A Quick Run-Down Of The Week They Were Here

April 29 – Michelle arrives on Saturday so that she doesn’t have to rush to be here when Cole’s plane lands on Sunday and just to get away sooner, in general. We partake of dinner together, and chill for the evening. It’s good having my sister around. Living in a town without any real friends or family can get lonely.

April 30 – Cole arrives on Sunday. We drop off her luggage at my place and head out to eat as we are all hungry. Since this is the first time Cole has been here, and Michelle hasn’t really done that much exploring, we go to Chuy’s, a uniquely Austin restaurant that serves Tex-Mex style cuisine. If you want good Tex-Mex in Austin, this is where it’s at. We putz around a bit then head home to watch Ron White and QAF.

May 1 – May 5 – The women spend most of the week going all over creation, shopping, visiting, and doing women stuff. I worked. In the evenings we all hung out together and watched some TV, played some games, and got to know one another. Fun was had. I Promise.

May 5 (Evening) – We had intended to go out on Thursday night, but unexpected hail kept us indoors. We made up for it on Friday, though. We began by eating dinner downtown at a well-recommend little BBQ joint called Stubb’s. If you are in the Austin area and want good BBQ, this is definitely worth it. Good food, good price, and sometimes live music to round it all out. After dinner we went home so the women could prepare for the evening. They had been wanting to go to this certain club, and I agreed to take them and be the designated driver so they could let loose and have a good time, without worrying about how to get home. So off we went. Cole is a somewhat experienced drinker. Michelle is not. Not at all. She was a trooper though. In the space of roughly 2 hours she downed 4 vodka and orange juices and 1 very strong whiskey sour. She was drunk. We’re talking knee-trembling, commode hugging drunk. But hey she had a great time getting there. She got a few dances out of the evening as well. Lot’s of eye-candy that night. I had fun just watching everyone else. Being the only sober person at the club has its perks.

May 6 – Only one more day with them here. I have to say, it’s been fun having them visit. They went to a celebrity golf thing this morning. Michelle got lost coming back. She ended up taking the scenic route over to Lake Travis. I talked her home and we all spent the rest of the day and evening staying in and resting. We watched a few movies. Good times.

May 7 – Cole left out early this morning. She seemed almost sad about going home, but excited to know that she’ll be back soon. Michelle left after lunch. Now the place is quiet. Too quiet, really. I got used to having company. Even if it was cramped.


More soon to come ...

-C-

Meet Cole

Cole is a newcomer to my world. I’ve known of her for about a year now. But all I really knew is she is one of Michelle’s friends and was going into the Coast Guard. I didn’t know anything about her personality. Or even what she looked like for that matter.

I slowly picked up on more as time went by. The move to Australia was to have involved her, and I became interested to learn what sort of person would make that momentous a decision. Turns out, she is a very interesting woman. She has a sarcastic wit that can cause the average “mouth-breather” to faint from internal bleeding. She’s into physical fitness, and has worked very hard to get and stay in shape. She loves dogs. She’s also a writer and artist. These are all things I was picking up as time went on. There’s a lot more to her, but I’m really just going to scratch the surface here. I’m intentionally not delving too deep. The point is over the last year I have picked up little bits and pieces of who she is and what she’s all about.

Then the Australia trip got “delayed indefinitely” and Michelle made her decision to move to Austin (this actually didn’t happen as sudden as it seems, but rather was extended over several months, as detailed in Michelle’s introduction), and it seemed that Cole would be left in Ohio. The most important detail to understand at this moment about Cole is that she wants out of Ohio. She needs a change of scene and an opportunity at a better life.

So Michelle is coming to Austin. And Cole is stuck in Ohio. Or is she? Someone had a brilliant idea. Since they were planning to live together in the first place, why not still do so. Just go to Austin instead. The moving costs would be cheaper, and it would have the same basic effect. Cole gets out of Ohio, starts a new life, and becomes happy. So plans were begun to have Cole move to Austin.

In the meantime, Michelle makes plans to spend the week between the Spring and Summer semesters in Austin on a little vacation. Soon, Cole becomes a part of those plans and the two decide to meet here and see what the town really has to offer. As a gesture of brotherly love, I offered to let them stay at my place while they were in town, so they wouldn’t have to spend quite so much. Naturally they accepted, and the wheels of fate completed another revolution (dramatic, eh?).

During their stay in Austin, I suggested that we all room together when they move here. We could all save more that way. The idea was well received, and plans are now being made to do just that. I am looking forward to living with them. I get along just fine with both and think it will be a great opportunity for all parties.

So now you’ve met the main three. There are other players involved, some more than others. You’ll meet them along the way.

More soon to come ...

-C-

Meet Michelle

Step back in time with me. December 31, 1991. New Year’s Eve. My father is getting remarried to a woman I’ve never met. And she has a daughter from a previous marriage. So, naturally I have to be there. I met her and her daughter. And while I can’t say that the bond was instant, she was a cute kid. I think she was about 7 or 8 at the time. Her name is Michelle. Since I was raised with no true full blood siblings (I have a half brother and a step brother), it was easy for me to just drop the “step” and call her sister.

For the next two summers I will spend some of my vacation in Texas getting to know the family. I will see my sister a handful of times during the course of the next twelve years. She grows up having two older brothers that she barely knows. And yet we always consider each other family.

Notice, I said twelve years. In November, 2003, I lost my job in San Antonio (the details aren’t really important anymore). My father and his wife opened their home and let me move in so I could go to school. It was a whole new dynamic. I was a stranger to these people. And now I had to learn to live with them. This was especially trying when it came to my sister.

Michelle and I are two very different people with very different upbringings. It was not uncommon in my mother’s home to verbally attack one another. For my brother and me, it was more often physical. That doesn’t go over too well with Michelle. She was raised in a relatively calm home. What stress there was could usually be dealt with in a quiet and calm manner. That’s not what I’m used to. I’m used to yelling obscenities to get someone’s attention and then lashing out. Michelle couldn’t handle me.

Over the course of the next several months, we had some interesting and terrible arguments. We both said things to each other that hurt deeper than I would have thought possible. At one point, it got so bad that Michelle and her mom quit talking to me altogether. They wouldn’t be in the same room with me. Michelle was afraid of me. I’m ashamed of this. It’s something I’ll never forgive myself for. After a few sit downs, and some new ground rules, we were able to over come this difficult part of our lives. It’s hard for me to say it wasn’t worth it, because the end result is truly wonderful. But I do regret going down that road to get here.

So Michelle and I bonded, and got very close to one another. We are often each other’s rock in difficult times. And I really wouldn’t want it any other way.

Fast forward to Fall 2005. I’m in my last semester of school and quickly having to decide what to do when it’s all done. Michelle, on the other hand, is just getting started in an entirely new program. Little does she know that this change is only one of many that are about to hit her like a hurricane. The good news is that this semester goes well Michelle, as far as school goes. She pulls all A’s and B’s. She is truly enjoying her new path. Her creative tendencies have really had a chance to shine through. But the turmoil has just begun.

At the same time, Michelle’s mom had been having issues at work. It was becoming increasingly frustrating just to go in everyday. This was magnified when her good friend and supervisor, Amy, took another job in Austin. Eventually, it would lead to her deciding to leave the company and look for work elsewhere. Elsewhere became Austin when an unexpected invitation came along to relocate there and work with Amy again. The dynamic would be different but she would be somewhere she could be happy again. She took the position. In January 2006, she left home and moved in with a cousin in the Austin area. She began work and has never looked back.

The downside, of course, is she had to leave her husband, daughter, mother, and grandmother behind. Naturally, my father will eventually move up there as well. But they have to first sell the house. No small task in today’s market. So, they have to live apart, for the first time in 15 years together. And Michelle is without her mom, and feeling very down about it.

Ok, let’s step out of the timeline just a bit. At some point, Michelle decided that she loves Australia. She has a friend that lives there and she wants to go visit and possibly even move there. This led to a plan to have Michelle and Cole (you’ll meet her soon enough) move to Australia to live with Anna. Plans like this require a lot of work and sacrifice, and the smallest of things can throw them off kilter. Turns out, a small thing indeed did interfere.

Over the course of the last 8 years or so, Michelle has been pining for the "love of her life." JT is a friend from her high school that unexpectedly moved to Houston with his family. Their relationship unresolved, she has always had him in the back of her head. This eventually led to her actively pursuing a relationship with him. I’d guess you’d have to call this a slow build up. It took a year and more of IM, phone calls, and road trips to Houston to really get anywhere close to what she ultimately wanted from him. The relationship was hot/cold for the whole time, and she was getting very frustrated. This leads us back to this year. Spring break 2006. Michelle decided to split her time between visiting JT in Houston, and her mom in Austin. I was also on the list of visits but only for a night. Things in Houston did not go as planned and she ended up staying with me a few days extra.

At some point during their talks Michelle started thinking about staying in Texas. Possibly Houston or Austin. The incident during spring break essentially removed Houston for the equation. She only considered it because of JT. He is gone, so goes out Houston. So it’s very likely she will want to move here, to Austin. It’s a safer place to start a new life. She has family already here. And more coming. There is something to be said for a support network.

With all this drama in her life it’s amazing she has room for anything else. Did I mention her other family? Her biological father has not been a positive influence in her life. In fact she often thinks of my father as her dad, since essentially he raised her. Her stepmother is tolerable on her good days, a real bitch the other 360 days of the year. Her younger sisters have issues all their own. This has led to a more recent distancing of herself from her father. It’s particularly hard since her stepmom has been her workout buddy and she still wants to be there for her sisters.

And then, something good happened. Michelle’s father has been given a job in Maryland. This means the whole lot of them is leaving. Her father is already gone, and his wife and kids won’t be too far behind. While it is unfortunate that the girls will be gone, it is better for Michelle in the long run. And I wouldn’t be surprised if the girls make it back to Texas as soon as possible.

Michelle has also recently started “talking” to a guy she’s known for a while and things seem to be heating up between them. So while love has not always been kind to her, she has landed what looks to be a promising future beau.

As another bright point in the night, Michelle has recently cemented her desire to move to Austin. The decision stems from several motivating factors, some of which I’ve mentioned already, some of which are solely her business. It is this decision and its fallout that has led us to this point. Michelle wants to move here. I’m looking to get a bigger place, possibly with roommate/s. So, I have invited her to live with me when she comes up here. We’ll share the rent, bills, etc. It will allow her the freedom of not relying on her Mom and Dad, as well as the security of having someone she knows and trusts beside her to make sure she doesn’t fall on her face (this can be read in a few ways … they all apply). And it affords me the opportunity to not be stretched so thin, while still maintaining a sense of independence that I was lacking these last 2 years.

Now. I know what some of you are thinking. “I thought this was going to be about FRIENDS moving to Austin and living together?” Well, it is. And I’ll prove it. Firstly, Michelle, while being my sister, is also one of my closest friends. She really is a rock for me. And I hope she feels the same about me. Secondly, this isn’t the end of the back story. There is more to come still. And with it, the rest of the cast.




More soon to come ...


-C-

*Author's Note:* The timeline presented here is as accurate as I can make it.

Since I'm having to go mainly from memory, things sometimes get a little off.

Please, bear with me.

Meet Chuck

This all began... actually I couldn't even begin to sort out how this all started. I can, however, tell you some of the events that led up to where we are today.

As mentioned previously, my name is Chuck. I am 28 years old. I am originally from a small town in Mississippi that you've probably never even heard of. I joined the Air Force in late 1996, at the still tender age of 19. I was all set to see the world, since most of my life I had only seen Texas, Mississippi, and points in between. Air Force Basic Training is held at Lackland AFB in San Antonio, TX. My Technical Training School (I was a software engineer) was held at Keesler AFB in Biloxi (say it with me ... BUH LUX EE), MS. My first, and only, duty station was Brooks AFB in SAN ANTONIO, TX! Are we seeing a pattern?

So for the past 9+ years I've been living in Texas (with the exception of a two year period where I lost my mind and moved to Oregon). So much for seeing the world. Fast forward to November, 2003. I have lost my job. My father and Stepmother offer to take me into their home ( I was raised by my Momma and Stepfather), feed me, keep a roof over my head, as long as I went back to school. So I did. In January 2004, I began formal training in Computer Networking and Security Technology.

Now, it's not as simple as all that. I've now got to adjust to living with my father, his wife, and her daughter. They have always been on the outer edge of my life. While I loved them, I really barely knew them. So it took some adjusting and many long periods where we didn't do alot of talking. But we did adjust. I'm happy to report that I have a baby sister whom I cherish every bit as much as if she were blood (and sometimes more). Keep that in mind because it's important.

Ok fast foward to December, 2005. Two years after I began, I acquired an Associate's Degree in Computer Networking. I had the degree, now I needed a job. So I took a postion with The Office of the Attorney General in Austin. It's set up to be an internship that runs in 4 month cycles, and no more than 2 cycles. So at the most I am employed for the next 8 months. 8 months to decide whether or not I will like living here. And then I have to either go elsewhere or get a real job and stay.

I've made it through the first 4 month cycle and am 2 weeks into the second. I have decided to stay in Austin indefinately. I love it here.

So that's where I'm at right now. For the most part. There's more to tell, but that's for a later date, as you have to meet someone else first.

More soon to come ...


-C- *Author's Note:* The timeline presented here is as accurate as I can make it.
Since I'm having to go mainly from memory, things sometimes get a little off.
Please, bear with me.

Our story thus far...

Here's the deal. My name is Chuck. Hi, nice to meet you.

What follows will be the chronicles of a group of friends that have met and bonded online. It will center on the main cast of characters and their various attempts to make and save money to enable a relocation to Austin, TX. You will meet them and the supporting cast shortly. Be patient.

I have taken it upon myself to begin this chronicle, as a way to both pass on new information regarding the move and to poke fun at us all. Yes the story is real. This isn't a made up piece of fiction, although I do hope to eventually provide links to made up pieces of fiction. Some of the characters have talents along those lines. Remember as you read... The "characters" of this story are real. I will change critical things such as their full identities because that's just the way it has to be. But they are real people, and most of what is detailed here will be actual events, if sometimes exaggerated.

It is not to be taken 100% seriously, because I am not to be taken 100% seriously. The early posts will mostly entail back story, so you will see quite a few in a relatively short amount of time. Once you know what led up to this point, you will get updates as updates happen. So come back often. And enjoy. This really should be fun.

More soon to come ...


-C- *Author's Note:* The timeline presented here is as accurate as I can make it.
Since I'm having to go mainly from memory, things sometimes get a little off.
Please, bear with me.