The time has come to leave Texas. I always knew it would happen, sooner or later. That I would move on, that there were other things out there for me. Not necessarily better things, or bigger things even, just other things. The truth is that I love Texas. It will always be my home, no matter where I lay my head. Whether I’m driving with the windows down through the hill country or just gazing at the familiar stars in my parent’s backyard, the skies not quite as dark as I remember them, Texas is there, all around. There are plenty of wide open spaces elsewhere, plenty of beautiful scenes that I’d rather look at, but there is always something about home. Its the familiarity, maybe, of those same trees and fence posts weathering the summer sun year after year, of a life that’s not easy but more or less simple. Its the focus on friends and family, of making something of yourself by yourself, of choosing and living with those choices. Its freedom, really, in its own way.

But, she is there. And although we both want to make it back someday, we know it may not happen, at least not for awhile. There are things we have to do, places we have to go, people that we must meet. Sure, its cliché, but its the truth. And we both know it.

So, on the 27th of January, myself and three friends will pack up a U-Haul and the new car I’ll buy in a couple of weeks (more on this later), and go west. For a couple of months, I’ll live with friends in Hollywood, right in the mix of it all at the corner of Sunset and Orange. I’ll be working about 30 minutes away, and once we’re married in March, I’ll move in with Katie in Pasadena.

For at least the next three years, she’ll be working on finding God, I’ll be working on, well, engineering things. In three months, we’ll be one, and go about them together.

As far as the wedding goes, if you’re reading this, you’re invited, if you want to come. If you don’t want to come, then fine, we didn’t like you anyway. But if you do put down March 19 on your calendar, and if we don’t send you an invitation by early March, just let us know. We don’t want to exclude anyone on purpose, but if your name gets left off the list, know that we weren’t trying to do it. Since we will both be in CA, getting everything ready for the wedding is not all up to us. Many thanks go out to all those who are helping, but they’re not perfect, and neither are we. So just let us know you’re coming. More detailed info on the wedding will be available in the near future.

If you want more details about what’s going on with us, send me an email, we’ve probably been out of touch for too long. But, give me a few days to reply and be patient, sometimes things get lost in the pile only to be found later on, and right now I’m pretty busy tying up loose ends at work and getting ready for the big move.