A Statement On My Current Situation

Seriously...I haven't felt this good in a really, really long time.

I'm rested, energetic, just freaking AMAZING. Like today? I put on a CLINIC at work. I was SO fucking on my game. If you didn't know, you wouldn't think I was seriously near death (none of you who weren't there will ever have any idea how bad this was) 36 hours ago.

But now, having completely forgotten the other reason I wanted to post right now, I think I'll get something, yknow, out there.

Since announcing our impending move I've had an alarming number of people ask me how I'm doing or if I'm OK with this move. And while I'm really touched by the concern, I'm also a bit bothered by it. Whenever someone asks me this I want to stop them and ask "would you be as bothered by this move if it were Nena moving for my career?"

Maybe I'm imagining things, but I can't help but notice the subtle gendered implications here. When people ask me this question(s) I can't help but hear "do you feel like less of a man for following your wife across the country?"

Cuz I don't.

I'm so excited about this move that I don't think there are words to describe it. Santa Fe is an enormous adventure to me and in case you haven't noticed, it's the unknown, this amazing spirit of adventure that propels me through life. Like when I moved from HE to Aurora to Northfield, to Maryville, to Lawrence, to Santa Fe...

Yknow, as much as I love the midwest, as much as I love Chicago, I've done those things and I'm ready to try something new and different. Yeah, I haven't done Chicago as an adult, but, well, it's been done and it's being done by so many people I know that doing it now would make me feel kinda cheap. I don't mean this to any of my friends that are recent transplants to my hometown, but, well, watching y'all live the dream life I had planned out for myself at 16 has made me want it less.

Nena once told me she'd only go home as a conquering heroine. At the time, I thought that was recockulous, but now...I get it. When I go home, I want to go for a dream job, I want to go home with Cubs season tickets (or at the very least Bulls, OK Rush season tix). I don't want to go home for adventure, I want to go home for something more.

This move feels so amazingly right to me. I know nothing about what I'm getting into, I have to trust my wife and my instincts here and that's an amazing feeling for me. In a lot of ways, this all hasn't sunk in yet, it hasn't become real to me. But, that's part of the adventure that is The Nenie Experience.

Yeah, bring it on, baby. And get me some boots...