Happy Anniversary!

Wednesday was my 1 year anniversary of arriving in Phoenix. I celebrated by bringing a 10 pound Costco cake into work on Thursday. Carrying that sucker up the street was a pain, I tell you. It said "Congratulations" and there was barely a scrap left at the end of the day.

Yes, coming to Phoenix was a good thing. In Ohio, I was constantly frustrated, and I didn't know why. My mom asked if t was because I didn't have a full-time job for so long, but it predated that issue. Some of it was feeling so disconnected from the people I met, aside from Genevieve, Cookbook, SuperC, Ms.G. and some others. But a lot of it was that I felt trapped. I trapped myself, don't get me wrong--I stayed with the ex, I bought a house, I went to grad school. But there's something about the city that encourages it--if you have a job that pays decently, you stay with it because there's not a lot of opportunities. You buy a house because it seems cheap and you think you'll stay a while and it's a good investment. Oh, look there's a single guy you're compatible with--marry him quick. There's something about the place that encourages complacency, or at least that was the case with me. While out here, I think I should be doing something, working on myself, having fun at least: bat watching, speed dating, biking, getting a scooter and joining a club, doing yoga, taking up tennis. Or at least I should be prepared to do all that September-May, as it was 111 degrees today.

Yes, I'm still frustrated. But I'm frustrated with myself, which is different and for all the same reasons that I am always frustrated and disappointed in myself--perfectionism, awkwardness, distrust, laziness. Phoenix is different in the type of craziness it evokes and I can be fairly sure I have an escape plan should things go rotten. I am amused by the irony that I've moved from being the settled down type, which was what I always thought I wanted to be based on a volatile childhood, to embracing a lifestyle where I could cut and run on a moment's notice. I still don't have a couch.

As for other things:

The House

Cuyahoga County Auditor thinks the property has a market value of $106,400 for the purposes of tax assessment. I have papers to sign under the watchful eyes of a notary tomorrow; then they get filed with the court and eventually I no longer own a house.

What's on tap for this week: Tomorrow I am going over to The Crimson Conquest's to watch 3 hours of True Blood. I am bringing raw beet salad (Cookbook, I am modifying a recipe of your fake boyfriend's) and she is supplying the tapes and the bourbon. Wednesday I am going to free night at the Phoenix Art Museum (Wende--you and the neighbors interested?) I am seeing the Jenny Lewis show on July 11th. I am going to try to make getting out and doing things more of a priority. And I need some help packaging myself for online dating.