I so very desperately need to move out of my parents house. It's not that I don't love them, I just think I'd love them more from the comfort of my own living room. In fact, I know this, as I have lived on my own before, for a year and a half right out of high school. It was great. Me and my roommate had a little two bedroom duplex. For the first time, no parents, no rules, just us. Those of you who can remember the first time you moved you moved out will understand what I'm talking about. But, as with many first time renters, it fell through. I got really sick, Roommate got fired, money ran out and it was time to go back home. For a while, things back at the ol' homestead were wonderful. More and better food, for starters, no rent, and my parents and I were getting along better than we had in years. In the meanwhile, I was able to recooperate, start college, and look for better employment unmolested.

That was last January.

Now, things are beginning to unravel. Not seriously, but the sooner I vacate, the better, for all concerned.

My old room was rapidly (I'm talking a matter of hours) converted into an office for my father, so, when I returned, my 10 year old sister was forced to share a room with my 16 year old sister. They manage as well as any 10 year old and 16 year old can, which is to say not very. So I promised the 16 year old that she would have her own room for senior year, which will begin in August.

My mother started a home daycare and has thee or four kids on a daily basis. I guess she's had her license for some time, but has only in the last 10 months or so started actively recruiting charges. One of them has taken to screaming at the top of his lungs any time he feels he's not the center of attention. He has remarkable lung capacity for someone who is not yet two. The others are merely underfoot constantly, and I'm afraid I'm gonna step on one. I know it's the nature of toddlers to be in the way, but it's hard to care when they're not your own. There are also a large number of child care related rules we have to follow. Things regarding sanitation, and locks, and gates. I approve of the system of rules the City has in place, keeps stupid people from opening daycares, but they can be annoying when applied to you home, the most annoying being that my dog has to stay penned up behind gates all day. He's a nice dog, never bitten, hardly barks, but it's a pretty strict rule.

And, finally, my father was just laid off. This is not the terrible financial blow it could have been, but our house is smallish and that's just one more person who's around. So, my five family members, plus two to five daycare kids everyday just makes the house extremely crowded.

On top of it all, it's annoying to be 20ish and living with mom and dad:

GIRL: So, you wanna go back to your place?
ME (envisioning my parents, sisters and dozen strange rugrats): Well, you see, I'd love to, but.....

Not that I've ever been in that position, but if it were to happen, it would happen now, when I can't take advantage of the opportunity.

So, moving out, again, is high on my list of priorities, but there are obstacles, the first of which is the cost of living in this valley. They say that your rent should not exceed one third of you net pay, for me this means I max out at about $400. A one bedroom house/apartment/studio is surprisingly hard to come by for that amount. On top of it all, it would be nice if I could bring my dog Lou along with me, but finding buildings who allow big pets and don't require an additional arm and/or leg in deposits is even harder. I have made tentative plans with the 'rents to leave him here, but would rather not.

Enter the Roommate. Same one as before, we still get along and now that he has dumped that whorish jailbait controlling bitch of a girlfriend we can hang out again. (I may seem shallow, but I tried and tried to get them to break up, but after a while I just couldn't sit back and watch the kinds of things she did to him while took it with this big "yes dear, I love you" shit eating grin all the time. So, I put a little distance between us and hoped that he would come to his senses before it was too late. I'm glad to report that he has, and even has a new girl who seems to very sweet, and nice and better for him and, most importantly, not a whorish jailbait controlling bitch.) It is actually easier to find a $600 a month or so two bed house/apartment and spilt the bills, but he has had trouble locating sufficient employment. I will admit, for a while I was wondering just how hard he truly was looking. I mean, he says he looking really hard, but all that looking and no offers? I'm sorry I doubted him, because I now know how hard he's looked. Just this week, he got a part time job at Skippers, where his supervisor is none other than his younger sister.

Ouch.

I know how much pride he had to swallow to do that. That job still isn't enough, but it's something, and I know he would not have gone back into the "food service" industry, let alone under the supervision of his sister, unless he was desperate.

So for now, the target date is Januaryish. I would like to be gone by January 10th, as that is the one year date of my moving back, and want to be able to say to myself, "Yeah, I had to move back with mom and dad, but it was less than a year, so I'm not doing too bad."

I hope we make it.