Yesterday I got my MetroCheks from work. They gave me $300 for the next quarter. I looked over my schedules and decided to give it a whirl this morning. I had trouble falling asleep and I don’t think I dozed off until about 1:30am. Then my eyes opened and it was 6:30am!! What’s up with that?!? I tried to go to sleep, but I just couldn’t do it! I laid there and tried to go back to sleep. I watched a little bit of the local news and learned about all the local flooding here from rain last night. I felt a little sleepy and turned off the TV and tried to sleep again, but it was no use. I laid there for a little while longer and gave up before 8am. I guess I was rested or just anxious about taking the Metro for the first time.

Anyway – I finally dragged my butt out of bed and checked email, showered and stuff. I was starving from getting up so early! So I cooked up some breakfast and realized that my entire morning was almost gone. I was cooking eggs and getting dressed at the same time. Then I had to pack my lunch and was having trouble getting my lunch box to fit in my backpack since I had some paperwork in there too. Time was ticking away! I was getting flustered and I started shaking. It was weird – I have not felt that way in quite some time. I got everything to fit and darted out the door. I felt a lot better once I began walking to the Rosslyn Metro station. I put my tunes on and enjoyed the walk and got there in about five minutes. The train came soon after and I got to my next station at L'Enfant Plaza and went to the wrong platform and had to double back to get to the other one. It took me to the last Metro stop at Anacostia and I had to wait for the shuttle for about ten minutes. It dropped me off closer that I would have to walk when I drive which was cool.

The ride home was better. My co-worker, Becky, dropped me off at the front gate. It was a short walk to the bus stop where I sat for a good amount of time. The shuttle doesn't run at night and I have to take the W4 MetroBus in the evening. I obviously got there too early and will have to leave later next time. Maybe I'll just walk! The bus was clean, the driver was nice, and he took me right to the Metro station. I hopped on my train and was surprised to see so many people still out and about. Train change was easy and the walk home took me just minutes. I got quite a bit of reading done was the brisk walk was good exercise since I can’t run yet. All in all – I’d say that the experience has been a good one and I look forward to doing it again. It is nice to have some downtime and just do nothing but kick back and let someone else drive. And besides – one more car off the road is a good thing… and I don’t have to pay a dime!

No more news about my abuelita. She is doing okay and all is well back in Austin. I have been talking to my coworkers back home and am trying to setup a conference call so that we can discuss past, current and future projects in the department. We are almost 90 days into this deployment and I don’t want to be lost when I get back. I figure its easier to spend a little time every few months to catch up instead of trying to comprehend everything at once when I get back. It will be good to talk to them again. I also picked up a consulting gig for a guy from Cherrydale church. He needs help updating, securing and organizing his computer and I replied to his ad on the church’s website. The money is not bad and it will help keep my skills intact. I am supposed to be there at 9am Friday morning. Looks like this might be a lucrative business! I might look for more opportunities if everything works out right.