New Mexico Will Be My New Home (Patreon)

The house I'm staying in has needed a fair amount of stuff done so it is a comfortable place for me to work and sleep in. I've also been figuring out what this next phase of my life is gonna look like. I have been writing a bit every day, though. I currently have 1.5 chapters of "Remiel's Enlightenment" written and half of a story I wanted to do for pride month. Yes, pride month was last month, but I didn't get the idea until the end of June. Stuff should start coming out this week. Then I'll work as hard as I can given what I'm about to explain below.

Why I love New Mexico:

Besides Hawaii, New Mexico is my most favorite place I've ever lived. I love the variety of geological features, the people, the landscape, the dryness, the large number of artists, the awesome Native Americans I've started to get to know, the bosque of the Rio Grande River, and the ridiculous amount of available hiking trails within thirty minutes of Albuquerque. There's three different types of volcanoes I can drive to easily, there's petroglyphs, there's amazing farmer's markets, thrift stores, and flea markets. Anything from tasty BBQ to Vietnamese is available here. My aunt is the only person I've ever lived with who's as experienced with cooking as I am and I really enjoy that we both like to make good-tasting healthy food.

Going out into nature is just kinda the status quo here and that meshes really well with me. More camping gear in thrift stores than I've ever seen anywhere else. People are really good with me being trans and are very laid back. I'm so relaxed and okay with myself here that I'm often referred to as female even when I'm not dressed up for it.

I think the reason is that it's my natural state and being so at home here lets me hang on to my feminine side even when I'm out and about.

I'm well fed, getting plenty of nature, and meeting a ton of cool people.

What's not so great:

All the locals say Breaking Bad is pretty spot on, lol. There's a lot of crime and drug problems due to this being a hub for illegal drugs. But there's a lot one can do to stay safe. Knowing what part of town you're in and telling a local where you're planning on going is really good to do. Just like any big city, honestly. I've lived in one of the most dangerous neighborhoods of Minneapolis and I grew up in a dangerous neighborhood in Honolulu (Click to read about "The Company," Hawaii's organized crime syndicate that survived all the way to 1991).

Keeping on with the less awesome parts about living in NM: My uncle has been sick for a very long time and can't do all that much. Plus, my dear friend who lives on their property has Parkinson's and is near the point where he can't drive anymore.

An Opportunity to do Some Good:

This friend is a gentle person who did hard labor most of his life. He loves hiking and has lived such a kaleidoscopic life that he'll never run out of stories to tell. He put antennas up on mountaintops, ran jackhammer crews, worked construction for Sandia Labs, was a mountain hiking guide, and even was a silversmith for several years.

My aunt is so busy caring for my uncle that she can't do all that much for their friend. Without really realizing it, I started helping him out every day with random stuff and really enjoyed it.

My aunt and uncle saw how much I was helping him and told me I could stay in NM and live in a little adobe house on their property if I wanted.

Moving to New Mexico:

After being in New Mexico for a month, I can say that I'm far happier here than in LA. I can actually think and process things and I feel like a different person. A person I really like.

I'll miss Tiliquain and Secretskunk, but they're very happy in LA and asking them to uproot their lives to move here is just not the sort of thing I do. Being poly is sometimes about every member doing what's best for them. And sometimes that means spatial separation.

We've done long distance before and it's worked out pretty well. It's not ideal, but life isn't ever truly ideal.

I don't have many possessions, so I'm gonna get two big suitcases and use Southwest Airlines' two bags included perk to bring most of what I need long term back with me. Then, later, a friend is going to bring the few things that would travel better in a car when she goes on a road trip and drop them off.

I'll have almost three weeks to say goodbye to everyone in LA before coming back to New Mexico. Then I'll live here and use the stability it gives me to put tons of love into my stories and enact some of my secret plans. I know y'all will love the things I want to do before the year's out.

I'm going to try and be productive despite all this change in my life. Writing is therapy for me, something I live for. And trying to stay productive with it gives me momentum so the chaos of big life changes doesn't stop me from doing it.

It's been a long road:

I know this has been a long road. First, I moved to PA, then I figured out I was trans, then I was moved to LA, I went on this trip to visit my aunt and uncle, and now I'm going to do what it takes to relocate to New Mexico.

Y'all have seen my life explode like one of those multi-stage fireworks and I've been trying to write during those explosions. It's been difficult and I haven't always been as productive as I wanted to, but I have one takeaway that's making me smile a lot.

Even with all this going on, I never stopped. Sure, I was slower at times, but I was always sitting down multiple times a week to get words out. That tells me I can do this, I can keep being a writer even when change is afoot.

I look forward to being able to focus more on my writing, but I also look forward to what I'm going to write before then.

Let's all enjoy the ride together! I'm excited about living in a place I actually chose instead of getting pulled around by circumstances. New Mexico is not perfect, but I think it's the first place that actually feels like home since I left Hawaii. I'd almost forgotten what it felt like.

Thank you so much for your support! I couldn't have figured out my life without each and every one of you. Having a monthly income from my stories has helped me to go from just barely surviving to finding myself and and being able to make my life better.