I need to share this big news with you.
Right now, I’m in Arizona.
Let me say first that I love being here. I love being able to freelance and enjoy the weather and go to different attractions in the city. I love that everything I need is within driving distance of me. (I’m also a fan of living in a city that has a Trader Joe’s.) Phoenix has been very good to me. I have no complaints.
However, I’m moving back to Ohio soon.
The plan is to move at the start of July. If I can manage it sooner, cool, but if not, no big deal.
I’m not moving because of lack of work, although a lack of conventions does have a bit part.
There just aren’t that many comic or anime conventions that happen in Arizona. Phoenix Comicon is the largest one and is one of only a handful that happen in the entire state in a year.
So lack of conventions to attend is a part of it, but there’s a larger part.
The biggest reason I’m moving back to Ohio is…Marc the Boyfriend.
Right now he’s in the National Guard in West Virginia. He tried to transfer out, but the Guard base there won’t let him, and they haven’t let him move out of state for the past year.
I can’t explain why he is unable to leave because of security reasons. All I can say is he’s part of a team that’s understaffed at the moment, and they haven’t had any new recruits to replace him to let him transfer out to Arizona.
We both talked about it. As sad as he is that he can’t come out here to the desert, he supports my decision to move back.
If anything, I’m the one hesitant to move back.
I love Marc. I love my friends and family in Ohio. That’s not the issue.
The issue is, I’m not a fan of the town I would have to stay in.
After being in Phoenix for around 9 months now, I really, really, REALLY like city-living.
(I’m also not really looking forward to freezing cold and snow. Now that I have had 100 degrees baked into my system, I don’t know how I’ll handle ice anymore.)
If there’s anything to look forward to, it’s more conventions to attend.
The plan for next year is to get to SPACE, Animarathon, ColossalCon, and perhaps even Youmacon, plus maybe a few local shows around my area.
Turns out when you live in a small town in the middle of nowhere, you get bored, so you either host or go to conventions just to draw in other nerds so you’re not as lonely.
Thankfully my freelancing is portable, so moving won’t really affect my work.
And who knows? Maybe some friends of mine and I can get started on making Rubber Duck: The Reckoning into an actual indie movie.
Wouldn’t that be fun?