Magic Mountain Roller Coaster

That's what I feel like I'm riding right now. My planned move to California may not happen just yet. As I wrote in my post last month entitled "When Real Life Intrudes Upon Blogging," I have a "planned move to California." I also wrote that "the move may not occur." Likewise, I have been careful to tell my friends the same thing. Some of them have become amused at my qualifiers. They say that I am in denial, and that the move is a sure thing.

Not quite. A major glitch arose yesterday. The place in California is still undergoing renovation. It was supposed to be ready November 1. I knew the date could slip by as much as a couple of months, and had no problem with that. What is a problem is that the owners of the new place won't tell me, just 30 days beforehand, how it is looking. We had an email exchange yesterday, in which I gave them plenty of leeway. I told them:

"You can give any qualifications you like so that whatever you tell me isn't binding, just your best guess at this time."

However, they refuse to say anything, and instead keep repeating the straw man that they cannot give me a "firm date" at this time. I have told them at least twice that I wasn't looking for a "firm date" right now. I think it is unreasonable for them to have a gag rule on any information just 30 days before the 11/1 date that they, not I, chose in the first place. I also told them that having a guess or snapshot as to how things are looking at this late date is important because, practically speaking,

[I] "cannot wait until just a few days or a week or 2 beforehand to make arrangements for this long-distance move."

As you can imagine, my place is in shambles. I have been acquiring boxes, going to Goodwill, throwing away tons of stuff, calling movers, posting Craigs List ads to sell things, etc. This has been to the exclusion of almost everything else, including my beloved blogging. If I don't move, what I am supposed to do now that I no longer have any corduroy pants? I have also made formal arrangements to leave my place. Given all this, I don't think it is unreasonable to get an honest yet informal view from the new building owners, who, after all, are the ones on the site in California, of how things currently look.

Their response:

"Unfortunately, you may have to wait perhaps the length of time you mentioned before we can give you a firm date."

I think not. Right now, I'd say there's a good chance that I will have to pull the plug on these bozos and start all over again.

I think the reason why I was so cautious in characterizing the "planned move" in the first place is that, after practicing law for a number of years, writing and reviewing hundreds of contracts, I know that things can go wrong. Lawyers are professional worriers, and contracts are really just a set of worries that both sides bring to the table. So I guess I am trained to think that it ain't over til it's over, and sometimes not even then.

Oh well, at least the roller coaster is more exciting than the Ferris wheel.