Ranting to /dev/null

Entry 300 and Checking Out

So I guess this is it. As of 10:00 AM tomorrow, I'm leaving Chattanooga, pretty much for good. Sure, I guess I'll be back now and then, but I've got no plans as to when. How often seems to be not very.

It's been good here. I've made a lot of friends. It's tough to leave. A place may be just a place, but parting with friends is a sadness. Three and a half years at Covenant. Six months in St. Elmo. A summer in Tiftonia. A year on Blackwatch (okay, maybe that wasn't a highlight...) Two and a half years on Catacombs (ahh, the Combs...). Ten different room/housemates. Swimming at Blue Hole. 10PM drives south on Scenic Highway. Two hour dinners at the Great Hall. Various near-misses with various young women. The beginning, middle, and end of my first truly serious relationship. Getting dumped. Providing the core of the iTunes network for everyone. Soaped up runs through 1st Belz. Pickled piss possums. Enjoying the cool of the evening in Chattanooga Valley with a cold one. Perfecting the art of the woah. Midnight showings at the Bijou. Strolls across the Walking Bridge. Driving to shows in Nashville. Hitting 100 in a minivan. Wrangling with Kierkegaard and Kant in the commons. Marathon study sessions for Modern Philosophy. Getting the whole hall hooked on Scorched Earth. Hiking down to the bluff. Piling on the couch in the Student Apartments. Dinner with 5th North after church. Foosball at midnight. High-tailing it down I-81 at 3:00AM because we're going to New York. Feasting at the Lord's Table at the first church I could truly be at peace. These are things I will remember. These are things I will take with me. These are things that are from a chapter of my life which is now over.

This is entry 300 on this blog. That's a little less than once per day. I imagine I'll keep posting here, though if Josiah ever gets NewYorkBlogs up and running I'll probably move over there.

I'm headed over to Lupi's for one last dinner with friends before hitting the road tomorrow. Lots of good times there. Goodbyes were said on Wednesday. More will be said tonight. There are people here who are special to me that I may not see again for years. Some of them I may never see again this side of the veil. My heart is heavy, but full to bursting. The future is bright, but the past has been good. We carry it with us even as we let it go.

That's about all I've got. The next post on this site will be from the Northeast, from my parents' house. Contact info will become available as it solidifies; leave a comment if you need it.

This is Ryan Davidson, signing off from Chattanooga, TN. Goodnight.