Big News

No, the "big news" isn't related to the usual "big news" I post around here. BSG isn't getting a fifth season. They aren't bringing Arrested Development, Andy Barker PI or Drive back from the dead. (But hey, they ARE making a second X-Files movie, so that's good!).

Nope, the big news is of a personal nature.

I'm moving to Baltimore, Maryland. Or somewhere in the vicinity of Baltimore.

Sometime in early August, I'll be sitting on a deck someplace, eating crabcakes, pondering what it's like to live in a different state for the first time in my adulthood (generously characterized, but chronologically accurate).

There are a lot of the reasons behind the move. I'll probably get into some of them over the course of the next few months, but suffice to say, it's time to exorcise some demons and start over with a clean slate.

Other than where I'll be working, here's what I know about Baltimore at this point:

• The Colts left there in a Mayflower truck at night.
• There are all the things I know about their sports, obviously. The Ravens. The Redskins (wow - I found out Washington DC is fairly close. I really think these "map things" are gonna catch on). The Nationals. The Orioles. The Wizards. Johnny U. Cal. Ray Lewis.
• It's known for outstanding seafood. Particularly crabs. Good thing I dig the crustaceans.
• It's also close to Annapolis. Roger Staubach and David Robinson went there.
  
• Delta flies to and from there to Atlanta, so my SkyMiles aren't dead yet.
  
• A close friend recently told me a Meg Ryan movie was set there.
• Homicide: Life on the Street was about Baltimore. Too bad John Munch moved to NY. I could see having a beer with him.

Aaaaaand, that's about it.

As I learn more, and get lost countless times, I'll share more of these illuminating insights in posts tagged with "Stranger in a Strange Land."

Right now, there's a very mixed feeling of excitement about embarking on a new adventure, and melancholy over closing a very distinct chapter in my life.

But the die has been cast, and Mulder and Willow and I will be heading north soon. Damn their lack of opposable thumbs, I could use the help packing.

So to paraphrase Captains Kirk and Picard, I'll be on a new mission. To explore strange new worlds. To seek out new life and new civilizations. To boldly go where no one has gone before.

Well, except Cal Ripken. And John Munch. And all those other people there. But it's "strange and new" to me.