 2000 pounds on the back of a Nissan Sentra, but we did anyway. It was great. It looked like it was on hydraulics because the back was pushed so far down. We then left Texas, for our next stop: Henrietta, Oklahoma, where we stayed with my friend Zach's parents.
And good lord, what a little slice of heaven that place was. A nice house up on the hill, a deck with a jacuzzi, a fishing pond in the back yard, with a swing in a nearby tree... Trails, two ATVs, a pool... It was so awesome that we had to stay for another day there. It was just beautiful. I took Amber on her first ATV ride. I actually spent most of the day there tearing around the trails and dirt roads at ludicrous rates of speed. I had a blast. Then we showered off, and Amber and I retreated to the hot tub. Zach's parents were just amazingly hospitable. His dad even brought Amber and I a bottle of wine to enjoy in the hot tub. Poured it into glasses for us and everything, before dimming the lights and leaving us for a bit of romance under the stars. I was in awe of their kindness, and they heartily invited us back should we ever pass through the area. I hope I get to take them up on it someday.
Next stop: Nashville, Tennessee. Where my rich uncle lives. Now, when I say rich, I mean, HOLY CRAP! He was like, "Sorry about the mess, they're renovating the bathroom." So we went, "Bathroom? Renovated? We didn't see that."
"Oh no, it's in the other wing."
"You have *WINGS* of your house?"
So we passed out for a while while Mary went to go play tennis with LeeAnn Rimes or something, then we woke up, and he and Mary treated us to a nice restaraunt.
Mexican food.
::beat::
The sentiment was great, but I think they missed the fact that we had just left New MEXICO.
We made it to NC the next day. And now we're well on our way to getting established.
To all you NC noders: drop me a hullo. We're pretty friendly, and Amber and I are all about making new friends out here. If you ever see my UserID on a flyer for a party, that's probably me. I'm worth a listen, or at least yclept thinks so. Maybe I'll host a nodermeet or something when we get the apartment all set up. I'll keep you all updated.