Back Home(?)

My final day in Minneapolis was enjoyable and bittersweet.

 I very much enjoyed getting to spend a bit more time with Tess before we parted--the conversations were pleasant and thoughtful, the lutefisk was surprisingly palatable (we agreed it needs to be made into sushi), and it was so comfortable (I'd been rather intimidated by her when we first met online, and had some mild concern as to whether we'd be able to tolerate one another's presence for any real duration). I was sad to realize it will be a while before I can visit again.

Afterwards, I took Grady to lunch as a way of saying thank you, whereupon I discovered that Minneapolis does indeed have decent Chinese food, even by my somewhat finicky standards. We relaxed, swapped music and watched old "Simpsons" episodes for a little bit until, at long last, the time had come to say goodbye. The drive to the airport left me smiling and sad at the same time, and while I was pleased to get back to Seattle I found myself dragging my feet after I hugged Grady and shuffled into the airport. This tiny slice of Minnesota treated me very kindly while I was there, and gave me every reason to want to return someday--perhaps even for an extended period of time. I'd miss good tea, mountains in the distance and the sheer diversity of Seattle (though Minneapolis is rather more diverse than I expected--I heard about seven languages spoken that I could identify, and a few I couldn't). However, I suspect if I did relocate, or even just take an extended visiting trip, it would be a worthwhile experience.

 But now I am home...or am I? Derrick's apartment no longer feels like my place. I feel a guest, who seems mysteriously to have the run of a single bedroom therein. It does not feel as though there is any specific place that *is* my home right now. I am itinerant in the dwellings of friends until I find a way to support myself in a place that feels like mine.

 In any case, there is school to attend, work to find, therapy and medical issues to address, debt to pay and life to be lived.