Change.

So I live in Austin now. Pretty abrupt, I know, but that’s why I haven’t updated my blog in a few weeks.

From out of no where, I got great job offer from a video games company in Austin, so the wife and I packed the house and pets, said good-bye to the best damn neighbors ever, and set out on an epic 4 (6) day 2,600 (3,700) mile road trip with a new life waiting for us at the end. And that was that, more or less.

The whole experience has been an adventure, and the road trip deserves its own post, but I’ll briefly summarize the highlights for you:

Packing sucked. We have / had too much stuff, despite our best efforts, to sell, give, and donate much of it. Some how, some way, we managed to cram all of our worldly possessions fit in to 800 cubic feet. Barely.

I have the best in-laws ever. We couldn’t have done this without their help, and I can’t thank them enough for everything the did.

While our rag-tag bunch of dogs and cats brings us much joy, moving them (+ worldly possessions) that far was not fun.

Driving a 16′ box truck through the Siskiyous in January could have been worse.

New Years Eve was spent eating In-N-Out and drinking cheap sparkling wine at La Quinta in Redding, CA. We were asleep by 23:00.

The further south we got on I-5 in California, the more assholish the drivers became.

Puck was lost in El Paso. He sneaked out of the hotel room as we were getting ready to leave. We spent hours looking for him to no avail, so we left our information and his crate with the hotel staff and pushed on with a heavy heart. I called every few hours asking for updates, but there was no sign of him. 36 hours after we left El Paso, I got a phone call from a railroad worker staying at our hotel. He had found Puck holed up in the dresser, in the room directly under ours. I drove back to El Paso post haste and found the little bastard waiting for me in his crate. After thanking everyone profusely, I got a few hours of sleep and headed back to Austin.

Our new house is super cute. We rented it sight unseen, so it was a huge relief that we liked it. We’re still not sure about the neighborhood, but so far it’s okay. Good Mexican food anyway.

A lot happened in Seattle before I left. There were going away parties, pot lucks, and a holiday or two. My neighbor Kelly hosted a Cuban themed supper club pot luck at her house, and I killed it with a drunken Cake de Ron, ropa vieja, and papas bravas (complete with homemade garlic aloi and pimentón-infused olive oil). There was was finger licking good praline cheesecake with caramel sauce at Clay and Marcia’s Thanksgiving day feast, and an artery clogging mac and cheese for our last little soiree with BFFs / neighbors Chris and Kristen. Our out neighbors Kristen and Brian hosted a farewell cocktail party and feast at their place, to which I brought a selection of charcuterie from Rain Shadow Meats and cheeses from The Calf & Kid. I made yeast rolls for Thanksgiving, in addition to my usual spread of turkey, dressing, etc, and we had a two amazing Christmas meals with Kiki and her family and Kelly’s unforgettable lasagna. For that little shindig, I made a batch of mascarpone, and turned it in to the most delicate and delicious tiramisu.

Whew. All that and we moved across the country on just a few weeks notice.