I've had to make some very hard decisions in the last few weeks. Phaedrus has been doing very well with his girlfriend, Miss Rebecca, and is the happiest and the healthiest I have ever seen him. The first hard decision was to permanently give Phaedrus over to her as a gift and as a symbol of her past service. She deserves that, and also now that I am living in (to a cat) a loud, scary, moving, smelly bus, I cannot care for him as he needs and deserves to be cared for. It is for the best, although my heart has been breaking.

I have also, as I wrote above, moved in to 'Ol #3 for a few months. I have rented out the Fortress of Solitude, and I'm still organizing and reducing my possessions. The Universe has been prodding me to be able to be almost instantly mobile, and I'm clearing up every aspect of my life for a fast deployment if needed. The second hard decision has been to be open to that, and to again purge anything I cannot carry with me.

Seasonal allergies are necessitating medical intervention. I also making a third hard decision to take fairly serious medications that will allow me to breathe but may have serious side effects. It's possible that I will not stay in the PNW next year for this season because of the damage to my lungs and respiratory system, a fourth hard decision, although I heal fast. I cannot stay in contact to this much grass and mold and be effective, and I have been advised to move to a different climate. My sleeping and eating have been off, and I am not at peak efficiency, although this weekend Miss Rebecca and I were able to hike 10 miles and see eleven waterfalls at Silver Falls State Park.

Work has been done on my backpiece and the energy representing training and spirituality has started to flow. Next, work on transition, and the final concept for the left shoulder, the last to receive ink. I am still training hard and working with advanced skills in the dojo and I'll also be completing more professional training next week. A fifth hard decision has been to continue my clinical practice in Oregon, and I am monthly making a decision to remain with my clinic. I'll likely stay at least long enough to finish the licensure process, and my tattoo.

For today, to quote 'Kamikaze' Kelly, of the BRC DPW: "This morning I got up and put my boots on."

I've decided to not risk both myself and other people by attempting to travel, as well as avoiding the chaos that is PDX. Although my flight on the website still shows it's leaving at the scheduled time, I think that's more to the unpreparedness of both PDX and Southwest Airlines to accommodate the storms. PDX remains essentially closed, with thousands of people stranded - I don't need to be one of them. Travel conditions remain poor, and more storms are expected tonight, and it's not worth becoming another statistic.

We've lost power briefly, but quickly got it back, and we're well prepared for a power outage. Although we've pretty much been snowbound all week, we're warm, we have a lot of food and supplies, and we're safe. We will likely venture out tomorrow on foot for those things we could use. *smile* We're low on coffee, and Phaedrus could use some more syringes for his insulin.

My holiday will be in Salem this year, and it's a holiday of spending time with Miss Rebecca, who is also being kept away from her family by the weather. I'm grateful for her hospitality, and for innumerable other reasons. I'm grateful for Phaedrus' safety and health, and for having a place to live and a job and a (now somewhat beat-up) truck, as well as a house and extra vehicles, and enough stuff to live in some comfort. I'm grateful for my health, and for the health and happiness of those I care about, both clients and friends. I'm grateful for having places to train, and people to train with. I'm grateful for the learning experiences I've experienced this year.

Blessings of the Season to all!

My flight was canceled for yesterday to Texas and rescheduled for early tomorrow morning. The weather continues to snow hard in Salem, the most severe conditions since 1980. I'm fortunate that we still have power and heat, as about 30,000 in Salem are without power. We are taking precautions and preparing for the possibility that we may not.

The PDX website and the airline website are still showing that my flight is still scheduled, although the news reports PDX being essentially closed. Considering that transportation to PDX from Salem is also an issue, with the highways in much the same shape as PDX, my travel plans may be postponed or canceled - although my bags are packed, and I'm considering options for transportation.

I'm grateful that both Phaedrus and I are safe and warm.