Well, I guess you can say I’ve gotten through my first week of semi-bachelorhood. The drive from Virginia went pretty well although the roads in Louisiana pounded the RV something fierce. But I got here to San Antonio just fine and the campground is nice. It’s conveniently located far enough from San Antonio that the city noise is nowhere around but close enough for the commute. Also, I’m about a mile from the small town of Boerne which has all of the amenities that a guy could need. Grocery store, restaurants, gas stations…you know, the basics.

I spent the first 4 days of the week in orientation for my new company. If there was ever a doubt that USAA cares about its employees as well as its members, let me eliminate them from your mind now. It is extremely important to USAA that its employees understand what it means to be in the Armed Forces of the United States and the kind of respect our soldiers, sailors, marines and airmen deserve. As a returning employee, I can tell you that the orientation process has evolved and is better than ever.

While we were in training, USAA made an announcement that it would be closing it’s Sacramento and Norfolk facilities. Gen. Robles, the CEO, was very careful to let the employees know that he did not want to lose a single one of them and that they would be entitled (and financially helped) to move to any one of the other USAA campuses if they would like. It was really great for new employees to see how this company treats everyone it does business with.

Anyway, so with training over, I spent the day reading in the office and trying to learn what it is that I will be doing exactly. It is a very exciting job and I can’t wait to get into the nuts and bolts of it. I joined the gym on day one and did something cardio or weight related every day but today. I spent a lot of time texting the wife and kids this morning so I got out of the camper too late to work out. I decided that I would work out after work but uh, well, it was uh, very nice outside and I uh, sort of, uh, left work without working out at all (my Barack Obama extemporaneous speaking impersonation). I do plan to go in tomorrow and work out though so I’ll make up for it there. I haven’t really done anything else since I got here though. I went to Mass last weekend at our old church and saw a bunch of friends and even had lunch with a couple of them.

You know, it truly is amazing how things are always different than you expect them to be. I’m not very good at making friends. I’m sure there are many personality deficiencies that several of you would be willing to point out at this moment however, I’m probably already aware of most of them. Where was I, oh yeah, I just don’t believe how gracious so many people have been to welcome me back. It’s really great to know that so many people remember you fondly and are looking forward to having you back in their lives again. Very humbling for me.

This RV thing is going to get old quick though.

I’m really going to have to offer this part up. I don’t mind the RV itself so much but a couple of nights ago we had 45-60 MPH gusts for about 6 hours straight and I got no sleep whatsoever because the camper kept shaking. I’d wake up and swear there was a tornado coming from the sound of it. This weekend there is a ‘rally’ at the campground. To me, a ‘rally’ at the RV park means a bunch of campers who are all in town for the same thing. That’s true but in this case, the campers all happen to be Harley Davidson owner’s. Apparently, it’s a HOG rally so there are a couple hundred very loud motorcycles traveling around. Quiet hours start at 10 and I hope these guys obey that rule. I can hear a few of them saying goodnight already so maybe these are not the stereotypical bikers that I normally have in mind.

Anyway, say a prayer for me and my family back home (I’m sure it’s very tough for them also) when you get a chance…Thanks.