Happy new year
Finally back online and posting… I had initially planned to post while I was home in Pennsylvania for three weeks, but the speed of my parents’ dial-up made that an unsavory notion. I did get them on a cable modem before I left, but at that point, I was in last-minute visit crunch mode.
Had a rather productive visit home. I brought my manic un-cluttering energy home and went through nearly all of the stuff in my closet, as well as the attic and basement. A lot of things went into the trash, a couple dozen items went on eBay, and two smaller boxes are on their way to San Francisco. Not sure why I don’t like having stuff “hanging over me” on the other coast, but now I don’t. Still going to be going through a lot of my books and I will be dumping stuff soon there, too.
Interesting digging through my collections of previous years. The River Phoenix posters, Star Trek memorabilia, and movie stuff was a bit overwhelming. One of the most-telling things I found were a lot of old books, many of which still had bookmarks in them… in the middles of the books. I’m not sure I like the telltale notion of being such a horrible reader in the past, although I am feeling its after-effects now, as I still try and catch up. Of course, the upside was that most of the bookmarks were in books I have no desire to read now anyway, so I guess it wouldn’t have mattered.
It is just a lot of reduction of material things, which seems to be something I’m aspiring to as I get older.
Being home also makes you question things. I didn’t go to New York City this visit, so it didn’t have any of the usual ‘I should move here’ vibes. But, you always wonder what your life would have been if you hadn’t left, or what it would be like if you moved back. But one didn’t happen, and one I’m not planning on, so I guess it ultimately doesn’t matter.
I guess I don’t really feel tied to my geography. San Francisco isn’t offering me incentive to stay, but there are a lot of good people here I like. Pennsylvania is kind of the same. Good friends and such there, but not sure I would move for that reason. Honestly, it often surprised me that I live in San Francisco, that I did get on a plane one day with a round-trip fare and never used the return flight on my itinerary.
This year should be marked by a lot of change. I certainly hope to complete the novel this year. As well as other things that I’m less likely to talk about on this site. But definitely a lot of change on the horizon.
Happy new year to everyone.
