Saying Goodbye to Home

Home.

Today is my last day as a resident of Pittsburgh, PA. Tomorrow I will be a resident of San Francisco, CA. I’m moving due to a combination of needing a change of scenery and having an opportunity to do some new and exciting things at work. You know… life stuff.

I woke up to my friend Jackie’s dog Eska attacking my face. Seeing someone move after the sun had come up means it is time to play. A jarring but adorable way to start my last day in Pittsburgh. She is still a puppy and full of energy. Everyone in town loves Eska.

Eska being Eska.

Jackie was kind enough to let me stay at her place so I wouldn’t have to spend money on a hotel. I had moved out of my apartment on May 6th and had been doing a combination of couch surfing and staying in hotels since then. Moving was rather hectic and I wanted to have a few more days to see friends and say my goodbyes. Now I am sitting here in my parents’ house waiting to attend a “going away” dinner with my family. Tonight I’ll be staying at an airport hotel and boarding my one-way flight at 7 am tomorrow.

I’ve had to say so many goodbyes this week that I think I have become somewhat emotionally broken. To everyone I missed, I am sorry. Time was against me.

Inara was adopted by my ex and I before we split up. We’re still friends and I still get to visit my chonky cat daughter. Inara is a butthole but I love her.

Many of my meetings with friends didn’t feel any different but the voice in the back of my head kept reminding me that things would be changing dramatically very soon. A lot of times I would forget this was that bittersweet “goodbye friend time” until it neared its end, only for me to start crying shortly after we departed. I hate goodbyes, especially the ones that were somewhat rushed due to time restraints.

The last bit of my apartment the evening before the movers arrived.

One of my close friends, Jordan, commented: “oh no, you are moving away during the most connected time in human history” and this really stuck with me. I may be moving away but thanks to the internet, I won’t really be gone. Communicating with friends may be different but it will not be terribly difficult. Discord, iMessage, Twitter, Instagram, Twitch, etc. all make keeping in touch and interacting with friends easier than ever.

From the BART heading towards an apartment viewing during my last trip to San Francisco.

This will be a difficult change but it is by no means a goodbye in the same sense that it would have been 20 years ago. The net is vast and infinite. Our streams will cross again soon, I promise.