Preparing to leave My Own Private Idaho.

The boxes are (mostly) packed, the house is (semi) cleaned, all the items on my to-do list are (just about) crossed off, and the last-minute details (that I haven’t inevitably forgotten) are (pretty much) attended to. I’m turning in my modem tomorrow, and I wanted to be sure to post prior to hitting the road Saturday, so here we are. Brendan obligingly agreed to lunch at the Red Feather today (much to his later regret as neither of us remembered that metered parking involves meters, and meters involve depositing change in them) where I ineptly pretended to be a Mafioso (on account of our being situated in a dark booth upstairs) and also had the bright idea to eliminate the impending tedium of my cleaning chores by achieving a nice beer buzz. That was the plan, anyway, but man did the two beers (local nut brown ale!) I ingested toward this end do a number on me. I’m not sure why this is, but I refuse to acknowledge it as a symptom of aging. Suffice it to say that this was a better theory than practice and another nail in the coffin of the day’s productivity, which was notably lacking. Luckily, there’s not much left to accomplish.

A funny thing, this leaving of My Own Private Idaho. I can’t say my time here has been resoundingly pleasant, but maybe pleasant isn’t really the point, and sweet fruits hide in even the bitterest harvests (look! I’m in farmer mode already!).  So, since lists are my new madness, here is an inventory of some of those fruits:

·         I (at long, long last) finished my Bachelor’s degree here.

·         I got to spend more time with Brendan here than we’ve spent together at any other point in our young adult lives.

·         I found good food and drink here: Boise Coop, Dutch Brothers (Mexican mochas!), Café Vicino, Red Feather, the Basque Market, Bueno Cheapo Vino. I will miss these places.

·         I wrote two novellas here.

·         If I hadn’t gone to Boise State, I wouldn’t have ended up in the General Studies program, and thus wouldn’t have had the freedom and flexibility to minor in Spanish, or get introduced to linguistics (which might pave the way for an eventual Master’s degree for me), and would probably have slogged through an ill-fitting journalism major just to have done with it.

·         The Boise Public Library system is awesome and my library employment here confirmed for me that it is possible to enjoy your work and perform it in a supportive, non-toxic environment.

·         I met some lovely, kind, generous people here.

·         I had the opportunity to learn about refugees and work with the refugee community here.

·         I clarified my values and priorities here, even if (or more aptly, especially because) the form this assumed was difficult and not necessarily the one I hoped the process would take.

·         And of course, I met Spartacus and Meep here, which is why I am now headed for Chimayo, New Mexico, and not Busan, South Korea, or Madrid, Spain!

That said—good riddance, My Own Private Idaho! Good day, the Open Road! Good Lord, the excessively verbose Allison!

After a Saturday stopover in Twin Falls, on Sunday it’s south and west, and so forth, all the way to New Mexico. Stay tuned!