I'm usually the one doing the leaving.

Now I'm the one being left behind.

I worked hard to build a friend base when I moved back to the DC area two years ago. I've gotten to the point where I know so many people that I hardly have time to see them all. I've gotten used to having too many options. Now I'm afraid all of that is coming to an end. Well, that might be a little too dramatic and I'm not a drama queen. There will be no end but certainly my social life will slow down.

Tonight I found out that two of my new friends are moving to Boulder. That makes the count 5. Five of my friends will be gone by the end of this summer. One is off to Japan, another Scotland, and another hasn't quite made up her mind (NYC or Tampa... I don't really see where the competition is there, but she's having trouble deciding.). Now with these two going to Boulder, I am sad, sad, sad.

Those who know me are probably thinking, "Elise. You leave people all the time so quit your whining." I suppose it's true that I do have a tendency to flit from place to place. It's also true that I'm thinking about leaving in another year or so, but still... it sucks to be the one on the receiving end.

While the following isn't completely fitting, it's fitting enough, so here goes:

I'll wear my badge... a vinyl sticker with big block letters adherent to my chest
That tells your new friends I am a visitor here...
I am not permanent
And the only thing keeping me dry is
Where I am
Where I am
Where I am

You seem so out of context in this gaudy apartment complex
A stranger with your door key explaining that I am just visiting
And I am finally seeing
Why I was the one worth leaving
Why I was the one worth leaving

D.C. sleeps alone tonight

Where I am
Where I am
Where I am

You seem so so out of context in this gaudy apartment complex
A stranger with your door key explaining that I am just visiting
And I am finally seing
Why I was the one worth leaving
Why I was the one worth leaving

Where I am
Where I am
Where I am

The district sleeps alone tonight after the bars turn out their lights
And send the autos swerving into the loneliest evening
And I am finally seeing
Why I was the one worth leaving
Why I was the one worth leaving
Why I was the one worth leaving
Why I was the one worth leaving

~From "The District Sleeps Alone Tonight" by The Postal Service