I spent the afternoon walking around Harper's Ferry again - up and along the Appalachian Trail, the C&O Canal on the Potomac, and on a river island on the Shenandoah. I kept reflecting on the past year and the upcoming one, and wondering where God will lead me this year. Work, relationships, my plans and my hopes. I had a longer post planned, but I just can't come up with the right words to say tonight. Just keep me prayer and encouragement, and I hope you have a Happy New Year!

Old Friends

I got to see an old friend of mine in town this past Monday. John Gowdy is into his 70s - he taught my Sunday School class back when I was in high school; we learned quite a bit. The last I had seen him was 4 1/2 years ago when a few of us from LeTourneau, including IssaCorrie and I, stopped by their new home near Tuscon after the Grand Canyon hike. I learned about his return to town from a friend of my mother - normally I don't get calls from home in the middle of work, but I was sure glad they had called. I met Uncle John at a restaurant in town right after work. He had no idea that I was coming, and boy were he and his wife excited to see me pop in! We spent nearly an hour and a half eating and talking, just catching up. I even gave him the Blog address before we split ways. I thank God for putting people like him in my path.

~Got my airline ticket for Jayson's wedding this week.
~I'm starting to grow a goatee again. No real reason - just for kicks.
~Running in shorts in mid-40s temperatures (like I did today) gets a little chilly. Brr.

Catching Up

Merry Christmas!

Well... this's been my longest gap between updates since last winter. It's not that I haven't had anything going on - there's been quite a bit on my mind lately. At the same time, I haven't really been that busy, either. I suppose that the greatest reason that I haven't re-posted is because I still haven't had a change of heart from my last letter back in October. I'm not nearly as frustrated as I was about my situation anymore, but nothing has changed, either.

~I'm eligible to take the Virginia Licensed Surveyor-in-Training exam once I have 3 years of on-the-job experience next April. The exam itself isn't until next October, which is kind of a pain, but they only hold the test but twice a year. At least that'll give me time to study. After all, it couldn't possibly be as tough as the Engineer-in-Training exam... right?

~My roommate is getting married this coming February. I'm in the process of finding a new place to move into sometime in late Jan./early Feb. Do I find a room with friends, or do I find my own place?

~My brother just graduated in Computer Science last week! He's back at home for the holidays before he moves closer to DC to start his job. In the meantime, it's nice to have all 3 of us kids together for awhile.

~I'm taking some time off around January 28th to fly back to Longview for a few days for Jayson Keidel's wedding. I plan on calling on a few old friends from my church, and see what's new at LeTourneau. I even hope to visit my grandparents who live out near Wichita Falls. My plans are still pretty open, aside from the wedding, of course.

I'll try to post more regularly as things come up.