More reasons that I like it here

Just musing on the last week and living in this town that I've kinda grown accustomed to, fond of, part of even. It is now officially a year (give or take a few days) since I moved up to the Blue Mountains, which are terribly high and country and cold by Sydney standards, but temperate, flat and big city compared to some mountainous places around the globe I'm sure.

This last week I have still not been working and have been seeing people, getting into some community projects and getting edgy about hearing back from the job I am kind of hoping to get, then getting edgy about the possibility of getting the job (and all the security, commitment to *career* and stability that this implies to me).

Some lovely lovely little examples of why this place rocks:
- I've put my tv in the closet, for a number of reasons and as an experiement to see what life is like without one... friends around the corner have had me over two Tuesdays in a row for dinner to watch a tragic cop drama that we all enjoy, chatting about lifes little happenings and sharing their cosy loungeroom with me
- I went to the video shop to hire a dvd (hmm, yes clearly this is not a blanket ban on all film!) and the guy behind the counter said 'did you have a voucher or something?' I said no so he said 'oh I'll give you one anyway, otherwise it's too expensive' and proceeded to scan a spare voucher he had behind the counter
- I fronted up to the real estate agent today about the newly arrived (returned) cat in my life, and the agent was friendly and thought it would be fine if I write a letter that they can pass on to the owner. My other real eastate agent and I have discovered a mutual love of felting and chat about it constantly
- I have 3 (count them 3!) students enrolled in my printmaking class. Admittedly we need amin of 5, but I reckon that will happen. I'm very excited about this, all my inner Primary School teacher urges are coming out and I have materials and exercises and lesson plans all in progress.
- I finally found a set of 1950's tea/coffee/flour/sugar canisters for my kitchen (if you've seen it you'll understand why - it just needs them) - picked up a jaunty set of sunny yellow ones with wite lids with very spry white letters on the front. How much I hear you ask??? $20 for the set. FOR THE SET. Unheard of. Thankyou Sunday markets.
- People ask your star sign mid-meeting or mid-streetside chat, as if to place you in the grand design of the universe. Yesterday I got told 'wow - pisces, and you don't smoke! You're doing really well, they tend to have addictive personalities' so I felt all chuffed and strong willed (although didn't mention my slightly addictive approach to books and vintage clutch bags, seemed almost like a piffle compared with all the posible adictions..). Today I got ' aaah, I knew you were a water sign, I thought scorpio' to which I said 'I've dated scorps...' and she said 'yeah me too' - there was a pregnant pause of post-scorio dating solidarity and we went back to planning our project. Later three of us picked a workshop date for a new project kicking off in Feb and then realised it was a new moon in pisces and all agreed it was very auspicious, and no one was even taking the piss.
- love that people swap / straddle/ weave careers and that no-one is surprised or even thinks they need to offer explanations about being a molecular biologist turned photographer turned permaculture gardener or a film and video editor turned bush regenerator, or being a novelist-youthworker-puppy owner or being a baker-painter-practicing buddhist or a social worker-life model-jazz singer-mother. That there is no shame in having multiple jobs, multiple skills and multiple interests.
- A groovy chick at life drawing is bringing me bits of old timber to use for woodcuts

So - how on earth could I move away? Not just yet, not to some more crowded suburb closer to the big smoke where the stars aren't quite as bright and there is no place to go to get an eyeful of horizon. Not somewhere where I would have to share a place and forfeit my newly acquired study and squish all my stuff into a little room, and certainly not just to be closer to a desk job - nosireee.