Burningbird: Bird's on the Move

May 20, 2002

Bird's on the Move

Today is a lovely, stormy day in Northern California, with enough rain to clean the air and the streets. Dark, forbidding clouds obscure the shore across the Bay, and the sun is just now starting to fight its way through the overcast; glints of gold melting into the pewter pools of water on the street.

Days such as today are built for introspection and reflection.

I am leaving San Francisco. On June 20th, movers will come to my apartment and grab my carefully packed belongings, moving them to a storage unit near my home. Home. At that point this place will no longer be my home.

I will then get in Golden Girl, my trusty metal steed, and ride her into the sunrise; riding into the sunset would put me into the Pacific Ocean and though Golden Girl is a dream on the road, she'll sink like a brick in the water.

When I leave I will spend several weeks on the road, visiting friends in the Pacific Northwest, in New England, and in points between. When the urge to stop finally hits I'll make my temporary residence in St. Louis, staying with my closest friend who also happens to be my ex-husband.

Not many people count on their ex-spouses to help them in time of need. That I can speaks of a relationship that started in love and ended in deep friendship. Though the friendship wasn't enough to sustain a marriage, it is enough to sustain our closeness.

In St. Louis I will continue to write, look for work, and search for new adventures. I think I'll try tornado chasing.

I'll also focus on implementing the tecnologies I've been dreaming of this last year, but haven't completed; being too caught up in life and this weblog and various other assorted things of interest only to myself.

I leave most of my belongings behind me in Bagdad-by-the-Bay. A woman marking her territory; a statement saying, "I will return".

Posted by Bb at May 20, 2002 12:46 PM

Comments

Yeah alot of life means coming as well as going. I too left the bay area more than twenty years ago. If you can call Monterey that. Never came back except occasionally for a visit or a business trip. I miss it alot still, but because I have been formed in childhood by the californian surroundings it stays with me inside anyway...

Posted by: Kiffin on May 20, 2002 01:36 PM

If you come to Portland, OR you must, must, must visit Powell's City of Books. Even if you have before. Spend the day. Bring money. A city block of books, it is one of the reasons I live in this town.

Good fortune on your move.

Posted by: Mark Morgan on May 20, 2002 02:57 PM

"Afoot and light-hearted I take to the open road,
Healthy, free, the world before me,
The long brown path before me leading wherever I choose.
Henceforth I ask not good-fortune, I myself am good-fortune,
Henceforth I whimper no more, postpone no more, need nothing,
Done with indoor complaints, libraries, querulous criticisms,
Strong and content I travel the open road"

-Whitman

I envy you, a little, BB, much as I understand how stressful and wearying it can be to pull up roots and move on. My entire adult life has been a series of uprootings and movings-on, and without the occasional change of scenery I feel somehow incomplete.

I look forward to your bloggage while you wander.

Posted by: stavrosthewonderchicken on May 20, 2002 04:40 PM

Happy travels, BB! Beautiful and vibrant as the Bay community is, that's been _way_ too many trips to the doctor: your body's been telling you it's time to move on, and move out. Go well, and enjoy!

Posted by: Tom Graves on May 20, 2002 05:28 PM

I'm actually getting excited by the move. However, I won't be here to host any of you when you visit. Still - St. Louis is a very pretty city with very nice people, and I hope to be back in San Fran some day...

Posted by: Bb aka Shelley aka Weblog Bosswoman on May 20, 2002 05:48 PM

Happy trails, BB! I'm glad to hear that some more bloggers are heading east. It seems the blogging scene is so westcoast heavy. East coast bloggers unite, yo! Word dawg.

Errr...

Posted by: Ryan on May 20, 2002 06:40 PM

You know how much your BlogSisters will miss you, and me especially. Have safe travel but also lots of adventures that you can blog about when you get settled enough.

Posted by: Elaine on May 20, 2002 06:42 PM

The moving folks are packing me up this morning for a move about 115 miles south of where I've called home for 47 years. While I'm not leaving any material belongings behind I am leaving behind a father, a brother and a son. I understand your resolve of returning to the place that you made your home. I hope you make it back sooner than I see myself returning.

Posted by: Justin Thyme on May 21, 2002 04:45 AM

eastward, ho! We welcome you, Shell...you'll only be, oh say about a 5-6 hour drive away...close enough for a quickie road trip.

Sheesh, with you there and Meryl about 2 hours north, we'll have a mighty force here.

Posted by: sharon o on May 21, 2002 06:07 AM

Looks like its the beginning of yet another adventure!

Best of luck with your travels... What you said about your ex-husband sort of got me thinking. I've come across quite a few people who are actually better friends with their ex-spouses after their marriage than during it. And I've wondered why this happens... I suppose there will be a different time and place to ruminate about that! Meanwhile, all the very best.

May the bird fly free to her next haven :)

Posted by: Anita on May 23, 2002 08:54 AM