Time

Time is slipping away daily. Things that I thought happened months ago just happened a few weeks ago. Halloween is coming, and we have one month left in our Gainesville house until our big December plan, whatever that is. So here's the update.

We finally secured a house in St. Kitts! It's a nice place, close to school. A bit pricey, but it is nice. We paid for that huge expense, first and last months rent. We have our plane tickets Dec 30th. We have most of the supplies we need, a car almost paid off we bought for 4k. The expenses are dizzying. We're lucky to be pulling this off. Some people on Jeanann's facebook who are supposed to be going in January are short on funds, and may have to drop out. We have been lucky to get this far, and we'll make it down there.

Everyone wants to know what our December plans are. So here's the thoughts going through our heads. Jeanann wants to drive back and forth across the country to see everyone, and get the kids together. I want to see everyone also, BUT the biggest problem is time. I don't finish school until Dec 8th, and that assumes I've done well enough in my classes to be able to skip finals week through the 16th or something. If I need to stay to take a final, I'm staying so I can graduate. That doesn't leave enough time to drive as much as we would need to.

Of course, funding. We've paid nearly every big expense left to get down there to the island other than shipping some things (about $100 per barrel from a sea freight co). It's questionable we'd have enough to afford all this travel just before going down to the island. I'm freaking out a little since I'd rather have some funds left when we arrive down there, than to spend every last dollar before getting on the plane. The tradeoff is our kids won't get to meet some of our family for a few years. Not sure which is worse.

We're thinking of alternative plans. (which we haven't discussed with anyone). Maybe we can drive to Texas and visit Larry and Erica, hoping Liz and Ryan can visit. Jeanann can fly to CA to drop off the bird and fly back, then we can drive to NC to see some friends, until finally driving down to Miami a few days early to ship stuff before flying out (stopping by Jeananns family on the way if time permits).

Getting to the island and settling in will be so nice after the hectic craziness we've been putting ourselves preparing for all this. Not to mention I have some demanding classes I absolutely must graduate from. If I don't graduate, I can't take my online Masters program. We'll need the few hundred a month extra I could get from Stafford loans to really afford living down there.

Another thing about all this is my income is not settled. I may be able to pull in some money, maybe not. Depending on a few factors (graduation, VA stuff, unlikely work opportunities down there).

So we're surfing this crazy turn of events, and hoping for the best. We've prepared better than anyone possibly could, but dealing with some of this uncertainty makes study time for my senior semester dizzying.

Happy Halloween! We have pics of the island trip, video, and all sorts of stuff. Just no time to upload edit and post them for all to see!

St. Kitts - First Visit

It definately is an interesting place! We spent the last week down there checking things out and scouting all over the island. Our biggest headache has been trying to secure housing. It isn't clear how housing is distributed to incoming students but it is very clear that it is more distributed by Ross U's housing people, than it is chosen by incoming students. Having a spouse and children seems not to matter, but rather irritates this mysterious housing assignment system.

One thing I've learned about myself is, I'm still not very good at making friends. I've began the process of irritating some of these people as I feel they have contributed to my stress. Probably not a good plan since the island is so small, everyone knows everyone, and I'd probably need these people's help or approval to work in any legal form.

But if we can figure these things out AND I can graduate, I figure I'll try to shoot for 2 masters degrees still. It'll keep my busy and be worth my time I figure. My hopes and dreams of internship with any local government or the EC Central Bank are rapidly fading away as I get a taste of how things operate over there. I may be too much of an outsider, and my usual slightly caustic methods are even less welcome down there.

The island is beautiful. There are some amazing beaches. It seems there is a lot of development (although it may be that these development projects just linger for an extended period of time and more half finished buildings pop up). The roads and infrastructure are in terrible pain compared to the U.S. City planning is an extremely recent concept it seems. They do have 1 new road above Bassatterre that has recently opened that is nice.

The island is a mix of tourists and locals. The local areas definately have some poverty stricken areas. The tourist areas are completely over priced. Many people figured we had money since we are white. Even so we've met some of the nicest people and did feel safe in most of the places we visited. I'm sure we do 'have money' if you compared us to some parts of the city. It's a little scary to me though. Even though St. Kitts is nothing like Afghanistan, I have to admit that some of the less well to do areas of the island did remind me of the type of poverty I've seen in Afghanistan. It's not nearly that bad if the island is considered as a whole. There are neighborhoods of super nice houses also. Some may be foreigners, and some may be local government officials.

The neighborhood we thought we would end up in is Bird Rock. Some officials live there, it's a nice place. It's up the hill from the central bank, port, shopping mart and downtown. If you look up a map of the island, it really is that small, which makes the contrast of the neighborhoods hard to understand. BUT, a few roads over, and it's a different neighborhood with a different name and a different feel to it (that we could observe in our brief week there).

We're reaching out to a few of the local people we have met in hopes of finding a place to live outside of the reach of 'Ross Housing Dept's' control. I don't have much faith or trust in their recommendations at this point and would prefer to stay as far away from anything they offer as possible. We hope to have a place to lay down and sleep when we show up with the kids in January, but at the rate we're going, it's a possibility we should prepare for.

We're holding on, committed to fulfill Jeanann's dream. I'm still excited, even with the stress and worry. I hope I can pull off this last semester which seems to be getting more and more difficult as the distractions get worse. I do hope this whole experience turns out to positive for all of us. There should be plenty of volunteer type opportunities. I think some locals have a hard time staying in school, learning to read, and that sort of thing. Maybe I can help do something good in that sense. Maybe I can motivate some U.S. people to donate to some schools down here. I've already told Jeanann I'm probably going to want to adopt some kids from one of the orphanages. We haven't seen them yet, but we will, and we're probably going to want to adopt, at least I will.

That's that for now. Stay tuned for pics and videos. It may be awhile, I have so much school work built up. I'm in the process of blowing off certain things and preparing for the next round of homework, tests and projects in an effort to graduate and make it into grad school.

Bradyn's B-Day

Bradyn is turning 3 on the 4th! We're excited. We're going all out. Bradyn was going to have a party at grandma Wrens, but that didn't work out so we decided to throw a proper bash at home. We'll have a bounce house, adult entertainment, and we've invited everyone we know (which really isn't that many people for me since most the people I know are college aged and have no kids). Bradyn's going to have a blast in the bounce house with some of his friends. Some of Jeanann's friends will be travelling up from a few hours away. All this and Florida play Alabama tomorrow night, the team that stole our championship last year.

I've been accepted to my first choice Masters program. MS Pharma/pharmacoeconomics. I'm excited and worried at the same time. I'm sure it'll be a challenge, but I'm excited for this new opportunity. It should open up some exciting opportunities for me in the future.

All this good stuff is exciting, but it's hectic and stressful. Things have been a little chaotic at times, since we're prepping to move to another country as 'student's', get all the medical, finances, schooling, kids, animals, house, and possessions ready. As exciting and positive as things can be, they can catch up to you every once in awhile. We've been reminded, but we're seeing the light again. Matt not getting accepted to the Nevada police is an example. Life sucks sometimes, no matter who you are or what you do. You have to feel the pressure and 'embrace the suck' in order to really understand the good times.

Another example of this is an old friends band from the army days. I believe he's signed to a label in NY. I posted his video the other day. His band sounds pretty good I think, and I envy his position as a musician. The video though, is a reminder of how tough life was up there at times, and to think that he persevered and pushed through. The struggle, work and pain, and to know there's only more coming. Crazy, but that's life. The choices we make alter our futures if we're lucky enough to have futures.

I regret missing Matt's wedding, I think it's the only brother's wedding I missed. We've been to Jeremy and Sara's, Luke and Shawna (which was cool in Tahoe), Alicia's, and I guess one of Jeananns cousins is getting married on the 6th of november in Georgia. Jeanann tells me I'm going to that. She's an expert at making sure my calender never gets too empty.

The kids are getting older. We're moving out of this house on Dec 1st. We fly to the islands on Dec 30th. I get done at UF about Dec 8th (hopefully). Jeanann starts her quest for doctorage in January, and I begin my online studies about drugs and such in February. I look forward to seeing everyone. It'll be bittersweet knowing It'll be 3 years before seeing some of them again. Hopefully you all will take advantage of a brother and friend who lives on a small island and come visit us. Go get your visas.

Call us! Call Bradyn, it's his birthday.