I had lunch with my friend Nikki from high school today. She recently visited Chicago, and thought a lot about how interesting it would be to just pick up and move there. Like me, she was married and divorced, changed careers and such. Obviously I can relate when it comes to fresh starts.
I think we agreed that Cleveland doesn't suck exactly, but certainly after being here for a few decades, one can start to see how any location may simply run its course. That's certainly my situation. I've come to the realization that I don't dislike Cleveland, I'm just done with it.
But I've also realized how much crap I leave behind. First and foremost on that list is the weather. Winter is just awful. Forty degree mood swings suck. If you're not burning hundreds of dollars a month on heat, you're zapping it for air conditioning. And yes, contrary to popular belief, it rains more in Cleveland than it does in Seattle for half the year, namely summer. The only things redeeming the weather here are thunderstorms.
I also leave behind a great deal of professional suck. I have worked for some serious schmucks who aren't professional at all. The market is obsessed with the disposable consultant ethic, which as you'd imagine, means a whole lot of awful software. I feel like I had that solid three years of intense growth at ICOM, surrounded by lots of mediocrity. In fact, the only other really rewarding work I had was writing my book and running my own sites, both of which were initiated by me.
It all reminds me of the scene in the movie Orange County where the professor talks about how great writers all have this conflicted relationship with where they came from. I'm careful not to say that my origins define me, but they certainly shape the way you perceive the world, for better, worse or different. Much of my success and failure in life occurred because of where I was, and I'm thankful for it.
But yeah, I'm done with it. And if that moronic casino issue passes, I'm even more glad to be gone. At least I get to vote before we move!
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