Moving On...

In the Spring of  2004,  I moved to  San Francisco.   I had lived in Chicago for nearly  6 years.   When  I  was part of the  large scale lay offs  that  swept through the Banking industry  back in the  early  2000's.    It was geographically and  culturally not  nearly as big a move as  when I moved to  South Korea,  back in the late 1990's.  Yet  it felt  nearly as big.  

Now 7 years later,   I once again sit in my apartment surrounded by boxes, faced with the daunting task of culling through the bits and pieces  of my life.  Deciding what to pack,  what to discard, what to give away.   Once again,  I am moving. Leaving a city  that I have grown to  love,  a job that  has been fun, challenging,  and always rewarding.  Leaving  friends  who  made this  crazy place  feel like home,  and  leaving  family  who moved here  themselves only  few short years ago, as well.

Moving is always something that  prompts  introspection.  Whether you want to or not.    Lots of  people have asked me  "what will you miss?"   When they ask that,   they of course mean,  what  aspect of living in San Francisco will I miss after I leave.   Of course there are lots of "things".  Yet,  like any big transition  you find yourself looking more, at  the difference between the person  I was when I arrived here,  and  who it is,  that will be leaving  San Francisco in April.   Older?  Yes  of course.  Wiser?  One would hope.   I learned a lot  about  myself and  life in general  living here.   Regrets?  A few,   but  isn't  that the case  with all things in life?  

Back in  2004  when I started  this blog over on the now-defunct  AOL hometown,   then moving it to Yahoo 360,  and finally here to blogger.  I entitled it  "Funny Odd Thing...Life."   It is quote from  one of my favorite writers,  the late, great  Douglas Adams.       In his series of books,   "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy", the main character, Arthur Dent, is a man who keeps having the most  improbable  things happen to him on nearly a daily basis.   When he repeatedly asks others he encounters why all these crazy things always happen to him, invariably the person would shrug and reply;  "Dunno....  It's a funny odd thing.... life."


I will confess,  that  over the years, I  have often  felt a lot like Arthur Dent.  When I was a kid, growing up in South Central Wisconsin , I think it is safe to say (and those who 'knew me when',  would probably agree.)  I  really didn't  "fit in".   My vocabulary,  sense of humor and interests  where always very different from that of my peers.   I was into  Monty Python,  The Goon Show,  and  Douglas Adams.   I hosted my own local television show, I watched  Doctor Who,  listened to movie soundtracks  and  knew all the lyrics to songs by  Gilbert and  Sullivan.   In short,  I was a funny odd kid.

But like so many funny odd kids,  I eventually found my own way.  As a teenager,  I moved to Germany,  then back to Wisconsin for college.  Then, in my 20's I moved  to South Korea.   From there, I found my way in my 30's to  Chicago, and  eventually, to here, in San Francisco.  Now in my fourth decade,  I find life is no less funny or odd.   I fell in love,  I got married,  found a new job,  and  as a result,  I am moving again.  To London.

So as I sort and  pack for this move.  I am  grateful  for everything that the past  seven years  has given me.   Along with that gratitude  is a great deal of  excitement.  One of my favorite composers is Stephen Sondheim.  In his musical  "Sunday in Park with George", there is a great song  about change,  and the mixed feelings  we often have when facing it.    Like  Arthur Dent,  like George,  this funny, odd kid...  is looking  forward,  and  is excited to  Move On.