Boxes are packed,

keys are about to be handed in, address has been updated for magazine subscriptions, DMV, banks, etc., for the fourth time in the past two years; three months later, I will go through all of that and move again - no, I'm not running from the police. In that time, I've had a Lebanese roommate - oh wait, since we're completely defined by sect, let's do that again: I've had a Shi'a roommate (horror!) - and an Israeli roommate (double horror!), and now live in a cozy studio, which I'm just about to leave.

Moving around => meeting "interesting" neighbors, the type you usually end up taking for granted if you live next to them for several years; the woman who never seems to sleep, and makes sure you're aware of that by playing music (and other things) at all times of the night, the neighbor who only leaves his home to throw out the garbage, and quickly runs back because he's addicted to day trading, the drugged out 25 year old who smokes pot during lunch and dinner, and insists on offering you a "puff" even though you've turned him down every single time he asks, and the girl next door who till now hasn't learnt how to open the oven WITHOUT triggering the damn fire alarm.

Packing those boxes isn't that bad, especially if done when friends are over, and by now has become a mechanical endeavor - books in that box, winter clothes in that one over there, etc. - and this time around was slightly relaxing, especially in the hectic context of the last several months. Tomorrow I'll load up my car and move, will soon indulge in my new neighbor's idiosyncrasies, will start some new work on Tuesday, and will probably leave some boxes packed. I'll still frequent the local pub to watch the round 2 world cup games, will go to a different cafe then the one I go to now, and life will soon continue as normal. I'll probably spend less time at the actual place, but considering that other things in my life are going quite well, I don't really mind this symbolic deterioration of "home"; however, if there is one thing I miss from that small country 10 time zones away, it is that "home" is so much more than just an address ...

posted by Lazarus, 10:20 PM