Yes, I'm in class tonight. We're just installing WinXP on school hard drives and I already have done that, so we're just marking time.

So, now my life is busy busy busy! Part time job in the mornings, and now school three times a week in the evenings, adding in taking care of the three kids and the missus while she recovers from this last relapse.

The TV arrived today and I guarantee you, it was the first thing set up... First time in the past week our bedroom wasn't used as a jungle gym -- the only entertainment we had was my computer in the bedroom on the desk, playing the first three seasons of House. Now Jojo and I can reclaim our bedroom as ours, the kids have gotten their clothes and a bunch of toys, I put away all the kitchen items, especially welcome was several gifts like SILVERWARE (which we were using plastic spoons and mismatching forks and such) and an awesome set of Kitchen Aid pots and pans. Red and stainless -- great colors and they go reasonably well with our purple see-through pots and pans which I got from a thrift store.

Jojo brought a bunch of nice decorations and dishtowels, a few chairs and some furniture pieces.

All in all, our dream is coming true and I'm happy -- though quite reasonably very tired. But it's a contented tired and Jojo and I snapped at each other once or twice for a total of thirty seconds and other than that, we've been golden. The kids have been good, though we still need to get used to one another and how we all behave and what our expectations are. Just the usual, I suppose.

Also, I cannot express easily how good it feels in general, just to be active and productive again considering all the years I spent in the hospital.

That's it for now; gotta go on break, then back to lecture! Tomorrow math and Friday night, intro to programming (which is one book and is approximately the same size and density as the Shanghai yellow pages).

I've not been on Buzz regularly because of the need to pack on my end as well. No excuses, just wish I had a bit more time to devote to my new friends on Buzz. I still feel connected through Jojo, however, and I have to be satisfied with that for now.

Nine boxes of books down, three or four more to go. Then the bathroom stuff and papers, and finally miscellaneous tidbits that I keep in a handkerchief box that was my grandpa's and a what used to be a dentists box; a wooden box with many narrow drawers with felt on the bottoms where the doctors' tools were kept when he made his medical rounds way back when. It's not in excellent condition, but I'm really proud of that piece. Computer stuff is last, naturally. (Last in, First out doncha know?)

I hear lots about the wonderful support Jojo's been given from all you Buzzers, so thank you from me.

Will check in later! Wish us luck!

Looks like Jojo and I have found a house that's a tinch more expensive per month, but NO first/last, NO damage or pet deposit, and located in a really decent, quiet neighborhood!

AND, we can move in on the date we specified, no more extending our deadline this time.

We know the landlords and they're awesome people. Jojo and I know that this year is especially important, because we should be in a position to buy our first home together pretty soon.

So -- after several months, our car is fixed and works great, we found then lost a place to live, but found an even better place, and I have a feeling that I'll be getting a good job this next week.

Jo is recovering from another MS crash and I worry more than she probably realizes and I wish she wouldn't push herself so hard trying to get packed up. Hasn't life shown that we'll get it done, in a time that's right for us? I dunno, though it sure seems like it to me.

We both agreed tonight while talking that if we were really not meant to be together, then there'd have been lots of roadblocks in our way. She pulled off a really lovely and unforgettable wedding in about two weeks -- singlehandedly -- and last year got a rather decent windfall that was quite unexpected which enabled us to get together in the first place. (Both of us being quite poor and me a not-very-good money-saver. I'm learning, dear! I'm learning!) We've found doctors that we can see (especially Jo for her medical issues) and... well... everything is working out.

We've been apart too long and have had our little spats; we can never say we won't fight again here and there, but we know that it'll never get as bad as it has gotten since we've been so far away from each other.

She woke up in the middle of the night a few nights ago -- the pain in her leg and ankle woke her which she said that's the first time it ever happened before. Almost at that exact moment, I had been just about to fall asleep and I was dreaming of gently taking her into my arms, curled up beside her (as we always do) and drifting off to sleep. That's when she called and I felt so sad then that I wasn't able to comfort my wife or rub her leg to help ease the pain. So, I did the best thing I could and talk with her for a while, about life, about everything, about nothing.

Anyway, I've had the shitty parts of life -- now I'm really ready for the glorious parts of life. Actually, the more I think of it, the more I realise that life isn't something you control or often it's not something you choose. Life is something you accept.

After several months, our car is finally repaired. And, just as Jojo had predicted, it turned out to be something simple. All told, it cost us about five hundred bucks to find and finally replace a transmission sensor and the pigtail that hooks into it after my first mechanic replaced the entire computer module which apparently didn't need replacing.

I'm going back tomorrow to see if I can get some money back on the computer module thingy. My mechanic seems to be a nice guy, so it never hurts to ask.

We got bad news on the house rental -- well, sorta bad news. The property management company is requiring us to jump through some additional hoops and come up with more money up front.

I've got a few good leads on some jobs I'm really wanting and even have a written recommendation from one of my instructors. I'm very confident in finding something good for both me and my family -- for the income, the hours away at work and room for full-time school -- but I'm hoping it'll be in time.

So that's it. That's life. The daily grind, the ups and downs, the yin and yang, the good and bad the light and the dark.

I ain't sayin' anything that you don't understand; it's good to acknowledge it though.

And to acknowledge that everything seems just a little bit easier with your loving spouse by your side.

Jojo, know that I won't ever leave your side.

My wife keeps reminding me that I need to finish up the second part of "the day I met my wife".

I've got to be in a particular frame of mind, it seems, in order to write that story effectively and I just haven't been there. I've been mentally focused heavily on finding a new place for us to live, getting a job and keeping up my studies. I realize that this isn't very much compared to many peoples' lives, but considering where I was even a year ago, I think I've made incredible progress. Some days it just doesn't feel like it, though.

Not that I'm complaining much. I mean, I can honestly say that I'm happy almost every day, regardless of any aches and pains I still have from my surgeries/therapy/neuropathy/whatever.

I feel like I have to be extra careful and not fall into the trap of thinking that family comes second, that depression and loneliness are normal, that I need to do everything RIGHT NOW, that I need to have two SUVs in the garage to be happy. My wife and I believe strongly many of the same things, philosophically speaking. We've both been in bad relationships in the past and now this is it: this is the chance to break from the past and forge a new future together, one based on love, compassion, understanding, forgiveness.

I wrote this on Jojo's comments section, but I'd like to repeat it here for a bit more permanency:

As I pray that you desire me as your King
I pledge my heart, my soul, my life.
I lay before you my everything
To have you as my Queen, my love, my wife.

And I mean it.