Away they go

Living in a city as transient as SF I have now learnt what it is like to be the one who is left behind, more than once.
When I first moved to SF I was warned by an electrician that I would find it difficult to make friends in the city because San Franciscans are very wary of newcomers. They don't feel they want to invest valuable time in them since there is no guarantee they'll stay longer than a few years. What's the point of inviting you over to dinner if you're leaving in a few months?
Well, I am still here, four years later, and I have made some great friends but I am now finding myself in the boat of the stayer, rather than that of the newcomer. More than once, good friends have moved away. Jobs, money or homesickness have required them to leave and start afresh somewhere else. Nothing is forever, and in this city, you get reminded of it almost every year, when yet again, you have to review your phone list and erase disconnected 415 numbers.

This week it is happening again. One of my dear friends from an ancient time in London when I was still a working girl (did that time really exist???), who has lived in the city for the last 2,5 years, have decided to pack her backpack and get the hiking boots out to go travel around the world for a few years. Although I am very excited for her, the more selfish part of me thinks she's a rotten tomato:).
On Friday she's having a going away party, and I have promised her to not get emotional, and to not hold any silly, sentimental speeches. Hmmm... Let's see about that:).