somewhere there's a city

Little over a year ago, I was impressed with how far I had come. Two years ago I was really amazed at the accomplishments I had; graduating from college and living on my own, making plans on my own and doing my own thing. Now is not really any different; I look back on those moments with the fond nostalgia that you so often hear me ramble about; but it looks like even more is coming in the future. I've probably expressed it before, but I suppose I may as well keep everyone up to date. Probably before January, the Girl and I will settle on a place to live that's near our fair Nation's capital but not really IN it, per se. That is to say, close enough to be within arms reach, but far enough away that we don't have to worry for our lives every time we decide to go out for a walk. It won't be the first time I've lived with someone, but it will be the first time I've lived with someone I love in that cohab sorta way, and I'm thrilled at the prospect and can't wait to settle on a place. Literally, I'm so incredibly thrilled at the notion that I just want to start calling leasing agents and managers all over the place and start setting up appointments to see property.

Living closer to the district will allow me to not only make it to my current job with much more ease, but allow me to tap into the wealth of employment opportunity that's both deeper into the city and also out into the suburbs (since going OUT is always easy in the morning and coming IN is always easy in the afternoon; it's the opposite of the normal commute) and give me a bit more flexibility with career choices. Also, the Raevyn will have a much easier time finding a decent, well-paying job down here than she's had up near Philly; and as much as I've tried to find werk up there to take and move up in that direction, it's been nearly impossible. So in the end, this is the solution we came to. A little thinking outside the box, so to speak, and here we are, happily planning to move in together around or just after the new year. Now the trick is to find the right place to live, which hopefully won't be so difficult.

This opens up a whole new world to me; we'll be financially stable and sound, and we won't be spending cash on things like travelling to and from each other and cell phone bills-hopefully the cash we recoup on things like that we'll be able to use for rent and utilities. Additionally, I won't have to drive around nearly as often, especially if I live within a short hop to a Metro station. I'm excited, can you tell? For a long while I was thinking that maybe I shouldn't do this, maybe I shouldn't rush-maybe I should simply enjoy living alone for a while longer and being by myself, but in the end I decided against it; partially because my place is lonely when I get home in the evenings, and partially because I love Raevyn so much that if I already wouldn't hesitate to drive two to four hours a night just to be with her on the weekends, I wouldn't think this could work. And I really, really think this can work. Now to peruse the Ikea catalog.

I'm not entirely sure how things will fall out with parents and whatnot, but I'm definitely sure that one way or the other we'll be together soon, and that alone makes me incredibly happy. It feels in a lot of ways like I've been waiting a long time for something this stable, something this real, and something this passionate and true, and I don't hesitate to reward myself for days gone by with reveling in this feeling. I'm excited, and I'm proud to say it. I've always been an optimist, and I'm looking at this future with bright eyes as well. Sure there'll be obstacles and hurdles, and if it's too much for us we can always move somewhere else, do something else, but I'm happy to even have the opportunity to try, to give it a chance, to roll the dice and take a stake in my own destiny, my own future. I'm happy about that, and I can't wait to get started.