Escape From New York

Not breaking out yet.

Yup, I’m back.

Item one, I've been on the road for the past two weeks. Half of that time was in Texas.

First, I went to Michigan for "BasedCon," a convention run by Rob Kroese. It's in an area called Norton Shores. Or an area nearby. I honestly didn't keep track. Mostly I just tried not to destroy my car on Michigan roads. And it wasn’t even Detroit.

Next, I went to Texas for house hunting. Yes, we’re moving. We’re going to GTFO of New York. Even if Gov HoGhul gets kicked out, it’s going to take years to fix the state. And frankly, Texas at its worst is half the price of New York Taxes.

After three days of solid house hunting, I went to FenCon, with guests including Larry Correia, Robert Hamson, Toni Weisskopf of Baen books, and even me.

I'm pissed off because I haven't even gone on my computer until today. I've spent most of my time since I've been back packing. Because we're clearing out the house for sale, before we even sell it.

No, we don't have a place to land in Texas yet. Thank you for asking. But our real estate agent was reluctant to show us anything but "new construction" when our house was not yet on the market.

So, fun fun fun all the way.

Remember this quote?

I want to stop running through my life like a man late for an appointment, afraid to look back or look forward. I want us to be what we used to be! I want... I want it all back the way it was.

~Londo Mollari, Babylon 5 episode S1 Ep 13, Signs and Portents

The more I work on moving out of New York city, the above quote is making more and more sense.

Today, a Pod arrives, to be parked on my back lawn. We’re hoping to pack our basement library into it. This includes the 45 overloaded bookcases from our house. Each bookcase is seven feet tall and three feet wide. Approximately eighteen shelf feet of books per case, perhaps more.

You can do that math yourself.

While there is a lot of books being culled for donation before we pack, it’s… work. And ridding ourselves of books hurts. Books have been better friends to me than some real life people. Some books are memories, tied to places and times of my life.

And it’s tiring. I haven’t been allowed to write anything in almost three weeks. I haven’t even been able to read anything outside of a thin comic book. There’s been no time.

Cue Jack Bauer gif…

Nope, nothing quite fits.

The annoying thing is, I don’t want to do this. And why would I? My C-Town is a block away. If my watch breaks, I have a jeweler around the corner. Chinese? Indian? Mexican? Spanish? Gyros? Pizza? All walking distance.

Technically, I do want to do this. I don’t want to feel obligated to do this. But I must. There’s no choice. None. Even the worst taxes Texas have to offer are half of what New York has to offer.

I can’t stay here, and going forward may be more work than me and mine can handle.

But my New York is gone. It’s not even back to the 70s. My part of New York had always been isolated from the suck before. Now, it’s everywhere.

Forget missing the New York of ten years ago. Hell, even three years ago, the Mayor was an idiot, but prosecutors actually prosecuted, and New Yorkers wouldn’t tolerate a lot of BS.

I found one gif that fits

Now, when someone is committing a crime in public, New Yorkers whine and bitch and film them, instead of curb stomping them. Because now, if you curb stomp someone who has it coming, the city will reward the knife-wielding idiot and throw you in jail. Just ask Alvin Bragg and the bogeda owner about that.

I want us to be what we used to be. I want it back the way that it was.

But no. Not an option.

So if I seem tired, or late, or slow on my product, I do hope you’ll understand.

My next product comes out October 11, Blue Saint. Hopefully, I do another one after that.

Be well all.