Moving

Starting at the age of six, I moved every year or two during my childhood. I was in a different community--and school system--in first, fifth, sixth, eighth and 12th grade--and in the gaps, I had the normal shift from elementary to middle school and middle to high school. Not too stable--but I did OK for the most part.

As a young adult in San Francisco, I moved a lot too. The difference there was, though, that I normally retained my college schedule or my job, so even though I slept somewhere else, I still showed up at the same place in the morning.

Sometimes, I've relocated within the same company, so my desk or cubicle changed. This happened three times at one eight-year job. At one job, the whole department moved to a new building next door, and at another company, we relocated down the hall so we could lease a smaller space.

All this leads to the fact that today I move my workspace from one end of my company's building to the other. Because I have the exact same job and activities, it may seem like a small matter, but I'm actually changing neighborhoods, too. Picture the company's building as the United States: I'm moving from Chicago to California.

More importantly, though, is that I'm moving from the city to the suburbs, so think of inner Chicago to, say, Mill Valley, in Marin County. While my current spot has noise, traffic and constant interaction with people, the new one will be quiet--most of the time. It's adjacent to the group meeting room, so occasionally it'll be busy. It's like living next door to the little league field, which is quiet unless there's a practice or a game.

I'm happy to get more space and a little more serenity in which to contemplate the important matters of my job, but I worry that it'll be a little quiet in the new digs. However, my new neighborhood will include five other people, all of whom I already know and like, so it should be just fine.