First day at work, had a great time. That is a good way to start off any blog post. Talking about the snow I had to brush off my car windows… not so great. But, it was one of those days. So far, it looks like my new job is going to be a lot of fun, which actually makes me pretty happy. I also submitted a short story yesterday, which kind of makes up for the fact I had a crappy writing day today. Two and a half hours… half a paragraph.

Oh, if you are interested, this is a view from my new apartment:

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When I first moved from Iowa to Illinois, I did so after sending Fluffy off to Minnesota. It was both a painful and expected part of my life. I thought that sending the woman I loved to another state, for the reasons that made sense for everyone involved, would be painful, but it wasn’t. Instead, it was one of those things where I watched the Uhaul drive away, went inside, and just… did nothing. Not upset, not depressed, just kind of blank.

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Not having anything to do for a week, nor places to go is doing the predictable to me. My huge list of things to do isn’t even remotely done, though I did make a pretty website, set up GnuCash to manage finances across two households, and set up my stereo system (need a new stand though). But, my hopes of restarting Glorious Saber or getting a ton of short stories done have both resulted in everything but. I also learned a couple lessons:

• It is really hard to make pancakes without eggs, a spatula, or cooking spray or oil.
• It is also not a good idea to cook without paper towels, but a bathroom towel will do in a pinch when you miss the pan because you are using a fork and a wooden spoon to flip it.
• There is a reason I don’t fry in butter anymore… yummy.
• I still like double-entry bookkeeping and actually prefer it.
• I can’t do 64 situps.
• It hurts the next morning after I try to do 64 situps.
• And I still hit the snooze alarm way too often, need to get it down to 2-3 at most.
• I’m very glad there is no one around me when I went from four cans of Diet Coke a day to nothing for a week. I hate myself after that.

Other than that, I’m getting situated and fairly happy. Just little things here and there, but mainly I’m looking forward to starting my new job on Monday.

Hey, its Iowa! Monday morning, I set out about an hour after Fluffy left for work and got here about 11:00. Figured I’d show up early to my appointments, so I went to a place in downtown Cedar Rapids for the “come any time” appointment. Met a really nice lady, laughed and had fun as she showed me the rooms. A nice studio for $471/month and a one bedroom for $505/month. I thanked her, as I always did, and promised to call even if I found something better.

My second appointment: Showed up an hour early, asked if that was a problem. Nope, no problem whatsoever. So, that lady, who bitched half the time, showed me a two bedroom apartment. I was rather precise in saying I was interesting in studio and one bedrooms only. I asked why and she told me she didn’t have any and wasn’t expecting any open. Just for kicks, asked the price: $680/month. The other thing I told her over the phone is I wouldn’t go over $600/month. Well, scratch that.

Went to my third of three choices. Man was rude to me (“You must fill out the card before I can show you.” “Why?” “Company policy”) about the information gathering stage and the showing a room (“You must leave a photo id here before I can show you.” “Why?” “Company policy”). Gorgeous room, amazing workout hall, and indoor pool. $587 for a one bedroom. Near the top of my range, but at least the right number and budget.

“I won’t have anything until mid-May.”

So, that would mean I would be living with my in-laws.

“And only if you reserve now.”

Well, I ended up going with the first place. They were nice, polite, showed me exactly what I wanted. So, three hours after getting into Iowa, I have a new studio apartment, overlooking the Iowa River (15 meters from the shore), cheaper than anything else I could find, and is exactly 5.5 km from work, with only two turns. And work is surrounded by a Target, Menards, Super Walmart, and everything else I need for my day-to-day living.

The Universe Provides.

I’m pretty excited. Got my inconsistent cable Internet working nicely, seems to choke on a few things, a bed setup (I *need* a new one though, air mattresses are not comfortable), and basically doing everything I can to relax in the next few days before staring my new job on Monday.

I miss Fluffy though. I feel a bit adrift without her guidance and have to really concentrate on going to bed at a reasonable time, eating healthy (which I struggle with), exercise (which I struggle more). I’m going to try making some serious lifestyle changes with this time, but there is a lot of uphill mountains to climb.

On the other hand, got a bit of time to write. :)

Its weird walking away. Strange to head down those stairs the last time, knowing that I have no plans on every going back. Excluding a three year period starting in 2000, I’ve been with the same company for 20 years. It is hard turning your back on those memories, the friendships you make, and times you’ve had together. I’ll keep in touch, or at least plan on it, but I’m moving forward on plans that have been in progress for five years. Its scary and sad, closing that door behind him.

I had my first real experience as a parent this weekend. It was a sleepover with Fluffy’s practice children. The boy and girl used to be our neighbors but when they moved way, Fluffy kept going over to visit. After eight years, Fluffy offered their parents a chance for a little “alone time” and we had guests. It is strange having young ones in the house. I mean, there is the baffling and rapid changes in emotions, the personalities that are still forming, and they have an energy level that I remember from my own childhood. I was, of course, completely confused why one wanted constant hugs (and then spun around until she almost puked) and the boy cried on a drop of a hat.

On Saturday morning, to add to the energy of those two, Fluffy also watched year-old child. Well, that made life a bit interesting. I got volunteered to watch some of them, three children is a lot for anyone, so I spent a good twenty minutes watching the littlest one playing with the dog cage (Fluffy said I couldn’t lock him in and I couldn’t take pictures) but it was neat.

It didn’t start any real “I wanna have children” drives, but it wasn’t so terrible either. Children are definatley high maintenance and there is no question that I won’t be writing novels, games, or doing most of my hobbies when we have children. But, I follow the long tail of life, so I can put them aside for a decade.

And maybe, just maybe, I won’t be that bad of a father.

In other news, this is my last week of work and I’m excited about moving to Iowa.

Yeah, like that’s going to happen at this point in my life. However, in some ways, I have lost something. This Monday, I finally saw Rocky Picture Horror Show. You know, for a movie made in the same year I was born (1975), and for the eclectic interests I have, its amazing that I somehow missed this movie. When I finally saw it, baring most of the institutionalized fan callbacks, I had an absolutely blast. I mean, I knew the songs already from a friend’s CD, but I’m really glad I finally got to see it.

Next week, it is the RiffTrax for Spiderman 3.

… kind of like shooting fish in a barrel actually. But, it will also be the day before I back up my DVDs, so that will be an interesting milestone in my move to Iowa. I’m also going out to dinner with my father on Wednesday, to a place neither of us have been, which I’m looking forward to. I really need to finish My Father’s Bike.

Normally, I’m pretty good about blogging constantly, but this last week has been rather difficult. And, with what I got yesterday, its going to be even more difficult since I’m moving to Iowa in two weeks. Yep, I got myself a brand new, shiny job in another state! And I got everything I asked for, so I’m both extremely excited and just as terrified about the changes before me.

This means that I’m going to be really bad about posting on other blogs (one of those favorite things) until I get moved, situated, and reconnected to the Internet. I’m also going to be running around like a frog without a head for a while.

But, I’m cliff diving. Plummeting into the Master Plan and looking forward to every bit of wind that blows past me.