Three years ago I had a pretty steady life. I had been living in Colorado for almost ten years and had a group of loyal friends; a couple of fun hobbies; a nice house with a view and within walking distance of an amazing park, where Grace and I spent a great deal of time. At BIPC's subsiduary (LUPC), I managed the customer service department and, I think, was fairly well respected. I didn't have a boyfriend and I didn't care -- just as now, a lot of my social life revolved around exes.

I was set in that life.

One day, my boss asked if I'd be interested in transferring. Despite the fact that I couldn't have left Ohio fast enough when I was eighteen, it didn't take me longer than a day to accept. The 30% raise that came with it played too much of a factor.

It was miserable.

The first year was the worst. Every possible thing that could go wrong, did. At the end of what I call "The Dayton Experiment" I felt I would lose my sanity if I didn't do something. My one non-BIPC friend was a landlord in Cincy who had an apartment that suddenly became available. Nearly overnight, Grace and I moved an hour south.

Despite the commute and a reputation for conservatism, the decision to move turned out to be exactly the right one. Almost immediately I grew a social life and friends. I was a dating monster; I dated more than I had in years. And Cincy's reputation made no difference once I began meeting interesting people...

Luscious Desert: Chapter One
I had been living in Cincy for almost a year when I discovered the Wonderful World of Blogs. It coincided with the realization that I couldn't continue commuting to a job I hated. I had made the mistake, during the "experiment", of purchasing The Duplex -- an albatross, a money pit -- and I needed to move back and deal with it. I dreaded it. I had plenty of anger, confusion, fear and misery to blog about; the Blog World would know no writing more petty, vicious and bitter. (ha ha)

Luscious Desert: Chapter Two
And now here I am, six months back in Dayton and three years out from Colorado. The picture has not been so dark and no one is more amazed than me. I have a nice house with lots of shade trees and a front porch; a group of fun friends; some cool hobbies. BIPC is no less odd, but the project I now have brings me into contact with new people and promises to be a success. It will help the resume. Perhaps most surprising to me is that, when I've considered the growing likelihood of being single for the rest of my time, my mind has been total zen.

Uh oh!

Luscious Desert: Chapter Three?
(In which I hope I learned something these last three years.)

Off to Boston for a week! XOXO