Bobbing along

We have a place to live. It's going to be about an hour bike ride for Derrick every day, but it's a price we can afford, has two bedrooms and a garage, and even has a bit of a yard out front.

I'm ambivalent about moving back to California. I loved going to school here, but going to school means you're pretty insulated from many of the difficulties of living in California--traffic and housing being two prominent ones. The weather's gorgeous, the scenery spectacular, and it's all very expensive. 'Cause everyone wants to live here, right? I mean, California is the land of golden opportunity, so who wouldn't want to pay through the nose for the privilege of living (even in an impoverished state) in this wonderfulness?

And yet, at the same time it truly is a wonderful, beautiful place, and there are a lot of opportunities here that just don't exist in most places. This isn't where I want to land permanently, but it will be a nice place to spend the next couple of years. I'm sad to leave my comfortable life here in Indiana, and particularly sad about leaving the friends I've made here. I love my next door neighbor and her family--they've been family while we've been here and I hope that friendship continues long after we've moved. I'm sure I'll find new friends (after the six months it takes me to get warmed up and comfy)--but I will miss the ones I leave here.