First Full Day in OKC

First off, I have received many nice e-mails over the last couple of days and I will respond to everyone. This trip is kind of hectic so please don't feel as though I am being rude.

A long day of checking out OKC. It is not easy to get a rental car in downtown Oklahoma City. Thought I found a couple of locations on the internet so I walked to them and found nothing. Went to another web-site and found that there was a lot a couple of miles from where I was staying so I walked there and rented a nice Pontiac G6.

My Mom gave me a Garmin as an early birthday present as she figured I could use it. WHAT A GREAT GIFT. I've never had a GPS device before and the Garmin is great when you are in a city that is completely new to you. Unfortunately the battery charger doesn't work in the rental car so I am just about out of juice and still have more places to go.

Looked at one potential rental house today up in Edmond (11 miles from downtown). The house itself was a little run down but it wasn't too bad. The price was right and it was in a fairly nice community. Also went to check out another house that had "to good to be true" written all over it from the start and it was. House had been foreclosed and someone (or "jerk" as the sign on the front door read) posted on the internet that it was about 2/3 cheaper than actual price. Oh well. Rental houses were hard to find on-line yesterday however there were quite a few more available tonight, might have something to do with it being the last day of the month. Already have 2 appointments set up for tomorrow.

May have found a vehicle to buy today. Was at the dealership up until it closed tonight and found a GM Envoy Denali that I really liked. It is a 2005 and doesn't have too many miles (31,000). I've never been a fan of SUVs but being in sales it is nice to have a larger vehicle in case you need to deliver an item to a client. I know there were times at Keeney's when I wished I had something bigger so I'm making sure that I am prepared this time around. Told the Salesperson I would be in touch with them tomorrow morning and will close the deal if I can get the price down a little more.

The area is really starting to grow on me. I wasn't sure what to think of it at first but I am enjoying it right now. It doesn't have Seattle's charm or beauty and everything moves much slower but the people I have encountered are friendly and the lack of traffic is nice. The worst thing is just not having my people around me. Seems like I am always bumping into people that I know around Seattle and I don't have that here. I know that I will really miss being around friends and family but also realize that this will enable me to grow and broaden my horizons (did I really just use that term). Best Wishes!!!

Airport Scare

I made it to Oklahoma City!! I arrived yesterday and am staying with my friends/co-workers Todd and Nicole, a couple that also relocated out to OKC with the team. They live in one of the three apartment buildings located in the "skyline" area of downtown. No exaggeration, there is not much in terms of living downtown.

Got a nice scare at the SeaTac Airport yesterday. About 45 minutes before my flight was to take off I lost my wallet. Looked, in the terminal, at the security area, went through my bags 3 or 4 times and thought it was gone. Normally I carry very little money in my wallet but I put my money clip in it when I went through security and brought along more money than I normally do. 20 minutes before the flight was to take off I checked one last time near the seats in the terminal and discovered that it fell out of my khaki shorts back pockets (normally velcroed shut), through the seats and onto the floor. Found it just in time as I was about to cancel my flight and figure out what to do next.

Leaving the apartment shortly to start looking for a place to live. Went to dinner last night with Todd and another co-worker, Marc and on the way back to Todd's place he showed me a few neighborhoods. Time to get out and explore.

Who Needs Sleep?

I'm heading out the door in a few minutes to go catch my plane for Oklahoma City. My great sister Stacie has offered to drive me to the airport at 5:00 when she could be sleeping (THANKS A BUNCH).

Spent much of yesterday preparing and that combined with the anxiety and early wake up, I am going on less than 2 hours of sleep. My first flight is a 5 hour journey to Dallas so hopefully I can use some of that time looking at the inside of my eyelids.

It is Media Day for the Thunder so most of the people that I will be around for the next three days will be fairly busy when I arrive. Probably catch up with everyone afterward, grab some dinner and just hang out this evening (I have a feeling I will be going to bed early). Tomorrow I will probably rent a car and start looking for a place to live and a car to purchase. Hopefully I will be able to get to a computer and blog my progress.

Here goes nothing........stay tuned.

What In The World Am I Doing

I've never been a Blogger and never thought I would be. That all changed when I decided to follow the Seattle SuperSonics, a professional baskeball team I have worked for since 1987, to Oklahoma City. I have lived in the Pacific Northwest my entire life and figured if I was ever going to try to live in another part of the country, this was my opportunity. Many people move to a new state where they don't know anyone or have anything lined up. I am fortunate in that I get to continue working at a job that I enjoy and with people that I like and work well with. The region is excited to have the team and I can't wait to jump into things.

Is it really September 25th already? The Storm were eliminated from the playoffs on Tuesday night so my 21 year affiliation with the Key Arena/Seattle Center Coliseum came to an end and my final day at Keeney's Office Plus is on Saturday. Time to get ready for Oklahoma City (OKC).

I'm flying down to OKC on Monday to spend a few days looking for a place to live as well as a car. Come home on Thursday for one day before flying down to Arizona for three days to watch the Huskies play in Tucson. Probably not the ideal time for a college football road trip however it had been planned for a while now so why back out now.

Anyway, here is my first entry. Hopefully this will make it easier to keep in touch with family and friends. Stay tuned.............