I like wine.

California is a good time so far. I've just been relaxing at Susan's house while she's at work until her four-day weekend, which starts tomorrow! Lots of different options - beach, shopping, baseball, shopping, pizza Thursdays, and shopping. It's pretty exciting to be close to all kinds of stuff, but it is overwhelming. California is full. Just tons of people everywhere. Trying to go anywhere is a production at first, but as Susan explained you do get used to commuting...everywhere. I managed to make it to Old Navy by myself on Monday. I first went west instead of east on the freeway. After which, I had to turn around and came into a traffic jam. Trying to avoid that, I drove on side streets for a while before re-entering. I nearly gave up, but I had been without shorts for too long, and even just a few more weeks in the southwest warrant nothing but proper summer attire. I ended up with three pairs of shorts and two tank tops. I even made it home.

The evenings have been nice. We just kind of hang - watch something DVR'd and drink wine. I dig it. Susan is particularly fond of rerun 90210 episodes that run on the Soap channel. I must admit: I'm starting to get into it too. More than that, though, Susan has shown me around Riverside a bit and given me a glimpse into her life since moving here three years ago. It's very interesting to see what she's been up to - where she works, plays, eats, and where Ben goes to school (the whole reason for the move). It's also neat to see how she's adapted. I hope I can do the same with wherever we end up.

I've talked to Joe about twice a day since I left Arizona. He calls in the mornings around 7:00am and then again in the evening. When he calls in the morning, I'm asleep (I'm on vacation and am unemployed - so what?), yet he always says upbeat "Hey! What's up?" UMMMM. Ah Joey. It's still always good to hear from him, though. He's preparing to go to the field tomorrow. The field test is rumored to be shortened to 6 or 7 days due to the heat, but the guys have also been told it will last the full 10. Ah the very essence of the Army - never giving a straight answer....about anything. Hooah.

It'll be interesting when I go back to Arizona. Joe will be allowed to come off base - yay!! However, it's possible his grandparents and aunt could be in town in addition to his parents. Might be hard to steal away some time. I'm sure we'll figure something out, though. The fam understands the separation pretty well and that we need our alone time. Wendy was particularly good at getting Mike and herself out of the house for us last week. Wink wink. OMG! TMI! It was much appreciated.

Until then, I'm going to enjoy my time here with Susan and then visiting Mom. And also possibly my cousin: the genius is doing something with jet propulsion in Pasadena. He so crazy.

I LOVE JOE!