i’m not sure i’ve ever really been sad to say goodbye to a place. i always have people i’m going to miss…but usually i can substitute one place for another and never think twice. sure i missed mexican food when i left texas…but then i traded that in for new orleans cuisine so it wasn’t too bad.
back to the point though…
today my roomie and i wen to brunch. i really enjoy my roommate, but we don’t get to hang out much. but she asked me last week what i thought about doing commander’s palace and i was all about it. so we diva-ed up and had brunch – and then to continue the day we wandered out to the park and walked around a little and talked. all in a delightful time.
and i had to confess to her as we rode home…i’m going to miss this place. i’m going to miss the random jazz music that erupts from pretty much any place that has more the 10 people. i’m going to miss the compliments by men that aren’t revoked when i say thank you and keep walking or inform (when asked) that i already have a man. i’m going to miss food that although in no way good for my body is amazing for my spirits. and i’m going to miss my sense of community.
its still forming but…i actually have a world here. i have friends in all the places i visit and live…but i have finally experienced a sense of community. i finally realized that it doesn’t just happen one day – that i have to be active and involved in the process.
so when i moved here in january i looked for a part-time job. i ended up with two, one paid and one volunteer. that volunteer time turned into two different volunteer opportunities – one in the office and one out in st. bernard’s parish (an area still devastated almost two years after katrina). i joined the cast of the vagina monologues. that turned into this ring of friendships that i never expected. i started french class. that introduced me to people i wouldn’t normally know but who have been funny and interesting.
thrown all together and it is a sense of community. i know where to eat, what grocery store is more expensive, what roads have the biggest potholes (ALL OF THEM). and i like it…this knowing…this sense of being apart of something…
not enough to endure another hurricane season (we had a storm a few days ago and st. charles flooded past hubcaps and i could feel the anxiety building) but still…it will be difficult to say goodbye.
i still don’t know my what next…i still don’t know where i’ll be or for how long. but i do intent to take the lessons of new orleans this go ’round…jump in with both feet and enjoy it…le bon temps roulet!
Tags: food, friends, transition
San Francisco!