Another chapter in my life’s journey is coming to a close, with a new one being penned as we speak. My output here has been reduced a bit and I thought I would take the time to let you know why. A couple of months ago, I was presented with an opportunity to move to an area of California in which the cost of living is lower than my current location. I ran this idea past my woman and son, and after some deliberation they agreed that the change would be good for our family. Ironically, the place I am going to be moving back to is the same place that I left almost five years ago, and one in which I had said I would never return to. Life is funny that way, isn’t it?

In a “the grass is always greener on the other side” situation, I have come full circle. I have lived between a couple of locations my entire life due to having divorced parents, and as such have traveled between the two areas countless times. I’ve lived in both for stretches of time, and though I had no intentions on going back, my partner and I had decided that we didn’t necessarily want to live in this particular area forever. Cost of living is high and without top notch jobs we have been living paycheck to paycheck. We have been fairly comfortable in our time living together (about 1.5 years) but we would like for our money to go further, and this means leaving the Greater Los Angeles area. Our plan initially was to wait until we got our tax returns and then use that money to relocate to somewhere that still had a fair amount of industry but didn’t cost as much for rent and things. We have been paying $1500/month for over a year and have this new opportunity to pay less than half of that. So the move is happening, and it’s happening soon.

We’ve already put in our notices with our jobs and have already begun training our replacements. We’re due to move on the 29th, but in the meantime I have been travelling back and forth when given the opportunity, not only to help get the new place set up but also to look for work. I have put in countless applications and I’m pretty positive that I will be able to get something secured before we move, but in the worst case scenario, we have some money saved that should get us by for a couple of months. Ideally, I will be able to get her a full-time job and part-time work for myself so that I can get back to my education and finally finish off my Bachelor’s degree. Then I should be able to find something even better. Either way, I have an amazing partner and we are the penultimate team, so I don’t doubt we will pull out of this situation ahead.

As such, my posting around here will most likely be limited for the month. Oftentimes I was able to make blog posts at work during my down time, but since I’m training my replacement I can’t really get away with it anymore. Much of the time when I get home from work I either don’t have the time for blogging or don’t feel like it, so you can expect that I won’t be as active here. I do have some drafts in my folder that I’m working on though, so there will still be new content here, just not the 15+ posts I usually manage. You can expect a better output from me come January though.

Some things I’m working on for blog posts: CS:GO‘s new Battle Royale mode, The Council‘s final episode, and of course some new MTG brews that I’d like to share. I should be able to get out the once-a-week By The Numbers column as well. So bear with me for the duration of December, and expect more from me come the turn of 2019. Thank you all for your patience with me during this time.

As always, happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself!