Another Arizona Update!

Well, here is a quick update about life in Arizona for the first five months or so. Sheesh, feels more like three weeks. It’s been so crazy! I have no problem admitting I had no idea what I was in for with an interstate move. Hoo, lots of work, wow. 

The cats are fixed!

This one is a biggie. So tired of the death meow at midnight and the constant trying to get outdoors to find a mate. Yuck. Now, they were only fixed just yesterday, so the actual results are not in yet. But the slow cat we have who likes to pee everywhere is now suddenly (seemingly) going in the cat boxes. Yay! We have been shutting her in the laundry room at night because it’s just too much with cat piss everywhere. So nasty. Wish luck!

I have lost a lot of weight.

Can’t find the fucking scale yet, so I have no idea how much, and it wasn't even necessarily on purpose. Kim thinks I’m down 50 but I think more like 20-30 pounds. I decided I am at least borderline diabetic, so one night I decided no more sugar. Cold turkey, just zero sweets at all. I was eating a lot of sweets and the ole body was groaning at me. I don’t drink to blackout every weekend, either, which I’m sure helps. But now I've maybe lost too much weight lol! My upper body is looking like it’s leaning toward refugee territory. Not sure what to do about that, this whole “care about yourself” thing is new to me, haha. Will keep y'all posted. 

The weather here continues to please.

Summer is coming. I know it’s going to be brutal because everything above 70 degrees is torture for me, but so far, it isn't as bad as Cali at all. Like, not even close. Highs so far have been low 90s and it’s actually quite tolerable. I believe the lack of humidity is the reason for this, but I’m no scientist. All I care about is not burning to death during each and every small project because it’s 110 and humid as fuck out. I will never, ever miss that. 

I’m trying to write again.

Finding inspiration is tough these days because my head isn't right, but I’m getting there. Slowly but surely is what I’m aiming for, really. I have a newfound respect for people who continue operating life without the happies inside. That shit is tough. Cheers to ya. I’m new to this.

The gate is up!

It’s so, so nice having a functional gate. Thanks to my “neighbor” who helped dig the post hole with an auger on his tractor! Appreesh, bro. I can even lock it open or closed. Go, me! Looks great, gets compliments, and makes life a ton easier when leaving the house or arriving home. Lordy, does it ever. 

New gate!

Mmm, good!

April Update!

 Hey, y'all! To be honest, there isn’t much to update you with, but here’s what I've been up to this past week or so.

Editing, editing, editing!

A good friend’s mother hooked me up with a neat editing job, which I’m so thankful for! The MS is about 40k words and it’s true crime and I have to add photos and… yeah, been pretty fun. The project has been going on for quite some time, but this week I’m wrapping it up so it’s finally exciting! This also marks the first edit I've done that comes complete with phone calls and discussions about the work. It’s nice to connect with a client on such a level.

I’m back to working out!

After a few months of ignoring the weights after the move, I noticed my arms had gone back to full noodle status. And I don’t like that. So I began lifting again. No, I don’t have and won't get a gym membership and nor am I entering triathlons in the near future. Just a little curling and push-ups and whatnot to keep the upper body toned. I've never been Mr. Health and I’m not about to begin now, although I am eating better.

My diet radically changed.

I suspect I’m a bit diabetic and I began noticing issues, so I cut out just about 100% of my sugar intake. Man, oh man, did that feel nice! My body definitely likes me more now. And, before you go and start thinking I’m eating healthy and watching the calories, I’m most certainly not. But the sugars, wow. We don’t realize (or care, I guess) how much of that shit we just shove into our bodies on a daily basis, especially if you like to snack at night like I do. But instead of mini candy bars and Starburst candies, now I grab an apple or a banana or grapes and a diet soda and that’s just fine with me. It really doesn’t even feel like a sacrifice because I feel so much better. I won't look back.

Gotta get the gate installed.

Like, forever ago, I purchased a cool ranch style horse gate for the driveway, but I haven't installed it yet. Mostly, because work sucks, if I’m being honest. The gate on the house broke when the old tenants moved out and I just really don’t find lifting it up to swing it open all that bad so I’m not very driven. However, I bought the thing, so I may as well get it up there. I’m hoping before the weekend or at least on the weekend. There’s just so much going on, a gate I rarely open hasn't been real high priority.

Starlink!

I got on the better instanets. It finally became available in the area so I jumped on it, and wow! I’m seeing speeds of 140+ download at times. I’m sure your ‘net is faster, but keep in mind, I have those speeds in basically a Little House on the Prairie situation, with absolutely nothing around for many miles. I’m stoked! After three months of basically no internet, being able to hop on the PC and do things online is absolutely like scratching an itch. Yay! Plus, I can stream whenever now. Woo, hoo! It’s also real nice not to have to stress about watching movies because of data caps. Trust me on that.

There’s more, I’m sure, but that’s the big stuff right now. It’s nine in the morning on a Wednesday and I’m about to finish integrating photos into a huge doc file, and then maybe go outside if the fucking wind can calm its tits long enough for me not to blow away. Middle-of-nowhere living is awesome, but the wind… it has to go. #stillbetterthanheat.

 

I'm not in Commiefornia anymore!

 

Time for the (once again, hopefully) weekly blog entry.

I have moved! I’m now in NW Arizona and I’m loving it here. I live on just over an acre of prairie in Middle of Nowhere, AZ, at a hair over 5,200 feet. That means I get seasons! Reasonable weather! Wildlife! And a pretty view no matter where I look. It’s tough to beat that.

Here are a few things I have noticed during the three months I have lived here.

The people are fucking nice!

It’s amazing, really, especially coming from a shit hole like CA. In just about 100 days exactly, I don’t have one single negative interaction with any person. For those of you from the dumpy areas, this comes highly recommended.

Guns aren't a bad thing!

Everyone seems to carry here, right out in the open. I have not braved doing this myself, other than around the yard in case since there are predatory animals about, but I will. After 30 years of liberal pounding, it still feels sketchy. I’ll get used to it.

Seasons!

I know the dez rats don’t care about seasons, but I do. I was raised in Colorado, so they are what I know and expect. I moved to Arizona on Dec. 31, and trust me, there are seasons here. We rolled into a nasty blizzard and it snowed a few times since. I cant wait to feel spring and fall! How neat. Summer can still go to hell. Fuck the sun.

Room to breathe!

In CA, I started out in a one-bedroom apt, then moved up to a trailer, then a small house on a street that was annoyingly busy. Now I’m on a full acre of prairie grass and red dirt win, and outside my fences is just more of the same. It’s tough to find words that describe how refreshing that feeling is. Just to walk outside and smile, yanno?

Most of the shit is cheaper here.

In CA, the cesspool on the West Coast, it was just shy of $300 a year to register my half-tun pickup, and every other year I had to smog it, which meant more money and wasted time. Here, I registered the thing for five years, no kidding, and I paid $135. Oh, and the motor vehicles lady was nice. Imagine that! Food and necessities are a bit more expensive, it seems, but I live near a tourist town, so I guess that is expected. Everything else is noticeably cheaper.

Fewer crazy liberal wackos.

I mean, that one speaks for itself. #normalcyiscooltoo.

And, just for added effect, some images!