California: 8/14/1993 - 11/20/2004
The thing about endings is that they are accompanied by some other beginning. My ending begins in South Dakota. After the last 11 years of life in California, I sold off what I could and packed the rest in my new car and struck east for South Dakota.
It's difficult to fit my California into a series of paragraphs. Although I was 10 days past 18 when I arrived, it's been the place that has nurtured me to adult life. Last week in San Francisco, and the week before that in Fullerton, I was trying to memorize everything. It all seemed to be whispering goodbye. All the things I had taken for granted were shooting out at me, like pieces in a pop-up book, to remind me that they were beyond my reach.
I will miss food. Massive gyros, fish tacos, empanadas (sp?), In 'n' out, sushi buffets, boba, authentic Mexican, and all the flavor that is the Los Angeles salad bowl. |
I saw Bjork perform twice at the Paladium. When I still had a lot of energy I'd go to Hollywood almost weekly for shows. I won't forget the excitement of that first show. I went by myself in my first car, Sputnik, and lined up with everyone along the road. I saw a guy with a Massive Attack t-shirt and was amazed anyone would know about Massive Attack. Little did I know the confluence of good things. |
I first found Amoeba in San Francisco, on Haight street. I'd get in trouble working there because I'd always take a bus from Market to Haight and spend more money than I could afford on CDs. It's probably a good thing that I was already gone when they opened in Hollywood. I would have gone bankrupt with them in my playground. |
Even though I did spend a lot of time at the ocean, I wish I'd spent more. I have trouble shutting down my mind – it constantly seems to be working on something - but I never had trouble looking at the ocean and zoning out. |
I always liked eating on the sidewalk. I remember doing that almost every day that I was home in Whittier and Markus and I would hook up somewhere to exchange ideas. |
What will probably be missed most is coffee culture - and by extension people in pursuit of ideas. Laptops, good books, and strong coffee, the best cocktail there is... |
This isn't the end, of course. It's a beginning of something new. Most people I talk to don't understand South Dakota - I am beginning to catalog the facial expressions I get when I say that I'm moving from the L.A. area to South Dakota. Even though I don't have life cornered on the prairie, I'm beginning to get a feel for it. Today I crossed the Rockies and hit the prairie hard on my way east towards the Dakotas. Most people would have balked at the emptiness and sparse patches of farms that peppered the interstate. But I began to see it's beauty to the people who live there, and to get a sense of the familiarity they experience when they get back from somewhere
"more interesting."
The biggest perks of a beginning is that you have a chance to decide things - you have a small window to figure out what your future is all about when things start.
11:22:19 PM 
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