This entry is just a thoughtstream.
Well, I’ve been up in the Bay Area officially for a little over 2 weeks now and it was a long ride. The moving up process was pretty smooth thanks to my new company organizing a moving company, but it was a very bittersweet ending to my time in Los Angeles. I was able to have a good 1.5 weeks after Japan to close out things, pack up and move out, and in the end have a nice celebration at Blind Barber in Culver to end my time. It was nice to see all of my LA crew before leaving, even though I was pretty trashed and it was mostly a blur D=
The last week in LA made me realize how much I had rooted myself there, and that moving up to the Bay was a much bigger deal in actuality. I never considered it being a big life change, but when it happened, I realized how much of a shift in life it was. Given that I am not the type to really plan life too far in advance, I took everything as it came so it was a shock to me how much the prospect of moving on really got to my psyche. When I finished my drive up at midnight on Sunday to Pleasanton and turned off my car, I felt a little panicked. Partially because I had to start my new job in 7 hours, but also because I had just left everything I knew for the last 5-10 years behind.
At the moment, I’m living at my parents’ house while I get settled and then look for a place in the city. I have no true idea what my actual timeframe for looking for a place is, and as a result my first week or so up here felt incredibly surreal. The new job hadn’t settled in, I was making a crazy commute, and it hadn’t truly hit me that I was gone from SoCal. I got a nice welcoming party from my Bay Area friends on my first day up in the Mission, and saw them throughout the week, which made it easier. I found myself right back in LA that following weekend though… just couldn’t stay away, for certain reasons.
I do feel a little lost up here. I don’t know the area or its nuances very well anymore (my ridiculous commute adventures from Pleasanton to Redwood City can attest to that), I no longer have my staple spots to eat, drink, and chill, and really just the familiarity factor has to be rebuilt. I have an awesome support group of friends up here who are making it as painless as possible, though. I felt a hell of a lot better entering Week 3 than I did the first few days, be it from getting used to the routine or just letting reality settle in my mind at this point.
So given that I’ve bashed and bashed on SoCal my last 10 years living there, what did I learn from all this? Essentially, you can have your roots and heart set on one place, but if you establish yourself somewhere long enough, you’ll find a way to love it. Or at least, like it enough to miss it when it’s gone. I miss LA. There, I said it. Those that have known me long enough know, that’s probably one of the last things expected to come out of my mouth. But I’ve told it to nearly everyone. I can’t hide it. LA was good to me (to a certain extent), and it’s not so bad. And from my PR-breaking drive last weekend, it’s only 4 hours and 34 minutes away, and I’ll definitely be back often.
