Settling In

I apologize for the suspense and am letting you know that I did make it to Reno. Having flown internationally so many times, one would (incorrectly) imagine I am an expert at it by now. Well, I'm not. This flight was the worst I've had, simply because I was so restless. An hour into the flight and I was bored, and stayed that way until the end of my final destination.

Thankfully I have settled in pretty well. The time difference only affected me for a few days, and I am working on keeping up my nutritious, European diet, and waking up early. The dry climate has resulted in me declaring war on nose bleeds. Watch Fox News for the dramatic play-by-play coverage of the Great Nasal Crusade.

Classes started last week, and I learned that I should have my AA by the end of next semester. The classes are fairly interesting and overall fairly challenging, but the hardest thing for me is the teenage-factor. Apparently its normal to dislike teenagers more and more intensely the older you get, so I am not too worried about this aversion. Especially since I should not have many lower level courses anymore after this semester.

The best news of all is that my wife finally got her visa a couple weeks ago, and she and our dog will be flying in to San Francisco on Saturday. My good friend is generously driving me there to get her, and drive back to Reno. The greatest part of all was his reaction when I asked him. There wasn't any delay or excuse, just an instant "Sure, that sounds like fun!" So, please keep my wife and dog in your prayers during their journey. Alternatively I would request that you please think good thoughts for them if you are not the pious type.

12th Trans-Atlantic Flight

Living in Finland over the last year and a half has been many things. Mostly it has been beautiful, interesting, and not nearly as cold as I imagined it would be. However, the lack of employment and lack of GI Bill payments (insert repetitive, anti-bureaucratic phrase here) tipped the scales so that my Finnish wife and I are moving back to Reno, Nevada. Having grown up in Reno, I know what to expect. My wife has only spent a few months there, though, and it may be a drastic change from living in Finland.

I have long pondered starting a blog and always dismissed blogs as a passing fad, or thought I would tire of it after a few weeks. We'll see what happens. At any rate, now is a great time to start it. With our life in Finland coming to an end, The Road Back is an appropriate title, as well as the title of one of my favorite books. Not only will this provide a useful environment to catalog life in Reno vs life in Helsinki, but it should also prove challenging to me. After all, I am the self-proclaimed master of starting projects and occasionally finishing them.


Here's a fantastic view of a farm near Lappeenranta, Finland. I'll definitely miss the scenery here.