Just a quick post to reveal why I've been away for so long:
The house is up for sale. We've had 14 showings this past week alone and offers are forthcoming, which may trigger a bidding war, according to our realtor. We had to bring in two cleaning women (mother and daughter) to scour the house, and they did an incredible job. It looks better than when we moved in eight years ago, and still does after all these showings because we make sure that it's always presentable. It also helps that Meridith and I sit in the patio with our two dogs so the potential buyers can walk through unimpeded. If they were in their kennels in the house, their barking would have been bothersome to the sellers, I'm sure, and we wouldn't be facing three offers so far. That may go higher.
I can't give any official word just yet, but things are moving swiftly enough that we will be residents of Las Vegas at the second week of September. That's real, confirmed, solid, set. We're going home!
I'm working on my book projects slower than before in order to prepare to move. But once in Las Vegas, full speed ahead, including my book about the making of the Airport movies. I found out that Airport is being released by Universal on Blu-ray next week as part of its 100th Anniversary. The extras contain only the theatrical trailer. Nothing about the history of it or how it single-handedly pulled Universal out of bankruptcy. It means there's an opening for my co-author and I and we have all the resources for it. I know that in Las Vegas, I'm going to accomplish a lot more than I have, especially armed with a library card that means so much because it's home to me.
Plus, time to shop for a car after we get settled. I need one and Meridith needs one. You can't get around Las Vegas much without one. If I can find a decent used Toyota Corolla, I'll be overjoyed. That's what I want.
That's all for now. After nine years of struggle in Santa Clarita, we're finally moving to where we belong, to where the word "home" means home and not just to say, "I'm tired of these errands. Let's go home," just to reference where our beds are, as it is here. I can't wait to get to the Whitney Library to ransack their Nevada history section and to put on hold what the other branches have, to have the job I've wanted for a long time, to have a Nevada driver's license, to explore every inch of the Las Vegas Valley and eventually the state. I no longer bear any animosity toward Santa Clarita and Southern California. I felt like a tourist in the Walmart Supercenter on Carl Boyer Drive some time ago, and that was a start. Now I feel nothing toward Santa Clarita. I'm ready to move and forget about all of it, filling my soul with the new life that awaits me.
