Back in Germany, already

Author: Bob Sims

Publishing date: 11.25.2006 18:22

• Laura, Jack, and I reunited in the states for a few days in June, and then flew to Stuttgart, Germany, for our new assignment. Of course, we were thrilled to return to Germany so relatively soon.
• We endured both temporary lodging and housing for a while, but finally moved into a great old house in the terrific German community of Denkendorf, just outside of Stuttgart.
• The boy started German kindergarten here locally.
• Mom and Dad joined us here recently. They moved into a nearby apartment.
• I work at EUCOM Headquarters as an IT Resource Manager. That's not the actual title, but close enough for most folks to understand. So far, I am very happy with my job and working environment, especially given the improvement in just about every area over my previous assignment.
• We went to Rome in November to meet up with a friend of mine from Kuwait, along with his wife. They were there as part of a planned tour. A lot of stars had to line up for us to be able to spend a day together with them, so we were very pleased at how well everything turned out.
• Laura is taking a college German class.
• We attend a great Catholic service at Robison Barracks, an American military housing installation in Stuttgart.
• We are going to begin the long application process in an attempt to adopt at least one international child. As this is a very expensive, slow, and bureaucratic process subject to frequent and arbitrary changes, we're not entirely certain that we will ultimately be successful. However, we will give it our best effort.
• We had a great Thanksgiving meal. We hosted Mom and Dad, along with both German and American friends. It was a great event that turned out even better than expected. Laura did all the hard work.
• I've taken a break from grad school due to the move. I'm supposed to be taking the online version of an Army professional school. I've started the course.
• I will probably take ITSM670 next semester. I'm already trying to develop a tentative project plan. Wish me luck, as I will need it.
• Speaking of project plans, I think I've reached that critical point for this site where number of improvements I have planned will require a total overhaul, as opposed to modifying the existing code base. I've been spending a lot of time lately learning about both ModX and Code Igniter.