I'm Gonna Go
Astoria, Oregon - 1950s Vintage Scrabble Tile Map
For reasons that really don't matter anymore I've decided that it's time to make a change. A big change. A pack some boxes and leave the state kind of change. It's something I've thought about and then told my boss about those reasons that don't really matter anymore. He had no particular comment at the time. In fairness, I caught him way off guard. But the next morning, last Friday morning, he made his plea. That morning he said, "That thing we talked about yesterday, you'll be sure to give enough notice so you can train your replacement, right?" I assured him that I would give him as much notice as possible. But if that's only a week, well then so be it. That one comment from him that should have insulted my proud Capricorny self was why none of the rest of it mattered anymore. It liberated me from feeling like I owed anything more than what I've given. Now, let's face it, no one in a business is irreplaceable. But the confirmation that I am nothing more in his mind than a dancing monkey.
FREEDOM!
I started looking right away. Where on this big blue marble shall I go?
Farmington, New Mexico This was a serious possibility for me. It's up the northeastern corner of New Mexico near the Four Corners. I've just read two of David E Stuart's books and loved them (I still owe him a letter!) and the thought of being close enough to maybe pop in on one of his anthropology lectures on a Wednesday evening at the University of New Mexico sounded wonderful. Okay, it'd be a bit of a drive, but so worth it! I'd be in Hillerman country. Wide open spaces. Summer temperatures over 100 degrees for days on end. Wait. Excuse me? Yeah, I just don't think I can take the heat. No. Sadly, Farmington was out. If you get the chance, check out David's books: The Guaymas Chronicles and Anasazi America.
Then I looked at where the Paradise Pen stores are on the map. Kind of a no brainer. I probably know more about fountain pens than most of the folks working in these stores. So, we've got:
Costa Mesa, California Nah, I need a bigger change than that.
Littleton, Colorado Nope, that's not going to work for some of those reasons that don't matter anymore. They may not matter, but that would still be a bad plan.
Oakbrook, Illinois Suburb of Chicago. Interesting. Cost of living is about the same as here. Never mind.
Atlanta, Georgia I know Karen, the manager. I like Karen, the manager. I think Karen, the manager, likes me. But it's Georgia. I just don't think it's a good fit.
The list of stores goes on, but I found a reason not to go to any of them. Except maybe Portland, Oregon, but more on that in a minute.
So then I started Google Mapping everyone I talked to on the phone at work. Oklahoma. Florida. South Dakota. I shot them all down in my mind. Then I talked to an attorney in Portland, Maine. The fact that he's an attorney is irrelevant. Portland, Maine, however struck a bit of a chord. A little coastal town. Completely different from anything I've done. Portland, Maine, might just be the ticket.
Why am I looking at someplace that is 3,110 miles away? I'm not running away from anything. I'm not going into hiding. What am I thinking?
I turned my sights back on Portland, Oregon, and then turned left. The Oregon coast is supposed to be beautiful. Why move to the opposite end of the country when I've got this coastline begging to be explored?
Now, here's where the logic turns kind of wonky, but hear me out.
There is a movie that came out at Christmastime 1990. I was a junior in college and had driven with my roommate to spend the holidays with her family in Everett, Washington. While we were there we went to see this movie and I fell in love with the town where it's set: Astoria, Oregon. We'd driven through Oregon to get to Everett, but that's as close as I've come to spending time in Oregon other than the drive back to Los Angeles a week later.
So I scan the Oregon coast, looking for Astoria. It's way up at the top on the boarder with Washington. I look at pictures and it's gorgeous. I look at the cost of living and it's totally doable. I look around my Hollywood Hills apartment and know it's time to start planning my migration.
What's the movie that settled Astoria into my consciousness? It follows LAPD Detective John Kimble to Astoria where he works undercover as, yes, that's right, a kindergarten teacher. The Schwarzenegger classic Kindergarten Cop. Don't judge.
So now I've begun sorting and organizing and cleaning and packing. This move will be epic in its ease. I don't know where I'm going to live or work. That will come together in time. But the plan is to be moved and settled in time to spend Thanksgiving 2013 with my sister. She and her husband live in Everett, Washington.
It's a complete coincidence that I spent the holidays there 22 years ago with my roommate's family.
Or is it?