Beyond Late - Maybe I'm Early

So here I am. A little late, as usual. No- really late. I jumped off the 'current culture' bandwagon BEFORE blogs were mainstream, so now that I'm waking up again, maybe I'll climb back on the wagon. I blinked, and then suddenly *everyone* is discussing their blog. I feel left out.

Why would I bother? I'm bored. good enough for me.

I've moved around a lot. In the past 4 years or so, I haven't stayed in any one place longer than 12 months- with an interesting mix of permanent and temporary moves thrown in. I'm not saying why- if you know me, you'll know why. The big picture is that this is all changing, and HOPEFULLY the upheavel is in its death throws. I'm trying to glue life together again, one.last.time.

Places I've lived in 3.5 years: South-central Texas (3 months + 3 months + 12 months), The Mississippi Gulf Coast (3 months: Pre-Katrina), Nevada (6 months), Virginia (1 month, doesn't really count, but I'll throw it in for good measure), Alabama (1 month- see Virginia), Southern New England (12 months +.....) . That about sums up my life as of late. I'm really tired. Bone tired and weary. I feel old, worn out, exhausted. My car does too. I've calculated the mileage from the road trips in the past year alone: 12,000 miles. Really, thats since last September. And it doesn't include day to day driving, as well as weekend fun trips (which have been few).

Why bother listing? To explain the title, of course. A Sense of Place. Thats what I need. A Sense of Place. Everytime I start to get that within my grasp, I suddenly spirit myself off (whether its my idea or not is another question). But here I am, thinking I'm finally going to get stuck here (stuck being good). Home is such a mythical concept - but if I can get a sense of place, I might just get my head screwed on right.

What is a sense of place? knowing without having to see for yourself anymore how it smells in the rain, how it sounds in the fog, how crappy the drivers tend to be, what the local transit system (if any) is called, what's in season for produce throughout the year, where the best sunset spots are, where the good bars are with 40+ micro-brews on tap, what neighborhoods to avoid, which weatherman tends to be WAY off, etc.... the list goes on. and on. the old question of what makes home home. Its really important. to me, at least, and damnit, this is mine.

That being said, I wonder if I'll ever mention it again. It seemed to be a good title. But my hindsight is WAY better than my foresight, so we'll see.