Wherever you go, there you are
stinky_monky is in California this weekend visiting with friends and family, so today I lived it up by cleaning up the garage (which has been a long, arduous process). My mind had plenty of time to wander.
As of yesterday, I've lived in Columbus for two years. During that time, I've gone back to California only three or four times to visit people, and I often get asked why I don't go "home" more often. I suppose it's a natural question since most of the people I know here came to OSU from lots of other places, and they consider those other places to be their homes. For me, Columbus is home, literally and figuratively. I have no "home" in California. The houses I grew up in have long been sold. Nobody in my family still lives in my hometown (well, my dad's grave is there; that's a morbid thought), and I think only one of my high school friends still lives there. I think Cathy and my ex-stepdad still live in the area, but I've been out of touch with both of them for years. hamlin42 still lives in the area, but he's usually out tromping through natural forests, old Indian sites, marijuana fields, or the South. As people scattered over time (my mom to Oregon, my brother to Stockton and elsewhere, friends to Oregon, Washington, New Hampshire, Los Angeles, and Santa Cruz, among others), home became wherever I happened to live at the time. For a decade, Sacramento was home, and while I still have some good friends there (lookin' at you,
abigor60,
cheshire_monkey, and
theeugene), there's nothing like a home base there for me. Well, there isn't now that stinky_monky has moved to Columbus. Which brings me, at long last, to my point. Home is wherever stinky_monky and I live and, for now, that's Columbus. And that's not a bad thing.
At this point my colleagues are probably snickering. Not a day goes by that I don't hear complaints about how Ohioans are bad sports fans (see my previous post) and bad drivers, or about how Columbus is boring, lacks culture, and generally sucks compared to "home." Ah, youth. Take it from ol' Uncle Rob: every place sucks until you get to know it. I've started to get to know Columbus over the last couple years and I'm starting to really like it. There are some decent places to eat, lots of places to buy stuff, places to shoot paintballs at each other, places to let the dog run, places to throw bowling balls at pins, quiet neighborhoods (our house hasn't been robbed yet, which automatically makes Columbus better than Sacramento), empty freeways, and an airport with free wireless internet. It could be a lot worse. It could be Visalia (sorry, bro).
Oh, and Cedar Point is only two hours away. I went there again on Thursday with
becc367, Jurgen Prochnow, and Jurgen's visiting brother (who I will call ADHD). With no lines and beautiful weather helping us out, we managed to get on almost every coaster except Top Thrill Dragster, which broke down (which was kind of a relief; that ride is frickin' terrifying to look at from the bottom. Check out the POV video on that link, you'll see).
As of yesterday, I've lived in Columbus for two years. During that time, I've gone back to California only three or four times to visit people, and I often get asked why I don't go "home" more often. I suppose it's a natural question since most of the people I know here came to OSU from lots of other places, and they consider those other places to be their homes. For me, Columbus is home, literally and figuratively. I have no "home" in California. The houses I grew up in have long been sold. Nobody in my family still lives in my hometown (well, my dad's grave is there; that's a morbid thought), and I think only one of my high school friends still lives there. I think Cathy and my ex-stepdad still live in the area, but I've been out of touch with both of them for years. hamlin42 still lives in the area, but he's usually out tromping through natural forests, old Indian sites, marijuana fields, or the South. As people scattered over time (my mom to Oregon, my brother to Stockton and elsewhere, friends to Oregon, Washington, New Hampshire, Los Angeles, and Santa Cruz, among others), home became wherever I happened to live at the time. For a decade, Sacramento was home, and while I still have some good friends there (lookin' at you,
abigor60,
cheshire_monkey, and
theeugene), there's nothing like a home base there for me. Well, there isn't now that stinky_monky has moved to Columbus. Which brings me, at long last, to my point. Home is wherever stinky_monky and I live and, for now, that's Columbus. And that's not a bad thing.
At this point my colleagues are probably snickering. Not a day goes by that I don't hear complaints about how Ohioans are bad sports fans (see my previous post) and bad drivers, or about how Columbus is boring, lacks culture, and generally sucks compared to "home." Ah, youth. Take it from ol' Uncle Rob: every place sucks until you get to know it. I've started to get to know Columbus over the last couple years and I'm starting to really like it. There are some decent places to eat, lots of places to buy stuff, places to shoot paintballs at each other, places to let the dog run, places to throw bowling balls at pins, quiet neighborhoods (our house hasn't been robbed yet, which automatically makes Columbus better than Sacramento), empty freeways, and an airport with free wireless internet. It could be a lot worse. It could be Visalia (sorry, bro).
Oh, and Cedar Point is only two hours away. I went there again on Thursday with
becc367, Jurgen Prochnow, and Jurgen's visiting brother (who I will call ADHD). With no lines and beautiful weather helping us out, we managed to get on almost every coaster except Top Thrill Dragster, which broke down (which was kind of a relief; that ride is frickin' terrifying to look at from the bottom. Check out the POV video on that link, you'll see).