Everything Is Suckier In Texas

So here I am.  I arrived in Austin, Texas, just over a month ago.

We had a bid ready for a beautiful house.  I was committed to giving life here a 110% try.  We were just waiting for my husband’s written offer letter of employment.  He had already accepted verbally, but we needed it in writing.  We could not bid on the house without it.  We waited and waited and waited.  An email arrived asking for a call at the end of the day.  The Senior VP who wanted to hire my husband managed by consensus and allowed another executive to veto my husband at the 11th hour.

Happy for Shalit, But Mourning for My Friend

My friend, Fern Shawna Rykiss, was murdered in 1989 when a terrorist hijacked her bus and plunged it into a ravine. She was 17 years old. Fern spent much of her senior year fundraising for her trip to Israel, and her murder at the hands of a terrorist was one of the first recorded murder-suicides of the first intifada. Her murderer, who also murdered 15 other sons and daughters, escaped with a few cuts and bruises. He was sentenced to life in prison because Israel does not condone the death penalty.

He was one of the prisoners released on Tuesday in exchange for Gilad Shalit.