Tuesday Jan 22, 2002 I got myself on a plane and I moved to Florida. It was an exciting day for me. I was scared, and excited and wondered if I made the right decision, and wondering what lied in store for me. When I met up with Jessica I remember that when Jessica helped put my bags in the back of her truck she twisted her back wrong and it hurt her. This back pain would live with her for the majority of my stay. I don’t know if she ever got over it, but I remember her having a lot of pain for a long time. I felt really bad for her. I remember getting in to Tampa around the right time for rush hour and sitting in traffic forever. I think it took us an hour to drive a mile. It was crazy. When we finally arrived at her house we settled in for a bit and then went to The Ringside Cafe for food and some liquor. The relationship didn’t last very long and I found out in March that she was cheating on me with this guy in Boston, and had some kind of Internet sexual relationship since sometime in the middle of Feb. So really the relationship in a non cheating way lasted less than a month even though I stayed with her until May and moved out in June. She denied her relationship with that person up to the day I moved out even though I knew better, even though I had proof otherwise, even though she moved to Boston months after I moved out. Anyway, that shit is behind me now.
When I moved down here I knew Florida from when my dad lived in Florida City, and so I already knew it was hot and pretty and stuff. Tampa was a bit different than south Miami, or at least my impressions. I didn’t remember there being pine trees, and I thought and still think it is really cool to see a pine tree right next to a palm tree. I love the white sand that is here in the suncoast area. I love that it doesn’t get as hot here as it did in Miami. I love being so close to Busch Gardens. I remember when I was visiting my dad and we went to Orlando seeing signs to Busch Gardens and I remember wanting to go. We couldn’t make it because it was too far away and we didn’t have enough time or money or something so that was disappointing. I have gone a lot of times since living in St. Pete, and I like that park.
I still am in love with this city. I still feel the magic and newness of being here. It may not be perfect, I would love to see the mountains here. I remember when I was living in Denver that my plan was to live in a place for five years and then move on to a new place. It might happen, I might move to DC, but the cold keeps me away. I want to move DC and it’s history and museums and Ethiopian restaurants and subway system here. If DC was in a nice warn climate with beaches and palm trees and stuff, then I would be there in a heart beat. Another thing that keeps me here is the fact that I have a good job with good benefits and good pay. I didn’t see that future before, I was still cooking and working at dead end jobs so I had nothing else to lose.
This has been a pretty good five years for the most part. I am making a lot more money, in a steady job and stuff. There are other things in my life that I could be more successful in but that is just my personality and lack of social skills and stuff.
It is amazing how relatively quickly this last five years has gone by. There is still more about this city that I want to know more about, and I love driving just to explore.
I think I will go to the beach tomorrow.
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Tv : fooseball
