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17 september 2006
this is my life.
I, Elise Nordling, am 34 years old, happily single (although i sometimes wonder why i never managed to find a guy that was right for me - I certainly have been really good at finding all the wrong ones). I'm originally from Minnesota, but I have been living in San Francisco for the past ten years, in a neighborhood called Potrero Hill that I love. I have two cats: Zach and Stella Bean. Zach is a 15-year-old Russian Blue, and Stella Bean is a 4-year-old Maine Coon. They're both the sweetest, most affectionate love pigs ever. I have a lovely flat with a backyard and a garage and all the nice things that you can usually only wish for in San Francisco, and I have a roommate who's really laid-back and fun to be around. I've been vegetarian for over 17 years, I love cooking and baking, and most people seem to enjoy my cooking. I run my own radio station called Indie Pop Rocks! under my dear friend Rusty's SomaFM umbrella of internet radio stations. We've gotten a lot of acclaim for SomaFM in the past couple of years. I get to inflict my favorite bands and artists on other people, and they thank me for it. For a day job, I started a company called rightround this past spring with my friends Dave and Cliff, so I get to work with my friends, and it's the best team I've ever worked with. I work too much, but I enjoy it, so it's okay. I go to approx. 2 - 5 shows a week, and although going to see bands play is usually work, it's still fun. I have lots of good friends from all walks of life. I am never bored: I don't even remember what it's like to be bored. I get to go on a fair number of trips, for work and pleasure (so far this year, I've been to Hawaii, Austin, Sonoma, and Scotland). My parents are still happily married, and I love my family and enjoy spending time with them. I paint and draw (I have a degree in Fine Arts), but because I work so much these days, I don't have as much time to dedicate to making art as I'd like (or I'm too tired when I do have time). I go hiking almost every weekend in the Marin headlands. It's gorgeous there.
For all that I am enjoying my life right now, and love almost everything about it, I have a nagging feeling that it isn't sustainable. Like that something needs to change. Maybe because I'm overdoing it all the time. I didn't even really realize this until I was on my way home from visiting my friends in Scotland earlier this week. It was the most relaxing, peaceful, restful vacation I think I've ever taken. I think it partially had to do with the Scottish highlands: it's hard to name a more beautiful place. But I think it has more to do with my friends. There's just something about being with them that makes me feel at peace. I can't quite explain it. But I didn't want to leave, and it's been hard to adjust back into my life here at home. And while there's a part of me that feels this need to meet new people all the time, and have 20 different things going on at the same time, there is also a part of me that would really like to slow down. Live a more simple life.
[Johnny says: "I think you were taken by the Scottish scene - perhaps more so than you realised. Good on ya lass!]
I sometimes feel like I'm two different people squashed together: I like cats and dogs equally. I'm both extroverted and introverted. I like to be surrounded by friends, yet I let few people get to know me very well. Very little phases me, yet things and people are always surprising me.
My friend Johnny asked me if I went to Scotland for some soul-seeking. I answered him honestly, which was "no." I really just went to see him, Ann, Craig, and Craig and Ann's new baby, Elspeth. But yet, having gone, here I am contemplating my life.
Not quite sure what I'm going to do with this. The things I'm currently doing with my life, like running my radio station, demand a certain amount of work and involvement. I can't imagine giving up any of the things I'm doing right now.
Well, it's definitely food for thought, isn't it?
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