montana

We have successfully moved into our new home. It’s in the South Hills area of Missoula, Montana, which is about ten minutes from downtown and on the edge of town (and obviously in the hills). More importantly, the house has a front and back yard, a patio, a fire pit, a basketball hoop, and a dishwasher. Even more importantly than that, it has three bedrooms, which means that Ben and I each have our own office now. Oh - and there are closets! Seven of them! As compared to the zero closets we had in our New York apartment!

We’ve spent the last two days buying furniture and putting furniture together (note that Target seems to have the clearest directions of anywhere and the least likelihood of missing parts). We’ve also spent the last two days constantly grilling things (for example, tonight we had salmon, bell pepper, and pineapple skewers on a bed of brown rice). In the evenings, after our one-on-one basketball games, we gather round the fire pit and say things like, “I can’t believe we’re here!” and “Look! Remember stars!” and “This is so much better than the city!’ and “I can’t believe you made that jump shot!” I wonder if it will wear off.

Ripley is now an outdoor cat again, which she loves. She has a kitty door that she learned to use after Ben showed her how just once. I know it’s a little more dangerous to let her outside, but I really do think that it improves the quality of her everyday life so much that it is worth the added risk. Plus, it is just adorable to watch her roll around in the grass. Outdoor Rippy pictures will follow in the coming days.  I’ll also post a few pictures of the house once we’re a bit more set up - like the panoramic view of the mountains you can see from the toilet.

I should also mention that our internet connection for the next week - a connection we are temporarily stealing from the neighbors until the cable guys come - ranges from “poor” to “piss poor.” All internet activities will be spotty until next Monday, but I’m trying hard to post once a weekday.

There’s so much more Montana culture to catch you up on - in the coming days I’ll write about our time playing in the river, our glorious return to our favorite bar, Flippers, our experience at the infamous Testicle Festival, and… pain.

Last week was, to say the least, busy.

To start things off, Ben got way, way sicker than I did and was knocked off his feet for almost a week. To give you an idea of how bad this virus was that hit us, the coworker who got it from Ben is now laid up in the hospital.

Strangely, on the day that Ben was at his lowest point, he got two emails: one from an online mixed martial arts site Cage Potato and the other from none other than Sports Illustrated. Both publications had read Ben’s stuff and were looking to get in on the goods before someone else did. Within the week, Ben 1) accepted a full time job as editor of Cage Potato 2) accepted a steady freelancing gig with Sports Illustrated (non-sports fans: this is huge) and 3) slowly, slowly recovered from the superbug that was eating him alive.

What does that mean for us? Since both Cage Potato and Sports Illustrated don’t give a damn where Ben writes from as long as he writes for them, and since my freelance business is chugging along more smoothly than I could have ever expected, we are planning to return to Montana in the next few months. Yes, Montana - where you can get an entire burger for a buck and where you can actually see the stars at night.

As you might guess, I’m stupendously excited. Aside from the 24-hour takeout options, New York City and I never quite got along. I know I should have realized this going in, but the capital of the world is loud, crowded, dirty, and depressing. And with spring coming, I can only think about the fun I could be having if only we had a backyard, a grill, and a whiffle ball set.  And did I mention Ben is going to write for Sports Illustrated?

The tentative plan involves selling most of our crap, buying a truck, and leaving by mid- June or July — right around the time that the garbage on the sidewalks of the city starts rotting in the heat. This plan also involves buying a house in our much-loved and much-missed Missoula and perhaps even adopting a puppy. Although I think we have a handle on the puppy-buying process, we’re a bit lost when it comes to purchasing a house. I bet we’ll figure it out, though.

I’m looking forward to all of it - the money we’re making will go so, so much farther in Montana (the basic conversion is that the cost of one beer in New York is equal to the cost of one pitcher in Missoula) and seeing the mountains again sounds like just what I need.