"Don't text back yet--but we finished the end of an era!"

...and really, that pretty much sums it up.

sure the end of many eras can come in many different forms. I finished an era when I left home for college, I finished one when I moved out of the dorms finally, when I retired from "the business," when I quit working at on-campus housing, when I graduated from college, when I first started working full time after college (which ironically was two days before my college graduation)...

but this one is big. in case you don't know me at all or have no idea what I've been posting all over the place on facebook, twitter, and here, I'm finally moved out of a small town named "the angels" in the southern part of a relatively sunny but unknown state on the west coast. and it only took me 5 years.

for now, I find myself in the world I left behind (and I really did truly leave it behind...I don't talk to ANYBODY who is still in the bay), leaving me to reflect on the other world I left behind. the questions have been coming in (do you miss LA yet? when are you gonna come back and visit? are you gonna send me a pizza?) the way I figure it, I'm sure I'm gonna miss the wood in the west, but it's gonna come in stages. being that I knocked out on the floor early last night because I couldn't find a good place to sit and use my laptop and didn't have anywhere to sleep makes me miss my bed down there. and I'm sure I'll miss having a good job in Santa Monica when my savings begin to deplete. and I'm sure I'll miss everyone I've come to know and love as soon as I make it to Chicago and realize that I don't know anyone there.

but I can't dwell on that too much right now. I've got some packin' to do (amongst other things).

one last thing. I referenced this back in an old August post and I figured now would be an appropriate time to continue the list. I said I'd eventually come back to this...and here we are. how many people can say they:
-played in the band at UCLA
-MC'd a banquet for 100+ people on a yacht
-participated in UCLA's undie run (research it, for you who are not aware of it) not in my underwear, but in a gorilla suit
-have driven back and forth between the Bay Area and Los Angeles at least 97 times
-one of those drives was in the middle of the night, in which the tire blew out resulting in the car spinning out of control in the middle of highway 5 at 4am, forcing the rest of the drive to be done on the spare tire going no faster than 50 mph
-got high, cooked dinosaur shaped chicken nuggets, and watched the Land Before Time
-open up a bottle of Andre ($3 champagne!) and watch Russell Peter's only good stand up every other night
-had a roommate who would leave notes on the door asking to stay out because he's having a "serious talk with his good friend," who happened to be a guy
-walked in on the above
-had a roommate who didn't shower often, or ever
-played a role in putting together conferences for 300+ high school students
-mix pancake batter, stick in the oven, and call that dinner
-open up a can of pork and beans, open up a soda, and call that dinner
-threw parties in which there were at least 50-70 people crammed into a single roomed apartment
-got trapped in a tiny elevator with 2 other guys and a huge laundry cart flowing over with stuff, on the last day your friend is spending in the neighborhood
-worked from 9pm-5am, partied till 7am, got breakfast, knock out the rest of the day and wake up in the early evening to start the whole process all over again
-started playing guitar hero at 8pm, your friends would go to work, and by the time they got off work at 5am, you'd still be playing
-could get away with taking a few shots at a party that's happening 8 floors above your work while on your 30 minute break
-walked from apartment to apartment, depending on whose door was open, and drink a beer at each of these places regardless of who you knew
-could attend or host parties that would occur every single friday night for 3 months straight
-have friends who lived downstairs and would have cute little dinners by candlelight every week in each others' apartments
-could go barhopping on a Tuesday night. I mean, it is Tuesday night, of course.
-stayed up till 3 am writing a paper that's due in 6 hours, fell asleep partway through until an hour before it was due and then somehow spewed out 3 pages, printed it and walked it over with 3 minutes to spare
-it's 3am, and you've got work at 7, but hey, your friend wants to go get pho. let's go!
-it's 2am, you've just had 4 beers and you're craving some garlic fries...but you ran out of oil! but wait, there's some pam. spray that shit on the fryer and throw in the potatoes! now you're totally making fries!
-walk down the hall to your friend's room, knock on the door, and just chill there cause she and the rest of her roommates are "just chilling" too
-walk down the street to your friend's apartment, knock on the door, and just chill there cause he and the rest of his roommates are "just chilling" too
-be in class from 11am-5pm, have meetings from 5-8pm, and work from 9pm-5am everyday...and still have enough time to study, party, and have study-parties
-spend a whole day trying to speed run through Zelda: A Link to the Past or Super Mario Bros 3, and not feel bad about not stepping outside the whole day
-spend the whole day in bed till 6pm, and not feel guilty
-get up at 3pm and still be able to get pancakes and bacon at 4pm in the dining halls
-have the time to rehearse and learn multiple cultural dances within only a few months time to perform it in front of an audience of at least 1000...I mean, I never did, but I applaud those who did
-have the time to hold a directing position in 3 different community service groups all at once
-enjoy winter, spring, and summer breaks...with the ability to do so on your own terms because you're not at home anymore!
-completely furnished a living room for free, thanks to the many nights spent driving around the neighborhood searching for furniture left on the streets
-took a school bus to a club (once again, I never did...but to those who did...ha.)
-but I did take a university owned van that's meant for community service to a club
-and also thanks to the aforementioned van, we also picked up all the free furniture on the streets!
-rode on a crowded stretch hummer to hollywood

...the list will continue! when I find the time and effort to continue it.

and the countdown starts over...5 days till I take the midnight train to Chicago (woo woo!)

"hey, a handicap space...you know, my hip does hurt"
-RS