August 2002

Eight years ago, Travis and I moved to Texas. I was set to start at Texas A&M, Galveston (TAMUG) in September. Travis planned to move with me, work a job for a while, then start at the local community college. That summer, I made plans to come visit Galveston with my mom and search for an apartment. The week before we were set to leave, I received a letter from TAMUG stating that I must live in the dorms for my first year at the school. I called to make sure that was the case, since I was coming in as a Sophomore. I was furious because that put a serious damper on Travis being able to afford to move down with me.

The school ensured me that no matter the age, I had to apply to stay in the dorms my first year there. I sent in my form and left for my visit to Galveston the following week. My mom and I took the chance to see what there was to do on the island and had a little vacation. A couple weeks after I got back, I got a letter from TAMUG that said the dorms were full and there was no room for me.

Seriously?!?!?

I kicked myself for not looking at apartments just in case. I honestly hadn't even seen it as an option. I quickly got online and searched for a place to live. I was crazy worried because the apartments get to choose what you see, but it was my only choice. Since the apartment option was back on the table, Travis decided to move to Texas with me.

We packed up three cars, one truck and a U-Haul trailer and started the trip down. Unfortunately, the trailer could only go max of 55 mph. Travis dad, who was pulling the trailer behind his truck, told us to go on, since we had to make it to the apartment complex before closing to sign the papers and get our key. The trip took us 18 hours (the trailer took 21), but we made it just in time. That night, we sat on the carpeted floor of our very first living room with our family.

The apartment complex was not that bad. Definitely not top of the totem pole, but it was better than I expected it to be for shopping over the Internet and phone. We spent the next few days unpacking and Travis went to apply at the local Quizno's. He had been working at the one back home for a year, so he figured it would be easy to get a job there right away. He was right.

That was the start of my third year in college. Several of my classes didn't transfer, so I had to "repeat" my Sophomore year. Being that this was my first year at a major university, I was worried about how well I would be able to keep up with the school work, so I decided to take the first semester off from working a job. To help jump-start our search for friends, I joined the Sailing Club at A&M.

Travis worked at that Quizno's for a few months before he found a job working at a plant in Houston doing odd jobs. It was horrible. He worked there my entire first semester of school. It was a two hour drive each way and he was working 10-hour shifts. I never saw him. Eventually, I convinced him to look for a job somewhere close. After talking with our new friend Kai, he started to work for him building a house.

Towards the end of my first semester, I felt confident about working again. I found a job working as a receptionist at a vet clinic (where we still take our pets). I made even more friends there and stayed at that clinic until I graduated from A&M in August 2005.

Travis finished building that house with Kai and then got a job working for a general contractor who had done some work on that house. He worked for him for a year or so before deciding to specialize in electrical and started working for an electrician that the contractor worked with frequently. That company trained him on most everything he knows.

That next semester in the spring, Travis started at the community college part time. It took him several years of going to school in the evening to get his degree. He stopped there, since he wanted to focus on the electrical trade.

Add a few more jobs, a few more apartments, a roomate, a house and a kid and you're all caught up. ;)