Where are you from?

This weekend I was at a conference for work, and there were people from all over the country (and some from Canada) there. One of the main introductory questions that people were asking each other, of course, was "Where are you from?"

When this was asked of me, I wasn't really sure how to answer it, since I've only recently come from once place to live in another. Had I been asked where I live, it would have been easier. I live in Natick, MA. But I am definitely not from there. I've lived there for almost 3 months, and I still have pictures sitting on the floor instead of hanging on walls. And there's not a lot for us to do in Natick, except go somewhere else. I know some people love it here, and I think that's great. For them. We, on the other hand, plan to live here for the terms of our lease, and then move to a place where there are cafes that stay open past 3 pm. It's just not, ultimately, the place for us. We're city folk.

Where I really feel like I'm from is Oakland. Having lived there for several years, I really came to love it, despite all the shootings. And I guess it's a little strange to feel like I'm from a place that I wasn't born or raised, but there it is. It's my O-town, where people have a little peace march around the lake every week, and where Canadian Geese live and eat and eat and eat and never migrate. It's where a new Trader Joe's is going in. And it will undoubtedly sell the baked tofu I love so well. (As a sidenote, the proposed TJs in Berkeley is creating quite a stir -- get over it people!)

Not that Oakland doesn't have it's problems: The homicide rate, the rich-poor gap, the cost of living. These issues bothered me and I wanted to change them. But for a while it got to be my little corner of the world. I wonder if Tony Bennett would have left his heart here if he knew it the way I did.