Zen and the Art of Moped Maintenance
So, livejournal, quite a few things have changed since I last updated you. I'm not really entirely sure where to begin, so I'll begin with the big things.
Last time I told you where I was, I lived in Portland, Oregon. Portland served its purpose wonderfully. I had some amazing years there (2007 was one of the best years of my life), met several close and indispensable friends, and had some wild, revolving personal evolutions.
All good things must come to an end, however. The seasons turn, turn turn, etc. They turn until mind-numbing routine and familiarity force you to change the seasons themselves.
So I decided to move to Hawaii, where talking about seasons barely makes sense. I've settled into a hopping, if not typical touristy oceanfront town called Kailua-Kona, and for the moment I'm in love. I ditched my car for a red moped, stripped everything I owned down to what can fit inside of two pieces of luggage and a guitar case (well, except for the moped, of course), and am attempting to reconnect with the wise little buddha that was once still deeply connected to the lapping of the ocean against a shoreline, and who still paused to take in the meaning of life while an orange-guava-passion fruit colored sunset half-smiles on the horizon.
Since I've last updated you, I've also made a career change (if you can call any of the work I do at any given time a 'career', anyway). I'm no longer a political canvasser and grassroots organizer, and I've replaced my clipboards and campaign stickers for, well, my keyboard. I'm lucky enough to report that I am making my living as a writer, mostly. I do science, nature and environmental journalism for a number of different online media outlets. It's nothing that's very challenging, nor is it really very artful, but it is location independent, and frankly I'm not complaining. The ranks of people who make a living as paid writers are thin indeed, and I feel fortunate to be living the dream.
As far as my love life is concerned, my situation can be summed up with the following sentiment: 'Love never dies; it just moves from girl to girl.' There's a lot more to update about that, of course, but I'll save that for later.
In other personal news to perhaps be touched upon later, my father also died. It's a complicated, internalized subject that may or may not have its place here as I figure out how I want to use this livejournal moving forward.
All in all, I'm not entirely sure why I have chosen to come back to livejournal. In fact, this place strikes me as a barren, forgotten wasteland for the most part; at least, compared to what it used to be. But I still feel like I need this, somehow. Maybe because it is so quiet here. Maybe I'm just being nostalgic and I'll quickly grow bored of livejournal and quit again. I don't know. But in all of my experience with blogging and social media, livejournal offers a kind of format that hasn't been replaced by any other. There's simply no where else to turn to.
So here I am, I'm back. Hopefully I'll reconnect with some old friends. Maybe some new.
I'm looking forward by coming back.
Last time I told you where I was, I lived in Portland, Oregon. Portland served its purpose wonderfully. I had some amazing years there (2007 was one of the best years of my life), met several close and indispensable friends, and had some wild, revolving personal evolutions.
All good things must come to an end, however. The seasons turn, turn turn, etc. They turn until mind-numbing routine and familiarity force you to change the seasons themselves.
So I decided to move to Hawaii, where talking about seasons barely makes sense. I've settled into a hopping, if not typical touristy oceanfront town called Kailua-Kona, and for the moment I'm in love. I ditched my car for a red moped, stripped everything I owned down to what can fit inside of two pieces of luggage and a guitar case (well, except for the moped, of course), and am attempting to reconnect with the wise little buddha that was once still deeply connected to the lapping of the ocean against a shoreline, and who still paused to take in the meaning of life while an orange-guava-passion fruit colored sunset half-smiles on the horizon.
Since I've last updated you, I've also made a career change (if you can call any of the work I do at any given time a 'career', anyway). I'm no longer a political canvasser and grassroots organizer, and I've replaced my clipboards and campaign stickers for, well, my keyboard. I'm lucky enough to report that I am making my living as a writer, mostly. I do science, nature and environmental journalism for a number of different online media outlets. It's nothing that's very challenging, nor is it really very artful, but it is location independent, and frankly I'm not complaining. The ranks of people who make a living as paid writers are thin indeed, and I feel fortunate to be living the dream.
As far as my love life is concerned, my situation can be summed up with the following sentiment: 'Love never dies; it just moves from girl to girl.' There's a lot more to update about that, of course, but I'll save that for later.
In other personal news to perhaps be touched upon later, my father also died. It's a complicated, internalized subject that may or may not have its place here as I figure out how I want to use this livejournal moving forward.
All in all, I'm not entirely sure why I have chosen to come back to livejournal. In fact, this place strikes me as a barren, forgotten wasteland for the most part; at least, compared to what it used to be. But I still feel like I need this, somehow. Maybe because it is so quiet here. Maybe I'm just being nostalgic and I'll quickly grow bored of livejournal and quit again. I don't know. But in all of my experience with blogging and social media, livejournal offers a kind of format that hasn't been replaced by any other. There's simply no where else to turn to.
So here I am, I'm back. Hopefully I'll reconnect with some old friends. Maybe some new.
I'm looking forward by coming back.