angledge | [D-E-O] How LJ took me from Philadelphia to San Francisco, via Scotland

Hi D ~

I originally meant to post this as a public post, but I don't feel like doing that now, for some reason. However, I'd like someone to read it!

~A.

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When I was first getting ready to move to Edinburgh to start my master's program, I joined LJ's

edinburgers community to start learning about my new town. One day, another student in my shoes posted this comment, & several incoming Americans replied. Including the first guy, Funkysomething. His LJ icon was a photo of himself, & my! Are those PURPLE DREADLOCKS? How distinctive.

I added a few of the Americans to my friends list, thinking we might all meet up & share stories at some point. Several weeks later, funkyguy posted a wonderful poem in his LJ about the oceans of leaves piled up in the Meadows. I liked it so much I asked his permission to post it on my door. He acquiesced. Our first conversation was half in Spanish. How amusing.

I commented sporadically on various funkyposts, & came to welcome their appearances on my friends page, because they always had something interesting to say about Edinburgh, or academia, or Life. Eventually we became mutual LJ friends (through photo appreciation, if I remember correctly). Occasional comments were posted back & forth.

Then that crazy old lady Serendipity put her hand in the game, when we actually met one another at the Brass Monkey. Thank goodness for

funkyplaid's distinctive hair & American accent, for it was by these things that I identified him that night. And thank goodness I'd had enough gin & tonics to dampen down my usual reticence towards strangers.

"Excuse me, but do you have a LiveJournal?"

How's that for a winning chat-up line?

Somehow that chance encounter led to an IM conversation, which led to an invitation to see the film "Big Fish" (February 10th) and a promise to hold a gaming night. We spent some time together under the auspices of STASIS, & fell into a casual friendship. There were occasional chance encounters - at the Elephant House, at the Brass Monkey, in George Square. But the real turning point in our friendship was a day in early April, when we both decided to play hooky & walk to Portobello. On that long, winding trip through the city/along the beach/amongst the daffodils of a beautiful park, we talked about travel, study, history, relationships, religion, morality, and so many other intense, engaging things. We shared PB&Js. We were marauded by geese. We traded insults.

From that point forward, we starting spending more time together, quite a bit of it also in the company of our good friend, Uisge Beatha. Through

funkyplaid, I met

pisica,

aitkendrum,

seolta,

spiffington,

blu_matt,

evils,

gingiber,

dougygyro,

mxhaunted,

sibelian, many non-LJers as well - some from Edinburgh, some from afar. But

funkyplaid remained my closest friend amongst them, and when things started going wrong with my relationship with Stacy, he was one of my mainstays of support, as well as a source of clear-eyed advice.

And once things had finished with Stacy, & I was blinking at the realization that I was no longer tied to Philadelphia, he casually asked, "What about moving to San Francisco?" At first I said No (moving back to California, what a silly idea). But then I said Maybe. And then I said Yes, Conditionally. Meanwhile, dissertations were written & before I knew it, it was time to leave bonnie Scotland & wing back to the US. And when I got here, & realized how much I wanted to head West, I finally said Yes, Unconditionally. Things started to fall into place almost at that very moment.

So tomorrow, I will be taking the next step on this long weird path. I don't yet have a job (for sure), I don't yet have a place to live (permanently), but nonetheless I think everything is going to work out fine. And I guess this post is a really long-winded thank you to

funkyplaid for luring me out of my somewhat rutted path & into a new Great Big Adventure.

See you tomorrow!