Nesting

I have been in my new place in downtown Charleston for almost two weeks now and the honeymoon continues.  Honest to God, I pinch myself as I walk along the historic streets and alleys that are downtown Charleston and are also my neighborhood.  Coming around the corner at 6:30 in the morning and watching the sun rise over the ocean is something I hope never stops taking my breath away.

For some reason, I recognize the feeling as the same way I felt when I first moved away for college almost 30 years ago.  In fact, I find myself doing things I haven't done SINCE college.  Like go to a laundromat.  And rather than being drudgery - it has been great.  Between all the various things I want to do I'd need to add a couple more hours to the day to fit it all in.

I've set my anchor several times in recent years but honestly, this one has been the most fun.  When I first moved to Austin in 2000 I didn't know a single soul there and even though I was looking forward to something new it wasn't like this.  I cried over it.  I haven't cried here.  Yet.

I'm good at working through the logistics of moving but there has never been this kind of an emotionial connection with where I am.  There is a newness, a freshness, an energy that transcends any one or two or three reasons but at the same time I can't pinpoint specifics.  I think it's some combination of being where I want to be, a feeling of adventure, and some throwback to younger days.  All I can say is that I hope it continues.

I've done a number of things of note over the past week.  I went to Asheville NC to get my "stuff" out of the storage unit I had there.  I traveled across the state to begin wrestling training.  Work is going well.  And, I continue to "nest".   I'm getting my place settled and I think I'm past the worst of it.  There is a chaos involved in moving and there's more order now than mess which is a good thing especially given that I've got company coming.

On other topics, there's a movie premiering at Sundance worth noting:



Trans issues are human drama and whether it's TransAmerica, Boys Don't Cry, or any number of other portrayals this kind of stuff gets past the fluff and gets to the brutal reality of our humanity.  Anyway - it looks as though it can be and should be good.

I talked with a reporter for The New Republic a few weeks ago who was writing a story on trans issues.  I was driving at the time and had to pull over to chat but she asked intelligent questions and I felt she wanted to do a good job so I actually felt good about the conversation when it was all done.  The end result was printed online yesterday (read it here), and is the cover story right now.  It's over 5,000 words long so it's no short treatment.

But the best part might be the Gallery of stories that they provide as "Extra". (See it here).    That's cool stuff.  Important stuff.  Many of us know several of the people that are profiled and it's so important to see our lives and our relationships treated in such a respectful way.  Anyways - good stuff.