April 09, 2003

Tops ten things

I am moving very soon - next weekend really. To get my mind used to this fact I have compiled some lists:

Things I like about Columbia, SC:


  1. The Vista area.
  2. All of the small, independent coffee houses.
  3. My job.
  4. The part of Shandon behind the church where I play ball.
  5. Eric San Jose's.
  6. Our apartment.
  7. How no matter where you are in the city you are about a mile away from a ghetto and a middle-class suburb.
  8. The way the Adluh flour sign blinks on and off all day and all night no matter what is going on in the city below it.
  9. The light that paints the water near the dam when the sun sets.
  10. Never before have I felt so in the middle of things - where we live - where I work - what I do at work - where I am in life.
  11. We will probably never live within walking distance of a pool hall and bar again, so now is the only time we can get really drunk and just walk home.
  12. No one would ever target it.

Things I hate about Columbia, SC:


  1. It is lonely, like everything happened here in the past.
  2. It is overall very conservative (read: racist).
  3. No Starbucks.
  4. No opportunity for what I do.
  5. No friends, family, nearby.
  6. She doesn't like it here.
  7. Landscape is too flat, monotonous, and even worse: we have gotten used to it.
  8. No excitement, crowds.
  9. People don't come here, don't tour here. We aren't a stop, a place to go.
  10. No professional sports, shows, etc.
  11. Both professionally and socially living here for a long time would feel like giving up, getting out of the game, hiding.
  12. The computer book section at the local Barnes & Noble is 3 rows.
  13. It would not be entirely unrealistic to say that I am the only democrat in the county I work in.
  14. The racial lines are drawn very boldly here, and it feels like they were drawn in the past - the past that the rest of the country is trying to forget.
  15. All of the 'new', 'exciting' stuff here seems like they are just copying somebody else's idea; that they are catching up.

Things I like about Atlanta, GA:


  1. 99x.
  2. Starbucks, Caribou Coffee.
  3. Lots of places to explore - a lifetime's worth.
  4. The computer book section at the local Barnes & Noble is like 7 or 8 rows, and there are small technology-only bookstores.
  5. People have heard of wireless internet access.
  6. Adventures in capitalism are better. (i.e. better shopping)
  7. More inspiration, experiences, life.
  8. Diversity of people.
  9. No systematic, geographic, or cultural depression.
  10. She will like it.
  11. Wider variety of jobs, professional opportunities for both of us. They have Technology conferences here that aren't centered around that fact that there is no technology economy here.
  12. The challenges and opportunities of a big city.
  13. Closer to family, including extended family that we will probably get to know better.
  14. When friends come to visit us we have a lot of cool places to take them to; places that aren't in Generica; places they haven't seen before in another city.
  15. The future of race relations in the South will be decided in Atlanta and places like it, not in places like Columbia.

Things I may hate about Atlanta, GA:


  1. Traffic.
  2. Cost of living is 10% higher - just enough to drive you slowly insane.
  3. More competition.
  4. It may be so large you can't wrap your hands - or your mind - around it.

    April 9, 2003 09:12 PM