Moving

"You can never go back home again."
-Tom Wolfe

Moving is a pain in the ass - there is so much that needs to be done in order to say that one has 'moved' that no amount of planning will ever encompass the actual experience. I know this, because as a child we moved a lot, as an adult I have moved even more than a lot- and, if my children were blogging here, they could tell you that they have moved way the fuck too much.

Moving, planning helps, sure, but there are odds and ends that do not fit into plans - things that are so fragile and bulky so as not to fit into the the tight-packed moving van, forgotten things, things that should really have been discarded but were packed anyway, people who will be left, people who will not accept change in their lives, even if they don't really have the control over that change. There are things that end up being moved because they still might be fixed someday, and things that are abandoned because they just won't fit the new place. Many people not only end up having a moving sale before they move, but one after they move, too. I have done this more than once.

I am a good planner - when I decide to move, I get out a notebook and start making lists - I have even designed a PERT chart and supporting task lists as a tool to expedite the resolution of potential confusion and conflict and thereby facilitate a smooth move - it sort of worked, kind of, well, the idea was good...

Virtual moves are similar - as a writer, and a person with a need to express my ideas coherently, I have spent the last several months considering the move of ideas and efforts to a more manageable space (this one, silly), and started thinking about customizing the weblog to fit my needs and tastes - and didn't do anything until the last minute. So, yeah, this sounds a bit anal retentive - just slap a template into place and start writing, yes? No.

I have other writing scattered around, and thought that it would be good, for a change to keep my work together - ordered so as to be (hopefully) helpful to anyone who should either want to know me better, or who should happen, through soem twist of dharma, luck, or drunken blogdiving to come in and wallow for awhile.

Getting things ordered is not brain surgery - but, you try re-coding pieces from text, BBcode, HTML that blogspot doesn't like, making sure graphics don't overfloat the sidebar to the bottom of the page, and you'll understand why I (a) almost gave up on the idea, and (b) feel so damned good now that the proces - the hard part, anyway, is complete.

Even a virtual move is frought with unforseen struggle and frustration - I'm just thankful that I didn't have to face mashed fingers, toes, or the other physical injustices that one endures while getting from one place to the next.

Now that the virtual move is over, I'll go back to thinking about...

Moving

Moving stranger, does it really matter?
As long as you're not afraid to feel
Touch me, hold me, how my open arms ache
Try to fall for me

How I'm moved, how you move me
With your beauty's potency
You give me life, please don't let me go
You crush the lilly in my soul
Moving liquid, yes, you are just water
You flow around all that comes in your way
Don't think it over, it always takes you over
And sets your spirit dancing
-Kate Bush