los angeles

My parents’ house

Los Angeles was my home for over ten years.

Now my home is where I spent the first 21 years of my life.

The differences between the two cities are immense. The city of Los Angeles has well over 3.8 million people living within its domain. The county I’m living in now has about 450,000. The town I’m in? About 15,000.

But this isn’t a lesson on demographics, it’s a lesson on how to adjust, and I don’t have the answers yet. Instead, all I have are questions: How come there aren’t any store employees checking my receipt as I exit Home Depot? Why are cars stopping to let me walk across the street? Where will I get my milk tea fix? Will I lose my edge, my street smarts?

Okay, I have to confess, I never really did have street smarts. Maybe I’ve always been small town all along.

Los Angeles vs.:

That’s my finger in the left hand corner, not a demon presence. Thanks for worrying about me.

There’s really no contest. At least, not for me.

Blue (thankfully) sunny skies, the smell of an unpolluted ocean, and clean, fresh air. I stopped during my run this morning to take the photo above. I’ll be moving here in about four weeks, and the visual landscape – a deer was trotting down the road as I made my way downtown – reminded me that I made the right decision.

However, my social circle will be shrinking down to almost nothing, so I’ll have to make some kind of attempt at meeting people so that I don’t become a social misfit. Well, okay…so that I don’t increase my misfitness. Or, I could go back to grunting as a means of communication. Maybe I’ll meet a nice caveboy and live an uncomplicated life with him, not with words, but with a lot of colorful gestures.

My plan is for this move to be my in-between place, to take stock and plan my next step. Think good thoughts for my sanity, as I will be *gulp* temporarily moving back in with my parents.

But, one thing at a time.

I still have to break up with work next week, which, once done, will make my leaving that much more real.