Virginia so far...

So I made it to Virginia. It has been an adventure thus far and everyday seems to be an adventure of its own. After arriving last Friday night and being taken in by a wonderful young couple who agreed to allow me to house-sit for them as they departed Saturday morning for two weeks in Pennsylvania...I immediately set out to discover the layout of the town and since I arrived by train, transportation was limited for me so I chose to walk...thinking: "Gee a town of 12,000 people can't be that big of a place right?" Boy was I wrong. Saturday I put in 24 miles round trip...most by foot, some by cab. I did not succeed in any of my objectives to find specific shops that would allow me to purchase some much needed day-to-day items that I am currently lacking. All that did was instill in me the importance of finding a living space that is close to the main portion of town...you see there are several portions of town as I have come to find out. The other interesting fact that has succeeded in making my life hard is the fact that I now live on a peninsula, for all my land locked folks, basically what that means is that everything, every sign, direction, road, etc, runs East to West...North-South does not exist here...truly I can't explain it, that is just the way it is! And there are absolutely no major visible landmarks that can aide in navigation or orientation to this community...oh and let me say I know some people out West who hate our military influenced, gridded road systems...trust me on this one, come and try and get around this town and you will be begging for your grid in about 5 minutes or less. It snowed today, didn't stick, but it did have all these folks in a panic...I think out in Central Oregon we would have viewed today's snow shower here as a really bad case of dandruff! Work is going well so to speak, I am a week behind schedule due to my start date, but I made it through the final two days of new hire orientation. No, I do not know the role or roles I have been cast in, they are still keeping very secretive about all that, but once I know I will be sure to pass it along. Rehearsals start in February and then we get sent out before the public in March, so be sure to plan a trip after March to get a chance to see the shows...they have hired some amazing talent and I think you will be in for a treat regardless of what shows you attend! On another note, I hope to find a place to live soon where I can bring Portia out, I am really, really starting to miss her! Shelby, Dad, and Mom have helped out in caring for her, Shelby even taught Poe how to take Portia for her walks!