Anywhere. Elsewhere. So simple, yet so simple. When I think of all the crazy domains I’ve bought over the years—I wonder who the wackos are that pulled “theflashlady“, “pedventures” and posttrumpaticstressdisorder out of redemption—these two words, side-by-side, in all their complex simple simplicity, anywhereelsewhere, finally struck me as “the one”. So, it only took 15 years of domain dabbling for me to find one—”webventures” (hmmm that one isn’t too bad, but I don’t think I actually ever owned it)—that wholly describes my reality, my delusion, my causum esse…and I can’t believe I’m still not sick of it 5 years later!
This anywhere elsewhere epiphany happened a few weeks before I turned 50, inspired quite possibly by my plan to celebrate my fiftieth year on this planet by visiting somewhere new every month, somewhere I’ve never been but always wanted to go, and confirming my seemingly never-changing desire to be elsewhere. I bought the domain in 2017, but just started moving my blog over to it in 2019. Mostly out of necessity, I wasn’t maintaining the software on my old blog because I do this kinda crap all day everyday and I just couldn’t bear turning something I love to do into work. But I really have been meaning to update this for years and whenever there’s a milestone birthday looming (double-nickels baby!) I spring into administrative action.
When I started travel blogging in 2010, I didn’t think it would last past that specific trip. I just bolted a WordPress site onto my triciakarsay domain under “guatemala“, thinking it would be, at best, a hobby, and at worst a horrible, horrible mistake. Oversharing on the inter webs, probably not the best idea. I have never been more wrong about anything (I’m totally going to buy morewrongaboutanything dot com).
So I’m anywhere right now. An Airbnb in Scottsdale, Arizona to be precise. I literally went ANYWHERE this year to try and preserve what’s left of my sanity, to try and feel just a little more like myself in a world that has left all of us feeling batshit crazy. (Batshit crazy. Dot com. Yup I just looked that that up and unfortunately it’s not available. I would link it, but that just has potential security risk written all over it). I was also so happy when I first noticed the “Anywhere” feature on Kayak. Have you seen it? I felt like it was a feature developed specifically for me. That is kinda how I picked Scottsdale.
I am one of the lucky ones, still employed (for now), seemingly uninfected (so far), haven’t lost a close family member to COVID (thankfully) and besides some selfish, bratty inconveniences (when can I go back to Spain???), my day-to-day life hasn’t changed that much. Well, on the surface.
I remember a few months ago, in the beginning of this endless madness, when field hospitals were popping up in parks around NYC and I was sitting in my apartment working like it was any other day. Employed. Uninfected. Elsewhere. The surreality was unbearable. It still is.
But of course now that I’m anywhere, I just want to go elsewhere. I guess that’s where I am right now and where I will probably always be.