Go to your happy place

by Jon Sullivan - 2022-06-27 - Status

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So just where is my happy place? I mean...... is there an actual place? Can I just go there?

Yeah. It's an actual place. And I can actually go there. And when I'm there I'm happy. And nothing can change that or take it away. But I'm a weirdo. And at 59 some of my ideas have evolved (or devolved?) into a form that is quite specific. Specific to Jon. So it's a happy place with room for one. Sorry.

Still...... It's a place. I can go there. And I'll be happy. How fucking delightful and awesome is that?

And I think I should go there. Both instinct and the math lead me there. It's time.

For many years it's seemed like San Diego is just played out. I'd want to do something on the weekend but I can no longer find new things here. As wonderful as Balboa Park is, 25 years of going there has left it a bit exhausted. As much as I liked the festivals and street fairs, it's sort of complicated with Covid. And without the big three - Tiger! Tiger!, Toronado, Waypoint Public - North Park has lost some of it's mojo. I could drive to LA AGAIN. I could drive to the desert AGAIN. And the rent is insanely bad here and getting worse.

For a long time my goal has been to retire and go to all the places, photograph all the things, eat all the food. But the economy isn't going to let that happen as soon as I'd hoped. So it's going to be employment for a few extra years. Also for a long time I've kept a list of places to move to. Initially it was places I'd like to live that still had low rent costs. But in 2022 they are all high, so we reorder the list by availability of happy photos and happy food. And when we run the math using that priority we come up with either Kalispell/Missoula, Willamette Valley, or stay in San Diego. Denver and Philadelphia are up there.

Too many photos on my list are in Oregon and PNW. So sooner or later I'm going there anyway. And there are all the intangibles. You can catch dungeness crab from the beach. While CA is largely liberal, in Oregon they have the conviction to actually protest. Portland isn't my happy place, but it's still awesome at being Portland. If we move from day trips to three days weekends all of the PNW and Northern California are within striking distance. Not to mention the obvious.

So I'm getting rid of a lot of crap I don't need. Packing up the rest. And starting the process. Will likely take awhile.

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