We are packing up and moving on!

Last year, my boss approached me about relocating to the East Bay area. I laughed him off and told him I wasn't moving. I did think about it, but wasn't ready, for a million reasons. The most prevailing reason (which is very surprising, if you knew me from before) was the fear of change.  It wasn't so much that I was afraid to move to a new area so much as I was afraid to not be exactly where I was, which is a known quantity to me. I can deal with a lot if I know what to expect, and moving upends that.  So, I said  no, and he continued to ask me periodically. Which became a sort of game between us, because he knew I wasn't going to move, and yet he still wanted me at the corporate office.  So it was a shock this past summer when he asked, and I said, "Okay." Completely impulsive, with no thought. But the second I said it, I knew it was the right decision for me.  It may have been largely due to the fact that I had, for three days in a row, driven from my house to Santa Monica, which is only 20 miles away. And yet, in LA traffic, can take an hour and a half to navigate those 20 miles. Three days in a row, I sat in traffic, being miserable. I DREAD driving to Santa Monica because of the traffic. And that's when I realized that I don't really go many places here, because of the traffic, the time, the smog, the endless pavement and cars and people and honking... it just isn't fun to me. Which makes it sort of pointless to live in LA, because you HAVE to drive to get anywhere. And there is traffic EVERYWHERE.

This summer was really awesome to make sure I had no reservations about moving, because it was also the hottest summer I can remember having since I moved here in 2002.  It was in the upper nineties / over 100 degrees for the better part of a month, with no break. It was, in a word, BRUTAL. And I HATE the heat. I dread it every year. It's been sort of a necessary evil that has to be dealt with to live here, but this year was extra hot and suffocating.

And so, I have been slowly winding down my activities here, packing up things, making arrangements, and getting ready to start a new adventure. I found a rental house in San Leandro, which is about 10 minutes from the Oakland airport; it's a little bigger than my current rental (not by a lot, but I'll take any extra room!), and is in a much nicer neighborhood. It has painted walls (no more paneling!!!), hardwood floors, and a garage! With a proper driveway!! The only bad thing is that it doesn't have a proper backyard, but the owner is fencing in my portion of pavement, and so I'll have a turnout area for the dogs.  The greyhounds aren't much into playing in the yard anyhow, so they won't care. Jesse will still be able to play in the backyard, so he'll be happy. The best part is the neighborhood is very dog friendly, so I'll finally be able to walk my dogs again without worrying about stray or lose dogs!  I'm really looking forward to that.

And so, with a lot of excitement, a little anxiety, and a crapload of boxes, I am preparing for the next part of my life. All of the details haven't been finalized yet, but if all goes smoothly, I will be moving on or around November 10th. I want to be in my new house and settled in just in time for Thanksgiving, because that is one of my favorite holidays and I am so not going to miss out on roasting a turkey. And making stuffing. And parker house rolls. mmmmm..... : )