Metrogeists & Home
Today I finished all of my loose-ends in Corvallis, and said Goodbye to a great town for only having around 50K people. I've been ruminating on the differences and similarities betwixt Corvallis and Eugene the past few months.
I fell in love with Corvallis almost as quickly as I fell in love with the reason I moved there: M. She lived there and showed me what a great little community it truly is. I will miss that apt. Corvallis has a lot of the highlights of the Eugene Progressive Current. There are a lot of really, really smart people living in that small University town, including lots of engineers that work for HP. Often Eugene gets credited with things that first start out in Corvallis, such as (IIRC) the indoor smoking ban, bicycle lanes, and some of the toughest pro-pedestrian laws I've ever heard of. Lots of the cutting-edge Bio-Fuel work is being done and coming out of little ole' Corvallis, Oregon.
As I drove from Corvallis to Eugene for the last time, I could feel what would be best described as my "anchor-lines of Attachment" detaching from Corvallis, and reAttaching in Eugene, beckoning me (to my new) Home.
I've been Reflecting on how I've somewhat secretly wanted to move to Eugene for the better part of a decade. My former Intent was really to make my way outta the mid-Willamette Valley, where I'd put in my time and wanted to move on for yeras. I'd always thought I wanted to move to Portland--and for many reasons right now in my Life is the best opportunity I've ever had to move there. But I really felt drawn toward EUG. PDX is too big, crowded and competitive for me, I've finally realized (at least for now). And EUG seems to have just as much culture as a city much bigger than it truly is, population wise. In many ways, it is the Southern-most tip of what makes the "Pacific NorthWest" the Pacific Northwest.
When I was 16 I got my training in NLP (my parents were trainers). The 2 week long Training seminar was held in Hawaii, and I abso-fucking-lutely fell in love with Hawaii. The Spirit of Hawaii is truly breath-taking to behold. I vowed I wanted to live in a place that embraced the Spirit of "Mahalo". Years later, I would become roommates with many Hawaiians during my college decade.
One of the number one things I absolutely love about Eugene is it's relative relaxed attitude. to say that the general Metrogeist is "Liberal" is a vast understatement. People don't seem as angry, rushed, closed-off, and generally "uptight" as in most cities. That's not to say that there aren't plenty of exceptions to this rule, but "statistically speaking" EUG seems to be much more laid-back and mellow than most places I've ever visited. And I love that.
One of the other many things that sums up a great many things I love about EUG are that, as a SocioCultural Conglomeration of fairly like-minded people (to me), I have a greater chance of finding things that are also of interest to me. In any society, the more people in my community that Share my likes and dislikes, the more opportunities I will have to interact with them. Whether it be via Taiji Classes, Occult Bookstores, pro-Recycling programs, or whatever, the more people around me that Share my interests and points of view, the more of those bookstores, classes, et. al. I will have access to.
It is truly good to be Home.
Agape!
I fell in love with Corvallis almost as quickly as I fell in love with the reason I moved there: M. She lived there and showed me what a great little community it truly is. I will miss that apt. Corvallis has a lot of the highlights of the Eugene Progressive Current. There are a lot of really, really smart people living in that small University town, including lots of engineers that work for HP. Often Eugene gets credited with things that first start out in Corvallis, such as (IIRC) the indoor smoking ban, bicycle lanes, and some of the toughest pro-pedestrian laws I've ever heard of. Lots of the cutting-edge Bio-Fuel work is being done and coming out of little ole' Corvallis, Oregon.
As I drove from Corvallis to Eugene for the last time, I could feel what would be best described as my "anchor-lines of Attachment" detaching from Corvallis, and reAttaching in Eugene, beckoning me (to my new) Home.
I've been Reflecting on how I've somewhat secretly wanted to move to Eugene for the better part of a decade. My former Intent was really to make my way outta the mid-Willamette Valley, where I'd put in my time and wanted to move on for yeras. I'd always thought I wanted to move to Portland--and for many reasons right now in my Life is the best opportunity I've ever had to move there. But I really felt drawn toward EUG. PDX is too big, crowded and competitive for me, I've finally realized (at least for now). And EUG seems to have just as much culture as a city much bigger than it truly is, population wise. In many ways, it is the Southern-most tip of what makes the "Pacific NorthWest" the Pacific Northwest.
When I was 16 I got my training in NLP (my parents were trainers). The 2 week long Training seminar was held in Hawaii, and I abso-fucking-lutely fell in love with Hawaii. The Spirit of Hawaii is truly breath-taking to behold. I vowed I wanted to live in a place that embraced the Spirit of "Mahalo". Years later, I would become roommates with many Hawaiians during my college decade.
One of the number one things I absolutely love about Eugene is it's relative relaxed attitude. to say that the general Metrogeist is "Liberal" is a vast understatement. People don't seem as angry, rushed, closed-off, and generally "uptight" as in most cities. That's not to say that there aren't plenty of exceptions to this rule, but "statistically speaking" EUG seems to be much more laid-back and mellow than most places I've ever visited. And I love that.
One of the other many things that sums up a great many things I love about EUG are that, as a SocioCultural Conglomeration of fairly like-minded people (to me), I have a greater chance of finding things that are also of interest to me. In any society, the more people in my community that Share my likes and dislikes, the more opportunities I will have to interact with them. Whether it be via Taiji Classes, Occult Bookstores, pro-Recycling programs, or whatever, the more people around me that Share my interests and points of view, the more of those bookstores, classes, et. al. I will have access to.
It is truly good to be Home.
Agape!