Rerooting

So I’ve been completely derelict in updating for the last few weeks, but I have a good reason.

We’re moving back to the States.

Which is really weird to say, since we came into this for the long haul.  We were planning on being in Thailand (or at least abroad) for two years or maybe more.  But just when we had really settled in… life got in the way.  I shouldn’t say got in the way, since it’s a pretty awesome turn of events.  Kyle got a job that’s pretty much his dream job, working for a volunteer management organization in VA where he’ll get to work with youth and do disaster response/emergency preparedness stuff.  It’s got great benefits, and from what we can tell there’s lots of room for advancement down the road.  When we were still talking in the abstract about whether Kyle was going to be offered the job, we decided that getting something and turning it down right now, especially when it’s a job that could be perfect for you, is kind of like spitting in the face of the gods.  Like Odysseus and Poseidon-type bad luck.  As much as we love our lives here in Chiang Mai, it was something we just couldn’t turn down.

It’s great for our long-term, but in the meantime, it’s been a hectic and stressful couple of weeks. Kyle’s back in the US already getting everything ready to go so he can start his new job, and I’m still in Chiang Mai wrapping up loose ends.  It’s the longest we’ve ever been apart from one another, and I’ll be the first to say it SUCKS.  Not to mention that I’m back to job hunting, which is pretty much the worst thing in the whole world.  Hopefully our streak of good luck will hold out long enough for me to find something decent (and after Dean and Deluca, my standards are not all that high).  So my future in some ways is a big ol’ question mark, but at least it seems to be a question mark that has picked a direction.

I realized last week that I’ve moved at least twice a year since I left home for college (which was now EIGHT YEARS AGO WTF).  I’m so ready to be in one place for a while, to paint the walls knowing I’ll get to enjoy them for more than a few months.  I’m looking forward to really setting down roots in DC, a city we already know that we love.  My main goal for when we move back is to be more active – to find some new hobbies, make some more friends, volunteer more.  I feel like I spend a lot of time coasting, and that now is the moment to shake it off and do something cool with my time.

I’ll be spending my last weekend selling off the stuff we’re not bringing back, getting a massage, and trying to squeeze every last drop of enjoyment out of this city.  Only 8 days til go time.