It’s strange how it works out. I mean, it was such a process getting here, and since we’ve arrived, we’ve been on a never-ending quest to replenish all of the things we threw away before we left. It’s been go-go-go for the past three months, and I’ve barely had the time to look up and notice where I’m at. The thoughts that normally occupy my mind – Yankees, me eat, Who farted? – have been replaced by questions like, “Should we return those pillows?” and “How much should 15 tons of granite cost?”
There’s been little time for self-reflection these days, and even if there was time, I think I’d rather watch “Rock of Love.” But maybe because we’re sort of settling in – yesterday began my fourth full week of work – what we’ve actually done is starting to sink in. And the initial verdict is a positive one…so far, we really like it here.
As with anything, there are positives and negatives. Besides the obvious negative of missing our family and friends, it turns out that no one in Arizona has heard of my blog. I know, I know, weird.
One of the tough things to deal with so far is the distance. Although we moved into a new development, everything is very far away. The development itself is very set apart as it is, but it’s also only halfway completed. By the time it’s done, it’ll be like its own little city, and we’ll be able to buy eggs or a new bicycle just by walking out of our front door (I imagine). In the meantime, we have to drive 20 miles to get gas, meaning we have to fill up again by the time we get back home. The 10 miles or so in between our development and the rest of civilization means that we’re often one blown tire away from being featured on the latest episode of “I Shouldn’t Be Alive.” The other day we saw a dead cow in the middle of the road on our way back home. A cow! I didn’t even know cows lived around here! Then again, maybe they don’t.
Of course, it’s hot. But we’re already getting used to it. You just deal with it, and you deal with it by not dealing with it. You stay inside. It’s just too freakin’ hot to venture outside. It’s the middle of August in Arizona and I’m as pale as I was in January back in Jersey. Except the other day I opened the door for the UPS guy and I got sunburned. It’s like Mercury up in this piece!
But the positives so far vastly outweigh the negatives. One of the best things about Arizona is that nobody here is from Arizona. It’s crazy. Half the people we’ve met here are from either L.A. or back east. From a “cultural” standpoint, not much has changed. Everybody still drives like a-holes, and everybody is a Yankees fan.
(Speaking of the Yankees, I haven’t been able to watch one game since I’ve been here, which serves to explain why they’re tearing it up right now. I’ve been following everything online, and have been forced to watch ESPNews on a constant loop. It’s driving me crazy too, since all the true locals have Diamondbacks’ fever, but if you moved the D-Backs to the AL East, they’d be the Arizona Orioles. But I digress…)
The place is also coming together very nicely. Very, very often I find myself looking around the house wondering how the heck we went from a two-bedroom condo to this. (Then I remember the dead cow in the road and the fact we can’t go outside for the next 30 days and it starts to make sense.) But the best part about the house is that it feels like home. Maybe it’s the fact that I have to drive so far to get to it, but when I do get home, it’s one of the most satisfying feelings I can imagine. In a way, that feeling is exactly why we moved here, and it serves as confirmation that, yeah, we made the right decision. Of course, it won’t truly feel like home until at least two family members are passed out on the couch, but that’ll happen soon enough…
We’re also finally getting some time to experience our development, and the area in general. I joke about going outside, but we’ve been to the pool a few times. (It’s okay to go outside in August in 45-minute intervals but only if you’re surrounded by large bodies of water.) It’s actually two pools, and a small waterpark…it feels like you’re on vacation when you go there. Everybody says hi when they walk by, and nobody ruins the general atmosphere by blasting techno music, or letting their kids eat Twinkies in the pool…it’s just like New Jersey! Except the opposite!
The important stuff is going well too. We both like our jobs a lot. We drive cars. We get the NFL Network. That’s all you can really ask for in life.
And the best part is that we haven’t even experienced one of the major reasons we moved here in the first place – the weather. Everybody we run into here keeps telling is, “Just wait. Just wait until the fall.” So that’s what we’re doing. In the meantime, we’ve decided to return those pillows, and are of the general consensus that Bret Michaels should not choose Lacey, because she’s an evil bitch.
See? We haven’t changed!
Miss you all…
Arizona: Where cows go to die...
