Anna's Soapbox

Jus' this mornin'
I took a long look around
I've lived it up
and loved it up
and done it in this town
Life goes on
Looks like it's time
for movin' on

After seven long years, Escape from L.A. comes to Anna's life, in less than two weeks! Yep, we're outta here... that's probably not news to two-thirds of the three or so people who read this weblog regularly, but it SURE feels good writing it. Woo-hoo! We were going to leave in early December -- to move to Denver, that is, to go help out Antonio's dad -- but Antonio is getting antsy, and his dad landed in the hospital for a bit last week, so off we go. It's not like we're leaving behind great jobs or anything... just rejection (sniff!) -- I'm still sending out resumes nine months after getting laid off and just got my second response to all that self-promotion last week. Not an offer, just a "thank you for applying" blah blah blah.

What we are leaving behind: really, really good friends. That part sucks. All these years of bitching and moaning about southern California (and all the other stuff I bitch and moan about), I still managed to be sociable enough to meet some awesome people, I guess. I have a trail of good friends all across the country -- from Massachusetts to Philly to New Mexico to California. I lived in one (beautiful, peaceful, nurturing) place for my first seventeen years of life and have moved every year or two ever since, either across town (I'm on my fifth soCal address in seven years) or away to try something new. Here I go again, messing up yet another page in all these good people's address books.

This time is a bit different, though: I'm moving "as a family." A big reason I agreed to go to Denver on such short notice is that I'll be able to continue staying home with Lazarus, working as a freelancer, getting the baby stuff business up and running -- doing what I need to to stay out of the rat race for a while longer. The only thing we don't have nailed down is health insurance -- not only is self-insurance incredibly expensive, but you CAN'T GET IT if you have any medical history whatsoever. I still have COBRA from my last job (which also covers Lazarus, at $320 for both of us), but Antonio has no coverage (I had to drop him from COBRA or pay $580 a month) and has little chance of getting coverage (at less than $500 a month or so) because of his arm injury last year. Still... I feel incredibly fortunate not only to have a secure, comfortable place to go but also to be selling a good house in a hot real estate market. Since we're shacking up with Antonio's dad, our living expenses drop considerably *and* we'll have a nest egg for later... for that straw bale house we really and truly are going to build down in Magdalena. If my internal timetable stays on track, we'd better get started pretty soon so we can have it ready for our next two-year upheaval. *Sigh.*

Wish us luck.