Two days ago, as we were flying past Mt. Ranier, the snowy mountain sitting on the horizon at the same level as the plane window, looking down on thick, green forests with water in the distance, I challenged myself to react to an imaginary scenario. What if I got offered a job next week, here in Seattle. Would I take it? The gut imagined reaction included a bit of panic. I am getting so used to being on the path of searching for a job that the prospect of actually getting one is a bit scary. Even in such a great place as Seattle. Scary because it creates a permanence that I keep saying I want but I haven’t had all that much experience with in the past decade. I have gotten comfortable being the rubber band, with the elastic lifestyle yet always in a semi-state of tension. I have gotten comfortable with my tendency to see the ‘grass as always greener’ and look forward to other pastures (and speaking in many mixed metaphors). This created the movement that made my 20s so dynamic. I don’t regret that. And I am looking, now, to root. But I wonder if rooting must be specifically in a place, a destination or if there are other ways to root. So now I challenge myself to find those other ways to ‘root’. How do nomads root? I’m reading a book about Quanah Parker and the Comanches, the nomadic Plains tribe. They carry their families with them. They keep their pack light and simple. Everything comes from one thing – the buffalo. The things in their life they find most essential move with them. They either chase after them or take them with them. Movement is key to their survival. I’m not saying I’m a Comanche. They were also known for having lice and scalping captives. I AM saying it’s interesting and ironic that I choose to cycle down the Northwest coast IN SEARCH OF a place to root in. Perhaps I unconsciously know this nomadic lifestyle better than any other and may not be completely comfortable moving out of it. Those recipes that I described above essentially say that the decision I make will include a great deal of compromise. It may simply mean that I have to figure out how to keep on being a bit of a rubber band, even if ZGF, Berger Partnership, Swift Architecture, Mithun or Weber Thompson (fingers crossed, fate blessed) hire me in one city.
Cafe Verite (again), Ballard, Seattle
2 cups of drip coffee
"I've got an answer. I've got to fly away. What have I got to lose" - Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young
Air mattress
Brita
Bike miles: 0
Car miles: 0
Train/bus miles: 0
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