The Less Fascinating, Maybe...

Today I passed a dead alligator on I-4.

Today a motorcycle passed me in the same lane on I-4 (I ride a motorcycle); Turns out it was a cop; I was exceeding the speed limit by 20MPH. Apparently he didn't care. Or had somewhere to go.

Yesterday a girl named Lori Painter sent me an email. She received my resumé. She works for PETA. The interview is Tues. @ 2PM.

As far as the latter goes, it's the proverbial fork in the road. If I'm offered the position, it may mean my relocation- I've been thinking about moving to Chicago, but PETA would most likely have me in DC or Virginia. If they offer- I'm going. But it would mean starting all over again in a new place with no friends... something I've done several times in my life, including but not limited to my moves to NYC and Orlando.

My heart has never been in Orlando. I haven't fallen in love with it. I love the warmth, the unique wildlife and my experiences with it (i.e., sharks, dolphins, turtles, tortoises, eels, fish, boar, armadillo, alligators, crocodiles, snakes, poisonous spiders, owls and other birds, lizards, deer, and whatever else I'm forgetting). I love the storms... some other things.

I'm sure in retrospect I'll miss all kinds of things, even people I didn't realize I had any real fondness for, but mostly it's been a disappointment. There are no basements here, and it's a good analogy for life in Orlando- everything is primarily on the surface, anything deeper and you're flooded, making it difficult to grow roots or establish anything further embedded than one or two feet. Most of my friendships here have tapered off since I left the church. Kate (one individual whose influence and intellect I will miss) is reading a book defending the exclusivity of the faith based community, and it makes sense, but even with her impassioned telling of the author's philosophy, it couldn't have sounded more sour to a guy who, once so entrenched, now resides on the outermost fringe territories of its reach. Still, one can't be certain who excommunicated who.

I miss Oregon terribly. I hope one day to end up there again, drinking Sumatra at Cafe Delirium, reminiscing with long lost friends and unabashed liberals, protected from the miserable and oppressive weather just outside. But.. I'm not ready to go back to Portland yet, so on to the next adventure, I suppose.

Thinking about it now, it makes me smile.