*1284 - boston

Back in Boston for my annual holiday party pilgrimage.  Can you believe that this would be my FOURTH?  The number of people I actually know has dwindled dramatically since I moved from Boston to SF, and much less the number of people I consider to be a close buddy outside of work.  People here come and go so much; if you can imagine it, I would consider myself one of a handful of oldies remaining from the good ole days. 

Sitting in the cab and watching familiar streets and restaurants and gas stations whiz by; felt a pang of nostalgia as this one year in Boston was formative in my life.  My first days in the first job out of college, my first project and my first awesome project team, my first actual apartment, my first car and my first time getting stuck on ice, my first days of true financial independence--no turning back, bring on the bills, it feels so good, not sarcastic--my first hello to D--okay, I actually don't remember it at all, I was too overwhelmed with meeting 80 new people in half an hour--but my first date with D--that one I remember.  A recent cabbie helped me figure out why it is I still feel like I was in Boston much longer than I've had been in SF though the reverse is true.  It's because Boston represented a gigantic milestone in my life consisting of many important big life milestones.  Sure, many milestones were formed in SF too but at that point, life situations were more stable and things were less like night and day.  And of course SF is so super cool that you never finish exploring it or fully get to know it.

Tomorrow's going to be an interesting day, meeting people I work with/yell at/sob to virtually all the time but have never met in person.  Such is the life of a person who works in a satellite office.

And the day after tomorrow will be an interesting day as well because our holiday parties are generally epic and I can't wait to see what unfolds this year.