I'm still here!

*blows dust off blog*

Houston, Houston, Houston... this city wears me out. Every time I think I can get used to being here, something happens to remind this isn't my final stop. A few weeks ago, I renewed my lease through 2017. Deep down, I know it's the smart thing to do so I can save money and focus on where I really want to be, but I wasn't at all excited about staying. I even have a countdown on my phone to until the end of my lease. smh...

Being an adult is tiring. Lately, I've been dealing with a minor health issue and it's been one big headache. I was referred to a doctor who insisted on performing an in-office procedure in the hospital... with all the costs associated with that. When all and said was done, I would have been responsible for over $1000... for what should have been an in office procedure. Needless to say, that was cancelled. So, today, I went to see another doctor who would be able to do the procedure in office next week. The only thing that I didn't like is that he moved so quickly... barely taking time to answer questions. He wrote me a prescription for an antibiotic without first asking if I had any allergies (I do.) My impression of him is that he knows how to do his job well, but needs someone to slow him down. With the exception of one doctor, my experiences with medical professionals this past year have been sorely lacking. It really makes me miss Austin. It feels like the focus is on money and not quality relationships. This is true for everything here, not just doctors. The size of the city makes things challenging and I feel like I'm consistently trying to figure it out.

Shortly after my doctor's appointment, I discovered an issue with my toll account. Long story short, the company stopped sending me statements and texts to let me know my account balance was low. I'd put money on the account and since I wasn't receiving texts, I thought what I had in my account was covering things since I rarely use the toll road. Turns out I was very mistaken! I just paid so much money back to the cities of Houston and Austin that it makes my stomach hurt. The thing that stings the most is the toll balances were nominal... it's the violation fees that got me. I really don't understand how it's legal for a company to charge $11 fee for a toll that's less than $2. I spoke with a customer service rep about why I wasn't receiving email statements or texts and he wasn't helpful. According to him, the system shows that they were sent. He even had the nerve to imply that my cell service was causing me to miss the texts. Smh... The only bright side to this is that I had the money to address the problem. There was a time not too long ago where those statements would have just sat there because I couldn't pay them at all.

My experience here is making me think that my next move might be to a small town... maybe even a rural area. I used to thrive in big cities and now they wear me out. I know that I'm in Houston for a reason, so I'm trying to stay attentive to what those reasons are... sometimes I feel like it's so I finally understand that Houston is not for me. Hopefully there's more to it than that, though. :-)

My birthday is next week and I don't have any plans. At first, I was gung ho about checking into a nice B&B and relaxing, until I realized that the places I wanted to go are in college football towns, so going there over the weekend is out of the question. So, so far, I've booked a facial and I'm planning to take the day off work.

Most importantly, though, I want to reflect on my plans for the new year. This past year has been about change and boy, has it been tough. Great in some ways, but also sooo hard. My sense is that the next year will be about change as well, but this time, I'm hoping it's less challenging. I had a solar return chart reading a few weeks ago and an intuitive channeling/reading the other day and whew! So much of what was shared and discussed resonated with me: putting myself out there more, getting more comfortable with being vulnerable, healing some past hurts. So, basically, lots of self work. I'm ready for it, though.

Until next time...