Working Girl....

So, quick update: I picked an apartment in League City, about 20 minutes drive from work with a beautiful marina view and allows large dogs. Work started mostly uneventfully, they already had a stack of things waiting for me to do, so I've been kept busy. Starting Feb. 5 I will be in Training Academy classes pretty much full-time. I am really really really excited about my job though, so far the people have been awesome, and the work looks like its going to be interesting (though, that's hard to judge after only 2 days).

Let's see, the only work snag is my current background check statis. Though I submitted the forms back in June, they didn't appreciate the fact that I filled in too many blocks of foreign countries traveled to (and this was both BEFORE my backpacking trip and Switzerland experience). Somehow, they want me to find the PRECISE dates of ALL my visits to Canada in the last TEN years. Yeah, sure, right. I petitioned for a waiver of that particularly lengthy process, and I think they've settled for knowing the approximate months.

FYI you international travellers (Sarah, Jen, Karen, et al.), apparently if you ever actually apply for a Secret clearance, not just a standard background check, they need the exact dates of each country visited (no waivers) in the last 5-10 years (depending on the agency), so start keeping track now.

Let's see, other news and excitement.

The radio situation here is rather sad, unless I can grow to appreciate Spanish rock, Christian music, or Country Western. I am slowly growing to appreciate Tex-Mex food (having eaten it for several days in a row), maybe I'll be a convert.

Right now I am wreathing in disappointment becausae Sarah just told me that Tom Cruise, Penelope Cruz, and Tom's kids were touring the center yesterday for some IMAX movie he is narrating and I missed them!!! I didn't even know they were here (neither did anyone in my group). My one opportunity to see how sexy Tom is off-screen, wasted!

And the weather is ABSOLUTELY POSITIVELY beautiful - clear skies, cool breeze, sunny warmth.