I started out with good intentions.

I started out with good intentions. I wasn't sure if this was a good idea or not, but I figured I shouldn't wait around for life to find me again. Picking up and moving from the town that I had lived in for the last thirty-four years wasn't an easy decision, but I know that it would sure be an interesting choice.

The first thing to do was to figure out where I was going. I created a checklist of where I had visited in my life, which places called to me, which places I had always wanted to visit, which places my better traveled friends told me I would like. Then, after I had gone to all of that trouble, I picked a place that didn't seem to fit into any of those places at all. Gnome.

Now, I know that Gnome is quite a ways away from where I started life, but just the name of the place made me giggle with anticipation. I had always been a bit of a SciFi nerd, and with a name like Gnome, all I could picture was a town with a population no taller than three feet tall.Oh how I wish that were true, even though my brain knew otherwise.

Besides the name, moving to Alaska had advantages. Money. How awesome must a place be that they actually pay you to live there? Sure, it might be somewhat more remote than I was used to, but I can be patient. I don't need to have my hands on all the newest toys right when they come out. I just hoped I would still get the two day shipping I had become accustomed to.

The next step would be the least fun, packing. The good news, I didn't have that much stuff. So I found myself walking through each room and asking myself if I actually needed any of it. I surprised myself with how little any of my material possessions I was attached to.

Prompt provided by http://www.thinkingten.com/