Well, getting out of Monterey proved to be a logistical nightmare. Overseas assignment into a furnished apartment meant sending three different shipments (two to Jordan, one to storage), putting the truck on a boat to Jordan from a port north of San Fran, and shipping the bike via private hauler to my parents' house. Plus, packing the things I need to have with me for a month of leave and travel to Jordan. But, with a little help from my very cool neighbors, I was able to get it all done and leave Monterey less than a week after graduation.

It's good to be home, but I've found that I have a lot of nervous energy and I'm not quite sure what to do with myself. I've spent a good bit of time studying in the hopes that my request to retest the DLPT before departing will be approved. If so, I should test sometime in the first week of January. Other than that, I've been catching up on sleep and tomorrow I start heading to the gym. I'm still trying to work out a bum shoulder, and I seriously need to get my cardio back to where it was a year ago. In a way, I sort of feel like I'm putting myself back together again physically and mentally. It's crazy what a year and a half of grinding your brain will do to you. Now I understand the strange look of sympathy everyone who had been to DLI had on their faces when I first showed up there!

There is no substitute for spending time with family. Being home I've realized just how much time I've spent away from them over the last 11 years. I'm glad we are taking a trip to Disney World this coming weekend. Provided my quest to find the perfect point and shoot camera goes well, I should have some fun pictures for my next post.