New Beginnings!

Is this a quarter life crisis or just current events causing a reevaluation of where I am and where I am going? Either way the effect is still the same. As they say in the movie Second Hand Lions when the two uncles died, their adopted son referred to them as having really lived. Well I want to be that way as well. Granted I have done some amazing things in my life, seen the pyramids of Egypt, the Great Wall in China, the salt baths in Turkey, and the Opera in Sydney to name a few. But I don’t want to stop, I want to keep seeking out all that is life and not when I come to my end realize I did not take chances. I know that I am incredibly reticent to make big changes, however I think I need to take one now for my own peace of mind and growth.

So as mentioned before I made a decision last week to move to San Francisco. I know this will increase my commute time quite a bit, but I have lived next to one of the coolest and hippest cities in this country for four years and can count the number of times I have spent an evening there on two hands. So I am taking a chance and moving there. I finalized my decision to do so on Friday. Saturday with a friend I starting seeking apartments, and I will admit it is quite a culture shock. Not the culture of people, the culture of general city living. The apartments will be older and much more expensive, but the neighborhoods have such life, such culture such vibrancy. Of course the first place I looked was a high rise (so not looking for this) and they just got finished telling me how safe and secure the entire building was when we got into the elevator. The security guard accompanied the building manager and asked if I wanted to see the gym on the way up, I declined preferring to see the apartment first. As we got up to the 18^th floor we see someone sleeping in the hallway, not homeless but definitely someone of a different station. There goes the idea of ultra security. That was not a problem, once I saw the rooms they looked identical to a hotel room, that I just could not do. A couple of the other places were actually quite nice, just at the top end of the price range which might be difficult with gas prices going up, so the search will continue tomorrow.

Am I nervous about what could be a fairly arduous commute and a very different life? Petrified. But this is about new beginnings. So with that in mind I began to pack today. 12 full garbage bags have made their way to the dumpster (it is amazing that I have kept every note I have ever written in every class since freshman year of high school). 5 bags have now been donated to good will and I have not even started on clothes yet. About 6 frenetic hours later I am probably 50% packed. Maybe it is nervous energy but I just could not stop packing. So anyway, which way will the wind take me? Who knows but as for now I know one thing, New Beginings!