Halfway Mark

The Babaloo and I graduated from university a little over five weeks ago, and we're leaving the state in a little over five weeks. I guess that means we're at the halfway mark.

My sister emailed me to demand a link to my blog. I asked, "What blog?" She later explained that what we're doing is exciting! (read: borderline insane) and that I should blog about it. So here we are.

My husband (a/k/a the Babaloo) and I moved to the Triangle region of North Carolina in June of 2006. We've spent the last seven years working and living and attending school (and did I mention accumulating stuff? More on that later.)... and this past May, he finished his BA in history and I finished my MA in Sociology.

He's from California. My folks are from North Carolina, but I'm an Army brat and -- truth be told -- I'm prone to itchy feet. I hear it's common among people who moved as often as every six months as kids. It is what it is. I've gotten much better about it in recent years. That need for novelty can be quenched with hobbies or projects instead of having to actually uproot and move, so that isn't what this is, really.

Most of the Babaloo's folks live on the west coast. I grew up mostly on the west coast. I miss mountains. He misses an arid environment. Also, we've spent the last five years sticking to a pretty strict budget which meant a small apartment and sharing a front door stoop with a variety of neighbors with screaming children and an utter lack of manners.

We researched for over a year. The Babaloo's criteria were that it had to be west of the Rockies and not cold. My criteria were that I wanted a large chunk of affordable land, preferably 40 acres, and hopefully within view of a mountain or two. We've settled on Mohave County, Arizona. Our end goal is Yucca, but we're going to have to work nonstop for a year or two and continue living on a budget in order to purchase the land outright.

We're hoping to settle initially in Kingman, though we're open to Lake Havasu City, Bullhead City, or even Las Vegas. We've started our job searches but it seems every time I apply for a position, HR emails two days later to regrettably inform me that the job isn't available. (Tease!) I'm trying not to let it get to me. I'm sure we'll find positions as our arrival date gets closer. Honestly, half my focus is on paring down what we own.

Shortly after graduation we snagged a dually F350 off Craigslist for a song. It's a 1989, but it's sturdy and runs pretty well. We took it up to my uncle in May and he gave it the once-over and fixed the A/C. The first time my niece visited after we bought it, she told her mom it was HUGE. She's right. It does have a tiny spot of rust on the passenger rear fender, but where we're going there is no rust. We removed most of the bumper stickers, but couldn't reach the big one on the windshield. I'm convinced PETA folks are going to slash our tires.

It came with pre-redneckified bumper stickers.

Then we debated whether to keep or sell my car. It gets great gas mileage, and we used GasBuddy.com to calculate what it would cost to drive from here to Kingman. The Babaloo and I agree that the cost of driving it (which is half the cost of shipping a vehicle, by the way) is less than the loss I'd take on selling it here and buying a comparable vehicle after the move. So, we put it in the shop for a tune-up, fixed a few sensors, checked the coolant system, charged the A/C, had it inspected, and renewed the registration (which irks me since we'll only use 1/12 of it). I take solace in the fact I get to keep my non-redneckity bumper stickers.

The dean of my college wants my nerdy bumper sticker, but they're not printed anymore.

Finally, we also snagged a 20' Prowler... also off Craigslist... also for a song. It needs some serious interior TLC, but we'll get to work on it as soon as it stops raining. Have I mentioned how often it rains here in the summer? That's one thing I won't miss.

You can see in the front window the stack of wall boards that need to be installed.

The trailer is dual-axle with pretty awesome weight ratings and brakes. We just have to get a new 7-pin adapter to connect it to the truck, which was previously used to haul a horse trailer and has the sliding thingamabob to adjust trailer brakes from the driver's seat. I'm sure there will be dedicated posts later as we renovate the trailer, since my sister kind of made me promise to post updates.

I've been cleaning and mopping and organizing and purging stuff all day, though, and have almost finished my one glass of merlot, so that's all I have to post for now. I'll be back later in the week to tell you about our experience at the flea market last Saturday, and maybe later again to share details about our Craigslist adventures.