Nothing is Constant But Change

(Even the subject of this blog is subject to change.)
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As has become normal for me, I've recently gone through some blindingly fast and surgically precise life changes. A month ago I was working as a full time artist in a conservative church, 5 minutes away from home, where I lived with The Most Beautiful and Wonderful Dog in the World

and my almost elderly mother. (Whatever your opinion is about that, I have my reasons. They'll probably get divulged here sooner or later.)

In my mother's house there are three gargantuan TVs, probably the biggest TVs that ever were made or ever will be made, since they are the kind that guys who watch football bought right before flat panels hit the market. Inevitably, all three televisions are on, and there is a high probability that the Fox News Channel is on ALL of them. ALL DAY. And that's all I'm gonna say about that.

Last month I was single. SO single in fact that I don't really even want to talk about it. I lived in a conservative town where EVERYONE my age is already married and has 2.5 kids. I received some very interesting feedback during my stay in this town about the fact that I am still single. These helpful comments caused me to question my judgment, my sanity, every decision I have ever made regarding a man, my eligibility as a potential relationship partner, my viability as a woman, and even my worthiness of walking around on the planet with these other obviously more well adjusted and married humans. Once I wrote a comic monologue about that, which actually enabled me to move on somewhat. But I do seem to remember that the day before I performed it I pulled a Linda Blair-like freakout on my innocent and unsuspecting family members and promptly went to live in a hotel for a night.

But that is all in the past now. That was a month ago.

In July I started asking for awareness. (FYI, beware of asking for crystal clear truth unless you want to enter WARP.) A series of undeniable events to be extrapolated upon later led me to resign my arts job in November. Before Christmas I somehow schmoozed my way through an interview that landed me The Perfect Job in The Best Town in the Universe. Now I live in Austin. Magically, I'm not weird anymore for being over 25 (oh ok over 35) and single. That is apparently perfectly normal in Austin. Magically, I can be satisfied at work and still leave my job at the door when 5:30 rolls around. Magically, I am finally making decisions based on what I want instead of what I should do. I even kind of have someone who is kind of, sort of, although not really, like a boyfriend. Which is...well, perfect.

I've always been a bit like a cat about change...my instinct is to hide behind the warm refrigerator for at least 3 months. I live in a new city, have a new job, new friends and new connections with old friends. Some of the people I was closest to in my one month ago life have seemingly dropped off the face of the earth. So I definitely have moments of...uh...strangeness.

Without a doubt the hardest change is that I had to leave my beloved pooch behind with my mom. To take care of her. And of course to continue his reign over his kingdom, The Backyard. And it's only fair. After all, my mom's the one who found him and brought him home. Even though I trained him and molded him with great patience into The Greatest Dog in All the Land. Even though I lost more shoes in the process than she did.

I'm visiting him today. He's looking a me right now with those eyes that say "I love you more than any other human being in the entire history or future of the world."

I guess some things don't change.