:: Life on Planet Dan-E ::

:: Tuesday, July 29, 2008 ::

:: SoBe ::

It recently occurred to me that despite the fact that even though my blog description reads "...waiter/bartender in South Beach..." I don't actually write that much about South Beach itself. Or for that matter, Miami in general. I've mentioned a thing or two in passing, posted a few photos, and regularly plug The Abby and a few other local spots but that's about it.

Part of it is due to the fact that it wasn't until only this past year that I viewed my stay in Miami as anything other than temporary. I still haven't really decorated my studio the way I'd like to. I still use the same silverware I brought with me from L.A., and it wasn't until two weeks ago that I finally bought some decent knives for my kitchen. (Considering how much time I spend in there, you'd think I'd have done this sooner.) It doesn't help that the rare moments when I'm looking for my "real job," most of the ad companies I look at are out of state.

There's also the impression that residing in South Beach means you're living the South Beach life of constant partying and clubbing every weekend, heavily drinking mojitos and vodka-cranberries, doing a lot of drugs, and getting laid regularly. (Um... no, no, yes but mostly beer, does caffeine count? and hell no... on the other hand my tennis grip has never been stronger.) By those narrow standards, no I'm not really experiencing South Beach but then again, I've been here long enough and seen enough of it that I'm not really sure I want to. I rarely complain about being broke the way a lot of my co-workers do.

Part of it may be because I sometimes read this blog and a slew of other Miami-based blogs I keep on my Blogroll. Most offer better insights into life in Miami and South Beach. Complaints about traffic, idiot drivers, and the occasionally feeling that you're not in America? Done.

Thoughts on the nightlife, restaurants, and sights to see? Others do it better.

Still, I moved to South Beach in September 2003 and it feels irresponsible to not write about the city that I've spent almost five years in, whether those experiences have been good or bad. I loved it when I moved here but I think it had more do to with getting a fresh start and not so much Miami itself. I know this now, but it's grown on me in ways I didn't expect.

(Also, I never really expressed the dispair I was feeling during the last few days of my last job search. If I didn't find something soon, I'd run out of money and I had to pace the possibility of moving back in with my parents. Or being homeless, and at 33, homelessness or death seem preferable. Was it really that I dreaded that move or did I come to embrace Miami as home without realizing it?)

Sure, there's things about this place that I abhor and there are still times I feel like an outsider. But the good outweighs the bad quite a bit. And I'm not quite so complacent that I'd stay here if that wasn't the case. Perhaps Miami really is home.

Or I could just change the header.

Labels: introspective, Miami, South Beach

:: Miscellaneous Ramblings by Dan-E at 9:51 PM [+] :: | 0 comments
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