Nikki Volpicelli

I’m here. Apartment therapizing. Next week I’m fixin’ to decoupage my light switches.

When I was eighteen-years-old, I got a tattoo on the back of my neck in memory of my favorite songwriter Elliott Smith. He’s from Portland, and when I read his biography at 14, I decided that’s where I wanted to be from, too.

He stabbed himself in the heart (two times) before his book was published. Friends and family spoke about his life and life in Portland. They told me about gritty coffee shops with live music and streets filled with record stores and beer bars and green trees and even community bike posts where you can borrow a bike and not need a lock.

Then there’s the late governor of Oregon, Tom McCall, and his famous few words: “Come visit us again and again. This is a state of excitement. But for heaven’s sake, don’t come here to live.”

So now I’m thinking about my future and my first few years out of school, and I’m thinking Mr. McCall won’t be so happy with my thoughts.

I’ve narrowed down my next move:

Portland, Oregon
Seattle, Washington
Austin, Texas
San Francisco, California
Phoenix, Arizona

or maybe I’ll just stay tight and bask in all this brotherly love.

Either way, I’ll continue searching Craigslist for that diamond in the rough–the city that actually updates their “writing/editing” section.