This is where it starts...currently, but for not much longer, I live in Madison, WI.  I now find myself in suspension having leapt off this rather huge cliff, wondering, mid-air, how far to bottom it may be.  And whether I will go "splat" on landing, or bounce back up, with some kind of joyous bungy jumping experience.  Not that I would ever really bungy jump, coward that I am.

No, this cliff I have jumped off of takes me to reservation living at Ft. Thompson, South Dakota.  That's right, reservation, like Native American reservation.  When I wrote my CPA I was moving to SD, he thought I meant San Diego...so I found I need to spell this out.  Anyone who knows me would more likely envision me living in the latter location, rather than the former.

I must digress here and explain a bit of my history.

Although born in Denver, my parents and I moved to southern California when I was 4.  My first "home" there was in Pacific Palisades.  That was the day, dating myself, when movie stars lived out and among all of us and it wasn't uncommon for us to see people like Jerry Lewis and Peter Graves walking around in our town.

After Pacific Palisades my parents bought a lot on the beach in Malibu.  There they built a home where I lived for a couple of years.  Kim Novak lived a few houses up the beach from us and I would see her out on her raft, large hat keeping the sun off her famous face.  I was 12 then, and after two years my parents sold that house - can you even believe they would do that?  Can you think what that house would be worth today?  I can't.

After that was Beverly Hills for a brief stint.  There I was in class with Lana Turner's daughter and my good friend was the Goddaughter of Eleanor Roosevelt.

I tell you all this to explain why people might assume it far more likely to see me head to San Diego than a reservation in South Dakota.

In some ways I've always been somewhat of an adventurer.  Perhaps I got that from my parents, having moved every two years or so.

When I was 19 my roommate and I sold everything and went off to find jobs in Europe.  We landed in Heidelberg, Germany, where I worked for the University of Maryland and later for the U.S. Army.  I've always treasured my time there, as it's not so easy to take off and live somewhere else after you become encumbered by life - mortgages, furniture, cars and so on.

Along the way I became the mother of two darling daughters.  We were living in El Paso, Texas, when my husband took his life.  My girls were 8 years and 23 months.  We had nothing, really, but I remember thinking, "if it's to be, it's up to me".  So I enrolled in college and 3 years later had my Bachelor's in psychology.  I applied to graduate school and that's how I ended up in Madison, WI.

Upon landing in Wisconsin, my adventuring self seemed to hibernate.  Although I guess you might say that a single mother of two earning a doctorate in and of itself is a bit adventurous.

After completing my training as a psychologist, I started a private practice and have been working in that capacity until...

Madison is a largely HMO based town.  Last year, due to changes made within the HMO, I lost considerable business.  This being the second time in the past 15 years or so, I was not willing to sacrifice my career again.

Backing up again...there's been a movement for years among psychologists to earn rights to prescribe.  I always was supportive of this, it made sense to me.  As the momentum grew training programs sprouted up.  One of my colleagues started a program which peaked my interest.  I decided to join his program a year after he started.  At the time I wasn't thinking I would necessarily exercise this right, but I was working more and more in the biochemical area with patients and wanted to be in a better position to answer patients' questions.  And, I admit, if our state ever legislated it, it would then be an option should I want to use it.

One of my better decisions.  When my business crashed, suddenly I had a new option.  With completion of the training, I had earned a second Masters' degree.  I then needed to pass a bear of an exam with an equivalency of the psychiatry boards.  Never having been a fan of school, it is rather interesting that I now have 11 years of higher education, not including internships and practica.

To make this long story shorter (at last...) I began exploring options to go where I could complete my training and become a prescribing psychologist.  There were two states where I could go:  Louisiana and New Mexico.  But I also learned that IHS, or Indian Health Service, part of the Federal system, would welcome those of us with this training with open arms.  After many months of looking, then negotiating, I accepted the position I told you about at the start of this lengthy diatribe.

My goal with this blog is to report on this California girl's transitions in heading to Norman Rockwell land of the small mid-western town.  Well actually, Ft. Thompson is the reservation and there's about 1500 people there, according to Wikipedia.  The "town" it is near is Chamberlain, about 2500 people!  And although I leave in a month, I have yet to set foot there, or even in South Dakota at all!

So here's my first two brief stories.

I was calling to learn about WiFi and Internet.  I found a cable company that would hook all that up for me, but when I asked about cable TV I was told they don't do that.  Well, who does then?  Of course, the phone person didn't know since they were in some other state entirely and probably had less of a clue about where I was heading than even I did.  Okaaay.  I decided to call the Chamber of Commerce to see what they knew.

Call the Radio Shack (in Chamberlain) and ask for Tom, I was told.  Radio Shack?  Well, ok then.  So I did and whadya know, Tom knew all about Direct TV and they do the installation.  Whew!  I was worried that I would have two stations, that would be true roughing it.

The towns are so small there is little in the way of rental property, especially little in the way of houses which was my initial hope for my new home.  As it turns out, there are government owned houses on the reservation where I will be working.  Why not?  It will make things easier and if I want to find something else later I can.

As I am trying to get organized, I asked about my address so I could get my mail forwarded.  Silly me.  I need to get a PO Box apparently.  You mean, no mailman coming to my door????  I wonder if the wine club will deliver to a PO Box???