there was a time when my world was filled with darkness...

I have been so absent from this! And for that, I apologize. I'm going through one of those phases right now where I'm not really in the mood to write.

Where have I been you ask?

Well, many places. But first and foremost, I took a little sojourn in San Francisco.












Now I never thought I'd admit that I liked Northern California. Like most people tend to do, I'd had preconceived ideas about the place I was going to because of my opinions of the people I'd met who were from there. I can usually prevent myself from thinking that way, but I must admit that this time I succumbed to short-sightedness.

It happens to the best of us.

One of my best friends always said that I belonged there. That I should have gone to Berkeley. That I would love it. And I never really understood what she meant until now. I'd been to the city when I was about seven years old, but I didn't really remember anything about it.

Something about it. I'm very with miss Elizabeth from Eat, Pray, Love when she says that each city has a word that sums it up perfectly. New York? Success. Los Angeles? Play. Las Vegas? Sin.



I've spent a lot of time thinking about it, and I think San Francisco's word is Bohemian. The word itself seems inadequate but I can't think of anything else that encompasses as well the radical sense of style, the pure art of the city. It's a humming hub of culture and as a city it's always pushing its boundaries--I feel like nothing's too crazy for San Francisco (LA is crazy too, but there is a very big difference between the ways in which they're wild and out-there).




Usually I'm also partial to warm weather, but somehow things worked out in San Francisco. It's such a part of the city's charm that I almost didn't notice. Then again, I find myself wishing for rain and cloud so much lately that it may just be that my weather preferences are changing.

I almost miss that crisp, cool air--but then I remember the feeling we got driving back into LA. When we hit Lancaster we opened up the sunroof and looked out at the billions of stars flying by. It may have been yet untouched by the LA light pollution, but there was that LA smell, the tang of LA air that you just don't get anywhere else and I felt overwhelmed with the sensation of being home.



At any rate, I had a fantastic time. Thinking about living there at some point. Even though it may be a little too hip for me. Though I feel that's just my perception of the city because we spent so much time in the Mission.

Still not my favorite city, food-wise, however. I have yet to find an American city that can beat out LA. My binges on all my favorite foods in the critical window of last week before I left have only solidified that point for me.






Guess the real test will be my trip to New York in September. Bring it, East Coast! If your doppelganger over here on the west side couldn't do it, I'll betcha you can't.




At any rate, that's where I was for a little while. Otherwise, I was working (have to make the money that I spend on culinary delights somehow, right?) And now I am leaving again. It pains me to see how patchy the attention this blog is getting has been.

But I promise it will get better! I will undoubtedly be writing a ton while I am in Taiwan (my goal while I am there is to write something publish worthy--if not a full novel then at least a novella or the start of one. Think of it as a very compressed NaNoWriMo.) I'm still not sure how much time I'm going to have to write on the side but hopefully it will be ample. I won't have wireless so this blog won't see any action while I'm there (or if it does it will be very short, and hopefully very sweet). However, I am going to be at the bare minimum writing in my journal, and I am planning to update and backdate all of my entries chronologically. So it will, by the end of this, look like I'd never left. :)


I think this is good. I need this. Even though everything in my life is going great right now, and it actually almost pains me to leave because I am so happy with the way things are, this will be good for me. Though it's all good now, there are still things that I need to figure out. I still have things to think about. My original reason for doing this has somewhat disappeared, but several new ones have arisen. Besides, it is always nice to have some peace and space to breathe.

I hate to leave, but I'll appreciate it even more when I'm back. The butterflies are here, fluttering around my stomach, they're the best kind of butterflies--the ones you get when you're going on a new adventure, by yourself, with no idea what's coming. I've only had these butterflies a few times before and I treasure their presence now more than I treasure any other's.


My plane is here, my train is here.

Picking me up off the ground and carrying me somewhere new.