In Philadelphia, city of my dreams and so much more. Before that, under my own steam – Cincinnati, Wisconsin, California (various parts, some of which I think should count as completely separate states), and New York. Upstate, hours from NYC, lest you think I could hack that action – wouldn’t dream of it, didn’t even at the time, not much.

Each hometown has had its effect on me, and in every case I think it’s safe to say, vice versa. Except, that is, my birthplace (Hawaii) and a few Eastern seaboard locales, of which all possible effects are lost to the vagaries of being only dimly aware of my surroundings (i.e., under the age of 3 – at least in those cases).

No matter how you break it down – miles commutes vacations relationships years months afternoons coffeespoons milliseconds – the segments of my life keep adding up, along with everything else.

I try to carry it all lightly, more so with each passing marker, swiftly as some of them come along. Staying in one place for a while has never slowed it down – but that may not be the point, after all.