What's missing from this street?

The Bravards I think was known of their wanderlust.

That's from a letter my paternal grandmother wrote to me in 2001.  Grandma wrote a series of letters that described her life in Indiana in the 1930s.  They are fascinating and my only regret is that she didn't write more.

By that time, I had changed addresses eight times since graduating from business school in 1991 (nine times if you count the short-term apartment rental while house-shopping in North Carolina).  Grandma couldn't have told me sooner about the wanderlust?

In the excellent 1991 suspense film Dead Again, Robin Williams' character says something to the effect of:

People are either smokers or non-smokers.  The best thing you can do is figure out which you are and be true to it.

Kids: I'm not condoning smoking.  It destroys your lungs and makes you smell bad.  Still, I'm drawn to the idea that a major source of contentment in life is figuring out one's true nature.  Thinking beyond short-term self-appeasement and looking toward long-term fulfillment.  Shakespeare was unusually efficient on the subject: To thine own self be true.  I wonder if most of us, myself included, have spent enough time thinking about who we really are and what our true potential is.

Despite Grandma's insightful note, I changed addresses three more times before landing at my current address in St. Petersburg, Florida, in 2005 (that's my street in the photo above).  In that time I've learned a few things about myself and the world; I hope those lessons, and lessons in progress, will guide me in writing this blog.  One of the things that fascinates me is how place affects us.  How regional cultures, technology, transportation, and urban design issues influence our lives.  The Florida version of me is not the same as the Indiana, Texas, California, or North Carolina versions.

The time has come for a variation on the Florida version.  I'll elaborate in future posts, but here is the short version: My partner, Julie, works in Tampa, across Tampa Bay from St. Petersburg.  My current plan is to go to school in Tampa beginning January, 2011.  Rather than make the 90-minute-plus round-trip commute every day, we're trying to rent our house so we can move to Tampa.  I'm using this transition as a launching point for this blog.

I'll be writing about the importance of location, the changing nature of the urban (or suburban or rural) environment and how this affects our personal and professional lives.  Also how online communities have come to enhance, and sometimes replace, physical communities.  I'll often turn to people much smarter than me for inspiration, and I'll rely on my passions of photography, music, movies and literature to help tell the story.  My goal is not to point anyone in a particular direction, but to find my own direction and maybe help others in the process.  To find a new sidewalk, so to speak.

Currently, I'm on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter and have my own web site that features some of my photography.  Those are good places to find out about my background and qualifications.  I hope that you'll comment here or drop me a line; suggestions and constructive feedback are welcome and appreciated.

In the meantime, think about always being in a mode of self-assessment.  Every day is a transition; what we can influence are the direction and velocity.  And if you're fortunate enough to be in touch with any of your grandparents, listen to them.  They won't always be right, but they offer a unique historical perspective.