The First Five Days...The Adventure Begins....

 I had a plan.  A plan that was going to take five days after I arrived.  Arrived where you ask?  Here's a hint:

Most of you know what I do for a living, but in case you forgot, it involves driving around all day listening to music and taking people where they want to go, safely.  (By the way, I swear if another driver decides to cut me off on the freeway or anywhere else, I'm going to scream!)

So, in order to ensure that I could continue working, I needed three things:

1. Texas insurance

2. Texas car registration

3. Texas driver's license.  

Yeah... about that.  Scoured the website for the Texas DPS (DMV to you outside this state) to see about getting an appointment.  Earliest anywhere near us (my mom and me) isn't until the middle of October.  My license expires on my birthday THIS year, which is at the end of August. So.... what to do, what to do.  I rescoured the website and found a small town that had an appointment ON MY BIRTHDAY.  Karmatic, yes?  So, I snatched up the ONLY appointment they had that day, which thankfully is in the afternoon.  Why, you ask?  Because the town is over 3.5 hours away from my mom.  Ouch!  But at least I will get the deed done before it expires. Phew!

I already got my Texas insurance before I got here, but not before realizing that my rates more than tripled.  That's okay for now.  At least I know I'm more than covered for my work as well as play.  

Now, about my car's registration.  I had to have my car inspected AND tested for emissions.  Those of you not from here are probably scratching your heads at that.  Well, there are only a few counties that test for emissions and the one I'm going to be living in is one.  On the plus side, it only costs $7 for the entire inspection!  Not only that, but the very nice lady at the shop sent me on my way for FREE!  Yeah, I really need to get that Yelp review written. They really were very nice.

My car passed, but she did recommend several things, most of which I was aware, but one I was not.  the driver's side rear plate light is out.  No big deal.  I'll fix it soon.  I also need my radiator flushed, the transmission fluid replaces, among a few other things that I can't recall at the moment.  Yeah, my car just turned 140,000 miles so yeah, I'm gonna need a few things.  I also need new spark plugs, but that's for another time.

So, we get to the annex to get my car registered.  The very nice lady asked for my current registration.  Well, duh!  I went out to the car to get it and that's when I realized that I didn't have it!  I had last years, but not this year's.  I must have accidentally thrown it out when I cleaned out my glove box several weeks ago.  😓  We ended up having to leave because I couldn't find it right then.

Did that stop me from freaking out?  Well, no.  I freaked out a lot.  The stress of this move has been the heaviest out of any moves I have ever made, and this wasn't helping.  Did that stop me from finding a solution?  Of course not!

When I finally calmed down enough to think clearly, I realized that I had a picture of my registration on my phone, or so I thought.  I had to upload a picture of the registration in order to continue my work as a driver, so I must be there on my phone.  Yeah, about that... it must have been accidentally deleted at some point because it wasn't there.  Just a screenshot of my insurance card from six months ago.

WTF!?!  I knew I had to have it somewhere.  That's when the major lightbulb went on.  There was a picture of it in ONE of me rideshare apps.  (Sorry, I'm not saying which one.)  I took a screenshot then cropped it out.  I lightened up the picture and my mom printed it out.  I prayed to every being you could think of that this would be enough.  Otherwise, I was going to have to jump through even more hoops just to get one simple thing done.  And yes, for those that know me, it isn't like me not to have my registration/insurance card in my glove box.  I must be having one of those "senior moment" things or something.

There weren't any appointments for Wednesday, so I went in on Thursday and got a really nice lady that didn't even bat an eye when I handed her my printed registration. There was a lot of typing on her end and a lot of nervous chatter (though one couldn't tell, I'm just that awesome!) on my end and a moderate amount of time later, I walked out of the annex with plates and sticker in hand.  Here they don't give you stickers to put on your plates.  They give you one to put on your windshield, kind of like a park pass.  I suppose it helps prevent people from stealing them off of the plates.  

So, now I only have to wait to get my license before it expires.  I'll try to walk in every day after Tuesday, but the odds of me getting an appointment the same days are slim to none.  It's okay.  I got everything transferred to the apps although I'm waiting on one, but I'm gold for the other.

Why Tuesday, and not Monday, you ask?  

Because I was supposed to get the keys to my duplex today (Friday), but I got a call yesterday from the property management.  They informed me that the new flooring wouldn't arrive until today and would I mind waiting until Monday to get my keys.  I told them no problem as long as I would be refunded the three days of rent for a place I hadn't taken possession of yet.  So, I'm staying with my mom and stepdad for the weekend, but really it's okay as far as I'm concerned.  

The only downside is that I had to go to the place where they set up the Water/Sewer/Trash (which had to be done IN PERSON, and get them to change the date.  That wasn't an issue.  They minor setback was when I went in on Tuesday to get it set up in the first place. 

I had brought my lease with me.  My mom printed it out.  She's been an amazing help during this whole thing.  When the lady behind the glass looked at it, she noticed that the property manager hadn't signed it, not even an e-sign.  I began to panic.  Without it, I couldn't get my W/S/T put into my name.  I calmed down (as I usually do) and rechecked my email. Apparently, the document had updated itself AFTER I downloaded it the first time.  The nice lady behind the glass merely asked for a screenshot of the signature page so I did that and emailed it to her.  Voila!  W/S/T set up.  And then changed, in person, for the new date which is THIS Monday.  I'm so stoked!

While I was waiting for the first three things to be taken care of, I decided to do some deliveries with one of the other apps.  My first delivery didn't go very well.

I accepted the order, which happened to be from an awesome convenience store that I hadn't seen since I lived in Nevada (they don't exist in Boise).  I picked up the order then proceeded with the delivery. 

Until I got to one of the many gates of..DUNDUNDUN... Fort Hood.  Now, I knew that I would be in the vicinity of a military base, however, I didn't know that I wasn't going to be able to get onto the base without a pass. I was given information on how to get a pass, then immediately turned around by a rather adorably cute soldier.  Needless to say, the soldier waiting on his order wasn't going to get it by the appointed time. 

I just about gave up, but you know me.  Relentless. Stubborn.  I called the app support and told them what happened.  They said it was okay and to proceed with me day.  I asked her if there was any way to get onto the base and she actually told me that I was supposed to cancel those orders if they couldn't meet me outside the base. 

That didn't sit well with me, so I went to the visitor's center, like the nice soldier told me and it took all of two minutes for me to get a pass that technically would have been good for 90 days, but since my license expires soon, it's only good until then.  I can get another one after I get my new one.  So, now I'm free to get onto the MASSIVE base anytime I have a delivery, or a person pick up or whenever. And believe you, me, I was on the base a lot that first day of deliveries.  I learned many things about delivering on the base that day.   

I drove my first people today.  My second trip even took me into Austin from Killeen, and I couldn't have been happier.  Not just because the fare was worth it, but because the lady and her son were so nice when I told them that I'd just moved there.  I got a lot of valuable information on places to visit, restaurants to try (or avoid) among other things.  I mean, we were going to be in the car together well over an hour.  Might as well, get the conversation going.

I even ended up going to the Austin airport with four very nice ladies who helped me avoid as many tolls as possible. Out of the massive amounts of tolls I could have accrued, I actually only accrued less than $3.  The passengers pay for the tolls, so it comes as no surprise that they would want to avoid as many as possible.  That was a very memorable journey.

It's the end of day five here in Texas, and I'm still just as excited as I was when I arrived on Monday.  I'll be even happier once I get the keys to my new place and can finally settle into a routine.  I'm looking forward to exploring all that the area has to offer.  And believe me, there's more than I can write here, even in Killeen.  

I'm sure I probably forgot to say something, but really, you've read this far, why bore you with other things?

The Horrible Past and the Adventure of New

I'm sure this will be the most soul-bearing post I have ever made, but I promised I would write a few weeks ago, and haven't had the chance yet.  Here goes...

As I am sure we all have felt at one time or another, I have felt like a horrible human being, and a bad mother.  Actually, I there have been some who have caused me to feel this way.  As often as I have said to Raven and to others that words only have as much power as one gives them, words still have a way of stinging sometimes.

I rarely ever talk about my second child.  She was taken from me then eventually adopted out as I thought the family could give her a much better life than I ever could.  As true as that might have been, I was not prepared for the backlash that eventually came my way.  

Just after I moved back to Boise, I had the opportunity to go to my son's Naval bootcamp graduation in Illinois.  I was so excited and proud that he had made it!  The ceremony was amazing, however before it actually started, I got a phone call from HER.  

Apparently, the girl was having trouble at home and wanted to come live with me.  Because I have a family first attitude, of course I said yes.  The ceremony continued and I spent the day with my son exploring Chicago.  

Later that weekend, before I left for Boise, I got another call from HER stating that the girl didn't want to come live with me after all.  I told HER that I wanted to hear that from the girl, but she refused.  I ended up going to pick up the girl after I got back.  She stayed with me for a while, but then things got weird.

I thought it would be a wonderful idea to help her get to know her birth father as he and I were friends on Facebook.  Of course, she was unsure of what to say to him, but after a bit they were talking on chat and the phone all the time.  Eventually, I became ignored, neglected and she and I didn't have much to say about anything.  She wanted to move to where he lived.  What was I going to do, say no?  She was an adult and capable of making her own choices, making her own mistakes.

I drove her up.

Without getting into too much more detail, there was a lot of issues, and eventually I found out that SHE went up there to get the girl.  And wasn't happy about it.  Not my concern.  SHE didn't have to go up there.  But, because I was the one who took the girl up, I was the one blamed for everything.  I was called a bad mother, irresponsible, and things like that.  I even received a random message from one of the girl's adopted relatives (an aunt or something) telling me who horrible of a person I was for letting the girl go live with her dad and stepmom.  I should have known that something would happen (nothing did), and I should never have been allowed to have children in the first place.  I was told that the girl will need a massive amount of therapy after what I allowed her to do.  

Tell me that I didn't feel like killing myself over that.  I have spent four years trying to get over the feeling that I was a horrible person for letting her go up there. I just have to remember that I I wasn't the one who raised the girl.  I was just trying to help and do what I felt was right.  

Fast forward to a few weeks ago...

Raven told me that she wanted to go and live with her dad after the current school year ends.  It's a different scenario, but I can tell you that I had immediate flashbacks to the girl and the trouble that ensued.  We talked to Raven's dad and made agreements and plans and there have been assurances, so this is very different than four years ago.

It didn't stop me from crying for four days thinking that I was again a horrible mother and a truly bad person for allowing yet another daughter to go live with their dad.  I really felt like dying at that moment.  If not for a friend who told me how it really was, and gave me encouragement and sound advice, I might not still be with this world.  Also taking to Raven really helped as she assured me that I wasn't a bad mom or a bad person because she wanted to move.

I have had a lot of time to think about the rest of this year and what it will entail.  And, as I think about it more, I am more excited to embark on this new adventure.  Oh, I didn't mention?  After Raven goes to live with her dad, there will be nothing keeping me here.  I am moving out of state to be closer to my mom.  For the first time in a while, I am looking forward to moving.  This will be move #65 in my life and while I am getting a bit tired of moving, I have always enjoyed the adventure of new.

Am I concerned for Raven's move? No.  

Do I think that Raven will come back to me one day and blame me for letting her go, like the girl did?  No.  Raven and I have talked about that.  We plan on talking every day and I will make darn sure that I am there for her high school graduation, among other things.  

What I can say is that I will never allow anyone's words to hurt me so much ever again. While I know I'm not perfect, I know I'm not a bad person, or a bad mother. 

Think of me how you will.  Those words will never hurt me again...