A Lot Can Happen in 6 Years

 2014 was a big year. 

After living in a great studio apartment with high ceilings and a neat walk in closet, a pool that felt semi private, and little patio I never used much, I moved. 

I was invited to join one of my best friends and a few other like minded folks in a dream home in San Francisco’s West Portal neighborhood. Aside from a few generically tense & frustrating roommate moments, it was the most wonderful experience, and I adored living in San Francisco. It has my whole heart, and given the opportunity to return, I would in a Muni Minute (OK, maybe not the best comparison, but I’m not a New York gal)

Once the home disbanded in 2018, I returned to my childhood home in San Jose to regroup and contemplate the future...quite possibly out of the Bay Area. I settled into a familiar if not totally comfortable routine. I had a steady job that paid me more than I had been making at a Theatre Company that I loved, but was working me ragged, to the point where anxiety and exhaustion were far too normal and breaking me down. Unable to walk away completely, I was still working as a seasonal box office agent, which afforded me extra spending money and theatre tickets. It helped that my 9-5 was nearby, and jumping from job to job wasn’t difficult and often gave me a place to wait out rush hour traffic.

Our country is mess, but I’ve been numb. Pace of life in the Bay Area in the last 15 years can best be described as a rapidly progressing, never ending, constantly packed conveyer belt; one where you could easily be pushed past, hopped over, or straight up run down if you weren’t paying close enough attention. I was making progress getting my finances in order, and spending as little time at home as I could handle. My best friend, works, and the radio station that has been my salvation since 2006 are all within the same 5 mile radius, but I could afford to live there. Ain’t that a bitch. So I kept it cheap, and tried to ignore longing for something that felt so unattainable.

Then Covid happened.

Then the lives of so Many Black Americans who have been brutalized and murdered began to receive the recognition they deserve

Then I lost my steady job

Then I sort of moved (In progress. Check back soon)

Then fires have begun to ravage California after climate change said “Nay Nay”

To quote Talking Heads “HOW DID I GET HERE?”

So here we are. On the cusp of so much uncertainty. I’m happy right now, but I’m also scared. I’m so grateful for the support of family and friends. I wouldn’t be surviving without it. Everyday is a rollercoaster...sometimes it’s the kiddie coaster, other days it’s a death drop, but rides are never permanent, and even the scary ones you might ride again, even if someone has to convince and bribe you...or drag you kicking and screaming the front of the line.

Then