I'm not really supposed to post much about my new job, so I won't. I'll just say that I am getting along quite nicely, and I'm happy I came.
It's been rough being away from family, and I've been without internet for over a week until today. I'm really looking forward to video chatting with Jenn and the kids as soon as Jenn thinks about answering her phone.
I've been eating pretty healthy and I've lost quite a bit of weight.
I moved into my new apartment on my 11th anniversary, 8-14. Last year on 8-14 I was here in San Antonio taking the written test. I've missed my last 2 anniversaries, which means number 12 had better be pretty darned cool.
Anyways, I'm doing ok, and I might not be updating this much, since all I really do is work, and I can't blog about it. I'm on a strict diet, which means that eating at some of the cooler bbq places is kind of out of the question for a while.
Monday, August 23, 2010
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
The Journey
I'm now in San Antonio, Texas. I've got a few days to prepare for the start of the fire academy on August 16.
On Saturday, the seven of us and Molly went to go see my Grandma in San Jacinto before I left California for good. We had a good time, the kids got more than too many stuffed animals, and we got chased by a pack of ducks.
These ducks were hoping for a handout and came right up to our golfcart. We went around their pond and they swam across to cut us off, still hoping for food. It was pretty hilarious watching them sprint-waddle up to us.
On Monday morning, I set out on a 2 day drive from Apple Valley to San Antonio. It's a total of 21 hours in a car. It was really really hard to leave, and it took a few hours for my red puffy eyes to get back to normal. I'm really going to miss my family, and my only hope in taking this job for now is that it will be worth the time I am spending away from them. I love all my kids and I love my lovely Jenn.
I drove through Lucerne Valley to Yucca Valley on the 18, and then down to Palm Springs on the 62. The rest of the trip was on I-10. Once I got across the Arizona state line I noticed that there were tons of highway patrol out. This wasn't meant to be a quick trip. The highways were pretty heavily patrolled until I made it to Texas.
In Tempe, I stopped at Chompie's, a New York style Deli that was featured on Man V. Food a few weeks ago. They had the big challenge that Adam ended up failing on the show, which is 12 Jewish Sliders in 30 minutes or less. A Jewish Slider is a delicious mini sandwich with a potato pancake, brisket, and jack cheese. I ordered 3 of them and downed them in 5 minutes. I think I might try for the T-Shirt and free meal next time I'm in the area as long as there are plenty of people there cheering me on. I don't think gorging myself all alone would be very fun. If I had driven through there on a Tuesday after 4pm I could have had all I could eat sliders and actually seen if 12 would be possible. Oh well.
I stopped by Grandma and Granddad Black's house in Mesa after I ate lunch. We had a nice chat, and I had a nice couch to sit on to give me a break from the car. Thanks for opening your home to me, I appreciated the break and the conversation. I hope I'll get to see you in November.
I drove to Tucson and stopped at El Guero Canelo, another Man V. Food restaurant. I had a Sonoran Style Hot Dog, which is a hot dog wrapped in bacon, and smothered with beans, mayo, jalapeño sauce, mustard, onions and tomatos. There is a lot of love in that soft bun for $2.39. I'm glad I made the small detour, it was probably the best hot dog I've ever had (by that I mean the best way I've ever eaten a run of the mill "Farmer John" style wiener, obviously kosher all beef franks or brats are better tasting sausages, imagine what a Sonoran style brat would be like...).
Normally I would have taken pictures of my famous food, but Jenn kept my camera in California. I guess I'll just have to go back :)
I stayed in Las Cruces on Monday night, woke up somewhat early and began driving the last 9 hours to San Antonio. As I drove through El Paso, the Mexican border was so close in one spot that I could see over the river border into Ciudad Juarez, and there was a hill covered in shacks. It's amazing how different life must be across the street.
There weren't any more foodie places to eat on the border towns along I-10. I was surprised with the scenery of West Texas. I guess the western part of the state up until about San Antonio is known as Hill Country. It was pretty. The hills were rolling, giving variety to the road, and the sky was vibrant blue with a multitude of puffy white clouds. I remembered that I do have a camera on my phone, but I don't have the capability as of yet to get the pictures off of it and on to my computer, plus, it's 1.3 megapixels and probably really blurry.
I got to my hotel at about 6:30 and now I'm here. I guess I'll write more when I have more to say.
Here's a crappy cell phone picture of the view from my car.
On Saturday, the seven of us and Molly went to go see my Grandma in San Jacinto before I left California for good. We had a good time, the kids got more than too many stuffed animals, and we got chased by a pack of ducks.
These ducks were hoping for a handout and came right up to our golfcart. We went around their pond and they swam across to cut us off, still hoping for food. It was pretty hilarious watching them sprint-waddle up to us.
On Monday morning, I set out on a 2 day drive from Apple Valley to San Antonio. It's a total of 21 hours in a car. It was really really hard to leave, and it took a few hours for my red puffy eyes to get back to normal. I'm really going to miss my family, and my only hope in taking this job for now is that it will be worth the time I am spending away from them. I love all my kids and I love my lovely Jenn.
I drove through Lucerne Valley to Yucca Valley on the 18, and then down to Palm Springs on the 62. The rest of the trip was on I-10. Once I got across the Arizona state line I noticed that there were tons of highway patrol out. This wasn't meant to be a quick trip. The highways were pretty heavily patrolled until I made it to Texas.
In Tempe, I stopped at Chompie's, a New York style Deli that was featured on Man V. Food a few weeks ago. They had the big challenge that Adam ended up failing on the show, which is 12 Jewish Sliders in 30 minutes or less. A Jewish Slider is a delicious mini sandwich with a potato pancake, brisket, and jack cheese. I ordered 3 of them and downed them in 5 minutes. I think I might try for the T-Shirt and free meal next time I'm in the area as long as there are plenty of people there cheering me on. I don't think gorging myself all alone would be very fun. If I had driven through there on a Tuesday after 4pm I could have had all I could eat sliders and actually seen if 12 would be possible. Oh well.
I stopped by Grandma and Granddad Black's house in Mesa after I ate lunch. We had a nice chat, and I had a nice couch to sit on to give me a break from the car. Thanks for opening your home to me, I appreciated the break and the conversation. I hope I'll get to see you in November.
I drove to Tucson and stopped at El Guero Canelo, another Man V. Food restaurant. I had a Sonoran Style Hot Dog, which is a hot dog wrapped in bacon, and smothered with beans, mayo, jalapeño sauce, mustard, onions and tomatos. There is a lot of love in that soft bun for $2.39. I'm glad I made the small detour, it was probably the best hot dog I've ever had (by that I mean the best way I've ever eaten a run of the mill "Farmer John" style wiener, obviously kosher all beef franks or brats are better tasting sausages, imagine what a Sonoran style brat would be like...).
Normally I would have taken pictures of my famous food, but Jenn kept my camera in California. I guess I'll just have to go back :)
I stayed in Las Cruces on Monday night, woke up somewhat early and began driving the last 9 hours to San Antonio. As I drove through El Paso, the Mexican border was so close in one spot that I could see over the river border into Ciudad Juarez, and there was a hill covered in shacks. It's amazing how different life must be across the street.
There weren't any more foodie places to eat on the border towns along I-10. I was surprised with the scenery of West Texas. I guess the western part of the state up until about San Antonio is known as Hill Country. It was pretty. The hills were rolling, giving variety to the road, and the sky was vibrant blue with a multitude of puffy white clouds. I remembered that I do have a camera on my phone, but I don't have the capability as of yet to get the pictures off of it and on to my computer, plus, it's 1.3 megapixels and probably really blurry.
I got to my hotel at about 6:30 and now I'm here. I guess I'll write more when I have more to say.
Here's a crappy cell phone picture of the view from my car.
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