April 8, 1999
Big news here! While in Pennsylvania, Shrike popped The Question to Whozat - and of course, she said "YES!"  We're planning the wedding for February 12, 2000 - for more details check out our wedding page!
By the way, the big meeting with Shrike's family went really well -- her mom even hugged Whozat goodbye when we left!
Other big news from our trip - we both went on lots of job interviews.  Whozat did six informal interviews in four days,  at schools all over south-central Pennsylvania, but won't know about actual openings until June.  Shrike went on two interviews - and got two job offers!  One of them offered her a good bit more money than she's making now, so that was impossible to turn down.  The only bummer of it is that they want her to start May 3 - and Whozat won't be finished with school until May 28.  So, Shrike will be leaving for PA on April 25 :-( and staying with her sister until Whozat gets up there around the first of June.  Needless to say, we're not looking forward to the month of May at all, but it will be nice for Shrike to already have a job when we get there.  Whozat, being a teacher, has all summer to come up with a job, since she'll have paychecks coming in from her curent job until August.  We're planning to stay with our friends, Loginasme and Jezza (whom we stayed with during our visit last month) until Whozat finds a job and we find a place to live.  We'll keep you posted on that, I'm sure.

April 21, 1999
Arrangements for Shrike's move to PA are progressing - and we're dealing with it the best we can. Since her birthday (the BIG 3-0! - Of course, Whozat got there last year, so she can't say too much about it - doesn't stop her, though!) is next week, we did some combination birthday celebration/goodbye visits last night. Went over to Whozat's parents' house to get her gift from them, then out to dinner w/Whozat's sister, brother-in-law, niece and nephew. They had a birthday present and a going-away present (a Texas T-shirt) for her and Whozat surprised her with a cute little birthday cake. Whozat is taking a couple of days off work, Thursday and Friday, so we can spend some time together and maybe get some wedding stuff done before she goes. We're still waiting for our rings to come in; the guy at the store says he's told the jeweler who's making them that we have to have them by Friday - keep your fingers crossed!

April 23, 1999
We enjoyed our day off together yesterday. While at her mom's the other nite, Whozat snagged some old family videos and made Shrike watch them - we even went back over and got some more last nite. Shrike has seen Whozat and her brother in their 6th grade plays, Whozat on a TV quiz show from 6th grade and about 3 years of Christmas. We really got a kick out of seeing exactly when Whozat's brother's voice changed and when he went from getting toys as gifts to getting clothes (sometime between Christmas 81 and Christmas 82). Whozat also had to call her dad at 11 pm (her mom's out of town, she'll have to talk to her later) and say, "I just called to apologize for being such a bitch when I was 13!" As she told Shrike later, "I wish I'd seen this tape a few months ago - coming out to them would've been alot easier - if they didn't kill me for talking to them like that back then -- being a dyke is nothing compared to that!" All in all, it was pretty darn amusing - it was kind of cool to see everybody all young and skinny and sprightly!
Now Shrike is working on getting packed up to head for PA on Sunday. She's boxing up all the various parts of her computer, while Whozat sits around saying, "Gee, honey, that looks kind of hard, you sure you don't want some help?" Guess she wasn't too convincing with that offer to help, since Shrike didn't take her up on it.

April 25, 1999
Well, Shrike just left for PA and Whozat is doing the best she can. Which isn't very well. She's trying to distract herself by working on the website - it isn't working. However, we did come up with a slightly improved plan for Whozat's move. That's planned for Memorial Day weekend and we were trying to find a way Shrike could fly down, or part way down and drive back with her. We found a flight from PA to Birmingham, Alabama for under $200, so the plan is from Whozat to get the Ryder truck all packed up on Friday, May 28 (after probably working 1/2 day, but she *might* be able to get out of that) and leave early Saturday morning. Meanwhile, Shrike will get on a plane around noon and fly to Birmingham. She'll arrive around 4 pm, go check into the hotel and wait for Whozat and the kitties to get in. Whozat will drive til she gets there - it could be a long drive for one day, but we'll know better after Shrike makes the drive how long it will take. We'll meet up there, spend the night in Birmingham and drive the rest of the way together. If Shrike is off work Monday, that would be great, but if not, we should be able to make it there in one long days drive, since there will be two of us. Whozat is going tomorrow to buy Shrike's plane ticket. We know it only makes a couple of days difference in how soon we'll be together, but for now, it's helping a bit. 34 days to go.

April 28, 1999
First, let's start with a belated HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Shrike, who turned the BIG 3-0 yesterday! (This message from Whozat, who's days at the BIG 3-0 are seriously numbered!)
Well, still working on the plan for Shrike to fly down and drive to PA with Whozat. Whozat's mom called a couple of days ago and offered to kick in $100 if it would help Shrike to fly all the way to Texas, so they could make the whole trip together - Would it ever! Shrike talked to her new boss yesterday and got the OK to be off Memorial Day *and* to leave work a couple of hours early the Friday before. So, the latest plan is for her to fly to Houston (about 2 hours away from Whozat) Friday evening May 28, and both of us to head for PA Saturday morning. Since she's off Monday, we can do the trip in 3 days if we need to. We're hoping Whozat's brother, who lives in Houston, can give Shrike a ride from the airport that nite, so Whozat can work on getting the truck loaded and have that done when she gets there. Whozat tried to go book the flight this afternoon, but when she got to the travel agency they were closed. She's going to try again tomorrow. So, with the change in plans and the passing of time the Shrike-and-Whozat-Can't-Stand-Being-Apart Countdown now stands at 30 days. More good news on the wedding plans page.

May 10, 1999
18 days to go....Shrike seems to be settling in to her new job - bummer that she has to be there at 6:30 am, tho! Whozat is hanging in there, counting the days. She started packing this weekend - got alot done in the way of books and fru-fru-look-pretty stuff that won't get used in the next few weeks anyway. Tomorrow is Whozat's birthday. She celebrated it, her sister's birthday (which is Thursday) and Mother's Day with her family yesterday. Her big gift was a computer upgrade and a scanner from her parents -- lots of new pics on the kitty page ! And here's a picture of her engagement ring!

May 16, 1999
Well, Whozat's been a packing fool the last week! Got a lot done last weekend and even more this weekend. Looks like she's right on schedule. Here's a funny thing - the kitties have a thing about socks - they love to steal them (Shileaux will steal them from the drawer if it's open even a crack - Whozat has come home and found a trail of socks from the bedroom to the front door!) and they love to "kill" them - especially in the middle of the night! As she was cleaning out and packing the office closet, Whozat found their secret stash of socks - in the back corner, behind some boxes were about 8 socks that they've evidently stolen and hidden there! Either that or that's where they go when they disappear from the dryer! Possible good news on the job front - Whozat has a couple of calls to return tomorrow from potential employers who left messages for her on Friday - Yippee! She's taking a sick day tomorrow to run errands and make tons of phone calls. Also, her mom's have surgery tomorrow (having both knees replaced) so she'd like to be around for that. Shrike is enjoying her new job and getting to spend lots of time w/her family. She's also been visiting our friends Loginasme and Jezza a bit - she's gone up to their place a couple of Fridays to watch Xena with them. Whozat thinks it's totally unfair that she had to watch this weeks episode alone and Shrike didn't! Well, that's about all our news -- more later !

May 21, 1999
ONE WEEK TO GO!!! By this time next week, Shrike should have arrived and we should be well on our way to getting "reacquainted" ;-) Whozat is busy-busy-busy with packing and planning. Shrike is doing her best to locate us a place we can both live til we're settled job-wise, without her having an hour commute to work everyday (as it would be from Loginasme and Jezza's place.) We have a few options on how to work it out, but nothing is solid yet. Whozat is working on lining up a crew of "strapping young men" to load the truck on Thursday. She's hoping to be able to just stand around and give directions and not have to exert herself too much! Especially since we'll both be among the crew of not-so-strapping not-so-young dykes who'll be stuck unloading it in PA a few days later! No real news on the job front - Whozat's got some leads on some teaching positions, but she's really hoping for something else to pop up. Oh, by the way, Whozat's mom's surgery went fine, she's back home, as of a few hours ago, and is doing well. She's still in alot of pain, especially after all the exertion getting involved in getting home and getting settled, but she says the physical therapy is a bit easier each time and she's looking forward to a few weeks down the road when she's fully recovered and getting around much better than before the surgery.

May 26, 1999
Hey folks! This will be the last update for a few days. Whozat will be loading up the moving truck tomorrow afternoon, so she's got to pack up the computer tonite. After several false leads and near misses, she's finally got a crew together to get the stuff onto the truck. So tomorrow will be a busy, busy day for her. As soon as school is out,(it's the last day of school so that will be a "gaggle-fuck" (as Shrike says) in and of itself!) she'll be delivering her car to the dealership that's buying it and getting her $$$ for that, then picking up the truck (across the street from the car dealership, as luck would have it!) and coming home to meet the guys and start loading. She's hoping to get that done in 3 hours or so -- keep your fingers crossed for that! Then on Friday, she gets off work at noon, then has to make a trip to the credit union to make a billion different deposits, transfers and withdrawals and then home to get the house into "move-out" condition. Lots of sweeping, mopping and vacuuming scheduled for Friday! That evening is her nephew's 8th grade graduation and then dinner w/her sister's family and then home to wait for Shrike! YIPPEE! We should be together in 52 hours! Saturday morning we'll load up the last few things, stop by Whozat's parents for a quick visit (and to dump off a few things she's leaving there that she forgot to take yesterday, of course) and then drop off the rental car Shrike's driving in from Houston and we'll be on our way! We should arrive in PA sometime Monday and we *think* we know where we'll be living when we get there. Shrike is supposed to be getting things settled today on a tiny little month-to-month apt where we can stay until we know where Whozat will be working. We should be back online as soon as we can unpack the computer and hook it up, since Shrike already has an account up there, so we'll be sure to post an update then!

June 3, 1999
We made it! After three days and 1500 miles of driving - we're in our new apartment in PA. The apartment is, well, it's temporary, is what it is. We'll just be here until we know where Whozat will be working, then we'll find something a little (a lot!) nicer. Speaking of the job hunt, Whozat has an interview tomorrow for a HS teaching job in the town where Shrike's parents live and she sent out a resume today for a web editor job. She's given them the URL of this page as an example of her web skills, based on the theory that if anything they read here stops them from hiring her, it's not a place she'd be comfortable working anyway. She's a little nervous about it, so let's all keep our fingers crossed on that! Other than that, we've been pretty busy trying to get moved in here, and we still have a long way to go with that. And speaking of, it looks like it's time to go unpack something, so watch this spot for more information!

June 11, 1999
Well, we've now been in PA for almost two weeks and we're starting to get somewhat settled into our new apartment. We still haven't unpacked much, but since it's temporary, Whozat is thinking of every box unpacked as just another one to repack in a few weeks! Whozat's job search is progressing, she should hear back in a couple of weeks from an interview she had for a software trainer position and the web editor position should be interviewing about that time. She's decided that since she was dreading the possibility of the high school she interviewed with last week offering her a job and since she was releived when they didn't, that she should take it as a clue that she's done with teaching, so she's not pursuing any of the other teaching positions she's heard about. She has signed up with a temp agency, in hopes of getting a little work between now and finding something permanent, but nothing has come of that yet. The agency also offers some pretty advanced computer training about an hour away, so if nothing comes of the other jobs, she's planning to look into that.
We have plans for dinner this evening with Shrike's family to celebrate her grandfather's birthday, which was this week. Whozat is a little nervous about meeting Shrike's grandparents, because they know absolutely *nothing*. We assume that they know Shrike had a roommate when she was living in Texas, but as far as we know, they have no idea that her "roommate" has moved to PA. We're hoping Shrike's mom has at least mentioned this to them, but Whozat's thinking they still may wonder what the hell she's doing at a family function. Shrike's sister suggested telling them for now that Whozat is just here for the summer (believable, since she's a teacher) but Whozat isn't too keen on that, since she figures the only good topic for "small talk" with Shrike's parents will be her job search! It should certainly prove to be interesting.

June 14, 1999
Well, dinner with Shrike's family went well. Her sister had already told their grandparents that Whozat is visiting for the summer, so we guess she'll just like it so much she decides to stay! Shrike's mom still made small talk with Whozat about her job search, but we don't think her grandparents heard any of that.
We went down to DC yesterday for the Capital Pride Festival and it was great! As Whozat commented on the way home, "That was probably more queers than I've seen in my entire life - even if you count all the ones that I didn't even know were queer!" and that's probably true - they were predicting around 200,000 people to attend the street fair, and it didn't look like the intermittant rain kept anyone away. This was our first Pridefest, but it certainly won't be our last. We're definitely making plans to attend the Central PA Pridefest that's coming up.

No new news on Whozat's job search, we'll keep you posted on that as things develop.

July 29, 1999
Not much new going on with us, but all four of the Xena images pages have been updated. Check out the new pics!

August 5, 1999
Whozat's job search continues, but she's started doing some online training in HTML and other web design stuff through Ziff-Davis University . We're hoping that she'll soon know enough - and be able to prove it - to get a job! We went to the Central PA Pridefest and Lilith Fair this weekend and boy, was it hot!!! The big excitement of this week is Shrike's nephew's birthday party, which is coming up on Saturday. He turned 2 on Sunday, August 1. We're watching him all afternoon, so his mom (Shrike's sister) can get things ready for the party - we may need a nap by party time! We're looking forward to it, though. He's a cutie and he's really starting to warm up to his Aunt Whozat, which she is thrilled about! Not too much other excitement happening here, sorry folks. :-)