And I've been fluttering all over the damn place.

Since my lease on my apartment in New Orleans was almost up and I planned to move rather than renew it, last month I set off on an 1800-mile roadtrip to check out the various places I was considering moving to. I decided on Knoxville, TN, for several reasons. I've really been wanting to live somewhere mountainous, and Knoxville is certainly satisfying in that respect. Andrés and Amy had just moved there for grad school and plan to be there for at least two years. Geographically it's within a few hours' drive of lots of the places where I have friends — Atlanta, Clemson, Raleigh. There is a healthy aviation scene in Knoxville — there are at least three good flying clubs with great rates, and there's a large commercial airport and a smaller regional airport and lots of private grass strips all over. It's a small city, so I have access to all the stores and resources I want, without having to deal with city blocks and traffic and nowhere to park.

I looked at several houses for rent while I was in Knoxville, and I found two that seemed like really good options. I definitely wanted a house and not an apartment, because I often stay up late and I was tired of having to carefully keep the volume down to keep from disturbing the neighbors sharing a wall with me. I also wanted something with a garage so I'd have somewhere to work on cars (and so that I could get in my car at noon without being baked alive). I also wanted a yard, preferably fenced-in, so I'd have the option of getting a dog.

One of the houses I was looking at, 837 Tree Trunk Rd., was a 3-bedroom, 2.5-bathroom house with a 2-car garage and a nice pretty, shady backyard with trees and flowers and a large deck. I loved this house — it had a nice cozy den downstairs, nestled half underground (good soundproofing). I've always loved the feeling of being underground; the silence and feeling of privacy. The few times I went to the library at Clemson to work on something, I always favored the lower three floors, which were belowground. Most of my friends have said they hated being down there. I guess it's just one more confirmation that I'm a Morlock, not an Eloi.

So 837 Tree Trunk had lots of upsides, but of course some downsides as well. It was definitely more space than I needed — it was 1700 square feet, plus a 525-square-foot garage, whereas my 2-bedroom apartment in New Orleans, which was meeting my needs quite well space-wise, was 1000 square feet. Another negative was that the landlord didn't allow pets, and I was really hoping to get a cat or small dog in a few months.

The other good option was 1801 Wayside Drive. It was a 3-bedroom, 1-bathroom house with a 1-car garage and a large backyard but not much of a deck. This house allowed pets, wasn't quite so big, was $95/mo cheaper than 837 Tree Trunk, and it was closer to Andrés and Amy's place. The downsides were that it wasn't in as good condition, the layout of the rooms didn't really match the furniture I had, and the garage door was not remote controlled, which realistically meant it would only be used for storage — if I have to get out of the car to open the garage door I may as well just go in the house and leave the car in the driveway.

Still, after much internal debate, I settled on 1801 Wayside, and signed a lease before I left Knoxville to continue on my roadtrip. I hadn't yet seen Raleigh, but the lease specifically stated that I could cancel the lease at least 30 days before the start date and get my entire deposit back, so that gave me two weeks to back out if I decided that Raleigh was really where I wanted to go.

I had lots of fun visiting with Jenn and Alia in Raleigh, but I decided that Knoxville was still where I wanted to go. However, during that week I started to second-guess my decision about which house I wanted to live in, and I ended up deciding to go with the larger house instead. I called its landlord, and he confirmed that it was still available, so I cancelled my lease on 1801 Wayside and signed a lease on 837 Tree Trunk.

I returned to New Orleans excited to get started with my move, but while I had been gone, Bryan had accepted a job in Las Vegas that wanted him to start a week later, so I agreed to help them load up their U-Haul truck, make the 26-hour drive to Las Vegas with them and help them unload it, and then fly back to New Orleans. So, two days after getting done with my own 1800-mile roadtrip, I found myself setting off for another 1700 miles of driving. The trip was workful and driveful but overall pleasant, and on the flight back we flew right over the Grand Canyon, which made it all worth it. As impressive as the Grand Canyon is from the ground, it's even more amazing from the air. I'll definitely have to go back and fly over it myself at some point.

So I returned to New Orleans, exhausted from Bryan and Cat's move, and tiredly but excitedly set about packing up my own stuff. Since Bryan and Cat were no longer around to help me load my own truck (and I was on the third floor, so it'd be even more impossible to do it alone), I convinced my brother to let me buy him a plane ticket to fly out here and help me, and then ride back to Knoxville with me. He grudgingly agreed (when someone says, "Feel free to say no, but I'd basically be screwed if you do," I guess it's hard to say no).

The move was tiring and stressful and terrible, as they always are, but finally I made it to Knoxville. I wanted to minimize the work I made Andrés do, so I did as much of the unloading myself as possible, which ended up being everything but the mattress and box spring. It's so much easier being on the ground floor. Finally I got the truck returned and could relax and start unpacking.

Or not. I was only there for two days before my work flew me down to Puerto Rico because we were moving to a new building (three moves in three weeks!). It was frustrating having to leave so soon after arriving in Knoxville — it was like getting a new toy for Christmas and then not getting to play with it because you have to go to your grandparents' house for Christmas lunch. Except instead of getting more presents at your grandparents' house, you have to carry heavy servers and equipment.

So I didn't get much unpacking done until I returned to Knoxville a week later, but then finally I was able to go about setting up my computer, home theater system, etc, and making this feel like a home.

Now, a week after returning to Knoxville, I'm just about done getting everything set up. Of course, now I have to fly back down to Puerto Rico for another week, but at least I've had a chance to enjoy my new place for a bit.

And man, do I love it. Having a garage is just as great as I'd always imagined (we've already changed the oil in my Supra, Amy's Forrester, and Andrés' motorcycle. It's so much easier than trying to do it on a terrible rough asphalt "driveway" on which jacks don't roll and jackstands sink dangerously into the ground.

The drive to my house (not pictured) is a pleasant, windy, tree-canopied road. The den is cozy and comfortable. I'm really happy here. And I'm never ever moving again.