In 2006, Sarina (my significant other) and I took a short trip to Chicago for a few days of R & R. We stayed on Michigan Avenue and visited the major museums such as the Museum of Science and Industry, The Field Museum, the Adler Planetarium, Shedd Aquarium, and the Art Institute of Chicago.

While we didn’t have time to get outside of “the loop” and see the rest of the city, we saw enough to know that Chicago had a certain attraction that simply couldn’t be ignored.

I remember a discussion we had on the flight home regarding the desire to live in Chicago. It wasn’t something we really planned to do; Rather, it was more of a “that would be nice” kind of thought.

As luck would have it, in early October I managed to partner up with a GREAT Libertarian minded foundation/alliance located on Wacker in the heart of Chicago. This partnership confirmed that indeed, a move to Chicago is no longer a thought. No, it’s a reality.

So here I am, sitting here with all of my things packed and ready for a cross country move from Reno, Nevada to Chicago, Illinois.

Today is Monday, October 29th, and I’ll be in Chicago on November 1st. The move hasn’t really settled in as reality until this morning. Up until now, it felt like ” the next step”. But now that it’s here, I realize how big of a step it is.

When I was much younger, 18 to 20 to be exact, I traveled around the globe several times. I even lived in Auckland, New Zealand for quite some time. I worked on a ship at sea for six months, I fumbled through the streets of South Korea, and I roamed around Europe as if it were some kind of theme park. Back then it all seemed like nothing and didn’t really phase me at all.

But the last seven years of my life have been spent in Nevada. Not only have I lived here and proudly called it home, I’ve been deeply entrenched in the state politically. I’ve worked on political campaigns at all levels, I started a PAC that made front page headlines and turned heads in all major parties, I’ve gotten in to verbal and media wars with party leaders across the state, and I served as director for a national new media flavored political conference.

Needless to say, I have a lot of friends and close ties in Nevada and I’ve been very comfortable living here. This, of course, is brewing up a tad more pressure compared to that of 1999 and 2000 when I was roaming the globe without a care in the world.

I suppose it’s just last minute butterflies.

The good news is, in just a few days I’ll be moving in to my new pad in Lincoln Park. I’ll be checking in with my new employer, who has, much to my excitement, given me the opportunity to continue doing what I love… search engine marketing, optimization, and web activism.

I’ll be able to watch night fall on one of the most beautiful skylines in the world. I’ll be whisked around the city by the “el” (am I saying.spelling that right?), which happens to be one of my favorite public transportation systems even though it’s a bit outdated and considered “old school” by many outside of Chicago.

I could go on and on… but I would be digressing.

In the end, while I bat down the butterflies that flutter in my tummy, all is well and I find peace knowing that I’ll soon be able to call Chicago my home.

Finally!