In the coming days I’m going to post, in no particular order, things that I will miss when I leave Southern California.

I’ve lived in this same apartment for 6 years. And a routine is one of those bittersweet things that has it’s pluses and negatives.

I’m going to miss the OCTA Bus screeching by my window between 7 and 7:15 each morning. I’m going to miss being able to wake up at 3:30 a.m. and walk to the bathroom, go to the kitchen and get a glass of water, put the cup in the sink, and walk back to bed in complete darkness. I’m going to miss my elderly neighbor’s comments that remind me that racism still exists in this world.

I know the streets around my house so intimately that I can almost say that I could navigate them in the dark like I do my apartment.

In Phoenix, I’m certain a new routine will emerge. It’s just tough to give this one up.