Sooooo... Tulsa.

Evidently we are moving to Tulsa.

(What? Tulsa? Yes. Tulsa.)

So, it looks like Tulsa will be Chapter 3 of the forthcoming book, Tim and Jean’s Bizarre Habit of Randomly Hopping around These United States. (That’s following Chapter 1: “From Pennsylvania to Utah: Three Years at BYU,” and Chapter 2: “From Utah to California: Three and a Half Years at Art Center.”)

Here is the extent of my knowledge of Tulsa, as of two weeks ago:

-It’s somewhere in Oklahoma.
-(crickets chirping)

Here is the extent of my knowledge of Oklahoma, as of two weeks ago:

-It’s north of Texas.
-There was a horrific bombing there.
-It’s a state AND a musical.
-Its postal abbreviation is “OK.”
-My friend Megan lives there.

Yep, that’s pretty much it. So, here’s the background story of how all this went down:

-Ever since Tim’s post-graduation job offer disappeared along with the rest of that studio, we’ve been in a mad dash to find something else. We’ve contacted literally hundreds of studios around the country and around the world, inquiring about both full-time and freelance work opportunities. For a while, the pickings were slim and the Despair-O-Meter was high. But eventually, all our constant-contacting-people-all-the-time started to pay off, and Tim found some freelance gigs. Along the way, there were also a few tiny, hopeful job leads that never materialized (here in LA, San Francisco, Albany, Montreal, and even Slovenia, haha!).

-One of the places for which Tim did some freelance work was a video game studio called 2015. He did a few pieces for them, they paid him, and we thought that was the end of it. Then, while I was searching job sites online, I happened to see an opening at that same studio for a 2D Artist. I told Tim, “Hey, it looks like that place has a job opening. You should look into that!”

-So, he contacted them. And they thanked him. And then they called him for a phone interview. And they liked him. And then they flew him out for an onsite interview. And they continued to like him (apparently), because they made him an official offer. We ironed out some of the details, and then this afternoon we said “OK!” (Haha… get it? Hahahahaha.)

So anyway, we’ve done a lot of research about Tulsa since then. Apparently it’s in the northeastern quadrant of Oklahoma. For its part, Oklahoma is just south of right-smack-in-the-middle of the country:


So, naturally (…Tulsa?), I’ve had mixed feelings about this.

Positives:
-We’ll have health insurance again. (For the past four months, I’ve been pleading with God for our safety every time one of us has stepped out of the house.)
-Tulsa is a very affordable area, especially compared to LA. (In other words, maybe someday if our student loans don’t kill us, we’ll actually be able to buy a HOUSE like all our other grown-up friends do.)
-Ten to 15-minute commute times sound so fabulous that I almost don’t believe it.
-Oklahoma kind of reminds me of Ohio… and I LOVE Ohio. (You can’t go wrong with the “O” states… well, I'm hoping.)
-In some mystical way, I feel like we’re circling around the country on our way back towards Pennsylvania.
-They’ve got Chick-Fil-A, Krispy Kreme, Carl’s Jr. (wow, we are SO healthy), and lots of ginormous superstores.

Hesitations:
-Tulsa spelled backwards is “a slut.”
-Tornado Alley!! (Whether with earthquakes or tornadoes, the earth is trying to kill us.)
-Once again we are moving to a town where we have NO family members or personal connections (except for friends-of-friends and what not). Why do we keep embarking on these journeys to completely new places? Maybe someday we’ll move to a place that I’m actually familiar with.
-It’s really hot in the summer. Like, really, REALLY hot. No, I mean REALLY HOT.
-There is no Ikea, Trader Joe’s, Costco, or Café Rio.
-THERE IS NO DISNEYLAND.

Anyway, we’ll be leaving sometime in May… we still have to get the specific scheduling figured out. And thus begins the “Go Everywhere, Eat Everywhere, and Do Everything That We Love in this Area ASAP Before We Leave” operation. We just went to Disneyland yesterday, and it was very sad to realize that now our visits are numbered (especially since our annual passes don’t expire until August).

Also, another huge negative is saying goodbye to friends here. All of you. I love you all. The other night as I was thinking about things, I realized that I’d actually have to say goodbye to my friends, and that felt like a punch to the gut. I hate that part. At least there are blogs… that’s the only consolation.

But on a positive note, I just want to publicly say again that God’s love for us is wondrous and immeasurable. I am amazed at how many wonderful things have happened during the moments of our despair these past few months. Wow… every time I think about it, it hits me again. God is great.

Sooooo… I have to click “Publish” now, and I really don’t want to, because then all this will be very real. And I apologize for not telling you all in person about this. We’ve only told our families, our landlord, and the Stake YW President so far (because of my calling obligations). Anyway, now everyone finds out at the same time, I guess. Surprise! Team Anderson is taking Tulsa!